A method of using a computer program that accesses legacy program code can include distinguishing between non-legacy program code of the computer program and legacy program code of the computer program, separating the computer program into at least a first logical unit including non-legacy program code and at least a second logical unit including legacy program code, and including interface code within the first logical unit. The interface code can be non-legacy program code that communicates with the second logical unit. The first logical unit and the second logical unit can be output.

Computer technology has progressed, and continues to do so, at a rapid pace. The time period measured from the introduction into the marketplace of one generation of a computing platform to the availability of the next generation continues to shrink. Inevitably, the underlying technologies incorporated into each successive generation of computing platform evolve, making some technologies obsolete or unusable within newer systems.
Consider the case where a computing platform transitions from one type of processor, e.g., microprocessor, to another. In some cases, such a transition will be entirely backward compatible with existing, or legacy, technologies. In other cases, however, the transition will mean that legacy technologies may no longer function or at least require some technological "work-around" to continue operating within the newer computing platform.
When a computing platform transitions to different technology, e.g., in the case of switching from one microprocessor to another, much of the software for the original computing platform may need to be rewritten, or at least re-compiled, for use on the next generation computing platform. As is known, each microprocessor executes or understands an instruction set that is specific to that processor. The instruction set for one processor is likely entirely foreign to the other. In such cases, legacy computer programs may not execute or function properly on the next generation computing platform.
Often, a computer program incorporates different software libraries that are developed and/or made available by third parties. Third party developers may choose not to undertake the work necessary to make the software library compatible with the next generation computing platform. This means that any software developer that makes a product that relies upon a legacy software library, in general, is faced with the choice of having to drop the features enabled by the legacy software library from the product, develop a version of the software library from scratch that is compatible with the new computing platform, or discontinue the product altogether.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A method and system for changing the area in which to view the content of a document while maintaining access to various viewing options. In a first state, toolbar items are displayed in a toolbar area while a document is displayed in a document area. In changing to a second viewing state, certain items of the toolbar area are hidden while a menu toolbar item remains displayed. In addition, the document area is expanded to include the now-minimized toolbar area. The menu toolbar item may become semi-transparent during the second viewing state, provides access to viewing options, and also allows the viewing state to be changed back to the first viewing state.

Computer displays are quickly becoming a viable viewing source for many types of activities. One such activity is the viewing of documents. A computer can allow great flexibility in viewing a document including jumping to hyperlinked locations in the document, zooming in and out, allowing a user to jump to a page by indicating a desired page number, and a host of other document viewing options. Although computer displays are getting larger, more viewable, and more affordable, there is still only a finite amount of area with which to display the content of a document and toolbars or menu items that provide options for viewing the document.
What is needed is a method and system for changing the amount of area in which to view content of a document while maintaining access to various viewing options.

Method and system for changing visual states of a toolbar


An organic semiconductor material characterized by having a structure represented by chemical formula 1, the planarity of a main chain A1-X-A2 being disintegrated by steric hindrance between B1 and X and steric hindrance between B2 and X, the organic semiconductor material having a number average molecular weight of about 2,000 to about 200,000:

Attention has recently been drawn to studies on organic semiconductor structures using an organic semiconductor material, and application of organic semiconductor structures to various devices has been expected. Devices utilizable, for example, in large-area flexible display devices, for example, thin-film transistors (also known as "organic TFTs"), luminescent elements, and solar cells are being studied for such application.
In order to utilize organic semiconductor structures on a practical level, the organic semiconductor layer formed of an organic semiconductor material should exhibit stable charge mobility in a wide service temperature range, and, at the same time, even thin film should be easily formed in a wide area. In particular, properties satisfying the following requirements are desired: the formation of a film by coating rather than film formation by conventional techniques such as vapor deposition is possible; properties in a film formation environment are stable; and stable high charge mobility can be exhibited in a wide service temperature range including room temperature (about −40 to +90° C.).
Regarding prior art documents relevant to the present invention, for example, non-patent document 1 describes an oligothiophene compound represented by the following chemical formula 3 as a nonlinear optical material. Non-patent possible and, thus, they are advantageous from the viewpoint of production. Further, the organic semiconductor layer formed using the organic semiconductor material is flexible and is highly mechanically stable and thus can be advantageously formed, for example, on a flexible plastic substrate.

The organic semiconductor layer formed of polythiophenes such as poly(3-hexylthiophene) represented by chemical formula a is disadvantageously likely to undergo oxidation by oxygen in the air exposed during film formation. TFT comprising an oxidized organic semiconductor layer suffers from a problem that the on/off ratio is reduced due to a rise in off current. To overcome this problem, for example, patent document 1 proposes poly[5,5′-bis(3-dodecyl-2-thienyl)-2,2′-dithiophene] represented by chemical formula b. The claimed advantage of this polymer material is that, since the polymer material is soluble in organic solvents, film formation using various coating and printing means is possible and, at the same time, the polymer material is less likely to undergo oxidation and can prevent a problem with oxidation.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 221434/2003

Organic semiconductor material, organic semiconductor structure and organic semiconductor apparatus

Abstract: wherein A1, A2, B1, B2 and X each have a skeleton structure comprising L 6 π electron rings, M 8 π electron rings, N 10 π electron rings, O 12 π electron rings, P 14 π electron rings, Q 16 π electron rings, R 18 π electron rings, S 20 π electron rings, T 22 π electron rings, U 24 π electron rings, and V 26 π electron rings, wherein L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, and V are each an integer of 0 (zero) to 6 and L+M+N+O+P+Q+R+S+T+U+V=1 to 6; and B1 and B2 have an alkyl group.


A battery pack includes one or more bare cells and an exterior member. Each of the bare cells has a pair of long side surfaces opposite to each other, and short side surfaces that connect the long side surfaces. The exterior member is composed of an adhesive layer provided adjacent to the bare cells while surrounding a portion of the bare cells, and a base material layer provided on the adhesive layer. In the battery pack, the adhesive layer has one or more openings therein, and the opening is provided adjacent to a portion at which the long and short side surfaces of the bare cell come in contact with each other.

1. Field
An aspect of the present invention relates to a battery pack, and more particularly, to a battery pack capable of improving process efficiency using a new member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, battery packs have been variously used as power sources of portable electronic devices. As the portable electronic devices are used in various fields, demands on battery packs are increased. The battery packs can be charged/discharged a plurality of times, and accordingly are economically and environmentally efficient. Thus, the use of the battery packs is encouraged.
As the small size and light weight of electronic devices are required, the small size and light weight of battery packs are also required. Thus, an exterior case of a battery pack is manufactured using a material having the thickness of a thin film. However, a defect frequently occurs in the exterior appearance of the battery pack, and therefore, degradation of process efficiency, etc. occurs. Accordingly, a variety of studies have been conducted to develop a battery pack that can prevent the occurrence of a defect in manufacturing of the battery pack while being implemented as a small and light battery pack.


A system and method for analysis of complex systems which includes determining model parameters based on time series data, further including profiling a plurality of types of data properties to discover complex data properties and dependencies; classifying the data dependencies into predetermined categories for analysis; and generating a plurality of models based on the discovered properties and dependencies. The system and method may analyze, using a processor, the generated models based on a fitness score determined for each model to generate a status report for each model; integrate the status reports for each model to determine an anomaly score for the generated models; and generate an alarm when the anomaly score exceeds a predefined threshold.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to complex systems, and, in particular, to modeling, analyzing, and managing time series dynamics in complex physical systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, cyber-physical systems (CPS) have risen to prominence with examples including automobile and intelligent transportation systems, medical devices and healthcare systems, smart grid, industrial monitoring, etc. Since CPS integrates computing, communication, and storage capabilities in the monitoring entities, a significant amount of measurement data can now be collected, which contains useful knowledge to provide an opportunity for system self-management. Modern industries, such as power plant systems, chemical systems and a variety of manufacturers, deploy massive sensors to monitor the status of physical systems. As a result, a large amount of time series observations are collected from the massive sensors and an effective method is needed to model the system dynamics from the data. A good modeling of the underlying dynamics is important for a wide range of applications, such as enhancing the understanding of the underlying dynamics, improving predictive capabilities, monitoring the status of the system, and facilitating anomaly detection and failure diagnosis.
There has been research analyzing measurement data from physical systems to improve the self-manageability of systems, and this research may be classified into two categories: domain specific techniques and domain independent solutions. The domain specific techniques mainly rely on system experts to define rules or policies to extract related knowledge from the data, thus a full understanding of the properties of the systems are necessary. Such methods require extensive human involvement and are domain specific. Also, it may be difficult to obtain complete domain knowledge with the increasing of system scale and complexity. The domain independent solutions attempt to extract knowledge from data by general analytic tools rather than systems experts, (e.g., similarity based approach, support vector machine (SVM) based learning method, etc.). However, their solutions need large amount historical data and are computationally expensive.
Since CPS integrates computing, communication, and storage capabilities in the monitoring entities, a significant amount of measurement data can now be collected, which contains useful knowledge to provide an opportunity for system self-management. However, a number of challenges exist to extract knowledge from measurement data. For example, the data usually have thousands or even millions of attributes with each exhibiting different behaviors. Some attributes are also correlated with each other due to the dependencies between system components. It is necessary to have advanced analytic techniques for system measurements to benefit management tasks such as anomaly detection, capacity planning, and so on

Integrated approach to model time series dynamics in complex physical systems


An improved dehumidification system for automotive use includes a rotating, wheel like heat exchanger with axially open cells that carry a water adsorbing material. Opposed ambient air and heated air flows, covering opposite halves of the wheel, continually adsorb water on one side and are recharged on the other side. Alternating radially closed cells between the axially open cells carry no desiccant material, but receive a cross cooling flow, on the water adsorbing side of the wheel only, to remove the heat released during the water adsorption process. The desiccant recharging process on the other side of the wheel is not disturbed by the cross cooling flow.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,275 issued Apr. 23, 1996 to Bhatti, et al., and co-assigned to the assignee of the subject invention, discloses a system for continually dehumidifying ambient air that is drawn into a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a motor vehicle. Typically, hot air which is also quite humid is simply pulled directly in and forced over a cold evaporator core, which cools the air as well as condensing water out of the air. While drier air enters the passenger cabin, relying upon condensation by the evaporator core brings its own problems, especially microbial growth and its attendant odor. The patent noted provides a desiccant wheel of novel design that continually turns, at slow speed, within the HVAC housing, removing moisture in desiccant lined tubes in an adsorption half of the wheel, which are regenerated in a heated half of the wheel through which hot air is forced. The two "halves" of the wheel are defined by stationary rubbing seals. The tubes run axially from face to face of the wheel, but are not tightly packed, leaving space between for a radial cross flow of outside air that is blown over the outside of the tubes, in both halves of the wheel. The radial cross flow cools the tubes in the adsorption half of the wheel, removing the latent heat released by the desiccant when it adsorbs moisture. The cooling of the tubes in the adsorption half of the wheel is beneficial, since the heat released by the working desiccant is thereby prevented from reaching the evaporator core.
However, the same cross flow, when it crosses the other half of the wheel, is cooler than the heated air simultaneously passing through the inside of the tubes to regenerate the desiccant. Therefore, the cross flow air can potentially reduce the efficiency of the concurrent regeneration process as it passes through the other half of the wheel. In addition, much of the limited volume of the wheel is the empty space necessarily left between the tubes. Since space is at a premium in any HVAC housing, more complete utilization of the volume within the wheel would be desirable.

Dehumidifying mechanism for auto air conditioner with improved space utilization and thermal efficiency


A leading edge of a rotating blade of an impeller is formed in an arc recessed in a direction opposite to a rotating direction of the impeller. An angle where an extended line of the recessed arc of the leading edge meets another extended line of a curve of a side edge is set in an acute angle of 30 to 37 degrees in a front view so that a leading tip of the rotating blade may be projected in the rotating direction. An opening angle of a suction-side slant portion of a venturi casing is set in the range of 12 to 17 degrees and an opening angle of a discharge-side slant portion is set in the range of 30 to 35 degrees.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an axial flow fan in which the shape of a rotating blade of an impeller and the shape of an inner surface of a venturi casing surrounding an outer periphery of the impeller in a radial direction are optimized.
2. Description of Related Arts
An axial flow fan includes a cylinder-shaped venturi casing at an outer periphery of an impeller in a radial direction for forming an axial flow in conjunction with the impeller. The impeller is mounted on a rotating shaft of a rotary drive device. The axial flow fan is widely used as a cooling fan of a device such as a server because of its simple structure.
The axial flow fan typically has the blow characteristics in that air volume is large and a static pressure is small. To improve such blow characteristics of the axial flow fan, the shape of a rotating blade of the impeller and the structure of the venturi casing have been devised in various ways.
As a technology related to the shape of the rotating blade of the impeller, an axial flow fan is disclosed in which a line extending from a center of rotation of the impeller and passing an intersection of a trailing edge of a blade and a radially outer edge thereof is arranged closer to the side of a rotating direction, compared to another line extending from the center of rotation of the impeller and passing an intersection of a leading edge of the blade and a boundary between a hub and the blade. Furthermore, in this axial flow fan, a camber ratio from a radius of the hub to a radius of the radially outer edge of a blade, which is minimum at a joint with the hub across the blade, monotonically increases to be maximum at the radially outer edge of the blade (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-111383, for example).
Further, as a technology related to the structure of a venturi casing, a blower device is disclosed in which a cross-sectional surface of an orifice (venturi casing) includes a partial or whole arc portion on a suction side, a linear portion, and a discharge-side arc portion, and in which the arc radius of the suction-side arc portion is formed larger than the arc radius of the discharge-side arc portion (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 5-133398, for example).
Incidentally, the axial flow fan in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-111383 achieves noise reduction by forming a flow parallel to the rotating shaft on a plane including the rotating shaft while maintaining static pressure by improving the shape of the rotating blade of the impeller.
On the other hand, the blower device in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 5-133398 achieves noise reduction while obtaining a large air flow by forming the arc radius of the suction-side arc portion larger than the arc radius of the discharge-side arc portion.
However, operation characteristics of the axial flow fan are affected by interaction between the shape of the rotating blade of the impeller and the structure of the venturi casing. Therefore, noise reduction and high static pressure may not be achieved in an actual use area even though only the shape of the rotating blade of the impeller or the structure of the venturi casing is set individually.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an axial flow fan capable of achieving noise reduction and high static pressure in the actual use area.


A tuning mechanism for tuning a resonant circuit is provided. The tuning mechanism comprises a spring pin having a superconductive, dielectric or magnetic tuning tip attached thereto. The spring pin is slidably inserted into a filter package wall through a mating hole. A mechanism is provided for adjusting the position of the tip within the electromagnetic field above the filter element. The tip may be shaped, thus allowing adjustment of both the height of the tip above the filter element and the position of the tip in a plane parallel to the plane of the filter. Optionally, the spring pin may include an offset to allow close spacing of the tips along with wider spacing of the actuator end of the pin.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of devices for mechanically tuning thin-film resonators. More particularly, it relates to slidable tuning elements suitable for use in filters maintained at cryogenic temperatures.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, the field of thin-film, high-Q resonators for microwave applications has advanced rapidly. This advance has been particularly notable in the area of superconductive filters, particularly those designed for communications systems operating at frequencies near 850 MHz (cellular) or 2 GHz (PCS). Typically, the filters are multiple-resonator microstrip line distributed or lumped element L/C circuits. Both bandpass and band stop filters have been described. Examples of these filters may be found, for example, in Zhang, et al., "Frequency Transformation Apparatus and Method in Narrow-band Filter Designs", U.S. Ser. No. 08/706,974; Hey-Shipton, et al. "High temperature superconductor lumped element band-reject filters", U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,539 and Hey-Shipton et al., "High temperature superconductor staggered resonator array bandpass filter", U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,538. Filters with as many as nineteen poles or resonators have been reported.
For satisfactory performance of multiple-resonator filters, each resonator must resonate at the same midband frequency .omega..sub.0. While it is theoretically possible to design a filter in which the resonators each exhibit the same midband frequency, in practice manufactured filters, whether normal metal, dielectric or superconductive, do not necessarily have precisely the frequency response of the design, due to such things as variations in film characteristics, assembly variations and temperature effects. It is well known in the art to tune filters by positioning conductive or dielectric materials in the electromagnetic field above the filter element. For example, Matthaei, et al. "Microwave filters, Impedance-Matching Networks, and Coupling Structures" Artech House Books, MA, 1964 (reprinted 1980), pp. 168-173 discusses in detail the process of tuning a variety of types of bandpass filters.
Typically, designers utilize a screw-type tuning member. However, Superconductive thin-film filters present additional challenges. First, superconductors only exhibit a superconductive state below critical temperatures, which currently requires operating temperatures below about 77K. The filter must be tuned at this temperature and be capable of maintaining that tuning when brought to room temperature for shipping and then recooled for use. Second, for maximum performance these superconductors must be epitaxially deposited on a single crystal substrate. Practically, this limits the size of a filter to about 2-4 inches in any dimension. The filter designer will be faced with the task of positioning as many as 16 filter poles, each requiring tuning, within that limited space. This, in turn, requires densely packed tuning elements.
Prior art tuning mechanisms for thin-film superconductive rf resonators utilized a screw adjustment much like that used in larger, room temperature filters. The tip of the screw could be a conductive, magnetic or dielectric material. To avoid losses, and thus realize the high-Q advantage provided by the use of superconductive inductors, superconductive tuning tips are preferred over normal metal tips. Examples of such tuning methods are described in Higaki, et al., "Microwave Resonator of Compound Oxide Superconductor Material Having a Tuning Element With A Superconductive Tip", U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,543 and in Hey-Shipton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,538.
Screw-type tuning members, however, have several disadvantages when used in small, cryogenically cooled filter assemblies such as those required for thin-film superconductive filters. The tuning resolution is limited by the pitch of the screw threads. Axial stress tends to cause creep and stress relaxation which can alter critical positioning of the screw after tuning. The screws tend to wobble due to required thread clearances. The screws have large surface areas, leading to high radiative losses. They require relatively large spacing, limiting design choices for the filters. The required machining of the package and the use of multiple parts, make the package costly.

Compressable tuning element for microwave resonators and method of making same


A paper shredder has cutting discs that are protected by detecting the approach of a metal object. When the object is detected, the motor that drives the discs is deenergized and a brake is applied to stop the cutting discs.

This invention relates to paper shredders and provides a device for protecting the paper cutters of the shredder from damage.
Prior art paper shredders have a chute for guiding the paper to be shredded between two sets of cutting blades. In one type of shredding machine each set of cutting blades comprises a large number of thin discs on a common shaft. The discs are very small and the peripheries of the discs are the cutting blades. More details of two such machines are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,044 to Butler granted Jan. 17, 1984, and entitled "Document Shredding Machines," and U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,392 granted to Wagner on Apr. 19, 1977 and entitled "Shredding Machines."
When the paper that is fed into the cutting blades has a metal element such as a paper clip or staple, the delicate cutting blades of the shredder are damaged and must be replaced. The cost of such a repair usually runs to about $1300.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,178 teaches a metal detector for detecting small metal objects in wool before the wool enters a carding machine.


A development device includes a developer carrier configured to carry developer and disposed in a development case, partly exposed from an opening of the development case facing an image carrier, a developer-transporting member configured to transport the developer to the developer carrier, and a discharging member housing a discharging space including a communicating path connecting to an area where the developer carrier faces the developer-transporting member, from which air is discharged into the discharging space, and a discharging port that opens in a longitudinal direction of the developer-transporting member, from which air is discharged from the discharging space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, a plotter, a multi-function machine including at least two of these functions, and a digital direct reproducer, and a development device and a process cartridge used in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Background
In general, an electronographic image forming apparatus, for example, a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, etc., includes an image forming mechanism for forming an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier, developing the latent image with toner, transferring the developed image onto a recording medium, and fixing the image thereon.
Generally, a development device using two-component developer consisting essentially of toner and magnetic carrier includes a developer carrier and a developer-transporting member, both provided inside a development case having an opening facing the image carrier. The developer carrier is partially exposed from the opening, and carries the developer.
The developer-transporting member mixes and agitates the toner and the magnetic carrier in the development device, and transports the developer whose toner concentration is appropriately controlled. After the amount of the developer is set as appropriate by a developer regulator, the developer that is carried onto the developer carrier by the developer-transporting member is transported to a development area facing the image carrier. In the development area, the toner in the developer carried on the developer carrier is adhered to the electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier to form a desired toner image.
In the development device performing an image forming operation, air flows in from the opening, and the developer carrier located at the position facing the opening and the developer-transporting member are revolved to generate airflow inside the development device. This airflow causes internal pressure of the development device to vary locally.
Most of the toner in the development device is adsorbed onto the magnetic carrier electrostatically due to frictional charging with the magnetic carrier. As noted above, however, in the development area, an electrical field generated between the image carrier and the development carrier causes the toner attracted onto the magnetic carrier to adhere instead to the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier. In other words, the strength of the electrical field exerted on the toner exceeds the electrostatic force attracting the toner to the magnetic carrier, and therefore the toner leaves the magnetic carrier and flies to the side of the image carrier.
However, the toner, which is a powder, does not have a consistent and uniform shape and consequently some toner have an insufficient ability to accept charge. If as a result the toner is distributed unevenly and remains in a part of the development device, such toner may be insufficiently charged because the frictional charging with the magnetic carrier may be insufficient.
Moreover, the magnetic carrier in the developer inside the development device loses its charging capability over time with repeated usage of the developer, and then fails to charge the toner sufficiently. Since insufficiently charged toner has weak attractive power and since the toner is light, the toner can be scattered by the airflow generated inside the development and scatter.
As the internal pressure of the development device increases, it can scatter the toner from openings in the components of the development device all over the interior of the image forming apparatus, contaminating the image forming apparatus.
Several proposals have been made to prevent the toner form escaping from the development device and scattering. For example, in known techniques, a development device includes a discharging port provided on an upper surface thereof that reduces internal pressure by discharging air from the development device, and a developer-supporting member, like a filter, that is provided on the discharging port catches developer that does escape, so that scattering of toner from the development device is prevented or reduced.

Development device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus


A rolling-contact bearing type clutch which comprises an inner ring having an inner raceway surface of a mono-hyperboloid of revolution; an outer ring having an outer raceway surface of a mono-hyperboloid of revolution; rollers disposed in between the inner and outer rings with their center axes slanted, and with the surface of each roller being in line contact with the inner and outer raceway surfaces; and energizing devices energizing either the inner ring or the outer ring in the axis line direction to narrow the gap of the raceways; and annular members provided on the inner and outer rings so as to bring possible axial movements of the rollers to a stop.

One-way clutches have been available in the prior art. A conventional typical one-way clutch is shown in FIG. 8, in which cylindrical rollers 3 are arranged in between the raceway tracks of the inner and outer rings 1 and 2, and the inner raceway surface of the outer ring 2 is formed into saw-like cams to bring the inner and outer rings 1 and 2 into clutch condition in reverse rotation by engaging the cylindrical rollers with the cam surfaces 2c on the outer ring 2. Another traditional one-way clutch is one in which both raceway surfaces of the inner and outer rings are cylindrical, and cam-like sprags are arranged in between the inner and outer rings in place of the cylindrical rollers 3 of the former, to have sprags engaged with the raceway surfaces in reverse rotation by spring force. With the above described clutches according to the prior art, in the reverse rotation (to be placed into clutch condition), the inner and outer rings 1 and 2 are brought into clutch condition by engaging the rollers 3 with the cam-like inner surface portions 2c on the outer ring 2 which are not circular or uneven in the radial direction, while in the normal rotation (free rotation) the rollers 3 are allowed to slide freely between the inner and outer rings 1 and 2. However, since the thrust angle .alpha. must be smaller than the friction angle, formation of a cam within the pitch P of the sprag rollers 3 would restrict the cam height, thus causing a possibility of rollers overriding cam portions 2c to damage the clutch.
An even and sufficient clutch force to be desired in the clutches according to the prior art necessitates a condition in which incorporated rollers or sprags respectively are evenly engaged with each corresponding cam surface. A limited dimensional accuracy of the components and a limited uniformity of spring forces to push the rollers in the clutch direction may impose a challenge to the clutches in obtaining uniform clutch forces.
On the other hand, a transmission clutch force to be generated in the clutch operation must have surface pressures between all the surfaces and the corresponding rollers (or sprags) to be in proportion to the required transmission torque and stable within the allowances. For this purpose, however, all the rollers must participate simultaneously in the clutch operation, and wedge forces between all the surfaces and the corresponding rollers to be produced by the clutch operation must uniformly increase or decrease as the required transmission torque will increase or decrease. There may be, however, many limitations for maintaining the allowable surface pressure such as: for original (as manufactured) dimensional accuracy of each component e.g., especially cam shape to be machined; for original (as built) uniformity of relational dimensions between rollers and clutch surfaces to be maintained by bearings; and due to deformations of the inner and outer rings associated with contact pressure between ring contact surface and roller as well as due to their wear. Particularly, this kind of clutch has the basic constraints that in the free rotational operation two separate bearings will freely support the clutch shaft, and the rollers will freely slide on the cam surfaces. The constraints may impose a critical challenge to the wear of the raceway surface and sprag roller in the clutches according to the prior art.
Further, the cams to be formed in the one-way clutches according to the prior art have posed manufacturing difficulties for material and heat treatment for hardness, and machining accuracy for hardened surface. Such critical conditions, when calculating the Herts' stress in the design of allowable surface pressure, forces selection of undesirable values of parameters.
To solve these problems, (Japanese Patent Publication No. 1983-59092 discloses clutches), wherein inner and outer rings are formed like the ones in the conical roller bearing, and rollers or sprags are disposed slantingly to the raceway generatrix between the inner and outer rings. With such configuration, both the rings are freely rotated in one direction (for free rotational operation), while they are clutched in the other reverse direction (for clutch operation).
According to the prior art, however, since the inner and outer rings are formed respectively into a conical surface, the rollers may be brought into line contact with either the inner raceway or the outer raceway, but not with both raceways at the same time, thus causing unstable rotation of roller, resulting in an extremely high surface pressure of the contract portion which fails to be in line contact.


A snowmobile lift comprising a base frame and a secondary frame is provided. The secondary frame is attached to the base frame by pivot members. The pivot members are used to move the secondary frame between a raised position and a lowered position with respect to the base frame. A handle is rotatably attached to the base frame and at least one raising arm is connected between the handle and the secondary frame. The handle is movable between a first position corresponding to the lowered position of the secondary frame and a second position corresponding to the raised position of the secondary frame. When the handle is moved from its first position to its second position, the raising arms pull said secondary frame into its raised position about the pivot members. A locking bar is provided to secure the secondary frame in the raised position.

Snowmobiles, are relatively easy to maneuver and operate in the snow. However, they are quite difficult to move indoors, for example, in a storage facility or a repair shop. Currently, snowmobiles must be manually lifted onto sectional dollies in order to be moved when not in operation. Snowmobiles can weigh as much as 500-600 pounds, and manual lifting by one, or even two people is obviously quite difficult. Furthermore, manually lifting an object as heavy as a snowmobile may result in a back injury. This current method of lifting and moving a snowmobile is inadequate.
Additionally, many manufacturers of snowmobiles recommend that their snowmobiles be stored with the rear tracks elevated. This relieves the load on the suspension of the snowmobile, and it prevents damage to the rear track due to the track lugs being in contact with a hard surface. Storing the snowmobile with the rear tracks elevated also prevents the tracks from coming into contact with substances which may cause deterioration of the track, for example, a spill in a repair shop. Further, in order to service the snowmobile, it is sometimes necessary to elevate the snowmobile above the ground to provide easy access to different areas of the snowmobile, such as, the shock absorbers, track, and suspension.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,200 to Neibrandt is a typical snowmobile jack that is used presently. Neibrandt discloses a stationary snowmobile jack which is used to lift the rear track portion of the snowmobile off the ground. A horizontal bar is attached at one end to the rear of the snowmobile. The other end of the bar is attached to a vertical rod. The rod is moved upwardly by a foot pedal to elevate the snowmobile. This device only elevates the rear of the snowmobile and does not allow the snowmobile to be maneuvered.
Two separate snowmobile lifts, one for the front and one for the back, are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,154 to Bastille et al. These devices may be used to lift either the front or the rear snowmobile off the ground. The lifts have wheels which allow them to be mobile. The wheels are provided so to make the lifts portable. However, the lifts are not designed to elevate the entire snowmobile and do not allow the snowmobile to be easily maneuvered. Other prior devices also have the same limitations.
There is a need for a snow mobile lift which enables one person to easily lift and maneuver a snow mobile into tight spaces, as well as which elevates the rear tracks of the snowmobile to allow maintenance to be performed and to prevent damage from occurring during storage.


An integration system for obtaining a set of overlay offset parameters of a first process layer which is going to be formed in an assigned photolithography tool with an assigned mask and an assigned pre-tool. By using the integration system, the set of overlay offset parameters of the first process layer can be precisely predicted based on summing the historic-recorded set of overlay offset parameters and the bias values including a mask bias value, a photolithography tool bias value and a pit-tool bias value. Therefore, the overlay offset parameters corresponding to the same process layer can be well integrated and managed. Hence, the cost and time due to performing the test run can be saved and the throughput can be increased as well.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an integration system and the method for operating the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to an integration system for integrating and managing a plurality of photolithography tools and the method for operating the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In the manufacture of integrated circuits, photolithography is used to transfer patterns from a photo mask having customized circuit patterns to thin films formed on a wafer. The image transfer process comprises steps of forming a photoresist layer on a non-process layer, illuminating the photoresist layer through a photo mask having the customized circuit patterns, developing the photoresist layer and then etching the non-process layer by using the patterned photoresist layer as a mask. Hence, the image transfer process is accomplished. For a well-manufactured integrated circuit product, the image transfer process mentioned above is performed several times to transfer the circuit patterns to each non-process layer to form the electrical device. Therefore, it is important to align the successive patterned layers to reduce the misalignment errors as the critical dimension of the semiconductor device becomes smaller and smaller.
Typically, before the exposure process is performed to transfer the patterns on the photo mask to the photoresist layer formed on the wafer, an alignment process is performed to align the alignment mark on the photo mask to the alignment mark on the wafer. Meanwhile, a test wafer is used to determine the overlay offset parameters and the exposure dose for a particular photolithography process on a particular photolithography tool. The overlay offset parameters are used to ensure the alignment precision between the successive patterned layers and the exposure dose is used to precisely control the critical dimension of the formed layer. However, the process for measuring the overlay offset parameters and the exposure dose by using a test wafer will increase the manufacturing cost and lower down the throughput. Therefore, a photo feedback system is developed to collect the metrology parameters after the exposure and develop process is performed for obtaining a set of overlay offset parameters and then the obtained overlay offset parameters are stored in the host terminal in a way corresponding to the recipe parameters for forming the process layer on the particular photolithography tool. By using the historical overlay offset parameters, the cost for using the test wafer for measuring the overlay offset parameters and the exposure dose can be saved.
Nevertheless, the typical photo feedback system is a tool-centered system focusing on collecting metrology parameters for the photolithography tools respectively. Even though using the same formation recipe to form the same process layer, the different photolithography tools will lead to different sets of overlay offset parameters for the same process layer. For a semiconductor factory with various and mass production lines, many photolithography tools are in use simultaneously. Hence, if a mask is going to be used in a photolithography tool but there is no record about the mask in the photo feedback system of the tool, it is inevitable to use a test wafer to perform a test run which is also known as send-ahead process to determine the overlay offset parameters and the exposure dose even though the mask is used in the other photolithography tool before. Moreover, since even the same preceding process layers which are from in different photolithography tools (the photolithography tool used to form the preceding process layer is denoted as pre-tool in the following description) lead to different metrology results, it is also foreseeable to use a test wafer to performed a test run in order to determine the overlay offset parameters and the exposure dose when the preceding process layer is formed in a photolithography tool, which the preceding process layers for the historical process are not ordinarily formed in and no record of these overlay offset parameters is found in the photo feedback system of. That is, the overlay offset parameters are not efficiently managed and integrated in the current tool-centered photo feedback system. Furthermore, under the circumstances mentioned above, the time for performing the test run and for obtaining metrology result of the test wafer after the test run seriously affect the manufacturing cost and throughput.

Integration system and the method for operating the same


Disclosed is a purified full-length cDNA molecule encoding putative serine kinase enzyme (PSKH-1), and the expression of the cDNA in a recombinant host cell to produce substantially purified PSKH-1, per se. Inactivation of PSKH-1 pre-MRNA or PSKH-1 mRNA halts DNA synthesis and cell division. Also disclosed are ribozymes capable of cleaving PSKH-1 pre-mRNA or mRNA and thus deactivating PSKH-1 translation. Ribozymes of the hammerhead and hairpin motifs, and various compositions containing same, are also disclosed. The ribozymes compositions are used in the treatment of mammalian patients suffering from diseases or medical conditions characterized by abnormal cell proliferation or growth such as cancer and various non-malignant diseases or medical conditions such as autoimmune diseases, allograft rejection and atherosclerosis.

In recent years, some progress has been made in the elucidation of cellular events leading to the development of progression of diseases and other medical conditions characterized by abnormal cell growth. For instance, a great amount of research has centered on the identification of genes which are altered or mutated in cancer relative to normal cells. Nonetheless, current cancer treatment modalities are still inadequate in one or more respects. In cancer patients, the prominent immune depression in response to chemotherapy has been widely confirmed. Accordingly, immunotherapy and immunochemotherapy have drawn much attention as adjuvants to existing cancer treatments. Immunotherapy has been reported as not only restoring or potentiating the specific immune responses against cancer, but also improving the general immunological functions of the patient. However, the immunomodulators used in such therapies tend to act in a non-specific manner against cancer cells and also exert direct cytocidal affects against neoplastic cells and behave in a manner more akin to chemotherapeutic agents.
A variety of non-malignant disease states are also characterized by abnormal cell growth. Allograft rejection and autoimmune diseases, for example, involve immune responses characterized by undesirable proliferative bursts of B-lymphocytes or T-lymphocytes. Current treatment modalities for these diseases and medical conditions typically involve immunosuppresive protocols. In the case of allograft rejection, illustrative protocols have featured the administration of drugs such as azathioprine, cyclosporine, and corticosteroids, all of which cause toxic side-effects to non-lymphoid tissues. The development of pan-T-lymphocyte-specific monoclonal antibodies was purported to be an important refinement in therapy on the basis that antibodies targeted only the T-lymphocytes. However, this therapy has proven to be disadvantageous in that it also destroys T-lymphocytes required for normal immune surveillance.
The phenotype common to cancers and the aforementioned non-malignant diseases is abnormal cell growth. The life cycle of a cell is traditionally divided into four phases, G1 (Gap 1), S (DNA synthesis), G2 (Gap 2), and M (mitosis). In the mitosis phase, chromosomes condense and become visible as discrete bodies. The two centrosomes of the cell move apart to opposite sides of the nucleus, and arrays of microtubules grow from the centrosomes to form a mitotic spindle. The centrosomes thus define the anchoring points for the microtubuli which in turn direct the chromosomes to the proper place in the cell. Some of these microtubules become attached to the kinetochores of the chromosomes. The attached chromosomes become aligned on the metaphase plate, anaphase begins and the chromosomes start moving toward the poles and the poles move apart from each other. Cytokinesis then occurs, wherein the cell pinches and ultimately becomes two G1 phase daughter cells. G1 are not synthesizing DNA, but active in other replication-type activities in order to provide the two daughter cells with the appropriate organelles. G1 cells then proceed into the S phase where the chromosomal DNA of the cell replicates to produce double DNA content. At the boundary of the S and the G2 phases, the replication machinery signals that DNA replication is complete. The cell then enters the G2 phase and prepares for mitosis. Thus, cells in the G2 phase have double DNA content. It is critical that cell division proceeds in an orderly manner such that each daughter cell receives a correct and complete set of chromosomes. Most adult, differentiated non-dividing cells are considered to be in a non-cycling state termed G.sub.0.
If the nechanisms that underlie cell division could be disarmed or inactivated, procedures and perhaps even pharmacologic agents could be developed in an attempt to control or inhibit the growth of unwanted, diseased cells in a wide variety of cancers and non-malignant diseases characterized by abnormal cell growth. It goes without saying that such discoveries would be of pioneering proportions in clinical medicine.


An ink cartridge having a one-piece housing including a plurality of walls to form a chamber for receiving ink. The housing is formed of a blow-molded plastic material. An outlet passage extends from a bottom wall communicating with the chamber. A seal and cap assembly are secured to the outlet passage. A vent opening is provided in a top wall. The vent includes a porous member and a cap to secure the porous member within the vent. The housing is fully filled with ink. The housing allows for the use of pigmented ink since no foam reservoir is provided.

This invention relates to an ink jet cartridge or cassette as used in an ink jet printer, more particularly to an ink jet cartridge which has a one-piece housing filled with ink and does not have a foam member. It will be appreciated, however, that the invention may find application in other applications and environments that encounter the same issues.
It is generally known in the art to form a cartridge housing or body having one or more cavities or chambers to hold a predetermined supply of ink. For example, a single color of ink may be provided into a chamber cartridge or multiple chambers may be provided, for example, each holding a different color ink stored therein for selective use in a printer.
It is also generally known to provide an ink absorbing member such as reticulated polyurethane or melamine foam that fits within one or more of the chambers. In some arrangements, the ink absorbing member fills the substantial entirety of the chamber, where in other instances a portion of the ink supply is free ink and the remainder of the ink is stored in the ink absorbing member. One or more outlet ports communicate with the respective one or more chambers through outlet passages. The outlet passage proceeds to a first or bottom wall of the housing. A supply needle from an associated printer extends through the outlet port and thus conveys ink from the housing to a recording head or a print head.
Typical ink jet cartridges are formed of a welded construction. The cartridge includes a housing and a lid or cover member welded onto the housing. The welding process adds time and expense to the manufacturing process of the cartridge. There is a need for a one-piece, homogeneous, integrally formed housing for an ink jet cartridge.
An ink absorbing member or foam is typically used as a resistive force to meter ink flow. There is, however, a need for an ink jet cartridge which does not use the foam reservoir. This allows use of pigmented ink in the cartridge which has an archival print. Foam reservoirs prevent the use of pigmented ink since the foam acts as a filter thus trapping pigment solid particles within the foam. A blow-molded single casing ink jet cartridge with a diaphragm-type venting mechanism would permit the use of pigmented ink. Thus, there is a need for a full liquid ink jet cartridge which does not have a foam reservoir to allow the use of pigmented ink in an ink jet printer.

Full liquid version of ink jet cassette for use with ink jet printer


An output torque control system for an internal combustion engine for a vehicle is operable during an upshift of an automatic transmission of the engine to increase the output torque from the engine, based on a control amount for increasing the output torque, to reduce a shock generated by the upshift. During the upshift of the automatic transmission, a slip amount of one of a plurality of clutches of the automatic transmission which is selected for the upshift is compared with a predetermined value. A calculation is made of a value of the control amount assumed when the slip amount of the one clutch becomes equal to the predetermined value, as a result of the comparison. The control amount is limited to the calculated value when the slip amount exceeds the predetermined value, as a result of the comparison.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an output torque control system for internal combustion engines for vehicles, which controls output torque from the engine so as to reduce a shock generated during gear shifting of an automatic transmission of the engine.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, there is known a throttle valve control system for internal combustion engines for vehicles, e.g. from Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 5-321707, which changes the output torque from the engine in order to reduce a shock generated during gear shifting of an automatic transmission of the engine.
According to the known throttle valve control system, when the automatic transmission is upshifted, a throttle actuator is controlled to regulate the opening of a throttle valve of the engine such that the output torque from the engine is once increased in a so-called torque phase of the transmission and then the engine output torque is decreased to a value smaller than a value assumed before the upshift, in a so-called inertia phase of the transmission. As a result, a shock caused by a drop in the driving force of the vehicle in the torque phase and a subsequent shock caused by a sharp rise in the driving force in the inertia phase can be suppressed during the upshift.
FIG. 1 shows a timing chart useful in explaining a manner of changing the output torque from the engine by the throttle valve control, according to the prior art. As shown in the figure, when a command for gear shifting from a third-speed position to a fourth-speed position of the transmission (upshift) is issued, the throttle valve opening TH is progressively increased during an early stage of the upshift, based on a torque correction amount DTESFT which is then set to a value for increasing the engine output torque, whereby the actual engine output torque is increased according to the increased throttle valve opening TH. During a later stage of the upshift, the throttle valve opening TH is decreased to a value smaller than a value assumed before the start of the upshift, based on the torque correction amount DTESFT which is then set to a value for decreasing the engine output torque, whereby the actual engine output torque is decreased. Thus, the engine output torque can be smoothly changed, to thereby reduce a shock generated during the upshift.
The clutch engaging force of the transmission which determines the amount of torque transmitted through the transmission (hereinafter referred to as "the clutch torque") is determined mainly by hydraulic pressure applied on a clutch of a formerly selected speed position (released clutch) and the friction coefficient of the released clutch, as well as hydraulic pressure applied on a clutch of a target speed position (engaged clutch) and the friction coefficient of the engaged clutch. Normally, the clutch torque is sufficiently larger than the output torque from the engine. Therefore, even if the engine output torque is increased, e.g. by controlling the throttle valve, the engine output torque is transmitted from a main shaft of a gear mechanism of the transmission through the selected speed clutch to a counter shaft of the gear mechanism.
According to the conventional throttle valve control system, however, the engine output torque is increased on the premise that the clutch torque is always larger than the engine output torque. Consequently, if the clutch torque falls below the engine output torque, the following inconvenience is incurred:
FIGS. 2 to 5 are timing charts showing the relationship between various parameters assumed during an upshift according to the prior art, in which FIG. 2 shows changes in the parameters assumed during an upshift when the clutch torque is normal, while FIGS. 3 to 5 each show changes in the parameters assumed during an upshift when the clutch torque is abnormal.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the clutch torque is normal, it is sufficiently larger than the engine output torque.
FIG. 3 shows a case where an upshift is carried out, when the clutch torque lowers because the friction coefficient .mu. of the selected clutch lowers due to aging or deterioration of the clutch. When the friction coefficient lowers, the curve indicative of the clutch torque generally shifts downward as viewed in the figure such that it can be lower than the curve indicative of the engine output torque during the upshift.
FIG. 4 shows another case where an upshift is carried out, when the hydraulic pressure for operating the target speed position clutch rises with a delay. When the transmission has been continuously held in a parking position or in a neutral position over some period of time, the hydraulic oil for operating the formerly selected clutch is progressively drained from an oil passage for the released clutch. Once the hydraulic oil has been completely drained out of the oil passage, it takes a considerable time period for an oil passage for the engaged clutch to be filled with the hydraulic oil, resulting in a delayed rise in the hydraulic pressure for operating the clutch. Also when the hydraulic oil is low in temperature and high in viscosity, the hydraulic pressure for operating the clutch rises with a delay, similarly. If the hydraulic pressure rises with a delay, the clutch torque during an upshift can decrease below the engine output torque, as shown in the figure.
FIG. 5 shows a further case where an upshift is carried out, when the hydraulic pressure for operating the formerly selected clutch is quickly drained. If the hydraulic oil is high in temperature and low in viscosity, the hydraulic pressure for operating the formerly selected clutch is quickly drained. Also when a valve for switching a restriction through which the hydraulic oil passes is defective, the drain speed increases. When the hydraulic pressure for operating the formerly selected clutch is quickly drained, the clutch torque can decrease below the engine output torque during an upshift, as shown in the figure.
When the clutch torque decreases below the engine output torque due to a decrease in the friction coefficient of the selected clutch, variations in the rise speed of the hydraulic pressure for operating the clutch or the like, there occurs a slip in the selected clutch, resulting in a rise in the engine rotational speed NE. The slip of the clutch causes increased generation of heat and hence degraded durability of the selected clutch. Further, the increased engine rotational speed NE can cause an increased gear-shifting shock.

Output torque control system for internal combustion engines for vehicles


A system, system, and program for identifying a call made or received on behalf of another are provided. In particular, a call request for a call is detected. A context for the call is requested from a context inference service, wherein the context indicates whether an on behalf of action is invoked for the call by the caller or callee. An on behalf of action may be requested by a caller or callee, automatically authorized by the on behalf of party, or inferred from other call context.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to telecommunications and, in particular, to voice identification. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to identifying a call placed or received on behalf of another.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telephone service has created communication channels worldwide, and those channels continue to expand with the advent of cellular and other wireless services. A person can simply take a telephone off-hook and dial a destination number or press a send button and be connected to a telephone line around the world.
Today, the public switching telephone network (PSTN), wireless networks, and private networks telephone services are based on the identification of the wireless telephone or wireline that a calling party uses. A service, often referred to as Acaller ID@, provides the party receiving a call with the line number and name of the subscriber of the line number placing the call.
One limitation of caller ID is that the identity of the party actually making the call is not received, just the name of the line subscriber. For example, in a private network, if AJoe Smiths is making a call from ATom Arnold's office line@ only the extension for ATom Arnold's office line@ and an identifier for ATom Arnold@ are transferred to the called party.
Another limitation of caller ID is that the identity of the party answering the call is not returned to the party making the call. For example, in a PSTN, a single line number may be answered by multiple parties, and at multiple telephone devices.
A further limitation of caller ID is that a line number and line subscriber name provide a limited context for a call. For example, in a wireless network, where ATom Jenkins@ calls a friend's wireless number, ATom Jenkins@ does not receive any information about whether the call is wireless, how the call is being billed, and whether the wireless number is a business or personal number.
Moreover, a limitation of caller ID is that one person may make a call on behalf of another person, but because the party receiving the call does not recognize the caller ID, the party receiving the call decide not to answer. For example, if Bob's secretary calls Bob's client from her wireless telephone, Bob's client may not recognize the caller ID and will route the call to voice mail, rather than answering the phone to receive an urgent call placed on behalf of Bob.
Therefore, in view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide a method, system, and program for providing the context of a call. In particular, it would be advantageous to indicate in the context whether a call is placed on behalf of another. In addition, it would be advantageous to indicate in the context whether a call is received on behalf of another.

Identifying a call made or received on behalf of another

International Business Machines Corporation


A field sequential liquid crystal display device includes a circuit unit producing RGB reference voltages and scanning signal voltages using RGB data and control signals, a liquid crystal display panel changing alignment direction of liquid crystal molecules in accordance with the RGB reference voltages and the scanning signal voltages, and a backlight device emitting light to the liquid crystal display panel, wherein the circuit unit includes an interface receiving the RGB data and the control signals, a timing controller generating gate control signals and data control signals, at least two gamma generating units generating the RGB reference voltages, a switch selecting one of the RGB reference voltages, a data driver receiving the data control signal and the selected RGB reference voltage selected from the switch, and supplying an RGB image voltage to the liquid crystal display panel in accordance with the selected RGB reference voltage and the data control signal, and a gate driver receiving the gate control signals from the timing controller and supplying the scanning signal voltage to the liquid crystal display panel in accordance with the gate control signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and a method of fabricating a display device, and more particularly, to a field sequential liquid crystal display device and method of fabricating a field sequential liquid crystal display device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Cathode-ray tube (CRT) devices have been commonly used for visual display systems. However, development of flat panel display devices are increasingly being used because of their small depth dimensions, desirably low weight, and low power consumption. Currently, thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) devices have been developed having high resolution and small depth dimensions.
In general, a liquid crystal display (LCD) device includes an upper substrate, a lower substrate, and a liquid crystal material layer interposed therebetween. The upper and lower substrates each have electrodes opposing one another. When an electric field is supplied to the electrodes of the upper and lower substrates, molecules of the liquid crystal material layer become aligned according to the applied electric field. By controlling the electric field, the liquid crystal display device provides various light transmittances to display images. Accordingly, an active matrix liquid crystal display (AM-LCD) device commonly used because of its high resolution and superior display of moving images. An active matrix liquid crystal display has a plurality of switching elements and pixel electrodes that are arranged in an array matrix configuration on the lower substrate. Accordingly, the lower substrate of the active matrix liquid crystal display is commonly referred to as an array substrate.
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a liquid crystal display device according to the related art. In FIG. 1, a liquid crystal display includes a liquid crystal panel 10 and a backlight device 60, wherein the liquid crystal panel 10 includes a color filter substrate (i.e., an upper substrate) 20 and an array substrate (i.e., a lower substrate) 30 that face each other across a liquid crystal material layer 50. In addition, the color filter substrate 20 includes a color filter layer 22 and a black matrix 26 formed on a rear surface of a transparent substrate 1. The color filter layer 22 includes one of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color filters, and the black matrix 26 is disposed among the red (R), green (G) and blue (B) color filters for preventing light leakage. A common electrode 24 is formed on a rear surface of the color filter 22 to function as one of an electrode pair for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal material layer 50.
The lower substrate 30 includes a thin film transistor T, which functions as a switching element, formed on the transparent substrate 1 to face the upper substrate 20. A pixel electrode 34, which is electrically connected to the thin film transistor T and functions as a second one of the electrode pair for applying the electric field to the liquid crystal material layer 50, is formed on the transparent substrate 1 of the array substrate 30. First and second polarizers 25 and 35 are formed on outer surfaces of the transparent substrate 1.
The backlight device 60 is disposed under the array substrate 30 to irradiate light to the liquid crystal panel 10. The back light 60 includes a white light source 62 to emit white light along a direction to the liquid crystal panel 10. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the thin film transistor T includes a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode. The liquid crystal display panel 10 supplies a voltage to the pixel electrode 34 via the thin film transistor T, wherein the electric field between the pixel electrode 34 and the common electrode 24 rearranges an alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal material layer 50. The white light emitted by the backlight device 60 is transmitted through the liquid crystal panel 10 having the color filters 22 to display color images. Due to a polarization of white light and optical anisotropy of liquid crystal molecules, the polarized light is modulated by passing through the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color filters, thereby producing color images.
Although not shown in FIG. 1, the upper and lower substrates 20 and 30 are attached to each other by a seal pattern formed along peripheries of the upper and lower substrates 20 and 30. To align the liquid crystal molecules along a desired direction, upper and lower alignment layers (not shown) are provided between the liquid crystal material layer 50 and the upper substrate 20 and between the liquid crystal layer 50 and the lower substrate 30, respectively.
However, the active matrix liquid crystal display device in FIG. 1 has significant problems. First, since the transmissivity of a material used for forming the color filters is less than 33%, a brighter backlight device is required in order to effectively display the color images. Accordingly, the active matrix liquid crystal display device requires increased power consumption. Second, since the material used for forming the color filters is expensive, manufacturing costs increase. In addition, as a thickness of the color filters increase in order to improve saturation and chromaticity of the displayed color images, the transmissivity of the liquid crystal panel is reduced. On the contrary, if the thickness of the color filters decreases to improve the transmissivity, the displayed color images will have poor degrees of resolution.
As a result, field sequential liquid crystal display (FS LCD) devices, which display full color images without using the color filters, have been developed. The active matrix liquid crystal display devices display the color images by constantly transmitting the white light from the backlight device to the liquid crystal panel, whereas the field sequential liquid crystal display devices display the color images by sequentially and periodically turning ON and OFF the light sources, which have Red (R), Green (G), and Blue (B) colors.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross sectional view of one pixel region of a field sequential liquid crystal display device according to the related art, and FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a field sequential liquid crystal display device according to the related art. Since the same reference numbers may be used for the same parts in both FIGS. 2 and 3, some explanations may be omitted to prevent duplication.
In FIGS. 2 and 3, the field sequential liquid crystal display device includes a circuit unit 80, a liquid crystal display panel 10, and a backlight device 61. The circuit unit 80 receives RGB data and other control signals from an external driving system 70 (i.e., a computer system) and controls the received data and signals. The liquid crystal display panel 10 displays images by aligning and rearranging liquid crystal molecules, and the backlight device 61 irradiates light to the liquid crystal display panel 10.
In FIG. 2, the liquid crystal display panel 10 includes an upper substrate 20 and a lower substrate 30 that face each other across a liquid crystal material layer 50. The upper substrate 20 includes a black matrix 26 formed on a rear surface of a transparent substrate 1. Unlike the liquid crystal display device of FIG. 1, the color filter layer is not disposed on the upper substrate 20. In addition, a transparent common electrode 24 is formed on the rear surface of the transparent substrate 1 to cover the black matrix 26.
In FIG. 2, the lower substrate 30 includes a thin film transistor T, which functions as a switching element, formed on the transparent substrate 1 to face the upper substrate 20. A pixel electrode 34, which is electrically connected to the thin film transistor T and serves as a first electrode for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal material layer 50, is formed on the transparent substrate 1 of the array substrate 30. First and second polarizers 25 and 35 are formed on outer surfaces of the transparent substrates 1, respectively. In addition, the backlight device 61 includes three light sources Red (R) 64, Green (G) 66, and Blue (B) 68 to irradiate colored light to the liquid crystal display panel 10.
In FIG. 3, the liquid crystal display panel 10 includes a plurality of data lines 36 and gate lines 38 that perpendicularly cross each other to define a plurality of pixel regions P in a matrix configuration. The plurality of data lines 36 are formed in parallel to one another and the plurality of gate lines 38 are formed in parallel to one another, wherein both the data and gate lines 36 and 38 are disposed between the upper and lower substrates 20 and 30. Within each of the pixel regions P, the thin film transistor T is disposed as a switching element, and a liquid crystal capacitor CLC and a storage capacitor CST are disposed within each of the pixel regions P. The pixel electrode 34 and the common electrode 24 constitute the liquid crystal capacitor CLC, and the storage capacitor CST is connected in parallel with the liquid crystal capacitor CLC in order to solve parasitic capacitor problems.
One of the most significant differences between the field sequential liquid crystal display devices of FIGS. 2 and 3 and the liquid crystal display of FIG. 1 is that the field sequential liquid crystal display devices does not require the color filters in the upper substrate 20 and the backlight device 61 including three different light sources 64, 66, and 68 that are sequentially and selectively turned ON and/or OFF. The three different light sources 64, 66, and 68 are each driven by an inverter (not shown) and each are sequentially turned ON and OFF in one frame of one-sixtieth ( 1/60) of a second. In the field sequential liquid crystal display device, one frame of 1/60 of a second is divided into three sub-frames each being one-hundred-eightieth of a second ( 1/180 second) of a period. During each sub-frame, the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal material layer 50 are rearranged, and then one of the light sources 64, 66, and 68 is turned ON and OFF. Thus, during one frame, the rearrangement of the liquid crystal molecules and the enablement of one of the red, green, and blue light sources are sequentially repeated.
In FIG. 3, the circuit unit 80 includes an interface 82, a timing controller 84, a gamma generating unit 86, a data driver 88, and a gate driver 90, wherein the circuit unit 80 controls and changes the RGB data and other control signals originating from the driving system 70 into desired signals in order to enable the liquid crystal panel display 10 to display the color images. The interface 82 directly receives the RGB data and other control signals from the driving system 70, and delivers the data and signals to the timing controller 84.
The control signals include a plurality of timing synchronization signals such that the timing controller 84 receiving the timing synchronization signals generates data control signals and gate control signals, respectively. Thus, the data control signals are supplied to the data driver 88 for driving the data driver 88, and the gate control signals are supplied to the gate driver 90 for driving the gate driver 90.
In addition, the timing controller 84 transmits the RGB data received from the interface 82 to the data driver 88. The gamma generating unit 86 generates an RGB reference voltage using the RGB data and transmits the RGB reference voltage to the data driver 88. Accordingly, the RGB reference voltage is set by the intrinsic transmissivity-voltage characteristics of the liquid crystal display panel 10.
The data driver 88 supplies an RGB image voltage, which controls the alignment direction of the liquid crystal molecules, to each of the data lines 36 using the RGB reference voltage transmitted from the gamma generating unit 86. The gate driver 90 supplies a scanning signal voltage, which turns the thin film transistor T ON and OFF, to each of the gate lines 38 using the gate control signals. When the thin film transistor T of a selected pixel region P is turned ON, the RGB image voltage is transmitted to the liquid crystal capacitor CLC.
If the R, G, and B light sources 64, 66, and 68 are sequentially turned ON and OFF in an order of R-G-B, the interface 82 receives the R data and its control signal from the driving system 70 during the first sub-frame. Those R data and control signal are transmitted to the timing controller 84 and inverted to the data and gate control signals for driving the data and gate drivers 88 and 90. Then, the gamma generating unit 86 outputs the R reference voltage using the R data, and the data driver 88 supplies the R image voltage to all of the data lines 36. Accordingly, the gate driver 90 outputs the scanning signal voltage sequentially from the G1 gate line to the Gm gate line using the gate control signals, thereby rearranging the direction of the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal material layer 50 within the selected pixel regions P. The rearrangement of the selected pixel regions P corresponding the G1 gate line is maintained until the liquid crystal molecules of the pixel regions P corresponding to the Gm gate line are rearranged. After supplying the scanning signal voltage to all of the gate lines 38, the R light source 64 is turned ON to display the red (R) color image.
Accordingly, the second sub-frame handles the G data and its control signal through the above sequence, thereby displaying the G color image like the first sub-frame. The third sub-frame also handles the B data and its control signal, and thus displays the B color image. Accordingly, one frame is complete by way of sequentially conducting the first to third sub-frames.
Each of first to third sub-frames takes 1/180 seconds, and thus the single frame takes 1/60 seconds. Accordingly, a color image caused by the combination of three colors (red, green, and blue) is displayed using an afterimage (i.e., residual image) effect of human vision. Although the Red (R), Green (G), and Blue (B) light sources are turned ON and OFF one-hundred and eighty times per second, the perception by the naked eye is that the light sources are constantly ON due to the afterimage (or residual image) effect. For example, if the Red light source is turned ON and the Blue light source is sequentially turned ON, a mixed color (i.e., violet) is shown due to the residual image effect. Furthermore, if all of the R, G, and B color images show the lowest transmissivity, the human eye perceives a black color.
FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating a relationship between transmissivity and applied voltage in a field sequential liquid crystal display device using Optical Compensated Birefringent (OCB) mode according to the related art, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of portion A of the graph in FIG. 4 according to the related art. In FIGS. 4 and 5, transmissivity differences are noticeable depending on the R, G, and B colors although the same reference voltage is applied. In FIG. 5, since the R, G, and B colors have different wavelengths, the R, G, and B colors have different lowest transmissivities such that the combination will produce the black color. In particular, the B color wavelength arrives to the lowest transmissivity earlier than the R and G color wavelengths, and the B color wavelength has a relatively large transmissivity as compared to the R and G colors around the voltage necessary to produce the black color. In addition, the B color wavelength is generated during displaying the black color, thereby producing the blue shift phenomenon. Not only in the OCB mode but in the other modes, the transmissivity difference appears under the same voltage in the OCB mode and in other modes, and a color shift may be generated that degrades the image quality of the liquid crystal display.

Field sequential liquid crystal display device and method of fabricating the same


A semiconductor device includes a power amplifier for amplifying RF signals in multiple frequency bands, an output matching circuit connected to an output of the power amplifier, a first capacitor connected at a first end to an output of the output matching circuit, multiple output paths, a switch connected to a second end of the first capacitor and directing each of the RF signals to a respective one of the output paths in accordance with frequency band of the each of the RF signals, and multiple second capacitors. Each second capacitor is connected in series to a respective one of the output paths. The switch and either the first capacitor or the second capacitors, or both the first and second capacitors, are integrated as a single monolithic microwave integrated circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device used, e.g., as a multiband amplifier for portable terminals.
2. Background Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-269129 discloses a switch circuit for directing RF signals in different frequency bands to respective different output paths. This switch circuit is configured of a plurality of field effect transistors.
Switches for portable terminals are typically configured of enhancement field effect transistors (FETs), since portable terminals use a single battery which supplies a positive potential. A positive DC bias voltage is applied between the drain and the source of each field effect transistor, and an RF signal passes along the path (or channel) between the drain and the source. Application of a positive voltage to the gate of the field effect transistor opens the channel between the drain and the source (that is, causes the channel to be conductive), whereas application of zero voltage to the gate closes the channel between the drain and the source (that is, causes the channel to be nonconductive).
It should be noted that DC blocking capacitors must be connected to the input and the outputs of each switch to prevent leakage of the DC bias voltage described above. The DC blocking capacitors described in the above publication are configured of surface mount device (SMD) components.
It is desirable to reduce the size of semiconductor devices as much as possible. In the case of semiconductor devices having a switch therein, however, the size of the DC blocking capacitors for the switch substantially contributes to the overall size of the semiconductor device if these DC blocking capacitors are configured of SMD components.


This invention is to provide a photoprotein which binds with a ligand specific for a substance to be detected at a binding ratio of 1:1 such that the luminescence activity is not reduced by binding with the ligand, a conjugate comprising the luminescent photoprotein and ligand, and a substance detection method which employs the conjugate as a marker. A calcium-binding photoprotein is produced having cysteine residue introduced within the 4th amino acid residue from the amino-terminus. A conjugate is formed by binding a ligand specific for a substance to be detected to the calcium-binding photoprotein, in a binding ratio of 1:1, via the introduced cysteine residue. The conjugate may be utilized as a marker for a substance to be detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recombinant calcium-binding photoprotein having a cysteine residue introduced in the amino-terminal region. It also relates to a conjugate wherein a ligand which binds specifically to a substance to be detected is bound via the cysteine residue, and to a method of detecting substances using the conjugate as a luminescence marker.
2. Related Background Art
The calcium-binding photoproteins emit a flash of light upon specific interaction with calcium, and the known calcium-binding photoproteins currently include aequorin, clytin, obelin, mitrocomin, mnemiopsin and berovin. These photoproteins are highly sensitive to calcium ion, while their luminescences are very high and detected extremely sensitively by commercial detection devices at very low detection limit, at less than 1 picogram. These photoproteins are therefore used for detection and quantification of trace calcium ion and as imaging probes for visualization of dynamic changes in intracellular calcium ion. Because the photoproteins exhibit their luminescence by specifically binding with calcium ion, the background signal which poses a problem for ordinary chemilumine scence is virtually absent and the luminescent reaction itself is instantaneous, going to completion within a few seconds, such that a rapid signal with a favorable S/N ratio is obtained.
Since luminescent reaction systems involve enzyme-mediated luminescent reactions, known as bioluminescence, and consist entirely of biological components, they contain no harmful chemical substances (such as radio isotopes or carcinogenic compounds) and are highly safe. Such photoproteins therefore hold much promise as markers for diagnostic agents and the like.
When using a calcium-binding photoprotein such as aequorin as a marker for immunoassay, for example, the marker must be linked with the substance to be detected. Specifically, the marker photoprotein must be either bound directly to the substance, or it must be indirectly bound thereto through some other substance. Throughout the present specification, a substance used to link a substance to be detected with a photoprotein (marker), either by direct or indirect binding with the substance to be detected, will be referred to as a "ligand". Such ligands include, for example, biotin, avidin, streptavidin, antigens, antibodies and the like, and will be explained in detail hereunder.
Because of the relatively unstable nature of calcium-binding photoproteins, they are prone to loss of luminescence activity when bound to their ligands. For more precise analytical and diagnostic results, the binding ratio of the photoprotein and its ligand is preferably exactly or nearly 1:1. A rapid and precise diagnosis/detection system may be established by using a ligand-photoprotein conjugate with the ligand and photoprotein bound at a ratio of 1:1.
A representative calcium-binding photoprotein is aequorin, obtained from Aequorea aequorea. Aequorin exists as a complex of the apoprotein portion, apoaequorin, the luminescent substrate, coelenterazine, and molecular oxygen. On binding of calcium to the aequorin molecule, a blue flash of light (maximum wavelength: 465 nm) is produced, and coelenteramide (the oxidized form of coelenterazine) and carbon dioxide are also produced. After the luminescent reaction, the calcium ion may be removed from apoaequorin by a chelating agent such as EDTA, and aequorin may be regenerated by incubation at low temperature in the presence a reducing agent, coelenterazine and molecular oxygen. Analysis of the gene coding for apoaequorin has identified that apoaequorin is composed of 189 amino acids. Its amino acid sequence is listed as SEQ. ID. No.1 of the Sequence Listing. Aequorin has a homologous sequence with the calcium-binding protein calmodulin, and has been reported to comprise three "EF hand motif" domains each comprising a helix-loop-helix structure, for calcium binding (Inouye et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82(1985): 3154–3158). Also, the results of X-ray crystallography suggest that the 184th tyrosine residue near the C-terminus is involved in stabilization of the peroxide portion of the luminescent substrate coelenterazine (Head et al., Nature 405(2000):372–376).
Biotin-avidin (or streptavidin) binding is the basis of one of the most commonly used diagnosis/detection systems for immunoassay, and successful biotinylation of aequorin has been reported (Zatta et al., Anal. Biochem. Vol. 194, pp. 185–191, 1991). The biotinylated aequorin produced by Zatta et al. was obtained by biotinylating a free amino group (—NH2) in aequorin. The amino groups suspected of being modified by the method of Zatta et al. are one terminal amino group and amino groups of 15 lysines, but it has not been determined which of the amino groups are biotinylated in what proportion. Also, no method has been established for specifically modifying only one specific amino group. That is to say, high-quality biotinylated aequorin obtained by bonding biotin to aequorin via a free amino group, has not yet been provided.
Genetic analysis of calcium-binding photoproteins has revealed the presence of 3–6 cysteine residues in such molecules. Also X-ray structural analysis of aequorin and obelin has shown that none of the cysteine residues form disulfide bonds, but that all are present in a free state. It is further known that the luminescence activity of aequorin can be easily eliminated by modification with a low molecular chemical modifier, such as N-ethylmaleimide or iodoacetic acid, at the cysteine —SH group. (Shimomura et al., Biochemistry 13(1974):3278–3286).
The present inventors have previously reported luminescence activity by a cysteine-free mutant aequorin having the three cysteine residues in the molecule replaced with serine residues (K. Kurose et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86(1989):80–84). In another experiment, cysteine was substituted for the 5th serine, 53rd glutamic acid, 71st methionine and 84th glutamic acid in the apoaequorin of the cysteine-free mutant aequorin, and those new apoaequorins were used to form thyroxine-apoaequorin conjugates by binding thyroxine through cysteine and reconstituted to thyroxine-aequorin conjugates (Lewis et al., Bioconjugate Chem. 11:65–70 & 140–145(2000)). However, this involves substitution of serine for all of the three cysteine residues of wild-type aequorin and modification by introduction of new unique cysteine residue. As yet, no aequorin has been obtained which still exhibits luminescence activity with binding of the ligand to the —SH group of a newly introduced cysteine residue, while keeping the three original cysteine residues of wild-type aequorin.
The method of Lewis, et al., whereby aequorin is regenerated from modified (biotinilated) apoaequorin, produces a relatively low yield compared with the modification (biotinilation) of regenerated aequorin. Due to the nature of the mechanism by which the aequorin is regenerated, regeneration of modified aequorine cannot be applied to wide variety of modified apoaequorins but can be applied to apoaequorins modifed with specific modifying compounds with minimal influence on the regeneration process. Modification of regenerated aequorin, on the other hand, can be applied to any type of ligand molecules and thus the ligand molecules are not limited to a specific one. Another disadvantage of the method of Lewis et al. is that the ligand-aequorin conjugate, ligand-apoaequorin conjugate, unmodified aequorin and unmodified apoaequorin are not separated. Thus, a homogeneous ligand-aequorin conjugate wherein the ligand is bound to aequorin via the —SH group of the introduced cysteine residue, which is suitable for actual analysis, is yet to be produced.

Recombinant photoproteins and their conjugates


In a solid-state laser device comprising a solid-state laser medium disposed in a laser resonator and a semiconductor laser device for exciting the solid-state laser medium, the solid-state laser device comprises a vessel for receiving the solid-state laser medium and the semiconductor laser device. The vessel is filled with a refrigerant so that the refrigerant is contact with at least one part of the semiconductor laser device and at least one of the solid-state laser medium. Connected to the vessel, a temperature controlling device controls temperature of the refrigerant to maintain a predetermined desired temperature so that the excitation laser beam has an excitation wavelength which coincides with an absorption wavelength of the solid-state laser medium. The refrigerant may composed of an insulated transparent liquid or an inert gas. Preferably, the temperature controlling device is a circulating temperature controlling device which has an inlet port for introducing a part of the refrigerant from the vessel and an outlet port for returning the part of the refrigerant to the vessel after keeping the part of the refrigerant at the desired temperature.

This invention relates to a solid-state laser device, more particularly, to a solid-state laser device producing, by using a semiconductor laser device as an excitation light source, an output laser beam.
As well known in the art, a solid-state laser device of the type described comprises a solid-state laser medium disposed in a laser resonator and a semiconductor laser device for exciting the solid-state laser medium by applying an excitation laser beam to the solid-state laser medium to make the solid-state laser medium produce an output laser beam. The excitation laser beam has an excitation wavelength while the solid-state laser medium has an absorption wavelength or an absorption band. If the excitation wavelength does not equal to the absorption wavelength, the solid-state laser device produces the output laser beam with an oscillation efficiency thereof remarkably degraded. It is noted that the excitation wavelength of the excitation laser beam varies in accordance with temperature of the semiconductor laser device. It is therefore necessary to accurately keep the semiconductor laser device at a predetermined desired temperature so that the excitation wavelength of the excitation laser beam equals the absorption wavelength of the solid-state laser medium.
A method of keeping the semiconductor laser device at the predetermined desired temperature is already proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,507 issued to Byer et al. According to Byer et al, the semiconductor laser device such as a laser diode is cooled by means of a thermoelectric cooler such as a Peltier effect element coupled in good heating exchanging relation with the laser diode via the intermediary of a substrate such as a copper block. In order to obtain the output laser beam at high power, it is necessary for the solid-state laser device to use a number of semiconductor laser devices. Under the circumstances, the semiconductor laser devices must be provided with a number of Peltier effect elements and a number of driving units for driving the Peltier effect elements, respectively. Such a solid-state laser device becomes complex in structure and has a high price. It is therefore difficult for the solid-state laser device to put to practical use.
Another example is disclosed in the technical digest Advanced Solid-State Laser 1991, pdp8-1. According to this technical digest, a radiator is mounted on a substrate on which a plurality of semiconductor laser devices are fixed and cooling water passes through the radiator.
However, each of the above-mentioned conventional methods of cooling the solid-state laser device comprises the steps of adjusting temperature of the substrate so as to maintain the desired temperature and carrying out heat conduction between contact surfaces of the substrate and of the semiconductor laser device or the semiconductor laser devices, whereby temperature of the semiconductor laser device is indirectly controlled so as to maintain the desired temperature. Accordingly, each of the conventional cooling methods is called an indirect cooling method. In such an indirect cooling method, there is a thermal or heat resistance between the contact surfaces. As a result, the indirect cooling method has a poor efficiency and a low stability for control of the temperature. By way of example, it will be assumed that the semiconductor laser device having power of 10 W is drived at the temperature of 20.degree. C. In this event, the semiconductor laser device generates heat of about 30 W. It will also be assumed that the contact surfaces between the substrate and of the semiconductor laser device has the heat resistance of 0.2.degree. C./W. Under the circumstances, it is necessary for the temperature of the substrate to degrade to 14.degree. C. The larger the power of the semiconductor laser device becomes, the wider a temperature difference between the semiconductor laser device and the substrate becomes. Accordingly, a problem occurs in a case where the solid-state laser device comprises the semiconductor laser device having a high power.
As mentioned above, in the conventional cooling methods, it is indispensable to take radiation of heat for the semiconductor laser device into consideration. Therefore, there is a lot of restriction concerned with problems of heat in structure of the solid-state laser device. In addition, limitations lie in as regards the power of the semiconductor laser device to be used and the number of the semiconductor laser devices to be arranged. Furthermore, the solid-state laser device is complex in structure.
In addition, in the conventional solid-state laser device, the solid-state laser medium is merely supported with a supporting member without an active cooling. With this structure, the solid-state laser medium is only cooled at a portion which is in contact with the supporting member. As a result, an irregular temperature distribution easily causes inside the solid-state laser medium to result in distortion due to heat for the solid-state laser medium. Accordingly, such distortion readily gives rise to deterioration in the quality of the output laser beam and to degradation of the solid-state laser medium.

Solid-state laser device capable of stably producing an output laser beam at high power