The present invention provides an ink composition, and inkjet recording method, a printed material, a production method of a planographic printing plate, and a planographic printing plate. The ink composition of the present invention contains a cationically polymerizable compound, a compound that generates an acid when irradiated with a radiation ray, and an onium salt compound that generates an organic acid compound having a basic nitrogen atom when irradiated with a radiation ray.

(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink composition favorably used for inkjet recording; an inkjet recording method; and a printed material using the same. Further, the present invention relates to a planographic printing plate obtained by using the ink composition and a method of producing the planographic printing plate. Specifically, the present invention relates to an ink composition suitable for inkjet recording, which can be cured with high sensitivity by irradiation of a radiation ray to form a high quality image, and is superior in storage stability and continuous ejection stability; an inkjet recording method; a printed material using the same; a planographic printing plate obtained by using the ink composition; and a method of producing the planographic printing plate.
(ii) Description of the Related Art
Image recording methods for forming an image based on image data signals on a recording medium such as paper include methods such as an electrophotographic method, a sublimation or fusion heat-transfer method, and an inkjet method. Among these, the inkjet method can be carried out using an inexpensive device, wherein the image is directly formed by ejecting ink only onto a desired image region on the recording medium, thus enabling an efficient use of ink and resulting in low running costs. In addition, the inkjet method generates little noise and is superior as an image recording method.
The inkjet method can be applied for printing not only on plain paper but also on a non-water absorptive recording medium such as a plastic sheet or a metal plate. However, higher speed and higher image quality at the time of printing are important issues, and the time period needed for drying and hardening ink droplets after ejection has a great influence on the printing efficiency and the quality of a printed image.
One of such inkjet recording methods is a method using an inkjet recording ink which is curable by irradiation with a radiation ray. In this method, printing efficiency can be improved and a sharp image can be obtained, by curing droplets by irradiating with a radiation ray immediately, or a given period of time, after the ejection.
By achieving higher sensitivity of inkjet recording ink which is curable by irradiation with a radiation ray such as an ultraviolet ray, the ink can be imparted with higher hardening properties, and thus many benefits can be obtained, such as improved inkjet recording efficiency, reduced power consumption, longer lifetime due to a reduced load on a radiation ray generator, and prevention of evaporation of low-molecular substances due to insufficient hardening. In addition, improvement in sensitivity is effective in increasing the strength of the image formed with the inkjet recording ink and, in particular, in the case of preparation of planographic printing plates, it may increase the hardness of the image region and printing durability.
Such inkjet methods using an ink composition which is curable by a radiation ray such as ultraviolet light have attracted attention recently for being relatively odorless, quick in drying, and capable of recording on a recording medium having reduced ink absorbency. Ultraviolet light curable ink compositions for inkjet recording utilizing radical polymerization have been disclosed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) Nos. 63-235382, 3-216379, and 5-214280, and Japanese Patent Publication (JP-B) Nos. 6-21256 and 6-62905). In addition, compositions containing polymerizable compounds of specific radically polymerizable acrylates and a colorant have been proposed (see, for example, JP-A Nos. 2003-192943 and 2003-192944), for the purpose of providing an inkjet recording ink that can record an image having higher sensitivity and adhesiveness without ink bleeding, even on a recording medium on which it is normally difficult to record directly using the inkjet recording method, the ink being yet higher in stability with less skin irritation or sensitization. While such radically polymerizable inks are superior in hardening speed and can form an image without ink bleeding, they have had a disadvantage in that the adhesiveness to a recording medium deteriorates due to volume shrinkage during hardening.
Accordingly, for the purpose of improving the adhesiveness to a recording medium, cationically polymerizable ink compositions resistant to shrinkage during ultraviolet hardening have been proposed (see, for example, JP-A No. 9-183928). However, these cationically polymerizable inks have insufficient stability during storage because of the reaction of acids generated therein over time, which is a significant obstacle to commercialization of such inks. For improvement of the storage stability, methods of adding a basic compound or a thermal base-generating agent have been proposed (see, for example, JP-A Nos. 2003-312121, 2003-341217 and 2004-91558). However, a new problem has emerged in that the hardening sensitivity of the ink is lowered due to the basic compound inhibiting the function of the acid generated by light exposure. In particular, in the case of inkjet ink, there is a demand for satisfying both stability and high sensitivity, since the stability inside the head has a significant influence on ejecting properties.
Further, in the case of cationically polymerizable ink, there is a demand for preventing the acid in a polymerizing catalyst from remaining and thus causing degradation of an image or a substrate, even after formation of the image.

Ink composition, inkjet recording method, printed material, production method of a planographic printing plate and planographic printing plate


A non-volatile memory is described, including a substrate, a floating gate, a control gate, a source region, and a drain region. A trench is disposed in the substrate, and a step-like recess is located in the substrate beside the trench. The floating gate is disposed on the sidewall of the trench. The control gate is disposed on the substrate between the trench and the step-like recess which extends in the step-like recess. The source region is disposed in the substrate at the bottom of the trench. The drain region is disposed in the substrate at the bottom of the step-like recess.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a memory and manufacturing method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a non-volatile memory and manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In various non-volatile memory products, as the electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) can perform multiple times of operations of programming, reading, erasing, etc. and has the advantage that the saved data will not be lost after the power is off, it has been a memory unit widely applied in personal computer (PC) and electronic devices.
The typical EEPROM includes a floating gate and a control gate made of doped polysilicon. In order to avoid the data error due to the seriously excessive erasing/writing when the typical EEPROM performs erasing/writing operation, a select transistor is connected in serial at one side of the control gate and the floating gate so as to form a two-transistor (2T) structure. The select transistor can control the programming and reading of the memory.
Referring to U.S. patent application No. US 2004/0183124 A1, the patent application provides a flash memory cell, wherein a select gate is disposed in the substrate so as to reduce the device size of the flash memory cell and improve the device integration.
Although the memory can reduce the width size of the memory, the channel length of the memory may be shortened accordingly. Therefore, when operating the non-volatile memory with 2T structure, the leakage current may cause program disturbance etc. in different bias voltage, so that the memory is written wrongly.
The above problem may reduce the reliability of the memory and cause poor efficiency of the product. It can be learned that by increasing the channel length and reducing the leakage current while keeping the device integration is an immediate problem to be resolved.

Non-volatile memory and manufacturing method thereof


The computational load imposed by communications software executed on a general purpose processor can be significantly reduced by exploiting periods during an active connection when no data is being received. In particular, execution of many receive path signal processing algorithms can be disabled when no data is being received. The transmit path continues output modulation as with a normal connection, so as to trick a remote communications device into believing the connection is still normal. However, substantial portions of the local receive path can be disabled, thereby reducing computational load on the general purpose processor and freeing additional compute cycles for application and/or operating system program use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to modems, and in particular to systems and methods for reducing the processing requirements of a modem.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modems are communications devices which employ digital modulation techniques to transmit binary data over analog communications channels, e.g., telephone lines. Typically, two modems communicate over a single channel, with one modem at each end of the channel. Signal processing structures implemented at each modem provide encoding, modulation, filtering, interpolation, echo cancellation, signal detection, equalization, demodulation, and decoding functionality. Modems typically conform to international standards to ensure interoperability with modems from other manufacturers. One such standard is the V.34 specification described in ITU-T Recommendation V.34, A Modem Operating at Data Signalling Rates of up to 28 800 bits/s for Use on the General Switched Telephone Network and on Leased Point-to-Point 2-Wire Telephone-Type Circuits, dated September, 1994 (previously CCITT Recommendation V.34), which is hereby incorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference.
Traditional modem implementations include one or more dedicated digital signal processors (or DSPs) on which signal processing algorithms execute during periods of modem operations. A computer system may incorporate such a modem implementation, and in addition, typically includes application and operating system software executable on a general purpose processor (e.g., any of a variety of processors including MIPS™ R3000, R4000, and RS000 processors, processors conforming to the SPARC™, PowerPC™, Alpha™, PA-RISC™, or x86 processor architectures, etc.). Software executing on the general purpose processor sends and receives data via the modem implementation using input/output (I/O) ports, direct memory access (DMA), or other I/O structures and methods suitable for a particular general purpose processor and operating system combination.
Since a typical modem implementation includes a dedicated DSP not shared with other signal processing functions of a larger computer system, the modem's DSP and the signal processing algorithms designed to run thereon are selected and designed to meet the peak computation load of the modem. DSP cycles are either used or lost. For this reason, signal processing algorithms implementing the complete steady-state functionality of modem transmit and receive paths are typically executed on a DSP at full speed for the duration of a modem connection.
For many portable device applications such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), portable computers, and cellular phones, power consumption, battery life, and overall mass are important design figures of merit. In addition, very small part counts are desirable for extremely-small, low-cost consumer devices. Modem communications are desirable in many such portable device applications. However, traditional DSP implementations of the underlying signal processing capabilities create power substantial demands, require increased part counts, and because of the power consumption of a discrete DSP, typically require larger heavier batteries.
A modem implemented as software executable on a general purpose computer could reduce part counts, power demands, and overall mass of a computer system by eliminating the DSP, its power consumption, and some of the battery capacity otherwise required. However, to fully benefit from the elimination of a DSP, such a software modem needs to co-exist with existing operating systems and applications, running on the same general purpose processor as the operating systems and applications. Unfortunately, in a computer system which includes such a software modem, the load on the general purpose processor can be significant, slowing operating system and application programs, even when the software modem is not sending or receiving data. For example, FIG. 1 depicts a 14 MIPS steady-state computational load, which is exemplary of a software implementation of a traditional modem maintaining an active connection with both transmitter and receiver structures active for the duration of the connection.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Processor sharing technique for communications and other data processing on a same processor


A tool holder includes a main body, a back cover and a supporting portion. The main body has a first end formed with a hanging portion and t a second end. The back cover is pivoted to the second end and is closable or expendable relative to the main body to make an inner surface thereof selectively cover or uncover one said side face of the main body. The supporting portion is movably disposed between the main body and the back cover. When the back cover is closed, the supporting portion is received between the main body and the back cover; and when the back cover is expended, two ends of the supporting portion are positionably disposed on the main body and the back cover respectively and the main body and the back cover are positioned relative to each other.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool holder.
Description of the Prior Art
A tool holder as disclosed in TWM454911 includes a main body and a connecting member. The main body has a hanging portion, and the connecting member is detachably disposed on the main body. The connecting member allows a plurality of tools to be fixedly arranged between the main body and the connecting member.
The conventional tool holder is hung and presented only via the hanging portion, so the way of presentation is limited by the environment.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


The present invention provides novel apparatuses and methods for isolating or recovering a subset of blood cells such as leukocytes and/or circulating tumor cells from blood samples by filtration without changing the intracellular concentration of a therapeutic agent such as an anticancer drug. Contrary to the art, the apparatuses and methods of the present invention advantageously provide cell lysates from recovered cells such as leukocytes and/or circulating tumor cells without substantial dilution of a therapeutic agent such as an anticancer drug.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. There is an ever-growing need for accurate analysis of oncogenic markers for the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer. For example, detection of an array of oncogenic markers may allow physicians to detect early stage cancer and to monitor cancer progression. With knowledge of a patient's responsiveness to anticancer therapies prior to drug initiation, physicians could select the best course of treatment for each individual patient. Furthermore, routine analysis of drug effectiveness during the course of treatment may reveal a patient's unresponsiveness to specific anti-cancer drugs. This information could be used to improve the selection of drug treatment regimens.
Current methods for oncogenic marker analysis are based on interrogating malignant cells in a heterogeneous mixture of normal and cancer cells such as whole blood. Methods such as the LeukoLOCK Total RNA Isolation System (Ambion) capture circulating malignant cells from whole blood by passing a blood sample through disposable leukocyte depletion filters. Typically, these depletion filters are flushed with buffers such as PBS as the malignant cells are recovered. This wash step changes the intracellular concentration of anticancer drugs previously exposed to the cells, thereby possibly causing de novo signaling responses within the cells and altering expression of oncogenic markers. Consequently, expression of oncogenic markers in the analyzed sample could inaccurately reflect a patient's response to specific anticancer therapies. This could lead to incorrect diagnostic and/or prognostic evaluations. The present invention overcomes this potential source of error by providing methods and apparatuses for isolating a subset of blood cells without changing the intracellular concentration of an anticancer drug.

Apparatus and method for isolating leukocytes and tumor cells by filtration


The method includes preparing a plurality of light-emitting units, one of the plurality of light-emitting units comprising an electrode, a light-emitting stack, and a protection layer with a first part covering the electrode and a second part which comprises a portion surrounding the electrode and covers the light-emitting stack; removing the portion without removing the first part; forming a wavelength conversion layer on the first part and the light-emitting stack not covered by the second part; and removing the first part to substantially expose the electrode.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method of making a light-emitting device, and in particular to a method comprising forming a protection layer on each of light-emitting units on a single wafer.
2. Description of the Related Art
The light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of the solid-state lighting elements have the characteristics of low power consumption, low heat generation, long operational life, shockproof, small volume, quick response and good opto-electrical property like light emission with a stable wavelength, so the LEDs have been widely used in household appliances, indicator light of instruments, and opto-electrical products, etc.
A phosphor material is widely used on blue LEDs to generate a white light LED. When manufacturing the white light LED, since blue LEDs have different emission wavelengths and optical powers, it is difficult to obtain a desired CIE coordinate for each blue LEDs on a single wafer.
In addition, the white light LED can be further connected to other components in order to form a light emitting apparatus. The white light LED may be mounted onto a submount with the side of the substrate, or a solder bump or a glue material may be formed between the submount and the white light LED, therefore a light-emitting apparatus is formed. Besides, the submount further comprises the circuit layout electrically connected to the electrode of the white light LED.

Method of making a light emitting device and a light emitting device made thereof


A Media Interface Adapter (MIA) module is provided for converting Fiber Channel data signals from a first copper transfer medium to a second alternate transfer medium. The MIA includes an internal mounted printed circuit board containing the electronic components necessary to convert signals between the first copper medium and second alternate medium. A transmitter is provided for transmitting the data signals over the second alternate transfer medium, and a receiver is provided for receiving data signals over the second alternate transfer medium. Opposite the transmitter and receiver, a nine pin electrical D-sub connector is provided for connecting the module to the first copper transfer medium. The D-sub connector has a metal flange insertable into a connector mounting structures formed in the housing. The connector mounting structures being configured to partially overlap the flange of the D-sub connector. Likewise, the first and second housing members further include transmitter and receiver mounting structures configured to partially overlap the transmitter and receiver packages. Finally, the housing members are configured to enclose the printed circuit board, transmitter, receiver, and electrical connector, the first and second housing members having longitudinal sidewalls including overlapping mating structures forming an overlapping joint between the two housing members.

The present invention relates to an external high frequency data communication module, and more particularly a module housing comprised of two identical hermaphroditic housing members. The communication module provides a high performance data link for bi-directional communication over a variety of transfer media, such as single mode or multimode optical fiber in high speed data applications such as Fibre Channel and other applications.
The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a module configured for use in Fibre Channel applications. Fibre Channel is the general name for an integrated set of standards being developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) under the rubric of ANSI committee X3T11. Fibre Channel provides a high speed data link transmitting data between workstations, mainframes and super computers, as well as connection to mass storage devices and other peripherals. Fibre Channel operates at 1.0625 Gb/s, providing a bandwidth of 100 Mbytes/s over a single cable. The high speed and large bandwidth of Fibre Channel allows massive amounts of data to be transferred quickly and accurately between devices. The Fibre Channel physical layer can be configured in either a point to point configuration, or an arbitrated loop. In the point-to-point configuration, data is exchanged bi-directionally between two host devices. In an arbitrated loop configuration, the transmitted data signal of a first device is connected to the receive port of a second device, and the transmitted data signal from the second device is connected to the receive port of a third device, and so on in a daisy-chain configuration until finally, the transmitted data signal from the n.sup.th device is connected to the receive port of the first device. The Fibre Channel standard is designed to support a number of different transfer media, including short wave laser using 50 or 62.5 micron multimode optical fiber, long wave laser using single mode fiber, and copper using a variety of media and connectors including twinax and coax copper cable.
As noted, Fibre Channel provides a high speed serial data link for transmitting data between electronic devices. Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop is particularly well suited for storage attach applications such as large disc arrays. The high data rate and large band width of Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) allows massive amounts of data to be transferred quickly and accurately between a host mainframe computer or local area network and one or more large disc storage arrays. However, in order for Fibre Channel technology to be accepted in the storage attach marketplace, it has been necessary to develop a cost effective entry solution as compared with other data storage architectures such as high end SCSI.
The initial approach to FC-AL required a mezzanine Gigabaud Link Module (GLM) attached to a host adapter board mounted within each device connected to the Fibre Channel link. A GLM is an intermediary device containing high speed transceiver components which convert back and forth between the parallel bus structure of a host device, and the serial format of the Fibre Channel link. This approach, while effective, imposed unnecessary cost and space penalties making FC-AL less attractive in the storage attach market when compared with alternative technologies.
As an alternative to the GLM approach, the high speed transceiver components may be mounted within the host devices comprising the nodes of the Fibre Channel network. With this arrangement, DB-9 electrical connectors may be installed on the adapter boards for external connection to an all copper transfer medium. This provides an effective, low cost entrance to the Fibre Channel environment. However, a problem with the majority copper environment is that at 1.0625 Gb/s copper is only effective as a transfer medium up 30 meters. For distances greater than 30 meters the electrical signal carried on the copper cables must be converted to an alternate transfer medium, the most prevalent being optical fiber. At 1.0625 Gb/s distances up to 500 meters can be achieved with multi-mode fiber, and with single mode fiber distances up to 30 kilometers can be realized. While converting from copper to an alternate transfer medium is effective for transmitting data over longer distances, the hardware necessary for implementing the conversion from one medium to another represents another area where the cost of FC-AL must be constrained.
In order to provide an industry solution and further advance the market acceptance of FC-AL, a number of manufacturers have developed a standard for an external pluggable conversion module for transitioning between copper and other media. The Media Interface Adapter (MIA) specification represents the results of that effort. The MIA specification was developed independent of ANSI, but it is anticipated that the specification will be submitted to the appropriated subgroup of committee X3T11 for inclusion in the Fibre Channel standard. The MIA specification defines a Media Interface Adapter as an external plug-in module containing a nine-pin D-sub connector, the required electronics necessary for implementing the conversion between media, and the necessary connector to adapt to the alternate medium. The module is to be rear panel/card edge mountable to a host adapter. The MIA specification specifies the mechanical, electrical, and signaling requirements for an MIA and the connectors used to adapt to the various media. A nine pin D-sub male connector is specified for the MIA module, and is intended to mate with a corresponding nine pin D-sub female connector edge mounted to a host adapter board, thereby providing the connection between the module and the copper Fibre Channel environment. The conversion electronics are housed within the module between the two connectors. Opposite the nine pin D-sub connector, the media interface connector is to be application specific, depending on the alternate medium being converted to. The physical dimensions of the module are specified as a maximum height of 36.00 mm, and a maximum width of 20.00 mm. There is no restriction on the length of the module. It is envisioned that a number of such modules would be plugged into a corresponding number of adapter boards arranged adjacent one another in a panel.
The MIA specification further defines the electrical interface requirements for the Media Interface Adapter. The electrical requirements include power consumption, supply requirements, and fusing. Signal levels are also specified for both high frequency signals and control signals. Finally, and most significantly regarding the present invention, the environmental/FCC requirements are specified. The environmental specification is application specific, however it is recommended that the MIA be qualified for operation at FCC class B. The FCC Class B qualification is preferred because at the high frequencies at which the module is to operate, the electronic components and electrical conductors within the module have a tendency to act as radiators, generating a large amount of high frequency electromagnetic interference (EMI) in the vicinity of the module. Since it is anticipated that a number of these modules will be in operation directly adjacent one another, or at least in near proximity to one another, it is critical to the performance of the modules that spurious electromagnetic emissions are prevented from escaping the module housing.
The most effective method of preventing spurious emissions is to enclose the module in a metallic housing and ground the housing. Employing this method, it is important to ensure that there are no gaps in the housing through which high frequency radiation can escape. Except for the connector regions at each end, the connector housing must present a continuous grounded metal surface around the entire module. Special care must be taken concerning any joints between separate pieces of the housing, and those areas of the housing surrounding the connectors at each end of the housing. At the connector end a standard nine-pin D-sub connector is provided having a metal flange surrounding the D-shell connector assembly. A continuous electrical connection must be maintained between the flange and the housing along the entire perimeter of the flange. At the alternate media interface end, a continuous metal surface must also be presented except for the minimal area connecting the alternate medium.
Meeting the environmental/FCC requirements of the MIA specification presents a number of design problems for developing an effective, low cost, and easy to assemble module. What is needed is a module housing which is easily assembled, and having design features which, when assembled, allow the housing to completely electrically seal the contents of the module. Such a module housing would preferably comprise two identical metallic pieces having a hermaphroditic mating feature along the mating surfaces thereof such that when the two pieces are assembled around a nine pin D-sub connector and application specific media interface connector, the two pieces form a continuous metal surface completely surrounding the contents of the housing. Providing two identical pieces helps to lower the cost of the module in that tooling for only a single piece is required, and only a single piece need be inventoried. Such a module housing would further include provisions to ensure that a continuous electrical connection is formed between the housing and the flange of the nine-pin D-sub connector, and between the housing and the media interface connectors. In a version configured to interface with an optical fiber medium, the module housing should also contain internal features for properly aligning optical elements with a mateable fiber optic connector. Finally, such a module housing should also be configured to meet the physical requirements of the MIA specification, and should be easily mated with and withdrawn from a FC-AL adapter board, and have provisions for securing the connection therebetween.

External pluggable high frequency data communication module


Photographic light-sensitive mediums such as sheets are fed one by one by a suction pad in a sheet-feed control device. The suction pad is displaced downward at a low speed in a position near a stack of sheets so as to approach an uppermost one of the sheets, thereby attracting the uppermost sheet to the suction pad, and the uppermost sheet is flexed by a sheet presser while it is being separated away from the other sheets. Then, a judgement is made as to whether the suction pad attracts either a single sheet or a plurality of sheets, by detecting the magnitude of the flexion of the sheet or sheets attracted. Then, the suction pad is displaced again toward the position where the uppermost sheet is to be attracted, when it is detected that the suction pad has attracted the plurality of sheets. At this time, the suction pad is placed in a given stop position, thereby releasing the plurality of sheets from the suction pad. It is then detected whether the plurality of sheets have been released from the suction pad. After the plurality of sheets have been released from the suction pad, the suction pad is displaced again toward the position where the suction pad attracts the uppermost sheet so as to attract and hold the uppermost sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention rebates to a method of and a device for controlling the feeding of sheets one by one, of a type wherein when a plurality of sheets attracted under suction by a suction pad is detected, sheet feeding motion of the suction pad is changed, thereby making it possible to prevent the plurality of sheets from being fed simultaneously.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional sheet feeding device, an uppermost sheet of stacked sheets, for example, stacked photographic light-sensitive mediums, is attracted under suction by a suction pad communicating with a vacuum source to be fed to a predetermined position. More specifically, sheets, for example, photographic light-sensitive mediums (e.g., an X-ray film and graphic art films, etc.), are taken out one by one from a supply magazine in which the sheets have been accommodated in a stacked state, so as to feed under suction of a suction pad to the succeeding stations (e.g., an exposure station, a developing station, etc.).
When a plurality of the sheets adhere to one another owing to the static electricity or the like, these sheets are to be simultaneously fed to the succeeding station. In the conventional sheet feeding device, the suction pad is normally displaced toward the sheets by a given stroke without taking into consideration the remaining quantity of stacked sheets to be fed. In order to attract an uppermost sheet by the suction pad after the suction pad is pressed against the uppermost sheet, air is forced out from the adjacent sheets, so that the sheets adhere firmly to one another. As a result, a plurality of sheets are simultaneously attracted and held by the suction pad, thus interfering with the following sheet feeding operation of the suction pad in the device. Therefore, the device has to be stopped to correct such malfunction.
In order to avoid such malfunction to be caused in advance, the uppermost sheet attracted by the suction pad is first introduced into a device, comprising a pair of rollers which dislocate in proportion to the thickness of the sheet interposed between the rollers, thereby detecting whether or not a plurality of sheets have been taken out simultaneously. More specifically, the thickness of a single sheet to be inserted between the rollers is set to a thickness detector which detects dislocation of the rollers in proportion to the thickness of the sheet in advance. When two or more sheets are interposed between the rollers, the two rollers are separated from each other beyond the range set in the thickness detector. Since the dislocation is proportional to the thickness of the sheet to be fed it is therefore possible to determine whether or not a plurality of sheets have been fed simultaneously.
In case the thickness detector in the above is used for the detection as to whether or not a plurality of sheets have been fed simultaneously, it is difficult to exactly determine whether a plurality of sheets or a single sheet is fed, since the thickness of each sheet such as a photographic light-sensitive medium is thin (about 0.2 mm) in general. When a plurality of sheets is fed and interposed between the rollers, the rollers damage the sensitive material of each sheet, thereby preventing high quality image recording.

Method of and device for controlling feeding of sheets by detecting multiple sheet pick up


The present invention is aimed at providing a toner binder for electrophotography that is excellent in the fixing property, offset resistance, blocking property, grindability, durable developing property and the like to correspond to the high-speed movement of a copier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner binder for electrophotography to develop electrostatic charge images in electrophotography, electrostatic record, electrostatic printing and the like, and more particularly to a toner for electrophotography that can correspond to a high-speed copier and has high resolution and high image quality, and that is excellent in grindability.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, the method of using electrophotography in a PPC copier or a printer in which a toner image formed on a photo conductor is transcribed on a recording paper (Plain Paper Copy Method) is carried out in such a method that an electrostatic latent image is formed on a photoconductor, then the latent image is developed with toner, and after the toner image is transcribed on a sheet to be fixed like paper and others, the transcribed image is fixed by heating with a heating roll. Because fixing is carried out under heating and pressure, this method can be conducted rapidly and is extremely excellent in heat efficiency. Consequently, the fixing efficiency is very good. However, in this heating roll method, though the heat efficiency is very good, on the other hand, there is such a problem that since toner is contacted with the surface of the heating roll in the melt state of the toner, the toner is transferred by adhering on the surface of the heating roll, and the transferred toner is transferred again on the next sheet to be fixed to contaminate it (an offset phenomenon)
The offset is prevented by, for example, applying silicone oil on the surface of a heating roll with cloth or paper. In this case, the method is very effective in preventing the offset of toner, but because a device is needed to supply a liquid for preventing the offset and the installation of machinery becomes complicated, the repair and management of the machinery becomes complicated to result in an increase in cost, so it is not preferable to adopt such a means. Further, silicone oil and the like may be evaporated by heat to contaminate the inside of the machinery.
Consequently, it is desired to develop toner for a high-speed machine (an oilless fixing method) in a method that is not needed to apply the above-mentioned silicone oil and the like (an oilless fixing method).
On the other hand, a copier is pointed to the direction of high speed, and as a result, the speed of a fixing roll is inevitably high and toner is required to be fixed by heating in a short time. It is necessary for toner to have high fluidity in its melt state in order to be fixed in a short time. Although it is generally effective to lower the glass transition temperature (hereinafer referred to as Tg) of a resin to be used as toner in order to improve the fixing property, on that account there may occur such an undesirable phenomenon as the blocking of toner during storage.
On the other hand, many proposals have been made about toner with the use of a crosslinked polymer as a method for preventing the offset in the development of toner for an oilless fixing method. For example, a method using a crosslinked polymer produced in an emulsion polymerization has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-36582. In this case, the crosslinked polymer to be used contains 50 to 99 mass % gel part, and when the content of the gel part is increased, the offset resistance is improved but the grindability is worsened, while when the content of the gel part is decreased, the grindability is improved but the offset resistance is worsened. As a result, it was extremely difficult to satisfy both the offset resistance and the grindability.
Moreover, in this method, it is necessary to use a dispersing agent or a dispersing auxiliary agent together to stabilize the emulsified particles when the crosslinked polymer is produced. Since these dispersing agents are highly hygroscopic and adversely affect electric properties, especially charge stability, it is necessary to remove these dispersing agents as much as possible after the crosslinked polymer is produced. However, much labor is required to remove them, and the amount of drainage from the washing facility is also large and needs heavy treatment. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,829 discloses that it is good to use toner containing a vinyl-based polymer that contains 0.1 to 60 mass % gel component and the molecular weight of the main peak is 1,000 to 25,000 in the soluble part in tetrahydrofuran and that has at least one subpeak or a shoulder in the molecular weight area of 3,000 to 150,000. However, because the method of producing this polymer is a suspension polymerization and also in this case, dispersing agents or dispersing auxiliary agents are used together similarly to an emulsion polymerization, there was the same problem as that in the above-mentioned emulsion polymerization. For this reason, the present inventors have developed a resin by a solution polymerization as toner with a good fixing property (U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,456).
In resin produced by a solution polymerization, the solvent will be removed after the polymerization is ended. Since all of the low volatile components, including unreacted residual monomers and decomposition products of the initiator, can be removed at this time, it is considered that an optimal resin for toner, that is, a homogeneous resin that contains a very low amount of impurities and is electrically stable can be obtained. However, in the production of a crosslinked polymer by a solution polymerization method, there was such a problem that the production became difficult to be performed because of the occurrence of the Weissenberg effect (resins are coiled round a stirring rod). Accordingly, the present inventors have further developed a method of producing a polymer having as high a molecular weight as possible by a bulk polymerization and the like (U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,368). However, there is a limit to the molecular weight of a polymer to be produced, and the offset property had not been conquered completely.
Further, although it is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-38700 that a toner binder produced by heating and mixing a copolymer (A) having 3 to 40% a monomer containing glycidyl group and a crosslinking compound (B) is good, this toner had such a problem in its durability that oppositely charged toner was occurred in a long-term test because of many residuals of epoxy groups.
Furthermore, the present inventors have developed a technique to obtain excellent toner by crosslinking a resin having carboxyl groups produced by a solution polymerization and a compound having a glycidyl group in a specific ratio (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-011890 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-222612). Thus obtained toner can correspond to a high-speed machine, has a good balance of the fixing property, the offset resistance and the blocking property, and is excellent in grindability, production efficiency, electrical properties and charge stability. However, there occurred a problem that because the crosslinking component was subjected to excessive shear to cut gels during kneading in the production step of toner, the elasticity of the toner came to be insufficient at high temperatures, resulting in the worsening of an image after fixing and the failure of obtaining sufficient offset effect.
The present inventors have eagerly studied these requirements to satisfy them, resulting in the development of a technique to obtain an excellent toner binder by improving the molecular weight and epoxy value of a crosslinking agent containing a glycidyl group (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-319140). Thus obtained toner binder can decrease the cutting of gels during kneading in the production step of the toner, has good effectiveness in the durable developing property and offset resistance, has a greatly improved balance of the fixing property, offset resistance and the blocking property, and is excellent in grindability, production efficiency, electrical properties, and charge stability.
However, at present, marketing needs are pointed toward further high speed and new energy-saving techniques. As a result, it is needed to further lower fixing temperature for the shortening of heating time by high speed technique and to lower even more fixing temperature for energy-saving. That is, since the requirement of the fixing property at further lower temperatures has become strong, it has become difficult to satisfy both requirements of the fixing property at further lower temperatures and the offset resistance needed at the same time by the above-mentioned techniques.
Considering the improvement of the fixing property at lower temperature and the improvement of the balance of the fixing property and the offset resistance with the needs of higher speed and the newly required energy-saving as mentioned above in the copier market as main subjects, it is the object of the present invention to improve all the capabilities of toner for electrophotography, including the fixing property, the offset resistance, the blocking property, the grindability, and the durable developing property.
The present inventors have eagerly studied these requirements to satisfy them and found that in the production of a toner binder for electrophotography that would be obtained by crosslinking a cross linking compound and a copolymer, making the toner binder for electrophotography by stopping the crosslink reaction in the middle of the reaction would improve the fixing property through making the binder lower-viscosity and also improve the offset property by causing the crosslink reaction during of fixing with this remaining crosslink reactivity, and that the grindability, the blocking property and the durable developing property could be improved at the same time. That is, it has been achieved to complete a technique of obtaining a toner binder for electrophotography, which can correspond to a high-speed machine and is excellent in the fixing property, the offset resistance, the blocking property, the grindability and the durable developing property, by making the viscoelasticity curve be concave in the range of 140xc2x0 C. to 180xc2x0 C. and making a minimum value of Gxe2x80x2 0 be present at the bottom of the range, and by specifying the difference between the above described minimum value Gxe2x80x2 0 and storage modulus Gxe2x80x2 200 at 200xc2x0 C.
That is, the present invention can be specified by the matters described in the following.
(1) In a toner binder for electrophotography, wherein when the viscoelasticity of the toner binder is measured in the temperature range of 50 to 200xc2x0 C. and at a heating rate of 2xc2x0 C./min., the viscoelasticity curve in the temperature range of 100 to 200xc2x0 C. showing the relationship between the storage modulus and temperature, in which curve the axis of ordinate is the logarithm (Pa) of storage modulus Gxe2x80x2 and the axis of abscissa is temperature (xc2x0 C.), has a concave in the temperature range of 140xc2x0 C. to 180xc2x0 C. and has a minimum value of storage modulus Gxe2x80x2 at the bottom of the range, this Gxe2x80x2 0 and storage modulus Gxe2x80x2 200 at 200xc2x0 C. have a relationship of Gxe2x80x2 0 less than Gxe2x80x2 200 and the difference xcex94Gxe2x80x2 (Gxe2x80x2 200xe2x88x92Gxe2x80x2 0=xcex94Gxe2x80x2) is 300 Pa or more.
(2) The toner binder for electrophotography described in (1), wherein the above described storage modulus Gxe2x80x2 200 at 200xc2x0 C. is 1000 Pa or more.
(3) The toner binder for electrophotography described in (1) or (2), wherein the toner binder has a glass transition temperature of 45 to 75xc2x0 C., contains 0.1 to 20 mass % gel part, and has a peak in the molecular weight area of 4,000 to 50,000 in the molecular weight distribution based on gel permeation chromatography (GPC) of the soluble part of the toner binder in tetrahydrofuran (THF).
(4) The toner binder for electrophotography described in any one of (1) to (3), wherein the degree of crosslinking reaction is 1 to 50%.
(5) The toner binder for electrophotography described in any one of (1) to (4), wherein the toner binder is obtained by heating and melting a vinyl resin (A) containing glycidyl groups, the weight-average molecular weight of which resin is 10,000 to 100,000 and the epoxy value of which resin is 0.005 to 0.1Eq/100g, and a vinyl resin (B) containing carboxyl groups, the acid value of which resin is 1 to 30 mg KOH/g and the glass transition temperature of which resin is 40 to 70xc2x0 C., to be crosslinked by the use of the above described vinyl resin (A) containing glycidyl groups as a crosslinking agent.
(6) The toner binder for electro photography described in any one of (1) to (5), wherein one of styrene-acrylic resins is a main component.
(7) Toner for electrophotography, wherein the toner binder for electrophotography described in any one of (1) to (6) is used.

Toner binder for electrophotography and toner for electrophotography

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention could be achieved by a toner binder having the following features for electrophotography. That is, when the viscoelasticity of the toner binder is measured in the temperature range of 50 to 200 xc2x0 C. and at a heating rate of 2xc2x0 C./min., the viscoelasticity curve in the temperature range of 100 to 200xc2x0 C. showing the relationship between the storage modulus and temperature, in which curve the axis of ordinate is the logarithm (Pa) of storage modulus Gxe2x80x2 and the axis of abscissa is temperature (xc2x0 C.), has a concave in the temperature range of 140 to 180xc2x0 C. and has a minimum value of storage modulus Gxe2x80x2 at the bottom of the range, and this Gxe2x80x2 0 and storage modulus Gxe2x80x2 200 at 200xc2x0 C. are Gxe2x80x2 0 less than Gxe2x80x2 200 and the difference xcex94Gxe2x80x2 (Gxe2x80x2 200xe2x88x92Gxe2x80x2 0=xcex94Gxe2x80x2) is 300 Pa or more.


The present invention relates to a portable seating device (e.g., portable stadium seat) that includes a seat and a backrest movably interconnected with the seat, and that is generally positionable in both stowed and deployed positions. The backrest also may be selectively movable toward and/or away from the seat, at least when the device is in the deployed position. One embodiment of the device may include a base that is interfacable with a supporting surface on which the device is to be supported, and a mechanism for rotatably interconnecting the seat with the base. Accordingly, the seat may be rotatable relative to the base. Another embodiment of the device may include a stand having a first end that is detachably interconnectable with the seat and/or base, and a second end that may be spaced from the base and interfacable with the supporting surface on which the device is to be supported.

Many spectator event facilities (e.g., stadiums) are equipped with bench-style or bleacher seating (hereafter "bleachers") instead of individual seats. Regardless of the various materials utilized to construct these bleachers, sitting on these bleachers for extended periods of time can be extremely uncomfortable. Moreover, the lack of a backrest on these bleachers may tend to strain and/or aggravate the upper and/or lower back. Further, while some spectator event facilities are equipped with individual seats having backrests, these individual seats tend to be made of metal, hard plastics and/or wood, which have also tended to contribute to similar user discomfort and/or aggravation. As a result, many people desiring to attend spectator events have foregone such attendance due to the discomfort and/or physical demands associated with sitting on bleachers or hard seats. Moreover, such user discomfort/aggravation has also been associated with sitting on bench-style or hard seats associated with picnic tables, boats, hunting stands (e.g., for deer hunting), and the like.
Several attempts have been made to reduce/diminish the discomfort associated with bench-style and/or hard seating systems, such as those associated with spectator event seating. In the simplest attempt, portable cushions have been carried by individuals to be placed on the hard wooden, metal, or plastic surface of the seating system. While these cushions may address the pain of sitting on the hard surface (at least to a limited extent), they do not address strain on the upper and lower back. In another attempt, a portable seat combined with a backrest has been utilized to reduce/alleviate back pain/strain associated with bench-style and/or hard seating. More particularly, the most common design for these portable seats is a foldable seat that has both a seat portion and a backrest that are foldably connected. Although some of these portable seats have at least somewhat of a solid backrest, some of these portable seats are equipped with backrests that are extremely flimsy (e.g., provide a backrest in form, but not in substance) so that user back pain/strain is still a common occurrence. While some portable seats have provided limited substantive relief of back pain/strain associated with sitting in bleachers or the like, one of the costs associated with the same is that these portable seats tend to be extremely heavy, which may make them difficult to transport and/or even unusable for certain (e.g., elderly and/or physically weak) individuals. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a portable seat that is relatively light in weight to enhance its transportability, and further, that may be adjusted to better accommodate the needs/desires of the particular user.


A nanowire of a semiconductor material and having a uniform cross-sectional area along its length is grown using a chemical vapor deposition process. In the method, a substrate is provided, a catalyst nanoparticle is deposited on the substrate, a gaseous precursor mixture comprising a constituent element of the semiconductor material is passed over the substrate, and adatoms of the constituent element are removed from a lateral surface of the nanowire during the passing of the precursor mixture. The removing comprises passing over the substrate a gaseous etchant that forms a volatile compound with the adatoms, the gaseous etchant comprising a halogenated hydrocarbon. Removing the adatoms of the constituent element before such adatoms are incorporated into the nanowire prevents such adatoms from accumulating on the lateral surface of the nanowire and allows the nanowire to grow with a uniform cross-sectional area along its length.

Semiconductor nanowires are elongate structures having at least one dimension in the range from about 1 nm and 100 nm. Nanowires are nanoscale building blocks useable in such applications as nanoscale electronic devices and nanoscale photonic devices. Semiconductor nanowires allow such devices to be fabricated without the need for advanced lithographic techniques. The electrical and optical properties of the nanowires are strongly affected by the nanowires' diameter and cross-sectional shape. Some applications require the synthesis of nanowires with well-controlled diameters and cross-sectional shapes.
A number of different methods have been used to grow semiconductor nanowires. Some of the available methods are described by Younan Xia et al. in One-Dimensional Nanostructures: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications, 15 ADV. MATER. 353–389 (March 2003). Vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth is one method widely used to synthesize nanowires. A typical VLS process involves the catalytic decomposition of gaseous precursors on the surface of metal catalyst nanoparticles and the subsequent nucleation and growth of single-crystal nanowires. A number of different processes exist that employ VLS growth. These include laser ablation, chemical beam epitaxy and chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
Chemical vapor deposition processes such as metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are widely used in the semiconductor industry for depositing layers of semiconductor materials. CVD reactors are commercially available, as are high-purity precursors for most single-element and compound semiconductor materials and p-type and n-type dopants for such materials. However, attempts to grow nanowires by MOCVD have typically yielded nanowires that taper significantly. Such nanowires progressively decrease in cross-sectional area along their length from base to tip. Such nanowires therefore have non-uniform cross-sectional areas and are therefore unsuitable for use in applications that need nanowires with a uniform cross-sectional area along their length.
Nanowires grown by laser ablation and chemical beam epitaxy have been reported as having substantially uniform cross-sectional areas. However, laser ablation employs equipment and processes that are not useable for other purposes, and laser ablation typically cannot be used to fabricate other parts of a device of which the nanowires would form part. Chemical beam epitaxy is not commonly used in industrial semiconductor manufacture.
What is needed, therefore, is a way of using a chemical vapor deposition process to grow nanowires that consistently have a uniform cross-sectional area along their length.

Method of growing semiconductor nanowires with uniform cross-sectional area using chemical vapor deposition


A novel 2,2-di-substituted 19-norvitamin D derivative. It is a compound represented by the general formula (I) wherein R1 and R2 are the same or different and each represents hydroxy and A represents hydrogen, or an unsubstituted linear or branched alkyl.

Activated form of vitamin D3 (1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, 1,25-(OH)2D3) is known as a metabolic regulatory hormone of calcium and phosphorus, and it exhibits various biological activities such as cellular induced differentiation, suppression of proliferation, and immunomodulation. These activities are expressed by transcription control of target gene mediated by the vitamin D receptor (VDR) that exists in the nucleus. 1,25-(OH)2D3 is applied to treatment of renal osteodystrophy, D-resistant rickets, hypoparathyroidism, osteoporosis, and psoriasis. It is also expected as a candidate of therapeutic agent against cancers and immune diseases. However, administration of effective amounts as therapeutic agent against cancers and immune diseases causes harmful hypercalcemia. Thus, it has been desired to develop vitamin D derivatives that dissociate an increasing activity of serum calcium from a cellular induced differentiation activity. In the study of synthesis of the derivatives have selectivity of cellular induced differentiation activity, attention has been focused mostly on modification of the side chain of the derivatives. However, DeLuca et al. have been prepared the A-ring modified by removing the 19-exomethylene group from 1,25-(OH)2D3, that is, 19-nor-1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (hereinafter referred to as 19-nor-1,25-(OH)2D3)(Perlman K. L., Swenson R. E., Paaren H. E., Schnoes H. K., DeLuca H. F., Tetrahedron Lett., 1991, 32, 7663-7666.). Comparing the biological activities of 19-nor-1,25-(OH)2D3 with one of the activated 1,25-(OH)2D3, it was shown that VDR affinity was reduced to approximately one-third and the bone resorption activity was reduced to one-tenth or less of 1,25-(OH)2D3, but 19-nor-1,25-(OH)2D3 still retained the cellular effects equivalent to 1,25-(OH)2D3. 19-nor-1,25-(OH)2D3 revealed a selective activity profile with potent cellular differentiation and very low calcium mobilizing activity. In addition, 19-norvitamin D derivatives with a variety of substituents at C-2 position on the A-ring have been synthesized and literature data concerning interesting biological potency of 2-substituted 19-norvitamin D derivatives have been accumulated (Sicinski R. R., Perlman K. L., DeLuca H. F., J. Med. Chem., 1994, 37, 3730-3738; Sicinski R. R., Prahl J. M., Smith C. M., DeLuca H. F., J. Med. Chem., 1998, 41, 4662-4674; Sicinski R. R., Rotkiewicz P., Kolinski A., Sicinska W., Prahl J. M., Smith C. M., DeLuca H. F., J. Med. Chem., 2002, 45, 3366-3380; Yukiko Iwasaki et al., The 121st Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, Abstract 3, p 17, 29[PB]II-011, 2001 (Sapporo); Akihiro Yoshida et al, The 121st Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, Abstract 3, p 17, 29[PB]II-014, 2001 (Sapporo); Yukiko Iwasaki et al., The 122nd Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, Abstract 3, p 180, 28[P]I-184, 2002 (Chiba); Masato Shimizu et al, The 56th Annual Meeting of the Vitamin Society of Japan, Abstract, Vitamin, 76, 155-156, 2002 (Tokyo); Masato Shimizu et al, 28th Symposium on Progress in Organic Reactions and Syntheses—Applications in the Life Sciences-, Abstract, pp 234-235, 2002 (Tokyo)). Introduction of an alkyl or alkylidene moiety at C-2 position of 19-nor-1,25-(OH)2D3 causes increased activity of serum calcium as well as cellular induced differentiation (Sicinski R. R., Prahl J. M., Smith C. M., DeLuca H. F., J. Med. Chem., 1998, 41, 4662-4674; Sicinski R. R., Rotkiewicz P., Kolinski A., Sicinska W., Prahl J. M., Smith C. M., DeLuca H. F., J. Med. Chem., 2002, 45, 3366-3380.).
However, in the conventional synthetic studies of 2-substituted 19-norvitamin D derivatives, most of the derivatives have a single substituent at C-2 position. Concerning 20-epi-19-norvitamin D derivatives, 19-norvitamin D derivatives bearing 2-methyl, 2-ethyl or 2-hydroxymethyl moiety have been synthesized so far. (Sicinski R. R., Prahl J. M., Smith C. M., DeLuca H. F., J. Med. Chem., 1998, 41, 4662-4674; Sicinski R. R., Rotkiewicz P., Kolinski A., Sicinska W, Prahl J. M., Smith C. M., DeLuca H. F., J. Med. Chem., 2002, 45, 3366-3380.). It has been desired to develop derivatives having more excellent biological activities.

2,2-Di-substituted 1alpha,25-dihydroxy-19-norvitamin D derivative


An electronic control apparatus controls am electrically-driven vehicle, which has no engine but has only a motor supplied with electric power from an electric power supply source. The electronic control apparatus has a self-diagnosis function for storing an abnormality code corresponding to a diagnosis object when abnormality of the diagnosis object is detected. The electronic control apparatus checks whether the motor and the electric power supply source are operating normally when a power control switch is turned on under a state that the abnormality code is stored in a memory. The electronic control apparatus checks whether abnormality is detected again in the diagnosis object, the abnormality code of which has already been stored, when the motor and the electric power supply source are operating normally. The electronic control unit erases the abnormality code when no abnormality is detected again.

As disclosed in JP-A-H07-83867 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,259), a conventional electronic control apparatus controls a vehicle having an engine as a drive power source for vehicle travel and has a self-diagnosis function.
This electronic control apparatus is configured to store an abnormality code corresponding to a diagnosis object or item at the time of detection of abnormality of the diagnosis object. The electronic control apparatus is configured to erase the abnormality code when the abnormality is not detected again during a period, in which a warm-up operation (warm-up cycle) is repeated a predetermined number of times (e.g., 40 times). Since the abnormality code stored as a result of temporary abnormality can be erased, maintenance of a vehicle can be improved.
As for a vehicle having an engine, as described above, OBD-II regulation requires storing of an abnormality code and allows erasure of the abnormality code when the abnormality is not detected again during the predetermined number of times of repetitions of the warm-up operation.
However, the regulation is not applicable to vehicles such as an electric vehicle and a fuel cell vehicle, which have no combustion engines. For this reason, maintenance of a vehicle is not simple.

Electronic control apparatus for electrically-driven vehicle


Disclosed is a fuel cell comprising: a hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte membrane; a pair of electrodes sandwiching the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte membrane; a first separator plate having a gas flow path for supplying a fuel gas to one of the electrodes; and a second separator plate having a gas flow path for supplying an oxidant gas to the other of the electrodes, wherein each of the electrodes has an electrode catalyst layer comprising at least a conductive carbon particle carrying an electrode catalyst particle and a hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte, the electrode catalyst layer being in contact with the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte membrane, and at least one of the electrodes comprises a catalyst for trapping the fuel gas or the oxidant gas which has passed through the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte membrane.

The present invention relates to a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, and particularly to an improvement in electrodes constituting the polymer electrolyte fuel cell.
In the electrodes of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, the discharge performance of the cell is determined by the area of the so-called "three-phase interface", which is formed by pores serving as a supply path of a reactant gas, a hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte, and a catalyst material serving as an electron conductor. In order to increase the three-phase interface and reduce the amount of noble metal which is the catalyst material, attempts have been made to mix the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte with the catalyst material and disperse it. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications No. Sho 61-295387 and No. Sho 61-295388 propose a method by which a dispersion of a hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte is mixed with a catalyst material, the mixture is applied onto a hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte membrane, the resultant membrane and electrode materials are hot pressed, and the catalyst material is reduced to a metal catalyst.
Such a polymer electrolyte fuel cell has a following problem: due to cross leak of hydrogen gas from an anode side to a cathode side through a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, the hydrogen partial pressure increases on the cathode side, so that the difference between the chemical potential of hydrogen at the anode and that at the cathode is lessened, thereby resulting in lowered electromotive force. Also, it has been reported that the hydrogen gas which has cross-leaked from the anode side burns locally with oxygen gas in the catalyst layer of the cathode, thereby to deteriorate the polymer electrolyte membrane.
In order to suppress the cross leak of hydrogen gas, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei 6-103992, for example, discloses a technique in which a catalyst metal is carried in a polymer electrolyte membrane in order to react hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei 8-88008 discloses a technique in which the amount of a fluorocarbon sulfonic acid polymer resin is decreased in the catalyst layers of both anode and cathode in order to react hydrogen gas and oxygen gas that have cross-leaked.
However, the deterioration of the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte due to the hydrogen gas and oxygen gas occurs not only in the polymer electrolyte membrane but also in the catalyst layers. Particularly, it is impossible to introduce, into the catalyst layers, a large amount of the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte because of the necessity for ensuring diffusion of the reactant gas, so that deterioration of only a small amount of the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte constitutes a significant loss in the catalyst layers. Therefore, in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell, the deterioration of the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte due to local combustion of hydrogen has a larger impact on the catalyst layers than on the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte membrane. The deterioration of the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte is remarkable in the catalyst layer of the cathode.
Because of the deterioration of the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte, the power generating efficiency of the fuel cell lowers with passage of its operating time. However, when the humidity of the oxidant gas supplied is high and the catalyst layer is therefore supplied with sufficient water, the loss of the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte can be suppressed, since the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte is swollen with water and heat generated by combustion is therefore scattered and lost. When the humidity of the oxidant gas supplied is low, on the other hand, severe decomposition of the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte occurs to cause a considerable reduction in the power generating efficiency, since the hydrogen-ion conductive polymer electrolyte in the catalyst layer is dry and heat generated by combustion concentrates.

Polymer electrolyte fuel cell and production method thereof

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method and system is presented for measuring a data access time of an embedded macro module in an integrated circuit. A single external test signal is inputted into the embedded macro module for enabling a data input therein and extracting a data output therefrom. A pulse width of the single external test signal is incrementally increased until a latch of the data output is observed. Then, the data access time is obtained, as its substantially equals a time interval of the increased pulse width.

The present invention relates generally to large scale integrated (LSI) chip designs, and more particularly to a method and system for testing the data access time of a macro module embedded therein.
Due to the extremely tight timing constraints of today's LSI system on chip (SOC), timing parameters of an embedded macro module are a critical synthesis parameter. Therefore, it is imperative that measurements of the timing parameters of these embedded macros are performed, accurately and adequately.
For example, random access memory (RAM) macro modules and the like which are embedded within such LSI chips are always surrounded by intervening circuitries including, for example, logic elements, and input/output (I/O) interface circuits. As a result, the embedded macro modules are not directly accessible from the input and output terminals of an integrated circuit chip. The intervening circuitry causes on-chip time delays associated with input and output signals. These delays prohibit accurate timing measurement between, for example, macro-enable signals and test signals during a test, since the associated time delay caused by the intervening circuitries for a given signal is unknown.
While various conventional methods and devices exist, the strategy of timing measurements is to compensate for the on-chip time delays. For example, these test methods and devices usually include complicated elements that bypass the intervening circuitry so that the macro module is directly accessible from primary inputs ts. However, this not only complicates the circuit design, but also makes it hard to obtain an accurate timing measurement.
Therefore, desirable in the art of testing timing parameters of embedded macro modules is an improved method and system to accurately measure the timing parameters, without excessively complicating the circuit design.

Method and system for timing measurement of embedded macro module

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturin Co., Ltd.


An apparatus and method for mounting a peripheral device within a computer system, wherein the apparatus includes one or more carrier units which may be selectively inserted between mounting rails within a peripheral unit storage device or rack designed to house, store and electrically connect peripheral electronic units within a larger electrical system. The carrier units include an electrical connector which is seated when the carrier is fully inserted into its stored position within the storage rack. The carrier includes a rotational door section which in turn engages a gearing arrangement on corresponding mounting rails to provide leverage to aid in the insertion of the electrical connector as the carrier door is rotated into a closed position. A guidance device on the door assures a proper alignment of the carrier before carrier insertion, and therefore proper engagement of the gearing arrangement. A latching device and alignment back stop tab provide additional positional and spatial alignment and stability for the carrier units.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer systems and more particularly to a mounting arrangement for mounting peripheral units of a computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, maintenance and upgrading of electrical equipment, especially equipment stored in rack mountable systems, has been extremely difficult because of the existing mounting mechanisms and because of the limited space available for the equipment. In many applications, including computer server systems, the components or subsystems and/or peripheral devices of the system are stored in a limited space area, in shelving units or racks, which serve a larger area of individual desktop stations. While the desktop units are relatively accessible from the rear to allow maintenance or upgrading, the same accessibility is often not available in the shelving units of the server system. The server systems are relatively heavy and cumbersome and their mounting and shelving arrangements are relatively stationary and bulky. When it is necessary to access the equipment components mounted in a shelving structure containing the server system, it has been necessary to perform considerable disassembly of the component enclosures to access the back end of the system components. Server external drive peripheral connections and cables are located at the rear of such external drives, i.e. for hard drives, tape, CD and floppy drives. This makes access to them, even after the cover is removed, difficult in most cases due to the presence of power supplies, boards, other external drives, and other various sheet metal and plastic parts. The user is, in some cases, faced with having to make blind connections, and in most cases, must navigate their hand through narrow sheet metal openings.
To alleviate some of the access problems of the past, in many component or peripheral mounting arrangements, peripheral units, such as hard drives for example, are mounted on removable sliding carriers. Such carriers are arranged to support a hard drive unit for example, which slides along rails that are mounted to a peripheral unit mounting cabinet or shelving structure. These component carriers are designed to be fully removable from the front of the cabinet. These component carriers are frequently held in place by a relatively large sheet metal front cabinet cover which must be removed in order to access and remove the sliding carriers containing the system hard drive units.
Recently, self-contained carrier units have been designed which include a front cover that aligns with the face of the cabinet such that the individual carrier may be slidably removed from the cabinet without removing the bulky cabinet front panel. However, such carriers, in many cases, are relatively loosely held in place and have therefore been vulnerable to damage from shock and vibration. Moreover, since most of these slidable carrier trays include an integral electrical connector or "hot plug", designed to automatically make an electrical connection with the rest of the system when the tray is fully inserted into the cabinet slot, the position of the slidable tray or carrier must be relatively stable and secure when in the closed position so that there is relatively little if any mechanical stress or strain imposed upon the electrical connector interface. That aspect is even more significant when the peripheral component is relatively heavy in comparison to the mass of the carrier supporting the peripheral component. In such an instance it is more likely that movement of the peripheral component on the carrier will loosen or even disengage the electrical connection between the carried component and the rest of the system.
Alignment of the carrier is also an important factor in the design of component carriers. In many instances, when component carriers are hastily placed into cabinets, the carrier is misaligned relative to the carrier space in the cabinet. The result of such misalignment is that the electrical connection at the rear of the carrier is either not made at all or only loosely connected and even more vulnerable to shock or vibration. These conditions may result in an unconnected peripheral device or a subsequent disconnection of the peripheral device and a related system malfunction.
Thus, there is a need for an improved peripheral component carrier system and apparatus for housing and supporting system peripheral components, which allows relatively easy and fast access to the peripheral component and also provides improved alignment and substantial support and positional stability for the peripheral component and carrier device.

Method and apparatus for mounting a peripheral device


A circuit for grounding a signal at a first frequency and at a second frequency. The circuit includes a first capacitor and an inductor in series and a second capacitor in parallel with the first capacitor and inductor. The first capacitor is series resonant at the first frequency and the second capacitor is series resonant at the second frequency. The inductance of the inductor is selected so the combination of the packaging inductance of the first capacitor and the inductor parallel resonants with the second capacitor at a frequency lower than the second frequency and higher than the first frequency, where the second frequency is greater than the first frequency. The grounding circuit may be used to provide a second input to a balanced RF mixer where the RF mixer receives a RF signal at the second frequency at a first input and generates an IF signal at the first frequency.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a circuit for grounding at multiple frequencies, more particularly, to a circuit for grounding at IF and at RF.
2. Description of the Related Art
Balanced mixers are employed to frequency shift a first signal at a first frequency to a second frequency. These mixers have a balanced set of inputs and a balanced set of outputs. In some applications employing a balanced mixer, only the first signal at the first frequency is available as an input signal. This input signal is provided to a first input of the balanced set of inputs for the mixer. In such applications, the second input of the set of balanced inputs is grounded to provide a balanced set of input signals. Commonly, the second input of the balanced set of inputs is grounded at the first and second frequencies of the mixer but not at DC. The second input of the balanced set of inputs is connected to a circuit having a first and second capacitor in parallel. In this circuit, one of the first and second capacitors is series resonant at the first frequency and the other capacitor is series resonant at the second frequency.
An example of a balanced mixer is a balanced Radio Frequency (RF) mixer. The RF mixer may frequency shift a Radio Frequency signal from a RF to an Intermediate Frequency where the RF signal is received from an antenna. As described above, one of the balanced set of input signals for the RF mixer is grounded at IF and RF. As also described above, the circuit used to ground this input includes a first capacitor in parallel with a second capacitor. The first capacitor is series resonant at IF and the second capacitor is series resonant at RF. In some implementations, the packaging of the first capacitor has a parasitic inductance at RF. In such an implementation, the first capacitor is effectively an inductor at RF. The first capacitor thus forms a parallel tuned circuit with the second capacitor at RF that increases the impedance to ground of the overall circuit.
This reduces the balance of the set of input signals and thus the gain of the output of the mixer. Thus, a need exists for a circuit that effectively grounds a signal at a first and a second frequency without inducing significant inductance at the higher of the first and second frequencies.

Effective grounding of a circuit at RF and IF

Uniden San Diego Research & Development Center, Inc.


A pumping system is disclosed for producing hydrocarbons from a subsea production well with at least one electrical submersible pumping (ESP) hydraulically connected to at least one multiphase pump to boost production fluid flow.

A wide variety of systems are known for producing fluids of economic interest from subterranean geological formations. In formations providing sufficient pressure to force the fluids to the earth's surface, the fluids may be collected and processed without the use of artificial lifting systems. Where, however, well pressures are insufficient to raise fluids to the collection point, artificial means are typically employed, such as pumping systems.
The particular configurations of an artificial lift pumping systems may vary widely depending upon the well conditions, the geological formations present, and the desired completion approach. In general however, such systems typically include an electric motor driven by power supplied from the earth's surface. The motor is coupled to a pump, which draws wellbore fluids from a production horizon and imparts sufficient head to force the fluids to the collection point. Such systems may include additional components especially adapted for the particular wellbore fluids or mix of fluids, including gas/oil separators, oil/water separators, water injection pumps, and so forth.
One such artificial lift pumping system is an electrical submersible pump (ESP). An ESP typically includes a motor section, a pump section, and a motor protector to seal the clean motor oil from wellbore fluids, and is deployed in a wellbore where it receives power via an electrical cable. An ESP is capable of generating a large pressure boost sufficient to lift production fluids even in ultra deep-water subsea developments. However, ESPs are typically confined by the amount of free gas content they can handle (especially at low intake pressures).
Another artificial lift pumping system is a multiphase pump (MPP). MPPs may, for example, include helico-axial, twin-screw and piston pumps, and are important for artificial lift in subsea oil and gas field operations (especially, in ultra deep-water subsea developments). MPPs can handle high gas volumes as well as the slugging and different flow regimes associated with multiphase production, including flows having high water and/or high gas content (as high as 100-percent water or gas). Using MPPs allows development of remote locations or previously uneconomical fields. Additionally, since the surface equipment, including separators, heater-treaters, dehydrators and pipes, is reduced, the impact on the environment is also reduced. A production deficiency, however, is that MPPs are typically not able to provide the high pressure required, without a large number of pumps aligned in series.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an artificial lift pumping system capable of handling a production fluid with various phase flow regimes while providing a sufficient pressure boost to lift the production fluid to a collection location.


The present invention relates to a broadcast editing apparatus and method for editing a satellite broadcast signal in a mobile terminal of a wireless communication system. A satellite broadcast signal received from a satellite or a gap filter is divided into a video signal and an audio signal. An inputted user's voice or sound effect is either multiplexed with the separated video signal or integrated with the separated audio signal. The integrated audio signal and the separated video signal may be multiplexed to edit a satellite broadcast. The edited satellite broadcast may be stored to be reproduced at anytime by the user. Accordingly, the user can edit and appreciate the satellite broadcast according to his preference. Also, an audio signal may be transmitted to another person by being inserted into a satellite broadcast through a multimedia message service.

A digital multimedia broadcast (DMB) is a broadcast service for providing various multimedia signals to a portable receiver, a receiver for a vehicle and the like, by modulating the multimedia signals into digital signals. The digital multimedia broadcast is based on the integration a digital audio broadcast (DAB), which is a technique used for a digital radio, and the concept of a multimedia broadcast. Accordingly, data information such as moving images, weather, news and location may be provided
In order to provide the DMB service, a satellite DMB mobile terminal for receiving broadcast signals from a satellite or a gap filter and providing the broadcast signals to a user in real time has been devised. The satellite DMB mobile terminal enables the user to appreciate a broadcast having a high sound quality and a high picture quality, such as the quality of a digital video disc (DVD), even while the user moves. Thus, the satellite DMB mobile terminal has recently been spotlighted in the mobile terminal market.
However, related art satellite DMB mobile terminals provide only basic functions such as a receiving function, a recording function, a reproducing function, and the like. Moreover, the related art satellite DMB mobile terminals do not provide a user-friendly extension function such as a function for inserting a user's voice or other sound effect into a received broadcast signal by the user.

Apparatus and method for editing a received video and audio signal in a mobile terminal


Techniques for reducing power when reading a full-swing memory array are disclosed. The full-swing memory array includes a plurality of local bit lines and a global bit line. In order to reduce power consumption, a method of driving the global bit line includes the step of coupling the plurality of local bit lines to the global bit line through a plurality of tri-state devices. The method further includes the steps of generating a global select signal to enable one of the plurality of tri-state devices and selecting a corresponding local bit line to drive the output of the enabled tri-state device. In this way, the global bit line is statically driven so that consecutive reads of bits having the same value read over the global bit line do not result in transitioning the state of the global bit line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements related to reading a full-swing memory array, and, more particularly, to advantageous techniques for statically driving a global bit line in the full-swing memory array.
2. Relevant Background
Full-swing memory arrays utilize a dynamic precharge and discharge technique when reading bits stored in a memory cell. This conventional technique is typically divided into two levels to minimize diffusion capacitance carried on bit lines within a full-swing memory array. The first level of a full-swing memory array includes storage cells, pass transistors, and local bit lines. A storage cell stores a binary value. The pass transistor is driven by a read word line to discharge a local bit line based on a memory cell's content. The local bit line is typically shared by multiple read word lines. The local bit line is precharged high so that a transition on a memory read can be recognized. The local bit line provides input to the second level.
The second level of a full-swing memory array typically includes a number of inverters and pull-down transistor pairs where each pair is provided input by one local bit line. The pull-down transistors connect to a dynamically precharged global bit line. This memory array is termed full-swing because the local and global bit lines need to be pulled to ground in order to recognize a 0 value stored in a memory cell. When reading consecutive 0 values from a memory cell, a conventional lull-swing memory array requires pre-charging and discharging of the local and global bit lines. The pre-charging of the local and global bit lines must occur before a read word line signal is asserted. The discharging occurs as a 0 value is propagated through the second level. In this way, power is consumed by the pre-charging and discharging of both the local and global bit lines during a read when consecutive 0 values are propagated over the global bit line.
Furthermore, in conventional full-swing memory arrays, a holding circuit or dynamic-to-static converter is typically added to the output of the global bit line to ensure that the output holds the evaluated value of the global bit line. This additional circuitry consumes silicon real estate on which the memory array is disposed.

Methods and apparatus for reading a full-swing memory array


A radio base station including: each of communication processing components being coupled to each of antennas forming each of sectors for a radio communication respectively, each of the communication processing components including communication processors being configured to perform each of functions for the radio communication and control each of radio resources for each of the functions respectively, and a control processor configured to select a first communication processing component and a second communication processing component respectively, select a first communication processor from the communication processors in the first communication processing component, transfer a radio resource of the radio resources that is controlled by the first communication processor to a second communication processor that is in the second communication processing component and performing a same function as the first communication processor, and upon transferring the radio resource of the radio resources, reduce a power of the first communication processor.

In recent years, power consumption by radio base stations (base transceiver station) has been increasing due in part to increase in scale of the radio base stations with increase in traffic volume in radio communication networks. For communication carriers, the increase in the power consumption by the radio base stations leads to increase in costs of maintenance and administration of their business and it is therefore desirable to reduce the power consumption by the radio base stations.
A technique using handover as follows has been known as a method of reducing the power consumption by the radio base stations. A radio base station includes a CFN generating unit configured to generate a connection frame number (CFN) that makes switching timing for hard hand over (HHO), in a call processing/maintenance processing monitor unit. When performing push out control over a call in communication, the call processing/maintenance processing monitor unit instructs the CFN generating unit to generate a CFN that makes uninterruptible HHO possible. The push out control refers to finding a new baseband resource that allows a call in communication in a relevant baseband resource to autonomously continue the communication and thereby causing the call to continue the communication by using the new resource. After receiving the instruction, the CFN generating unit generates the CFN and transfers the generated CFN information to the source baseband resource and the destination baseband resource. The source baseband resource and the destination baseband resource perform the push out control by determining timings to start and stop signal processing under the push out control based on the notified CFN.
Another technique using handover as follows has been known. When number of radio channels not in use in a radio base station is equal to or larger than a specified number and number of radio channels not in use in another radio base station which is included in control signals received from another radio base station is equal to or larger than the specified number, the former radio base station instructs a mobile station communicating with the radio base station to effect handover and brings about the handover of the mobile station to another radio base station. After verifying that the handover has normally been done, the former radio base station gradually weakens transmission power and enters into a sleep state.
There has been known another technique in which uplink is synchronized by performance of a contention-based random access procedure between a terminal (user equipment) and a base station with the terminal maintaining control resources when a time alignment timer is expired or is not operated.
There has been known another technique in which, upon transmission of common control channel (CCCH) SDU and buffer status reports (BSR) by a mobile terminal, radio resources allocated to the mobile terminal are initially allocated to the CCCH SDU and are thereafter allocated to the buffer status reports so that MAC PDU is generated and transmitted.
There has been known another technique in which a terminal stores time alignment information received from a base station in a buffer and maintains an operation of a time alignment timer which is currently running in a contention-based random access procedure and in which the terminal discards the time alignment information received from the base station in case where the terminal does not receive a contention resolution message from the base station before a contention resolution timer expires.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publications Nos. 2004-80698 and 2003-37555 and Japanese National Publication of International Patent Applications Nos. 2011-520376, 2011-524713, and 2011-509019 are examples of related art.

Radio base station and power control method