In a slide fastener slider, a slider body includes a pair of cantilevered arch-shape attachment lugs spaced from each other by a uniform-width hollow having a bottom surface sloping down to a front side of the slider body and standing on an upper wing at its front end and extending toward its rear end so as to define with the upper wing a gap for passage of an axle of a pull tab, a vertical spring-receiving hole formed through inner surfaces of bases of the attachment lugs into a guide post, a catch lever pivotally mounted between the attachment lugs and having at one end a hook, and a spring received in the spring-receiving hole with its upper end resiliently touching with the other end of the catch lever for urging the catch lever to pivotally move so as to normally close the gap by the hook. The pull tab various in kind can be attached to the assembled slider body.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a slide fastener slider which, after a slider body has been assembled, a pull tab is attached to the slider body and is prevented from accidental removal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many slide fastener sliders of the above-mentioned type are currently known. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 1-14761 discloses a free-type slider which has a cantilevered arch-shape attachment lug integrally standing on an upper wing of a slider body at its front end and extending toward its rear end for holding an axle of a pull tab between the attachment lug and the upper wing, a recess formed in the upper surface of the upper wing in confronting relation to the rear end of the attachment lug for passage of the axle of the pull tab, and a resilient member supported by the slider body or the attachment lug for normally closing a gap between the upper wing and the rear end of the attachment lug. In production, for attaching the pull tab to the slider body, the resilient member is deformed by the axle of the pull tab so as to allow the axle to pass through the gap. Thus, the pull tab can be attached or detached freely
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 4-32974 discloses an auto-lock slide fastener slider which has, as shown in FIG. 10 of the accompanying drawings of the present specification, an arch-shape pull-tab holder 20' pivotally mounted at its front end on an attachment lug 10' standing on the upper end of a guide post 5' and extends toward the rear end of an upper wing 3', and a locking lever 35' pivotally mounted on the attachment lug 10' at a position towards the guide post 5' with its rear end, i.e. a locking pawl 36', inserted in a locking-pawl-insertion hole 28' of the upper wing 3' and with its front end touching a spring 26' received in a small vertical hole in the guide post 5', the locking lever 35' having on its upper side a rearwardly opening recess 41' in which the axle of a pull tab is to be received to actuate the locking lever 35'. The rear end of the pull-tab holder 20' defines with the upper wing 3' a gap for passage of the axle of the pull tab. A gap-closing member 50' is slidably supported on the upper wing 3' for movement between a gap-closing position and a gap-opening position towards the guide post 5'. By pushing the gap-closing member 50' away from the gap by the axle, the pull tab can be threaded onto and removed off the pull-tab holder 20' via the gap.
Republic Chinese Patent No. 264642 discloses a slide fastener slider with an automatic locking mechanism which has, as shown in FIG. 11 of the accompanying drawings of the present specification, a cantilevered arch-shape attachment lug 10" standing on the upper wing 3" at its rear end and extending toward its front end, i.e. the upper end of a guide post 5", so as to define between a downwardly bent front end of the attachment lug 10" and the upper surface of the guide post 5" a gap for passage of an axle of a pull tab, a spring 26" received in a first vertical through-hole 16"-1 of the guide post, a gap-closing member 50" supported on the upper end of the spring 26" and normally urged against a lower surface of the front end of the attachment lug 10' for closing the gap 14", a second vertical through-hole 16'-2 extending in the front end of the attachment lug in alignment with the first vertical through-hole 16"-1, a horizontal lockinglever-attaching hole 42" perpendicularly crossing the second vertical through-hole 16"-2 in the front end of the attachment lug 10", a resilient locking lever 35" received in the locking-lever-attaching hole 42" with its rear end, e.g. a locking pawl 36", inserted in a locking-pawl-insertion hole 28" of the upper wing 3' to retractably project into a guide channel 7" of the slider body 1", and a locking-lever-anchoring strip 60' inserted in a slot 43" of the base of the locking lever to secure the locking lever 35". By pushing the gap-closing member 50" downwardly off the front end of the attachment lug 10" by the axle, the pull tab can be threaded onto the attachment lug 10" via the gap 14".
However, in the slider disclosed the first-named publication, partly since the pulling force of the pull tab acts directly on the resilient member and partly since the resilient member is supported in the attachment lug, a stable pull-tab-catching mechanism cannot be achieved. Further, since the pull-tab attaching and detaching mechanism and the pull-tab holding mechanism are complex, it is difficult to achieve a simple assembling of the slider, thus the resulting slider is not suitable for an automated assembling process.
In the auto-lock slider shown in FIG. 10 and disclosed in the second-named publication, due to its complicated structure, it is difficult to take appropriate adjustments for smooth actuation and operation. Also, since either the automatic locking mechanism or the gap-closing mechanism is composed of a rather large number of parts, efficient assembling is difficult to achieve and, as a consequence, this prior art slider is not suitable for automated assembling. Furthermore, this slider is necessarily large in height due to its peculiar structure, can not be made flat in structure and hence not neat in appearance.
Also in the auto-lock slider shown in FIG. 11 and disclosed in the third-named publication, it is difficult to assemble the automatic locking mechanism and the pull-tab-removal preventing mechanism in a streamlined process on an automatic assembling machine. As a consequence, this prior art slider is not suitable for automated assembling. Further, after the pull tab has been attached to the slider body, the axle of the pull tab comes directly into contact with the gap-closing member 50" and might therefore fail to actuate the locking lever 35" so as to retract the locking pawl 36" off the fastener element rows.


A display panel has a mounting hole. The display panel includes a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, and a first insulating isolation layer located between the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer. The first conductive layer includes a first crack detection line and a first electrode connected to each other. The second conductive layer includes a second crack detection line and a second electrode connected to each other. The first electrode and the second electrode constitute a capacitor. The mutual-sensing capacitor is disposed outside of the mounting hole. The capacitor is configured to detect whether there is a crack in a portion of the display panel located around the mounting hole.

At present, display screens are moving towards an era of full screens. In order to increase a screen-to-body ratio (i.e., a ratio of an area of a display screen to an area of a front panel of a display apparatus including the display screen), most products are equipped with an AA Hole technology, in which holes are punched in an active area AA (i.e., display area) to place optical devices in the holes. The AA Hole technology requires punching holes in active areas of a display screen motherboard firstly, and then cutting the display screen motherboard to obtain multiple display screens with the holes.

CHENGDU BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. CHENGDU


A panoramic support for a camera having a rotatable indexing head used to rotate the camera the same angle between successive image recordings in order to obtain a series of recorded images that can be combined to provide a comprehensive panoramic image, is characterized in that the rotatable indexing head is adapted to support the camera alternatively in a horizontal orientation for making horizontal-format recorded images and in a vertical orientation for making vertical-format recorded images, and includes respective angle indicators for rotating the camera one angle between each horizontal-format image recording and another angle between each vertical-format image recording.

A panorama is a picture that presents a continuous view of the landscape. Typically, such comprehensive pictures are generally created from a series of separate photographs covering the horizon, in slightly overlapping sections.
When an ordinary camera is used for making panoramic pictures, certain precautions must be taken or the adjacent photographs will not dovetail into one another without leaving a visible join. First, the camera must be mounted on a tripod or the like. This is to make sure that all of the photographs are taken from the same viewpoint. If the viewpoint moves between one exposure and the next, the perspective of the two photographs is no longer the same, and it is not possible to find a common boundary for joining them. Second, the camera should be mounted on a rotatable indexing head marked off to show successive evenly-spaced camera positions that will cover the horizon in sections with a suitable overlap between each section.
Typically, the rotatable indexing head only supports the camera in a horizontal orientation for making horizontal-format exposures, i.e. exposures formatted with the horizontal dimension being greater than the vertical dimension. Alternatively, the rotatable indexing head only supports the camera in a vertical orientation for making vertical-format exposures, i.e. exposures formatted with the vertical dimension being greater than the horizontal dimension.

Panoramic support for camera permits horizontal-format and vertical-format image recordings


A floating liner for a container of welding wire which floating liner includes a tube having two ends and a passageway extending between the two ends. The floating liner is unsupported between the top of the container and the retaining ring. The floating liner is designed to provide structural support to the wire and added stiffness or rigidity to the wire to inhibit buckling of the wire, knot formation in the wire that can form between the retaining ring and the top of the container. The floating liner has a weight profile that causes one end of the tube to at least partially float above the top surface of a layer of welding wire or retaining ring in the container as the welding wire is paid out of the container.

The present invention is particularly applicable for use in a container of welding wire stored as a large wire stack or coils or wire containing convolutions formed into layers of the welding wire which is paid out from the wire stack or coils through the upper portion of the container storing the wire stack or coils. However, the invention has broader applications and may be used with any type of welding wire contained in a wire stack or coils to be fed from the wire stack or coils through the top of the container with or without a tendency to retain a generally straight condition.
Welding wire is often shipped in a cylindrical drum which includes a cylindrical inner core. When it is desired to use the wire, a cone assembly is mounted at the top of the container. The cone assembly includes a payout arm extending upwardly from the top of the cone that is provided with an eyelet at its end and a central conduit for guiding the wire to a wire feeder mechanism.
When welding automatically or semi-automatically, it is essential that large amounts of welding wire be continuously directed to the welding operation in a non-twisted, non-distorted non-canted condition so that the welding operation is performed uniformly over long periods of time without manual intervention and/or inspection. It is a tremendously difficult task to be assured that the wire is fed to the welding operation in a non-twisted condition so that the natural tendency of the wire to seek a preordained natural condition will not be detrimental to smooth and uniform welding.
To accomplish this task, welding wire is produced to have a no-twist condition. Welding wire has a cast that is intentionally built into the wire when its is manufactured. The nature shape of the wire is not straight, but typically sinusoidal. A straight welding wire has difficulty in making reliable contact with the contact tip of a welding gun so as to properly pass current through the wire. The unsatisfactory wire contact can result is "arc flare" when contact is momentarily broken. The cast of typical welding wire is typically about 35–60 inches. If the cast is too small, the wire is highly sensitive to a helix thereby causing wire wobble when exiting a welding gun tip. When the cast is too large, the welding wire has difficulty in making reliable contact with the welding gun tip, and is also susceptible to conduit bending or becoming recast by small conduit radii as the wire is fed. This conduit bending or recasting of the welding wire can also result in wire wobble.
The wire can be manufactures either "no twist" or "with twist" when loosely wound in a wire package (e.g., drum, box, etc.). The traditional "with twist" wire drum is produced with a "dead block" technology and is intended to be used with a Lazy Susan turntable or dereeler which rotates the drum one turn per loop of wire as the wire is pulled. When the wire is pulled out of the drum, the twist induced in the wire by transforming a loop of wire from a circle into a straight line. The twist in the wire is cancelled by the Lazy Susan rotation of the package. The no-twist, or twist free package is intended to be used stationary. When the wire is laid in the package, the wire has a built-in twist of one rotation per loop. As such, as the wire is paid out of the package, the built-in twist cancels the twist induced by transforming a loop of wire into a straight line without having to rotate the package. Thus, manufacturers produce large containers of welding wire which must be paid out from the container without twisting, tangling and/or introducing unwanted canting into the wire itself.
In automatic and/or semi-automatic welding operations, a tremendous number of robotic welding stations are operable to consume welding wire from a package at each station as a continuous supply of wire to perform successive welding operations. The advent of this mass use of electric welding wire has caused tremendous research and development in improving the packaging for the bulk welding wire. A common package is a drum where looped welding wire is deposited in the drum as a wire stack, or body, of wire having a top surface with an outer cylindrical surface against the drum and an inner cylindrical surface defining a central bore. The central bore is often occupied by a cardboard cylindrical core as shown in Cooper U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,934, which is incorporated herein by reference. It is common practice for the drum to have an upper retainer ring that is used in transportation to stabilize the body of welding wire as it settles. This ring remains on the top of the welding wire to push downward by its weight so the wire can be pulled from the body of wire between the core and the ring. Each loop of wire has one turn of built-in twist so that when it is paid out, the twist introduced by releasing a loop of wire is canceled. Hence the wire is "twist-free" when it reaches the contact tip. The built-in twist causes the wire to spring up from the top of the stack when unrestrained. The weighted ring inhibits or prevents the wire from springing up which can result in the wire becoming tangled. Tangles are detrimental to the operation of the package since they cause down time of the robotic welding station. The most common tangle is a wire knot that forms between the ring and the hat. Such a knot is referred to as an e-script because of its shape. E-scripts in the wire can be attributed to several factors such as poor drive roll alignment in the feeder, inconsistent loop diameter, inconsistent fan-out of the loops, settling of the wire during transportation, and abuse in handling the drum of wire. An e-script tangle stops operation of the welder and must be removed. As a result, the tangling of the wire during the paying out of the welding wire results in the welding process having to be stopped, thus resulting in downtime. Such downtime reduces productivity efficiencies and increases production costs. This problem must be solved by manufacturers of welding wire as they sell the welding wire in quantities to be paid out for automatic and semi-automatic welding. This problem is compounded with the trend toward even larger packages with larger stock of welding wire to thereby reduce the time required for replacement of the supply container at the automatic or semiautomatic welding operation. Consequently, there is an increased demand for a container which is easily adapted to a large capacity and is constructed in a manner such that withdrawing of the welding wire from the container is accomplished smoothly without disturbing the natural flow of the welding wire or twisting the welding wire with adjacent convolutions.
Tangling of the wire can cause interruption of wire flow and drastically interrupt the welding operation. Thus, a large volume, high capacity storage or supply container for welding wire formed in wire stacks or coils must be so constructed that it assures against any catastrophic failure in the feeding of a wire to the welding operation and the container. Further the payout or withdrawing arrangement of the container must be assured that it does not introduce even minor distortions in the free flow of the welding wire to the welding operation. Consequently, there is a substantial demand for a container and withdrawing arrangement for large quantities of welding wire which not only prevents tangling and disruption of the supply of welding wire to the welding operation, but also prevents e-script tangles and other types of tangles under adverse conditions such as abuse in the handling and poor wire feeder drive roll alignment, together with excellent wire placement consistency and reliable wire-to-tip contact without arc flare. This can be accomplished by a more robust design of the package and payout mechanism.
The welding wire stored in the supply container is commonly in the form of a wire stack or coils having multiple layers of wire convolutions laid from bottom to top, with an inner diameter of the wire stack or coils being substantially smaller than the diameter of the container. Due to the inherent rigidity of the welding wire itself, the convolutions forming the layers are continuously under the influence of a force which tends to widen the diameter of the convolutions. However, as the welding wire is withdrawn from the container, the loosened wire portion tends to spring up and disturb or become entangled with other looped layers or with itself causing premature pop out of the wire loop to the inside bore, causing the top loop of the wire to more under lower wire loops, causing the wire loop to stretch and extend beyond the outside diameter of the wire stack and thereby fall down the outer periphery of the wire stack, and causing an expanded loop diameter of the wire resulting in the wire popping up above the outer periphery of the retaining ring thereby catching the ring. In such cases, it becomes difficult to withdraw the wire or feed the wire smoothly. In some of the prior containers, the wire is provided with a preselected twist when inserting the wire into the package in order to prevent torsional deformation of the wire which is being withdrawn axially from the non-rotating container. Consequently, the packaged wire of the wire stack or coils tends to spring up with a greater force. As a result, retainer rings or members are placed on the top of the wire stack or coils to hold the wire in the upper layers in place as it is withdrawn, convolution at a time, from the center opening of the wire stack or coils through the top opening of the supply container. Another defect in past wire packaging designs is the inability of the package to deal with excess and unsupported wire between the top of the hat and the retaining ring. After the wire leaves the top of the stack and escaping the constraint imposed by the retaining ring, the wire is essentially loose, unsupported and unstable until the wire reaches the top of the hat and enters the liner above the hat where the wire is again supported. The essentially loose, unsupported and unstable that is between the retaining ring and the top of the hat attempts to release any trapped energy in the wire. This is especially the case where there is excess wire coming from premature pop-out of wire loops from the retaining ring. The form the wire takes in attempting to release this excess energy is typically undesirable such as resulting is a knot. The loose, unsupported section of the wire can commonly result in the formation of e-script tangles in the wire.
In the past, substantial effort has been devoted to the prevention of the wire springing up which can result in a feeding error from the container. This feeding error is normally prevented by a center tube of cardboard placed in the wire stack or coils cavity so that all convolutions must be withdrawn from around the center tube. In the prior art, the ring itself contacts the inner surface of the container to prevent convolutions from springing above and around the outside of the retainer ring. In the past, the retainer ring generally rests upon the top of the wire stack or coils by gravity. The suspended float ring assembly is placed on top of the wire in the container to assist in keeping the wire from becoming tangled as it is fed out of the container. The suspended float ring assembly commonly includes an annular metal ring that surrounds the inner core and a plurality of flexible fingers or feathers that extend radially outwardly and slightly upwardly of the ring and into contact with the inner surface of the drum. These fingers can be constructed of plastic. The float ring is suspended, that is, it rests freely at the top of the coil of wire in the container. Some of the prior rings have had a series of flat spring steel fingers attached to the retainer ring. These fingers tightly ride against the drum to control the outside convolutions of wire. In some instances, a cardboard ring is cut to the desired shape with a slight interference with the drum wall. This ring is held on the top of the wire stack or coils by a weight which travels down the drum as the wire level is reduced.
All of these arrangements present difficulties when the wire is paid out from a package. Wire can be tangled on the outside of the ring and substantial drag can be imparted to the wire as it is being paid out or withdrawn from the container. As the wire is removed from the container, a part of the wire coil sprang upwardly and become caught between the float ring and the inner core, or wrap around the core, or forms a knot, thus causing a tangle. Also, the wire above the float ring would sometimes wrap around the inner core, particularly as the float ring assembly descended downwardly as the container emptied.
In an effort to provide better support of the wire, an improved retainer ring was developed as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,314. The retainer ring or retainer member included a generally flat outer portion with an outer periphery fitting into a set diameter of the inner wall of the container and had a number of projecting lobe portions whereby the outer periphery of the retainer ring contained alternate areas that were closer to and then farther away from the outer wall of the container when the retainer ring was resting on the upper surface or top of the hollow, cylindrical wire stack or coils of welding wire. The retaining ring also had an inner bell mouthed portion defining an innermost wire extraction opening wherein the convolutions of wire are pulled up through the bell mouthed portion which extended upwardly toward the outlet guide in the top cover or "hat" of the container. The convolutions of wire, as they were pulled from the wire stack or coils, move inwardly toward and into the center cavity of the wire stack or coils and then upwardly through the bell mouth portion toward the exit guide in the container hat. The wire extraction opening defined by the upper end of the bell mouthed portion of the retainer ring included a diameter substantially smaller than the selected diameter of the wire stack or coils itself so that the wire must moved inwardly before it can move upwardly. By using this bell mouthed concept, the upward movement of the convolutions from the wire stack or coils did not have better support against other convolutions and does not have better support drag along the bottom of the retainer ring as the convolutions from the upper layer were moved inwardly and then upwardly to the outlet guide in the cover or hat of the supply container.
Another prior art retaining ring is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,834. The wire control ring is mounted at the upper part of the inner core and provided with finger and an arrangement that prevents the wire from entering into the space between the ring and the core. The wire control ring has an annular metal ring having an inner diameter which is slightly greater than the outer diameter of the drum's inner core, and an outer diameter which permits the unobstructed removal of wire from the drum. A set of three or four fingers or feathers attached to the ring extend outwardly and slightly upwardly into contact with the inner surface of the drum. The width of these fingers is significantly greater than the width of the prior art feathers to insure that the wire is forced against the inner surface of the drum as it is pulled from the drum and removed. The stiffness of the feathers is such that the wire cannot by itself uncoil and exit the drum, but it not so stiff that the resistance to wire movement from the drum adversely affects the wire feeding process. A diverter member prevents wire from inadvertently entering the space between the ring and the drum's inner core.
Although these retaining rings have reduced the incidence of tangling of the welding wire paid out from a container of welding wire, small twists or e-scripts still occur during payout of the welding wire. These twists or e-scripts in the wire can result insubstantial downtime of the welding process in order to untangle the welding wire.
In view of the continuing problems associated with weld wire payout from wire containers and the periodic occurrence of twists or e-scripts in the welding wire during payout, the remains a continued need for a welding wire payout arrangement for wire containers which reduces the occurrence of wire tangles and twists or e-scripts in the welding wire during payout of the welding wire from a wire container.


The invention relates to an overhead conveyor for poultry, for example chickens, having a conveyor line, and along the conveyor line movable hooks suspended therefrom with holders for the ends of the poultry's legs. The hooks are rotatable about a substantially vertical axis for the selective adjustment of a direction of movement of the poultry. Each hook is provided at the top with an adjusting plate with cams. Guide members are arranged along the conveyor line and are designed to intermate with the cams, wherein the adjusting plate is provided with at least a first type of cam having a predetermined first length and one or several cams of a second type having a predetermined second length. The first length is smaller than the second length, and the guide members are arranged such that the first type of cam is able to pass a guide member without intermating and the second type of cam is able to pass the guide member only by intermating. The hook can pivot in relation to the adjusting plate about a substantially horizontal axis. Between the adjusting plate and the holders for the ends of the poultry's legs, a catch member is provided for moving said hook out of a vertically suspended position.

An overhead conveyor is known from EP-A-0 444 782 and also from EP-B-0 882 405. The overhead conveyor known from EP-A-0 44 782, possesses curve plates arranged along the conveyor line, while the adjusting plate is provided with cams that are shaped such as to permit only some predetermined position settings of the hook in relation to the conveyor line. This guarantees that the processing direction of the poultry is as desired.
The overhead conveyor known from EP-B-0 882 405 is provided with a rectangular adjusting plate provided with cams. These cams are able to intermate with sinusoidal guide members so as to realize a smooth adjust of the hook. The guide members, which are embodied in pairs and affect several cams of the adjusting plate simultaneously, acquire an accurate construction. The direction of movement of the poultry is guaranteed by the fact that the rectangular adjusting plate is guaranteed by the fact that the rectangular adjusting plate is guided between fixed guides outside the area of the operating guide members. The construction allows the hook to rotate clockwise and anti-clockwise.


A method for object based color matching when printing color documents. Objects are anything that can be drawn, and include text, rectangle, oval, region, polygon, and PixMaps. Color matching is performed on each object in a page prior to rendering the object into a pixel map. This is accomplished by setting up multiple concurrent color matching sessions that have different rendering intents. Depending upon the object type, a color matching session with a particular rendering intent is used to perform color matching on the object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to printing color documents, and more particularly to performing color matching when printing color documents. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method for object based color matching when printing color documents.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As color input, display and output devices for computer systems proliferate, the need for color management increases. This is due to several factors. First, differing device types operate in different color spaces. For example, color monitors typically display colors as combinations of red, green, and blue, and are said to work in the RGB color space. Printers typically print images as combinations of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, and are said to work the CMYK color space.
The way colors are sampled in different devices is another factor. Generally, the method used by monitors and scanners to capture color follows the laws of additive color mixture. Additive color mixture adds the color together to yield the result. Additive color mixture moves a color toward white, and usually results in vivid images. Printers, however, typically follow the laws of subtractive color mixture. In subtractive color mixture, color data specifies how much of a certain color to remove from white to yield the result. Consequently, a subtractive color mixture moves colors toward black or dark gray.
Furthermore, different color devices have different color capabilities. Every color device, such as a scanner, printer, or monitor, has a range of colors that it can produce. This range of produceable colors is known as a gamut. Those skilled in the art will recognize that color monitors can produce and display hundreds to thousands of colors. Color printers also produce a range of colors. However, printer colors typically do not coincide with the colors on a monitor. Consequently, in most situations, the gamut for a color monitor only partially overlaps the gamut for a color printer. As a result, some colors displayed on a color monitor can not be produced by a color printer.
Finally, devices of the same type that are manufactured by different manufacturers may produce different colors, or intensities of the same colors, for the same color data. For example, color monitors made by different manufacturers may display different colors, or intensities of the same colors, for the same RGB values. Print technologies vary drastically, and the gamut that an ink jet color printer can print may be quite different from a printer based on a different technology, such as a color laser printer. A single printer may have a fluctuating gamut depending on the paper or ink being used at the time of printing.
Color matching typically means converting colors between differing gamuts. Most current color management systems match colors pursuant to a rendering intent. A rendering intent affects the way colors are matched by causing the colors to be matched with a particular use in mind. For example, a document that will be used for business purposes is generally printed with saturated colors. The user is not concerned with matching the printed colors as close as possible to the original colors. Saturated colors when printed are typically vivid colors. This type of rendering intent is known as business/graphics.
Another type of rendering intent is photographic. A document that is, or includes, a photograph may be printed with colors that are matched perceptually. Photographic rendering intent attempts to give the best overall match of colors.
Objects are anything that can be drawn, and include text, rectangle, oval, region, polygon, and PixMaps. Unless each object is individually tagged with a rendering intent, most current color management systems typically match colors in a document using only one rendering intent. They do not allow a user to print individual pages within a document with different rendering intents. They also do not allow colors to be matched on a single page with different rendering intents. This can create problems for documents or pages that contain photographs and text or charts. The user can print the document with a business/graphics rendering intent, but the photographs within the document will typically look dark, and the colors within the printed photographs will not match the original colors very closely. Alternatively, the user can print the document with a photographic rendering intent, but the text and charts within the document will typically print with less saturated colors. These two alternatives are inadequate and unsatisfactory for many users, such as graphic artists or business persons.

Method for object based color matching when printing a color document


The present invention provides a process for producing carbostyril derivatives (I) which are known to be useful as medical drug such as antithrombotic agent, cerebral circulation improver, anti-inflammatory agent, antiulcer agent, etc. in a high yield and a high purity. The carbostyril derivatives (I) can be produced by reacting a carbostyril derivative (II) with a tetrazole derivative (III) in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst.

The compound represented by the above-mentioned general formula (I), namely the objective compound of the present invention, is known to be useful as an antithrombotic agent, a cerebral circulation improver, an anti-inflammatory agent, an antiulcer agent, a hypotensive agent, an antiasthmatic agent, and a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, etc. (see: JP-A-56-49378 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,479).
The carbostyril derivatives represented by the general formula (I) have so far been produced by reacting a carbostyril derivative represented by the following general formula (II):
wherein the bond between the 3- and 4-positions of the carbostyril skeleton is as defined above, with a tetrazole derivative represented by the following general formula (III′):
wherein X′ represents a halogen atom, and A and R are as defined above, in the presence of an inorganic base or an organic base (see: JP-A-56-49378; U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,479; and Chem. Pharm. Bull., 31(4), 1151–1157 (1983)).

Process for producing carbostyril derivatives


A communication control device that acquires first interference information indicating a first interference from communication involving a communication node that is not controlled by the communication control device and second interference information indicating a second interference from communication involving another communication node that is controlled by the communication control device. The communication control device classifies the communication nodes into groups related to a decision of a radio resource that is available for use by a communication node based on the first interference information and the second interference information.

In recent years, the wireless communication environment is confronting a problem of depletion of frequency resources, due to rapid increase of data traffic. Thus, there is a study of secondarily utilizing frequency channels. As one example, there is a study of secondarily utilizing what is called "television white space (TVWS)" with respect to television broadcasting. Also, as another example, there is a study for allowing a base station of small cell to utilize a frequency channel for a base station of macro cell in HetNet (Heterogeneous Network).
Several methods are conceived as a method in which a communication node, such as a master white space device (WSD) that secondarily utilizes a TVWS and a base station of small cell, utilizes a frequency channel. For example, as a first method, it is conceived to utilize a vacant channel that is not utilized. Also, as a second method, it is conceived to protect a main user of a primary system (for example, a television broadcast system), a base station of macro cell, and the like by some sort of means, and to utilize an adequate frequency channel in the entire frequency channels including the utilized frequency channel.
As one example of the above first method, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology in which the channel of TVWS is selected for each time period on the basis of channel vacancy information for each time period corresponding to position information, and wireless communication is performed on the basis of the selected channel of TVWS.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Communication control device, communication control method and information processing apparatus


A system and method for detachably securing a locking mechanism to a housing is provided. The locking mechanism comprises a cam ring, a retention ring and a plurality of locking elements. The cam ring and the retention ring are slidably coupled and concentric with respect to each other. The locking elements are movably disposed within the cam ring and the retention ring. When a rotational force is applied to the locking mechanism, the locking elements move between a first position and a second position. The housing is positioned adjacent the locking elements and concentric with the locking mechanism. In the second position, the locking elements engage an engagement mechanism on the housing.

The present invention relates to planarization of semiconductor wafers using a chemical mechanical planarization technique. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved system and method for detachably coupling a wafer carrier to a conveyor during the chemical mechanical planarization process.
Semiconductor wafers are typically fabricated with multiple copies of a desired integrated circuit design that will later be separated and made into individual chips. Wafers are commonly constructed in layers, where a portion of a circuit is created on a first level and conductive vias are made to connect up to the next level of the circuit. After each layer of the circuit is etched on the wafer, an oxide layer is put down allowing the vias to pass through but covering the rest of the previous circuit level. Each layer of the circuit can create or add unevenness to the wafer that must be smoothed out before generating the next circuit layer.
Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems are used to planarize the raw wafer and each layer of material added thereafter. Available CMP systems, commonly called wafer polishers, are typically an automated or semi-automated process involving multiple processing steps. The processing steps generally include transporting, aligning, polishing, washing and drying the wafers. In general, the wafers are received by the CMP system, processed and returned to a predetermined location, in a clean, dry, and uniformly planarized condition by the CMP system.
The processing step of polishing to achieve a uniformly planarized wafer can be performed sequentially at a number of processing stations having different degrees of material removal capability. The CMP systems often use a wafer carrier to hold the wafer during polishing. The wafer carrier is typically transported in a conveyor to the processing station(s). At the processing station(s), the wafer carrier is removed from the conveyor and the wafer thereon is brought into contact with a polishing pad rotating in the plane of the wafer surface to be planarized. Following the polishing and planarization operation, the wafer carrier is lifted off of the polishing pad and transferred back to the conveyor. The wafer carrier is coupled and uncoupled with the conveyor multiple times, especially when polishing occurs at multiple processing stations.
Some prior art systems for coupling wafer carriers to conveyors include multiple manipulative actions of the wafer carrier and/or the conveyor. Multiple steps result in a longer period of time required to couple and uncouple the wafer carrier and therefore the possibility of reduction in throughput of the CMP system. Further, multiple manipulations typically require multiple actuators or similar devices which present more maintenance and potential failure points in the CMP system. In addition, some prior art systems use actuators to maintain the coupling of the wafer carrier and the conveyor. In a loss of power and/or pneumatic air supply situation, the wafer carrier could be inadvertently detached from the carrier. Some prior art coupling systems also implement pins or other similar features that require precise alignment and may be bent or broken due to thrust loading that occurs when the wafer carrier is inserted and removed from the conveyor.
Accordingly, there is a need for systems and methods of detachably coupling the wafer carrier to the conveyor that involve few manipulative steps, allow for positive locking, and are rugged and easily alignable.
A system and method for detachably securing a locking mechanism to a housing is provided. In one preferred embodiment, the locking mechanism is fixedly coupled to a conveyor and is capable of being detachably coupled with a housing, such as, a wafer carrier. Manipulation of the wafer carrier with respect to the locking mechanism involves aligning an engagement mechanism on the wafer carrier to be adjacent the locking mechanism. Operating the locking mechanism to couple and uncouple the locking mechanism and the wafer carrier involves rotating the locking mechanism between two positions. The relatively few manipulative acts involved in coupling and uncoupling the wafer carrier to the conveyor create a fast and efficient coupling process that is easily alignable. In addition, the presently preferred locking mechanism does not include structural features that are easily bent or broken during the coupling and uncoupling of the wafer carrier to the conveyor. Further, the presently preferred locking mechanism provides positive locking action since it returns to, or maintains, a locked state when no actuators are acting upon it.
One presently preferred locking mechanism comprises a cam ring, a retention ring and a plurality of locking elements. The cam ring is slidably coupled to the retention ring and is concentric therewith. The cam ring includes a plurality of cam slots having an angular inner surface that are operatively positioned adjacent to a plurality of apertures in the retention ring. The locking elements are movably disposed within the cam slots adjacent the angular inner surface and are retained therein by the apertures.
The locking elements are movable between a first position defined as an unlocked position and a second position defined as a locked position. When the locking mechanism is rotated to an unlocked state, the locking elements are in the first position and a portion of the locking elements only protrude from the retention ring in a first direction. When the locking mechanism is rotated in the opposite direction to a locked state, the locking elements are in the second position and also protrude from the retention ring in an opposite direction. The housing includes an engagement mechanism that is adapted to engage the locking elements. When the locking elements are in the locked position, and the housing is positioned concentric with the retention ring and adjacent to the apertures therein, the locking elements engage the engagement mechanism.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the drawings and the more detailed description of the invention that follows. The foregoing discussion of the presently preferred embodiments has been provided only by way of introduction. Nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation on the following claims, which define the scope of the invention.

Locking mechanism for detachably securing a wafer carrier to a conveyor


In a semiconductor device having alignment marks formed on a semiconductor substrate, the alignment marks include a main convex or concave alignment mark formed on said semiconductor substrate; and a plurality of minute alignment marks formed on the periphery of the main alignment mark. In areas where the minute alignment marks are formed, even when a film of aluminum or its alloy is stacked on the semiconductor substrate by high temperature sputtering, grains will not grow so as to have a large diameter. Thus, the grains created on the periphery of the main alignment mark are not erroneously recognized as the main alignment mark, thereby realizing accurate alignment.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing it, and more particularly to a semiconductor device equipped with an alignment mark necessary to make alignment with no error in an alignment step and a method of manufacturing it.
Generally, in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, an alignment step must be carried out prior to photo-lithography steps. The alignment step serves to confirm and correct the arrangement of chips on a wafer and make alignment between a reticle and a chip at the step prior to light exposure, thus suppressing misalignment in superposition from occurring.
At present, as a technique of forming a wiring layer of an aluminum alloy, sputtering at a high temperature (hereinafter referred to as high temperature sputtering) is adopted. The high temperature sputtering permits a film of aluminum alloy to be stacked, and can improve coverage for a contact hole formed in an underlying interlayer insulating film and flatten the surface of the stacked aluminum alloy film. This technique is hopeful as a contact hole embedding technique.
As shown in FIG. 7, however, alignment marks 102 formed on a semiconductor device 101 in alignment have been formed as convex or concave quadrilateral each having sides of several .mu.m. For this reason, when the film of aluminum is made on the semiconductor substrate 101 by the high temperature sputtering, grains each having a large diameter of several .mu.m are formed as shown in FIG. 8. Therefore, in the subsequent alignment step, the device for alignment may erroneously recognize these grains as the alignment marks and make alignment with an error. When the error in alignment in superposition exceeds a prescribed tolerance that the resultant semiconductor device does not operate properly.
JP-6-112102 discloses alignment marks 102 permitting alignment to be made with no error even after a film is formed on the semiconductor substrate 101 by the high temperature sputtering.
In accordance with the technique disclosed in JP-6-112102, as shown in FIG. 9, an auxiliary pattern 103 covers the outer periphery of the alignment pattern 102 formed according to a prescribed size. For example, where both the alignment pattern 102 and the auxiliary pattern 103 are formed as concave patterns, the material of the film formed by the high temperature sputtering is caused to flow into the concave portion of the auxiliary pattern 103 prior to flowing into the alignment mark 102. Thus, it was possible to suppress the material from being embedded in the concave portion of the alignment mark 102, thereby permitting the contour of a main mark, i.e. alignment mark 102 to be clearly recognized after the high temperature sputtering.
This prior art, however, is silent on misalignment in superposition due to the shape of grains when aluminum and its alloy are formed by the high temperature sputtering. This prior art also leads to erroneous recognition of the alignment mark 102.

Semiconductor device including a main alignment mark having peripheral minute alignment marks


A method comprising characterizing the dimensions of structures on a semiconductor device having dimensions less than approximately 100 nanometers (nm) using one of scanning probe microscopy (SPM) or profilometry.

Integrated circuits are fabricated on the surface of a semiconductor wafer in layers, and later singulated into individual semiconductor devices, or "dies." Many fabrication processes are repeated numerous times, constructing layer after layer until fabrication is complete. Metal layers, which typically increase in number as device complexity increases, include patterns of conductive material that are vertically insulated from one another by alternating layers of insulating material. Conductive traces are also separated within each layer by an insulating, or dielectric, material. Vertical, conductive tunnels called "vias" typically pass through insulating layers to form conductive pathways between adjacent conductive patterns.
Advancements in the size and speed of semiconductor devices continue to occur in order to meet consumer and competitive demands. The reduction in size of device features that accompanies such advancements also pushes innovation in the capabilities of manufacturing tools. Particularly, measurement techniques and tools must be able to accurately detect smaller and smaller dimensions.

Characterizing dimensions of structures via scanning probe microscopy


Systems and methods for object or pattern detection that use a nonlinear support vector (SV) machine are described. In the illustrated and described embodiment, objects or patterns comprising faces are detected. The decision surface is approximated in terms of a reduced set of expansion vectors. In order to determine the presence of a face, the kernelized inner product of the expansion vectors with the input pattern are sequentially evaluated and summed, such that if at any point the pattern can be rejected as not comprising a face, no more expansion vectors are used. The sequential application of the expansion vectors produces a substantial saving in computational time.

In recent years, problems associated with general visual pattern recognition or object recognition/classification have received an increasing amount of attention in the computer vision community. In many cases the only feasible approach is to represent a class of patterns/objects (e.g. faces) by a set of learned examples. The complexity of some of the class of objects/patterns is often such that an extremely large set of examples is needed in order to learn all the potential variations (facial expression/pose etc). Additionally, typically the data points associated with the examples belong to some high-dimensional space. Thus, there has been and continues to be a need for pattern recognition techniques that can handle large data sets in high dimensional spaces.
One particular type of visual pattern is a face. Typically, face detection represents a very computationally intensive task that involves testing a digitized image for the location of a face by placing an observation window at all scales, in all positions, and at all orientations on the image, and ascertaining whether a face is present within the observation window. This process, however, can be quite slow. Exemplary face detection techniques are described in the following references, to which the reader is referred for additional material: Osuna et al., Training support vector machines: An application to face detection, Proc. Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition '97, pages 130-136, 1997; and Rowley et al., Neural network-based face detection, Proc. IEEE Conf. On Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, pages 203-207, IEEE, 1996.
Nonlinear Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are known to lead to excellent classification accuracies on a wide range of tasks, including face detection. The following references describe non-linear SVMs and their various characteristics: Schölkopf et al., Advances in Kernel Methods—Support Vector Learning, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1999; and Vapnik, The Nature of Statistical Learning Theory Statistical Learning Theory, Springer, N.Y. 1995.
Nonlinear SVMs are, however, usually slower classifiers than neural networks. The reason for this is that their run-time complexity is proportional to the number of support vectors (SVs), i.e. to the number of training examples that the SVM algorithm utilizes in the expansion of the decision function. While it is possible to construct classification problems, even in high-dimensional spaces, where the decision surface can be described by two SVs only, it is normally the case that the set of SVs forms a substantial subset of the whole training set.
There has been a fair amount of research on methods for reducing the run-time complexity of SVMs. Exemplary articles includes the following: Burges, Simplified support vector decision rules, Proceedings, 13th Intl. Conf. On Machine Learning, pages 71-77, San Mateo, Calif., 1996; and Schölkopf et al., Input space vs. feature space in kernel-based methods, IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, 10(5):1000-1017, 1999. Yet, the run time complexity of SVMs continues to be an issue in their efficient employment for pattern recognition or classification.
Accordingly, this invention arose out of concerns associated with improving the systems and methods that are utilized for pattern recognition or classification. Particular concerns giving rise to the invention were those associated with improving the efficiencies with which the evaluation of support vector expansions is utilized for pattern classification, particularly where the patterns comprise faces.

Pattern detection methods and systems and face detection methods and systems


The process of making a lithium ion battery cathode comprises the step of forming a slurry of an active material, a nano-size conductive agent, a binder polymer, a solvent and a dispersant. The solvent consists essentially of one or more of a compound of Formula 1, 2, or 3, and the dispersant comprises an ethyl cellulose.

The significant growth of electrical vehicles and portable electronic devices have led to an increase in the demand for rechargeable, also known as secondary, batteries, especially the various types of lithium ion batteries. Modern trends of small size and light weight require that these rechargeable batteries have not only a high energy density, but are also environmentally friendly. The eco-friendly requirements apply not only to the battery product itself, but also to the production process by which it is made.
The cathode component of a lithium ion battery is made by forming a slurry from an active material (e.g., lithium cobalt oxide), and a binder polymer (e.g., polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)), dissolved in a solvent, coating the slurry onto an aluminum foil, and drying the coated foil to remove the solvent. The conductivity of the cathode is always a target for improvement and to this end, lithium ion battery manufacturers have added conductive agents to the mix. These agents (e.g., carbon black), form part of the slurry that is applied to the aluminum foil. Besides their good conductivity, these conductive agents are characterized by low gravity, stable structure and good chemical resistance.
Generally, the smaller size of conductive agent, the better the conductivity. Nano-size particles are well known to have a very high surface area and surface energy but because of these properties, they aggregate easily or, in other words, they are difficult to disperse. If the nano-size conductive agent particles are not well dispersed within the cathode, then their boost to cathode conductivity is muted.
In order to disperse the nano-size conductive agents and stabilize them in the cathode materials of the slurry formulation, a strong repelling force between the nano-size conductive agent particles is required. The traditional way to achieve this end is to use a static electricity mechanism to change the particle surface electric charge density and type. However, this method requires a high dosage level of dispersant.

Ethyl cellulose as a dispersant for lithium ion battery cathode production


A device (100) includes a light source (130) and a light guide (110). The light source (130) is configured to emit photoresist-curative electromagnetic radiation. The light guide (110) is arranged to receive the photoresist-curative electromagnetic radiation from the light source (130) and to guide the received radiation by total internal reflection, the light guide (110) including a pattern of emission points (210) on at least one surface of the light guide (110), the emission points (210) emitting the photoresist-curative electromagnetic radiation out of the light guide (110) by frustration of total internal reflection caused by the emission points (210).

Photolithography is commonly used to produce semiconductors and nanoscale devices. The process generally involves the application, exposure and development of a photoresist that has been applied to the surface of a substrate, such as a silicon wafer. The exposure step in the photolithography process requires the application of a photoresist-curative light pattern to the surface of the photoresist to cure portions of the photoresist which have been exposed to the photoresist-curative. The light exposed photoresist is then developed to create patterned photoresist with voids therein. The patterned photoresist facilitates further processing such as the deposition of target materials such as dopant, metal, or metal oxide. The photoresist-curative light is often ultraviolet, which is used to selectively contact the photoresist-coated surface via the use of a writing beam, a projected image, or exposure through a patterned photomask.
A limitation in building devices that contain multiple layers of material deposited by photolithography is registration between layers and registration area limitations, i.e. the inability to accurately register features across a wide area. Typically a new layer of a device being built should have features registered with corresponding features on the currently top layer of the device. For example, according to one process, a registration limitation would be needed to cap a sub-micron scale optical feature with a metallic layer formed thereon, which requires the application and patterning of a photoresist that accurately creates a void above the area to be metalized. Features of the metallic layer should be registered with corresponding features of the sub-micron scale optical feature over the entire area of the device.

Maskless photolithography devices, methods, and systems


Techniques for providing input data type profiles are described. In at least some embodiments, input data type profiles can be implemented to enable applications to receive different types and/or combinations of input data. For example, input data type profiles can specify different types of input data generated based on input to a tactile input device, such as raw touch data, processed touch data, and pen input data. In at least some embodiments, techniques can be implemented to enable an application to receive multiple types of input data (e.g., combinations of touch data and/or pen input data) in parallel.

Many devices are configured to support multiple types of input. For example, a laptop computer may receive input from a keyboard, as well as from a touchpad that can receive tactile input. To enable devices to support multiple input types, devices typically include some form of input configuration that specifies priorities for particular input types, as well as how particular input types are to be processed. While the ability to support multiple input types is useful, devices typically lack support for multiple input type configurations.


An extended television signal comprises control data for controlling an extended television decoder. The control data comprise first information bits (NB) for conveying information which need not be very reliably decodable immediately upon switching between broadcast channels or when their contents have changed. Each first information bit (NB) is channel-encoded by means of a first DC-free channel code into first channel bits each having a first duration (2 Tc). The control data further comprise second information bits (LB) for conveying information which must be very reliably decodable immediately upon switching between broadcast channels or when their contents have changed. Each second information bit (LB) is channel-encoded by means of a second DC-free channel code into second channel bits which each have a second duration (10 Tc) exceeding the first duration (2 Tc).

The invention relates to an extended television signal comprising control data for controlling an extended television decoder, to a method of encoding the extended television signal, and to a decoder for decoding the extended television signal.
Such an extended television signal is known, because the MAC signal has such control data for, for example, indicating the aspect ratio of the extended television signal. When such control data remain valid over several successive frames of the extended television signal, the control data can be reliably decoded by comparing the data transmitted during a number of successive frames, and by taking a kind of majority decision. However, when a part of such data may change from frame to frame or has to be reliably decodable immediately upon switching between broadcast channels, no such reliable decoding method is possible.

An extended television signal encoding and decoding system comprising control data for controlling the decoder


A lens body tube configured to support at least one lens inside an inner tube such that the at least one lens can be translated along the optical axis direction of the lens body tube includes a cam ring configured to be rotatably supported around the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube, the at least one lens being configured to be translated along the optical axis direction accompanied by the rotation of the cam ring, a plurality of cams provided on the inner circumferential surface of the cam ring, a plurality of cam followers provided on a lens frame supporting each of the at least one lens, each of the plurality of cam followers being engaged with a corresponding one of the plurality of cams through an opening provided on the inner tube, and a plurality of first protrusions, each of which is formed integrally with a corresponding one of the plurality of cams, and has contact with the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube.

The present invention relates to a lens body tube configured to carry out a zooming operation and/or a focusing operation with a plurality of lenses being translated along the optical axis direction of the lens body tube using a cam ring.
In a lens body tube that is configured to carry out a zooming operation and/or a focusing operation with lenses, which is incorporated in the lens body tube, being translated along an optical axis direction of the lens body tube, each of the lenses is movably supported in an inner tube acting as a guide tube for translatory movement such that each of the lenses can be translated along the optical axis direction. Further, a cam ring for which a rotating operation is to be carried out is fitted around the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube, and a cam, which is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the cam ring, is engaged with a cam follower with which each of the lenses is provided. In other words, by rotating the cam ring integrally with a zoom ring or a focus ring being rotated during the zooming or focusing operation, each of the lenses engaging with the cam is translated along the optical axis direction of the lens body tube according to the shape of the cam, so that the zooming or focusing operation is carried out.
Even when the cam ring is fitted around the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube, and the cam follower of the lens is engaged with the cam formed on the inner circumferential surface of the cam ring, in order to rotate the cam ring smoothly, it is needed to secure a gap in the radial direction of the lens body tube such that the cam is engaged with the cam follower between the inner circumferential surface of the cam ring and the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube. For this reason, conventionally, there are formed bayonet pieces that are protruded inward along the radial direction at a plurality of places in the circumferential direction on one end of the cam ring, that is, on the rear end of the cam ring to be fitted around the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube in the optical axis direction. The inward top surfaces of the bayonet pieces have contact with the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube. Further, there are formed bearing ribs at a plurality of places in the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential surface of the leading end of the inner tube. The bearing ribs have contact with the inner circumferential surface of the cam ring. Thereby, the aforementioned gap is secured. In addition, the bayonet pieces are engaged with bayonet portions provided on the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube. On the leading end of the inner tube, there is formed a flange that is protruded outward along the radial direction. The flange has contact with the leading end face of the cam ring in the optical axis direction, so that the position of the cam ring is limited in the optical axis direction, and the cam ring never drops off the inner tube in the optical axis direction.
In this configuration, each of the bayonet pieces is formed to have a longer length in the circumferential direction than a required one, and is located at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction, so that engagement between the bayonet pieces and the bayonet portions can not be unfastened even though the cam ring is rotated around the optical axis by a required angle. For example, when the rotation angle of the cam ring is 90 degrees, there are arranged three bayonet pieces in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the number of bearings for supporting the cam ring on the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube is the same number of three as that of the bayonet pieces. The number of this level of the bearings is not enough to prevent the cam ring from moving in the radial direction due to vibration and/or impact applied to the lens body tube, and as a result, backlash of the cam ring is caused in the radial direction. Such backlash can be a factor that generates some errors in the moving position of the lens in the optical axis direction corresponding to a rotation angle of the cam ring, and can thereby be a problem in the case of manufacturing the lens body tube as designed.
In order to restrain such backlash in the radial direction, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI8-304688 discloses a configuration where an outer tube supports a member that has elastic force, the member having elastic contact with the outer circumferential surface of an inner tube. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI10-170796 discloses a configuration, in a lens body tube in which a moving member is supported to move relative to a fixed body tube, where anti-backlash members are arranged on the moving member.
When the technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI8-304688 or No. HEI10-170796 is applied to the aforementioned lens body tube provided with the cam ring, the cam ring is required to have an anti-backlash member attached to a part thereof. Thereby, since the number of components and the number of processes for assembling the lens body tube are increased, there is caused a problem that the total cost of the lens body tube rises. Moreover, since it is necessary to secure a space for attaching an anti-backlash member to the lens body tube, the freedom in design of the cam is limited. On the other hand, when a convex cam is formed as a cam to be formed on the inner circumferential surface of the cam ring, it is considered one of solutions for restraining the backlash that the top surface of the cam, which faces inward along the radial direction, is made contact with the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube to increase the contact area between the cam and the inner tube. However, in the case of the cam ring being formed by resin molding as a cam ring of recent years, there is often generated a small strain due to the molding. Therefore, it is hard to fit the cam ring around the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube. In addition, even though the cam ring is fitted around the outer circumferential surface, the cam ring is likely not to be smoothly rotated because of the friction between the top surface of the cam and the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube.


A corrosive environmental crack length measuring apparatus including a double-cantilever beam type test piece having a tapered portion in a portion where the crack grows, a slit, and at least two holes, with the test piece being placed within a corrosive environment. Leads inserted in the holes of the test piece to be spot-welded thereto to supply a direct current to the holes. A current polarity switching device is provided with, a stabilized direct current power supply connected with the direct current supplying leads through the current polarity switching device. Potential difference measuring leads are inserted in holes formed in two outer faces of the double-cantilever beam type test piece parallel to a section of a crack growing portion at a plurality of points along the crack growing direction so as to be spot-welded thereto. A multiplexer is provided with, a micro-voltmeter connected with the potential difference measuring leads through the multiplexer, and an arithmetic unit judges crack length based on ratios between potential differences measured by switching the polarity of direct current using the current polarity switching device.

The present invention relates to a double-cantilever beam type test piece and a corrosive environmental crack growth measuring apparatus, and more particularly, to a technique of measuring growth speed of a crack such as corrosion cracking, that is, a double-cantilever beam test piece (DCB sensor) which is capable of exhibiting nearly constant stress intensity factor at crack tip when applied with a load caused due to application of a fixed displacement irrespective of crack length, and a corrosive environmental crack depth measuring apparatus which is suitable for judging the degree of corrosive environment based on the crack growth rate calculated automatically from the change of crack depth with time obtained from measurements of the crack length in the test piece placed in the actual environment by on-line measurement using a direct current potential method.
Recently, it has become clear that since structures in a boiling water type reactor (BWR) are exposed to an intensive radioactive environment, stainless steel is caused to be sensitized by neutron irradiation to give rise to a problem that there is a good chance of generation of irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking or what is called IASCC. As a method for controlling such IASCC, it has been proposed to inject hydrogen. In this method, injection of hydrogen contributes to reduction of concentration of dissolved oxygen and control of corrosive potential. According to this method, however, it becomes necessary to observe whether the IASCC is controlled or grows within the reactor. To cope with this, as an apparatus for measuring crack growth rate within a corrosive environment, General Electric Company, U.S. has proposed an apparatus for measuring crack length by applying a fixed displacement to (DCB sensor) utilizing a potential drop method (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 62-177440). This measuring apparatus is presently applied experimentally to actual reactors.
However, although it has been determined that distribution of stress intensity factor in DCB sensor is uniform and although the test piece is seven inches in overall length, the DCB sensor of the above conventional measuring apparatus has such characteristics that, as the crack grows by one inch, the stress intensity factor is reduced to 60% of the initial stress intensity factor, and the conventional DCB sensor is not suitable for measuring the crack growth rate with a proper stress intensity factor.

Double-cantilever beam type test piece and corrosive environmental crack growth measuring apparatus


A process for producing 99.5+ wt. % para-xylene by selective alkylation has been discovered. A mixure of isomers of para-xylene having at least about 90.0 wt. % purity may be reacted with an alkylating agent having at least one tertiary butyl moiety in the presence of an acidic catalyst under conditions where the catalyst is in good molecular contact with the non-para-xylene isomers. The catalyst may be a high surface area acidic heterogeneous catalyst such as a proton-exchanged zeolite. Upon distillation, para-xylene is recovered in 99.5 wt. % purity or higher. The selective alkylation gives little or no alkylation of the para-xylene, the most predominant species, and very little or no isomerization to the other, non-desirable isomers.

The invention relates to methods for producing para-xylene, and more particularly, the invention relates, in one aspect, to processes for purifying para-xylene in exceptionally high purity from its isomers.
There exist several technologies for recovering para-xylene from its mixture with its isomers which are ortho-xylene, meta-xylene and ethylbenzene. Adsorption-based methods and crystallization-based processes are commonly used in industry. These two processes can produce 99.6 to 99.8 wt. % purity para-xylene very efficiently. Achieving purities on the order of 99.9+ wt. %, however, is very difficult and costly. Other techniques for xylene separation such as hydrogen-fluoride extraction, sulfonation and alkylation have not been able to demonstrate an efficiency comparable to that of the adsorption and crystallization processes.
The chemistry for xylenes alkylation has been studied for several decades. D. Nightingale, et al. in xe2x80x9cOrientation Effects in the Alkylation of m-Xylene by Various Procedures and Reagents,xe2x80x9d Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 64, pp. 1662-1665, 1942; and D. Nightingale, et al. in xe2x80x9cThe Alkylation of o- and p-Xylene,xe2x80x9d Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 66, pp. 154-155, 1944, indicate that ortho-xylene, meta-xylene and ethylbenzene can be alkylated with molecules containing tertiary butyl moiety (e.g. isobutylene, tertiary butyl chloride, tertiary butyl benzene, di-tertiary butyl hydroxyl toluene, etc.). para-Xylene, however, was found to be quite difficult for tertiary butylation. It is theorized that a steric effect has hindered the insertion of the bulky tertiary butyl group to the more restricted aromatic ring of the para-xylene molecule. Partial separation of para-xylene from meta-xylene and ortho-xylene based on the selective alkylation concept has been demonstrated; see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,648,713, 2,801,271 and B. B. Corson, et al., Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Vol. 48, No. 7, pp. 1180, 1956.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,648,713 provides a process for the separation of ortho-xylene from an admixture thereof with meta-xylenes by the successive steps of alkylation, distillation and dealkylation. para-Xylene may also be present in the xylene mixture and remains unalkylated with the meta-xylene. The alkylating agent is preferably an olefin or cycloolefin having a tertiary carbon atom, such as isobutylene; diisobutylene; trimethylethylene 2,4-methylpentene-2; 3-methylbutene-2; 4-methylcyclohexene-1 and 1-methylcyclohexene-1. This process, as the ones previously discussed, is limited to bulk separation; in the best Example recorded therein (Example 2) the percent conversion of ethyl benzene and ortho-xylene was 89 and 54, respectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,801,271 describes an integrated process for separating xylene isomers and producing high octane gasoline which involves contacting isobutylene with a xylene fraction having substantial quantities of para-xylene and meta-xylene. The contact is done in the presence of liquid hydrogen fluoride at a temperature in the range xc3x9710 to 100xc2x0 C. The quantity of isobutylene employed is sufficient to alkylate a substantial proportion of the meta-xylene contained in the xylene fraction. The alkylation reaction product is fractionally distilled to separate a para-xylene rich fraction and a fraction comprising tertiary-butyl-meta-xylene. The latter fraction and a straight run petroleum distillate are contacted with a silica-alumina catalyst in a catalytic cracking zone at a temperature in the range 800 to 1000xc2x0 F. The latter fraction is cracked forming predominantly meta-xylene and isobutylene. The effluent from the cracking zone is fractionally distilled to separate a fraction rich in isobutylene, and the isobutylene rich fraction is then returned together with additional xylenes to the alkylation step. Again, this process is a bulk separation process; the only example (Example 1) to the alkylation separation step yielded a para-xylene purity of 48%.
Purified meta-xylene is obtained by alkylating a mixture containing m- and p-xylene with a small but effective amount of isopropylating agent in the presence of a small but sufficient amount of aluminum chloride catalyst, according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,650. The alkylation mixture is maintained at a temperature within the range of about 70xc2x0 C. to about 100xc2x0 C. for about thirty minutes to one hour after which the catalyst is destroyed, an isopropyl meta-xylene fraction recovered, and the recovered fraction deisopropylated to produce meta-xylene above 95% purity. It is apparent that meta-xylene concentrations much above 98% may not be readily attainable, however, given the best Examples in Table IV of this patent, which focuses only on the meta-xylene product, rather than the para-xylene material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,630 describes a process for obtaining a para-xylene final product more than 98% pure from a crystalline starting material with a purity of about 98%, which includes the steps of intermixing the starting material with precooled water and feeding back the recovered para-xylene in a mixer at a temperature of 0 to 13xc2x0 C. to form a para-xylene-crystal-water mixture containing para-xylene crystals and water. The mixture is continuously transferred as soon as it contains 30% by weight para-xylene crystals into a purifying centrifuge via a dewatering filter to form a fluid phase and a para-xylene crystal slurry. The fluid phase is separated further from the para-xylene crystals in a first stage of a purifying centrifuge, mixing the para-xylene crystal slurry in a second stage with a partial flow of final product, heating at about 13xc2x0 C. and subsequently liberating from the fluid phase still adhering, whereby the para-xylene crystals are drawn off into the heated vessel. Next, the para-xylene crystals melted in the heated vessel are drawn off as the final product with the desired purity. A partial flow of final product is also drawn off which is fed back to the second stage of the purifying centrifuge, being heated previously to a temperature from 60 to 80xc2x0 C. and feeding the fluid phase separated from the para-xylene crystals to the second stage of the centrifuge for recovery of additional para-xylene which becomes part of the final product stream. It would be advantageous if a method could be devised for obtaining high purity para-xylene which was less complex and costly than that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,630.
The separation of close-boiling meta-xylene and para-xylene via selective alkylation and subsequent dealkylation or transalkylation was recently studied according to Chemical Abstract 116(6):43394n (1992). The alkylation was carried out with isobutylene or diisobutylene with concentrated H2SO4 catalyst at xe2x88x9210 to +20xc2x0 and Filtrol-24 acid clay at 80-130xc2x0, respectively. meta-Xylene reacted very selectively (Filtrol-24 gave selectively 5-tert-butyl-meta-xylene), and the alkylated products could be dealkylated at higher temperatures in the presence of Filtrol-24 catalyst, to give relatively pure meta-xylene and isobutylene which could be recycled. para-Xylene purity is not mentioned in the Abstract.
There remains a need for a process which provides a high yield to para-xylene in very high purity which is relatively simple and cost-effective. The linking of two conventional para-xylene purification processes together is generally less efficient. Additionally, the reaction to make para-xylene is reversible under many of the conditions to selectively alkylate the xylene mixture; often in the attempt to make very high purity para-xylene, an isomerization side reaction occurs to make more of the less desirable meta-xylene and/or ortho-xylene. At relatively high purities, e.g. 98 wt. %, attempts to increase purity of the already pure product result in degradation of the product rather than improvement through these side reactions. Also, para-xylene does alkylate to some extent and there is a great tendency when 98 wt. % of the product is para-xylene that the alkylation will more readily occur with the para-xylene, rather than with the small proportion of impurities which are more difficult for the catalyst to come into contact with. Attempts often result in removing alkylated para-xylene and/or isomerizing para-xylene with the overall result of a relatively increased proportions of impurity and a product with a lowered purity to para-xylene.
Many of the prior processes do not discuss the problems of side reactions and reversible reactions. Most of them only are concerned only with bulk separations and are satisfied with conversions of about 50%. As discussed, only U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,630 attempts to achieve high purity para-xylene, and it is only accomplished via a complicated crystallization process involving a multi-stage centrifuge. It is anticipated that in the near future there will be a great need for ultra-pure para-xylene, on the order of 99.9+ wt. % purity.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process for recovering para-xylene in at least 99.5 wt. % purity, and to 99.9+ wt. % purity, if desirable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a process for giving para-xylene in very high purity by selective alkylation in a straight-forward, simple manner.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for yielding para-xylene in very high purity by selective alkylation with extremely high selectivity and little or no reverse reactions and side reactions.
In carrying out these and other objects of the invention, there is provided, in one form, a reactive purification employing selective alkylation for producing at least 99.5 wt. % para-xylene from a mixture of isomers of para-xylene having more than about 90 wt. % para-xylene and the mixture being produced by a process exclusive of a selective alkylation process. The purification process involves (a) alkylating substantially all of the isomers of para-xylene in the mixture of xylene isomers with an alkylating agent, while alkylating substantially none of the para-xylene; and (b) separating the para-xylene in at least 99.5 wt. % purity and at least greater than the concentration of para-xylene in the mixture of xylene isomers, from the alkylated xylene isomers to give the final product stream.
The present invention is distinct from U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,630, described earlier, in that the former purifies via alkylation whereas the latter uses crystallization. Although it is possible in some prior processes to achieve 99.9 wt. % purity, it is accomplished only with a significant capacity debit. For example, in one conventional process, the increase from producing 99.8 to 99.9 wt. % para-xylene results in a 15% reduction in capacity. That is, there is a production capacity/purity trade off which cannot be overcome. Prior commercial processes are separation processes only, whereas the subject process uses reactive purification and reaction processes. In the present invention, one does not have to sacrifice capacity to increase purity.
It has been discovered that it is not economical nor efficient to produce 99.9+ wt. % para-xylene via any single separation process, whether adsorption, crystallization, hydrogen-fluoride extraction, sulfonation or other processes. It has been surprisingly found that the best process arrangement to maximize purity and productivity appears to be attaching an alkylation process at the back end of an adsorption or crystallization process. Such a hybrid system can easily achieve the desired 99.5+ wt. % purity without any significant productivity loss. Of course, the final para-xylene purity must be greater than that of the mixture of xylene isomers before purification.
In the first treatment of the hybrid system, a conventional para-xylene recovery technology such as the PAREX(copyright) adsorption process or a crystallization process will be used to produce a product stream with 99.0 to 99.8 wt. % para-xylene. PAREX is a registered trademark of UOP Inc. Other processes that produce a mixture of isomers of para-xylene include, but are not necessarily limited to, hydrogen fluoride extraction, sulfonation, fractionation, membrane separation and selective toluene disproportionation (STDP). Essentially, the method of this invention can be used to purify a mixture of isomers of para-xylene produced by any process known in the art except or exclusive, of a selective alkylation process. Such mixtures of isomers para-xylene may contain more than about 90 wt. % para-xylene, alternatively from 90 to 99.9 wt. % para-xylene, in one embodiment from 95 to 99.9 wt. % para-xylene and in a narrower range from 98 to 99.9 wt. % para-xylene. These commercial processes are very efficient in such purity ranges. As explained, what is more difficult is how to upgrade the product purity to 99.5+ wt. % efficiently. Unexpectedly, it was discovered that further para-xylene purification is better done via xylene-selective alkylation; the second treatment of the hybrid system of this invention. An acidic catalyst is used to selectively alkylate just the ethylbenzene, meta-xylene and ortho-xylene while leaving para-xylene alone unalkylated. Since the alkylated para-xylene isomers boil at substantially higher temperatures compared to unalkylated para-xylene, a simple post-alkylation fractionation or a post alkylation carbon adsorption provides efficient removal of the heavies and produce 99.5+ wt. % para-xylene. Moreover, the inventive process does not have appreciable side reactions, reverse reactions, or alkylation of para-xylene which decreases yield or conversion to high purity para-xylene.
The purification via alkylation process of this invention can be accomplished with either an acidic heterogeneous catalyst, such as proton-exchanged zeolites or an acidic homogeneous catalyst such as aluminum chloride at a temperature ranging from about 1 to 300xc2x0 C. preferably between about 1 to about 100xc2x0 C., most preferably between about 10 to about 50xc2x0 C. and a pressure from sub-atmospheric to 1000 psig, in one embodiment. In one embodiment, the LHSV ranges from about 0.1 to about 100, and preferably ranges from about 0.1 to about 10.
The selective alkylation may, in one embodiment, be done in the presence of an acidic catalyst. Preferably, steps are taken so that there is good molecular contact between the catalyst and the xylene isomers which are not para-xylene. Without being bound by any one theory, it is hypothesized that the success of the present invention is due at least in part to excellent molecular contact between the catalyst and the non-para-xylene isomers. This contact may involve a particular high surface area catalyst, extensive mixing or both. Extensive mixing includes, but is not limited to mixing by pressure drop, mixing orifices, static mixers, distribution heads and high speed mixing mechanisms. By xe2x80x9chigh surface areaxe2x80x9d is meant a catalyst having a surface area in excess of about 100 m2/g and in one embodiment in excess of about 200 m2/g, and preferably one with a surface area in excess of about 300 m2/g. A most preferred high surface area catalyst has a surface area in excess of about 450 m2/g. Additionally, the catalyst should be one which does not polymerize the alkylating agent. For example, the catalysts should not be one which substantially dimerizes isobutylene, if this is the alkylation agent.
In one embodiment, the catalyst is a high surface area heterogeneous catalyst, and more preferably may be a high surface area catalyst including, but not necessarily limited to, proton-exchanged zeolites, bentonite clay, acid-treated clay, acidic alumina, solid acids, proton-exchanged resins, and the like. The most preferable catalysts are proton-exchanged zeolites. In another embodiment of the invention, homogeneous acidic catalysts suitable for this invention include, but are not limited to, aluminum chloride, alkyl aluminum chlorides, hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid and the like.
The selective alkylation step of the present invention may be conducted at a temperature in the range of from about 10 to about 300xc2x0 C., preferably from about 10 to about 150xc2x0 C. and most preferably from about 10 to 50xc2x0 C. Reaction temperatures greater than about 300xc2x0 C. are not desired as the tendency for isomerization increases with increasing temperature (the para-xylene isomerizes to ortho-xylene, meta-xylene and/or ethylbenzene), as does the undesired alkylation of para-xylene. The alkylation reaction may be conducted in the liquid phase or the vapor phase and thus may be conducted from sub-atmospheric to about 1000 psig, preferably from sub-atmospheric to about 500 psig, and most preferably from subatmospheric to about 300 psig. Further, the best alkylating agents were found to contain at least one tertiary butyl moiety. In one embodiment, the alkylating agent is selected from the group consisting of isobutylene, tertiary butyl chloride, tertiary butyl benzene, di-tertiary butyl hydroxyl toluene, isobutylene oligomers and the like. The amount of alkylating agent is dependent on other parameters; for example, it is necessary to have enough alkylating agent to react with all of the impurities. Thus, the amount of alkylating agent should be an effective amount to so alkylate the impurities desired to be removed. A large excess of alkylating agent should be avoided.
Under the conditions of this invention, the loss of para-xylene to alkylation is only in the range of several tenths of one percent. That is, the selectivity of alkylation of non-para-xylene isomers to para-xylene is a surprising 300:1 to 3000:1 ratio. Even a relatively high ratio of 30:1 would be unacceptable inasmuch as too much of the para-xylene would be lost, as has been established in the prior art. In prior processes, the selectivity was always less than 100:1; the selectivities achievable with this process are surprisingly higher. The selectivity achieved with this invention is unexpected and extraordinary. The process of this invention prevents destruction of the major product while selectively removing only the contaminants. This is unusual as all previous selective alkylation processes are not this selective, but rather only selectively alkylates the non-para-xylene isomers to a much lower extent than in this process. The system of this invention avoids (1) isomerization of the desired para-xylene and (2) alkylation of the para-xylene (even in the presence of high concentrations thereof), and (3) polymerization of the alkylating agent, e.g. dimerization of the isobutylene. Only by avoiding these other reactions are the extraordinarily high selectivities achieved using the inventive process which sets it apart from conventional processes which can only achieve a lower selectivity ratio.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the t-butyl-meta-xylene and -ortho-xylene adducts which may have a lower value will not have a significant effect on the process economics due to the low levels produced. Thus, although some small amount of lower value byproducts are produced, the process remains economically attractive. The purification method of this invention may be expanded so that the purified para-xylene may be further purified using an additional selective alkylation step to achieve ultrapure para-xylene.
That is, after the production of para-xylene by more than of 90 wt. % purity by any of the conventional methods, the purification process of this invention could be applied to the mixture of xylene isomers two or more times in series to achieve small increments of yet higher purity.

Process for improving purity of para-xylene product


A signal decoding method and apparatus in which the speech signal reproducing speed is controlled without changing the phoneme or the pitch, in which the apparatus has a data number convertor for converting the number of orthogonal transform coefficients entering a transmission signal input terminal from N to M, an inverse orthogonal transform unit for inverse orthogonal-transforming the M number of the orthogonal transform coefficients obtained by the data number convertor, and a linear predictive coding synthesis filter for performing predictive synthesis based on the short-term prediction residuals obtained by the inverse orthogonal transform unit. For an input signal, short-term prediction residuals are found and are orthogonally transformed to form the orthogonal transform coefficients at a rate of N coefficients per transform unit. The frequency positions of the N transform coefficients may be rearranged to M values by M/N or by oversampling to change N to M. A portable radio terminal embodying the invention is described.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for decoding an encoded signal obtained by orthogonal-transforming an input signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are a known variety of encoding methods in which audio signals inclusive of speech signals and acoustic signals are compressed by exploiting statistical properties of the audio signals in the time domain and in the frequency domain, as well as psychoacoustic characteristics of human beings. These encoding methods are roughly classified into encoding in the time domain, encoding in the frequency domain, and analysis synthesis encoding.
Video signals are often reproduced at speeds faster or slower than their recorded speed. It has been thought desirable that the speech signals associated with video signals be reproduced at a constant speed irrespective of the reproducing speed of the video signals. Ordinarily, if the speech signals are recorded synchronously with the video signals, and if the video signals are reproduced at one-half speed, the speech signals are also reproduced at one-half speed and, hence, are changed in pitch. Thus, it becomes necessary to perform signal compression along the time axis taking into account the zero-crossing point to restore the pitch of the speech signal to the pitch of the original signal at the standard reproducing speed.
High-efficiency speech encoding methods that perform time-axis processing as described above, for example, code excited linear prediction (CELP) encoding, allow fast modification along the time axis. Nevertheless, implementation of these methods has been difficult because of the large volume of processing operations required during decoding.

Speech decoding method and apparatus to control the reproduction speed by changing the number of transform coefficients