Estimates of global total “liquid” hydrocarbon resources are dominated by structures known as oil sands or tar sands which represent approximately two-thirds of the total recoverable resources. This is despite the Canadian Athabasca Oil Sands, which dominate these oil sand based reserves at 1.7 trillion barrels, are calculated at only 10% recovery rate. However, irrespective of whether it is the 3.6 trillion barrels recoverable from the oil sands or the 1.75 trillion barrels from conventional oil reservoirs worldwide, it is evident that significant financial return and extension of the time oil is available to the world arise from increasing the recoverable percentage of such resources. According to embodiments of the invention pressure differentials are exploited to advance production of wells, adjust the evolution of the depletion chambers formed laterally between laterally spaced wells to increase the oil recovery percentage, and provide recovery in deeper reservoirs.

Over the last two centuries, advances in technology have made our civilization completely oil, gas & coal dependent. Whilst gas and coal are primarily use for fuel oil is different in that immense varieties of products are and can be derived from it. A "brief" list of some of these products includes gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, propane, ethane, kerosene, liquid petroleum gas, lubricants, asphalt, bitumen, cosmetics, petroleum jelly, perfume, dish-washing liquids, ink, bubble gums, car tires, etc. In addition to these oil is the source of the starting materials for most plastics that form the basis of a massive number of consumer and industrial products.
Table 1 below lists the top 15 consuming nations based upon 2008 data in terms of thousands of barrels (bbl) and thousand of cubic meters per day. FIG. 1A presents the geographical distribution of consumption globally.
TABLE 12008 Oil Consumption for Top 15 Consuming NationsNation(1000 bbl/day)(1000 m3/day)  1United States19,497.953,099.92China7,831.001,245.03Japan4,784.85760.74India2,962.00470.95Russia2,916.00463.66Germany2,569.28408.57Brazil2,485.00395.18Saudi Arabia2,376.00377.89Canada2,261.36359.510South Korea2,174.91345.811Mexico2,128.46338.412France1,986.26315.813Iran (OPEC)1,741.00276.814United Kingdom1,709.66271.815Italy1,639.01260.6
In terms of oil production Table 1B below lists the top 15 oil producing nations and the geographical distribution worldwide is shown in FIG. 1B. Comparing Table 1A and Table 1B shows how some countries like Japan are essentially completely dependent on oil imports whilst most other countries such as the United States in the list whilst producing significantly are still massive importers. Very few countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran are net exporters of oil globally.
TABLE 2Top 15 Oil Producing NationsNation(1000 bbl/day)Market Share1Saudi Arabia9,76011.8%2Russia9,93412.0%3United States9,14111.1%4Iran (OPEC)4,1775.1%5China3,9964.8%6Canada3,2944.0%7Mexico3,0013.6%8UAE (OPEC)2,7953.4%9Kuwait (OPEC)2,4963.0%10Venezuela (OPEC)2,4713.0%11Norway2,3502.8%12Brazil2,5773.1%13Iraq (OPEC)2,4002.9%14Algeria (OPEC)2,1262.6%15Nigeria (OPEC)2,2112.7%
In terms of oil reserves then these are dominated by a relatively small number of nations as shown below in Table 3 and in FIG. 1C. With the exception of Canada the vast majority of these oil reserves are associated with conventional oil fields. Canadian reserves being dominated by Athabasca oil sands which are large deposits of bitumen, or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Alberta, Canada. The stated reserves of approximately 170,000 billion barrels are based upon only 10% of total actual reserves, these being those economically viable to recover in 2006.
TABLE 3Top 15 Oil Reserve NationsNationReserves (1000 bbl)Share1Saudi Arabia264,600,00019.00%2Canada175,200,00012.58%3Iran137,600,0009.88%4Iraq115,000,0008.26%5Kuwait104,000,0007.47%6United Arab Emirates97,800,0007.02%7Venezuela97,770,0007.02%8Russia74,200,0005.33%9Libya47,000,0003.38%10Nigeria37,500,0002.69%11Kazakhstan30,000,0002.15%12Qatar25,410,0001.82%13China20,350,0001.46%14United States19,120,0001.37%15Angola13,500,0000.97%
Therefore in the vast majority of wells are drilled into oil reservoirs to extract the crude oil. An oil well is created by drilling a hole 5 to 50 inches (127.0 mm to 914.4 mm) in diameter into the earth with a drilling rig that rotates a drill string with a bit attached. After the hole is drilled, sections of steel pipe (casing), slightly smaller in diameter than the borehole, are placed in the hole. Cement may be placed between the outside of the casing and the borehole to provide structural integrity and to isolate high pressure zones from each other and from the surface. With these zones safely isolated and the formation protected by the casing, the well can be drilled deeper, into potentially more unstable formations, with a smaller bit, and also cased with a smaller size casing. Typically wells have two to five sets of subsequently smaller hole sizes drilled inside one another, each cemented with casing.
Oil recovery operations from conventional oil wells have been traditionally subdivided into three stages: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary production, the first stage of production, produces due to the natural drive mechanism existing in a reservoir. These "Natural lift" production methods that rely on the natural reservoir pressure to force the oil to the surface are usually sufficient for a while after reservoirs are first tapped. In some reservoirs, such as in the Middle East, the natural pressure is sufficient over a long time. The natural pressure in many reservoirs, however, eventually dissipates such that the oil must then be pumped out using "artificial lift" created by mechanical pumps powered by gas or electricity. Over time, these "primary" methods become less effective and "secondary" production methods may be used.
The second stage of oil production, secondary recovery, is usually implemented after primary production has declined to unproductive levels, usually defined in economic return rather than absolute oil flow. Traditional secondary recovery processes are water flooding, pressure maintenance, and gas injection, although the term secondary recovery is now almost synonymous with water flooding. Tertiary recovery, the third stage of production, commonly referred to as enhanced oil recovery ("EOR") is implemented after water flooding. Tertiary processes use miscible and/or immiscible gases, polymers, chemicals, and thermal energy to displace additional oil after the secondary recovery process becomes uneconomical.
Enhanced oil recovery processes can be classified into four overall categories: mobility control, chemical, miscible, and thermal.                Mobility-control processes, as the name implies, are those based primarily on maintaining a favorable mobility ratio. Examples of mobility control processes are thickening of water with polymers and reducing gas mobility with foams.        Chemical processes are those in which certain chemicals, such as surfactants or alkaline agents, are injected to utilize interfacial tension reduction, leading to improved displacement of oil.        In miscible processes, the objective is to inject fluids that are directly miscible with the oil or that generate miscibility in the reservoir through composition alteration. The most popular form of a miscible process is the injection of carbon dioxide.        Thermal processes rely on the injection of thermal energy or the in-situ generation of heat to improve oil recovery by reducing the viscosity of oil.
In the United States, primary production methods account for less than 40% of the oil produced on a daily basis, secondary methods account for about half, and tertiary recovery the remaining 10%.
Bituminous sands, colloquially known as oil sands or tar sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. The oil sands contain naturally occurring mixtures of sand, clay, water, and a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen (or colloquially "tar" due to its similar appearance, odour, and colour). These oil sands reserves have only recently been considered as part of the world's oil reserves, as higher oil prices and new technology enable them to be profitably extracted and upgraded to usable products. They are often referred to as unconventional oil or crude bitumen, in order to distinguish the bitumen extracted from oil sands from the free-flowing hydrocarbon mixtures known as crude oil
Many countries in the world have large deposits of oil sands, including the United States, Russia, and various countries in the Middle East. However, the world's largest deposits occur in two countries: Canada and Venezuela, each of which has oil sand reserves approximately equal to the world's total reserves of conventional crude oil. As a result of the development of Canadian oil sands reserves, 44% of Canadian oil production in 2007 was from oil sands, with an additional 18% being heavy crude oil, while light oil and condensate had declined to 38% of the total.
Because growth of oil sands production has exceeded declines in conventional crude oil production, Canada has become the largest supplier of oil and refined products to the United States, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Mexico. Venezuelan production is also very large, but due to political problems within its national oil company, estimates of its production data are not reliable. Outside analysts believe Venezuela's oil production has declined in recent years, though there is much debate on whether this decline is depletion-related or not.
However, irrespective of such issues the oil sands may represent as much as two-thirds of the world's total "liquid" hydrocarbon resource, with at least 1.7 trillion barrels (270×109 m3) in the Canadian Athabasca Oil Sands alone assuming even only a 10% recovery rate. In Oct. 2009, the United States Geological Service updated the Orinoco oil sands (Venezuela) mean estimated recoverable value to 513 billion barrels (81.6×109 m3) making it "one of the world's largest recoverable" oil deposits. Overall the Canadian and Venezuelan deposits contain about 3.6 trillion barrels (570×109 m3) of recoverable oil, compared to 1.75 trillion barrels (280×109 m3) of conventional oil worldwide, most of it in Saudi Arabia and other Middle-Eastern countries.
Because extra-heavy oil and bitumen flow very slowly, if at all, toward producing wells under normal reservoir conditions, the oil sands must be extracted by strip mining and processed or the oil made to flow into wells by in situ techniques, which reduce the viscosity. Such in situ techniques include injecting steam, solvents, heating the deposit, and/or injecting hot air into the oil sands. These processes can use more water and require larger amounts of energy than conventional oil extraction, although many conventional oil fields also require large amounts of water and energy to achieve good rates of production. Accordingly, these oil sand deposits were previously considered unviable until the 1990s when substantial investment was made into them as oil prices increased to the point of economic viability as well as concerns over security of supply, long term global supply, etc.
Amongst the reasons for more water and energy of oil sand recovery apart from the initial energy expenditure in reducing viscosity is that the heavy crude feedstock recovered requires pre-processing before it is fit for conventional oil refineries. This pre-processing is called 'upgrading', the key components of which are:                1. removal of water, sand, physical waste, and lighter products;        2. catalytic purification by hydrodemetallisation (HDM), hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN); and        3. hydrogenation through carbon rejection or catalytic hydrocracking (HCR).
As carbon rejection is very inefficient and wasteful in most cases, catalytic hydrocracking is preferred in most cases. All these processes take large amounts of energy and water, while emitting more carbon dioxide than conventional oil.
Amongst the category of known secondary production techniques the injection of a fluid (gas or liquid) into a formation through a vertical or horizontal injection well to drive hydrocarbons out through a vertical or horizontal production well. Steam is a particular fluid that has been used. Solvents and other fluids (e.g., water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, propane and methane) have also been used. These fluids typically have been used in either a continuous injection and production process or a cyclic injection and production process. The injected fluid can provide a driving force to push hydrocarbons through the formation, or the injected fluid can enhance the mobility of the hydrocarbons (e.g., by reducing viscosity via heating) thereby facilitating the release of the more mobile hydrocarbons to a production location. Recent developments using horizontal wells have focused on utilizing gravity drainage to achieve better results. At some point in a process using separate injection and production wells, the injected fluid may migrate through the formation from the injection well to the production well thereby "contaminating" the oil recovered in the sense that additional processing must be applied before the oil can be pre-processed for compatibility with convention oil refineries working with the light oil recovered from conventional oil well approaches.
Therefore, a secondary production technique injecting a selected fluid and for producing hydrocarbons should maximize production of the hydrocarbons with a minimum production of the injected fluid, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,781. Accordingly, the early breakthrough of the injected fluid from an injection well to a production well and an excessive rate of production of the injected fluid is not desirable. See for example Joshi et al in "Laboratory Studies of Thermally Aided Gravity Drainage Using Horizontal Wells" (AOSTRA J. of Research, pages 11-19, vol. 2, no. 1, 1985). It has also been disclosed that optimum production from a horizontal production well is limited by the critical velocity of the fluid through the formation. This being thought necessary to avoid so-called "fingering" of the injected fluid through the formation, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,583, although in U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,650 it is disclosed that "fingering" is not critical in radial horizontal well production systems.
The foregoing disclosures have been within contexts referring to various spatial arrangements of injection and production wells, which can be classified as follows: vertical injection wells with vertical production wells, horizontal injection wells with horizontal production wells, and combinations of horizontal and vertical injection and production wells. Whilst embodiments of the invention described below can be employed in all of these configurations the dominant production methodology today relates to the methods using separate, discrete horizontal injection and production wells. This arises due to the geological features of oil sands wherein the oil bearing are typically thin but distributed over a large area. Amongst the earliest prior art for horizontal injection wells with horizontal production well arrangements are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,700,779; 4,385,662; and 4,510,997.
Within the initial deployments the parallel horizontal injection and production wells vertically were aligned a few meters apart as disclosed in the aforementioned article by Joshi. Associated articles include:                Butler et al in "The gravity drainage of steam-heated heavy oil to parallel horizontal wells" (J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, pages 90-96, 1981);        Butler in "Rise of interfering steam chambers" (J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, pages 70-75, vol. 26, no. 3, 1986);        Ferguson et al in "Steam-assisted gravity drainage model incorporating energy recovery from a cooling steam chamber" (J. of Canadian Petroleum Technology, pages 75-83, vol. 27, no. 5, 1988);        Butler et al in "Theoretical Estimation of Breakthrough Time and Instantaneous Shape of Steam Front During Vertical Steamflooding," (AOSTRA J. of Research, pages 359-381, vol. 5, no. 4, 1989); and        Griffin et al in "Laboratory Studies of the Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Process," (5th Advances in Petroleum Recovery & Upgrading Technology Conference, June 1984, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (session 1, paper 1).
Vertically aligned horizontal wells are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,577,691; 4,633,948; and 4,834,179. Staggered horizontal injection and production wells, wherein the injection and production wells are both laterally and vertically spaced from each other, are disclosed in Joshi in "A Review of Thermal Oil Recovery Using Horizontal Wells" (In Situ, Vol. 11, pp 211-259, 1987); Change et al in "Performance of Horizontal-Vertical Well Combinations for Steamflooding Bottom Water Formations," (CIM/SPE 90-86, Petroleum Society of CIM/Society of Petroleum Engineers) as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,598,770 and 4,522,260.
Amongst other patents addressing such recovery processes are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,456,315' 5,860,475; 6,158,510; 6,257,334; 7,069,990; 6,988,549; 7,556,099; 7,591,311 and US Patent Applications 2006/0,207,799; 2008/0,073,079; 2010/0,163,229, 2009/0,020,335; 2008/0,087,422; 2009/0,255,661; 2009/0,260,878; 2009/0,260,878; 2008/0,289,822; 2009/0,044,940; 2009/0,288,827; and 2010/0,326,656. Additionally there are literally hundreds of patents relating to the steam generating apparatus, drilling techniques, sensors, etc associated with such production techniques as well as those addressing combustion assisted gravity drainage etc.
The first commercially applied process was cyclic steam stimulation, commonly referred to as "huff and puff", wherein steam is injected into the formation, commonly at above fracture pressure, through a usually vertical well for a period of time. The well is then shut in for several months, referred to as the "soak" period, before being re-opened to produce heated oil and steam condensate until the production rate declines. The entire cycle is then repeated and during the course of the process an expanding "steam chamber" is gradually developed where the oil has drained from the void spaces of the chamber, been produced through the well during the production phase, and is replaced with steam. Newly injected steam moves through the void spaces of the hot chamber to its boundary, to supply heat to the cold oil at the boundary.
However, there are problems associated with the cyclic process including:                fracturing tends to occur vertically along a direction dictated by the tectonic regime present in the formation;        steam tends to preferentially move through the fractures and heat outwardly therefrom so that developed chamber tends to be relatively narrow;        low efficiency with respect to steam utilization; and        there are large bodies of unheated oil left in the zone extending between adjacent wells with their linearly extending steam chambers.
Accordingly, the cyclic process relatively low oil recovery. As such, as described in Canadian Patent 1,304,287, a continuous steam process has become dominant approach, known as steam-assisted gravity drainage ("SAGD"). The approach exploiting:                a pair of coextensive horizontal wells, one above the other, located close to the base of the formation;        the formation between the wells is heated by circulating steam through each of the wells at the same time to create a pair of "hot fingers";        when the oil is sufficiently heated so that it may be displaced or driven from one well to the other, fluid communication between the wells is established and steam circulation through the wells is terminated;        steam injection below the fracture pressure is initiated through the upper well and the lower well opened to produce draining liquid; and        the production well is throttled to maintain steam trap conditions and to keep the temperature of the produced liquid at about 6-10° C. below the saturation steam temperature at the production well.
This ensures a short column of liquid is maintained over the production well, thereby preventing steam from short-circuiting into the production well. As the steam is injected, it rises and contacts cold oil immediately above the upper injection well. The steam gives up heat and condenses; the oil absorbs heat and becomes mobile as its viscosity is reduced. The condensate and heated oil drain downwardly under the influence of gravity. The heat exchange occurs at the surface of an upwardly enlarging steam chamber extending up from the wells. This chamber being constituted of depleted, porous, permeable sand from which the oil has largely drained and been replaced by steam.
The steam chamber continues to expand upwardly and laterally until it contacts the overlying impermeable overburden and has an essentially triangular cross-section. If two laterally spaced pairs of wells undergoing SAGD are provided, their steam chambers grow laterally until they contact high in the reservoir. At this stage, further steam injection is terminated and production declines until the wells are abandoned. The SAGD process is characterized by several advantages, including relatively low pressure injection so that fracturing is not likely to occur, steam trap control minimizes short-circuiting of steam into the production well, and the SAGD steam chambers are broader than those developed by the cyclic process.
As a result oil recovery is generally better and with reduced energy consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases. However, there are still limitations with the SAGD process which need addressing. These include the need to more quickly achieve production from the SAGD wells, the need to heat the formation laterally between laterally spaced wells to increase the oil recovery percentage; and provide SAGD operating over deeper oil sand formations.
In SAGD the velocity of bitumen falling through a column of porous media having equal pressures at top and bottom can be calculated from Darcy's Law, see Equation 1.
                              U          O          q                =                                            k              O                                                  P              O                                                  g              O                                            μ            O                                              (        1        )            where kO is the effective permeability to bitumen and μO is the viscosity of the bitumen. For Athabasca bitumen at about 200° C. and using 5 as the value Darcy's effective permeability, the resulting velocity will be about 40 cm/day. Extending this to include a pressure differential then the equation for the flow velocity becomes that given by Equation 2.
      U    O    +    =                              k          O                                  P          O                        g                    μ        O              +                            k          O                        Δ                                                  P                              μ          O                        L            where ΔP is the pressure differential between the two well bores and L is the interwell bore separation. For a typical interwell spacing this results in the value given in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1Increased Bitumen Velocity under Pressure DifferentialkoΔ/μoLkoPog/μo = UoqUo+ΔP (psia)(cm/day)(cm/day)(cm/day)Uo+/Uog0.000.00039.439.41.000.010.04639.439.51.000.100.42739.439.91.011.004.41039.443.81.1110.0044.20039.483.62.1250.00220.839.4260.06.60
It is evident from the data presented in Table 1 that a pressure differential can substantially increase the mobility of the heavy oil in oil sand deposits. Considering the Athabasca oil sands about 20 percent of the reserves are recoverable by surface mining where the overburden is less than 75 m (250 feet). It is the remaining 80 percent of the oil sands that are buried at a depth of greater than 75 m where SAGD and other in-situ technologies apply. Typically, pressure increases at an average rate of approximately 0.44 psi per foot underground, such that the pressure at 250 feet is 110 psi higher than at the surface, at 350 feet it is 154 psi higher. For comparison atmospheric pressure is approximately 14.7 psi, such that the pressure at 350 feet is approximately 10 atmospheres.
Accordingly, the inventor has established that beneficially pressure differentials may be exploited to advance production from SAGD wells by increasing the velocity of heavy oils, that pressure differentials may be exploited to adjust the evolution of the steam chambers formed laterally between laterally spaced wells to increase the oil recovery percentage, and provide SAGD operating over deeper oil sand formations.


A resist composition for forming a upper resist layer and a process for forming a pattern thereby are disclosed. This resist comprises an azide compound and a polyacrylic copolymer of the following formula (1): ##STR1## wherein, R.sub.1 means CH.sub.3, CF.sub.3, CN, CH.sub.2 OH, or CH.sub.2 CO.sub.2 R, wherein R means an alkyl having 1 to 5 carbon atoms. R.sub.2 means a hydrocarbon radical having at least one Si, PA1 R.sub.3 means OH, O--C(CH.sub.3).sub.3, NH.sub.2 , or NHCH.sub.2 OH, and, a ratio of n to m is more than 0 and is 1 or less than 1.. Whereby a finely-resolved resist pattern is obtained by a preset process for forming the resist pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positive-working resist composition for use in double layer resist processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to the necessity for treating a large amount of information at a high speed an integrated semiconductor device, which plays a main role in an information treating device, has been developed and large-scale integrated circuits (LSI) and very large-scale integrated circuits (VLSI) are now in practical use.
This integration is carried out by a miniaturization of unit elements and the use of a minimum line spacing of the wiring pattern on an order of submicrons, and further, a multi-layer wiring process is carried out. Therefore, many minute steps are formed on a semiconductor wafer when producing integrated circuits.
When manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit, a resist is coated on the semiconductor substrate, and then selectively exposed and developed to dissolve the exposed portions or unexposed portions, and finally, a through hole is formed. Thereafter, a photo-etching technique (photolithography or electron-beam lithography) is conducted, whereby a conductive film or an insulating film is etched by dry-etching.
Therefore, as a process for precisely forming a fine pattern while neglecting the influence of the steps, a multi-layer resist having a double-layer or triple-layer structure has been employed. Especially, a double-layer resist process having fewer process steps is generally employed.
In a double-layer resist process, a novolac resist is coated on a substrate having steps, as a lower-layer resist providing a level surface, followed by coating a upper-layer resist thereon, which resist has an oxygen-plasma resistance and a high resolution.
Many kinds of double-layer resist have been proposed, but an electron-beam resist which can provide a resolution on an order of sub-microns has not been developed.
As a positive resist having a superior oxygen-plasma resistance, a copolymer having the following formula (1) was proposed by the present inventors (see Japanese Application No. 2-61552). ##STR2## wherein, R.sub.1 means CH.sub.3, CF.sub.3, CN, CH.sub.2 OH, or CH.sub.2 CO.sub.2 R, wherein R means an alkyl having 1 to 5 carbon atoms
R.sub.2 means hydrocarbon group having at least one Si, PA1 R.sub.3 means OH, O--C( CH.sub.3).sub.3, NH.sub.2, or NHCH.sub.2 OH, and, a ratio of n to m is more than 0 and is 1 or less than 1. PA1 R.sub.2 means a hydrocarbon radical having at least one Si, PA1 R.sub.3 means OH, O--C(CH.sub.3).sub.3, NH.sub.2 or NHCH.sub.2 OH, and, a ratio of n to m is more than 0 and is 1 or less than 1.
The molecular weight of the copolymer is from 20,000 to 1,500,000.
A cross-linking of this resin at the R.sub.3 position is caused by heating, but since it is necessary to enlarge the ratio of a-substituted acrylate having Si as a copolymer to improve the oxygen-plasma resistance, the cross-linking density becomes too low. Accordingly, the resolution is poor, and thus it is difficult to produce a fine pattern of 0.5 .mu.m or less.
It is difficult to resolve the sub-micron pattern for the resist of the above formula (1).
Therefore, there is a need to improve the resolution to make it possible to produce a 0.5 .mu.m or less pattern.


A fuel element for a nuclear reactor is described having a zirconium alloy cladding tube, with a thin coating of a metal silicate and particles of enriched boron-containing compound burnable-poison particles, such as ZrB.sub.2, deposited from a liquid suspension which includes a polymer binder material and water and/or alcohol as a diluent.

General background materials on fuel rods, claddings and absorber materials are available. See. e.g., Frank J. Rahn et al., A Guide to Nuclear Power Technology, pp. 429-438 (1984).
In light water reactor (LWR) designs, fuel is formed into oxide pellets, which consist of uranium oxide or mixed uranium/plutonium oxide. These pellets are then placed in long tubes called cladding tubes to form fuel rods. The cladding tube forms a barrier against radioactive fission products released in the fuel pellets during irradiation. Proper fuel design requires an economical fuel cycle, while providing the necessary fuel characteristics for safe plant operation. Thus structural materials must be selected that have low neutron cross-section and low cost, while providing adequate mechanical corrosion resistance characteristics. Fuel assembly design should accordingly allow for the operation of the reactor at the design power and for the highest possible burn-up without breaching the cladding and releasing radioactive products to the primary coolant.
Zirconium alloys are used in fuel designs because they combine desirable nuclear, physical and mechanical properties. Because nuclear-grade zirconium is expensive, its alloys are used only in the active zone of the nuclear core where its neutron economy is most advantageous. Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4 are two slightly different alloys which were developed for nuclear applications. Zircaloy-2 typically contains about 1.4 wt. % tin, 0.15 wt. % iron, 0.1 wt. % chromium and 0.06 wt. % nickel, 1,000 ppm oxygen and the balance zirconium. Zircaloy-4typically contains about 1.4 wt. % tin, 0.21 wt. % iron, 0.11 wt. % chromium, 30 ppm nickel, 1,200 ppm oxygen and the balance zirconium. Zircaloy-2 has a small content of nickel, while in Zircaloy-4 the nickel content is essentially replaced by iron. This small change in composition reduces the hydrogen absorption rate during service in high-temperature water. The physical and mechanical properties of the two alloys re nearly identical. Pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel rods are typically made with Zircaloy-4 cladding, while boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel rods utilize Zircaloy-2.
Continuous operation of a reactor requires that the core remain critical. However, to compensate for the gradual depletion of fissile material with time, as burn-up accumulates, and to compensate for other phenomena such as the buildup of fission products, excess reactivity must be built into the nuclear core. This excess reactivity must be controlled at any given time to keep the reactor critical for steady-state operation. This task is accomplished by the use of materials that are strong neutron absorbers or "poisons." Control elements constructed from neutron absorbers regulate power generation according to demand, provide quick shutdown, account for short-term and long-term reactivity changes that result from temperature changes, and adjust for fission product accumulation and fissile material depletion.
The foremost characteristic of a control material is its neutron absorption properties. These vary with the energy of the impinging neutrons but one can gather together the detailed absorption features into a "thermal absorption cross-section, " which is of interest in LWR's. The dominant absorber used in control rods in LWR's is boron.
In addition to the movable control rods used in all LWR's, present LWR designs utilize burnable poisons. These are solid neutron absorbers which are placed in the reactor. As it is subjected to neutron irradiation, the burnable absorber material is gradually depleted. Thus the depletion of the burnable poison corresponds, roughly, to the depletion of fissile material. Burnable-poisons are used to counterbalance excess reactivity at the beginning of the fuel cycle and to provide a means for power shaping and optimum core burn-up. Burnable poison compounds currently of interest include boron, gadolinium and erbium.
Many LWR fuel designs employ burnable absorber rods to control axial power peaking or moderator temperature coefficient in a number of ways. In some designs, burnable absorber rods are placed in fuel assembly lattice locations, thereby displacing fuel rods. Other designs employ burnable absorber rod inserts and fuel assembly guide thimbles. Still other designs involve the formation of burnable-absorber coatings on the inside diameters of cladding tubes, on fuel pellet surfaces, or involve distribution of the burnable absorber within the fuel pellet.
The use of a burnable-poison which is disposed on the inside surface of the fuel cladding tube has several advantages. For example, such a configuration can be used with uranium dioxide fuel pellets provided inside the cladding so that the fuel rod produces as much (or almost as much) power as a regular fuel rod.
Moreover, the burnable-poison can be applied to the cladding tube prior to the introduction of the uranium dioxide pellets into the tube, allowing the burnable-poison to be applied to the cladding in a cold (non-nuclear) area. This allows the burnable-poison to be applied by the tubing fabricator or by the fuel-rod fabricator and should reduce the costs associated with the manufacture of the cladding tubes containing the burnable poison.
Furthermore, when the burnable poison is applied to the inside of the fuel cladding tubes, it is relatively easy to adjust the axial gradient of the burnable poison. This provides an advantage over associated methods which involve putting burnable poison on the pellet and mixing pellet types.
Finally, the use of cladding tubes having a burnable-poison layer provides for improved quality control. For example, the burnable-poison coating depth can be accurately determined by bombarding the tubing with neutrons and measuring the fraction of the neutrons which are not absorbed by the burnable poison.
Prior art coatings, however, while adhering when first applied, tend to spall off under the stresses of the irradiation environment in the nuclear reactor core.
For further background, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,925,151; 4,372,817; 4,560,575; 4,566,989; 4,582,676; 4,587,087; 4,587,088; and 4,636,404.

Internal fuel rod coating comprising metal silicates


Example embodiments are directed to circuit boards, connectors, cases, circuit board assemblies, case assemblies, devices and methods of manufacturing the same, which are common to at least two different form factors. In an example embodiment, the SSD includes a circuit board that is smaller than a case, and the circuit board is secured to the bottom surface of the case by the securing element. The securing element is spaced apart from edges of the case to allow using a circuit board that is smaller than the case.

Field
Example embodiments are directed to circuit boards, connectors, cases, circuit board assemblies, case assemblies, devices and methods of manufacturing the same.
Description of the Related Art
A Solid State Device (SSD) is a memory data storage device that utilizes solid state memory, for example, flash-type, non-volatile memory) to store persistent data. SSDs are an alternative to conventional hard drives that have slower memory data access times due to moving parts, for example, rotating disks and/or other moving mechanical parts. The absence of moving parts in an SSD may improve electromagnetic interference (EMI), physical shock resistance, and/or reliability. However, SSDs may be more prone to electrostatic discharge (ESD) relative to a conventional servo motor found in a hard drive, where the recording surfaces may be made of a magnetic material that is more ESD-resistive. The ESD problem may be exacerbated by higher memory densities.
SSDs may have many different structures, sizes, dimensions, volumes, interfaces, and/or compatibilities. Each set of characteristics may be referred to as a form factor. Two examples are a 1.8 inch and 2.5 inch Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA)-2 standard structures. In either structure, the SSD may include one or more of the following, a printed circuit board, one or more controller integrated circuit (ICs), for example, fine-pitch ball grid array (FPBGA) controllers, one or more NAND memory ICs, one or more mobile Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM) ICs, one or more voltage detector, one or more voltage regulator, one or more heat sink, one or more diodes, one or more connectors, including input/output (I/O) pins and clock (for, example crystal) pins, and/or a case.
As a result of a plurality of hard drive specifications, many different SSDs, having different interfaces, have been developed.

Circuit boards, connectors, cases, circuit board assemblies, case assemblies, devices and methods of manufacturing the same


An alloy composition is composed essentially of Hf2-XZrXCo11BY, wherein 0<X<2 and 0<Y≦1.5. Moreover, an alloy composition is composed essentially of ferromagnetic Hf2-XZrXCo11BY, wherein 0≦X<2 and 0<Y≦1.5, and has a nanoscale crystalline structure comprising at least one non-equilibrium phase. The alloys can be melt-spun with in-situ and/or ex-situ annealing to produce the nanoscale crystalline structure.

Good permanent magnet materials must have a large remanent magnetization, large coercive field, and high Curie temperatures. This indicates the best candidates to be rich in 3d transition metals, allowing large magnetic moments and strong magnetic interactions, and to have non-cubic crystal structures, allowing strongly anisotropic magnetic properties. The strong spin-orbit coupling associated with the 4f electrons of rare-earth elements can lead to enhanced intrinsic (magnetocrystalline) anisotropy, and the best permanent magnet materials contain rare-earths in combination with 3d transition metals. However, there is economic and scientific interest in attaining good permanent magnet properties without rare-earth elements.
AlNiCo, a well-known, conventional, non-rare-earth magnet, has relatively weak magneto-crystalline anisotropy, and attains good performance through anisotropic microstructures (shape anisotropy) developed during spinodal decomposition in an applied magnetic field.
Another high-performing, alternative material is PtCo. Strong spin-orbit coupling on Pt is important in providing magnetic anisotropy. Spin-orbit coupling is strong in all heavy elements, and combining 3d transition metals with heavier 4d/5d metals is a contemplated route to new anisotropic ferromagnets. However, the use of precious and/or semiprecious metals reduces the attractiveness of these materials.
There is a need for high performance, non-rare-earth magnetic materials that contain little or no precious and/or semiprecious metals.
In the ferromagnetic state, the coercivity or coercive field is defined as the magnetic field at which the magnetic moment of a magnetized sample is reduced to zero. If mechanisms are available with little energetic barrier to either rotate the moment within a magnetic domain, or nucleate a reversed domain and move the resulting domain wall, coercivity will be low. Such a material is referred to as a soft ferromagnet. If this is not the case, and there is high resistance to demagnetizing fields (i.e. rotating magnetic moments within a domain is energetically costly, and/or magnetic domain walls are prevented from moving freely), then the materials is referred to as a hard ferromagnet. In general, materials with coercivity ≧1000 Oe can be classified as hard ferromagnets, and are required for permanent magnets. Soft ferromagnets have lower coercivity, and good soft ferromagnets have coercivity <1 Oe, and are important for applications like transformer cores. Intermediate materials having a coercivity >1 Oe and <1000 Oe are useful in applications where a magnetic hysteresis losses are required in applications such as, for example, transformation of electromagnetic energy into thermal energy, also known as magneto-thermal conversion.
In all cases, microstructure plays a key role in magnetic performance by determining the mechanisms by which the reversal of magnetic moments occurs. As noted above, the microstructure of AlNiCo magnets results in strong anisotropy and ultimately high coercivity. In rare-earth magnets, the high intrinsic magnetocrystalline anisotropy leads to high coercivity only when proper microstructure is realized.
Melt-spinning is a commercially used process for obtaining the fine-grained microstructures required for hard ferromagnets. The rapid cooling that occurs during this process can produce kinetically stabilized microstructures far from equilibrium. Controlling the subsequent evolution by relaxation of these high energy states enables fine tuning of the microstructures.

Hf—Co—B alloys as permanent magnet materials


A wireless node apparatus in a multihop wireless LAN with a tree structure having a plurality of wireless node apparatuses, at least some of which become relay apparatuses to provide multihop communication, transfers packets among wireless nodes as done in a tree type LAN, without intervening a root node, to communicate among the wireless nodes.

IEEE 802.11, the present standard technique for a wireless LAN, defines two modes as wireless LAN modes. One is an ad hock mode in which a group is formed by wireless nodes (hereinafter also called wireless node apparatuses) which radio waves directly reach to ensure direct communications without intervening a specific base station (hereinafter also called AP (Access Point)), and the other is an infra mode in which an AP is used, and wireless nodes within a range where radio waves from the AP reach (hereinafter also called STA (Station)) are connected to the AP in a star pattern, and can communicate with one another. The use of such a wireless LAN technique can permit wireless nodes to participate in and leave communications in an ad hock manner and execute mobile communications. Those communications however require that radio waves should directly reach a communication destination in ad hock mode, and radio waves should directly reach the AP in infra mode, disabling communications with parties which radio waves cannot directly reach only with wireless links.
The prospect of a wireless LAN is disclosed in Patent Document 1, mentioned below, as a way to speed up mobile communication. A method of constructing a multihop wireless network among wireless nodes is illustrated as one means of widening a service providing area in a system in which the communication area of a base station (AP) is smaller as compared with a mobile communication for a PDC (Personal Digital Cellular) or the like. The invention disclosed in the following patent document aims only at allowing each wireless node to communicate with a base station on a star network so that each wireless node should merely establish a relay path to the base station, and establishes such a configuration that the base station is ranked the highest-rank station among the base station and the wireless nodes and each wireless node specifically determines higher-rank wireless nodes. Further disclosed is a system where the highest-rank station (base station) does not entirely control the establishment of a star multihop wireless network, but the multihop wireless network is autonomously realized as each wireless node selects a higher-rank wireless node with the minimum number of hops to the base station based on the number of hops from the base station, as the optimal wireless node to be connected.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-237764 (FIG. 1)
In the multihop wireless network having a tree structure with the base station ranked top and each wireless node merely relaying packets received from lower-rank wireless nodes to higher-rank wireless nodes, like the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, however, packets transmitted from each wireless node are always transferred to the base station, disabling direct communications among wireless nodes. If wireless nodes belonging to the same leaf (wireless node 1001 and wireless node 1002) attempt to communicate with each other on the multihop wireless network as shown in FIG. 10, for example, a base station 1000 should receive packets once, which should be returned into the multihop wireless network. This raises a problem such that not only the delay time is increased, but also bands are used wastefully, thus wasting wireless resources.

Wireless node apparatus, and multihop wireless LAN system


When receiving an incoming call, a portable telephone that receives a search request judges whether or not this incoming call is the search request sent from a second portable telephone, which is a source of the search request. When the portable telephone judges that the incoming call is the search request sent from the second portable telephone, it is judged whether or not the receiving portable telephone is capable of determining its position information. When the portable telephone is incapable of determining its position information, the portable telephone automatically switches to a response hold state and transmits a search response message to the second portable telephone based on information stored in advance. Further, when the portable telephone is capable of determining its position information, the portable telephone determines its position information and transmits the position information to the portable telephone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio apparatus that detects the position of the radio apparatus and transmits the position information to a search requester. The present invention also relates to a position search system and a position search method using such an apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various systems have been developed that use a portable telephone capable of determining its own position information. For example, there is a position search system in which, when a portable telephone receives a search request from a third party, the portable telephone determines its position information and transmits the position information to the third party.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of such a portable telephone. In FIG. 1, when the portable telephone (which is the destination of the search request) gets an incoming call (S11), the portable telephone performs an incoming call response regardless of the content of the incoming call (S12). Next, the portable telephone determines whether or not the source of the incoming call will receive the results of the search request sent from the third party, e.g., another portable telephone which is the source of the search request (S13). When the portable telephone determines that the source of the incoming call will not receive the results of the search request, the portable telephone performs a normal incoming call processing (S14). On the other hand, if the portable telephone determines that the incoming call will be receiving the results of the search request, the positioning mechanism provided in the portable telephone judges whether the portable telephone is capable of determining its position information (S15). When the positioning mechanism judges that the portable telephone is incapable of determining its position information, the portable telephone completes the operation without transmitting any position information to the portable telephone that is the source of the search request (S16). On the other hand, when the positioning mechanism judges that the portable telephone is capable of determining its position information, the portable telephone checks received information regarding the portable telephone that is the source of the search request (S17) and performs determines its position information (S18). The position information is then transmitted to the portable telephone that is the source of the search request (S19).
However, in the above-described position detecting system, when the portable telephone receives a search request from a third party when it is incapable of determining its position information, the portable telephone cannot transmit the position information to the third party because the portable telephone cannot determine its position information. Therefore, when the third party does not get a response to the search request, the third party is unaware of the reason, e.g., the portable telephone did not receive the search request sent by the third party, the portable telephone is incapable of determining its position information, the portable telephone rejected the incoming call of the search request, or the portable telephone rejects determining its position information.

Radio apparatus capable of detecting its position and position search method


An electrical connector assembly is provided. The electrical connector assembly includes a cage member configured for mounting in an opening in a panel. The cage member has a compartment for receiving a pluggable electrical component therein. The cage member includes a latch for cooperating with a latch element of the pluggable electrical component. An EMI gasket is mounted on the cage member such that the EMI gasket is electrically connected to the cage member. The EMI gasket is configured to engage the panel when the cage member is mounted in the opening in the panel. The EMI gasket includes a latch interface that engages the latch such that the latch interface is electrically connected to the latch.

The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generally to electrical connector assemblies, and more particularly, to electrical connector assemblies for pluggable electrical components.
Some known electrical connector assemblies include a metal cage having one or more ports that each receive a pluggable electrical component therein, such as, but not limited to, a small form factor pluggable (SFP) module. The pluggable components may plug into an electrical connector that is held within the cage and is electrically connected to a host circuit board. An end of the cage that includes the ports for the pluggable electrical components is typically held within a panel of a housing that contains the host circuit board therein. For example, the housing may be a housing for a computer that includes the host circuit board. The end of the cage that is held within the panel typically includes a plurality of springs that are either formed integrally from a wall thereof or are formed from another material and attached to the cage member. The springs extend circumferentially about the end of the cage and exert a spring force on an interior surface of the panel opening that receives the cage end to securely hold the cage end within the panel opening. The springs also facilitate containing electromagnetic interference (EMI) emissions by providing a plurality of contact points that ground the cage to the panel.
Each port of the cage typically includes a spring latch that cooperates with a latch element of the corresponding pluggable electrical component to latch the pluggable electrical component to the cage. However, when the cage is held within the panel, a gap exists between the spring latch and the panel. The gap may allow EMI emissions to leak therethrough during use of the electrical connector assembly.
There is a need for an electrical connector assembly for pluggable electrical components that reduces leakage of EMI emissions in connection with spring latch members.

EMI gasket for an electrical connector assembly


Provided is a three-dimensional resistance memory including a stack of layers. The stack of layers is encapsulated in a dielectric layer and is adjacent to at least one opening in the encapsulating dielectric layer. At least one L-shaped variable resistance spacer is disposed on at least a portion of the sidewall of the opening adjacent to the stack of layers. An electrode layer fills the remaining portion of the opening.

Memory devices developed based on semiconductor techniques, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), and non-volatile memory, have played a major part in today's semiconductor industry. These memories have been broadly applied to personal computers, mobile phones, and networks and have become one of the most indispensable electronic products in our daily life.
The demand for memories having low power consumption, low cost, high access speed, small volume, and high capacity has been increasing drastically along with the widespread of consumable electronic products and system products. Recording data by changing the resistance of a variable resistance layer is a promising alternative to storing charge or magnetization.
Resistive random access memory (RRAM) has recently gained tremendous popularity due to its high endurance switching while consuming lower voltage than Flash (<5V). RRAM also has the ability to scale further than NAND flash at lower cost, due to its relatively simple structure, and decoupling from front-end process. However, NAND technology has been moving to a bit-cost-scalable (BICS) methodology, which allows a 3D multilayer structure to be built with minimal cost. In order for RRAM to complete with this form of NAND flash on cost, it also must be able to be built in a similar fashion. Since RRAM will not require the extra chip area for charge pumping for the typically high (about 10˜20 V) voltages required for NAND flash programming, a BICS-style RRAM will ultimately prevail for high-density memory.

Via structure, memory array structure, three-dimensional resistance memory and method of forming the same

Industrial Technology Research Institute


An electronic device having updatable BIOS is used to perform a BIOS updating method. The electronic device electrically connects to a server, in which update data is stored. The electronic device includes a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), a network connection module and a switch. A BIOS program is stored in the BIOS, and a connecting program is stored in the network connection module for connecting to the server. When the electronic device is updating, the BIOS switches to electrically connect to the network connection module via the switch, and the network connection module connects to the server by executing the connecting program, downloads the update data applying to the BIOS, and overwrites the update data to the BIOS to update the BIOS program.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to an electronic device having updatable BIOS and BIOS updating method thereof, and more particular, to an electronic device having updatable BIOS and BIOS updating method thereof which can be operated in different system modes.
2. Related Art
In an electronic system, the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) is an indispensable firmware. The BIOS stores the basic code in the electronic system, any loaded hardware will be connected or probed by the BIOS. Besides, the BIOS is stored in read-only memory (ROM), so that the code stored in the BIOS will not disappear when the system is turned off. When the electronic device starts up, the code in the BIOS is loaded at first to initial basic hardware.
Take a general system boot process in the computer system as an illustration. When the power of the computer starts up, the controller chip on the motherboard first starts the BIOS to run Power-On Self Test (POST) process and to identify essential devices in the electronic system in sequence, such as memory, video card, hard disk drives, CD-ROM, serial port, parallel port, and floppy disk drive exist and work normally. After ensuring these devices in the computer well-functioned, the BIOS, in accordance with the path of the local user default profile, loads the system files stored in the hard disk or floppy disk drive to start the operating system program, completing the boot process.
As described above, the code stored in the BIOS is necessary for the electronic device. The data corruption in the BIOS due to viruses or error procedures will lead to the result that the electronic devices can not load essential devices into the system through the BIOS, hence causing the boot process abnormal. In addition, sometimes replacement or CPU on the motherboard of the electronic device has to accompany with updating for the code in the BIOS, or the electronic device will not boot up properly due to unsupported CPU. At that time, the electronic device must be returned to the factory for repair, which is very complex and time-consuming, troubling the users.
Besides, when CPU or other device on the motherboard of the electronic device is changed, the code in the BIOS has to be updated correspondingly. For different functions of the electronic device, the code in the BIOS must be updated correspondingly as well. Thus, the BIOS must be updated periodically.
Usually, the BIOS can be updated only when the electronic device is in the boot stage. Meanwhile, a removable storage device (such as a floppy disk or an external USB drive) is required for pre-downloading and storing the update data for updating the BIOS. That is, the BIOS can be updated only in the boot stage with the removable storage device, which is very inconvenient.

Electronic device having updatable bios and bios updating method thereof


A sheet surface detecting mechanism, which detects the upper surface of sheets stacked on a tray, including: a sensor disposed in a position spaced apart from a conveying portion; a pivotal sensor flag turning the sensor ON/OFF; and a sheet surface detecting member being disposed in parallel with the sheets stacked on the tray, moving in a vertical direction while causing the sensor flag to pivot in contact with the upper surface of the sheets, and turning the sensor ON/OFF via the sensor flag.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus and, more particularly, to the one in which sheets are separated and fed by blowing air to the sheets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as printers and copying machines are provided with a sheet feeding device of feeding sheets one by one from a sheet containing portion in which a plurality of sheets are contained. There is such a sheet feeding device of air sheet feeding type in which air is blown to the end portion of a sheet stack contained in a sheet containing portion to blow up several sheets, and only one sheet is sucked to a sucking and conveying belt disposed thereabove to be conveyed. For example, a sheet feeding device of this type is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H07-196187.
FIG. 14 illustrates one example of a sheet feeding device of such air sheet feeding type. As illustrated in FIG. 14, a tray 12 on which sheets S are stacked is disposed so as to be capable of being lifted or lowered in a storage 11, being a sheet containing portion in which a plurality of sheets S is contained. Moreover, there are provided above this storage 11, a conveying portion 50A that sucks and conveys sheets S, and an air blowing portion 30 for blowing air to the end portion of a sheet stack on the tray to cause several sheets S to blow up, as well as to separate them from one another.
Herein, the conveying portion 50A is provided with a sucking and conveying belt 21 that is passed over belt driving rollers 41, and sucks sheets S to convey them rightward in FIG. 14, and a suction fan 36 generating a negative pressure for causing a sheet S to be sucked to the sucking and conveying belt 21. Furthermore, there is provided a suction duct 51 disposed inside the sucking and conveying belt 21, and acting to suck in air through suction holes formed in the suction belt 21. In addition, to make ON/OFF of sucking operation made by the suction fan 36, there is provided a suction shutter 37 disposed between the suction fan 36 and the suction duct 51.
Furthermore, the air blowing portion 30 is provided with a loosening nozzle 33 and a separation nozzle 34 for blowing air to the upper portion of a contained sheet stack, a separation fan 31, and a separation duct 32 supplying air from the separation fan 31 to each of the nozzles 33 and 34.
Further, a part of air having been sucked in the direction indicated by the arrows C with the separation fan 31 is passed through the separation duct 32 to be blown in the direction indicated by the arrows D with the loosening nozzle 33, and acts to blow up several upper sheets of the sheet stack supported on the tray 12. Moreover, other air is blown in the direction indicated by the arrows E with the separation nozzle 34, and acts to separate only the uppermost sheet one by one out of the several sheets blown up with the loosening nozzle 33 to be sucked to the sucking and conveying belt 21.
Incidentally, to make a sheet S to be sucked to the sucking and conveying belt 21 like this, an uppermost sheet Sa of the sheet stack contained in the storage 11 needs to be maintained in a predetermined sheet feeding position capable of being sucked to the suction belt 21.
Accordingly, conventionally there has been provided a sheet surface detecting mechanism formed of a sheet surface detecting sensor and sensor flag acting to detect positions of the uppermost sheet Sa. In this sheet surface detecting mechanism, lifting and lowering of a tray 12 supporting sheets are controlled by detecting the displacement of the sensor flag with the sheet surface detecting sensor. Further, conventionally, the sheet surface detecting sensor and the sensor flag of such a sheet surface detecting mechanism are disposed in an internal part of the suction duct 51. For example, one example of this construction is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-95467.
However, when a sheet surface detecting sensor and the like are disposed in the suction duct 51 like this, there has to be a space for containing the sheet surface detecting sensor and the like in the suction duct 51. Moreover, when such containing space is formed, a suction duct 51 becomes large, and thus the whole of an image forming apparatus comes to be larger accordingly.
Further, the capacity of a suction duct 51 comes to be larger. Herein, since the capacity of the suction duct 51 is closely related to the power of a suction fan 36, a larger capacity of the suction duct 51 leads to upsizing of the suction fan 36, resulting in waste of energy consumption or higher costs. In addition, although the suction duct 51 is required to have a high air-tightness, it is significantly difficult that a sheet surface detecting mechanism is smoothly operated, as well as electrical parts such as sensors of the sheet surface detecting mechanism are disposed while keeping air-tightness.
For these reasons, to achieve downsizing of an apparatus or maintain a stable performance, as illustrated e.g., in FIG. 15, it is practical that a sheet surface detecting mechanism 50B is disposed outside a suction duct 51. Now, the sheet surface detecting mechanism 50B disposed outside the suction duct 51 like this, and functioning to detect the upper surface of sheets S stacked on a tray 12, is described.
This sheet surface detecting mechanism 50B is provided with a sheet surface detecting sensor flag 52 pivotally supported about a support shaft 53, and contacted with the upper surface of sheets S, and a first sheet surface sensor 54 and a second sheet surface sensor 55 made to be ON/OFF by turning of the sheet surface detecting sensor flag 52.
Herein, the sheet surface detecting sensor flag 52 is provided with a contact portion 52A in contact with the upper surface of the uppermost sheet Sa, a first detecting portion 52B shading a light-receiving portion of the first sheet surface sensor 54, and a second detecting portion 52C shading a light-receiving portion of the second sheet surface sensor 55.
In the sheet surface detecting mechanism 50B of such construction, when the tray 12 is lifted for feeding sheets S, the contact portion 52A of the sheet surface detecting sensor flag 52 is in contact with the upper surface of the uppermost sheet Sa, and thereafter the sheet surface detecting sensor flag 52 is pivoted accompanied by the rise of the tray 12. Then, when the sheet surface detecting sensor flag 52 is pivoted like this, the first detecting portion 52B and the second detecting portion 52C make ON/OFF of the first sheet surface sensor 54 and the second sheet surface sensor 55 as appropriate respectively.
Furthermore, a controller acting to control lifting and lowering of the tray 12 makes lifting and lowering of the tray 12 based on ON/OFF of these first and second sheet surface sensors 54 and 55 to maintain the uppermost sheet Sa in a predetermined sheet feeding position.
However, in conventional sheet feeding devices and image forming apparatuses provided with such a sheet surface detecting mechanism, for example, in the case of sheets which end portions of the downstream side in a sheet conveying direction are curled upward, when air is blown to the sheets from the loosening nozzle 33, they will be in such a blown-up state as illustrated in FIG. 16. Herein, in this state, while the sheet surface height of the uppermost sheet Sa in a position where the contact portion 52A of the sheet surface detecting sensor flag 52 is in contact, is optimum (for example, SL), the downstream side end portions of sheets S are contacted with the sucking and conveying belt 21.
Then, in such a state, when the uppermost sheet Sa is sucked to the sucking and conveying belt 21, as well as a separating air is blown from the separation nozzle, the separating air indicated by the arrow is interrupted with curls of the sheets not to be capable of smoothly coming in between the sheets. Thus, sheets cannot be separated (loosened) sufficiently from one another.
Consequently, the next sheet Sb or the subsequent plural sheets of a sheet stack are conveyed erroneously in association with the uppermost sheet Sa, thus leading to a problem of the occurrence of double feed of sheets or jamming (sheet jamming).
That is, in the case where a sheet surface detecting mechanism 50B is disposed outside of the suction duct 51 for the purpose of preventing upsizing of apparatuses, for example, in case of sheets curled upward, the distance of sheets with respect to the sucking and conveying belt 21 cannot be exactly recognized. As a result, feeding failures such as double feed of sheets or jamming will occur.


A tool that is usable with a well includes a movable element and a curved actuator. The curved actuator is adapted to move in a curved path that at least partially surrounds a longitudinal axis of the tool to actuate the element.

The invention generally relates to a rotary actuator mechanism for a downhole tool.
A downhole tool is a device that performs a specific function in a well, such as, for example, controlling a production flow in the well. A typical downhole tool may include a piston that moves linearly along the longitudinal axis of the tool. The piston typically has a cylindrical form and is oriented to travel in a direction that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tool.
More specifically, the piston typically translates linearly along the longitudinal axis of the tool when subjected to hydraulic control pressure. The piston may be used for such purposes as shifting a sliding sleeve to selectively open and close apertures to control the flow of fluid through a valve, for example.
In some cases, a rotational motion may be needed in the tool. For these cases, the linear motion of the piston may be converted to a rotational motion through a rotational conversion mechanism such as a "J-slot." However, this approach may introduce a relatively inefficient energy conversion and its operation may be somewhat unreliable. Additionally, the use of a linear piston in combination with a rotational conversion mechanism has the inability to fail in a particular operational position, may be expensive, may be difficult to manufacture and may further add to the cost and complexity of the tool.
Thus, there exists a continuing need for better ways to produce rotational motion in a tool about its longitudinal axis.

Rotary actuator mechanism for a downhole tool


An analog-digital converter is provided. The analog-digital converter includes: a comparing section for comparing an input signal voltage and an analog ramp voltage in which a voltage level gradually increases; and a latch section for storing a digital value of a digital ramp signal, in which a digital value of a voltage level gradually increases in synchronization with the analog ramp voltage when the analog ramp voltage or a voltage corresponding to the analog ramp voltage and the input signal voltage are equal. A voltage in which part or all of a plurality of analog ramp signals are added is used as the analog ramp voltage so that a gain is selectable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an analog-digital converter in which a gain can be selected when an analog image signal is converted into a digital image signal and the digital image is output: a solid-state image capturing apparatus using the analog-digital converter to make it possible to capture an image light from a subject; and an electronic information device, such as a digital camera (e.g., a digital video camera, a digital still camera), an image input scanner, a facsimile machine, a cell phone device equipped with a camera and the like, using the solid-state image capturing apparatus as an image input device for an image capturing section.
2. Description of the Related Art
As disclosed in Reference 1, in a solid-state image capturing apparatus, such as a conventional CMOS image sensor, when converting an analog image signal into a digital image signal and being output, an input signal amplifier in an analog-digital converter selects a high gain to make a bright image if the voltage level of an imaging data from a pixel section is too low. Such a conventional image sensor is shown in FIG. 8.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an exemplary essential structure of a conventional CMOS image sensor. Although the actual pixel arrangement has, for example, 1200 rows×1600 columns, for the sake of simplicity, the pixel arrangement which includes a pixel section has four rows and four columns as shown in FIG. 8.
In FIG. 8, a conventional CMOS image sensor 100 includes: a plurality of pixel sections 101, which are arranged in two dimensional matrix; a y-axis decoder 102 for sequentially selecting each row in a pixel arrangement; a plurality of amplifiers (input signal amplifier) 103 for amplifying an output voltage of each column in the pixel arrangement; a plurality of comparators 104 for comparing an input voltage of each amplifier 103 with an analog ramp voltage ARMP (the ramp means a tilt); a digital latch section 105 for storing a digital ramp signal DRMP (multiple bit data) when the input voltage and the analog ramp voltage ARMP from each amplifier 103 are equal; an x-axis decoder 106 for sequentially selecting each column of the pixel arrangement by sequentially selecting latch sections 105 so that a signal is output to a plurality of bit lines; an analog ramp generator 107 for generating the analog ramp voltage ARMP, which is a triangular wave that sequentially increases the voltage level; and a digital ramp generator 108 for generating a digital ramp signal DRMP, in which a digital value sequentially increases in synchronization with the analog ramp voltage ARMP. In addition, a conventional analog-digital converter is configured with the amplifier 103, the comparator 104, the latch section 105, the analog ramp generator 107, and the digital ramp generator 108.
In the conventional CMOS image sensor 100 with the structure described above, an incident light (a subject light) is first photoelectrically converted by each pixel section 101 and is then output as an imaging signal voltage. In the y-axis decoder 102, only one row is selected sequentially from the pixel arrangement in accordance with an inputted address signal YADDR. An output voltage selected from one row of pixel sections 101 is amplified via the corresponding amplifier 103 and is input into a corresponding comparator 104. Each amplifier 103 is a gain selecting section, where, for example, an original gain and a doubled gain are selected in accordance with a selecting signal GSEL, so that the output voltage from each pixel section 101 is amplified.
Subsequently, the analog ramp voltage ARMP and the input voltage are compared with each other in each comparator 104, and when both are equal to each other, the digital ramp signal DRMP, which increases the voltage level in synchronization with the analog ramp voltage ARMP, is stored in the latch section 105. That is, a digital value of a digital ramp signal DRMP, which is at the same voltage level as the analog ramp voltage ARMP, is stored in the latch section 105 when the analog ramp signal DRMP increases and has the same voltage level as the voltage level of the input voltage of the pixel section 101. As a result, the input voltage of the pixel section 101 is said to be analog-digital converted.
In this way, subsequent to the completion of an analog-digital converting operation for one row, each latch section 105 is sequentially selected at the x-axis decoder 106 in accordance with an inputted address signal XADDR, and each latched digital ramp signal DRMP is sequentially output as an analog-digital converting output signal DOUT.
A clock signal CLOCK and a synchronizing signal SYNC are input to the analog ramp generator 107 and the digital ramp generator 108. The analog ramp voltage ARMP, which is gradually increased the voltage level, is generated at the analog ramp generator 107, whereas a digital ramp signal DRMP is generated at the digital ramp generator 108, the digital ramp signal DRMP changing such that the digital ramp signal is increased its voltage level in synchronization with the analog ramp voltage ARMP.
A series of analog-digital converting operations described above are performed for every row in the pixel arrangement, so that the information of a digital image is output as image data.
Reference 1: Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-50231

Analog-digital converter, solid-state image capturing apparatus, and electronic information device


A sheathed-element glow plug is used to be situated in a chamber in an internal combustion engine. The sheathed-element glow plug has a housing, a pin-shaped heating element, which extends partially from the housing and a pressure sensor which is situated in an inner chamber of the housing. A prestressing sleeve is provided, in this context, which applies a prestressing to the pressure sensor.

A pressure-measuring glow plug for a Diesel engine is described in German Published Patent Application No. 103 43 521. The pressure-measuring glow plug has a plug element and a heating pin situated in the plug element. Furthermore, between the heating pin and the plug element there is a pressure sensor, the pressure sensor being influenced by the pressure, in the combustion chamber of the cylinder, that is transmitted by the heating pin. A diaphragm is also provided which seals the pressure sensor from the combustion chamber.
The pressure-measuring glow plug described in German Published Patent Application No. 103 43 521 has the disadvantage that the diaphragm is exposed to considerable stresses when the pressure-measuring glow plug is incorporated in the cylinder, because of the required installation force, whereby damage to the diaphragm may occur. Besides, the diaphragm is situated in the force path between the heating pin and the pressure sensor, so that the pressure measurement is impaired. A further disadvantage of the pressure-measuring glow plug is the great distance of the pressure measuring sensor from the conical seal of the plug element, since, because of that, natural vibrations of the pressure-measuring glow plug are favored at low frequencies. These natural frequencies may make the measurement of the pressure worse or impossible, and in an extreme case may result in the destruction of the pressure-measuring glow plug.


A liquid crystal display 1 displays an image of 16:9 aspect ratio by sequentially driving scan lines Y(1) to Y(30) and capacitor lines CL(1) to CL(30), in synchronization with this, sequentially driving scan lines Y(211) to Y(240) and capacitor lines CL(211) to CL(240), and thereafter, sequentially driving scan lines Y(31) to Y(210) and capacitor lines CL(31) to CL(210).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display that needs no high frequencies to drive marginal display areas, has a simple structure, consumes little power, and achieves high response.
2. Description of Related Art
Although an NTSC system employing an aspect ratio of 4:3 is a standard television system, the development of a wide-vision system employing an aspect ratio of 16:9 has expanded the production of video software complying therewith, to allow people to enjoy video programs with more sense of realism.
There is a requirement for displays having an aspect ratio of 4:3 to cope with video programs having an aspect ratio of 16:9. For this, liquid crystal television sets and video cameras supporting the wide-vision mode have been developed.
FIG. 1 shows a display having an aspect ratio of 4:3 and supporting an aspect ratio of 16:9. Receiving a video signal of 16:9 aspect ratio, the display of FIG. 1 sets top and bottom marginal areas on a screen of 4:3 aspect ratio. Between the top and bottom marginal areas, a central area having an aspect ratio of 16:9 is secured to display an image of 16:9 aspect ratio. Without the top and bottom marginal areas, an image of 16:9 aspect ratio will be vertically expanded on the screen of FIG. 1.
According to the related art of FIG. 1, a frequency for driving the top and bottom marginal areas must be higher than a frequency used to display an image of 4:3 aspect ratio. The reason of this will be explained based on a liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as "LCD") having 240 scan lines and employing the NTSC system. Driving a screen of 4:3 aspect ratio of this LCD needs 15.3 ms, which is obtained by multiplying a horizontal scan period of 63.6 μs by the number of horizontal scan lines, 240. Driving a central area of 16:9 aspect ratio secured in the screen also needs 15.3 ms.
Top and bottom marginal areas defined in the screen each include 30 scan lines. Driving the top and bottom marginal areas at the driving frequency for the 4:3 aspect ratio takes a time of 3.8 ms (=horizontal scan period 63.6 μs×60). Then, the total time for driving the top and bottom marginal areas and the central area will be 19.1 ms (=15.3 ms+3.8 ms) that exceeds one field period of 16.7 ms. Accordingly, the top and bottom marginal areas must be driven at a higher frequency.
In more detail, the 60 scan lines that form the top and bottom marginal areas must be driven within 1.4 ms (=16.7 ms−15.3 ms), and therefore, a horizontal scan period for the marginal areas must be 23.3 μs (=1.4 ms/60). Namely, when displaying an image of 16:9 aspect ratio, the driving frequency for the marginal areas must be about 2.7 times as fast as the driving frequency for the 4:3 aspect ratio. This is true not only for the NTSC system but also for a PAL system.
Increasing a driving frequency may lead to a shortage of charge in each pixel electrode of the LCD. If each pixel electrode is insufficiently charged, a black color displayed in the top and bottom marginal areas will differ in brightness from a black color displayed in the central area.
To cope with this problem, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H05-199482) discloses an LCD that equalizes the potential of scan electrodes with the potential of signal electrodes in the top and bottom marginal areas. Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H08-314421) discloses an LCD that writes black information in scan lines of the top and bottom marginal areas.
Patent Document 3 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-051643) discloses an LCD 2 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 in which FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a liquid crystal panel of the LCD 2, FIG. 3 is a view showing the liquid crystal panel and related components, and FIG. 4 is a view showing voltage waveforms in the LCD 2.
In FIG. 2, a signal line driver 11 receives a video signal whose polarity is inverted every horizontal scan period (H). A horizontal scan circuit 10 generates sampling pulses according to a control signal. In response to the sampling pulses, the signal line driver 11 sequentially supplies the video signal to signal lines X.
The LCD 2 sets an upper marginal area in a screen having an aspect ratio of 4:3 so that the remaining lower area of the screen may have an aspect ratio of 16:9 to display an image of 16:9 aspect ratio.
A wide-view control signal is at a low voltage in a period of driving the lower area, as shown in FIG. 4. In the period of driving the lower area, a switch shown in FIG. 3 is connected to a precharge pulse generator to supply a precharge pulse signal to the liquid crystal panel. In the period of driving the lower area, a precharge control signal alternates ON and OFF states as shown in FIG. 4. In the LCD 2 of FIG. 2, precharge switches PSW are set to an ON state during the ON period of the precharge control signal, to supply the precharge pulse signal to the signal lines X. When the precharge switches PSW are turned off, the signal line driver 11 supplies a video signal to the signal lines X. During a period in which the precharge pulse signal or the video signal is supplied to the signal lines X, a scan line driver 13 drives scan lines Y. Through pixel transistors Q that are made conductive with a corresponding one of the scan lines Y, the precharge pulse or the video signal is supplied to pixel electrodes P connected to the pixel transistors Q. As a result, an electric field whose strength is dependent on the amplitude of the signal is applied to a liquid crystal layer related to each of the pixel electrodes P, and the liquid crystal layer emits light whose quantity is dependent on the strength of the electric field.
The wide-view control signal is at a high voltage in a period for driving the marginal area, as shown in FIG. 4. In the period for driving the marginal area, the switch shown in FIG. 3 is connected to a wide-view pulse generator to supply a wide-view pulse signal to the liquid crystal panel. At this time, the signal line driver 11 supplies no video signal to the signal lines X, and the wide-view pulse signal is supplied through the precharge switches PSW, which are ON due to the wide-view control signal, to the signal lines X. During the period in which the wide-view pulse signal is supplied to the signal lines X, the scan line driver 13 drives the scan lines Y. Through pixel transistors Q that are made conductive with a corresponding one of the scan lines Y, the wide-view pulse signal is supplied to pixel electrodes P connected to the pixel transistors Q. Then, each corresponding liquid crystal layer emits light whose intensity is dependent on the amplitude of the signal.
To realize the two aspect ratios of 4:3 and 16:9, the LCDs disclosed in the Patent Documents 1 and 2 need additional driving systems, memories, scan converters, and the like. The LCDs of these related arts, therefore, are complicated and large and consume large power. The LCD disclosed in the Patent Document 3 must increase the amplitude of a wide-view pulse signal larger than that of a precharge pulse signal. Also, this related art must increase a current value of the wide-view pulse signal because the wide aspect ratio increases the number of pixels in a horizontal direction. This results in increasing the power consumption of a video signal processing IC shown in FIG. 3 and thus the power consumption of the LCD.
Among LCDs used for a variety of applications, those used for EVFs (electronic view finders) of liquid crystal television sets and video cameras and those used for displaying video data recorded in DVDs (digital versatile disks) require improved response to display high-quality images.
The response of an LCD may be improved by, for example, superimposing an over-drive voltage on a video signal. This, however, requires devices and line memories for computing the over-drive voltage, thereby increasing the complexity and cost of the LCD.

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Ltd.


The invention relates to an injector device for injecting an intraocular implant into the eye of a patient, which device comprises a folding chamber for folding the optical portion of the implant, a folding member, a hollow needle for injecting the folded implant into the eye, said hollow needle opening out at a first end of said chamber, a guide channel opening out at the second end of said chamber, and a moving piston mounted in said guide channel so as to push said folded implant into said hollow needle. The piston (40) includes a cylindrical end (44) for co-operating with said implant, said end including an end face (50) that is substantially orthogonal to the length of the piston, said end face presenting an opening (52) opening out in the side wall of the end of the piston and extending over a portion only of the diameter of the piston, said end being provided with a slot (54) extending over a length l such that, together with the length of said opening, the total length is not less than the length of the haptic branch, said slot communicating with said opening and also extending over the entire diameter of the piston so as to open out at its diametral ends in the outside wall of the end of said piston.

The present invention relates to an injector for injecting a flexible intraocular implant, and in particular it relates to a piston for such an injector.
Intraocular implants are vision-correction systems constituted by an optical portion and by a haptic portion, the haptic portion serving to hold the implant in the eye in such a manner that its optical portion presents an axis which coincides with the axis of the eye of the patient fitted with the implant. The implant is usually placed in the capsular bag of the eye once the natural lens has been removed, but it can also be put in place in the anterior chamber or in the posterior chamber of the eye of the patient.
In order to reduce the size of the incision required for putting the implant into place inside the eye, intraocular implants have been developed having an optical portion that is flexible and made of silicone or hydrophilic or hydrophobic acrylic materials. With such implants, it is possible to fold or to roll up the optical portion of the implant before inserting it into the eye, thereby enabling the total size of the implant to be reduced while it is being inserted into the eye.
The haptic portion of the implant has a purely mechanical function as explained above, and it can be presented in various ways. In some cases, the haptic portion is constituted by two haptic elements also made of a flexible material, which can therefore be rolled up or folded together with the optical portion. In other cases, the haptic portion can be constituted by two haptic branches presenting regular curvature and made of an intrinsically rigid material such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and having flexibility properties resulting from the small transverse size of the branches.
In order to assist the surgeon while the implant is being put into place in the eye, devices called intraocular-implant injectors have been developed which fulfill the dual function of rolling up or folding the implant and of inserting the folded implant into the eye by means of a hollow tube inserted through the incision made in the cornea of the eye.


An electrostatic chuck employs thermoelectric cooling technology. The chuck includes a conductive circular base with an upper ring portion forming a first pole piece electrically isolated from an annular portion forming a second pole piece. The upper surface of the pole pieces have a dielectric material formed thereon and together form the electrostatic clamping surface for an article to be held thereon. The backside is provided with an annular recess containing a plurality of thermoelectric devices or modules and intervening spokes. The devices are covered with a heat sink or cooling plate through which a fluid such as water is circulated. A retaining back ring covers the water plate which is secured to the base by bolts. Uniform pressure is applied to the water plate and modules by means of spring washers inserted between back ring and water plate.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an electrostatic chuck used for holding articles such as semiconductor wafers, dielectric substrates, panel displays and the like during processing and, in particular, to such a chuck employing thermoelectric heating or cooling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are known techniques for applying heat to an electrostatic chuck and in turn to a wafer clamped thereon during semiconductor processing.
Niori, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,156 describes an electrostatic chuck whose ceramic substrate or body has a heat generating element embedded therein. The heat generating element is energized to heat a wafer-attracting surface of the chuck to a desired temperature which in turn can heat a wafer positioned thereon uniformly.
Kawada, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,043 relates to a ceramic electrostatic chuck, with built-in heater, the heater being a heat generating layer made from an electrostatic ceramic. Other electrostatic chuck U.S. patents with heat generating layers are: Kawada, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,484; Kawada, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,865; and, Kawada, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,260.
Also known are various techniques for wafer cooling during semiconductor processing.
In Jones, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,233 an inert gas is used to conduct away the heat normally produced during processing.
Lewin, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,094 discloses an electrostatic chuck in which temperature variations across the semiconductor wafer are minimized by the use of a plurality of closely spaced conductor pillows in contact with the wafer and extending therefrom to a heat sink.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,218 to Ooshio, et al, the chuck body is provided with a plurality of channels for passing a cooling medium there through in order to cool the wafers.
Logan, et al, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,155,652 and 5,191,506, utilize heat sinks with backside cooling.
The large volume of liquid involved in prior art cooling for electrostatic chucks creates a large thermal mass whose temperature cannot be changed rapidly.
Thermoelectric units have been thought of before for use in semiconductor process equipment.
Wright, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,183 pertains to a thermoelectric exchange for transferring heat between two fluids, as in semiconductor process equipment.

Electrostatic chuck employing thermoelectric cooling


Various arrangements that permit temporary subscription porting are presented. A temporary subscription port request may be submitted by a subscriber. The temporary subscription port request may include an identifier of a visitor television receiver and authentication information for the subscriber. In response to the temporary subscription port request, a first command to a home television receiver may be transmitted that disables viewing a first set of television channels linked with the subscriber's subscription account. In response to the temporary subscription port request, a second command to the visitor television receiver may be transmitted that enables viewing the first set of television channels linked with the subscriber's subscription account.

Television subscriptions are typically immobile. For instance, if a subscriber orders a particular package of television channels, the subscriber is typically locked into viewing those television channels via user equipment located at the address associated with the subscriber's subscription, such as the subscriber's home. An occasion may arise where the subscriber may desire to view a television channel at a location other than the address associated with his subscription.

Temporary subscription access via an alternate television receiver


An imaging apparatus for imaging a first object at a normal distance and a second object nearer than the first object readily with high precision. The imaging apparatus has an imaging lens, an imaging device for capturing an image formed by the imaging lens, and a camera control unit. The imaging lens is a multifocal lens and contains a first lens portion having a first focal length for imaging the first object (e.g., the user of the imaging apparatus) at a normal distance and a second lens portion having a second focal length for imaging the second object (e.g., a bar code) nearer than the first object. The first and second lens portions are arranged on the same plane and formed in one piece. The information collected by imaging the second object is used for processing such as communications or displays.

The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus having an image input function such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone (including the Personal Handy-phone System (PHS)), a remote controller for consumer electronics such as a television or a videocassette recorder, a personal computer equipped with a camera, a monitoring camera, and so forth. For example, the imaging apparatus can be used for imaging a still image or a moving image of an object at a normal distance such as the user of the imaging apparatus or for reading a close up still image such as a digital code, characters, or the like with high precision. Then, the read image is displayed as it is, or the read image data is decoded to collect the information included in the digital code or the characters therein, so that the collected information can be displayed or used for various processes such as communication or the like.
Generally, an imaging apparatus having an image input function such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or the like has advantages, if it is capable of reading an approximate image of a bar code that is one kind of digital codes, while it can also read a desired image such as, for example, an image of the user himself/herself or the scenery. Because the bar code can represent various information such as, for example, a mail address, a homepage address, a telephone number, a facsimile (FAX) number, a company name, a belonging section, a job title, or the like, the use of such information in combination with the above-mentioned desired image can contribute to realize highly effective communications.
Conventionally, a specialized scanner has been used for reading a bar code. There are examples of reading bar codes by using image input devices such as personal computers or the like. In such cases, an image input lens for imaging an object at a normal distance such as the user or the scenery ranging from a short distance (e.g., approximately 0.3 m) to a long distance has been used for reading a bar code.
However, using the above mentioned specialized scanner is highly complicated in operation and handling, and thus it is not practical. In addition, when the lens for imaging an object at a normal distance is used to read a bar code as described above, it is difficult to read a complicated image due to an insufficient resolution, especially a two-dimensional bar code or the like, to decode and recognize the information included in the image.
As a solution for this problem, it is conceivable to prepare one normal lens for imaging an object at a normal distance (e.g., the user) and one close-up lens for imaging an object nearer than the object at a normal distance (e.g., a bar code), and to select or switch the proper imaging lens for use by revolving a platter on which the imaging lenses are attached or by sliding these imaging lenses. However, such operation is complicated and impractical, and moreover, such constructions hinder a miniaturization of the imaging apparatus.
Accordingly, it is desirable that an imaging apparatus has an image input function to image not only an object at a normal distance such as the user, scenery, or the like, but also an object such as a bar code nearer than the object at a normal distance readily with high precision.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus which is capable of imaging a first object at a normal distance and a second object nearer than the first object readily with high precision.

Imaging apparatus with a multifocal lens formed of two pieces with different focal lengths