A display apparatus that can improve power savings in a waiting mode is disclosed. The display apparatus (0) is used as a display component of an electronic device capable of switching between a normal power consumption state and a low power consumption state and includes a panel in which a display area (2) and a peripheral circuit section for driving the display area are integrally formed on an insulating substrate (1). The circuit section switches between an operation mode and a waiting mode responsive to switching between the normal power consumption state and the low power consumption state of a main body of the electronic device. In the waiting mode, a standby control operation stops driving the display area 2 and inactivates the circuit section to suppress power consumption.

A flat-shaped panel such as an active matrix type liquid crystal panel is frequently used as a display part of an electronic device. The active matrix type liquid crystal panel is a system-on-chip display (system display) in which a display area and a peripheral circuit section that drives the display area are formed integrally on an insulating substrate.
A small-sized electronic device, such as a cellular phone terminal and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), that can be switched between a normal power consumption state and a low power consumption state has been developed. There is a technique that has been known in which a display apparatus (system display) performs a so-called partial mode display in response to the low power consumption state when the main body (main set) of the electronic device is switched to the low power consumption state. For example, a liquid crystal panel incorporated into a cellular telephone terminal performs a so-called "standby mode display" in the low power consumption state. More specifically, only the minimum necessary information is displayed (the partial mode display) for purposes of power savings. However, in this partial mode, the display apparatus is substantially in an operating state and, therefore, the power savings cannot be expected so much. To respond to the low power consumption state of the main set in another way, there is proposed a method in which the display apparatus performs a preparation process (an OFF sequence) for shutting off the power supply before turning off the power supply to the display apparatus. In applications requiring suppression of the power consumption of the display apparatus (system display), this power supply shut-off method is adopted. However, in this case, a large capacity switch is required to shut off the power supply from the main set to the system display. As a result, there is a disadvantage in that the number of parts and, thus, the size and cost of the main set will be increased.
In recent years, there has been developed a technique that switches between an operation mode and a waiting mode (standby mode) in response to the switching between the normal power consumption state and the low power consumption state of the main body of the electronic device, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 07-271323. In the standby mode, while a power supply voltage is supplied from the main set, power consumption of the panel is suppressed by blocking the operation of the system display and inactivating the peripheral circuit section included in the system display. In this standby mode, while the power supply from the main set to the system display is kept active, active power consumption of the system display is suppressed. This eliminates the need for the large capacity switch for turning off the power supply and, therefore, is advantageous in terms of the size and cost of the main set. However, there is still a problem to be solved in that, in the conventional standby mode, there is not a sufficient means for suppressing the active power consumption of the display apparatus, and therefore, sufficient power savings cannot be achieved in the standby mode.


An electrodepositable composition is provided comprising (a) an active hydrogen-containing, cationic salt group-containing resin electrodepositable on a cathode; (b) a capped polyisocyanate curing agent; and (c) bismuth diorganodithiocarbamate. Such compositions may be prepared without the use of conventional lead or tin catalysts and exhibit excellent properties as cured coatings.. Also provided is a method of electrocoating an electroconductive substrate using the composition of the present invention.

The application of a coating by electrodeposition involves depositing a film-forming composition to an electrically conductive substrate under the influence of an applied electrical potential. Electrodeposition has gained prominence in the coatings industry because in comparison with non-electrophoretic coating methods, electrodeposition provides higher paint utilization, outstanding corrosion resistance, and low environmental contamination. Early attempts at commercial electrodeposition processes used anionic electrodeposition, where the workpiece being coated served as the anode. However, in 1972, cationic electrodeposition was introduced commercially. Since that time, cationic electrodeposition has become increasingly popular and today is the most prevalent method of electrodeposition. Throughout the world, more than 80 percent of all motor vehicles manufactured are given a primer coating by cationic electrodeposition.
Many cationic electrodeposition compositions used today are based on active hydrogen-containing resins derived from a polyepoxide and a capped polyisocyanate curing agent. These cationic electrodeposition compositions conventionally contain organotin catalysts such as dibutyl tin oxide and lead catalysts to activate cure of the electrodeposition composition. Because of cost and environmental considerations, the levels of these catalysts are kept low. However, low catalyst levels may lessen the cure response of a coating composition, providing weaker properties in the cured film than desired. Appearance of the cured film may also be adversely affected.
Karol et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,631,214 disclose the preparation of bismuth dialkyldithiocarbamates for use in lubricant compositions. The reference does not disclose the use of such compounds in cationic electrodepositable compositions.
In copending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 08/868,411 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,912, Kollah et al. disclose the use of cationic electrodepositable coating compositions which contain catalysts that are complexes of bismuth and amino acids. However, there is no disclosure of the use of bismuth diorganodithiocarbamates in cationic electrodepositable compositions.
Schipfer et al. in South Africa Patent Application No. 93/2977 discloses the use of cationic electrodepositable coating compositions which contain catalysts that are salts of bismuth and carboxylic acids, in particular hydroxycarboxylic acids. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,700 discloses bismuth compounds such as bismuth hydroxy acids as catalysts in aqueous electrodepositable compositions. However, such compounds are prone to hydrolysis, drastically lowering the pH of the electrodepositable composition, making it more corrosive to iron pipes and pumps and yielding bismuth oxide which is insoluble and relatively ineffective as a catalyst. Moreover, the references do not disclose the use of bismuth diorganodithiocarbamates in cationic electrodepositable compositions.
It would be desirable to provide an electrodepositable composition which demonstrates acceptable cure response without loss of cured film properties or appearance, and preferably do not contain tin or lead catalysts.

Electrodepositable coating composition containing bismuth diorganodithiocarbamates and method of electrodeposition


A laser component includes a laser chip having a top side, an underside, a first side surface and a second side surface, which are oriented parallel to a resonator of the laser chip, wherein an underside of the laser chip is arranged in a manner bearing on a carrier, a top side of the laser chip is arranged in a manner bearing on a further carrier, the laser chip is hermetically tightly encapsulated between the carrier and the further carrier, a second electrical contact pad of the laser chip, said second electrical contact pad being formed on the top side of the laser chip, electrically conductively connects to a second electrical mating contact pad formed on the further carrier, and the first side surface of the laser chip thermally conductively connects to a heat sink.

Laser components comprising semiconductor-based laser chips are known. During their operation, semiconductor-based laser chips generate waste heat that must be dissipated to prevent overheating and associated damage or destruction of the laser chips. It is known to arrange laser chips with their underside on carriers having good thermal conductivity to enable heat dissipation. It is likewise known to arrange a laser chip upside down on a carrier such that a top side of the laser chip faces the carrier. A further known possibility for the thermal coupling of laser chips consists of arranging a laser chip with its underside on a carrier and thermally contacting the top side of the laser chip by a metal strip or a metal clip.
It could nonetheless be helpful to provide an improved laser component.

Laser diode with cooling along even the side surfaces


In a quadrature amplitude (QAM) demodulator, an auxiliary symbol may be utilized in place of the decision symbol to adjust the decision-feedback loops within the demodulator. For the formation and definition of the auxiliary symbol, the radius and angle information of the received signal or of the preliminary symbol may be used. Through use of the auxiliary symbol instead of the decision symbol, any error in the angle information due to the unknown frequency and phase deviation of the local oscillator may be ignored. An auxiliary symbol generator may be provided which, instead of assigning to the received signal an element from the predetermined symbol alphabet, generates an auxiliary symbol that lies on the most probable one of the nominal radii. Nominal radii may mean those radii on which in QAM the predetermined symbols of the alphabet lie in the plane determined by the quadrature signal pair. For the angle component of the auxiliary symbol, the angle information of the sampled digital signal may be used. In polar coordinates, the auxiliary symbol may thus correspond to the vector intersection point of the sampled digital signal with the most probable nominal radius.

This invention relates in general to digital signal processing and in particular to generating an auxiliary symbol in place of a decision symbol for adjusting a QAM demodulator as a part of a receiver in which the decision-feedback loops are not yet synchronized.
Decision-feedback loops utilized in quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) receivers typically need to be quickly brought into synchronization or "lock" when digital signals locked to a quadrature signal pair are received. Such loops are used, for example, for the adjustment of sampling instants, for the adjustment of an equalizer that removes linear distortion during the reception of the quadrature signal pair, or in an automatic gain control circuit to adapt the received signals to the dynamic range.
In encoded form, these digital signals, which may also be referred to as symbols, may represent a single-bit or multiple-bit binary value. Encoding for transmission may be accomplished via the quadrature signal pair, which corresponds to a vector that at given instants of time takes up discrete positions in the amplitude and phase space of the quadrature signal pair. These instants of time typically follow each other at equal intervals and generally are sampled by the sampling clock pulses as precisely as possible. Besides QAM, another typical transmission method is phase-shift keying (PSK).
In a conventional receiver for receiving digital signals, a complex multiplier or mixer, which may be controlled by a local oscillator, may downconvert the received QAM signal, which may be modulated onto a carrier frequency for transmission, to the baseband frequency. If digital signal processing is used, this downconversion can take place prior to or after analog-to-digital conversion, with the signal advantageously being sampled and digitized at the symbol rate or a multiple thereof. If the digitization rate is an even-numbered multiple of the symbol rate, each of the symbol clock pulses typically coincides with a sample value. The digitization rate may advantageously be locked to the recovered symbol rate via a phase-locked loop. Instead, if the digitization rate is free running in relation to the symbol rate, the symbol may be formed as time information via an all-digital sample-rate conversion. In this manner, a temporal interpolation between the digitized sample values of the received digital signal may be controlled. Automatic gain control circuits help to achieve a relatively high utilization of the respective dynamic range and to map the received symbols onto the symbol decision stage. An adaptive equalizer typically reduces intersymbol interference, which may result from linear distortion caused by the transmitter, the transmission path, or the receiver.
In prior art demodulators for QAM or PSK signals, the circuits for controlling the frequency and phase of the local oscillator (e.g., the automatic gain control, the symbol clock recovery, and the adaptive equalizer) typically look at the differences between the received symbol and that element of the predetermined symbol alphabet which may be regarded by a decision stage as the most probable symbol that matches the received symbol. This type of control over the decision symbol is usually referred to as decision-feedback control. Since in prior-art digital demodulators the decision-feedback loops are coupled together, bringing these loops into a synchronization or lock condition may be difficult to achieve in a relatively rapid timeframe as long as the control for the carrier of the local oscillator is not yet stable in frequency and phase.
Frequently, the synchronization or lock condition of the decision-feedback loops can be achieved if the respective frequencies and phases are relatively close to their desired values. Examples of decision-feedback loops are found in a book by K. D. Kammeyer, "Nachrichtenübertragung", published by B. G. Teubner, Stuttgart, 2nd edition, 1996, pages 429 to 433, in Chapter 5.7.3, "Adaptiver Entzerrer mit quantisierter Rückführung", pages 200 to 202, in Chapter 5.8.3, "Entscheidungsrückgekoppelte Taktregelung", pages 213 to 215, and in Chapter 12.2.2, "Entscheidungsrückgekoppelte Trägerphasenregelung im Basisband", pages 429 to 431.
What is needed is a QAM demodulator that utilizes a relatively more reliable auxiliary symbol instead of a relatively less reliable decision symbol to adjust the decision-feedback loops within the demodulator.

Method and circuit for generating an auxiliary symbol for adjusting a QAM demodulator


Circuits and a method are described that integrate memory arrays, a redundant memory array, their associated decoders, sense amplifiers, and outputs into one module. This integration is achieved through the use of a column decoder with a fuse, which, when blown, permanently deselects the failing array and selects the redundant array. By OR'ing the redundant column select line of each column decoder, any column decoder can select the redundant array. Higher level array structures are produced by replication of the lower level array structure. The system output is generated by OR'ing together the respective data outputs of each array.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of integrated circuits and, more particularly, to a novel column decoder as applied to redundant memory arrays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As semiconductor memories become ever larger, be they static random access memories (SRAM) or dynamic random access memories (DRAM), the size and complexity of the associated redundant memory arrays is growing equally. Not surprisingly, redundant memory arrays have received intense design scrutiny in the areas of replacement schemes for defective array columns or rows, and the design of column decoders or multiplexers.
An example of the prior art design is shown in FIG. 5, where arrays 500 are adjoined by redundant array 505, column decoders 510 are adjoined by redundant column decoders 515, and sense amplifier arrays 520 are adjoined by redundant sense amplifiers 525. Sense amplifier array output (SIO) 501 and redundant sense amplifier array output (XIO) 502 feed into IO multiplexers 530, which provides the final output (IO) 503.
An example of a semiconductor memory incorporating redundant arrays is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,229 (McClure et al.). This patent provides column redundancy by mapping a redundant column into multiple block addresses. U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,426 (McClure) includes redundant columns which may replace a column in any of the memory blocks selected by redundant column decoders. This design requires additional column decoders and complicated multiplexers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,318 (Ogawa) discloses a semiconductor memory having two redundant columns per block, with each block having one dedicated redundancy column decoder.

Semiconductor memory with a novel column decoder for selecting a redundant array

Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation


Various technologies and techniques are disclosed for improving configuration of database audits. Multiple audits can be created for a database. Any one of the audits can be turned off without impacting an operation of any remaining audits. Database audits can be ported from one database server instance to another. Database audit metadata is stored in a database separately from a database server instance to which the database is attached. The database can be detached from the database server instance and attached to a second database server instance, with the database audit metadata moving along with the database automatically. Any audits associated with the database audit metadata are automatically activated for the second database server instance. Database audits can be configured using a hierarchical model.

Database security is a serious issue that companies face. It is important that companies ensure that their database(s) is/are protected from unauthorized access since the majority the organization's sensitive information is contained within their database(s). Unauthorized access into the database could be catastrophic to a company. In fact, some companies have a legal obligation to ensure the privacy of their data through various data-privacy regulations in place that companies handling certain types of data must comply with. These regulations include best practice requirements and industry guidelines regarding the usage and access to customer data. Some of the privacy requirements include proper access control, separation of duties, and independent audit functions.
A feature called "database auditing" is often used to observe a database so as to be aware of the actions of database users. Database auditing is often utilized for security purposes, so that the company can ensure that information is not accessed by those without the permission to access it. With database audits, various details are recorded about what users do with the data in the database, such as what users modified certain data, what users viewed certain data, and so on. Database audits are typically applied to a database by the information technology department, and are usually assigned to the database as a whole.
One issue with current database systems has to do with segregation of audit data. With the increasing complexity of database audit requirements from different government and other agencies, it is often difficult to tell for what purpose a given audit requirement was added to the database to fulfill.
On a similar note, many audits may really only need to record a small subset of possible activities on the database server, such as access to a table containing sensitive data such as employee social security numbers. However, most audit systems today either only allow global configuration, i.e. audit all accesses to all tables, or they require programmers to encode what data accesses should be audited—making audit records either overly verbose or difficult to configure.
Another issue with database audits arises when databases need to be moved from one database server instance to another. There are existing techniques for moving databases from one server instance to another. However, with current audit systems, audit configuration metadata stays with the database server instance. This can make it a complex and error-prone operation to move databases that require audits from one server instance to another.

Configuration of multiple database audits


A system and method for counting opaque particles within a fluid sample. The system uses an optical lens system to focus a light beam onto a sample on a multi-dimensional translation stage. The translation stage is moved in a pattern such that the intensity of the transmitted light is measured as a function of path length. A photo detector is used to measure the transmitted light through the sample. An analog-to-digital converter quantifies the transmitted light intensity. Changes in light intensity along the path length are correlated with the detection of an opaque particle. Data processing algorithms are implemented to automatically determine the background noise level associated with the acquired data and to set a discriminator level above which a particle is registered. The total number of particles and an areal density is reported along with an estimate of the uncertainty.

Thermal conversion is a process in which, by the application of heat, large hydrocarbon molecules are broken into smaller molecules with a lower boiling point. These operations are carried out in the industry of crude oil refining by plants such as a visbreaker, coker, and hydrocracker for obtaining intermediate or light cuts of higher value, from heavy residues of lower commercial value.
It is well known that the fouling potential of a fluid can be estimated and characterized by the concentration of the dispersed phase, particularly by the concentration of the dispersed phase present in a specific size range. In hydrocarbon systems in particular, it has been recognized that the concentration of asphaltenes (i.e., carbon particles or opaque species) with linear dimension greater than about 1 micron in visbroken tars is a good indication of the fouling potential of the material.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a simplified, automated system and method that can easily be used to carry out optical analysis of visbroken tars and other fluid samples in order to characterize and quantify the concentration of particles within the fluid sample with high accuracy and reproducibility.

Apparatus for characterizing and measuring the concentration of opaque particles within a fluid sample


An elastic or flexible spherical animal toy, be having an interior space (15) and a slit or narrow opening (11) of elongated shape through the housing to the interior space (15). The slit or narrow opening (11) widens into a hole when pressure is applied to the ends of the slit or narrow opening, allowing a treat (17), such as animal food, treat or odor producing substances, inside the toy to fall out. An animal can typically open the slit (11) occasionally gain access to items placed inside the toy by biting or squeezing the toy.

1. Field of The Invention
This invention relates to chew and play toys for domestic pet animals. More particularly, it relates to a treat container for domestic pets, such as dogs and cats, which can be actuated during play by a pet to release a predetermined item contained in the toy such as animal food, a treat, or an odor-emitting substance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many domestic pets, such as dogs and cats, like to play with toys by chewing, pulling and pushing them, or moving them around with their nose, teeth, and front legs. This behavior is natural to animals, and keeps the animals active and develops their motor coordination. Also, if there are not any toys available for the animal, damage to items surrounding the pet can occur. For example, domestic pets can damage the furniture, carpeting, walls, and shoes.
The prior art reveals a variety of toys intended for animals. Some examples of the chew and play toys available for animals are rawhide chews or bones, cloth pulls and ropes, as well as various vinyl, plastic, rubber and latex toys. In this application, any toy that an animal can chew or play with is called a chew and play toy.
Some available chew and play toys are the various tug-of-war toys such as cloth ropes and rubber pulls in O'Rourke's U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,272; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 329,310 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 328,805. There are toys manufactured from vinyl or a hard nylon polymer in various shapes and sizes, such as Axelrod's U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,436 and Scrani's U.S. Pat. No. Des. 350,629. Also, there are various cat toys based on an endless track and a ball, such as Graves' U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,650. The problem with these chew and play boys is that they contain no treat, flavor, or scent which is releasable as a result of biting the toy and an animal will lose interest to these toys rather quickly.
If an attractive odor or flavor is added to the chew and play toy, the toy generally is more attractive to an animal. There are inventions that show chew and play toys with added odor or flavor, such as shown in Allis' U.S. Pat. No. 1,149,170, Axelrod's U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,871,334 and 5,339,771, and Edwards' U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,513,014 and 4,557,219. A problem with these inventions is that only one flavor can be impregnated into the toy item and they do not release a predetermined item as a result of biting the toy.
Some inventions show devices that allow animal food, treat, or odor-producing substance to be placed in a container in the chew and play toy, called a treat container. These toys are more activating and stimulating for an animal, since the animal tries to gain access to the animal food, treat, or odor-producing substance in the toy. Typically, the animal has to perform a simple task, or solve a problem to gain access to the animal food, treat, or odor-producing substance in the toy. In general, animals tend to play longer with toys that require a simple task to be performed than with toys that do not require a task to be performed in order to operate the toy, and do not contain any animal food, treat, or odor-producing substances.
For example, chew and play toys containing animal food, treat, or odor-producing substances are shown in Chill's U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,142, Van Natter III et al's U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,570, Houghton et al's U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,828, and Jorgensen's International Patent Cooperation Treaty application PCT/DK95/00257. Also, some generally available chew and play toys allow animal food, treat, or odor-producing substance to be placed in them, such as the Kong Inc.'s Kong toys shown on page 63 in R. C. Steele Wholesale Pet and Animal Care Supplies catalog, Summer Preview 1997 edition.
All these toys, however, have specific and similar problems. Chill's U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,142; and the Kong Inc.'s Kong toys can contain animal food, treat, or odor-producing substance mainly in paste form, limiting the available selection of animal food, treat, or odor-producing substances, and making the toys harder to refill and clean than when using solid animal food, treat, or odor-producing substances. In both of these toys, it would be difficult to make any solid animal food, treat, or odor-producing substance stay in the toy.
Van Natter III et al's U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,570, can contain solid and paste form animal food, or treat, or odor-producing substance, but it does not allow the animal to access the substance in the container without help from a person. Therefore, it offers no challenging problem to be solved by the animal. Also, the animal cannot play with this toy independently without help from a person.
Houghton et al's U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,828, and Jorgensen's International Patent Cooperation Treat application PCT/DK95/00257, offer a problem to be solved to the animal, but they are mainly limited to solid animal food, treats, or odor-producing particles having quite narrow size and shape limitations because of the open holes in these toys. If the animal food, treat, or odor-producing substances used in these toys have particle sizes too small, the particles can fall out too easily, and if the particle sizes are too large, the animal cannot extract them without chewing the particles in the toy to make the particles smaller. In addition, the problem solving skills of the animal do not necessarily affect how quickly the animal can gain access to the animal food, treat, or odor-producing substances inside the toy. This can be frustrating to the animal. Usability of these toys can also cause problems. Houghton et al's U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,828 involves a locking mechanism, which makes the refilling of the toy complicated. In Jorgensen's International Patent Cooperation Treaty application PCT/DK95/00257, the cleaning of the toy can be a problem, since the toy does not offer a good access to the interior of the toy. Also, both of these toys need to be made of a rather stiff material, such as hard plastic, in order to be practical to manufacture, and to function properly. This can cause quite disturbing noise when an animal plays with these toys by rolling them on the floor. In addition, both of these toys are hard to modify to be used as component treat containers embedded in other toys in the market.
The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art and, in addition, provides a new concept in an interactive pet toy which provides an extraction problem to the pet in figuring out how to extract the treat from the toy while simultaneously providing an incentive to the animal by providing a sound and scent attractant to the animal to induce it to continue playing with the toy until it extracts the treat and silences the sound.

Animal chew and play toy and a treat container


A device for discharging a liquid raw material(fuel) is provided, including a structure for discharging liquid having at least a pressurizing means for discharging liquid, a pressure chamber, a flow path communicating with the pressure chamber, and an air bubble trap cell communicating with the pressure chamber via the flow path. According to this device, a trapped air bubble can be securely released.

The present invention relates to a device for discharging liquid raw material (fuel) used for operating various machines by discharging liquid raw material or fuel, or for various machines for treating the liquid by discharging liquid raw material or fuel.
A liquid discharge device is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-6-40030. However, in some modes of use thereof, air bubbles formed by mechanical vibrations, which occur depending on use environment, penetrate into a pressure application room of a liquid discharge device. The penetrating air bubbles transform depending on pressure and absorb a part of, or all of, the applied pressure, even if the pressure application room is pressurized. Thereby, the aimed discharging of liquid often cannot be performed as intended. Thus, there was a problem that the desired effect was not seen.
The present invention aims to provide a device for discharging liquid raw material (fuel) comprising a structure that can securely eject the air bubbles which penetrate into the liquid discharge device so as not to cause discharge defects or the inability to discharge due to such penetrated air bubbles.
The present inventors have studied various ways in view of the present situations, and as a result, found that the absorption of pressure by penetrated air bubbles can be substantially eliminated by providing an air bubble trap cell for trapping air bubbles generated by mechanical vibrations or the like via a flow path communicating with a pressure application room. Additionally, the trapped air bubbles can be ejected outside the cell by providing an element for making the pressure, p1, in the air bubble trap cell higher than external atmospheric pressure p0 outside the device upon discharge of liquid, and thus, the present invention was provided.
According to the present invention, a device for discharging raw material (fuel) is provided, comprising a structure for discharging liquid having at least a pressurizing means for discharging liquid, a pressure application room which is a temporary storage means for liquid to be discharged, a flow path communicating with the pressure application room, and an air bubble trap cell communicating with. the pressure application room via the flow path.

Device for discharging raw material-fuel


A biasing mechanism in an image forming apparatus exerts a variable force on a removable cartridge unit to generate a nip force between a roller in the cartridge unit and another roller. A pivot member is fixed to the apparatus housing. An arm is pivotally mounted in the housing about the pivot member, with the arm in contact with a protrusion on the cartridge unit. A force generating member is mounted in the housing and contacts the arm so as to urge the arm to pivot about the pivot member and press against the cartridge unit. The resulting force exerted on the cartridge unit by the arm varies according to the point of contact between the cartridge unit and the arm. In some embodiments, the arm and the cartridge unit protrusion are electrically conductive, and an electrical contact is established as the arm is pressed against the protrusion.

The present invention relates generally to the field of image forming and in particular to a variable force biasing mechanism and an electrical connection for a removable cartridge unit in an image forming apparatus.
The electrophotographic image forming process is well known in the art. A photoconductive surface, such as a drum, roller, or belt, is uniformly charged to a first voltage level. A latent image is then formed on the photoconductive surface by incident optical energy, such as a laser beam. The latent image is developed by applying toner to the photoconductive surface. The toner is typically applied by a developer roller, the surface of which is charged to a second voltage, with toner electrostatically adhered thereto. The toner is electrostatically transferred from the developer roller to the latent image on the photoconductive surface by the voltage difference between the developer roller surface and the latent image area on the photoconductive surface.
Critical factors in the accurate development of latent images are the force applied along the contact between the developer roller and the photoconductive surface, known in the art as the nip force, and the uniformity of the nip force along the nip or contact area. Among other factors, the optimal nip force is determined by properties of the toner. As the state of the art in toner composition advances, the optimal nip force between the developer roller and photoconductive surface, for a given toner formulation, may change.
The nip force is typically controlled by housing the photoconductive surface, such as a photoconductive drum, and the developer roller in a common replaceable cartridge unit, with the nip force controlled within the cartridge unit by low rate springs. The nip force adjustment is accomplished by altering the low rate springs within the cartridge, so that new cartridges, containing the latest formulation of toner, can be installed in existing machines and function at the latest desired nip force.
In addition to control of the nip force, a recurring challenge in the design of removable cartridge units is the provision of electrical contacts for biasing the photoconductive drum and developer roller surfaces to their required voltages, and in grounding these elements. These contacts should provide reliable electrical connectivity, but exert minimal influence on the carefully controlled nip force. Additionally, electrical contacts may be necessary for a doctor blade and/or toner-adder roller, and possibly characterization electronic circuits.
A recent advance in the design of electrophotographic image forming devices separates the developer roller and the PC drum into distinct removable cartridge units. A removable developer unit stores fresh toner of one color, and includes a developer roller, a toner-adder roller, doctor member and three agitating paddles. A removable cleaner unit contains a photoconductive drum, a charge roller, a toner cleaner unit, and a waste toner auger. Mechanical hardware in the machine housing urges the developer unit against the cleaner unit, generating a nip force between the developer roller and the photoconductive drum. However, since this hardware resides in the machine, it is difficult to adjust the nip force to different values for different developer units.

Variable force biasing mechanism and electrical connection


Embodiments of the invention provide a laser processing apparatus and method. The laser processing apparatus includes a holder that holds a processing target, a first laser source that emits pulsed laser beam, and a second laser source that emits continuous-wave laser beam. The apparatus further includes an optical system that transmits the pulsed laser beam from the first laser source and the continuous-wave laser beam from the second laser source on a surface of the processing target held by the holder in such a manner that a beam spot of the pulsed laser beam is included inside a beam spot of the continuous-wave laser beam, and a moving mechanism that moves the beam spots of the pulsed laser beam and the continuous-wave laser beam on the surface of the processing target.

A) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a laser processing method and a laser processing apparatus processes by irradiating laser beam on a processing target.
B) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a conventional laser processing apparatus that forms a groove. Pulsed laser beam is radiated from a light source 51, for example, at frequency of 1 kHz. After pulse energy density of a beam cross section is uniformed (flat-topped) by a homogenizer 52, the cross section of the laser beam is formed to be a circular-shape. The laser beam of which the cross section has been formed is reflected by a reflection mirror 54 and irradiates to a substrate 56 via a focus lens 55. The substrate 56 is, for example, a substrate wherein an indium-tin-oxide (ITO) film is formed on a glass basic material. The laser beam irradiates to the ITO film on the substrate 56. A beam spot of the laser beam irradiated onto a surface of the ITO film is, for example, a circle with diameter of 0.2 mm. The substrate 56 is loaded on an XY stage 57. By moving the substrate 56 in a two dimensional plane, an irradiation position of the pulsed laser beam can be moved in the surface of the substrate 56.
First, tin order o form groove on the ITO film on the substrate 56, the XY stage 57 is moved so that the pulsed laser beam is irradiated with a 50% redundancy rate. The redundancy rate means that a rate of a moving distance to a direction of a radius of a circle by one shot of the pulsed laser beam to the diameter.
FIG. 10A is a schematic plan view of the substrate 56 wherein a groove is formed on the ITO film by opening continuous holes by the laser beam irradiated with 50% redundancy rate. The openings of the groove are indicated with thick lines. As a result that the holes with a shape depending on the beam spot of the laser beam irradiated onto the ITO film are continuously excavated, the groove is formed. Therefore, edges of the openings along the direction of the groove length have bumps by a part of a perimeter of the circular beam spot. Also, when the frequency of the laser beam to be irradiated is 1 kHz, and the beam spot of the laser beam on the ITO film on the substrate 56 is a circle of diameter of 0.2 mm, processing velocity becomes 100 m/s. Mainly, the processing velocity is controlled by the moving velocity of the XY stage; therefore, the processing velocity cannot be increased more than 100 mm/s considering uniformity of the processed form.
In order to make the edges of the openings of the groove formed on the ITO film close to a straight line, a method for increasing the redundancy rate will be used. For example, the XY stage 57 is moved so that the pulsed laser beam is irradiated with 90% redundancy rate onto the ITO film of the substrate 56 to form the groove.
FIG. 10B is a schematic plan view of the substrate 56 on which the groove is formed on the ITO film by opening continuous holes with the laser beam irradiated with 90% redundancy rate. Similar to FIG. 10A, the openings of the groove are indicated with the thick lines. The edges of the openings along the length direction of the grooves become closer to a straight line. However, the processing velocity is ⅕ of the case that the 50% redundancy rate is used, that is, 20 mm/s because the laser beam is irradiated with 90% redundancy rate. Although the forms of the opening can be improved, time efficiency of the process becomes worse.
FIG. 11 is a schematic cross sectional view of the substrate 56. The groove is formed on the ITO film formed on the glass basic material. The sidewalls of the groove are inclined to the surface of the substrate 56. It is preferable that the groove has a sheer sidewall shape.

Laser processing method and processing device


A level shifter for converting a first voltage range to a second voltage range includes a latch circuit, a stack device and a dynamic bias circuit. The latch circuit is used for outputting the second voltage range. The stack device, coupled to the latch circuit, includes a stack transistor, which is used for sustaining the second voltage range of the latch circuit. The dynamic bias circuit, coupled to the stack device, is used for turning on the stack transistor to toggle the latch circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a level shifter, and more particularly, to a high speed level shifter with a dynamic bias technique under overstress supply voltage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advancement of semiconductor technology, the semiconductor devices become smaller and thinner. In the advanced process, the small transistors can only tolerate a low supply voltage, while the system power supply still remains at a higher level according to specification. For example, if a 1.5V double-data-rate type three (DDR3) memory system is operated in a process having 1.0V core devices and 1.8V I/O devices. The 1.0V core devices cannot be operated in 1.5V due to electrical overstress, which may reduce the robustness and reliability of the devices. The 1.8V I/O devices are not adaptive to 1.5V power supply since the insufficient supply voltage reduces the operating speed of the devices.
The problem is unavoidable since the operating voltage of the peripheral devices does not follow the reduction of tolerance voltage of the transistors in the advanced process. Presently, the transistors may be operated under 1V supply voltage, while the voltage supplied by a battery may be 3.3V. This tremendous voltage difference causes electrical overstress. Thus, there is a need to provide a circuit design to solve the overstress problem.

Level shifter with dynamic bias technique under overstress voltage


A steering fixture for a seat belt in a vehicle, especially a motor vehicle, is pivotable during its normal use within a certain angle range. The pivotability is limited by a predetermined breaking point. If the steering fixture is subjected to a particular load, the connection breaks and the steering fixture can turn freely.

This application claims the priority of German application 195 43 996.1 and PCT/EP96/03765, filed Nov. 25, 1995 and Aug. 26, 1996, respectively, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a steering fixture for a seat belt in a vehicle, especially a motor vehicle through which the belt passes in a guide slot and which is pivotably mounted to a portion of the vehicle integral with the body approximately at the level of a vehicle occupant's shoulder.
The seat belts used today in vehicles, as a rule, consist of a single belt formed by steering devices into a shoulder belt portion that runs diagonally across the upper body of the vehicle occupant and a lap belt section. The shoulder belt section is usually guided at its upper end through a steering fixture mounted on the vehicle body and runs downward from there to a belt retractor.
In order to adapt to the various body sizes of individual vehicle occupants, the steering fixture is pivotable relative to the vehicle body. There is, however, a disadvantage associated with unimpeded pivotability and rotatability of the steering fixture. When a load is applied, the belt is forced into a corner area of the feed-through slot and has a tendency to tear as a result.
An effort is therefore being made, on one hand, to limit the pivotability of the steering fixture. On the other hand, however, unlimited pivotability is desirable in certain load cases.
An object of the present invention is to provide a steering fixture such that it both prevents shifting of the belt into a corner area of the guide slot of the steering fixture and can also pivot unimpeded when a specific loads are applied.
The foregoing object has been achieved according to the present invention by providing a steering fixture held by a predetermined breaking point connection in a predetermined position which permits limited pivoting fashion.
According to the invention, the predetermined breaking point confers a certain degree of pivotability on the steering fixture. As a result, the path of the belt adapts to the specific size of the vehicle occupant. When the abovementioned loads develop, the connection breaks and the steering fixture can advantageously pivot freely.
The predetermined break location can be provided most simply by using a shear pin provided on the steering fixture. The portion of the pin advantageously fits into a receiving opening of the mounting portion on the body. In a preferred embodiment, this receiving opening is made in the form of an elongated hole in the shape of a circular arc.
The present invention makes it possible with an advantageous configuration to use a known steering fixture. For this purpose, a shell-like receiving part is placed on the steering fixture and is bolted thereto. The shear pin is formed integrally on the receiving part. In addition, it is advantageous to make the receiving part of plastic material.

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


A method for predicting an onset of a capacity fading in a battery includes measuring, over a period of time, a plurality of parameters related to charging and discharging cycles of the battery; detecting, based on the measured plurality of parameters, the onset of the capacity fade in the battery; and providing a notification on the electronic device indicating the detected onset of the capacity fade.

With the advent of technology, knowledge of monitoring a battery state of health (SOH) and estimation of battery life-time has become a principle aspect for successful market assessment of electronic devices powered by rechargeable batteries. However, capacity of battery to store energy decreases over time. For example, after a year of usage, the battery might not be able to retain charge and store energy as efficiently as before. In particular, reduced capacity in aged Li-ion battery directly limits electrical performance of the Li-ion battery through energy loss.
Further, the battery might not be able to provide sufficient power to all applications of the electronic device even though the battery is not fully discharged. For example, if the battery is discharged at a low rate, for example, at 0.2 Coulombs (C), the battery can provide approximately 90% of capacity of a new battery whereas if the battery is discharged at higher rate, for example, IC, the battery can provide approximately 50% capacity of the new battery.
Further, it has been observed that the capacity of the battery degrades or reduces slowly until a certain time and reduces drastically after the certain time lapses. Thus, the capacity degradation of the battery occurs in two phases, namely, a slow linear phase followed by a rapid non-linear phase. Typically, such nonlinear drop happens within a few charge-discharge cycles. Such rapid non-linear drop is usually detrimental to usage of the electronic devices as undesirable events like sudden shut-down, lagging performance, and loss of power or inadequate power under certain high load conditions, etc., can occur suddenly and typically in few cycles prior to actual non-linear drop. This results in an inconvenience to the user leading to poor user experience and safety issues.
Various solutions have been developed to monitor the SOH and state of life (SOL) by estimating the capacity and predicting remaining useful life (RUL) for effective device maintenance at an appropriate time. In one solution, capacity of the battery is determined based on at least changes of state of charge (SOC) values estimated at a first and second time and a net charge flow of the battery and applying a particle filter to a capacity degradation formula using the determined capacity to form a capacity degradation model and determining the RUL using the capacity degradation model using a pre-defined end of service threshold.
In another solution, cycle life was proposed to be improved by homogeneous pressure distribution in the cell and using negative active materials that are resilient to elevated discharge potentials as they appear in aged cells such as improved carbons or lithium titanate. Also, a sufficiently oversized negative electrode and suitable electrolyte additives can help to avoid lithium plating. However, all these solutions cannot predict nonlinear capacity fading behavior in lithium-ion batteries.

Method and system for predicting onset of capacity fading in a battery