A hydraulic coupling arrangement used for a 4WD vehicle for imparting a drive torque of an engine to auxiliary drive wheels based on a first rotational difference between main and auxiliary drive wheels. A first rotary shaft is coupled to the main drive wheel and a second rotary shaft is coupled to the auxiliary drive wheel. A hydraulic pump of the coupling arrangement is adapted to be driven according to a second rotational difference between the first and second rotary shafts for generating an oil pressure corresponding to the second rotational difference. A clutch connects the first rotary shaft with the second rotary shaft based on the oil pressure generated by the hydraulic pump. A first oil passage extends to the clutch. First and second ports are formed in the hydraulic pump and function as inlet and outlet ports or vice versa based on the second rotational difference and a rotational direction of the first rotary shaft. One of the ports is communicated with the first oil passage and the other port is communicated with an oil chamber defined in the coupling arrangement for normally holding the working oil.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a differential responsive hydraulic coupling arrangement for a 4WD vehicle, and more particularly to such a hydraulic coupling arrangement which takes advantage of a rotational difference between main or primary drive wheels (for example, rear wheels) of a vehicle and auxiliary or secondary drive wheels (for example, front wheels) to automatically switch a vehicle's drive condition from 2WD to 4WD.
2. Background Art
Generally a drive power from an engine of a vehicle is directly transmitted to main drive wheels to only drive the main drive wheels if the vehicle has just a 2WD mode. If the vehicle is a 4WD car, the vehicle is usually equipped with a coupling arrangement which has a following function and is particularly useful when running on a slippery road. When there is slippage or idle running between the main drive wheels and a snowy or slippery road which has a low friction coefficient, the drive power of the engine of the 4WD vehicle is also transmitted to auxiliary drive wheels. Since the drive power of the engine is transmitted to both the main and auxiliary drive wheels under a certain circumstance; this is the automatic switching of a drive mode from 2WD to 4WD. A typical example of this type of coupling arrangement is a differential responsive one which takes advantage of rotational difference between the primary and secondary drive wheels. One of the prevailing coupling arrangements of this differential responsive type is a viscous coupling arrangement which utilizes a high viscosity fluid.
The viscous coupling arrangement is easy to handle in a normal range (i.e., when there is an adequate rotational difference between main (rear) and auxiliary (front) drive wheels) since a torque transmitted to the auxiliary drive wheels rises gradually in such a range. However, the transmitted torque rises steeply in a range of very small rotational difference so that a torque more than necessary is frequently transmitted to the auxiliary drive wheels. It is caused, for example, even when the vehicle is running on an ordinary or general road of which surface has a certain size of concaves and convexes and a small rotational difference is generated between the front and rear drive wheels due to such small concaves and/or convexes. This results in a heat loss in a power transmission line for the auxiliary drive wheels since heat is unnecessarily generated upon unnecessary torque transmission to the auxiliary drive wheels and therefore this also results in a deteriorated fuel consumption rate. In addition, when the vehicle turns right or left, a "tight corner braking phenomenon" is significantly observed if the vehicle is provided with the viscous coupling arrangement. Furthermore, when a large rotational difference is created between the main and auxiliary drive wheels by a driver depressing an accelerator pedal, a large torque is transferred to the auxiliary drive wheels so that parts and components of a power transmission line should have particular strength and rigidity to cope with such high torque transmission.
Another example of the well known differential responsive coupling arrangements is a hydraulic coupling arrangement which is disclosed, for instance, in Japanese Patent Application, Publication No. 60-252026, the entire disclosure thereof is incorporated herein by reference. This hydraulic coupling arrangement uses the rotational difference between the main and auxiliary drive wheels to drive a hydraulic pump and engages or couples a clutch to connect the main and auxiliary drive wheels with each other thereby switching the drive condition from 2WD to 4WD. If there is no slippage between a road and the main drive wheels and there is no rotational difference between the main and auxiliary drive wheels, the hydraulic pump is not actuated and the clutch is not coupled so that the vehicle is operated in a 2WD condition. Therefore, the vehicle runs in a 4WD condition only when there is slippage between the road and the main drive wheels. In other words, the automatic drive mode switching from 2WD to 4WD only occurs when it is necessary.
As described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 60-252026, the hydraulic coupling arrangement has a torque transmission characteristic which is proportional to square of rotational difference. This characteristic is obtained by discharging through an orifice a part of an oil (or oil pressure) delivered from a hydraulic pump. This is especially effective in a range of very small rotational difference since it suppresses increase of the transmitted torque in this range. In other words, the hydraulic coupling arrangement does not have a drawback which the viscous coupling arrangement has. In addition, if a relief valve is provided in a hydraulic line, an upper limit or rise-up of the transmitted torque is determined or controlled, i.e., the relief valve functions as a torque limiter. Such a relief valve can prevent a high torque transmission to the auxiliary drive wheels so that the parts and components of a power transmission line related to the torque transmission to the auxiliary drive wheels may be reduced and/or simplified.
In the hydraulic coupling arrangement disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese publication, however, the clutch is set to an engaged condition both when the main drive wheels are rotated at a higher speed than the auxiliary drive wheels and when the auxiliary drive wheels are rotated at a higher speed than the main drive wheels, so as to always switch to the 4WD mode upon rotational difference between the main and auxiliary drive wheels. This causes the following problem: when a vehicle turns right or left, the "tight corner braking phenomenon" occurs upon generation of rotational difference between the main and auxiliary drive wheels which is caused by different running routes of the front and rear drive wheels of the turning vehicle. The "tight corner braking phenomenon" prevents a smooth turning of the vehicle.
When the vehicle moves backward, the hydraulic pump is operated in a reverse direction. The coupling arrangement also brings the clutch in the engaged condition when the vehicle tries to make a right or left turn while it is moving backward. A smooth turning cannot be expected for the same reasons as mentioned above.
Other prior art arrangements are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application, Publication Nos. 1-250662 and 3-266726.

Hydraulic coupling arrangement for 4WD vehicle


An image reading apparatus includes a reading condition receiving unit for receiving a reading condition; an image reading unit for reading the original according to the reading condition to obtain image information; a storage unit for storing the image information; a reading mode selection unit for selecting a first reading mode or a second reading mode according to a result of comparison between an image information amount and a memory capacity of the storage unit; and a data reading unit for reading the image information from the storage unit according to the reading mode. The data reading unit reads the image information per page in the first reading mode. The data reading unit reads the image information per block in the second reading mode.

The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus and an image forming system. In particular, the present invention relates to an image reading apparatus and an image forming system capable of reading both sides of a sheet.
Patent Reference 1 has disclosed a conventional image reading apparatus capable of reading both sides of a sheet simultaneously. In the image reading apparatus, two reading sensors are provided for reading images on both sides of an original. Image data per page are temporarily stored in a memory, and sent to an external device. When an image is read with high resolution, a large amount of data is stored in the memory. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a large capacity memory for obtaining a high quality image. Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-151907
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus and image forming system, in which it is possible to transmit image data at a high speed without a large capacity memory. Accordingly, it is possible to maintain high quality image, thereby reducing cost.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.

Image reading apparatus with reading mode selection unit and image forming system


Disclosed is a labeling substance capable of reversibly immobilizing (reversible detachment) to a solid surface and to reliably and accurately identify a target biological substance interacting with a probe substance bound to the labeling substance. A chimeric compound is provided, which includes a labeling substance L including (1) an organic compound S with a chemical structure capable of binding to a probe substance P, which can interact with a biological substance B and (2) a peptide bound to the organic compound S and specifically recognized by an antibody A, peptide and a probe substance P at least except a peptide or protein. In addition, a method for preparing the labeling substance L and a method for capturing, structurally analyzing and/or identifying the biological substance using the labeling substance L are provided.

As a first prior art related to the present invention, a technology can be listed such that after a substance (hereinafter referred to as "probe substance") serving as a probe to detect a target substance is immobilized beforehand to a solid-phase surface such as a metal film, a base plate of a synthetic resin or glass or beads, a specific interaction between substances is utilized to capture and recover the target substance to analyze its structure by mass spectrometry. Use of this technology allows finding a substance interacting with the above-mentioned probe substance.
In the above-mentioned technology, a substance called a linker, spacer or tag can be inserted between the probe substance and a solid-phase surface and labeled to try to adjust a bonding force between the probe substance and the solid-phase surface, resolve steric hindrance and improve the utilization efficiency of the reaction space. Such technology becomes an important elemental technology such as a surface plasmon resonance sensor and a microarray chip with an assembly of DNA and/or protein in a biosensor technology and immunoprecipitation technique.
In general, an "avidin-biotin binding system" is widely used to immobilize the probe substance to the solid-phase surface. Avidin is a glycoprotein to specifically strongly bind to biotin. Because avidin has very high affinity to biotin, it is used to immobilize a biotinylated DNA, peptide and protein.
For example, a solid-phase surface is precoated with avidin such as streptavidin to firmly bind (immobilization) to a biotinylated probe substance. In other cases, the avidin-biotin binding system is widely used in a field of the immunological measurement such as enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and tissue staining.
Some of the prior art using the "avidin-biotin binding system" are listed herein. First, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology, in which after a biotinylated antigen or antibody is bound to avidin or streptavidin immobilized, it is contacted with a solution of a labeling compound to specifically bind to the antibody or antigen in a sample to detect "a labeled antigen-antibody complex." Patent Document 2 also discloses a technology, in which a solution containing a biotinylated probe DNA is spotted onto a solid-phased film, in which an avidin molecule is immobilized as a monolayer, yielding a DNA microarray.
Next, an interactive analysis technology using an "epitope tag peptide" is listed as a second prior technology related to the present invention.
For example, Nonpatent Document 1 discloses a technology below. First, while a recombinant protein fused with an epitope tag peptide is expressed, beads with an immobilized antibody specifically recognizing the epitope tag peptide are mixed with a cell extract. A target protein in the cell extract is trapped via the recombinant protein and then the beads are thoroughly washed, to which an excess amount of the epitope tag peptide is added to replace the protein trapped on the beads with the added peptide to elute the target protein (and a recombinant protein fused) into a liquid phase.
That is, Nonpatent Document 1 discloses an interactive analysis technology using a composition of a "fused protein-peptide tag." This fused protein-peptide tag is one with a series of amino acid sequences between homologous species, so that it can be synthesized using the genetic translation system in an organism.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei-09-133683
Patent Document 2: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-153272
Nonpatent Document 1: Experimental Medicine, Supplementary Volume, Post-Genome Era Experimental Course 2, "Analysis of proteome/frontier technology in protein expression and its functional analysis and study on genomic medicine and drug discovery," Yodosha, Toshiaki Isobe and Nobuhiro Takahashi ed., p. 166-174.

Labeling substance and chimeric substance and method for preparing the same and method for capturing, structurally analyzing and/or identifying biological substance by means of the labeling substance


A cold roll forming mill for the manufacture of hollow flange seam welded beams from a single strip of metal comprises a forming station (1), a seam guide and welding station (2) and a shaping station (3). Either or both of the forming and shaping stations (1, 3) comprise independently supported side engaging roll combinations (7, 12) adapted, in use, to roll either or both of opposite sides of the strip. Adjacent transverse pairs of side engaging roll (7, 12) combinations are selectively movable relative to each other in a transverse direction perpendicular to a direction of travel of said strip through said mill. At least some of the side engaging roll combinations (7, 12) are driven. Drive rolls (6) spaced within the forming and shaping stations (1, 3) engage the strip between opposite edges thereof.

It is known to produce hollow flange members by cold forming light gauge steel strip to form a section having a planar web and hollow triangular cross-section flanges extending along opposite sides of the web. U.S. Pat. Nos. 991,603 and 3,342,007 describe the manufacture of such beams by a cold forming process wherein the free edge of the hollow flange lies adjacent the edge of the web but is not secured thereto. These hollow flanges are known as "open" flanges and lack torsional resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,224 describes the manufacture of hollow flange beams by a cold forming process wherein seam welded steel tubing is subjected to a shaping process which flattens the tube to form a hollow flange beam with a pair of juxtaposed webs.
In order to improve the section efficiency of "open" flange beams, it has been proposed to secure the edges of the hollow flanges to the web to improve torsional stiffness in the flanges. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,436,552, 6,115,986, 6,397,550 and 5,692,353 describe cold formed thin gauge hollow flange beams wherein a lip formed along the edge of the hollow flange is secured to the web intermediate its edges by fasteners, clinch perforations, spot welding or the like.
Russian Inventor's Certificate 827723 describes a cold formed thin gauge hollow flange beam wherein the free edges of the hollow flanges are formed as internally folded lips or formations to support the hollow flanges against localized crushing under load. A side wall of the hollow flange is welded by a fillet weld to the edge of the web to form a "closed" flange.
In order to reduce the costs of manufacture of cold formed "closed" hollow flange beams, an in-line dual welding process was devised and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,225, in respect of which, the assignee of the present invention is the successor in title. The dual welding process described for the first time an in-line high frequency induction or resistance welding process wherein a free edge of a hollow flange was welded to the face of the strip of metal to form a weld seam adjacent the edge of the web of the hollow flange beam so formed. In that process, a conventional tube rolling mill was adapted to produce hollow flange beams having circular cross-section flanges at the weld station, the circular cross-section flanges subsequently being shaped to triangular cross-section to form "Dogbone" (Registered Trade Mark) beams.
While generally satisfactory for a relatively narrow range of web and flange widths and a narrow range of metal strip gauges, an adaptation to a conventional mill structure was considered to be not only limiting in the scope of beam sizes but also inefficient and capital intensive in terms of requiring a large number of roll sets of large diameter which caused considerable unproductive downtime each time a roll change was required for a different beam size. Moreover, difficulties in maintaining weld seam stability imposed severe limitations on yield due to a high reject rate.
One proposal to address some of the shortcomings in the original "Dogbone" process was described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,986. This document proposed a tandem mill structure with separate spaced cold forming mills inclined to a longitudinal axis in a forming section of the mill. Shaped flanges, independently produced from separate strips of metal were brought together with a third planar web strip such that the edges of the web protruded between the free edges of the flanges prior to welding. The welding and forming stations were substantially the same as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,225.
As used herein, the expression "ERW" refers to electrical resistance or induction welding using either contacts or induction coils/impeders to create a current in the member and other forms of electrical resistance welding.
It is an aim of the present invention to overcome or alleviate at least some of the disadvantages of prior art methods and apparatus for the production of hollow flange seam welded beams.

Smorgon Steel Litesteel Products Pty Ltd


An approach for mounting individual wires from multi-wire cables onto circuit boards. A wire comb is mounted adjacent one or more ends of the circuit board to permit a way to space apart individual wires, to hold them in place; and to permit welding or soldering of the wires to the appropriate connections on the circuit board.

Computer connection cables may include so-called inline circuitry to perform various functions on the signals being transmitted. By "inline circuitry" (or "inline circuits") we mean any electronic circuitry (possibly on a printed circuit board —PCB) that may be incorporated in a computer cable, regardless of the cable's or circuitry's function. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/951,774, entitled "Passive video multiplexing method and apparatus," the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a so-called Rack Interface Pod (RIP) which is provided for receiving video signals from a server computer and providing them to a remote user via a local area network (LAN), preferably an Ethernet LAN. Similarly, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/123,075, titled "Computer interface module," and filed May 6, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, describes RIPs and related circuitry.
It is generally desirable that inline circuits (and the corresponding inline PCBs on which they are mounted) be small. This allows for so-called "lump in the cable" designs, where the inline circuit is formed integral with the cable, appearing as a bulge or lump in the cable. An example of such a circuit can be seen, e.g., in FIG. 24 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/123,075, which illustrates a Rack Interface Pod (RIP) device having two network connectors located in the main body and integral therewith. In order to achieve a lump/bulge in cable effect, inline PCBs are preferably formed by molding an appropriate material over them after the wires have been connected to the PCBs.
The inventors realized that the size of inline PCBs made their manufacture difficult. In particular, the inventors noticed that the size of the PCBs generally meant that the wire connection locations or contacts on the PCBs were close together. This closeness of the contacts increases the risk of wires from one contact touching an adjacent contact. The inventors further realized that this risk was increased by the overmolding process used to create the desired inline effect.
When connecting a cable containing twisted pairs to a PCB, it is necessary to untwist an end portion of the wires. The inventors also realized that, especially in the case of twisted pairs, it is desirable to keep the length of the untwisted wires to a minimum. This requirement is made more difficult by small (e.g., inline) PCBs.
Additionally, in the case of inline PCBs, since the wires may, by their very nature, be moved about and possibly pulled, there is increased risk of the wires disconnecting from the PCBs.


A low fat content, seasoned, cereal-based snack food having a low moisture content is produced. An adhesive for the seasoning is an at least partially amorphous form of a mixture of at least one monosaccharide, preferably glucose, and at least one polyhydric, aliphatic, saturated alcohol having 3 to 6 carbon atoms, preferably glycerol. The adhesive is applied to the snack food by direct spraying on the snack food or by encapsulating the adhesive in a fat and blending the encapsulated adhesive with the snack food.

Cereal-based snack foods are quite popular and may take a variety of specific forms, such as seasoned corn curls, taco chips, tortilla chips, crackers, etc., all of which, usually, require some seasoning at least on the surfaces thereof. That seasoning must be adhered to those surfaces by an edible adhesive, and in the past, that adhesive has most usually been an oil or fat. For example, when a potato chip is produced (potatoes being considered cereal for the purposes of this invention), sliced potatoes are deep fat fried. After removal from the fryer, the potato chips have considerable oil or fat on the surfaces thereof, and when dusted with a seasoning, e.g. salt, the salt adheres to the surfaces of the potato chips by way of a residual fat functioning as an adhesive. Corn chips, such as taco chips and tamale chips, may be likewise produced, but here the seasoning will be a mixture of flavors and, usually, salt. As another example, corn curls and crackers are often flavored with cheese powder. Corn curls, for example, after puffing from dough, may be sprayed with an oil, and then the cheese powder adhered to the surfaces thereof by way of the oil functioning as an edible adhesive. Crackers are usually leavened and baked, and likewise require oil sprayed on the surfaces to function as an adhesive, e.g. an adhesive for seasonings, including cheese powders.
However, for dietary purposes, it is often important to reduce the fat intake, and snack foods, as described above, have been produced with reduced fat contents, the reduction in fat content being both in regard to the fat in the formulations of doughs for forming the snack food and in the fat used in the adhesive for the seasoning. For example, a cracker may be baked with a relatively low fat content, but with that low fat content, sufficient residual fat does not remain on the cracker for adequately adhering seasonings to the surfaces of the cracker. If additional fat is placed on the crackers for adhesive purposes, that additional fat would defeat, to a large measure, the purpose of providing a low fat dough for producing the cracker.
As a result, the art has sought low fat adhesives for snack foods of the nature described above. Various substitutes for the traditional fat adhesives have been proposed in the art. Many of these proposals involve water solutions of various edible ingredients which, when applied and dried on the snack food, provide a tacky adhesive for adhering the seasonings. These approaches, however, suffer from a common difficulty. Since such snack foods are intended to be shelf stable, the moisture content of the snack food (or at least the water activity of the snack food) must be at a low level in order to prevent staling and bacterial growth on the snack food during shipping, handling and storing. It is difficult when applying water solutions of such tackifying adhesives to ensure that the water used for application of the adhesive is sufficiently evaporated to reduce the moisture content of the adhesive (and also the snack food) to a safe level of water activity and one that will not induce staling of the substrate, i.e. snack food. This is particularly true when the adhesive material itself is hygroscopic, which is often the case with edible sugars and alcohols. In addition, such hydroscopic adhesives will absorb moisture, particularly when the snack food package is opened, and the snack food may become sticky or tacky and may allow staling and/or bacterial growth.
While not directed to cereal-based snack foods, the problem discussed above has been a considerable problem in other snack food arts, such as in the art of coating nuts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,858 discloses that adhesives, such as starch-based adhesives or gums, tend to flake off and produce unsightly fines. Also, it is disclosed that non-oily adhesives, such as sorbitol and mannitol, have difficulty in that, especially, sorbitol remains tacky for long periods of time, e.g. at least 18 hours, after cooling to room temperature, and the nuts tend to adhere to each other. In addition, sorbitol is hydroscopic and the nuts tend to be sticky after exposure to high humidity. On the other hand, mannitol becomes hard and brittle, immediately after removing the nuts from a molten bath thereof, with poor drainage of the mannitol, agglomeration of the nuts, and difficulties in obtaining an adequately seasoned product. That patent goes on to propose a mixture of mannitol and sorbitol for somewhat mitigating these difficulties.
Somewhat similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,671,266 proposes coating nuts with a hexitol, e.g. mannitol, sorbitol and mixtures thereof, wherein at least 10% sorbitol is used.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,545 recognizes the above-discussed U.S. Pat. No. 3,671,266, but points out that the approach of that patent produces dark-colored nuts, and instead proposes a mixture of honey and water followed by enrobing with a dry mixture of sugar and starch.
However, U.S. Pat. No. 4,692,342 recognizes the above-described U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,545, but states that improved adhesion of seasoning can be achieved when the nuts are coated with a dry adhesive film-forming material and then with an aqueous mixture of honey and an adhesive film-forming material. Adhesive materials such as vegetable gums, dextrin, modified starches, albuminoids, and the like are suggested.
Somewhat similar problems are also encountered in producing ready-to-eat food bars, e.g. commonly referred to an "granola bars", and in those bars the binders are usually sugar syrups, shortening or the like. However, glycerine had also been proposed as the binder, but as U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,561 points out, in order to keep such food products from spoiling, the water activity (A.sub.W), in general, must be less than about 0.9, and hydroscopic materials can cause difficulties in this regard, especially polyhydric alcohols, such as sorbitol and glycerol. That patent then goes on to propose a fondant of sucrose, corn syrup, fat and water as the binder.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,488 points out that the polyhydric alcohols may be used, in such food bars, but used in combination with a binder system that includes sugars, shortening and a combination of sorbitol and glycerol.
Cereal grains involve something of a similar problem, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,613, directed to a fortifying coating on cereal grain products, states that adhesive films of gums, shellac and the like have been used in the past for such purposes, but points out that edible fatty acid esters of glycerol or sorbitol provide better results, especially for iron-fortified cereals.
Something of the same problem is also found in connection with dried fruits. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,825 relates to dried and shredded coconut and points out that glycols, such as propylene glycol, butylene glycol or glycerol, function as humectants for such products, which allow easy rehydration of the shredded coconut. To achieve low moisture content, the patent goes on to propose a coating of glycerol monostearate, glycerol, propylene glycol, maltodextrin, creamed coconut and salt.
As can be, therefore, easily appreciated, the art has recognized a number of difficulties in connection with adhesive coatings and binders for various foods. The specific problems vary, considerably, with the particular food involved, as briefly discussed above, but the common denominator of these difficulties is that of finding adequate materials to function in lieu of the traditional fats, for binding and adhesive purposes, for the particular food involved.
It would, therefore, be of substantial benefit in the art to provide an adhesive for a snack food which has both low fat content, for dietary purposes, and low moisture content, for storage-stable purposes, and which adhesive can adequately adhere seasoning to the surface of a cereal-based snack food, which snack food and the surfaces thereof present their own set of difficulties, especially that of absorption of the adhesive into the snack food itself. At the same time, it would be important to the art to provide such adhesives which are not brittle, such as aqueous applied and dried monosaccharides, i.e. sugars, but on the other hand, are not humectants which can increase water activity on storage, such as polyhydric alcohols. It would be a further advantage to the art to provide such adhesives which will firmly adhere the seasonings, but which will not become tacky and adhere the seasoned pieces of snack food together during handling, storage and use.

Seasoned snack foods and methods for production thereof


A Mayo stand cover comprises a first and a second liquid-impermeable panel (1 and 2) which are mutually joined along two opposing long edges and a side edge which extends between two opposing ends of the long edges. An absorbent material (4) extends over at least a part of the outer surface of the first panel (1). The first panel (1) includes a pattern of projections (5) formed in the panel material and projecting outwardly from the inside thereof. The pattern includes at least two discrete rows of projections which extend over the full length of the cover parallel with its long edges.

Mayo stands are used in surgical theatres to hold temporarily instruments and materials, such as bandages, dressings, swabs and surgical drapes used in surgery. These stands may include a table surface which is supported at one short end by an appropriately designed mounting. In order to prevent contamination of the table surface, a Mayo stand cover is fitted over the surface, so that one cover panel will be situated on top of the surface and the other beneath said surface. A layer of absorbent material is placed on the outer surface of the cover panel that lies on top of the table surface when the cover is in use. The absorbent layer is intended to prevent liquid, primarily blood, present on the instruments or the material used in surgery from running along the other panel or splashing down onto the floor. When surgery is completed, the stand cover is used as a trash bag into which disposable material is stowed as the cover is removed and turned inside out in the process, so that the then inwardly facing surfaces of the cover will now face outwards.
Mayo stand covers are normally made of plastic material. One problem encountered with thin plastic covers is that the cover panels tend to stick together, therewith making opening of the covers difficult. Besides the obvious solution of using thicker plastic materials, the problem has been solved by providing the plastic layers with patterns of small homogenous plastic or glass beads which are admixed with the plastic compound prior to extrusion. In addition to making manufacture of the covers more difficult and more expensive, this solution has the drawback that the homogenous beads spread radiation when sterilizing the covers by radiation, so as to require a high radiation dose in order to achieve effective sterilization. Another problem with thin covers is that the cover panels are easily penetrated by sharp instruments that are dropped onto the covered table surface during surgery.


A multi-bit write pointer that is associated with a first clock can be converted to a single-bit write pointer. A multi-bit read pointer that is associated with a second clock can be converted to a single-bit read pointer. The first clock and the second clock are not synchronized. One or more guard bits can be associated with the single-bit write pointer and/or the single-bit read pointer. The single-bit write pointer and the single-bit read pointer can be compared. According to an embodiment, an error can be detected in response to comparing the single-bit write pointer and the single-bit read pointer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to asynchronous clock technology, and more specifically to pointers associated with asynchronous clock domains.
2. Background
An electronic device generally performs operations based on a clock. The clock is often generated internally by the device, though the clock can be based on an external clock, such as a clock of another device. Clocks of different devices can be synchronized or unsynchronized. Unsynchronized clocks are known as "asynchronous clocks". Asynchronous clocks need not operate at different frequencies. For instance, the phase of one clock can differ from the phase of another clock having the same frequency.
Information is often temporarily stored in a memory, such as a register, when being transferred between devices having asynchronous clocks. A first device can write the information to the register, and a second device can read the information from the register. The first device uses a write pointer to specify the address of the register at which the information is to be written. The second device uses a read pointer to specify the address of the register at which the information is to be read. The addresses of the register are typically multi-bit addresses.
The address of the write pointer and the address of the read pointer are often compared to determine whether the read pointer is properly aligned to read the information written by the first device. Comparing the multiple-bit pointers typically requires multiple clock cycles. However, at high frequencies, the addresses of the pointers can change at every clock cycle. The pointers can become unstable because the addresses of the pointers cannot be accurately determined.
What is needed is a method and apparatus to compare pointers associated with asynchronous clock domains.

Method and apparatus to compare pointers associated with asynchronous clock domains


A testing assembly, and an associated method, for testing an integrated circuit device. The testing assembly is capable of testing an integrated circuit device having a large number of input and output terminals formed of either single-ended terminals or differential terminals. Static testing, both functional and parametric, can be performed upon the integrated circuit device. Additionally, dynamic testing of the integrated circuit device, even integrated circuit devices operable at high frequencies, is possible through operation of the testing assembly. Test signals are applied by way of signal rails to the device undergoing testing. A test signal response indicator is coupled to observe responses to the test signals.

The fabrication process by which an integrated circuit device is formed is a complex process. The integrated circuit device is fabricated upon a wafer, the integrated circuit (IC) wafer, and subsequently packaged into an integrated circuit (IC) package.
Even when the fabrication process is closely controlled and maintained under strict supervision, defective integrated circuit wafers are sometimes formed. And, packaging errors, such as missed connections or misconnections, can occur during packaging of the integrated circuit device. Testing for defects and packaging errors is therefore required to ensure that a defective IC package is not used in an electronic circuit.
On-wafer testing, subsequent to fabrication of the IC wafer and prior to packaging of the integrated circuit device can detect defects on the integrated circuit device. Testing for packaging errors must necessarily be performed subsequent to packaging operations. Sometimes, on-wafer testing is partially or completely deferred, and testing occurs only after packaging. Such deferral is, however, at the cost, typically, of the resultant need to discard an increased number of packaged, integrated circuit devices. Defects which would otherwise be detected on-wafer are detected only after packaging of the integrated circuit devices.
With the trend towards evermore densely populated integrated circuit devices having more highly integrated components operable at higher frequencies of operation, the problems attendant to the testing of an integrated circuit wafer or a packaged integrated circuit device formed therefrom become more complex.
As the integrated circuits have become increasingly more highly-integrated, boundary scan techniques for detecting faults have become widely utilized. Standard methodologies of boundary scan testing have been set forth. For instance, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard test access port and boundary scan architecture, IEEE Standard 1149.1-1990, has been promulgated to set forth industry-wide standards for boundary scan testing.
In general, such standards call for the formation of a test access port (TAP) state machine which allows control and access to a boundary scan architecture. To implement the boundary scan architecture, the integrated circuit device must include the boundary scan cells which are implemented between component terminals and internal logic circuitry of the integrated circuit device. The boundary scan cells are also connected together to form a shift register path around the periphery of the integrated circuit device, thus giving rise to the term boundary scan.
Boundary scan techniques can also be utilized to test the integrated circuit device while still on-wafer. Testing of the internal logic of the integrated circuit device is possible by way of the test port. Boundary scan functions can be used for the testing of primary inputs and outputs of the integrated circuit device to achieve controllability and observability of the chip-interior side of the input and output terminals.
Conventionally, automatic test equipment (ATE) is utilized for testing of integrated circuit devices. Conventional ATE typically includes a "testhead" and a workstation to provide operator control of the integrated circuit device undergoing testing, the "device under test" (DUT). A fixture is required to interconnect, or interface, the testing equipment with the integrated circuit device. Such a fixture is of dimensional, and other, characteristics corresponding to the particular integrated circuit device. A probe card having pin contactors, or probe "needles", for connecting with terminals of the integrated circuit device connects the integrated circuit device with the test resources of the ATE. The ATE typically utilizes three kinds of test resources: drivers which drive logic inputs, comparators for interpreting output data, and programmable power supplies.
As the integrated circuit devices become increasingly integrated and have increasing numbers of input and output terminals, commensurate increase in the capacity of ATEs to test the integrated circuit devices, particularly at the high frequencies of operation of the integrated circuits is not practical. Further, differential terminals are oftentimes utilized in high-speed integrated circuit devices. Differential terminals are formed of terminal pairs in which differential signals are offset in voltage relative to one another, one signal referred to as the positive signal and the other signal referred to as the negative signal. An external positive differential of signals applied to a terminal pair corresponds to an internal logical "1", an external negative differential corresponds to an internal logical "0". To be able to measure correctly a differential signal in a non-idealized environment, differential receivers are required. Existing ATEs include merely voltage comparators capable of quantizing signals in three voltage windows relative to a ground potential and are additionally inadequate to test many integrated circuit devices for this reason.
Therefore, existing apparatus and methodologies of testing complex, integrated circuit devices are inadequate to test properly the integrated circuit devices. And, as the size, complexity, and operational frequencies of state-of-the-art, integrated circuit devices continue to increase, the need for improved manners by which to test the integrated circuit devices shall become even more pressing.
Testing apparatus which permits appropriate and economic testing of such integrated circuit devices, operable at high frequencies of operation, is therefore necessary.
It is in light of this background information related to testing apparatus for testing integrated circuits that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.

Assembly and method for testing integrated circuit devices


A LADAR apparatus, a method of use associated therewith, and a method for remotely sensing targets in a field of view are disclosed. In the method, a target in a field of view is remotely sensed using a LADAR signal whose pixel spatial resolution is varied to achieve a desired pixel spatial resolution for the transmitted LADAR signal on the target. One way to do this is by rolling a LADAR signal to achieve the desired pixel spatial resolution at a given range then de-rolling the received reflection. This could involve, for instance, rolling the LADAR signal from a first angle at which it is generated to a second angle at which it is transmitted, and then receiving the reflection at that second angle and de-rolling it to the first angle again for detection. The LADAR apparatus could include a number of means for implementing this functionality. One particular apparatus that is suitable includes a LADAR signal transmitter; a transmission path; a receive path; a receiver; and an optical roll/de-roll mechanism. The optical roll/de-roll mechanism is capable of rolling the LADAR signal before transmission to achieve a desired pixel spatial resolution for the transmitted LADAR signal at a given range and de-rolling the reflection prior to detection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to Laser Detection and Ranging ("LADAR") systems, and, more particularly, to linear array LADAR systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
A need of great importance in military and some civilian operations is the ability to quickly detect and identify objects, frequently referred to as "targets," in a "field of view." A common problem in military operations, for example, is to detect and identify targets, such as tanks, vehicles, guns, and similar items, which have been camouflaged or which are operating at night or in foggy weather. It is important in many instances to be able to distinguish reliably between enemy and friendly forces. As the pace of battlefield operations increases, so does the need for quick and accurate identification of potential targets as friend or foe, and as a target or not.
Techniques for identifying targets have existed for many years. For instance, in World War II, the British developed and utilized radio detection and ranging ("RADAR") systems for identifying the incoming planes of the German Luftwaffe. RADAR uses radio waves to locate objects at great distances even in bad weather or in total darkness. Sound navigation and ranging ("SONAR") has found similar utility and application in environments where signals propagate through water, as opposed to the atmosphere. While RADAR and SONAR have proven quite effective in many areas, they are inherently limited by a number of factors. For instance, RADAR is limited because of its use of radio frequency signals and the size of the resultant antennas used to transmit and receive such signals. Sonar suffers similar types of limitations. Thus, alternative technologies have been developed and deployed.
One such alternative technology is laser detection and ranging ("LADAR"). Similar to RADAR systems, which transmit and receive radio waves to and reflected from objects, LADAR systems transmit laser beams and receive reflections from targets. Because of the short wavelengths associated with laser beam transmissions, LADAR data exhibits much greater resolution than RADAR data. Typically, a LADAR system creates a three-dimensional ("3-D") image. The reflected LADAR signal provides an (x,y) coordinate for the point that reflected the signal. The time of flight of the LADAR signal (i.e., the time lapse between the transmission of the LADAR signal and the receipt of its reflection) is used to determine the range to the point of reflection, which provides a z-axis coordinate. Each datum comprising an (x,y) coordinate and associated range is referred to as a "pixel."
The pixel resolution is a function of their spacing, and is fixed by the optical system and/or, for scanned systems, the scan rate. Many LADAR systems require a nominal pixel spacing to maintain automatic target recognition ("ATR") performance. In fact, for greater ATR performance, it is desired that the pixel spacing remained fixed over the system's range capabilities. Thus, for a fixed pixel spacing, the LADAR system's ATR performance is a function of the LADAR system's range. For systems where the minimum and maximum ranges differ by one, two, or more orders of magnitude, this requires the sensor to optically change the field of view ("FOV") to meet the challenge of maintaining a fixed pixel spacing. For instance,
To date, the problem has been solved in several ways, including:                (i) optical FOV changes;        (ii) interlacing returns to give two effective FOVs, as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,898,483, entitled "Method for increasing LADAR resolution", issued Apr. 27, 1999, to Lockheed Martin Corp. as assignee of the inventor E. Max Flowers, and commonly assigned herewith; and        (iii) a staggered linear array to give two FOVs, as is done in Polarimetric Imaging Laser Radar ("PILAR") on various unmanned aerial vehicles ("UAVs") deployed by the United States military services.Thus, multiple detector imaging sensors have fixed detectors. With fixed detectors, multiple FOV optics (or zoom lens) are required to maintain image resolution (spatial pixel spacing) at different ranges. LADAR sensors are no different. In fact, multiple beam/detector LADAR sensors are even more difficult to design with variable pixel spacing due to the transmitter receiver alignment for each required FOV.
The present invention is directed to resolving, or at least reducing, one or all of the problems mentioned above.

Method and apparatus for varying pixel spatial resolution for ladar systems


A time-analog-to-digital converter (TAD) utilizes a time-to-digital approach for analog-to-digital conversion. The TAD includes two voltage-to-delay converters (VDCs), e.g., CMOS inverter chains, in order to increase the dynamic range of the TAD. Each VDC can handle a different range of input voltages. Comparators compare the input signal voltage to reference voltages corresponding to the different ranges of input voltage and a selector selects one of the VDC line outputs based on the range in which the input signal lies. A filter estimates the input signal voltage from a delay signal from the selected output.

Time-to-digital converters (TDCs) are digital circuits that measure the delay of a pulse signal and convert this delay directly into a digital signal. TDCs are widely used in precision time measurement instruments. TDCs may be produced using CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) processes, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in the semiconductor industry.
A time-analog-to-digital converter (TAD) is an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that is implemented using time-to-digital conversion techniques. In one type of TAD, a variable delay is first extracted from the input signal, and this delay is then measured (digitized) by digital elements. The digital elements include a chain of delay units (DUs), which form a delay line. The DUs may be, e.g., CMOS inverters. This approach differs from conventional ADCs in that the entrance of the input signal is to a sampling stage and no analog devices are used.
In one type of TAD, the input signal is connected to the positive supply terminal, Vdd, of the inverters. A clocked pulse is applied to the gate of the first inverter in the delay line in order to obtain variable delays on the input pulse through the Vdd terminal, where the input signal is connected. After the signal dependent delay on the output pulse is obtained, the delay is digitized using a time-to-digital approach. Because no sample-and-hold circuit is needed, an all-digital design is possible. However, the input signal range to be digitized is limited due to the threshold values of devices in the delay line. Input voltages at the Vdd terminal lower than the threshold voltages of the PMOS and NMOS devices in the DUs (inverters) create a dead region in the conversion.

Rail-to-rail delay line for time analog-to-digital converters


In a semiconductor circuit device, an internal circuit, a common wiring pattern, a plurality of external terminals including a ground terminal, and a plurality of protection elements is provided. Each of the plurality of protection elements is connected to one of the plurality of external terminals and the common wiring pattern. Each protection element includes a clamp circuit. The clamp circuit of each of the plurality of protection elements respectively connected to the plurality of external terminals other than the ground terminal has a clamp voltage higher than a power supply voltage supplied to the internal circuit. On the other hand, the clamp circuit of the protection element connected to the ground terminal as a ground terminal clamp circuit has a clamp voltage lower than those of the clamp circuits other than the ground terminal clamp circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor circuit device, and more particularly to an electrostatic protection circuit with high reliability.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a first example of a conventional electrostatic protection circuit shown in FIG. 1, a common wiring pattern 110 is provided on a semiconductor chip. Each of all terminals such as a power supply (Vdd) terminal 101, a ground (GND) terminal 102, and input/output terminals 103 and the common wiring pattern are connected by a parallel protection element composed of a parasitic bipolar element and a diode element. In the electrostatic protection circuit having such a structure, a completely equivalent discharge path can be established in any combination of any terminals and also any positive or negative application voltage mode. Therefore, the electrostatic protection circuit having high reliability can be easily provided.
The operation of the electrostatic protection circuit will be described with reference to FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, all terminals including the power supply (Vdd) terminal 101 and the ground (GND) terminal 102 are connected to the common wiring pattern 110 by the protection element, i.e., a parallel circuit composed of a bipolar element and a diode. When a positive electrostatic pulse is applied to the input terminal 103 with respect to the GND terminal as a reference point, a discharge path is the path of the input terminal 103.fwdarw.the bipolar element Q103 of the input terminal.fwdarw.the common wiring pattern 110.fwdarw.the diode D102 of the GND terminal.fwdarw.GND terminal 102. Current flows through this discharge path to protect an internal circuit 120. Also, in a case where a negative electrostatic pulse is applied to the input terminal 103 with respect to the GND terminal 102 as the reference point, current flows through the discharge path of the GND terminal 102.fwdarw.the bipolar element Q102 of the GND terminal.fwdarw.the common wiring pattern 110.fwdarw.the diode D103 of the input terminal.fwdarw.the input terminal 103, to protect the internal circuit.
FIG. 2 shows the current (I)--voltage (V) characteristics between the ground terminal 102 and one of the terminals other than the ground terminal 102, e.g., the input terminal 103, when the impedance of the internal circuit 120 is infinite in the first conventional example shown in FIG. 1, that is, when only the electrostatic protection circuit and the common wiring pattern are connected to each of these terminals. In this case, when an over-voltage is applied between the ground terminal 102 and the other terminal such as the input terminal 103 and the over-voltage reaches Vtp (Vtm in case of the negative over-voltage), a trigger current starts to flow through the protection element. When the trigger current higher than a threshold value flows, the bipolar element operates to clamp the applied voltage to a predetermined voltage of Vsbp (Vsbm). In this case, the current flows through the bipolar element and the diode, even when the over-voltage is a positive polarity or a negative polarity. Therefore, if a parasitic resistance can be ignored, the clamped voltage can be expressed as EQU Vsbp=.vertline.Vsbm.vertline.=Vc+Vbi,
where Vc is the clamped voltage by the bipolar element and Vbi is the built-in voltage of the diode. For example, when a bipolar element is the parasitic bipolar transistor manufactured in a MOSLSI process in accordance with the 0.6-.mu. rule, Vc is about 7 V and Vbi is about 0.9 V. As seen from these values, the clamped voltage Vsbp and .vertline.Vsbm.vertline. are about 8 V. In this way, when the internal circuit 120 is not connected to the terminals 102 and 103, the electrostatic protection circuit operates completely symmetrically and operates ideally.
However, actually, there is a case that the internal circuit 120 has the impedance characteristic shown in FIG. 3, resulting in degradation of protection capability. The reason of the degradation of the protection capability will be described below in detail.
FIG. 3 shows the I-V characteristic of the internal circuit 110 with a voltage being applied between the power supply terminal 101 and the ground terminal 102. When a positive voltage is applied to the terminal 101 or 103 with respect to the ground terminal 102, current does not flow, because the impedance of the internal circuit 120 is high. In accordance with, the current first starts to flow through the protection element as mentioned above. When the current reaches the trigger current, the bipolar element starts to operate to clamp the applied voltage. In this case, because most of the current flows through the protection element and the common wiring pattern 110, the internal circuit 120 can be protected.
On the other hand, when a negative voltage is applied to the internal circuit 120 with respect to the ground terminal 102, there is a case that the impedance of the internal circuit 120 is low, as shown in FIG. 3. In this case, because an absolute value .vertline.Vsbm.vertline. of the clamped voltage is larger than the applied negative voltage even if the protection element enters the operation state, a lot of current flows through the internal circuit 120. When this current centers on a small area of the internal circuit 120, an element in the small area is sometimes damaged or destroyed. Further, because the impedance of the internal circuit 120 is low, there is a case that the current does not flow sufficiently through the protection element so that the bipolar element does not operate.
As a consequence, in the conventional electrostatic protection circuit shown in FIG. 1, there is the following problem. That is, a sufficient protection performance can not sometimes achieved, depending on the structure of the internal circuit 120, when the negative over-voltage is applied to the other terminal with respect to the ground terminal 102.
Next, an example of the internal circuit 120 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, an inverter Inv1 is composed of a P-type MOS transistor TP1 and an N-type MOS transistor TN1, and an inverter Inv2 is composed of a P-type MOS transistor TP2 and an N-type MOS transistor TN2 in the same way. The input of the inverter Inv1 is selectively connected to one of an internal signal .phi. and the ground (GND) potential in accordance with selection of a wiring pattern master slice switch SW.
For example, when the wiring pattern master slice switch SW is fixedly switched to the ground (GND) potential, the above-mentioned problem occurs. That is, when a positive voltage with respect to the Vdd terminal 101 is applied to the GND terminal 102, the N-type MOS transistor TN1 is set to the conductive state. Further, a PN junction between a P.sup.+ -type impurity diffusion layer of the source/drain region of the P-type MOS transistor and an N well, i.e., a diode DS is set to a forward direction bias state, and a current flows to the Vdd terminal 101 via the N well. In this case, when the threshold voltage of the N-type MOS transistor TN1 is, for example, 0.7 V, the voltage with which the current abruptly increases in FIG. 3, i.e., a threshold voltage is about 1.6 V, because the built-in voltage of the diode DS is 0.9 V.
The threshold voltage of the electrostatic protection circuit is generally determined based on a breakdown voltage of the N.sup.+ -type impurity diffusion layer, and is about 14 V. Therefore, when a positive surge voltage is applied to the GND terminal 102, large current flows through the inverter Inv1 so that degradation of the junction is caused or a gate insulating film is damaged.
In the above-mentioned example, whether or not it results in the destruction of the internal circuit 120 is greatly dependent upon the circuit structure of the internal circuit 120. Also, it depends on the dimension and layout of each element in the discharge path, e.g., the element shape, the wiring pattern impedance and so on, and is determined based on the magnitude of the discharge current and the concentration degree of the current.
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating a second conventional example of the electrostatic protection circuit which is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Disclosure (JP-A-Heisei 2-119169). In the second conventional example, each of the terminals PIN1, PIN2 and PINn is connected to the common wiring pattern 110 by a parallel circuit composed of a thyristor and a diode. In this case, when a positive electrostatic pulse is applied to, for example, the pin 2 with respect to the pin 1 as a reference point, a discharge path is formed of the pin 1 PIN1.fwdarw.the thyristor of the pin 1 PIN.fwdarw.the common wiring pattern 110.fwdarw.the diode of the pin 2 PIN2.fwdarw.the pin 2 PIN2. When a negative electrostatic pulse is applied to the pin 2 with respect to the pin 1 as the reference point, a discharge current flows through the discharge path of the pin 2 PIN2.fwdarw.the thyristor of the pin 2 PIN2.fwdarw.the common wiring pattern 110.fwdarw.the diode of the pin 1 PIN1.fwdarw.the pin 1 PIN1, to protect the internal circuits Z.
FIG. 5 shows the I-V characteristic between the arbitrarily selected two pins when the internal impedance of the electrostatic protection circuit shown in FIG. 4 is infinite. The clamped voltage Vsbp can be represented as Vsbp=.vertline.Vsbm.vertline.=Vc+Vbi, like the case to be shown in FIG. 1. In this case, because the thyristor is used for a clamp element, the voltage Vc is about 1.5 V and this value is low, compared to the bipolar element in the first conventional example of FIG. 1. In accordance with, the clamped voltage Vsbp is Vsbp=.vertline.Vsbm.vertline.=1.5 V+0.9 V=2.4 V.
A problem of this electrostatic protection circuit is as follows. That is, if the thyristor as the protection element starts to such operate due to a cause as, e.g., power supply noise when the semiconductor circuit is normally used, a lot of current flows from the power supply terminal through the ground terminal, because the clamped voltage Vsbp is low. This current continues to flow until the power supply voltage is decreased to a voltage lower than the clamped voltage Vsbp of about 2.4 V (this is so-called latch-up phenomenon). In the worst case, there is the possibility to cause destruction of any element.

Semiconductor circuit device with high electrostatic breakdown endurance


An ink cartridge opener for use in connection with a flat support surface is provided. The opener includes a cartridge holder adapted to hold a first portion of an ink cartridge. Opening means with the cartridge holder is provided for applying force to a second portion of the ink cartridge. The cartridge holder is formed of separable first and second cartridge holder components. The opening means is a handle arm captured at a pivot point by the first and second cartridge holder components.

Computer printers use a number of different techniques for applying ink to the paper. Many printers use a conventional typewriter ribbon, while other printers use thermal heads, and still others use lasers. One common species of computer printer uses ink jets, and the present invention is directed to a device for efficiently utilizing ink jet printers.
While ink jet printers have many advantages, one significant disadvantage is that the print head and ink reservoir are typically contained in a single disposable unit. For example, Hewlett-Packard of Vancouver, Wash., U.S.A. manufactures a line of ink jet printers that have disposable combination print head/ink reservoir cartridges. While the cartridges are of excellent quality, the requirement that a print head be supplied with each cartridge makes the cartridges unduly expensive. The useful life of a print head is many times the length of printing time provided by the ink reservoir, and thus a significant waste is incurred every time a spent cartridge is replaced simply because the ink has run out.
In addition, there are multicolor print cartridges that have three primary colors in separate reservoirs in each cartridge. Since it is rare that all three colors will simultaneously be spent, it is not unusual to throw away perfectly good cartridges having substantial supplies of two colors, but being empty for the third color.
For whatever reason, the manufacturers of the combination print head/ink reservoir cartridges have not seen fit to provide a way for the user to replenish the ink within the cartridges. In fact, the cartridges as presently supplied by, for example, Hewlett-Packard, have sonically welded cartridge halves that cannot be easily separated to enable reassembly after refilling one or more of the ink reservoirs inside.
Refilling ink cartridges with ink is a two-step process. First, some means must be provided to break open the cartridges, such as the ink cartridge opener described in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,830, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. Then, the reservoir must be refilled.
One drawback of prior ink cartridge openers is the lack of firm gripping of the cartridge during the somewhat delicate procedure of separating the top and bottom portions of the ink cartridge. In the opener described in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,830 base stand is configured to hold the cartridge vertically and upside down, applying opening force to the bottom of the cartridge while gripping the top portion in the base stand. While this has been an effective apparatus for opening cartridges, I have developed an improved ink cartridge opener with enhanced gripping and stability features described below. In addition, my improved opener has manufacturing advantages which will be described.
Thus, there presently exists a need for a device to enable the efficient and fool-proof separation of housing parts for an ink jet printer cartridge, such that internal ink reservoirs may be replenished and the cartridge reassembled for renewed use. The device should provide a simple and inexpensive ink cartridge opener that is efficient in manufacturing requirements and provides a solid grip on the printer ink cartridge during the opening procedure.


An adjustable deflector device is provided for selective positioning above the ventilator of a cooking range of the type where the ventilator is disposed adjacent to and flush with the cooking range heating elements. The deflector device comprises support means having first and second ends, the first end includes a first support portion and the second end includes a second support portion. The first and second portions are disposed at an angle with respect to each other. The first end is movably attached to the cooking range so that the first support portion is positioned at an angle with respect to the range. The first support portion is rotatable and extendable about its longitudinal axis. The second support portion includes a deflector portion having a width at least equal to the exhaust means and a length substantially equal to the exhaust means. The deflector portion is rotatable and extendable about its longitudinal axis so that the deflector may be selectively positioned above the exhaust means to deflect airborne matter or cooking vapors into the exhaust means in a more efficient manner.

A common type of cooking unit designed for domestic use is the cooking range wherein electrical resistor or gas burner heater units are mounted in a counter top within a kitchen area of a home. Numerous apparatus' have been devised for providing ventilation of the vapors generated during cooking on such units. For example, a hood may be positioned over the cooking unit to draw off effluents such as smoke, heat, vapor, grease or other particles generated during cooking. The aforementioned range hoods provide effective ventilation since their positioning above the cooking unit compliments the natural convection of the cooking effluents. However, the size and bulkiness of the hood often make it less aesthetically pleasing within a domestic kitchen.
A more recent approach is to mount the ventilator or suction means beside or within the cooking unit so that the ventilator opening receiving the cooking effluents is flush with the surface of the cooking range unit. Typical of such cooking ranges are U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,650 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,724 assigned to the Jenn-Aire Corporation of Indianapolis, Ind. This "down-draft" cooking range ventilator possesses the advantage of both compactness and aesthetic appeal to the consumer. However such down-draft ventilators do suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, although smoke, particles and other fumes are mostly removed from the general area surrounding the cooking range during cooking, there still exists visible as well as invisible flow of vaporized grease or particles that are not sufficiently pulled within the suction inlet of the ventilator. Consequently, if the fumes containing the grease and smoke are excessive, the down-draft ventilator is insufficient to withdraw all of the effluent into the suction inlet for discharge. Smoke and fumes which escape the ventilator are often then deposited along the ceiling and walls of the kitchen or in the area immediately adjacent the stove. Over a period of time, such deposits can accumulate causing a problem which is not only unsightly and requires extensive clean up, but is also a potential fire and health hazard. Present attempts to remedy the problem have relied upon installation of an electric motor which is sufficiently powerful to remove all the vapors generated during cooking. This approach has almost always fallen short of expectations.

Deflector device for down-draft cooking range ventilator


An image sensor include an interlayer dielectric layer formed over a semiconductor substrate; a color filter array formed over the interlayer dielectric layer; a planarization layer formed over the color filter; and a microlens array having a continuous, gapless shape formed over the planarization layer and spatially corresponding to the color filter array. The microlens array is composed of a first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer formed over the first dielectric layer.

An image sensor is a semiconductor device for converting an optical image into an electrical signal. An image sensor may be classified as a charge coupled device (CCD) image sensor or a complementary metal oxide silicon (CMOS) image sensor.
The CMOS image sensor may include a photodiode and a MOS transistor within a unit pixel for sequentially detecting electrical signals of each unit pixel, thereby implementing an image.
Manufacturing processes of a CMOS image sensor may include forming a microlens by patterning and then reflowing an organic photoresist on and/or over a semiconductor substrate including a unit pixel and relevant devices. However, the organic photoresist may have weak physical properties and thus, the microlens may be easily damaged by physical impact that may result in cracks, etc. in subsequent processes such as a package and bump, etc. The relative viscosity of the organic photoresist is strong so that a defect of the microlens may develop when a particle is absorbed.

Image sensor and method for manufacturing the same


A lock-up control system including a lock-up differential pressure generator and a controller that is programmed to: when increasing a lock-up differential pressure command value with time to establish the lock-up state of the torque converter, switch a gradient of the lock-up differential pressure command value from a first gradient to a predetermined gradient larger than the first gradient when an actual slip rotation speed is decreased to a predetermined slip rotation speed value or less; and switch the gradient of the lock-up differential pressure command value from the predetermined gradient to a second gradient smaller than the predetermined gradient when the actual slip rotation speed exceeds the predetermined slip rotation speed value again after being decreased to the predetermined slip rotation speed value or less.

The present invention relates to a lock-up control system for a torque converter provided in a power train such as an automatic transmission including a continuously variable transmission. Specifically, the present invention relates to a torque converter lock-up control system that shifts the torque converter from a converter state in which a relative rotation speed between input and output elements of the torque converter, that is, an actual slip rotation speed of the torque converter is not restricted, or from a slip control state in which the actual slip rotation speed is limited to that conforming with a target slip rotation speed, to a lock-up state in which the input and output elements are directly coupled to each other and the actual slip rotation speed is zero.
A torque converter conducts power transmission between the input and output elements via fluid to thereby perform a torque fluctuation absorption function and a torque multiplication function but have a reduced torque transmission efficiency. For the reasons discussed above, recently, automotive vehicles often use a lock-up torque converter in which the input and output elements (pump and turbine elements) can be directly coupled with each other by a lock-up clutch under engine/vehicle operating conditions that do not require the torque fluctuation absorption function and the torque multiplication function, or a slip rotation speed of the lock-up torque converter, that is, a speed difference between the input and output elements can be restricted by slip control of the lock-up clutch depending on engine/vehicle operating conditions.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2004-324847 discloses a lock-up control device as a conventionally known lock-up control technology. In the conventional lock-up control device, an actual slip rotation speed of a torque converter is gradually decreased by advancing engagement of a lock-up clutch that is disposed between input and output elements of the torque converter. After the actual slip rotation speed is decreased to a predetermined value, a lock-up differential pressure command value (a lock-up control command value) for controlling engagement operation of the lock-up clutch is abruptly and stepwisely changed so as to promote shifting of the torque converter to the lock-up state and reduce a lock-up time required to achieve the lock-up state.
Referring to FIG. 3, the conventional lock-up control is explained. As shown in FIG. 3, at moment t1, accelerator opening (accelerator position) APO of an accelerator is increased by depressing the accelerator pedal as indicated by solid line to thereby increase engine torque Te as indicated by broken line. At this moment t1, an operating region of the torque converter is shifted from a converter region in which an actual slip rotation speed of the torque converter should not be restricted, to a lock-up region in which the actual slip rotation speed of the torque converter should be decreased to zero.
Upon the transition from the converter region to the lock-up region, at moment t1, the lock-up differential pressure command value for the lock-up clutch is stepwisely increased in order to reduce backlash of the lock-up clutch. After moment t1, the lock-up differential pressure command value is gradually increased at a predetermined rate of change with time by feedback control or feedforward control such that actual slip rotation speed |Ne−Nt| of the torque converter is gradually decreased at a target gradient with respect to time which is set so as to suppress occurrence of a lock-up shock. Actual slip rotation speed |Ne−Nt| of the torque converter is given as a speed difference between engine speed Ne, i.e., torque converter input rotation speed Ne, and turbine rotation speed Nt, i.e., torque converter output rotation speed Nt.
By conducting the lock-up control on the basis of the lock-up differential pressure command value, engagement of the lock-up clutch proceeds at a rate corresponding to the change in the lock-up differential pressure command value, so that actual slip rotation speed |Ne−Nt| of the torque converter is decreased as shown in FIG. 3. At moment t2, actual slip rotation speed |Ne−Nt| of the torque converter reaches predetermined slip rotation speed value ΔNs that is set in order to judge whether actual slip rotation speed |Ne−Nt| of the torque converter becomes equal to a slip rotation speed at which a considerably large engagement shock does not occur even when the engagement of the lock-up clutch abruptly proceeds. At moment t3 at which predetermined time period Δt set for stabilizing the lock-up control has elapsed from moment t2, the lock-up differential pressure command value is rapidly and stepwisely increased to a maximum value as an upper limit as indicated by two-dot chain line "a" in FIG. 3.
By thus stepwisely and rapidly increasing the lock-up differential pressure command value, the engagement of the lock-up clutch can abruptly proceed so that the actual slip rotation speed can be rapidly decreased toward zero to thereby correspondingly reduce the lock-up time. Further, even when the engagement of the lock-up clutch abruptly proceeds, actual slip rotation speed |Ne−Nt| is not more than predetermined slip rotation speed value ΔNs, whereby the engagement shock does not become considerably large.


A dispensing closure includes a base having a lid integrally connected to the base by a hinge. The base has a deck with a central portion, a dispensing opening in the in the central portion, and a peripheral portion surrounding the central portion. The peripheral portion includes a raised wall partially surrounding the central portion, and having a greatest height adjacent to the hinge and decreasing in height around the central portion. The wall has an inner surface that blends with the central portion of the deck to form a concave channel surrounding the central portion of the deck. The channel surface has a base that is angled with respect to the peripheral portion down and away from the raised wall.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,487 discloses a fluid dispensing closure and package that include a container having a body for holding a product to be dispensed and a finish having an open mouth. A dispensing closure is mounted on the container finish. In one embodiment, the dispensing closure includes a base and a lid integrally hinged to the base. The base has a deck with a dispensing opening. A flexible dispensing valve is mounted within the dispensing opening by means of a retaining ring secured to the underside of the deck surrounding the dispensing opening.
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/208,443 discloses a dispensing closure that includes a base and a lid integrally connected to the base by at least one hinge element for pivoting the lid between a closed position overlying the base and an open position remote from the base. The base includes a deck wall, a skirt coupled to the deck wall and having an internal thread or bead for securing the closure to a container, and a dispensing opening in the deck wall. The lid includes a skirt that surrounds the deck wall in the closed position of the lid. The lid skirt has an interruption at the hinge element into which the hinge element is received in the closed position of the lid. The deck wall has an upstanding part-annular arcuate wall positioned around a peripheral portion of the deck wall adjacent to the hinge element and internally adjacent to an internal surface of the lid skirt at the hinge element to retard entry of moisture through the lid skirt interruption in the closed position of the lid.
A general object of the present invention is to provide an improved dispensing closure of the described character, an improved package embodying such a closure, and an improved method of making such a closure.
The present invention embodies a number of different aspects that may be implemented separately from or, more preferably, in combination with each other.
A dispensing closure in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention includes a base having a lid integrally connected to the base by a hinge. The base has a deck with a central portion, a dispensing opening in the central portion, and a peripheral portion surrounding the central portion. The peripheral portion includes a raised wall partially surrounding the central portion, and having a greatest height adjacent to the hinge and decreasing in height around the central portion. The wall has an inner surface that blends with the central portion of the deck to form a concave channel surrounding the central portion of the deck. The channel surface has a base that is angled with respect to the peripheral portion down and away from the raised wall. Any moisture that condenses or collects on the deck thus tends to flow around the central portion of the deck to the point diametrically spaced from the hinge. In a preferred embodiment in accordance with this aspect of the invention, the channel is arcuate in cross section adjacent to the hinge, with the arcuate cross section preferably varying in radius around the central portion of the deck.
A dispensing closure in accordance with a second aspect of the invention includes a base having a lid integrally connected to the base by a hinge. The base has a deck with a domed central portion, a dispensing opening in the domed central portion, and a flexible dispensing valve mounted to the base within the dispensing opening. A peripheral portion of the base includes a raised wall partially surrounding the domed central portion. The raised wall has a greatest height adjacent to the hinge and decreases in height around the domed central portion to zero height diametrically opposite the hinge. The wall has an inner surface that blends with the domed central portion to form a concave channel surrounding the domed central portion. The channel is arcuate in cross section adjacent to the hinge, and has a base surface that is angled with respect to the peripheral portion down and away from the raised wall. In a preferred embodiment in accordance with this aspect of the invention, an annular wall underlies the deck around the dispensing opening, and an annular channel is disposed on the undersurface of the deck interiorly adjacent to the annular wall. The valve has a peripheral ledge with a bead that is received in the channel, and a retaining ring is secured within the annular wall to capture the peripheral ledge between the ring and the undersurface of the deck. The retaining ring preferably is symmetrical around its central plane, so that the ring can be assembled to the closure base from either direction.

Dispensing closure, package and method of manufacture


The objective of the present invention is to provide an electrode for a lithium ion battery which has excellent electron conductivity even when the thickness of the electrode is increased. The electrode for a lithium ion battery according to the present invention includes a first principal surface located on a separator side of the lithium ion battery, and a second principal surface located on a current collector side, wherein the electrode has a thickness of 50 to 5000 μm, and the electrode includes, between the first principal surface and the second principal surface, short fibers (A) having an average fiber length of 50 nm or more and less than 100 μm, long fibers (B) having an average fiber length of 100 μm or more and 1000 μm or less, and active material particles (C), and the short fibers (A) and the long fibers (B) are electroconductive fibers.

Recently, there has been a strong demand to reduce carbon dioxide emissions for environmental protection. The automobile industry expects that the introduction of electric vehicles (EV) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) will lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Thus, intensive efforts have been made to develop a motor driving secondary battery which holds the key to the practical application of those electric vehicles. As for the secondary battery, attention is drawn to a lithium ion secondary battery which can achieve high energy density and high output density.
In a lithium ion secondary battery, in general, an electrode is formed by applying a positive electrode active material, a negative electrode active material, or the like on each of current collectors for a positive electrode and a negative electrode using a binder. Furthermore, in the case of a bipolar battery, a bipolar electrode is formed by having a positive electrode layer formed by applying a positive electrode active material or the like on one side of a current collector using a binder and a negative electrode layer formed by applying a negative electrode active material or the like on the other side of the current collector using a binder (see Patent Literature 1, for example).
In Patent Literature 1, paste for forming electrodes is applied at a thickness of about 25 μm, but a method of increasing the proportion of the positive electrode material and the negative electrode material in a battery is known as a way to increase the energy density of the battery. Patent Literature 2 discloses a means for increasing energy density of a battery in which the film thickness of the electrode is increased and thereby reducing the relative proportion of the current collector or the separator.

Electrode for lithium ion battery, lithium ion battery, and method for producing electrode for lithium ion battery


In the container-packed, oil-in-water type emulsified food product in accordance with the present invention, an oil-in-water type emulsified food comprises edible oils and fats, vinegar and egg yolk, and is packed and sealed in a container with an oxygen barrier property and has a dissolved oxygen concentration immediately after manufacturing is 0.8 to 8.1% O2. This container-packed, oil-in-water type emulsified food product demonstrates excellent flavor balance and small degradation of quality caused by oxidation during storage.

It is well known that the taste of a variety of foods is degraded under the effect of oxidation by oxygen present in the air. For this reason, when various foods are distributed or stored, they are typically sealed in metal cans or glass bottles which are impermeable to oxygen or in resin containers which have low oxygen permeability. Furthermore, an antioxidant such as ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) or vitamin E is often introduced into the foods. However, this is not desirable, since consumers tend to avoid using the antioxidant. A technique was developed for reducing the amount of dissolved oxygen in starting materials or preventing the penetration of oxygen during manufacture of various foods. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H6-141776 disclosed a technique for obtaining high-quality coffee beverages by extracting coffee substantially without oxygen. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H10-295341 disclosed a technique for obtaining products with good taste by conducting heat treatment of milk beverages or juices under conditions such that the dissolved oxygen concentration is reduced to 5 ppm or less.
Furthermore, Kohyo (Japanese translation of a PCT application) Publication No. H11-504963 described a technique for removing oxygen dissolved in a salad dressing by using a special enzyme as a technique for removing dissolved oxygen present in oil-in-water type emulsified foods such as salad dressings.
However, many of oil-in-water type emulsified foods, for example mayonnaise, have a high viscosity or contain a large amount of solid ingredients, like tartar sauce. For this reason, the active removal of the dissolved oxygen present in the product during manufacture thereof is generally not conducted because such a procedure greatly increases the production cost, for example, because of complex equipment involved. Therefore, with typical commercial oil-in-water type emulsified foods, only measures aimed at preventing the penetration of oxygen into the finished foods were implemented, those measures including preparing and transporting the starting materials in a sealed production line so as to minimize the penetration of oxygen present in the air into the foods, replacing the head space in containers with nitrogen when the containers are filled with the food, and employing glass bottles and jars which are absolutely impermeable to oxygen or resin multilayer bottle containers with reduced oxygen permeability as containers which are to be filled with the products and sealed.
For this reason, the dissolved oxygen concentration immediately after the production of the commonly, commercially available oil-in-water type emulsified foods is at a comparatively high level of 10 to 15% O2.
With the foregoing in view, the inventors have conducted a study aimed at the development of oil-in-water type emulsified foods of higher quality, this study being focused on active removal of dissolved oxygen present in the starting materials and the food in the process for the manufacture of container-packed, oil-in-water type emulsified food products. Initially, the inventors assumed that if the dissolved oxygen present in oil-in-water emulsified foods is completely removed, then the oxidation of edible oils and fats and various spices and seasoning components can be prevented and container-packed, oil-in-water type emulsified food products that have excellent taste can be produced. However, the results of the study demonstrated that excessively removing the dissolved oxygen present in the oil-in-water type emulsified foods surprisingly adversely affects the taste of the oil-in-water type emulsified foods. Thus, if the dissolved oxygen present in the oil-in-water type emulsified foods is removed in excess, a strong pungent irritating odor of vinegar can be noted, matching of flavors of the edible oils and fats, vinegar, and egg yolk is degraded, and flavor balance is lost.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an container-packed, oil-in-water type emulsified food product, in which excess oxidation of the oil-in-water type emulsified food in storage is prevented, quality degradation is avoided, and excellent flavor balance is obtained by reducing the amount of dissolved oxygen present in the container-packed, oil-in-water type emulsified food and adjusting it to optimum concentration.

Container-packed, oil-in-water type emulsified food product and method for manufacture thereof