An integrated communications control device integrates the telecommunications environment of a small office with an interface to the telephone network. The device is a stand alone unit including a programmable control processor configured by a user based on the telephonic equipment within the office and the user's needs. The device is utilized to control telephone and data communications within the office. The device interfaces with a computer allowing the user to configure the system and create a customized telephonic environment using the personal computer. Alternatively, the device may be integrated into the PC with a plug-in card. Standard telephone interfaces are provided for interfacing to telephonic equipment such as telephones, modems and facsimile machines. Additionally, an ISDN interface allows the device to interface with and communicate over the ISDN, thereby providing a gateway to the PSTN. A display provides users with current operational status of the system. The display also includes input buttons which allow the user to make real-time configuration adjustments. Alternatively, the display includes an audio interface wherein the user is prompted and enters responsive data through the input buttons or the personal computer. Alternatively, the user provides responsive data using spoken commands interpreted by the device. Intelligence is resident within each device allowing the device to control and monitor telephonic traffic for a single user within an office over the equipment coupled within the system. This localized intelligence also allows a plurality of such devices, each at different offices, to be linked in a network environment, wherein multiple users can each have their own device and yet be linked together in a virtual office. This virtual office provides such standard office capabilities as message and call transfers between respective control devices and users at remote locations.

An important aspect of most daily operations within an office is the ability to handle telephone calls and data transmissions to and from the organization in an efficient and timely manner. One well known method of handling a multitude of incoming calls is by the use of a private branch exchange (PBX) or central exchange (Centrex). PBX systems are on-premises exchange systems serving a business, which can be coupled to multiple incoming and outgoing trunk lines and multiple telephone sets within an office. Centrex systems are similar in many respects to PBX systems. One well known difference is that Centrex systems arc located at a central office at the telephone company. PBX and Centrex systems provide a variety of functions such as switching of calls from the incoming trunk lines to any of the extensions, transferring calls between extensions, and switching calls between extensions and outgoing trunk lines. Numerous PBX and Centrex systems are well known and commercially available. PBX and Centrex systems control a plurality of telephony devices and operations using a centralized control apparatus.
A number of telecommunications systems are also available which provide users with flexibility in the handling of telephone calls. One example is a personal computer based facsimile answering machine. To operate a facsimile answering machine from a personal computer, a processing card is resident in a personal computer and is coupled to an incoming telephone line through a fax modem. A telephone can also be coupled to the telephone line, through the modem. However, in such systems a voice call and a facsimile data transfer cannot be performed simultaneously. Incoming telephone calls are answered by the computer card and the incoming message is recorded. Unfortunately, the telephone will ring regardless of the type of incoming telephone call, thus creating confusion for the user because he or she will be unsure as to whether the call is an incoming facsimile message which the computer needs to answer, or if the call is a voice call which the user may want to answer. If the call is an incoming facsimile message, the user must know not to answer the telephone. In such systems, if the user does not pick up the phone in a predetermined number of rings, the computer will answer the incoming call and will then determine if the call is a voice call or an incoming facsimile message. If the call is a voice call, the computer will play a pre-recorded message and will then record an incoming message. If the incoming call is a facsimile message, the computer will record the data and will post a message to the user that a fax communication was received. The user can then print the fax communication when desired.
A number of automated call processing and voice messaging systems are known in the art. This type of system can be coupled to a PBX or Centrex system and used to automate the answering of incoming calls from the outside telephone network and the taking of messages when the extensions are not answered by the called party. Such voice messaging systems incorporate such features as the recording of voice messages for users in what are known as user "mailboxes." One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,406 issued to Chencinski et al.
Chencinski describes an integrated call processing and messaging system that is controlled by customized applications. The system incorporates a voice messaging system and applications processor coupled to a PBX system. The PBX and voice messaging system supply information to the applications processor related to an incoming call. The applications processor thereafter begins execution of a call processing flow program designed to handle the processing of an incoming call and associated messages. The call and message handling capabilities include call processing, voice messaging, interactive voice response, host data base access, call routing features, and local database access.
While the system taught by Chencinski is effective for its intended purpose, that of supporting a large business where a centralized telephone intelligence is sufficient, it cannot be effectively adapted for a small office environment, such as a home office. This is true because the system of Chencinski requires a PBX type switching system. Such PBX type switching systems tend to be large and expensive. A PBX type switching system is most effective at handling the telecommunications networks of large companies where intelligence is centralized in the PBX device and numerous extensions are coupled thereto. Furthermore, the system taught by Chencinski requires a system administrator that is proficient in the call flow programming language. Still further, the system of Chencinski does not provide users with the ability to make real-time changes to the configuration.
A telephone interface system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,656 to Gibbs et al. Gibbs et al. describe an interface arrangement which interconnects a business communication system with a telephone station set. This interface is implemented in a personal computer which serves to control the operation of the associated telephone set and also provide business communication services. All signalling from the business communication system is received by the personal computer, interpreted and appropriate control signals are then forwarded under control of the software resident on the personal computer to activate the digital telephone station set. This arrangement enables a user to create software on the personal computer to control the operation of the telephone station set associated with the personal computer. The user can implement new features and services independent of the operation of the business communication system.
Typical business telephone systems, as those described, provide the user with capabilities beyond what is offered by the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). These capabilities are tailored towards the needs of the users but typically include abbreviated dialing, call transfer capability, sequential call forwarding, status reporting, call coverage, camp-on, automatic call-back, voice messaging and voice message reply and forward.
Unfortunately, the systems referred to above provide telecommunication services which combine with a switching network such as a PBX or Centrex system and are directed at a specific type of environment. These systems are effective for their intended market because they provide centralized intelligence which serves multiple users performing a number of preconfigured functions. PBX systems, which are usually coupled to a voice messaging system, provide a centralized and intelligent unit for providing service to a number of pieces of associated telephonic equipment within a large office environment. This type of system is analogous to a mainframe computer which serves a number of dumb terminals. The individual terminals must be located physically close to the central chassis of the system for connection within the system. The maximum amount of users which can be included within such a system is fixed by the capacity of the central chassis. The result is that the most capable systems are available only to the largest customers. Smaller customers typically install cheaper and more limited systems which must then be replaced when they are outgrown. Because of the physical limitations, requiring close proximity of users, users who are at remote locations typically give up much of the desired functionality.
The centralized intelligence units, as described above, are not efficient at serving a single user performing a number of reconfigurable functions. This would be analogous to a mainframe computer serving a single home user.
The Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a world-wide standard adopted by the International Telecommunications Union which provides a "basic-rate interface" between the telephone company's central office and a subscriber having a bandwidth capacity of 144 kb/second. This interface is divided into three channels including two bearer (B) channels, each having a bandwidth capacity of 64 kb/s, and one delta (D) channel, having a bandwidth capacity of 16 kb/s. Each bearer channel can carry the equivalent of an analog telephone call. The delta channel transports signalling information such as call-setup and call-progress information.
The ISDN connects a subscriber to the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) which allows the subscriber to conduct traditional telephone functions over the ISDN line. When two ISDN subscribers are communicating with each other, enhanced functionality can be achieved. For conventional phone calls, speech is encoded on a B channel exactly as it is within the digital networks of the phone carriers. Because almost all of the modern world's inter-exchange networks are now digital, to support analog telephony, the end offices of the network perform a final step of digital-to-analog conversion. However, when a phone call is destined for an ISDN subscriber, the network simply passes the encoded data stream to the customer's ISDN equipment where the necessary conversion takes place. Thus, for regular telephony, including conventional fax and modem transmissions, ISDN is completely interoperable with the installed base of analog phones.
For data transmissions, the full 64 kb/s of each B channel can be made available, separately or together, to attached computer equipment, while packet data, at up to 9600 b/s, can share the D channel with signalling information. If both ends of a data call are handled by ISDN, data can be transported at up to 64 kb/s, without intervening analog-to-digital conversions. Two separate calls can be made between the same end points, and the bandwidth can be aggregated to achieve up to 128 kb/s for data transmission. Higher data rates may be achieved if data compression is also employed.
Over the ISDN, all information for establishing and terminating calls is sent digitally. A user's ISDN equipment originates a call by sending a call set-up message, including the destination phone number, over the D channel to the network. To indicate an incoming call, an analogous set of messages is sent from the network to the ISDN equipment. This data stream typically includes identification of the calling party, the dialed number, since multiple numbers can be configured to terminate at the same interface, and information about how the call was routed. Once the call is established, communication takes place over the B channel(s).
Connections for data transmissions over the ISDN are made almost transparently. No modem negotiation or training is necessary with an end-to-end ISDN data call. For such a data call, a connection can be made, data transferred and the connection dropped, in seconds. In addition, because the ISDN sends signalling information over a separate channel, notification of incoming calls can be delivered even if both B channels are in use, allowing the terminating equipment to decide whether to reject the new call or drop an existing connection and accept the new call.
As the business work place changes its shape and function, an increasing number of business functions are being performed in small offices or out of individual's homes. In this small environment, single users require many of the features of larger PBX based systems but on a smaller scale and with greater control and flexibility to the user without the expense and overhead of traditional business telephone systems. What is needed is a stand alone telecommunications device that integrates the telecommunications environment of a small office and couples it to the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). What is also needed is a telephonic system with integrated control functions including machine intelligence which is distributed to each individual user and is easily upwardly scalable to link multiple users together.
What is needed is a device which will allow a user to initially configure a telecommunications device to meet his or her general needs, provide him or her with current configuration status and also allow the user to perform real-time configuration adjustments quickly and easily.
What is further needed is a telecommunications device that not only answers calls, but also permits a user to screen an incoming call by listening to the callers message and having the ability to pick-up a handset and begin conversing with the caller at any time during the call.
What is still further needed is a device that allows for a virtual office to be created between a plurality of small offices, each located at a different location.

Integrated communications control device for a small office configured for coupling within a scalable network


An update providing apparatus of a vehicle includes a communication circuit communicating with a server, a memory, a first controller, a second controller, and a control circuit electrically connected to the communication circuit, the memory, the first controller, and the second controller. The control circuit is configured to receive data for an update of the first controller or the second controller, from the server by using the communication circuit, to store the data for the update in the memory and transmit the data for the update to the first controller, when the data for the update is associated with the first controller, and to transmit the data for the update to the second controller without storing the data for the update, when the data for the update is associated with the second controller.

With the development of the automobile industry, a system for providing various services using wireless communication technology is continuously being developed to provide convenience to a driver. For example, a vehicle may update the software of a controller mounted in a vehicle, over wireless communication. For the purpose of supporting the update of the controller, a means for restoring the software to a previous version may be required for safety when the update fails. The software of the previous version needs to be stored in a memory for the purpose of restoring to the previous version.
For the purpose of supporting a roll-back, it may be necessary to secure the capacity of a memory mounted in a vehicle to store software of a previous version in the memory. The manufacturing cost of the vehicle may significantly increase to increase the capacity of the memory. Accordingly, the design for minimizing the memory capacity in mass production is required. The software capacity (e.g., about 12000 MByte) of a controller that controls a multimedia device may be greater than the software capacity (e.g., about 200 MByte) of the controller that controls the behavior of the vehicle. That is, a memory having an excessively large capacity may be required to roll back the multimedia device having the low correlation with the safety of the vehicle.

Apparatus for providing update of vehicle and computer-readable storage medium


A construction vehicle includes a chassis having a front end and a rear end. The construction vehicle also includes an operator cabin supported by the chassis and a hood proximate to the rear end of the chassis. The construction vehicle further includes a hood structure for supporting the hood. The hood structure includes a first frame member coupled to the chassis proximate to the rear end and a second frame member disposed distal to the rear end and proximal to the operator cabin. The second frame member is coupled to the chassis by a mounting assembly. The mounting assembly includes a plate member connected to the second frame member. The mounting assembly also includes a first mounting device connecting a first end of the plate member to the chassis. The mounting assembly further includes a second mounting device connecting a second end of the plate member to the chassis.

Construction vehicle, such as a wheel loader, includes a hood to enclose a power source of the vehicle. The hood is disposed at a rear end of a chassis of the vehicle. In some vehicles, the hood includes a gull wing hood design. In such designs, the hood is fixed to the chassis of the construction vehicle and a side door is provided at each side of the hood for service access. Typically, a hood structure couples the hood to the chassis and also supports the side doors and panels of the hood.
During a stock piling operation, a counterweight of the vehicle may hit the ground. This event may cause a twisting of the chassis. Furthermore, the torsional stiffness of the chassis increases from the rear end of the chassis as it transitions towards a front end of the chassis. Accordingly, the portion of the hood structure that is disposed proximate to the rear end of the chassis has low torsional stiffness relative to the chassis and may be subjected to high twisting imparted by the chassis. Further, a portion of the hood structure that is disposed distal to the rear end of the chassis has higher torsional stiffness and may be subjected to low twisting. The twisting of the chassis may manifest itself in an energy that may be absorbed by the hood structure. This phenomenon may cause high stresses and propagation of cracks in the hood structure. Further, resultant forces from these events may cause loosening or slipping of mounting bolts between the hood structure and the chassis. In some cases, twisting forces experienced by the hood structure may reduce a life of a base portion of the hood structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,443,923 describes a vibration isolator device securing a nonmetal panel to a metal frame of a work vehicle. The vibration isolator device includes a metal member affixed to a surface of the nonmetal panel, the metal member facing the metal frame. An isolator mount plate is secured to the frame in a manner permitting a predetermined adjustment between the isolator mount plate and the frame in each of two directions. A vibration isolator is positioned between the metal member and the frame. A region of the isolator mount plate is configured to receive and maintain vibration isolation between the region of the isolator mount plate and the metal member. The region of the isolator mount plate provides a predetermined adjustment between the isolator mount plate and the metal member in a third direction.


This drowsiness estimating device estimates a subject's drowsiness from a time-series signal of the subject's eye-openness width. A filtering circuitry filters the time-series signal of the eye-openness width to eliminate signal changes due to the subject blanking and outputs the filtered time-series signal of eye-openness. A feature calculator calculates a feature from at least the filtered time-series signal of the eye-openness width. A drowsiness estimator estimates a drowsiness evaluated value from the feature and outputs an estimated result. The feature calculator includes at least a first feature calculation circuit that calculates a variation of the filtered time-series signal of the eye-openness width within a feature calculation window width and outputs the variation as a first feature.

In the middle of growing labor shortage due to a decrease in working-age population resulting from a declining birthrate and an aging population, it has been tried to replace those jobs, which have been carried out by human beings until now, with robots or A (artificial intelligence). Under the circumstances, it is essential for human beings to maintain and improve productivity of intellectual labor which is difficult for the robots or the AI.
However, a person cannot exert his/her intellectual ability due to influence of drowsiness (low wakefulness) or stress (high wakefulness) and then his/her intellectual productivity decreases. In order to carry out control of an intra-office environment in which the intellectual labor is performed so as to prevent lowering of the intellectual productivity due to a change in wakefulness, it is necessary to estimate an arousal level accompanied with the lowering of the intellectual productivity, namely, in which wakefulness the person is. This invention relates to a technique for estimating, among the arousal levels, a low arousal level or drowsiness.
It is known that the drowsiness is rated using drowsiness evaluated values of, for example, 1 to 5 (see Non-Patent Literature 1). According to Non-Patent Literature 1, among the drowsiness evaluated values, 1 represents "not drowsy at all", 2 represents "slightly drowsy", 3 represents "drowsy", 4 represents "very drowsy", and 5 represents "extremely drowsy".
For the purpose to detect drowsy driving, a large number of techniques for estimating the above-mentioned drowsiness from a condition of opening of an eye (that will be called an "eye-openness width" hereinafter) have been proposed. Here, the eye-openness width has a value normalized in a range between 0 and 1.
For instance, Patent Literature 1 discloses a condition estimating apparatus which estimates an awareness state of a driver of a car or the like. The condition estimating apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1 detects the eye-openness width of the driver, creates a frequency distribution of frequency of detection of the eye-openness width, extracts an extreme value of the frequency distribution, and estimates the state of the driver based on a temporal change of the extreme value of the frequency distribution.
In addition, Patent Literature 2 discloses a method for ascertaining a state of drowsiness of a driver of a motor vehicle. Movements of at least one eyelid of eyes of the driver are detected, and the state of drowsiness of the driver is determined as a function of the detected movements. Particularly, the drowsiness is estimated from periodicity (0.2 Hz to 1 Hz) of the movements of closing the eyes from the normal eye-openness width by a maximum of 40%, in particular, by a maximum of 30%.
Further, in Patent Literature 3, it was found that, when a person felt a little drowsy, a variation in eye-open time (the time for which the eyes are open between eye blinks) is decreased. Using this finding, the physiological condition is determined.
Furthermore, in Non-Patent Literature 2, a ratio (eye-closure ratio) of a time interval during which the eyes are closed, for example, 80% or more, is used as a drowsiness index to detect the drowsiness.

Drowsiness estimating device, drowsiness estimating method, and drowsiness estimating program recording medium


An internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder within which is a reciprocable piston movable in a compression stroke followed by movement in a power stroke and wherein a combustible fuel mixture is injected into the combustion chamber, compressed, ignited, and burned to produce the power stroke of the piston. After the fuel has been ignited and during the compression of such mixture a quantity of water from a reservoir is injected into the combustion chamber and converted by the heat of combustion into superheated steam, thereby generating within the combustion chamber a force which assists in driving the piston through its power stroke. The products of combustion and steam are discharged from the cylinder following the power stroke and cooled in a heat exchanger in which the steam is condensed, following which the gases are exhausted and the condensate returned to the water reservoir.

Internal combustion engines currently in use which operate in response to the combustion of fuel in one or more cylinders are relatively inefficient inasmuch as the major portion of heat generated by the combustion of the fuel is released to atmosphere without otherwise being utilized. The loss of such heat is undesirable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the necessity of having to rely on the combustion of large quantities of fuel to ensure appropriate operation of the engine. The prior art contains many proposals for improving engine efficiency and conservation of fuel, but a good many of such proposals have not been adopted in the manufacture and use of internal combustion engines.
A principal object of this invention is to provide an internal combustion engine and method of operating such engine which overcome or greatly minimize the inefficiencies of such engines heretofore in use.

Internal combustion engine and method of operating


According to yet another embodiment, a method for forming a non-volatile memory device includes etching a substrate to form first and second trenches. The first and second trenches are filled with an insulating material to form first and second isolation structures. A conductive layer is formed over the first and second isolation structures and between the first and second isolation structures to form a floating gate. The conductive layer and the first isolation structure are etched to form a third trench having an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion having vertical sidewalls and the lower portion having sloping sidewalls. The third trench is filled with a conductive material to form a control gate.

The present invention generally relates to a method of manufacturing semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a flash memory device, to reduce the inter-cell interference of NAND flash memory devices by employing a Self-Aligned Shallow Trench Isolation (SA-STI) process.
In a NAND flash memory device, a plurality of cells for storing data are connected in series to form one string. A drain select transistor and a source select transistor are formed between the cell string and the drain, and between the cell string and the source, respectively. A cell of the NAND flash memory device is formed by forming a gate in which a tunnel oxide film, a floating gate, a dielectric layer, and a control gate are sequentially laminated on a semiconductor substrate and forming junction units at both sides of the gate.
In the NAND flash memory device, the state of the cell is influenced by the operations of neighboring cells. It is therefore very important to constantly maintain the state of the cell. When the state of the cells is changed by the operations of neighboring cells (more particularly, the program operation), this phenomenon is referred to as an "interference phenomenon". In more detail, the term "interference phenomenon" refers to a phenomenon in which in the case where a second program adjacent to a first cell to be read is programmed, a threshold voltage higher than that of the first cell is read due to the capacitance operation incurred by variation in the charges of the floating gate of the second cell when the first cell is read.
In other words, the interference phenomenon refers to a phenomenon in which the state of an actual cell looks distorted by variation in the state of a neighboring cell even though the charges of the floating gate of the read cell are not changed. The state of the cell is changed by the interference phenomenon. This results in an increased failure ratio and a lower yield. Accordingly, it is effective to maintain constantly the state of the cell in order to minimize the interference phenomenon.
Meanwhile, in the manufacture process of a general NAND flash memory device, portions of the isolation structure and the floating gate are formed by the SA-STI process. The SA-STI process will be described in short below.
After a tunnel oxide film and a first polysilicon layer are formed on a semiconductor substrate, the first polysilicon layer and a predetermined region of the tunnel oxide film are etched. The semiconductor substrate is etched to a predetermined depth, forming a trench. An insulating layer is filled into the trench and a polishing process is performed to form an isolation structure.
A second polysilicon layer is formed on the entire structure. The second polysilicon layer is patterned in such a way to be partially overlapped with the isolation structure, thus forming a floating gate in which the first and second polysilicon layers are laminated. In order to completely remove the etch remnants of the second polysilicon layer, the second polysilicon layer is over-etched. Accordingly, the isolation structure is etched to a predetermined depth. It is therefore necessary to perform sufficient over-etch in order to completely remove the etch remnants of the second polysilicon layer. An amount of the isolation structure that is removed is about 100 Å. After a dielectric layer is formed on the entire structure, a third polysilicon layer for a control gate is formed.
If the flash memory device is fabricated using the SA-STI process as described above, the isolation structure is formed between the first polysilicon layer serving as the floating gate and a neighboring first polysilicon layer. Therefore, interference may occur between the first polysilicon layers.
In addition, the isolation structure is etched to a predetermined depth and the distance between the semiconductor substrate of the active region and the control gate is narrowed accordingly. Accordingly, cycling fail may occur because the semiconductor substrate is influenced by the control gate.

Method of manufacturing flash memory device


A method for the production of a completely impregnated composite material having the surface thereof coated with a thermosetting resin and essentially consisting of a thermoplastic resin matrix including minute voids filled with a thermosetting resin and reinforcing fibers, which method comprises setting in place a roller and a collecting section disposed in the direction of the rotation of the roller, rotating the roller, feeding thermoplastic resin fibers and reinforcing fibers to the roller, causing the roller to throw a uniform mixture of the two types of fibers onto the collecting section, thereby forming a composite mat of the uniform mixture on the collecting section, then thermally compressing the composite mat and further solidifying the compressed composite mat by cooling and forming a composite material of the shape of a plate, further heating the composite material, thereby melting and expanding the thermoplastic resin forming the matrix, then cooling the expanded composite material, thereby forming a foam composite material including minute voids, and subsequently causing a thermosetting resin to form a coating on the surface of the foam composite material and fill the minute voids in the composite material, a method for the production of a coated composite material by the removal of the thermosetting resin filling the minute voids in the composite material obtained by the method described above, and a coated type or completely impregnated composite material produced by the method described above, consisting of a matrix formed of thermoplastic resin and reinforcing fibers, having a thermosetting resin attached to the surface thereof, the matrix including minute voids, and the voids being filled or not filled with a thermosetting resin.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for the production of a composite material exhibiting excellent qualities such as high strength, light weight, insulating property, and good toughness and to a composite material produced by this method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various methods have been heretofore proposed and adopted for the production of composite materials having reinforcing fibers bound with a matric material such as, for example, a thermoplastic synthetic resin. The present inventors also earlier proposed a method disclosed in JP-B-51(1976)-33148 and JP-A-4(1992)-303626 which comprises mixing reinforcing fibers with a powdery or granular thermoplastic resin and thermally forming the resultant mixture. Since such conventional methods invariably adopt a procedure which comprises mixing a powdery or granular thermoplastic resin as a matrix material with reinforcing fibers and thermally forming the resultant mixture in a desired shape, they encounter difficulty in obtaining a product having the reinforcing fibers uniformly dispersed in the matric material. This is because the two components are not easily to mix uniformly and, after mixing, the powdery or granular resin tends to separate from the mixture. To ensure completely uniform mixture of the reinforcing fibers and the matric resin, it is necessary that the freshly produced mixture be immediately subjected to thermal formation. The product of this thermal formation is therefore limited to the simple shape of flat sheet. As disclosed in JP-B-6(1994)-71768 and U.S. application Ser. Nos. 08/035,204 and 08/335,971, the present inventors developed a fiber separating and throwing apparatus which is capable of forming a composite mat having the component fibers of matric resin fiber bundles and reinforcing fiber bundles uniformly mixed with good separation and distribution and succeeded in using the apparatus to produce a fiber-reinforced composite material which exhibits perfect shape-retaining property and high resistance to separation of the reinforcing fibers and the matrix resin, and allows easy handling of the mixture mentioned above.
Since fiber-reinforced composite material taught by JP-B-6(1994)-71768 uses a thermoplastic resin alone as a matric material, however, it is unsufficient in resistance to heat and consequently not suitable for practical applications.

Method for production of composite material and composite material produced thereby

Agency of Industrial Science & Technology

Ministry of International Trade & Industry


A synthesis gas generator with a combustion chamber and quench chamber for generating, cooling and cleaning gases, which are generated by partial oxidation in the combustion chamber of the synthesis gas generator. The combustion chamber (3) and the quench chamber (7) are separate chambers connected by a flow channel (6). Nozzle assemblies (10, 11) with nozzle heads (9, 34), which spray in a quenching medium (8), are arranged in the gas inlet area of the quench chamber (7). The quench zone within the quench chamber (7) is joined by a useful gas-quenching medium-mixing zone. A cone (20) is located at the outlet of the quench chamber. This cone is followed by a water bath (21). The useful gas leaves the synthesis gas generator after deflection by 180.degree. in the rear-side area of the cone (20) via gas outlet openings (23).

Such synthesis gas generators have been known in various design embodiments. The partial oxidation of fuels, e.g., coal, oil, sewage sludge, plastic wastes, natural gas, etc., with the aim of generating synthesis gas and utilizing it offers wide possibilities of application.
Some of the possible applications are:
Generation of synthesis gas for gas and steam plants, PA0 generation of city gas, PA0 supplying chemical plants with synthesis gases, PA0 disposal of wastes (sewage sludge, plastics, residual distillates) with the generation of a high-value product gas (H.sub.2 and CO), and PA0 generation of H.sub.2 for reduction in steel-making.
Depending on the needs of the application, a waste heat utilization system or a quenching means is arranged downstream of the gas generated by partial oxidation. A quenching medium, e.g., water, is fed into the gas in the quenching means to cool it.

Synthesis gas generator with combustion and quench chambers


Escherichia coil carrying a hybrid plasmid having been constructed by inserting a desired foreign gene into an expression vector so as to permitting expression of said desired foreign gene therein was cultured at a temperature 40.degree. C. or over so that the expression of said desired foreign gene was suppressed. This E. coil (i.e., transformant) was cultured at 40.degree. C. or over in a first process to suppress the expression of the foreign gene and to support sufficient cell growth and thereafter below 40.degree. C. in a second process to release the suppression of the expression so as to permit effective production of the foreign gene product, which resulted in high concentration of the foreign gene product in the final culture.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a useful method of regulating expression of a desired foreign gene, in which Escherichia coli carrying a recombinant plasmid (hybrid plasmid) with an insertion of said foreign gene therein grows efficiently whereas the expression of said foreign gene is efficiently suppressed. This invention also relates to a process of producing a foreign gene product by using said regulating method in which the period of the growth of E. coil carrying the hybrid plasmid therein is separated from the period of the expression of the foreign gene.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Currently, in virtue of the progress of gene recombination technology, a method has been developed for producing a desired foreign polypeptide in a host bacterium, in which a hybrid plasmid is constructed by inserting a structural gene, which originates from the animals, plants or microorganisms and encodes for the desired foreign polypeptide, into an expression vector which permits the expression of the foreign gene in the host bacterium and then the host bacterium is cultured to produce the desired foreign gene product.
This technology has almost established the measures for producing useful substances, such as human insulin and human growth hormones in large amounts.
As host bacteria for producing products of the foreign genes in such gene recombination technology, strains of Echerichia coli are widely used because their biological characteristics have been sufficiently investigated and, further they have no known pathogenicity and can easily grow in culture media having relatively simple compositions.
In general, however, the stability of the hybrid plasmid incorporated into E. coil spp. is not necessarily high so that deletion of the hybrid plasmid from E. coli or change in construction of the hybrid plasmid occurs during the period of cell growth, which results in high incidence of hybrid-plasmid-deleted cells bearing no capability in expressing foreign genes.
For example, in the industrial scale production, where mass culture is to be carried out, relatively long incubation time is generally required even in the preliminary culture to obtain a sufficient number of bacterial cells with high activity for the use in the following main bulk culture. Thus, high incidence of the deletion of hybrid plasmids from the bacterial cells as mentioned above can not be avoided. In consequence, the number of the effective foreign genes in the culture decreases as the number of the hybrid-plasmid-deleted cells increases, which results in a poor yield of the desired foreign gene product in the final culture.
In view of the aforementioned problem caused by the use of the hybrid plasmid in the culture, the method of separating the period of cell growth from that of gene expression has been brought into discussion.
More precisely, the method comprises culturing a host bacterium carrying a hybrid plasmid with an insertion of a foreign gene therein under the conditions such that the expression of the foreign gene in the hybrid plasmid is suppressed until a desired number of cells be obtained and thereafter the suppression be released to permit the expression of the foreign gene and the culture be continued. In consequence, the incidence of hybrid-plasmid-deleted cells is suppressed as low as possible so that the foreign gene product are efficiently produced.
A known example of the method of controlling expression of a foreign gene as such comprises the use of an inducible-type expression promoter as the hybrid plasmid so that the expression of the foreign gene can voluntarily induced by addition of an inducer which inactivates repressors such as the p.sub.L lambda promoter/operator of the E. coil lambda phage or the trp-promoter/operator of the E. coil tryptophan operon.
Another known example of the method of controlling expression of a foreign gene comprises the use of a temperature-dependent-type vector which has a temperature-dependent replication origin (i.e., the vector starts replication only at a certain range of specified temperatures) and thus the foreign gene expression is regulated by changing the culture temperature.
However, in the case of using the inducible-type expression promoter, the production cost tends to be high since the expression inducers are expensive and furthermore, the incidence of the hybrid-plasmid-deleted bacteria cannot be sufficiently prevented. Consequently, the method cannot be applicable to the industrial scale culture.
Furthermore, in the case of using the temperature-dependent-type vector, the incidence of the hybrid-plasmid-deleted bacteria cannot be prevented effectively.

Method of regulating expression of a foreign gene by controlling culture temperature and a process of producing a foreign gene product thereby


Provided is an editing device including an input material timeline area display control unit that executes control such that an input material timeline in which an event is arranged is displayed, using a material which is an element of selected content as the event, and an output material timeline area display control unit that executes control such that an output material timeline in which an event which is being edited or has been edited is arranged is displayed. The input material timeline and the output material timeline have a same time axis, and the input material timeline area display control unit controls a display of the input material timeline such that the event arranged in the input material timeline is expressed by the same time axis as the event arranged in the output material timeline.

The present technology relates an editing device, an editing method, and a program, and more particularly, to an editing device, an editing method, and a program, in which a temporal relation between a material used for editing and content which is being edited can be intuitively understood.
In the related art, in the scene of content production, an editor produces data of content by performing editing on various materials using an editing device.
Here, a material refers to data which can be an element of content recorded in a storage such as a tape, a disk, and a memory. Specifically, a material refers to data such as a moving image, a still image, and a sound. Further, editing refers to a cut edit, a trim edit, or the like, which is performed on a material taken into, for example, an editing device. For example, reference may be made to Grass Valley K.K., "EDIUS 6", [online], [searched on Apr. 1, 2011], Internet <URL: http://www.thomson-canopus.jp/catalog/edius_pro/edius—6_index.php>, Adobe Systems Incorporated, "Adobe Premiere Pro CS5," [online], [searched on Apr. 1, 2011], Internet <URL: http://help.adobe.com/ja_JP/premierepro/cs/using/index.html>, Apple Inc., "Final Cut Pro7 User Manual," [online], [searched on Apr. 1, 2011], Internet <URL: http://documentation.apple.com/en/finalcutpro/usermanual/>, Sony Creative Software, "Outline of Vegas Pro 10," [online], [searched on Apr. 1, 2011], Internet <URL: http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro/>, and Avid Technology Inc., "Media Composer 5.5," [online], [searched on Apr. 1, 2011], Internet <URL: http://www.avid.com/JP/products/Media-Composer/resources>.
An editing screen of an editing device includes an area (hereinafter referred to as a "material preview area") for previewing a video of a material used for editing, that is, an original video which is not edited yet and an area (hereinafter referred to as a "timeline preview area") for previewing a video of content which is being edited or has been edited on a timeline. Here, a timeline refers to a time axis of content produced by an editor, and is displayed on an area (hereinafter referred to as a "timeline area"), in the editing screen, which is different from the timeline preview area.

Editing device, editing method, and program


A device and process for the permanent removal of unwanted human hair. Hair on a section of skin is contaminated with a substance having high absorption of a frequency band of light. The skin is illuminated with light at this frequency band at sufficient intensity and duration to kill the follicles or the skin tissue feeding the hair. Specific embodiments to produce death of the follicles or the skin tissues feeding the hair by heating and by photochemical reaction.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to devices and methods for hair removal, and, in particular, to the use of laser devices for inhibition of hair regrowth.
2. Background Information
The principal methods presently used for hair removal involve the use of electrolysis techniques or chemical depilatories. These techniques involve some pain, are time consuming, and demand a fair degree of expertise in their application. Normally do not guarantee a permanent effect.
Laser use in medicine is well known. For example, lasers are used in surgery for both cutting and cauterization. Lasers have been used for many years for removing tattoos under the surface of the skin. In this case a laser beam penetrates the skin and is absorbed by and destroys the ink particle. A similar procedure has been used for years to remove birth marks where the laser is matched to an absorption peak of the hemoglobin in erythrocytes in the tiny capillaries under the skin to destroy the capillaries.
The prior art of hair removal also includes attempts at removing hair with laser beams. Three such techniques are described in the following United States patents: Weissman et al., "Method for Laser Depilation," U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,924; Sutton, "Depilation Device and Method," U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,926; and Mayer, "Depilation by Means of Laser Energy," U.S. Pat. No. 3,538,919. All of these devices and methods teach the removal of hairs one hair at a time with a narrowly focused laser beam. Therefore, they are relatively inefficient and time consuming. A patent by Zaias, U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,192, issued Oct. 22, 1991, discloses a process for using a laser beam matched to the melanin found at the base of the hair follicle and papilla.
It has been known for at least 20 years in the medical profession that selective absorption of laser radiation can sometimes be enhanced by the technique of staining pathological tissues with various vital dyes. (See Goldman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,963.)
What is needed is a simple, harmless method for removal of and/or inhibiting growth of hair over a relatively broad area of skin.

Hair removal using photosensitizer and laser


The present invention is directed to a method for forensic examination of data access of an information system. The invention allows a user to determine the occurrence and nature of data access. In particular, it allows the user to determine if data were copied. The invention does not require modification of the information system or data beforehand, and requires access to no artifact or evidence other than information system itself.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to methods for examining an information system to ascertain the occurrence or nature of the access performed.
Description of the Related Art
Theft of corporate proprietary information, according to the FBI and CSI, has repeatedly been the most financially harmful category of computer crime ("CSI/FBI 2003 Computer Crime and Security Survey"). Insider data theft is especially threatening and difficult to detect, since the thief often has the technical authority to access the information (Hillstrom and Hillstrom, "Gale Encyclopedia of Small Business", Gale Group/Thomson, 2002; Yu and Chiueh, Display-only file server, Proceedings of the 4th ACM workshop on DRM, 2004). Consequently, there is a great need for methods to conduct examinations of information systems or data to be able to determine if data has been copied. More generally, there is a need for methods to conduct examinations of information systems or data to determine the existence or nature of past access.
Numerous inventions attempt to prevent copying of data or digital assets. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 7,062,784 to Sinquin et al (2006), U.S. Pat. No. 7,340,778 to Brown (2008), U.S. Pat. No. 7,458,100 to Jascau and Lange (2008), U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,560 to Linnartz and Talstra (2002), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,302 to Park (1998). These inventions attempt to prevent unauthorized data copying. However, they fail to enable a post facto examiner to determine if data were copied or not.
There are many inventions which involve modifying an information system to detect subsequent copies of data. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,638 to Davis et al (2003). Likewise, there are many inventions which involve modifying data itself to detect subsequent copies, a process generally known as watermarking. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 7,587,601 to Levy et al (2009). These inventions only work in the case in which the required modifications were performed before the time of alleged copying under investigation. Thus, for the majority of information systems and data, which have not been specially modified to detect copying, these inventions fail to be of use.
Several methods which detect if data were copied without requiring special modifications beforehand have been invented. Liu et all present a method to do so given a network trace of the activity (in Liu et al, "SIDD: A framework for detecting sensitive data exfiltration by an insider attack", Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2009). However, this method only works when network activity has been recorded and preserved, and is available to the examiner. For the majority of examinations, this is not the case. Chow K P, Law Frank Y W, Kwan Michael Y K, Lai Pierre K Y, The Rules of time on NTFS file system, Pages 71e 85 of: SADFE '07, In: Proceedings of the second international workshop on systematic approaches to digital forensic engineering, Washington, D.C., USA: IEEE Computer Society; 2007 presents a method to detect copying given the media to which the data was copied. However, this method requires the examiner to have access to the media to which the data was copied. In the majority of examinations, the examiner does not have this.
Farmer and Venema ("Forensic Discovery", Pearson, 2005) present a method to examine a filesystem and determine the quantity of file access occurring at a particular time. They make particular use of MAC timestamps, which are times of last access of each file, automatically recorded by many modern filesystems. Their invention has been widely adopted by practitioners of the art, and is a component of numerous other inventions in the art. Their invention is capable of detecting if file access occurred at a particular time. However, their invention is incapable of distinguishing copying data from other forms of reading it, and hence cannot be used to ascertain if data was copied. Furthermore, although it can determine that activity occurred on a particular date, it cannot determine the nature of that activity.
Furthermore, on certain filesystems, such as Microsoft Windows NTFS, data can be copied without being read by the user, causing it to be invisible to the method of Farmer and Venema. In short, to date, no method has been invented which, given an information system or filesystem, which has not been specially modified beforehand, can determine if data or files were copied from it, or can determine the nature of activity which may have occurred at a particular time. Forensics expert Harlan Carvey specifically notes that despite the large need for a method to detect copying of data without acquiring the media that the data was copied to, neither he nor anyone else has been able to do so. " . . . the simple fact is that at this time, there are no apparent artifacts of the process . . . Artifacts of a copy operation . . . are not recorded in the Registry, or within the file system, as far as I and others have been able to determine." (Carvey, "Windows Forensic Analysis DVD Toolkit, Second Edition, Syngress, 2009).
Thus, what is needed is a method of examining a filesystem or information system, which can determine if data was copied, or which can determine the nature of access which may have occurred, which does not require specially modifying the system or data beforehand, and does not require access to the media to which the data may have been copied to.

Method and system for forensic investigation of data access


An air separation plant having prefabricated heat exchanger and distillation column sections. The heat exchanger can be used in air expansion, waste expansion and product expansion plants by simply connecting the appropriate piping to the heat exchanger. The air separation unit is built up of standardized sections preferably utilizing structured packing. Simplified liquid distributors and supports are used in order to distribute liquid to the packing and to support the packing within the column, respectfully.

The present invention relates to an air separation plant and to a method of fabrication in which a main heat exchanger is designed to function in air expansion, waste expansion and nitrogen expansion plants. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to such an air separation plant and method in which distillation is conducted by mass transfer elements such as packings that are contained within prefabricated column elements.
Air is separated into its components within air separation plants having a main heat exchanger to cool compressed and purified air to a temperature suitable for its distillation and an air separation unit formed by single and double distillation column arrangements. In a double column air separation unit, higher and lower pressure columns are operatively associated with one another in a heat transfer relationship by a condenser-reboiler. The air is distilled in the higher pressure column to separate nitrogen from the air and to produce an oxygen enriched liquid column bottoms which is further refined in the lower pressure column to produce nitrogen and oxygen products. In single column air separation units, the air is separated to produce a nitrogen product as a tower overhead. The liquid column bottoms, enriched in oxygen, is expanded to a low pressure (and therefore a low temperature) to serve as a coolant to condense reflux.
In any air separation plant functioning at cryogenic temperatures there are warm end heat losses and heat leakage into the plant. In order to compensate for such effects, refrigeration can be provided by either expanding part of the incoming air, a waste stream, or part of a product stream. Such expansion produces a refrigerant stream. In case of air expansion, such refrigerant stream is typically introduced in a column. Refrigerant streams originating from waste and product expansions are fed into the main heat exchanger and then fully warmed.
The fabrication of air separation plants involves to a large extent the custom design and construction of its components. For instance, in order for the main heat exchanger to function in an air expansion plant, an intermediate outlet for the air must be provided so that the air is partially cooled prior to its introduction into the expansion engine. In a plant that function with waste or product expansion, such intermediate outlet for the air might not be needed. However, an intermediate outlet for the waste or product stream to be expanded must be provided so that the particular process stream to be expanded is partly warmed. Columns are also custom built, precision components that must have a sufficient height to provide the number of stages of separation that are needed for the particular distillation involved. All of such custom design and construction adds to the capital costs involved in the fabrication of the air separation plant.
As will be discussed, the present invention provides an air separation plant that can be constructed with prefabricated components to eliminate the added capital cost involved in custom design and construction of the components making up the air separation plant.

Air separation plant and method of fabrication


A method of monitoring myocardial stability includes determining a window length representing an acceptable time period between potential start times associated with at least two physiologic indices and monitoring multiple physiologic indices representative of myocardial stability. Predetermined variations in each of the physiologic indices denote the potential start times and potential end times for candidate events that are indicative of myocardial instability. The method further includes identifying the potential start times associated with at least two of the physiologic indices and declaring at least one of the candidate events to be an actual event of myocardial instability based on the window length and a time period between the potential start times identified by the identifying operation.

Myocardial instability such as atrial and/or ventricular fibrillation, tachycardia, bradycardia, myocardial infarction, and the like, may pose significant health risks to patients. For example, pulmonary edema may lead to respiratory failure of patients. Ventricular arrhythmia such as ventricular fibrillation may lead to cardiac arrest and death. One or more physiological parameters of the patients related to cardiac function may be tracked in order to treat the patient and thus reduce the likelihood of sudden cardiac arrest and death.
For example, congestive heart failure (CHF) is an imbalance in pump function in which the heart fails to maintain appropriate blood circulation. The most severe manifestation of CHF, cardiogenic pulmonary edema (PE), develops when this imbalance causes a patient's heart to have difficulty clearing or moving fluid through or from the left ventricle out of the heart. The fluid may back up through the patient's circulatory system and accumulate in the patient's lungs. The amount of fluid that is accumulated in the lung may be one indicator of cardiogenic pulmonary edema. Changes in electrical impedance across the heart and lung may be tracked in order to determine the severity of the myocardial instability, as well as to track the onset and termination of events or episodes of heart failure. These changes in electrical impedance represent one physiological parameter of a variety of physiological parameters that may be used to track episodes of myocardial instability. Conventional systems exist that monitor sets of physiologic parameters and identify myocardial instability when the physiologic parameters change by predetermined amounts.
However, conventional systems have experienced disadvantages when monitoring physiological parameters for the purpose of tracking the occurrence and frequency of episodes of myocardial instability. For example, in known systems where too few parameters may be monitored, a change in one parameter may incorrectly be associated with an episode of myocardial instability when in fact the parameter change is due to something else. Moreover, the parameters that are monitored may be dependent on one another. For example, an increase in the measured value of a first parameter may result in a related increase in the measured value of a second parameter. When both of the first and second parameters are tracked to determine the onset of an episode of myocardial instability, then an increase in the first parameter, that is unrelated to myocardial instability, may result in a corresponding increase in the second parameter to be attributed to myocardial instability. As a result, when a relatively small number of parameters are monitored and/or the monitored parameters are dependent on one another, the number of falsely detected episodes of myocardial instability, or "false positives," may be undesirably high.
Thus, a need exists to improve the accuracy of methods and systems that track the occurrence of events of myocardial instability and to decrease the number of false positive as detected events of myocardial instability.

System and method for monitoring myocardial instability


A method of manufacturing a supporting member for an electron beam apparatus including an airtight container, an electron source and the supporting member arranged in the airtight container, includes a step of heating and drawing a substrate of the supporting member. An electroconductive film is formed on a surface of the substrate in the heating and drawing step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electron beam apparatus supporting member arranged in an airtight container in an electron beam apparatus having the airtight container in which an electronic source is contained, an electron beam apparatus supporting member manufactured by using the method, and an electron beam apparatus such as an image-forming apparatus having the electron beam apparatus supporting member.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally there are known two types of electron-emitting devices; a hot-cathode device and a cold-cathode device. As the cold-cathode device among these, there are known a surface conduction electron-emitting device, a field emission device (hereinafter also referred to as an FE device), and a metal-insulator-metal emission device (hereinafter also referred to as an MIM device), for example.
The surface conduction electron-emitting device utilizes a phenomenon that electrons are emitted by flowing current on a thin film having a small area formed on a substrate, so as to be in parallel with its film surface. As the surface conduction electron-emitting device, there are known one with an SnO2 thin film [M. I. Elinson, Radio Eng. Electron Phys., 10, 1290, (1965)], one with an Au thin film [G. Dittmer: xe2x80x9cThin Solid Films,xe2x80x9d 9, 317 (1972)], one with In2O3/SnO2 thin film [M. Hartwell and C. G. Fonstad: xe2x80x9cIEEE Trans. ED Conf.,xe2x80x9d 519 (1975)], and one with a carbon thin film [Hisashi Araki et al.: xe2x80x9cVacuum,xe2x80x9d vol. 26, No. 1, 22 (1983)], for example.
As a typical example of a device configuration of these surface conduction electron-emitting devices, FIG. 15 shows a plan view of a surface conduction electron-emitting device with an In2O3/SnO2 thin film to M. Hartwell et al. as set forth in the above. In the surface conduction electron-emitting device with an In2O3/SnO2 thin film, an electroconductive thin film 904 made of metallic oxide is formed in a sputtering process on a surface of an insulating substrate 901 as shown in FIG. 15. The electroconductive thin film 904 is formed in an H-shaped plane as shown in FIG. 15. The electroconductive thin film 904 is subjected to an energization operation called energization forming described later, by which an electron-emitting region 905 is formed in a central portion of the electroconductive thin film 904. A gap L shown in FIG. 15 is set to 0.5 to 1 mm and a width W of a region where there is formed the electron-emitting region 905 of the electroconductive thin film 904 is set to 0.1 mm. While the electron-emitting region 905 is represented by a rectangle in the center of the electroconductive thin film 904 in FIG. 15, a position and a shape of the electron-emitting region 905 are typical ones and they do not represent a position and a shape of an actual electron-emitting region 905 faithfully.
Giving an example of FIG. 15 for a description in the above surface conduction electron-emitting devices including the device to M. Hartwell, generally the electroconductive thin film 904 is subjected to an energization operation called energization forming before an electron emission, by which the electron-emitting region 905 is formed on the electroconductive thin film 904. The energization forming means that a constant dc voltage or a dc voltage increasing at a very slow rate of approx. 1 V/min or so, for example, is applied at both ends of the electroconductive thin film 904 for energizing in order to destruct, deform, or change in quality the electroconductive thin film 904 locally to form the electron-emitting region 905 having an electrically high resistance on the electroconductive thin film 904. At this point, a fissure is generated in a part of the electroconductive thin film 904 locally destructed, deformed, or changed in quality. If a voltage is appropriately applied to the electroconductive thin film 904 after the above energization forming, an electron emission occurs in the vicinity of the fissure generated in the electroconductive thin film 904.
In addition, as FE devices, there are known one described in xe2x80x9cField emission,xe2x80x9d Advance in Electron Physics, 8, 89 (1956) to W. P. Dyke and W. W. Dolan et al. or one described in xe2x80x9cPhysical properties of thin-film field emission cathodes with molybdenium cones,xe2x80x9d J. Appl. Phys., 47, 5248 (1976) to C. A. Spindt et al.
As a typical example of the FE devices, FIG. 16 shows a sectional view of a device to C. A. Spindt et al. as set forth in the above. In a conventional FE device, as shown in FIG. 16, emitter wiring 961 made of electroconductive materials is formed on a substrate 960 as shown in FIG. 16. On the surface of the emitter wiring 961, an emitter cone 962 and an insulating layer 963 are formed, respectively, and a gate electrode 964 is formed on a surface of the insulating layer 963. This FE device emits an electric field from a tip portion of the emitter cone 962 by applying a voltage appropriately to a portion between the emitter cone 962 and the gate electrode 964.
As another configuration of the FE device, there is a structure in which an emitter and a gate electrode are arranged on a substrate almost in parallel with a surface of the substrate instead of the laminated structure as shown in FIG. 16.
As an MIM device, there is known one described in C. A. Mead, xe2x80x9cOperation of tunnel-emission Devices,xe2x80x9d J. Appl. Phys., 32, 646 (1961), for example. Referring to FIG. 17, there is shown a sectional view showing a typical example of the MIM device. In a conventional MIN device, as shown in FIG. 17, a lower electrode 971 made of a metal is formed on the substrate 970. On a surface of the lower electrode 971, a thin insulating layer 972 having a thickness of approx. 100 angstroms is formed on a surface of the lower electrode 971 and an upper electrode 973 made of a metal having a thickness of approx. 80 to 300 angstroms on a surface of the insulating layer 972. In this type of the MIM device, a voltage is appropriately applied to a portion between the upper electrode 973 and the lower electrode 971, by which electrons are emitted from a surface of the upper electrode 973.
The above cold-cathode device is capable of achieving an electron emission at a lower temperature in comparison with the hot-cathode device, and therefore it does not need a thermal heater. Accordingly, the cold-cathode device has a configuration simpler than that of the hot-cathode device, by which it can be manufactured as a fine device. Additionally even if a lot of cold-cathode devices are arranged at a high density on the substrate, it does not easily have a problem such as heat fusion on the substrate. Furthermore, the cold-cathode device has an advantage of a rapid response contrary to the hot-cathode device whose response speed is relatively low since it is operated by heating with the heater.
Accordingly, research on applications of the cold-cathode device has been actively performed.
For example, the surface conduction electron-emitting device has a particularly simple configuration among cold-cathode devices and is easy to manufacture, thus having an advantage that a lot of devices can be formed over a large area. Therefore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-31332 to this applicant, for example, research has been done on a method for driving with arranging a lot of surface conduction electron-emitting devices. As for an application of an electron beam apparatus using this type of a surface conduction electron-emitting device, research has been done on image-forming apparatuses such as an image display and an image recording apparatus and charging beam sources, for example.
Particularly as an application of an electron beam apparatus to an Image display, as disclosed in specifications of U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,883 to this applicant, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-257551, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-28137, for example, research has been done on an image display using a surface conduction electron-emitting device combined with phosphor which emits light by means of irradiation of an electron beam from the surface conduction electron-emitting device. The image display using the surface conduction electron-emitting device combined with the phosphor is expected to have characteristics superior to those of other types of conventional image displays. Accordingly, the image display to which the electron beam apparatus is applied is superior in that it does not need a back light since it is of a self light emission type and in that it has a wide view angle, in comparison with liquid crystal display units which have been spreading in recent years, for example.
A method for driving with arranging a lot of FE type devices is disclosed in specifications of U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,895 to this applicant, for example. In addition, as an example of an application of an FE type device to an image display, there is known a flat panel display suggested by R. Meyer et al. [R. Meyer: xe2x80x9cRecent Development on Micro-tips Display at LETI,xe2x80x9d Tech. Digest of 4th Int. Vacuum Microelectronics Conf., Nagahama, pp. 6 to 9 (1991)], for example.
Furthermore, as an example of an application of a lot of arranged MIM-type devices to an image display, there is an image display disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent No. 3-55738 to this applicant, for example.
A flat panel display having a short depth is space-saving and light in weight among the above image-forming apparatuses to which the above electron beam apparatus having the electron-emitting device is applied, thereby drawing public attention as a display superseding a CRT display.
Referring to FIG. 18, there is shown a perspective view showing an example of a display panel portion in a conventional flat panel display to which the electron beam apparatus is applied, in which a part of the panel is illustrated in a cutaway view to show an internal structure of the display panel portion.
In the display panel portion in the conventional flat panel display, a substrate 911 is mounted on a surface of a rear plate 915 as shown in FIG. 18. A sidewall 916 is bonded to an edge portion of the surface of the rear plate 915 therealong. A face plate 917 opposite to the rear plate 915 is bonded to a surface of the sidewall 916 opposed to the rear plate 915. The face plate 917, the sidewall 916, and the rear plate 915 form an airtight container (envelope) 931 of the display panel sealed to keep an inside of the display panel in a vacuum, with the face plate 917, the sidewall 916, and the rear plate 915 each forming a wall portion of the sealed container 931.
On the substrate 911 fixed to the rear plate 915, cold-cathode devices 912 are formed in a matrix by Nxc3x97M. N and M are positive integers equal to or greater than 2 and values of N and M are appropriately set according to the target number of pixels of a display. The Nxc3x97M of cold-cathode devices 912 are coupled to each other with row-directional wiring 913 of M wires and column-directional wiring 914 of N wires as shown in FIG. 18. A multiple electron beam source 932 comprises the substrate 911, the cold-cathode devices 912, the row-directional wiring 913, and the column-directional wiring 914 in the above. In an at least intersecting portion of the row-directional wiring 913 and the column-directional wiring 914, an insulating layer (not shown) is formed therebetween, so that the row-directional wiring 913 is kept to be electrically insulated from the column-directional wiring 914 in the intersecting portion.
A phosphor film 918 made of phosphor is formed on a lower surface of the face plate 917 in the rear plate 915 side, and the phosphor film 918 is made of phosphor materials having three primary colors; red (R), green (G), and blue (B) (not shown). In addition, a black material (not shown) is formed between the above colored phosphor materials forming the phosphor film 918 and a metal back 919 made of Al or the like is formed on a surface of the phosphor film 918 in the rear plate 915 side. This metal back 919 is used as a control electrode for controlling electrons emitted from the cold-cathode device 912, and an accelerating voltage for affecting the electrons is applied to those so as to accelerate the electrons emitted from the cold-cathode devices 912.
On the sidewall 916, terminals Dx1 to Dxm, Dy1 to Dyn, and Hv for electrical connections in the airtight structure are mounted to connect electrically the row-directional wiring 913, the column-directional wiring 914, and the metal back 919 of the display panel to an electrical circuit which is not shown in an outside of the display panel. These terminals are protruding from the sidewall 916 to an outside of the airtight container 931. The terminals Dx1 to Dxm are electrically connected to the row-directional wiring 913 corresponding to the terminals Dx1 to Dxm, respectively, the terminals Dy1 to Dyn are electrically connected to the column-directional wiring 914 corresponding to the terminals Dx1 to Dxm, respectively, and the terminal Hv is electrically connected to the metal back 919.
The inside of the airtight container 931 is maintained in a vacuum of approx. 10xe2x88x926 Torr, and therefore, as a display area of the image display becomes larger, there occurs a need for means of preventing the rear plate 915 and the face plate 917 from being deformed or destroyed due to a difference between atmospheric pressures of the inside and the outside of the airtight container 931. In using a method of increasing a thickness of the rear plate 915 and of the face plate 917 to prevent them from being deformed or destroyed, not only a weight of the image display is increased, but a distortion or a parallax error occurs when a display surface is viewed in an oblique direction. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 18, there are provided spacers (also referred to as ribs) 920 as electron beam apparatus supporting members each made of a relatively thin glass plate for bearing an atmospheric pressure between the substrate 911 and the face plate 917. The rear plate 915 and the face plate 917 are supported by the spacers 920, by which a submillimeter to several millimeters of a gap is normally maintained between the substrate 911 composing a multiple electron beam source 932 and the face plate 917 on which the phosphor film 918 is formed and an inside of the airtight container 931 is kept in a high vacuum as described above.
When a voltage is applied to the cold-cathode devices 912 through the terminals Dx1 to Dxm and Dy1 to Dyn protruding outside the airtight container 931 in the image display having the above-described display panel, electrons are emitted from the respective cold-cathode devices 912. Simultaneously with it, a high voltage of hundreds of volts to thousands of volts is applied to the metal back 919 through the terminal Hv to accelerate electrons emitted from the cold-cathode devices 912 so that the accelerated electrons collide with an inner surface of the face plate 917. This excites phosphor materials having respective colors composing the phosphor film 918, by which they emit lights to display an image on a display screen on the display panel.
On the display panel shown in FIG. 18, a part of electrons emitted from the cold-cathode devices 912 in the vicinity of the spacers 920 collide with the spacers 920 or ions ionized due to an effect of the emitted electrons adhere to the spacers 920, by which static electrification may occur on the spacers 920. If this static electrification occurs on the spacers 920, a trajectory of the electrons emitted from the cold-cathode devices 912 is excessively curved and the electrons having the excessively curved trajectory reach positions different from normal positions on the phosphor of the phosphor film 918, by which an image in the vicinity of the spacers 920 is distorted on the display disadvantageously.
If any of the spacers 920 moves off the original position due to an assembly error of the display panel at this point, a distance between the spacer 920 and the cold-cathode device 912 partially narrows and the difference of the electron trajectory is significantly increased. In this manner, the distortion of the image on the display screen is further extended by a positional difference of the spacer 920, too.
In addition, a high voltage of hundreds of volts, in other words, 1 kV/mm or higher electric field is applied to a portion between the multiple electron beam source 932 and the face plate 917 to accelerate the electrons emitted from the cold-cathode devices 912, by which a creeping discharge may occur on a surface of the spacer 920. Particularly if the spacers 920 are charged as described above, discharging may be caused by the high voltage.
If any of the spacers 920 moves off the original position due to an assembly error of the display panel at this point, the distance between the spacer 920 and the cold-cathode device 912 partially narrows, too, which increases a probability of giving an extended damage on the cold-cathode devices 912 at discharging caused by static electrification of the spacers 920, thus accelerating a deterioration of the cold-cathode devices 912 disadvantageously.
To solve these problems, there have been suggested methods for removing static electrification of the spacers 920 by flowing microcurrent through the spacers 920 in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-118355 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-124031. In these methods in the official gazettes, a high resistance thin film is formed as an antistatic film on a surface of an insulating spacer substrate and is formed as a spacer comprising spacer electrodes put on the upper and lower surfaces of the spacer substrate, so that microcurrent flows uniformly over the surfaces of the spacer through the spacer electrodes. As for materials of the antistatic film, a tin oxide film, a mixed crystal thin film made of tin oxide and indium oxide, or a metal film is used.
Referring to FIG. 19, there is shown a flowchart for explaining a spacer manufacturing process according to a conventional technology. In the conventional spacer manufacturing process, a substrate is made first to form a spacer substrate by molding a base material made of the same component material as for the spacer substrate having a larger shape than one for the spacer substrate composing the spacer (S11). Second, by cutting the substrate (S12), the spacer substrate is cut off from the substrate to manufacture the spacer substrate. Next, a high resistance film is formed on a surface of the spacer substrate as an antistatic film (S12), and further spacer electrodes are partially formed on the spacer substrate on which the high resistance film is formed (S14), by which a spacer is manufactured having the high resistance film and the spacer electrodes formed on the spacer substrate.
There is such a problem, however, in forming a high resistance film or spacer electrodes on an insulating spacer substrate when manufacturing a spacer which is an electron beam apparatus supporting member that the number of processes is increased or a manufacturing process is complicated, which leads to an increase of a manufacturing time or of a manufacturing cost, thereby easily deteriorating a mass production property.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a supporting member for an electron beam apparatus free from unevenness in a shape or characteristics in a small number of simplified processes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a supporting member for an electron beam apparatus in which the electron beam apparatus supporting member can be manufactured in a small number of simplified processes in a short manufacturing time at a low manufacturing cost so as to have a mass production property, a supporting member for an electron beam apparatus manufactured by using the method, and an electron beam apparatus having the electron beam apparatus supporting member.
According to one aspect, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a supporting member for an electron beam apparatus comprising an airtight container and an electron source and the supporting member arranged in the airtight container, including a step of heating and drawing a substrate of the supporting member, wherein an electroconductive film is formed on a surface of the substrate in the heating and drawing step.
According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a supporting member for an electron beam apparatus containing an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices and a control electrode for controlling electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices, being arranged between the electron source and the control electrode so as to support wall portions of an airtight container whose inside is kept in an almost vacuum, and comprising an insulating member on which at least one of a high resistance film and an electrode is formed, the manufacturing method comprising the steps of forming a formation member for forming the insulating member by molding with heating a base material comprising a component of the insulating member and forming at least one of the high resistance film and the electrode or a precursor of at least one of the high resistance film and the electrode on the formation member in a process in which the formation member cools down from a temperature at which the base material is heated to be molded.
According to still another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a supporting member for an electron beam apparatus containing an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices and a control electrode for controlling electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices, being arranged between the electron source and the control electrode so as to support wall portions of an airtight container whose inside is kept in an almost vacuum, and comprising an insulating member on which at least one of a high resistance film and an electrode is formed, the manufacturing method comprising the steps of forming a formation member for forming the insulating member by molding with heating a base material comprising a component of the insulating member, forming at least one of the high resistance film and the electrode on the formation member in a process in which the formation member cools down from a temperature at which the base material is heated to be molded, forming the other among the high resistance film and the electrode on the formation member in a process in which the formation member cools down from a temperature at which one of the high resistance film and the electrode is formed on the formation member, and manufacturing the electron beam apparatus supporting member by cutting the formation in which the high resistance film and the electrode are formed on the formation member.
According to a further aspect, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a supporting member for an electron beam apparatus containing an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices and a control electrode for controlling electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices, being arranged between the electron source and the control electrode so as to support wall portions of an airtight container whose inside is kept in an almost vacuum, and comprising an insulating member on which at least one of a high resistance film and an electrode is formed, the manufacturing method comprising the steps of forming a cylindrical formation member for forming the insulating member by molding with heating a base material comprising a component of the insulating member, forming the high resistance film on sidewalls of the formation member in a process in which the formation member cools down from a temperature at which the base material is heated to be molded, cutting the formation in which the high resistance film is formed on the formation member at a predetermined length to make the high resistance film formed on the insulating member, and forming the electrode on a cut surface of the insulating member and of the high resistance film.
According to a still further aspect, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a supporting member for an electron beam apparatus containing an electron source having a plurality of electron-emitting devices and a control electrode for controlling electrons emitted from the electron-emitting devices, being arranged between the electron source and the control electrode so as to support wall portions of an airtight container whose inside is kept in an almost vacuum, and comprising an insulating member on which at least one of a high resistance film and an electrode is formed, the manufacturing method comprising the steps of heating a base material comprising a component of the insulating member, forming a sheet formation member for forming the insulating member by pushing the heated base material for compression so that the base material has a predetermined thickness, forming the precursor of the high resistance film on face and rear surfaces of the sheet formation member in a process in which the sheet formation member cools down from a temperature at which the base material is compressed, forming the high resistance film on the face and rear surfaces of the sheet formation member by calcining the precursor of the high resistance film formed on the face and rear surfaces of the sheet formation member, cutting the high resistance film formed on the sheet formation member to make the high resistance film formed on the insulating member comprising the cut portion of the sheet formation member, and forming the electrode on a cut surface of the insulating member and of the high resistance film.

Method for manufacturing electron beam apparatus supporting member and electron beam apparatus


Various embodiments disclosed relate to dry powder fire-fighting compositions. In various embodiments, the present invention provides a method of fighting a fire. The method can include contacting at least one of a fire and a source thereof with a composition including bentonite and aluminum hydroxide.

Fires and the associated smoke and toxic materials produced can be extremely destructive to structures and equipment as well as causing hazards to human and animal life. Fire is a complex, dynamic, physicochemical phenomenon and is a result of a rapid chemical reaction generating smoke, heat, flame, and light. Each fire exhibits individual characteristics that depend on the types of burning materials and environmental conditions.
Four components are necessary to sustain any fire: fuel, heat, oxygen, and an uninhibited chemical chain reaction. It thus follows that a fire may extinguished by at least one of removing the fuel, cooling the burning material, excluding oxygen, and inhibiting the chemical chain reaction. Available compositions for fire-fighting often suffer from high cost, little to no binding to a targeted area, and little to no removal of heat from the fire leading to inadequate reduction of the fire and inadequate suppression of fire spreading.


Methods, systems, and apparatuses related to thermo-dielectric-elastomer-cells may be shown and described. In one embodiment a thermo dielectric elastomer cell (TDEC) can include a layer of carbon nanotubes that absorb sunlight; a layer of photo switchable molecules; a plurality of dielectric elastomer layers, each of the plurality of dielectric elastomer layer comprising a layer of dielectric elastomer material and a layer of N-P junction transistors between the layers of dielectric elastomer material; a layer of insulators separating each of the plurality of dielectric elastomer layers; and an elastic cushioning which is placed between the plurality of dielectric elastomer layers and surrounding the dielectric elastomer material.

Heat has become an ever increasing and unmanageable source of energy in industry. Simultaneously heat has caused continuous temperature rise due to climate change i.e. global warming.
There is a huge worldwide interest in solar photovoltaic as an alternative clean environmentally friendly energy, however the energy density of solar photovoltaic panels/arrays are too insignificant to meet world energy needs (photovoltaics amount to less than 1% of energy supply needs) Commercial solar photovoltaic panels typically average between 10 and 15% efficiency. As a result the highest power density achieved is around 20-23 W/m2 in desert located solar pv-farms. Other places, such as solar farms in Germany for example, normally achieve even less, only around 5-7 W/m2. Additionally global warming will cause a decrease in overall efficiency of the PV modules used around the word. (see MIT report: Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1908.00622: "The Impact of Global Warming on Silicon PV Energy Yield in 2100".)
Total solar irradiance (TSI)—the amount of solar radiation received at the surface of earth has been measured by NASA and ESA satellite experiments to be 1.361 kilowatts per square meter (kW/m2). However, infrared waves are electromagnetic radiation, longer than visible light and make up slightly more than half of the total energy coming from the Sun.
A huge amount of energy is lost in the form of heat, not only in photovoltaics but also in many manufacturing and chemical processes such as internal combustion engines, that could be harness and/or regained as a form of useful energy as electricity. However, the conversion of heat into electricity was and is up to date very difficult, and where possible is also at very low energy density. So called Peltier/Seebeck effect, in which the temperature difference between two types is converted to electricity but only very small amount of energy is recovered, generally in the range of 3-10% and lately possibly 20%. Said thermocell configuration is made of SeSn, tin solenide, which has very high Seebeck coefficient and high ZT. (see Mercuri et al in Nature, Apr. 14, 2014 doi:10.1038/nature13184)
This new material tin solenide, SeSn, which is based on the common semiconductor telluride, is environmentally stable and is expected to convert from 15 to 20 percent of heat to electricity. The SeSn material exhibits a thermoelectric figure or "ZT" of 2.2, which is the highest reported.
As can be seen, a lot of the sun irradiation energy is lost, and an efficient material and technology is needed to absorb the most possible of this energy and convert it into useful form of energy, preferably electricity. This is exactly the scope of the embodiments:
However, the embodiments show that it is possible to convert heat into useful electricity and recover much energy here from solar heat energy at very high energy densities and efficiencies of up to 80-90%. The smart material dielectric elastomer which was first discovered by Alexander Volta, and has lately found use in areas such as artificial muscles in robots, has very high power density. Dielectric Elesatomer (DE) is a sub group polymer of electro-active-polymers (EAP).
Thus, the embodiments of the new thermo dielectric elastomer cell (TDEC) are special solar energy conversion technology. Heat waves or pulses are generated at precise intervals to form photo-switchable molecules (PSMs) in order to exert pressure upon a smart material DE, the DE material is able to compress and decompress, or expand and contract again and again in a kind of oscillation mode, thus generating an electric current at very high power density (4 watt/g.). The PSM works as a heat battery, with just an electric impulse or light impulse heat "waves" can be generated on and off.
A disk made of micro or nano-rods of semi-crystalline polypropylene (PP) (with α equal to 155 at 20° C. and 10-6 K−1) which has highest linear expansion coefficient is placed on top of the DE material to allow for maximum expansion and contraction as the PSM material is switched on and off, thus generating continuous electric current. Quartz (lowest expansion coefficient α equal to 0.59 at 20° C. and 10-6 K−1) can be placed around the PP polypropylene disk. Its form may be, for example, a cylinder to allow the expansion of the same only in one direction i.e downwards to compress the DE material underneath. (see thermal expansion table). The Cylinder 107 may alternatively be of any other material with a low expansion coefficient.
The change in the linear dimension can be estimated by the following equationαL=1/L·dL/dT
Where alpha (α) is the thermal coefficient at 20° C. (and 10-6 K−1), L is the linear length or surface area of disk or rod, T is the temperature, and d is the fractional change in length or in temperature.
Thus, lenses concentrate solar heat upon black carbon nanotubes (CNTs) disk to cause expansion and exert pressure upon the dielectric material underneath it in such a way that the expansion is also directed mainly downwards through the effect of the low expansion coefficient material quartz that encapsulate the highly expandable material PP.
In addition to the heat absorption from sun rays the dielectric elastomer layers are compressed and decompressed by any mechanical movement or vibration caused by wind energy, rain drops impact or any vibrational or movement that can cause compression of said DE material layers and thus contribute to the overall power generation within the TDEC.
Further, the TDEC may have a circular or quadratic form in order to save space and maximize energy density per square meter where there is an array of solar TDEC panels.
Furthermore, in countries with extensive rains, like Norway's West Coast where it rains for 274 days a year and thus solar energy density is almost nil, It would be/is much more efficient to use the last design of the TDEC for harnessing heat into electricity without any concentrating lenses 100 on top but let the rain drops fall directly on the dielectric elastomer layer in order to generate electrical current directly instead of any "heat waves" from the heat battery that could also be excluded to save material cost as well. In fact, "effect can generate electricity induced by contact electrification and electrostatic induction when a droplet hits a surface . . . . In order to improve the conversion efficiency, the research team has spent two years developing the DEG. Its instantaneous power density can reach up to 50.1 W/m2, thousands times higher than other similar devices without the use of FET-like design. And the energy conversion efficiency is markedly higher." (See Nature, 2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-1985-6)
The main advantages of the TDECare as follows:
1. High power density output (4 Watt/g.) and even more via electrostatic induction.
2. Low cost of materials compared with silicon mono-crystalline wafers or poly-crystalline silicon.
Simple and efficient manufacturing.
3D printing is possible by even multi material machine (like Autodesk Voxx 3D printer) and thus no material waste and low production cost, which amounts to almost one third of a usual poly-crystalline silicon solar PV wafer in comparison with one TDEC.
No batteries may be needed for field application as "heat batteries" are integrated within the actual Solar Cell and hence low installation and maintenance costs.
A TDEC panel can be just used as a normal solar PV-panel, while requiring less area, as solar energy conversion with TDEC is much more efficient; approximately eight to ten times more energy than other solar pv panels.
Power supply can be achieved 24/7 day and night with no external batteries needed, as the PSM acts like a heat battery.