A microscope capable of being shaped into a beam with complete hollow shape by removing the disorder of the wavefront to the erase light, particularly, and capable of improving the spatial resolution by inducing a super-resolution near the limit, is provided. In the microscope, wherein a first light to excite a molecule from a ground-state to first electron excited state or a second light to excite the molecule from the first electron excited state to the second electron excited state with higher energy level, for a sample 56 including the molecule with three electronic states including at least a ground-state, are spatial phase-modulated into the prescribed beam shape, and parts of these first light and the second light are overlapped and focused to detect luminescence from the sample 56, a wavefront compensation means 61 is provided in the optical path of the first light and/or in the optical path of the second light, and the wavefront aberration caused in the first light and/or in the second light, is removed by the wavefront compensation means 61.

1. Technical Field that Invention Belongs
The present invention relates to a microscope, particularly, a new optical microscope with high performance and high function so as to obtain a high spatial resolution by illuminating dyed sample with lights of plural wavelengths from a high laser light source of high functionality.
2. Description of Related Technology
The technology of the optical microscope is known at early time, and the microscope of various types has been developed. Moreover, in recent years, the microscope system with high performance has been developed more due to the advancement of the peripheral technology including the laser technology and the electronic images technology.
In such a background, a microscope with high function, capable of controlling the contrast of the obtained image and capable of performing chemical analysis, has been proposed, by the use of the double resonance absorption process generated by illuminating the sample with lights of plural wavelengths (For example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 184,552/1996).
This microscope selects a specific molecule by using the double resonance absorption, and observes absorption and fluorescence caused by a specific optical transition. This principle is explained referring to FIGS. 11–14. FIG. 11 shows the electronic structure of the valence electron orbital of the molecule constructing a sample, and first of all, the electron of the valence electron orbital of the molecule in a ground-state (S0 state) shown in FIG. 11, is excited by the light of wavelength λ1, thereby assuming the first electron excited state shown in FIG. 12 (S1 state). Next, the electron of the valence electron orbital is excited by the light of another wavelength λ2, thereby assuming the second electron excited state shown in FIG. 13 (S2 state). By this excited state, the molecule emits fluorescence light or phosphorescence light, and then returns to the ground-state as shown in FIG. 14.
In the microscopy using the double resonance absorption process, the absorption image and the luminescence image are observed by using the absorption process shown in FIG. 12 and the luminescence of fluorescence and the phosphorescence shown in FIG. 14. In this microscopy, firstly, the molecule constructing the sample with the light of resonant wavelength λ1, as shown in FIG. 12, is made to be excited in S1 state by the laser light etc. But in this case, the number of molecule in S1 state within the unit volume increases as intensity of the irradiated light increases.
Here, the linear absorption coefficient is given by the product of the absorption cross section per one molecule and number of molecules per unit volume, so that in the excitation process shown in FIG. 13, the linear absorption coefficient to resonance wavelength λ2 of continuously irradiated light, depends on an intensity of firstly irradiated light with wavelength λ1. That is, the linear absorption coefficient to wavelength λ2 can be controlled by intensity of the light with wavelength λ1. This means that if the sample is irradiated by the lights of two wavelengths of wavelength λ1 and wavelength λ2, and the transmitted image due to the wavelength λ2 is obtained, the contrast of the transmitted image can be completely controlled by the light with the wavelength λ1.
Moreover, when the de-excitation process due to the fluorescence or phosphorescence in the excited state shown in FIG. 13 can be realized, the emission intensity is proportional to the number of molecules in S1 state. Therefore, the contrast of the image can be controlled even in the case of utilization as the fluorescence microscope.
In addition, in the microscopy using the double resonance absorption process, not only the control of the image contrast, but also the chemical analysis can be realized. That is, the outermost shell valence electron orbital shown in FIG. 11 has an energy level inherent to each molecule, so that the wavelength λ1 is different according to the molecule, at the same time, the wavelength λ2 becomes also inherent in molecule.
Here, even in case of the illumination by the single wavelength in conventional microscope, the absorption image or the fluorescence imaging of the molecule specified to some degree can be observed, but in general, the wavelength regions of the absorption band in some molecules are overlapped, so that the accurate identification of the chemical composition of the sample can not be performed.
On the contrary, in the microscopy using the double resonance absorption process, the molecule absorbed or emitted by two wavelengths of the wavelength λ1 and the wavelength λ2, is strictly specific, so that the chemical composition of the sample can be identified more accurately than conventional microscopy. Moreover, in case of exciting the valence election, only the light with a specified electric field vector for molecular axis, is absorbed strongly, so that when the polarizing direction of the wavelength λ1 and the wavelength λ2 are decided and a picture of the absorption image or the fluorescence imaging is obtained, even the identification of the direction of the orientation can be possible as for the same molecule.
Moreover, in recent years, the fluorescence microscope with a high spatial resolution beyond the diffraction limit by using the double resonance absorption process, is also proposed (For example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 100,102/1997).
FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram of the double resonance absorption process in the molecule, and shows the states that the molecule in ground-state S0 is excited to first electronic excited state S1 with the light of wavelength λ1, and is excited to the second electronic excited state S2 with the light of wavelength λ2. Moreover, FIG. 15 shows that fluorescence from the second electron excited state S2 of a certain kind of molecule is extremely weak.
A very interesting phenomenon occurs in the case of the molecule with the optical property shown in FIG. 15. FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram of the double resonance absorption process in the same manner as FIG. 15, X axis as abscissa shows an extension of spatial distance, and shows a spatial area A1 irradiated by the light with wavelength λ2 and a spatial domain A0 not irradiated by the light with wavelength λ2.
In FIG. 16, a lot of molecules in electron excited state S1 are generated by the excitation of the light with wavelength λ1 in spatial domain A0, in this case, the fluorescence emitted with wavelength λ3 from the spatial area A0, is seen. However, the light with wavelength λ2 is irradiated in the spatial area A1, so that almost molecules of electron excited state S1 are immediately excited in the electron excited state S2 of high order, and thus the molecule in electron excited state S1 does not exist. Such a phenomenon is confirmed by some molecules. As a result, in the spatial area A1, the fluorescence of wavelength λ3 is disappear completely, and also the fluorescence from the electron excited state S2 does not exist originally so that the fluorescence is completely controlled in the spatial domain A1 (fluorescent suppression effect) and thus the fluorescence will be emitted only from the spatial area A0.
This has an extremely important meaning on considering from the field of application in the microscope. That is, in the conventional scanning laser microscope etc., the laser beam is focused into a micro-beam by the condenser lens and scans on the sample to be observed, but in that case, the size of the micro-beam becomes a diffraction limit decided by the numerical aperture of the condenser lens and the wavelength of the beam, and thus a spatial resolution better than this limit can not fundamentally be expected.
However, in the case of FIG. 16, by overlapping two kinds of lights with the wavelength λ1 and the wavelength λ2 spatially and proficiently, and then controlling the fluorescent region by the irradiation of the light with the wavelength λ2, for example, on paying attention to the irradiation area of the light with the wavelength λ1, a fluorescent region can be narrowed more than the diffraction limit decided by the numerical aperture and the wavelength of the condenser lens, and thus the spatial resolution can be substantially improved. Therefore, by utilizing this principle, a super-resolution microscope, for example fluorescent microscope, that uses the double resonance absorption process better than the diffraction limit, can be achieved.
In addition, the signal to noise ratio can be improved by adjusting the irradiation timing of two lights with the wavelength λ1 and the wavelength λ2, and the conditions, that effectively causes fluorescent controlling, are proposed, too, as a result, the super-resolution can be developed more effectively (For example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 95,120/1999).
To concrete example of such a super-resolution microscopy, it has been proposed that the light (particularly laser beam) with the wavelength λ1 by which a fluorescent labeler molecule is excited from the ground-state S0 to the electron excited state S1, is assumed to be a pump light, the light with the wavelength λ2 by which the fluorescent labeler molecule is excited from the electron excited state S1 to the electron excited state S2 is assumed to be an erase light, as shown in FIG. 17, the pump light is made radiated from a light source 81, and the erase light is made radiated from a light source 82, respectively, after reflecting on a dichroic mirror 83, the pump light is made focused on a sample 85 by a beam-condensing optical system 84, and after shaping into a hollow beam by a phase plate 86, the erase light is transmitted through the dichroic mirror 83, whereby it spatially overlapped with the pump light. Then, the erase light is focused onto the sample 85 by the beam-condensing optical system 84. (For example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 272,340/1997).
According to this microscope, fluorescence intensity from except for the near the optical axis region in which the intensity of the erase light becomes 0, are controlled, so that as a result, only a fluorescent labeler molecule, that exists in a region narrower than the spot size of the pump light, (Δ<0.61·λ1/NA; NA is a numerical aperture of the condensing optical system 84) is observed, and thus the super-resolution is achieved.
Moreover, the phase plate 86 for making the erase light to a hollow beam is generated in such a manner that for example, as shown in FIG. 18, the phase difference π is given in at the point symmetrical position to the optical axis. Furthermore, an optical spatial modulator using a liquid crystal plane, or deformable mirror for controlling the shape of the mirror itself with accuracy of the wavelength order, can also be used.
However, it is found that according to the examination of various experiments given by the present inventor etc., the point to be improved as explained hereinafter exists in the conventional super-resolution fluorescent microscope.
Hereafter, the case that a super-resolution fluorescent microscope is constructed as shown in FIG. 19, is explained as an example. The super-resolution fluorescent microscope shown in FIG. 19 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Opened No.100,102/2001, and the inventors observe a sample 100 dyed by rhodamine 6G. In this microscope, the laser beam with the wavelength 1064 nm generated from Nd:YAG laser 101 of the mode-locking type is wavelength-converted into a laser beam with a wavelength 532 nm of the second harmonics by a wavelength conversion element 102 consists of β-BaB2O4(BBO) crystal, the laser beam is divided into two optical paths of transmitted light and the reflected light by a half mirror 103, the transmitted light is used as a pump light. After transmitting through dichroic mirrors 104 and 105, the transmitted light is made focused on the sample 100 put on two dimensional moving stage 107 by an objective lens 106.
Moreover, after reflected on a reflection mirror 108, the reflected light due to the half mirror 103 is wavelength-converted into the laser beam with the wavelength 599 nm by a Raman shifter 109 consisting of Ba(NO3)2 crystal. After reflected as an erase light by a reflection mirror 110, the laser beam is shaped to the hollow beam by a phase plate 111, in addition, is aligned with the dichroic mirror 104 on the same axis as the pump light, and thus is made focused on to the sample 100 through the dichroic mirror 105 by the objective lens 106.
On the other hand, after being reflected on the dichroic mirror 105 through the objective lens 106, the fluorescence emitted from the sample 100 is received on a photo multiplier 115 through a fluorescent condenser lens 112, a sharp cut filter 113 and a pin hall 114.
In such a construction of the super-resolution fluorescent microscope, the super-resolution of developing precision is influenced a great deal by the beam shape of the erase light. That is, if an ideal hollow beam is not formed, it is feared that the spatial resolution decreases oppositely, the fluorescence signal decreases, and thus the signal to noise ratio decreases.
Here, the shaping accuracy of the hollow beam depends on the phase modulation technique, that is, the precision of a wavefront control technique. For example, when the wavefront of the erase light falls into disorder by some causes, the shape of the hollow beam crumbles, and the counterbalance of the electric field intensity at a central portion of optical axis becomes imperfect and the electric field intensity remains. Therefore, under such conditions, when the pump light and the erase light are overlapped and focused onto the sample, the intensity of fluorescence is controlled even at the central portion of optical axis, and thus the spatial resolution is not only decreased, but also the signal to noise ratio is decreased.
The cause of the disorder of the wavefront is variously thought, but there are, for example, a distortion of wavefront of laser beam, an error of shape accuracy of respective optical elements, through which the laser beam passes, and an error of the alignment.


A window stop (10) for limiting movement of a sliding window along a predetermined path of window movement is provided. The window stop (10) has a housing (12) having a cavity (20) wherein the housing (12) is adapted to be positioned adjacent the path of window movement. A bolt (14), operatively associated with the cavity (20), is moveable between a first position (BP1) within the housing (12) and thereby out of the path of window movement, and a second position (BP2) extending out of the housing (12) into the path of the window movement whereby the window is able to contact the bolt (14). A securing element (16) exerts a force generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the housing and on the bolt (14) to retain the bolt at the first position (BP1). When a second force is applied to overcome the force exerted by the securing element (16), a biasing element (18) displaces the bolt (14) toward the second position (BP2). The bolt (14) receives forces from the window contacting the extended bolt (14), and the forces are distributed throughout the housing (12).

This invention relates generally to a device for selectively limiting the movement of a sliding member and more particularly concerns a window stop for selectively limiting the movement of a window that slides either horizontally or vertically along a track.
Sliding window assemblies often include a pair of window sashes. One assembly is commonly referred to as a double-hung sash window. A double-hung window typically includes a window frame and a pair of window sashes mounted for vertical sliding movement, one relative to the other, within the window frame. Another window assembly may generally be referred to as a horizontal sliding window. A horizontal sliding window also includes a window frame and pair of window sashes mounted for lateral sliding movement, one relative to the other, within the window frame. Although window assemblies traditionally have been made exclusively of wood, window assemblies are increasingly being formed of extruded plastic or metal frame members which are joined at mitered corners, to form a generally rectangular frame in which glazing is mounted. Examples of these types of window assemblies are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
In these window assemblies, it is important to be able to selectively limit the distance the sliding window sash may travel. For example, a window sash may be partially opened, enough to allow for venting, while still inhibiting egress in or out through the window.
To selectively limit the movement of the sliding window sash, window stops have been developed. One type of window stop is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,824,154; 4,923,230 and 5,248,174, having the same assignee as the present invention. This window stop is a compact unit typically mounted in a stile of a window frame (See FIG. 1). The window stop generally includes a tumbler within a housing. The tumbler rotates out of the housing and extends into the path of a sliding window sash thus limiting movement of the sash. While this window stop has been very effective in this application, the amount of force that the tumbler can absorb is limited. In some applications, too much force can be delivered from the sliding window. The high impact of the sliding window against the stop causes the tumbler to over-rotate, sometimes breaking the window stop.
A second type of window stop is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,903, having the same assignee as the present invention. This window stop can be mounted in a track of a sliding window (See FIG. 2) and can also be mounted in a stile of a window frame like the stop shown in FIG. 1. This window stop generally includes a bolt and latch within a housing. By operating the latch, the bolt extends directly out of the housing into the path of a sliding window sash, thus limiting movement of the sash. The bolt does not rotate out of the housing. This second window stop has guides between the housing and bolt that increases the resistive areas over which forces may be transferred. Consequently, this window stop can absorb greater forces than the window stop having the rotating tumbler. Because the window stop housing has separate cavities to accommodate the latch and bolt, however, the stop is not as compact in size as the present invention. In addition, the second window stop is more costly than the window stop having the rotating tumbler.
A third type of window stop is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,900, having he same assignee as the present invention. This window stop has a housing with a cavity, a bolt within the housing, and an actuator allowing the bolt to extend from a first position to a second position. The actuator has multiple depending structures and is fixed to the bolt with a pin. To extend the bolt, a user rotates the actuator. The actuator is a separate structural element that is carried by the bolt. This window stop typically requires a deeper housing than is required for window stops using a rotating tumbler.
In certain window stop applications, the direction a user must apply a force to actuate the tumbler or bolt is the same direction in which a window slides along a track. In certain instances, sliding the window over the window stop can inadvertently actuate the window stop. This situation can damage both the stop and the window. Because the path of window movement is equivalent to the direction of force applied to the actuator for actuation, inadvertent actuation can occur. In other words, the movement of the window along its path can unexpectedly activate the actuator and deploy the bolt. The present invention is provided to solve these and other problems.
The present invention relates to a window stop for limiting movement of a sliding window along a predetermined path of window movement. Besides use with sliding windows, however, the invention could also be used to limit movement of a number of different sliding members. According to a first aspect of the invention, the window stop has a housing having a cavity. The housing is adapted to be positioned adjacent and parallel to the path of window movement. A bolt is operatively associated with the cavity and moveable between a first position within the housing and thereby out of the path of window movement, and a second position extending out of the housing into the path of the window movement whereby the window is able to contact the bolt. A means for securing the bolt in the first position exerts a force on the bolt in a direction generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the housing. A biasing means displaces the bolt towards its second position when a second force is applied to the bolt and that force exceeds the force exerted by the securing means. The bolt receives forces from contact with the sliding window when the bolt is in its second position.
According to another aspect of the invention an upper portion of the bolt has a ledge, and an upper portion of the housing has a lip. At the first position, the securing means applies a force to a surface of the bolt to retain the bolt while the lip engages the ledge.
According to another aspect of the invention, the bolt and housing have engaging surfaces comprising a tongue and groove arrangement. The tongue is located either on the bolt or the housing and a cooperating groove is located either on the housing or bolt to absorb and transfer forces between the window, bolt, and housing.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the stop includes a means for fastening the stop in an opening in a window stile. The fastening means extend upwardly from a side wall of the housing to engage the opening in the window stile where the stop is to be installed.
According to another aspect of the invention, the bolt has an indicia on an upper surface indicating that force must be applied in a direction generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the housing to release the bolt from the first position.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the following drawings.


A safing sensor for sensing velocity changes particularly suited for passenger restraint systems in a motor vehicle for the deployment of an air bag includes a housing with contact blades and an inertial element. The movement of the inertial element is substantially undamped within the housing. Preferably, the sensor includes mounting tabs for mounting said housing on a printed circuit board.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a velocity change sensor or accelerometer used in motor vehicles for detecting sudden changes in velocity and for activating in response a passenger restraining system such as an air bag system. More particularly, this invention pertains to a safing sensor which includes an element which moves to a preset position in response to a sudden deceleration to activate a pair of contact blades.
2. Background of the Invention
Studies have been made which indicate that injuries in motor vehicle accidents, especially at high speeds, can be substantially reduced or eliminated by the use of passenger restraint systems. (The term "passenger" is used to cover the driver of a car as well.) These systems include an inflatable balloon usually termed an air bag which normally is stored away in the instrument panel or the steering wheel. When the motor vehicle is subjected to a sudden deceleration, the air bag is inflated and is deployed automatically in a position which cushions the passengers, restrains their movement and prevents contact between them and the automobile interior such as the windshield, the steering wheel, the instrument panel and so on. Of course, a crucial element of all such systems is the velocity change sensor or accelerometer which initiates the inflation and deployment of the air bags. The motion of the motor vehicle must be carefully and precisely monitored so that the air bags can be deployed very fast, before the passengers suffer any substantial injury.
A velocity change sensor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,549 assigned to the same company as the present invention. This sensor comprises a tubular housing surrounding a metallic shell, a metal ball and a magnet biasing the ball toward a first end of the shell. At the second end of the shell there is a pair of electrical contact blades. The sensor is positioned in the motor vehicle in an orientation such that when the motor vehicle experiences a deceleration which exceeds a preset level, the ball moves from the first toward the second end, making contact with the two blades. Because the blades and the ball are made of electrically conducting material, when the ball contacts the blades, an electrical path is established between the two blades. This electrical path is used to initiate a signal for the deployment of the air bags.
A problem associated with the prior art concerns the safety of the system. While the deployment of an air bag during a crash is critical to insure the protection of the passenger, prevention of a false deployment is equally critical. Once an air bag is deployed, it seriously impairs the movement of the driver. Therefore, if an air bag is falsely activated, i.e. while the vehicle is moving and is not involved in a serious accident, rather than protecting the driver, the air bag may actually hamper him or her from proper operation of a vehicle.


A thin-film magnetic head comprises a reproducing element formed on an undercoat film on a head substrate surface, a recording element formed on the upper side of the reproducing element, and a heater formed on the upper or lower side of the reproducing element, the heater generating heat upon energization so as to project at least the reproducing element by thermal expansion toward a recording medium. A shield layer is formed between the reproducing element and the heater by a plurality of layers including at least first and second shield layers. In the first and second shield layers, the second upper shield layer located closer to the heater is formed by a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion smaller than that of the first shield layer located closer to the reproducing element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin-film magnetic head which locally projects an element part toward a recording medium by thermal expansion, so as to control the amount of floating.
2. Related Background Art
A thin-film magnetic head comprises a reproducing element which reads magnetic information from a recording medium by utilizing a magnetoresistive effect and a recording element, laminated on the reproducing element, for applying a recording magnetic field to the recording medium and thereby recording magnetic information thereon. As is well known, the reproducing element is formed between lower and upper shield layers by way of a gap layer, while the recording element in a perpendicular recording system, for example, is constituted by a main magnetic pole layer and a return yoke layer which are exposed at a surface opposing a recording medium while holding a magnetic gap layer therebetween, a recording coil which supplies a recording magnetic field to the main magnetic pole layer, and the like. Recently proposed are those in which a heater generating heat upon energization is provided near the reproducing and recording element s, so as to project an element part toward the recording medium by thermal expansion and locally narrow the gap between the recording medium and the reproducing and recording elements, thereby improving reproducing and recording performances. In such a conventional thin-film magnetic head, the amount of floating of the recording and reproducing elements from the recording medium greatly affects reading and writing capabilities, whereby it has been becoming important to control the amount of projection of the recording and reproducing parts. It has been proposed to hold a material having a small coefficient of thermal expansion within an element part of the thin-film magnetic head in order to control the amount of projection of the element part (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-334995).

Thin-film magnetic head that locally projects an element part toward a recording medium by thermal expansion


A battery fabrication method includes forming on a substrate, at least a portion of a battery cell having a plurality of battery component films that include an underlying film with an overlying metal-containing film. A beam incident area of the metal-containing film is locally heated by directing onto the metal-containing film, an energy beam maintained at a fluence of at least about 800 J/cm2. The metal-containing film is heated to a temperature that is at least 100° C. higher than the temperature attained by the underlying film.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to thin film batteries and their fabrication and packaging.
Thin film batteries are used in applications that require a small battery with a high energy density such as, for example, portable electronics, medical devices and space systems. A typical thin film battery typically comprises a substrate having one or more battery component films which cooperate to store electrical charge and generate a voltage. The battery component films include an electrolyte sandwiched between electrodes. Some of the battery component films can be metal-containing films which are composed of elemental metal, metal oxide or other metal-containing compounds. For example, elemental metal films can be used as current collectors to receive or provide electrons, such as for example, cathode and anode current collectors. Metal oxide or metal-containing compounds are useful as battery component films such as the cathode or electrolyte. The battery component films are thinner than conventional batteries, for example, the films can have thicknesses of less than 1000 microns, or even less than 100 microns. This allows thin film batteries to have thicknesses which are much smaller than the thickness of conventional batteries. The battery component films are often formed by processes such as physical and chemical vapor deposition (PVD or CVD), oxidation, nitridation, and electroplating processes. These batteries can either be used individually or stacked together to provide more power or energy.
In the thin film fabrication processes, the battery component films are sometimes heat treated to anneal, re-crystallize, or reduce lattice defects from the deposited film. For example, elemental metal films are heat treated to reduce lattice defects and provide better conductivity. Metal oxide films are also sometimes heated in air to anneal and/or obtain better crystalline properties. As an example, a cathode comprising a metal oxide electrode, such as for example lithium cobalt oxide in a lithium thin film battery, provides better electrical properties when annealed in oxygen-containing environment at temperatures ranging from 300 to 700° C. It is believed that the electrical characteristics of the annealed cathode is related to its oxygen content in its crystallographic structure, and when annealed, the cathode can allow the battery capacity to reach as high as its theoretical value for a given thickness and area. Still further, the lithium oxide cathode film can be deposited as an amorphous or microcrystalline film or as a stack of sequentially deposited thin amorphous films to form a thicker cathode, and thereafter, crystallized by heating the amorphous film or stack of films. Increasing the thickness of a lithium oxide cathode film increases the energy density of the battery as the thicker cathode film provides greater charge retention and faster charging and discharging, as for example, taught in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/007,362 entitled "THIN FILM BATTERY AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE" which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
However, the heat treatment process needed for a battery component film is often conducted after the deposition of underlying battery component films, and can result in thermal degradation or even oxidation of the underlying films. For example, in lithium batteries, a cathode current collector of elemental metal is often deposited below a cathode of metal oxide. Heat treatment of the overlying metal oxide cathode can result in oxidation of the underlying elemental metal of the current collector. For example, current collectors made from metals such as aluminum or copper can form an oxidized thin film layer of aluminum oxide or copper oxide, respectively, which increases the electrical resistance at the interface of the current collector and the overlying anode or cathode electrode to reduce overall battery efficiency.
To prevent or reduce the effects of thermal or oxidation degradation, noble metals such as platinum or gold, are often used as the current collectors. However, these metals are expensive and can substantially increase the cost of the resultant battery. In addition, metals such as platinum often exhibit poor adhesion to the underlying substrate requiring deposition of an adhesion layer between the substrate and platinum to prevent the metal from peeling. The additional deposition steps required for forming the adhesion layers further increase processing time and cost.
For reasons including these and other deficiencies, and despite the development of various battery structures, and deposition and heat treatment processes for thin film batteries, further improvements in battery structures and heat treatment methods are continuously being sought.

Localized heat treatment of battery component films


A method and apparatus for use with an aircraft autopilot to prevent an aircraft part from striking the ground during near ground maneuvers by employing a protection circuit between the outer loop and the inner loop of the control chain between the autopilot and the control surface, the prevention circuit producing an output signal when there is a possibility of ground strike which output signal operates to reduce the control surface command signal from the inner loop to the control surface and thus be rapidly responsive to aircraft attitude changes that could produce ground strike.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the protection against aircraft parts striking the ground during near-ground maneuvers such as take-offs, landings and go-arounds.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When maneuvering near the ground, great damage to an aircraft may occur if one of its wing tips strikes the ground, or if its nose wheel or tail touches down prior to main gear touch down. Avoidance of these possibilities is therefore of great importance. Present day aircraft use autopilots to help guide the aircraft not only between destinations but also during ground approaches. The autopilot usually provides, among other things, command signals indicative of roll angle, roll rate, pitch attitude, pitch attitude rate and altitude which are used to position the control surfaces (elevators, ailerons etc.) in order to maintain the aircraft in a desired flight path. The autopilot signals may also be useful in determining if wing tips, nose wheels or tails are getting too close to the ground. More particularly, when the aircraft is low enough to strike the ground and the mechanical design of the aircraft is known, then the exact roll and pitch angles are known where an unwanted ground strike will occur. Since aileron control signals and elevator control signals are used to control the roll and pitch of the aircraft, these signals can be used along with altitude signals to prevent unwanted ground strikes.
For purposes of simplicity, the present invention will be described in connection with the prevention of "tail strike", but it will be understood that the methods and apparatus of the present invention may also be used to avoid nose wheel strike and wing tip strike.
The autopilot pitch elevator command, used to control the aircraft pitch is generated using a two stage process the first stage of which, the outer loop, generates the pitch command or pitch rate command signal from the autopilot as a function of path error or speed error and the second of which, the inner loop, generates the elevator command signals as a function of pitch error or pitch rate error to control the angle of the elevators and cause the aircraft to fly along the desired path or at a desired speed. Outer loops are generally the "command outputs" of the autopilot indicative of the error between actual and desired flight path or airspeed. These outputs, usually, are either rate commands or attitude commands. Inner loops are generally of two types, the first, a "rate inner loop" responds to angular rate command signals and will be described in connection with FIG. 2 and the second, an "attitude inner loop" responds to pitch attitude or pitch angle commands and will be described in connection with FIG. 3. In either event, the inner loop generates signals to position the elevators at an angle necessary to bring the aircraft to the desired pitch rate or the desired pitch angle. Under most conditions, these signals will operate the elevators of the aircraft to follow the desired path and will thus avoid any undesired ground strike. However, maneuvering an aircraft near ground during atmospheric disturbances could cause the aircraft to move off course and produce a situation where the tail could prematurely touch ground as shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, an aircraft 10 desires to fly along an approach path 12 but its actual flight path 14 is seen to have dropped below the desired approach path 12 so that the autopilot calls for a nose up command to the elevators to bring it back on course. If the aircraft is too close to the ground, the nose up command can cause the aircraft to over-rotate with the result that the tail could strike the ground 16. To avoid this, some aircraft employ a "tail strike" protection circuit which determines from the aircraft geometry and altitude when the aircraft might encounter a tail strike and produces a signal which is subtracted from the elevator command signals from the inner loop to reduce the nose up command. One such system, the 4059001-902, produced by Honeywell has been utilized on various aircraft and may generally be seen in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the autopilot operates in the outer loop system 20 to produce, in this case, a pitch attitude rate command signal, .theta..sub.com, on a line 21 which is fed to the rate inner loop system, shown in dashed line box 22, which converts the signal into a form the elevator can use, i.e. a signal indicative of the number of degrees of elevator per degree of pitch rate command. More particularly, a first summing circuit 23, in rate inner loop box 22, receives the rate command signal on line 21 and also receives the aircraft's actual rate of change of pitch signal, .theta., on a line 24 and subtracts them to produce an error signal on a line 25. The error signal on line 25 is presented to an integrating circuit 26 to remove any steady state errors and the corrected signal from integrator 26 is presented to a second summing circuit 27 which also receives the error signal on line 25. The resulting corrected error signal from summing circuit 27 is presented on a line 28 to a gain box 29 which modifies the signal to correspond to elevator command signal in terms of desired elevator position. The value K of gain box 29 is determined by the elevator effectiveness of the aircraft and is usually a function of dynamic pressure or airspeed. The system is designed such that at low speed, K has a higher value whereas at high speed, K has a lower value. A Honeywell tail strike protection circuit 30 which receives inputs on lines 31, 32, 33 and 34 indicative of pitch angle, pitch rate, altitude and tail strike limit respectively is programmed to compute a correction signal when a tail strike is possible. Pitch angle and pitch rate are usually determined by the inertial reference unit, altitude is usually from a radio altimeter and the tail strike limit is a function of the geometry of the aircraft. The tail strike protection circuitry produces a corrective elevator command signal on a line 35 whenever there is a danger of tail strike. The elevator command signal from gain circuit 29 on a line 36 and the tail strike protection signal on line 35 are presented to a third summing circuit 37 which operates to subtract the tail strike protection signal on line 35 from the elevator command signal on line 36 to produce a total elevator command signal on a line 38 which is presented to the elevator controls shown by box 39. Since the autopilot command signal is reduced by the tail strike protection signal, the elevator command will be less of a nose up signal or may even be a nose down signal to correct for the over rotation caused by being below the desired flight path. This provides the desired protection in nearly all cases but in some situations, such as where the aircraft is far off of its desired flight path, the outer loop command may be so large that the elevator command signal overpowers the tail strike protection signal and damage could still result.
Another Honeywell system, the 4068300-901, has also been used to solve the tail strike problem in a slightly different way as seen in FIG. 3. This system has a pitch attitude inner loop (rather than a rate inner loop used in FIG. 2) and so a signal indicative of pitch angle, .theta..sub.com, is produced by the outer loop circuitry 50 on a line 52 to a pitch command limiter 54. Limiter 54 controls the magnitude of the pitch angle signal so that the outer loop's pitch attitude command cannot exceed the tail strike limit determined by the geometry of the aircraft. Normally this is a relatively small value in the neighborhood of about 10 degrees. This limited signal is then presented on a line 56 to a pitch rate command limiter 58 so that the change in pitch angle command cannot be too fast. More particularly, if the outer loop pitch angle command signal were allowed to change abruptly, causing a large and sudden elevator control change, it could cause discomfort to the passengers. Accordingly, any rapid change in pitch angle command is limited or smoothed so that it takes place less rapidly. The limited pitch angle command signal is presented on a line 60 to the attitude inner loop circuit shown as dashed line box 61. It will be seen that the attitude inner loop circuitry for a pitch angle control is slightly different than the rate inner loop circuitry for the pitch rate control described in connection with FIG. 2. More particularly, the signal on line 60 is presented to a first summing circuit 62 which compares the commanded pitch angle with the actual pitch attitude, .theta., on a line 64 and any difference is a pitch angle error signal presented on a line 65 to a gain box 66 which operates to modify the pitch angle error signal so as to produce a pitch rate command signal on a line 67 to a second summing circuit 68. The value K of gain box 66 is usually determined by the designer for purposes of controlling how fast the pitch angle error should be removed. A larger K value can remove the error faster but it has a greater effect on the overall stability of the aircraft/autopilot system. The remaining part of the inner loop is the same as the inner loop circuit of FIG. 2. More particularly, the pitch rate command signal is compared with the actual pitch angle rate signal, .theta., on a line 70 to produce a resultant pitch rate error signal on a line 72. The signal on line 72 is presented to an integrator 74 which operates to remove any steady state errors in the signal on line 72 and presents the corrected signal on a line 75 to a third summing circuit 76 which also receives the signal on line 72. The corrected rate error signal is presented on a line 78 to a gain box 80 which converts the rate error signal on line 78 to an elevator command signal as described in connection with FIG. 2.
This attitude inner loop system is very reliable since the tail strike angle cannot be exceeded but because the input to the inner loop is an attitude command signal rather than a rate command signal, the system cannot respond as rapidly as a rate inner loop system so that the path tracking performance is not as good. Also there may be situations, for example where a last minute change of plans occurs (e.g. a "go around" is suddenly called for), where a large command results and the system cannot rotate the aircraft fast enough to avoid ground impact.

Ground strike protection function for aircraft autopilot


An object of the invention is to provide an LED light source device and a manufacturing method for the same that can maintain high reflectance over an extended period of time notwithstanding the interaction between light and heat. More specifically, the invention provides an LED light source device that includes a substrate, an electrode formed on the substrate, a white inorganic resist layer deposited over the substrate so as to cover a surface thereof everywhere except where the electrode is formed, and an LED element connected to the electrode, wherein the white inorganic resist layer contains fine white inorganic particles dispersed or mixed into an inorganic binder, and a method for manufacturing such an LED light source device.

In a light-emitting diode comprising a substrate, electrodes formed on the substrate, a light-emitting element mounted on the electrodes, and a sealing member that seals the light-emitting element onto the substrate, it is known to cover the substrate with a light-blocking film everywhere except where the electrodes are formed and then to form a light-reflecting film of a white-colored resin material on the light-blocking film (refer to patent document 1).
Further, in a light-emitting diode comprising a substrate, electrodes formed on the substrate, a light-emitting element mounted on the electrodes, and a sealing member that seals the light-emitting element onto the substrate, it is known to enhance reflectance of white light by forming a white inorganic resist layer everywhere on the substrate except where the electrodes are formed (refer to patent document 2). In patent document 2, it is described that an inorganic material, such as fine particles of titanium oxide (TiO2) or fine particles of barium sulfate (BaSO4), or an organic material, such as fine particles of porous acrylic resin or fine particles of polycarbonate resin, can be used for the formation of the white inorganic resist layer. It is also described that, as specific examples of the white inorganic resist layer, use may be made of solder resist FINEDEL DSR-330542-13W (tradename) manufactured by Tamura Kaken, S-100 W CM29 (tradename) manufactured by Taiyo Ink, and PHOTO FINER PMR-6000 W30/CA-40 G30 (tradename) manufactured by Taiyo Ink.
However, the light-reflecting film and the white inorganic resist layer described in patent documents 1 and 2, respectively, have been formed from a material composed principally of an organic material or formed by dispersing or mixing an inorganic material into an organic binder. While such material serves to enhance light reflectance, the problem has been that the material tends to degrade due to light and heat. In particular, even when the wavelength of the light is in the visible region, not in the ultraviolet region, of the spectrum, the organic material may decompose due to an interaction between light and heat, rendering the light-reflecting film or the white inorganic resist layer unable to serve its intended function properly. Furthermore, when forming the light-reflecting film or the white inorganic resist layer in the area surrounding the electrodes, it is common practice to use a printing method or the like, but when forming the light-reflecting film or the white inorganic resist layer by using such a method, a prescribed margin has to be provided around the electrodes. As a result, regions where the light-reflecting film or the white inorganic resist layer cannot be formed occur around the electrodes, and the presence of such regions has degraded the reflectance of the substrate as a whole.
On the other hand, it is known to provide a semiconductor device comprising an input/output electrode terminal portion, a conductive post formed on the input/output electrode terminal portion and having the substantially the same size as the input/output electrode terminal portion, and a resin layer formed on the same side as the conductive post, wherein the semiconductor device is mounted on a circuit substrate in such a manner that a terminal on the circuit substrate is connected to the conductive post (refer to patent document 3).
However, in patent document 3, the conductive post has been provided for the purpose of facilitating the placement of the resin layer as a sealing member for filling the gap created between the semiconductor device and the circuit substrate, not for the purpose of shrouding the electrodes of the semiconductor device with the resin layer.
It is also known to provide a light-emitting device comprising a light-emitting element which includes an n-type nitride semiconductor, a p-type nitride semiconductor, and an active layer interposed therebetween, a bump provided on the bonding surface of each electrode of the light-emitting element, and a transparent mold covering the entire light-emitting element while exposing the upper face of each bump (refer to patent document 4). In the light-emitting device disclosed in patent document 4, after forming the bumps, the transparent mold is formed so as to cover the bumps, and thereafter the surface of the transparent mold is ground to expose the surface of each bump.
In patent document 4, however, while the light-emitting device has been fabricated by forming the bumps and transparent mold on a wafer, no provisions have been made to enhance the reflectance of the substrate on which the light-emitting element is mounted.    Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-176847    Patent document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-258296    Patent document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-135662    Patent document 4: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-118293

LED light source device and manufacturing method for the same


An output buffer circuit of a semiconductor memory device can produce multiple output buffer drive strengths. An electronic system including a memory device in which such an output buffer circuit is implemented can include a mechanism for enabling the output buffer drive strength to be easily selected by a user of the memory device (such as an assembler of an electronic system including the memory device) from the multiple possible drive strengths. The invention thus enables a memory device to be easily configured to have an output buffer drive strength that is compatible with a wide variety of electrical loads to be driven by the output buffers of the memory device. Since the output buffer circuit of the invention allows the output buffer drive strength to be more closely tailored to the electrical load being driven, signal reflections, voltage overshoot and undershoot, and timing problems that can result from mismatch between the output buffer drive strength and the associated electrical load can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to semiconductor memory devices and, in particular, to output buffers of such devices. Most particularly, the invention relates to a semiconductor memory output buffer circuit having a selectable drive strength.
2. Related Art
Currently, semiconductor memory devices such as static random access memories (SRAMs) are designed so that the output buffers associated with the memory cells of a memory device have a particular drive capability (or "drive strength"). (The drive strength when the memory cell provides a logic high signal can be different than that when the memory cell provides a logic low signal.) The drive strength of an output buffer determines the amount of current available to switch the output signal from the output buffer from one state to another (i.e., from a logic high signal to a logic low signal, and vice versa), as well as the steady-state amount of current that can be supplied from the output buffer.
Memory devices can be interconnected with a variety of other electrical circuits and/or components ("receiving devices") to which the data stored in the memory device can be provided. Moreover, these receiving devices can be interconnected with a memory device in a variety of ways. Consequently, the electrical load which must be driven and switched by the output signal from an output buffer of a memory device can vary widely, depending on the particular characteristics of the receiving device and the characteristics of the interconnection between the memory device and the receiving device.
As can be appreciated, the drive strength of the output buffers of a memory device may not be appropriately matched (i.e., the drive strength may be too strong or too weak) with the electrical load presented at the output nodes of the output buffers. For example, SRAMs have typically been used in systems of electrical and/or electronic devices ("electronic systems") in which the output buffers of the SRAM were designed to drive and switch an electrical load that could be represented as a lumped capacitive load. In many current electronic systems, however, SRAMs must drive and switch electrical loads that are more accurately modelled as distributed capacitive loads (i.e., as transmission lines), rather than as lumped capacitive loads, thus necessitating output buffers having different drive characteristics.
In short, no single output buffer drive strength is appropriate for all electrical loads that an output buffer may be required to drive. For example, if the drive strength of an output buffer driving a transmission line electrical load is too strong, the impedance of the output buffer can be low enough to produce an impedance mismatch between the output buffer and the transmission line electrical load that is of sufficient magnitude to cause signal (current and voltage) reflections in the transmission line during switching. If the output buffer drive strength becomes too large, these reflections can become large enough to induce sufficient noise in the receiving device to produce failure of the electronic system of which the memory device is part ("system failure"). Further, when driving a lumped capacitive electrical load, an output buffer having a drive strength that is too large can cause excessive voltage overshoots and/or undershoots at the input buffer of the receiving device during switching. These overshoots and undershoots can also result in system failure by, for example, causing a spurious change in logic state or producing excessive noise in other devices of the electronic system (that can, in extreme cases, damage those devices). If, on the other hand, the output buffer drive strength is too small, then the data can be supplied from the memory device to the receiving device more slowly than desired, perhaps sufficiently slowly to fail to meet the timing requirements of the receiving device and thereby cause system failure.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a memory cell 101 and associated output buffer 102. The output buffer 102 accepts an input signal (e.g., a voltage having a particular magnitude) from the memory cell 101 at the node 103. In response to the input signal, the output buffer 102 produces an output signal (e.g., a voltage having a particular magnitude) at the node 104 that represents an input signal to a receiving device or devices.
FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a typical simple implementation of the output buffer 102 in which the output buffer 102 is embodied by an inverter 201. As shown in FIG. 2B, the inverter 201 can be implemented by a P-channel transistor 202 connected in series with an N-channel transistor 203 between a supply voltage and a ground voltage. In the implementation shown in FIG. 2B, the drive strength depends upon the physical characteristics of the transistors 202 and 203, only one of which is operating at any given time. Thus, as can be appreciated, in the typical output buffer implementation shown in FIG. 2B, the output buffer can have only a single drive strength when either a logic high signal or a logic low signal is received at node 103.
Previously, if a particular type of semiconductor memory device was found to have an output buffer drive strength that was incompatible with a receiving device or devices to which the memory device was to be interconnected, other types of semiconductor memory devices (e.g., memory devices made by other manufacturers) were substituted for the incompatible memory device until a memory device having an acceptable output buffer drive strength was found. However, this "solution" is inadequate if only one or a small number of memory devices are acceptable for an application because then the number of sources of memory devices for that application is undesirably limited.
Another approach has been to place a resistor between the output buffer and the receiving device. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating this approach. A resistor 301 is placed between the output buffer 102 of FIG. 1 and an input buffer 302 of a receiving device. The resistor 301 reduces the current sourced to or from the output buffer 102, thus decreasing voltage overshoot and undershoot that can occur when an output buffer having an overly strong drive strength drives a lumped capacitive load. However, the addition of such a resistor adds cost to the overall electronic system. Further, if the need for such a resistor is identified after the circuit design of an electronic system has been established (e.g., during testing of the electronic system), the addition of such a resistor at that late stage may be impracticable. Moreover, the presence of such a resistor can aggravate impedance mismatching when such a strong output buffer drives a transmission line load. Additionally, the use of such a resistor does not help when the output buffer drive strength is too weak for the electrical load to be driven: in fact, the use of such a resistor exacerbates the problem of slow switching attendant an overly weak output driver.
In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide in a semiconductor memory device an output buffer circuit in which the output buffer drive strength can be varied to accommodate a variety of electrical loads. It would also be desirable to enable a user of a memory device (e.g., an assembler of an electronic system including the memory device) including such an output buffer circuit to easily select a desired output buffer drive strength.
While output buffers having selectable drive strength have previously been used with other devices, such as programmable logic devices, selectable drive strength output buffers that allow a user to adjust the output buffer drive strength have not heretofore been used with semiconductor memory devices. There are several reasons for this. First, in previous memory chips (i.e., packaged integrated circuits embodying a memory device), there have not been package leads available for inputting a control signal or signals to effect the selection of the output buffer drive strength. Moreover, programmable logic devices by their nature include a programming capability, which capability can be extended to use with output buffers; memory devices, on the other hand, have not included such capability. Second, in designing electronic systems including memory devices (e.g., personal computers), the compatibility of the memory device's output buffer drive strength with the requirements of a receiving device or devices that receive data from the memory device has not been a significant concern, since, in many cases, the degree of whatever incompatibility exists (e.g., the magnitude of the voltage undershoot and overshoot) can be tolerated. For example, the clock frequency of previous electronic systems has been relatively low (e.g., 200 MHz microprocessors are now being used in personal computers that not long ago would have used a 33 MHz microprocessor), thus allowing a longer time for an output signal from a memory device to stabilize (e.g., for voltage undershoot and overshoot to dissipate) before that signal is latched into a receiving device. Third, in a semiconductor memory device, it is typically desirable to use as high a percentage of area as possible for the memory cells, while keeping to a minimum the area used for peripheral circuitry such as output buffers, so that the memory device can be made as small as possible, thus reducing the cost per unit of memory capacity.

Memory having selectable output strength


A recording apparatus includes a case, disposed outside a housing, holding a liquid holding member that holds a liquid to be supplied to a recording unit and having a discharge opening that discharges the liquid in the liquid holding member to the exterior, and a connection portion to which the discharge opening is connected. The case has a cover member capable of opening and closing the case by pivoting central to an axis line extending in a direction that intersects with a vertical direction, and a guide portion, provided on an inner surface of the cover member, that guides the liquid holding member when the liquid holding member is set in the case with the cover member in an open state so that the discharge opening of the liquid holding member is connected to the connection portion.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to recording apparatuses such as ink jet printers, for example.
2. Related Art
Ink jet printers that print (record) by ejecting ink from a liquid ejecting head (a recording unit) onto a recording medium such as paper have been known for some time as a type of recording apparatus. A configuration for such a printer has proposed in which ink is supplied from an ink bag (a liquid holding member) having a comparatively large ink holding capacity to the liquid ejecting head through an ink supply tube in order to continuously and stably supply ink to the liquid ejecting head in the case where a comparatively large printing job is to be executed (see U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,051, for example).
In a printer configured in this manner, the liquid ejecting head is normally mounted in a carriage that is provided so as to be capable of moving back and forth within a housing in a main scanning direction relative to the paper. The ink supply tube extending from the ink bag that is disposed outside of the housing is inserted into a movement region of the carriage through a gap formed in the housing, and is connected to the liquid ejecting head mounted in the carriage.
Incidentally, in a printer such as that described above, the configuration is such that a plurality of ink packs are stacked in a disorderly fashion, and thus there is a problem in that when replacing a desired ink pack, it is difficult to set a new ink pack.
Note that this problem is not limited to ink jet printers, and is generally common among recording apparatuses that record by ejecting, from a liquid ejecting head within a housing, a liquid that has been supplied to the liquid ejecting head from a liquid holding member disposed outside of the housing via a liquid supply tube.


A method for updating a software of a sub-sea controller (31) located under the sea level. The sub-sea controller manages a plurality of tools in a sub-sea well. An application module (35) is downloaded into the sub-sea controller. The application module is executed using a virtual machine (36) implemented within the sub-sea controller.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a sub-sea controller in a sub-sea well installation.
2. Background Art
A downhole installation for extracting oil or gas usually comprises a plurality of tools. The plurality of tools may for example comprise a sensor used for measuring a parameter such as temperature, pressure or flow rate, an actuator, e.g., a pump or a valve. A controller located at a surface of the downhole installation communicates with the tools. In case the downhole installation is located under the sea level, it is understood that the surface is in fact a border between the water and an earth formation. In this latter case, the sub-sea controller may be installed at a relatively deep location of the sea and may thus be difficult to access.
FIG. 1 provides an illustration of a sub-sea well installation. A surface controller or a computer 14 located above the sea level communicates with a sub-sea controller 11 located under the sea level, using a dedicated channel, e.g., a single cable 12. The sub-sea controller 11 is protected from water and pressure by a canister 13. The sub-sea controller 11 also communicates with a plurality of tools. As an example, the plurality of tools comprises a pressure sensor 15a, a pump 15b and a thermometer 15c. The pump 15b may be located within a casing of the sub-sea well 19. The pressure sensor 15a and the thermometer 15c may be located at a neighborhood of a formation 18.
In a sub-sea environment, it may happen that communication between the computer 14 and the sub-sea controller 11 is temporally interrupted. For example, a communicating device like a modem (not represented) may be shut off by a circuit breaker (not represented) and cause the sub-sea controller 11 to be isolated from the computer 14. The sub-sea controller 11 may however continue to communicate with the plurality of tools. Hence, a native application is implemented directly within the sub-sea controller 11.
The native application comprises a plurality of tasks. The sub-sea controller 11 executes the tasks. For example the sub-sea controller 11 requests and receives values of the measured pressure and temperature from the pressure sensor 15a and the thermometer 15c. The sub-sea controller 11 also outputs orders to the pump 15b.
Furthermore, the sub-sea controller 11 may execute a conditional order. A conditional order is executed only if a condition is fulfilled. For example, if a measured pressure is below a predefined threshold, the pump 15b may be activated to provide a better extraction of oil or gas. The sub-sea controller 11 sends a request to the pressure sensor 15b to obtain the value of the pressure and compares the value of the pressure to the predetermined threshold. If the value of the pressure is smaller than the predetermined threshold, the sub-sea controller 11 sends a command to the pump 15a instructing the pump 15a to activate itself.
The sub-sea controller 11 may also execute a task for a purpose of statistics. An example of task for a purpose of statistics may be to count how many times the temperature parameter reaches a second predefined threshold during a period of time. In this case, the sub-sea controller 11 regularly receives the value of the measured temperature from the thermometer 15c during the period of time and compares the value of the measured temperature to a second threshold. If the value of the measured temperature reaches the second predefined threshold, a local variable may be incremented.
The sub-sea controller 11 executes the plurality of tasks to manage the plurality of tools. The sub-sea controller 11 stores the values of the parameters received from the plurality of tools or any other data, e.g., the local variable, into a storage device (not represented) such as a hard disk, or into an internal memory (not represented), e.g., a RAM memory, or an EEPROM memory.
The computer 14 only reads the internal memory. If the computer and the sub-sea controller 11 are temporally unable to communicate, the sub-sea controller 11 continues to execute the native application and stores the data into the internal memory. When the communication between the computer 14 and the sub-sea controller 11 is reestablished, the internal memory may be read by the computer 14.
The sub-sea controller 11 is installed under the sea level and manages the tools for a relatively extended life-time, typically several years. There may be a need for adding a new tool to the well, and as a consequence, the managing software of the sub-sea controller 11 may need to be updated to take into account the new tool. There may also be a need for modifying the managing software during the life-time for any reason. For example, the predetermined threshold may need to be changed, a conditional loop may be added, or a driver managing an additional tool may be needed. According to prior art, such an update is performed by replacing the managing software. This may be done by erasing the flash memory of the sub-sea controller 11, and downloading a new application to be stored in the flash memory and run from the flash memory.
FIG. 2 contains an illustration of an updating operation according to prior art. The sub-sea controller 21 usually comprises a plurality of devices (not represented) such as a Central Processing Unit, the flash memory, a timer, a plurality of Input/Output ports etc. forming a hardware layer 22. An operating system layer 23 links the hardware layer 22 to the applications. A native application 24 is run above the operating system layer 23. To update a software of the sub-sea controller 21, a new application 25 is downloaded and replaces the native application 24. During the downloading, the sub-sea controller 21 is unable to execute any application and the tools are not managed.

Method and apparatus for dynamic application management in sub-sea well installations


The surface of a fingernail is efficiently and uniformly ground by a grinder having an endless grinding belt that is adjustably supported between a rotating wheel mounted on a follower axle and a connecting portion of a driving axle carried by a connecting seat. The driving axle is rotated by a round axle disposed within a hollow pipe and rotated by a driving unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to improvement of the structure of a grinder for fingernail cosmetology, the grinder is comprised mainly of a pipe, a rotating axle, a driving axle, a connecting seat, a follower axle, an elastic element, an adjusting rod, a grinding belt made from a circling sand cloth and a driving unit. By combination of the members, the nails can be ground and polished in a larger area by the grinder. Perfectly smooth and bright nails can be realized and the operation of the grinder is faster and more reliable, thereby saving time, work and power.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional device for nail cosmetology is used mainly for trimming women nails, and is an auxiliary tool for making up the shape and apparent beauty of the nails. It is the nature of people and especially of women to love beauty, and women think highly of all parts of their body from their hair to their toes. The present invention mainly studies the cosmetology on women nails (including toe-nails). In making up their nails, women use nail-nippers to give shape to the top edges of their nails, and they also use nail-files to grind the coarse and unsmooth top edges, so that the top edges can be more smooth and good looking. After that, files of various softness are used to grind and polish the uneven nail surfaces. In this way, smooth and bright nails can be obtained.
The aforesaid nail (and toe-nail) cosmetology is a cosmetology pointing at the apparent natural beauty of nails. The neat and smooth nail surfaces is suitable for applying thereon nail polish or nail oil to increase brightness and beauty. A trimmed nail applied with nail polish can make the nail polish neater. Less evident undulation can be removed by a fine and soft sponge file and polish will result in a bright and beautiful appearence. Modern nail cosmetology takes advantage of sticky fake nails to make various strange appearances and the junctions between the fake nails and the genuine nails, and the fake nails with large area of surfaces, can also be patched with filler, and are processed in detail with a file to beautify the nails.
The abovementioned nail cosmetology is a basic principle for processing, and is suitable for individuals to maintain beauty of nails. However, more professionally, the cosmetologists face a lot of customers every day and hold various nail-files to work carefully, and this imposes an extremely large burden to their hands as well as mind, and this is an extremely uneconomic or inefficient practice. In view of this, a grinding and carving pen for nails has been developed as shown in FIG. 1, wherein, a pipe 10 receives a rotating axle 20 and is contacted with a plurality of bearings 21, the rotating axle "B" can be integrately rotated in and with the pipe 10; the rotating axle 20 is provided on the front end thereof with a screw thread 23 and a hole 24; an elastic chuck 25 is inserted in the hole 24, and is slipped over with a sleeve 26 having an inner thread therein, a grinding accessory 27 is turned is inserted in the elastic chuck 25, the sleeve 26 to connect the inner thread with the external screw thread 23, the grinding accessory 27 can be firmly clamped on the rotating axle 20; the tailing end of the rotating axle 20 is connected to a driving unit 28, when the driving unit 28 is activated, it drives the rotating axle 20 and in turn the grinding accessory 27 to grind the nail.
The grinding accessory 27 is a multipurpose member provided for cosmetology, such as a coarse or fine sand wheel, or various shaped grinding and filing drills; by exchange among a plurality of grinding accessories with different functions, operation of a grinding and carving pen in cosmetology can be easier, faster and more efficient, and the nails can have a more beautiful and brighter appearence than nails from the hand working cosmetology. It has higher efficiency in filing and polishing, so that the work of providing fake nails can be more reliable and convenient.


A hydrodynamic bearing device which realizes power saving, reduction of a time period necessary for stabilizing rotation, and enhancement in durability to startup and halting of the motor at the same time by accelerating circulation of a lubricant in the vicinity of a flange with torque loss being kept low is provided. A flange (3) is fixed to one end of a shaft (2). On an inner surface of one of openings of a sleeve (1), a step portion (1C) is provided. When the shaft (2) is inserted into the sleeve (1), the flange (3) is in close vicinity to the step portion (1C). An inner diameter of the step portion (1C) is smaller in end portions in an axial direction than in a central portion. Thus, a gap between an outer surface (3C) of the flange (3) and a surface of the step portion (1C) which opposes the outer surface (3C) is narrow in the vicinity of boundaries of the outer surface (3C) of the flange (3) than in the vicinity the central portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydrodynamic bearing device, a spindle motor using the same, and a disc recording and reproduction apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The disc recording and reproducing apparatus may be, for example, a hard disc drive (HDD), or a DVD recorder, which magnetically or optically reads/writes data from/to a disc type recording medium such as a magnetic disc or an optical disc (hereinafter, referred to as a disc) while rotating the disc.
Disc recording and reproducing apparatuses are required to have more capacity and a higher speed of data transfer. Particularly, more HDDs are used in AV equipment and mobile equipment in recent years. For use in such equipment, a high durability is also required in addition to the above requirements. Therefore, it is desired that rotation of the discs becomes more rapid and more stable with a high precision. Furthermore, the reliability on such a rotation has to be maintained high for a long period of time.
Hydrodynamic bearing devices are suitable for such rotary drive systems having a high speed, high precision and high durability.
FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view showing an example of a conventional hydrodynamic bearing device. The hydrodynamic bearing device is mounted on an HDD.
An outer surface of a sleeve 31 is fixed to a base 35. Into the sleeve 31, a shaft 32 is inserted so as to be rotatable around its central axis. An upper end of the shaft 32 is fixed to a central portion of a hub 36 by, for example, press fitting. A flange 33 is fixed to a lower end of the shaft 32 in close vicinity to a step portion 31C provided in a lower opening of the sleeve 31. The lower opening of the sleeve 31 is sealed with a thrust plate 34.
On an inner surface of the sleeve 31, radial dynamic pressure generating grooves 31A and 31B are provided (see portions indicated by broken lines in FIG. 12). On an upper surface and a lower surface of the flange 33, thrust dynamic pressure generating grooves 33A and 33B are provided. The radial dynamic pressure generating grooves 31A and 31B and the thrust dynamic pressure generating grooves 33A and 33B may be, for example, grooves having a herringbone pattern. Oil 42 fills most of gaps between the sleeve 31, the shaft 32, the flange 33 and the thrust plate 34. Particularly, the oil 42 covers the entire surface of the radial dynamic pressure generating grooves 31A and 31B and the thrust dynamic pressure generating grooves 33A and 33B.
To an outer surface of the hub 36, magnetic discs 39 can be fixed coaxially with the shaft 32. In general, a plurality of magnetic discs 39 may be attached. A spacer 40 is provided between inner peripheral portions of the magnetic discs 39. A clamper 41 is fixed to an upper portion of the hub 36 with, for example, a screw 43 to press the inner peripheral portions of the magnetic discs 39 downward. In this way, the magnetic discs 39 are fixed to the hub 36.
On an inner surface of the hub 36, a magnet 38 is provided. Opposite to the magnet 38, a stator 37 is provided on the base 35. The stator 37 and the magnet 38 form a driving force generating section for disc rotation.
The above-described hydrodynamic bearing device operates as follows.
When a current flows through the stator 37, a magnetic field is generated in a core portion of the stator 37. The magnetic field generated between the stator 37 and the magnet 38 applies a rotational force to the hub 36. Thus, the shaft 32, the hub 36, and the magnetic discs 39 integrally rotate having the shaft 32 as an axis.
As they rotate, the oil 42 flows along the radial dynamic pressure generating grooves 31A and 31B and gathers in the vicinity of inflection points of the dynamic pressure generating groves. As a result, the pressure of the oil 42 is raised in a gap near the central portions. This high pressure due to a pumping action maintains a gap between the sleeve 31 and the shaft 32 stable. Thus, a rotational axis of each of the magnetic discs 39 does not substantially move in a radial direction of the sleeve 31.
Similarly, the oil 42 flows along the thrust dynamic pressure generating grooves 33A and 33B and gather to their central portions. As a result, pressure of the oil 42 is raised in gaps above and below the flange 33. This high pressure due to a pumping action maintains a gap between an upper surface of the flange 33 and the sleeve 31, and a gap between a lower surface of the flange 33 and the thrust plate 34 stable. Thus, a rotational axis of each of the magnetic discs 39 does not substantially tilt from an axial direction of the sleeve 31. Furthermore, the shaft 32 is not substantially displaced in the axial direction.
In this way, the above-described hydrodynamic bearing device rotates the magnetic discs 39 rapidly with a high precision and a stable manner.
In the above-described hydrodynamic bearing device, a gap between an outer peripheral surface 33C of the flange 33 and a surface of the step portion 31C of the sleeve 31 is uniform across the entirety of the outer peripheral surface 33C, and is sufficiently large compared to the space between the upper surface of the flange 33 and the sleeve 31, and the gap between the lower surface of the flange 33 and the thrust plate 34. Thus, friction due to the oil 42 on the outer peripheral surface 33C of the flange 33 is small. Accordingly, so-called torque loss is small. This leads to high rotation efficiency of the magnetic discs 39 and low power consumption.
Another type of conventional hydrodynamic bearing device is also known (see for example, Japanese Patent Gazette No. 2966725). Unlike the above-described hydrodynamic bearing device, the gap between the outer surface of the flange and the inner surface of the sleeve varies in the axial direction as shown in FIG. 13. In this type of hydrodynamic bearing device, a protrusion 33D is provided on the outer peripheral surface 33C of the flange 33. Thus, the gap between the outer peripheral surface 33C and a surface of the step portion 31C of the sleeve 31 is narrow in the vicinity of the tip of the protrusion 33D compared to that in gaps U and D above and below the tip.
In general, a sealing force of the oil 42 becomes strong as a width of the space to be filled becomes small. Thus, the sealing force of the oil 42 is stronger in the gap near the tip of the protrusion 33D than in the gaps U and D above and below the tip. Therefore, it is difficult for the oil 42 to move beyond the protrusion 33D. This means that the oil 42 cannot easily circulate from above the flange 33 to below the flange 33, and vice versa.
When the shaft 32 is tilted from the axial direction of the sleeve 31 or displaced in the axial direction, both the gap between the upper surface of the flange 33 and the sleeve 31, and the gap between the lower surface of the flange 33 and the thrust plate 34 change. This causes a gap in the pressure of the oil 42 above and below the flange 33. However, since the oil 42 cannot easily move beyond the protrusion 33D, the pressure gap cannot be eased by circulation of the oil 42. The pressure gap brings back the shaft 32 to its original position. In this way, an excessive tilt and an excessive displacement in the axial direction of the shaft 32 can be both prevented effectively.
In some of the conventional hydrodynamic bearing devices, flanges are provided to shafts as described above. An outer peripheral surface of the flange has a distance from the central axis of the shaft (i.e., diameter) larger those of a side surface of the shaft and other surfaces of the flange. Thus, a large portion of torque loss is due to friction between the outer peripheral surface of the flange and a lubricant. Therefore, it is effective to keep the friction due to a lubricant on the outer peripheral surface of the flange low for keeping the total torque loss low. Keeping the torque loss low is preferable because it results in keeping the rotation efficiency of discs high and accelerating power saving.
In the conventional hydrodynamic bearing devices as shown in FIG. 13, the stability of the shaft is improved as described above. However, the torque loss increases. Thus, it is not preferable in view of power saving.
Furthermore, since the lubricant cannot be easily circulate around the flange, circulation of the lubricant along the thrust dynamic pressure generating grooves is not accelerated. Thus, it is difficult to reduce a period of time for the pressure of the lubricant to be raised sufficiently in the gaps above and below the flange after the flange started to rotate. Specifically, it is difficult to reduce a period of time necessary for achieving stable rotation of the discs after startup of the spindle motor. Particularly, in HDDs, it is difficult to further speed up the startup from a halting state or standby state.
An object of the present invention is to provide a hydrodynamic bearing device which accelerates circulation of a lubricant in the vicinity of a flange while keeping a torque loss low, thereby achieving both power saving and reduction of a period of time necessary for stabilizing rotation and improving a durability of the motor in startup and halting.

Hydrodynamic bearing device, spindle motor and disc recording and reproducing apparatus


An extracorporeal blood treatment machine for carrying out a blood treatment including a machine front on which a hollow fiber filter module is arranged in a horizontal position, which hollow fiber filter module includes a cylindrical housing, a blood chamber having a blood inlet nozzle and a blood outlet nozzle and a solution chamber having a solution inlet nozzle extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber filter module and a solution outlet nozzle extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber filter module, the solution chamber being semi-permeably communicated at least in portions with the blood chamber, wherein a height potential is present in the horizontal position between the solution inlet nozzle and the solution outlet nozzle so that drainage of solution is enabled via one of the solution nozzles and evacuation of air bubbles is enabled via an other of the solution nozzles.

The use of hollow fiber filter modules for blood treatment/purification in extracorporeal blood treatment machines is a wide-spread standard. Recently, increasing attention has been drawn to coupling the respective hollow fiber filter modules in a compact arrangement to the blood treatment machine such as a dialysis machine so that the lengths of the lines will be reduced.
For obtaining a compact arrangement it is useful when the hollow fiber filter module can be flexibly attached to the machine at various operating positions.
The state-of-the-art blood treatment machines and hollow fiber filter modules are almost exclusively optimized for a purely vertical operating position and thus are not flexibly adjustable/variable in their position. US 2015 0238 676 A1 discloses a blood treatment machine according to the independent claim.
EP 0 923 955 B1 discloses a method for manufacturing a dialyzer adapted for vertical arrangement. Accordingly, attention is drawn to optimizing the permeability of the membrane to the effect that (blood) purification can be efficiently carried out.
Further dialyzers on a dialysis machine are known from the documents U.S. Pat. No. 7,776,219 B2 and DE 27 33 280 A1.
Further prior art is known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,148,606 A and 5,480,565 A.
Tests made by applicant disclosed drawbacks in the state of the art: The hollow fiber filter modules known from the state of the art are provided and optimized for vertical use in dialysis machines. In the case of use in the horizontal position, they partially exhibit considerable problems. In said position, for example air bubbles may accumulate in the so-called blood chamber and/or in the solution chamber of the hollow fiber module. Air bubbles that are not evacuated impair the purifying capacity of the hollow fiber filter module and therefore have to be avoided. Moreover, draining of the solution (for example after priming) cannot be carried out without any additional expenditure. Consequently, the blood treatment machines and hollow fiber filter modules known from the state of the art are not suited for flexible arrangement which entails a very compact design of the entire blood treatment machine.

Blood treatment machine comprising a hollow fiber filter module for horizontal arrangement as well as hollow fiber filter module and use thereof


Compositions comprising a tissue vaccine that include a mixture of heterogeneous tissue obtained from tumors and connective tissues. Vaccines comprising these compositions are also provided, as well as methods of using the vaccines in the treatment and/or inhibition of tumor growth, and particularly prostate tumor growth and cancers. The preparations may be defined as vaccines comprising tumor cells and connective (stromal) tissues derived from xenogeneic animals. Preparations comprising the tissue vaccines are provided using tissue harvested directly from tumors. Methods for preventing de novo development of cancer are also disclosed. A tissue vaccine comprising glutaraldehyde-(GFT) treated tissue prepared from tumor and connective tissue reduces the incidence of autochthonous prostate cancer. A tissue vaccine comprising a potassium thiocyanate extract (PTE) preparation of a tumor and connective tissue is also provided. The tissue vaccines are demonstrated to reduce the incidence of autochthonous prostate cancer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of vaccines, and more particularly to antitumor and anticancer vaccines. The invention also relates to the field of methods of treating and inhibiting tumor growth, particularly prostate tumor growth and cancer.
2. Related Art
Prostate cancer is a significant cause of cancer mortality in the western world.′ Because current methods of treatment have shown only limited success in advanced cases, methods to reduce the incidence of disease would yield clear, significant benefit. Previous methods to prevent prostate cancer have focused primarily on dietary factors such as selenium2.19, dietary fat4, and lycopene′5′6.
Though some potential benefit of vaccination has been demonstrated for treatment of individuals already having the disease7,8,9, little work has been done to examine the possibility of preventing prostate cancer through vaccination.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,406,689 (Falkenberg et al.)21 relates to the use of irradiated tumor cells for the prevention and treatment of various cancers, the vaccines therein having been prepared from established cell lines grown in vitro. Hrouda, et al. relates to the immunization of rats with a whole tumor cell vaccine and a non-specific adjuvant.16,17 A recombinant poxvirus encoding tumor-associated antigens has also been described that was reported to protect rats against transplanted Dunning AT-2 prostate cancer cells.19 A mixture of cultured allogeneic human prostate cancer cell lines which were inactivated by irradiation were used to extend the median time to disease progression in patients with high PSA values.20
These and other described vaccines were derived from single antigens or monoclonal cell cultures, and therefore when administered to an animal, offer limited antigenic challenge, and hence immunity to the animal. Because tumors exist in vivo in an environment composed of multiple cell and tissue types, a need continues to exist in the art for preparations that include a more representative composite of tumor and supportive tissue antigenic species. A need continues to exist in the medical arts for more effective treatments to halt and prevent cancer and tumor growth.


A pulse tube refrigerator which can generate cryogenic temperatures of below 10 K includes first and second refrigeration stages. Each stage includes a pulse tube and an associated regenerator provided at the low temperature side of the pulse tube. A pressure fluctuation generator having a compressor and a first to a fourth valve is provided at the high temperature side of each regenerator. The high temperature sides of each pulse tube are connected by a continuous channel while the high temperature side of each pulse tube and the high temperature side of each regenerator are connected by a by-pass channel. A magnetic material having a rare-earth element and a transition metal is used as a regenerative material for the regenerator. When pressure fluctuation is generated in each pulse tube at the phase difference angle of 180.degree., respectively, a working gas is transferred between the high temperature sides of each pulse tube, therefore, the phase angle between the pressure fluctuation in each pulse tube and the displacement of the working gas is optimized. Further, the flow amount of the operating gas sent to each regenerator is limited using a by-pass channel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pulse tube refrigerator, for instance, the pulse tube refrigerator applied to a cryopump and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pulse tube refrigerator is a refrigerator with which low temperatures of less than 30 K (kelvin) can be obtained, and in recent years, it is desirable to have a refrigerator which has a refrigeration capacity of making cryogenic temperatures of less than 10 K, particularly, a 4 K level, in practice.
A pulse tube refrigerator, a basic type of refrigerator invented by Giford, is built up with only a regenerator and pulse tubes in addition to a compressor. Except for the basic type, the pulse tube refrigerator is improved in refrigeration efficiency by making a phase angle between pressure fluctuation in the pulse tube and displacement of a working gas (a gas column, gas piston) in a good condition, through providing various phase control mechanisms in the high temperature side of the pulse tube.
The pulse tube refrigerator includes such phase control mechanisms as an orifice type in which a buffer (reservoir tank) is connected to the high temperature side of the pulse tube through an orifice, a double inlet type in which a by-pass valve which connects the high temperature side of the pulse tube with the high temperature side of the regenerator, is added to the orifice type, and a four-valve type in which the high pressure side and the low pressure side of the compressor is connected to the high temperature side of the pulse type also, and so forth.
However, since the orifice type and the double inlet type have the buffer, there arises a disadvantage that the refrigerator becomes big. On the other hand, the four valve type has also a disadvantage that it is not easy to obtain a high refrigeration efficiency in the cryogenic temperature area of below 10 K, though it can be downsized.
Here, aside from the disadvantages in the pulse tube refrigerator, improvement has been made for a regenerator used in the refrigerator to boost the refrigeration efficiency in the cryogenic temperature area below 10 K.
That is, hitherto, copper or copper alloy has been used as a regenerator in the refrigerator which generates higher than 30 K in the cryogenic temperature area, and lead is used in the refrigerator for the use in the temperature of 10 K and 30 K. This is because each metal has sufficient specific heat in the temperature areas of each refrigerator so that a sufficient regenerative capacity is produced.
However, copper, copper alloy, and lead is the regenerator, have the property that each specific heat becomes low, in case of copper or copper alloy at below 30 K, and in case of lead at below 10 K. Therefore, in the lower temperature areas, no matter how much energy in applied to the refrigerator, sufficient regeneration can not be performed and consequently the cryogenic temperature can not be obtained.
For such disadvantages, the improvement in the regenerative material by using specific magnetic materials has been tried. That is, in the Japanese Patent Publication No Hei 7-92286, the Japanese Patent Publication No Hei 7-101134, U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,765 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,416, it is disclosed that magnetic material composed of a rare-earth element and a transition metal is used as a regenerator which can maintain a large specific heat even in the cryogenic temperature below 10 K. As the rare-earth metals, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb are cited, and as the transition metals, Ni, Co, and Cu are cited in each bulletin.
It should be mentioned that each bulletin shows that a refrigerator using these regenerative material generates the cryogenic temperature below 10 K, the refrigerator written in the bulletins has a movable portion in a low temperature (an expander or displacer) and is different from the pulse tube refrigerator relating to the present invention.
As above, since the magnetic regenerative material made of the rare-earth element and the transition metal show an excellent property at low temperatures below 10 K, it is conceivable that the application of the regenerative material to the regenerator of the four valve type pulse tube refrigerator also is effective for the improvement of the refrigeration efficiency and the achievement of the practical use level at low temperatures below 10 K.
However, when the magnetic regenerative material is combined with the four valve type pulse tube refrigerator, the improvement of the refrigeration efficiency will not be obtained in practice. The reason is that sufficient refrigeration efficiency may not be obtained through the four valve type pulse tube refrigerator itself.
That is, in four valve type, the working gas can come and go between the high temperature side of the pulse tube and the compressor when connecting the compressor with the high temperature side of the pulse tube through the orifice, valve, and the like. Therefore an excess load is exerted upon the compressor, resulting in the waste of refrigeration energy, which makes it difficult to enhance the refrigeration efficiency.
If the refrigeration efficiency is low, even once the cryogenic temperature below 10 K is created, the refrigeration capacity thereof is as little as at the milliwatt level. Then, there arises a disadvantage that if the input energy (power consumption) is not enough, the cryogenic temperature below 10 K can not be obtained.
In other words, when the magnetic regenerator is combined with the four valve type pulse tube refrigerator, with a small power consumption, the refrigerator can not continue to drive to the cryogenic temperature in which the specific property of the regenerative material is exploited.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pulse tube refrigerator which generates cryogenic temperatures of below 10 K with low power consumption and with reduced size.