The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a wiring board, including the steps of preparing a composite sheet having an adherent sheet containing a thermosetting resin adhered to a porous film or impregnated with at least a part thereof, laminating at least the composite sheet on a wiring layer having a wiring pattern formed on an insulating layer, and heating and pressurizing the laminated product thus obtained or heating and pressurizing it after the pressurization to integrate the laminated product.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a wiring board including a manufacturing step of forming an insulating layer having a flat upper surface on a wiring layer having a wiring pattern, a composite sheet for manufacturing a wiring board to be used therein, and a wiring board which can be obtained by the manufacturing method. The present invention is prefer for a method of manufacturing a multilayer wiring board.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the steps of forming a core substrate, an insulating layer or the like of a printed wiring board to be used in electronic equipment or the like, conventionally, there has been used a prepreg in which a glass fiber fabric or a polymer nonwoven fabric is impregnated with a thermosetting resin and is half cured. The prepreg is thermally pressed together with copper foils provided on both surfaces, for example, so that a double-sided copper foils laminated plate can be obtained, and a wiring pattern is formed on the copper foil and can be thus used as the core substrate of a multilayer wiring board.
In recent years, the wiring board has a finer wiring pattern because of the high integration of a wiring, and furthermore, a multilayer structure is achieved and each layer is thinned. For this reason, in the case in which a glass fiber fabric impregnated with an epoxy resin is used for the prepreg, there is a problem in that drilling is carried out with difficulty due to a glass fiber when laser via processing is to be carried out. Therefore, there have been proposed various prepregs using, for a reinforcing phase, a polymer nonwoven fabric on which the laser via processing can be carried out more easily.
When an insulating layer is formed on a wiring layer having a wiring pattern by using the prepreg having the polymer nonwoven fabric for the reinforcing phase, however, a flat insulating layer is formed with difficulty due to the unevenness of the wiring pattern. And a wiring layer to be an upper layer is not flat. Consequently, there is a problem in that the step of providing an upper layer to be carried out subsequently is hindered. For this reason, in a multilayer wiring board having each layer thinned, there have been particularly employed a method of applying a thermosetting resin in place of the provision of a prepreg and a method of providing a thermosetting resin sheet to form an insulating layer. In these methods, since the reinforcing phase is not present, it is hard to control a gap for forming an insulating layer. Thus, the methods are not advantageous in respect of mass production.
In place of the polymer nonwoven fabric, there has also been known a prepreg using a porous film formed of aromatic polyamide (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. Hei 9-324060). Such a prepreg is usually used for manufacturing a double-sided copper foil laminated plate having a copper foil integrated on both surfaces thereof and is used for fabricating a core substrate.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a wiring board which is advantageous to mass production because an insulating layer having a flat upper surface can be formed on a wiring layer, and furthermore, a gap for forming the insulating layer can be controlled easily, a composite sheet for manufacturing a wiring board to be used for the method, and a wiring board which can be obtained by the same method.


A portable light may employ a light source positioned adjacent an optical element. The light source may be configured as a light emitting diode generating light with a wavelength primarily within the range of 530 nm to 700 nm with a relative peak intensity of 550 nm to 650 nm. The optical element may be configured to manipulate the emitted light into a beam or other light pattern having specific characteristics such as a certain diameter and/or shape, a certain amount of spill, and/or a certain amount of backscatter. Certain embodiments may be especially useful for emergency and rescue operations performed under conditions such as fire generated smoke.

Lighting devices carried into emergency situations currently utilize either filtered or unfiltered full spectrum or substantially monochromatic light sources. In the case of full spectrum light sources, if the source is not filtered then it contains light having short wavelengths below about 550 nm. If a full spectrum light source is filtered, then the overall luminous output must be decreased by the filter element(s). Luminous efficacy and overall power efficiency are important in portable lighting devices such as flashlights in order to minimize size and weight while maximizing light output and device runtime; therefore, it is undesirable to use a filtered full spectrum light source to obtain a spectrum of light similar to that produced by the portable lighting device disclosed herein.
Substantially monochromatic light sources, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) made from gallium arsenide phosphide, aluminum gallium indium phosphide, gallium (III) phosphide, aluminum gallium arsenide, etc. can all produce light relatively efficiently, but the emitted wavelengths fall within a narrow range of the spectrum, and therefore produce poor visibility due to diminished color rendition and depth perception. A graph providing typical spectral distributions for various LEDs is shown in FIG. 1.
LEDs may be desirable for use in portable lighting devices due to their high luminous efficacy, but until recently have either produced white light containing a large proportion of wavelengths below about 550 nm or have been substantially monochromatic. The problem with using filtered full spectrum LEDs in order to obtain a spectrum of light similar to that produced by the portable lighting device disclosed herein is that the luminous efficacy of the device would be greatly reduced since full spectrum LEDs emit a significant proportion of light at wavelengths below about 550 nm and filtering these wavelengths results in much less available light for use.
Night vision equipment is also in use by emergency response personnel, but suffers from numerous disadvantages, including but not limited to, limited situational awareness due to poor peripheral vision, fogging and discomfort caused by heat accumulation and perspiration, high power requirements and high cost.
Rayleigh scattering dictates that light of shorter wavelengths will be scattered to a greater degree than light of longer wavelengths by particles suspended in a medium, such as air, having a diameter on the same order of size as that of the incident light wavelength. In an environment containing a large number of suspended particles, such as with fine dust or smoke, longer wavelengths of light are scattered less than shorter wavelengths. This relationship explains why the sky is blue and sunsets are red. Air molecules are smaller than most smoke particles, and in this regime Raleigh scattering is no longer valid, so Mie theory must be used to understand the interaction between the particles and electromagnetic waves such as visible light. A typical distribution of the size of smoke particles (in microns) is shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6 provides a graph showing scattering of light by smoke particles of various sizes.
The results of Mie theory are more difficult to interpret than Rayleigh scattering. Scattered light is highly undesirable in a smoke-filled rescue environment because it obscures vision of the user, affecting their ability to find or discern a person in need of rescue and maintain situational awareness for their own safety.
Human vision is known to be a function of the wavelength of light. Rods and cones within the retina and fovea of the eye each have different sensitivities to light as wavelength is varied. The rods provide for the scotopic response to light, and peak relative sensitivity for rods occurs around 507 nm. The cones provide for the photopic response to light, and peak relative sensitivity of cones occurs around 555 nm. For light intensities reaching the eye that are less than about 0.1 lux, the rods are responsible for vision. When a light source provides a light intensity to the eyes in the range of about 0.1 to 10 lux, both rods and cones contribute to vision. For light intensities in excess of about 10 lux, vision is dominated by the contribution from cones. Thus, in the range of lower light intensity from about 0.1 to 10 lux, the peak relative intensity is shifted to shorter wavelengths compared to brighter light sources over about 10 lux. A graphical representation of the typical relative luminous efficiency (on a logarithmic scale) for rods and cones as a function of the wavelength of the light is shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 provides a semi-graphical representation of the type of vision and/or eye components used by a typical person in various conditions. Finally, FIG. 4 provides a graphical representation of the threshold intensity of a typical person's sight after a certain time without visible light.
Light comprising a portion of the beam outside of the substantially brighter center (spill) is of a low enough intensity that it would contribute very little to sight in a smoky or dusty environment due to attenuation and scattering, yet it would still contribute to backscatter that only serves to reduce visibility of the target. A graphical representation of backscatter efficiency as a function of diameter of smoke particles (in microns) is shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 8 provides a graph of the ratio of penetrating to backscattered light intensity as a function of the distance to target (in meters) for various wavelengths of light. A graph of the ratio of penetrating to backscattered light intensity (as a percent improvement relative to 450 nm light) as a function to the distance to the target (in meters) for various wavelengths of light is shown in FIG. 9. Furthermore, light that forms the spill of a beam is light that could be used to increase the intensity of the center portion of the beam, which will aid in penetration and increase the distance of useful illumination.


Spray cooled roof assembly for a metallurgical vessel, e.g. an electric arc furnace, comprising two spray cooled components, one of which covers a major portion of the furnace, and the other component of the roof assembly having an integral spray cooled extension for the removal of heated gases from the furnace.

This invention relates to spray cooled systems for the roof of a metallurgical vessel, e.g. an electric arc furnace, and more particularly to a roof assembly which includes a removable spray cooled component having an integral spray cooled extension for the removal of heated gases and flume from the electric furnace.

Integral spray cooled furnace roof and fume elbow


An image forming apparatus, having a submodule that causes non-uniformity in density in a slow-scanning direction in accordance with rotation, includes a correction image forming unit that forms an image for density correction, in cooperation with the submodule, a density detector that detects a density of the image for density correction, a correction data generation unit that generates correction data to correct a density distribution based on a density distribution of the image for density correction in a slow-scanning direction detected by the density detector, a phase detector that detects a phase of the submodule, and a mark image forming unit that forms a mark image in synchronization with the phase of the submodule detected by the phase detector, in the image for density correction formed by the correction image forming unit.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copier, a printer, a facsimile machine or the like and an image density correction device used therein.
2. Related Art
As a conventional image forming apparatus, an apparatus having plural submodules such as an photoconductor drum, a charging device, an exposure device, developing device and a transfer device is known. In such image forming apparatus, the rotating photoconductor drum is uniformly charged with the charging device. Next, the surface of the charged photoconductor drum is selectively exposed with the exposure device, thereby an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor drum. Then the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor drum is developed with the developing device thereby visualized, and an obtained toner image is transferred onto a recording material.
In such image forming apparatus, to suppress density variation of a printed image, a toner image in a predetermined pattern is formed at predetermined timing, and based on the result of detection of the density of the formed toner image, operation parameters of the respective submodules of the image forming apparatus are adjusted. As the operation parameters, a charging bias in the charging device, the quantity of light emitted from the exposure device, a developing bias and a toner supply amount in the developing device, the output of the transfer device and the like can be given.
In the image forming apparatus, a predetermined error is allowed in the photoconductor drum and a photoconductive layer formed on the photoconductor drum. Accordingly, even when the above-described operation parameters are appropriately set, non-uniformity in density may occur in a rotation direction of the photoconductor drum i.e. a slow-scanning direction. Further, in addition to the photoconductor drum, respectively predetermined dimensional errors are allowed in a charging roller provided in the charging device, a developing roller provided in the developing device, a transfer roller provided in the transfer device and the like. Accordingly, these submodules may cause non-uniformity in density in the slow-scanning direction upon image formation.

Image forming apparatus and image density correction device


A foot-operated faucet including a foot-compressed bulb which can be compressed by foot to create and transfer air pressure through a hose onto a membrane in a valve body mounted on a general faucet, whereby the membrane can be expanded to push a ball plug away, permitting the water to flow out, and when the bulb is released, the air pressure is eliminated and the faucet is shut off, a rotary switch being disposed on the valve body and connected with a lever, whereby when the switch is rotated, the lever moves the ball plug away, permitting the water to continuously flow out.

The present invention relates to a foot-operated faucet and more particularly to a faucet fitted on an outlet of a general faucet, including a foot-compressed bulb which can be compressed by foot to create and transfer air pressure through a hose onto a membrane in a valve body mounted on a general faucet, whereby the membrane can be expanded to push a ball plug away, permitting the water to flow out. A rotary switch is disposed on the valve body and connected with a lever, whereby when the switch is rotated, the lever moves the ball plug away, permitting the water to continuously flow out.
U.S. Pat. No. 4052035 discloses a remotely controlled valve which includes a foot-operated control member capable of creating air pressure by way of compression and transferring the air pressure through a guide pipe to a pressure inlet for pushing away a piston. The piston then moves away a ball valve so a to permit the water to flow out. When the control member is released, the piston is restored to its original position by a spring and the ball valve suffers the water pressure to again block the water outlet.
Some drawbacks in the above arrangement are as follows:
1. When the piston contacts the surrounding wall too loosely, a leak will take place, while when the piston contacts the wall too closely, the piston will suffer greater frictional force when moved and thus cannot be easily operated.
2. The water outlet blocked by the ball valve is located on a lateral side and the ball valve blocks the outlet due to the water pressure, so that when the water pressure is lowered, due gravity, the ball valve will drop and fail to completely block the water outlet, making a part of water leak through the clearance between the ball valve and the outlet.
3. The remotely controlled valve can be only operated for temporary water discharging while when the water is to be discharged for a long time, the user must continuously step on the foot-operated member. Moreover, the structure of the remotely controlled valve is too complicated and thus cannot be easily assembled. Also, the foot-compressed structure of such valve is rough and the manufacturing cost thereof is high.

Combination foot and hand operated faucet attachment

4 Fl. No. 17, Lane 281, Hsian St. Sec. 1


In certain embodiments, a connection system includes a secondary latching release mechanism coupled to a lanyard release connector and a lanyard. The lanyard release connector has a primary latching release mechanism adapted to hold a complementary connector of a payload. The secondary latching release mechanism includes a mechanical forcing device that applies a force for actuating a primary latching release mechanism of the latching release connector when the mechanical forcing device is actuated by the lanyard such that the payload may be jettisoned from a vehicle.

Modern military aircraft are typically configured with payloads, such as bombs or missiles for armament. These payloads may be used by the aircraft to disable or incapacitate known threats in a theater of battle. In many cases, payloads may be configured within or underneath the fuselage or wings of the aircraft and ejected or jettisoned at a precise moment to strike their intended target. Smart bombs are a particular type of military store that include processing circuits for guidance and/or triggering.

Latching release system for a connector assembly


A multi-band antenna includes a grounding element having a first side, a radiating element separated form the first side of the grounding element, and a connecting element. The connecting element connects the grounding element to the radiating element and includes a first end slantwise extending from the grounding to form a first angle except a right angle between the connecting element and the grounding element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a multi-band antenna, and more particularly to a multi-band antenna suitable for built into an electronic device, such as a notebook.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, antennas working for Wireless Local Area Net (WLAN) become basic components in wireless communication devices. The inner antennas are of the smaller the better. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,861,986, and 6,812,892 disclose a type of planar invert-F antennas, which comprises a radiating element, a grounding element and a connecting element connecting the radiating element to the grounding element. And the connecting element comprises a first side, a second side and a third side connecting the first side to the second side. The three-section structure of the connecting element is used to match the antenna impedance. However, three-section structure of the connection element is relative complex. Thus, a simpler structure of the connection element is needed to be designed and used on antennas.
Hence, in this art, a multi-band antenna to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art should be provided.


An electrical connector with improved terminals, includes a dielectric housing having a connecting end, a mating end opposite to the connecting end, a plurality of slots arranged therein, a plurality of stop grooves formed adjacent to the connecting end and respectively adjoining and communicating with the corresponding slots, a plurality of terminals mounted in the corresponding slots, each of the terminals including a body, a first contact arm and a second contact arm, the first and the second contact arms cooperatively defining a clamping area therebetween, a retention arm formed on a substantially middle of the body and bending outwards of the body, wherein the retention arm is held against the stop groove so as to prevent the terminals from being loosened out of the slots by an excessive insertion force from a mating connector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to a thin-type electrical connector with improved terminals being securely mounted in a dielectric housing of the electrical connector.
2. Related Art
As is well known, an electrical connector usually includes a housing and terminals which are secured in the housing by an interference fit. However, conventional terminals are unable to keep an appropriate interference fit with the housing as expected because thickness of the housing of the electrical connector is designed to be as small as possible to keep up with a trend of thin-type configuration. In particular, the terminals in the housing tend to be affected in positions or even loose when the electrical connector is mated with an excessive insertion force. Though the terminals are able to be secured in the housing by Insert Molding, the method of Insert Molding still has drawbacks of higher cost and limited manufacturing process.

Electrical connector with improved terminals


A socket for easily connecting and disconnecting a standard camlock fitting, such as those used in flanges on marine vessels, includes four drive lugs, or tangs, for mating with recesses on the camlock. The socket is adapted for connection to a standard ratchet wrench for providing torque to tighten or loosen the camlocks.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to tools for connecting and disconnecting flanges such as those used at a refinery or on a barge.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,904 discloses an improved flange removal tool for facilitating the installation and removal of pipe flanges from a receiving pipe fitting. The flange tool includes a body portion with an upper surface which includes a central opening for receiving an engagement head of a socket wrench. A continuous frame is attached to the body portion by spaced arms such that the continuous frame is suspended in spaced relation from the lower surface of the body portion by a distance which is greater than the thickness of a pipe flange to be rotated. The pipe flange is positioned between the body portion and the frame so that upon rotation of the flange tool, facilitated by engagement of a socket wrench with the central opening, side walls of the spaced arms contact the edges of the pipe flange to urge rotation thereof and threading onto its receiving pipe fitting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,331 discloses a flange tightening tool for use in securing a flange to a pipe. The tool has a base plate, a tightening hexagonal shoulder, two attachment openings, two quick release disconnect mechanisms and a rotating handle perpendicular to the tightening base plate. The hexagonal shoulder enables the tool to be used with a companion lightweight wrench. The tool can also be used with an open end wrench or an adjustable wrench. A rotatable handle is attached to the hexagonal shoulder such that said handle is perpendicular to the face of a flange that is to be tightened and can be used to hold the tool against the flange. When the quick release disconnect mechanisms are depressed about the pivot pin the quick release disconnect mechanism detracts from the mounting members releasing the mounting member separating the base plate and the flange. The tool prevents over tightening since the flange cannot be tightened past the point where the pipe contacts the base plate. An adapter plate enables the tool to be used with an additional size of flange.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,755 the pipe flange tool for tightening or removing threaded pipe flanges includes a base having at least three engaging pins laterally extending from one side of the base and means for rotationally engaging the base. The engaging pins are positioned on the base such that at least two of the pins cooperate to tighten or remove various threaded pipe flanges as are commonly used for forming circulating pumps to pipes. The tool base may be provided with a bore in the base itself or it may have a laterally extending hub having a bore sized to receive a conventional socket wrench. The base may also be provided with pins having various configurations including cylindrical or frusto-conical.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,048 discloses a flange turning tool adapted for use with flanged pipe couplings, wherein the wrench comprises a head member having a reduced, extending, jaw member which is provided with a cylindrical key pin that extends laterally and outwardly therefrom. The key pin is arranged to be received in any one of a plurality of openings located about the flange member of the pipe coupling. The annular periphery of a thrust flange will engage the shoulder defined by the rear enlarged portion of the head member. The head member has a threaded bore to receive a conventional bar or extension handle. When force is applied to the bar, the flange is locked between the key pin and shoulder and is then either tightened or untightened, depending on the direction of force applied thereto.
British Patent GB 2,318,315 relates to a device for securing a threaded flange to the threaded end portion of a pipe.


An RF device may include RF circuitry having a PIN diode configured to switch an RF signal, and a biasing circuit. The biasing circuit may include a controllable power supply having a control input and an current output coupled to the PIN diode to selectively bias the PIN diode into an ON state, and a feedback circuit coupled between the current output and the control input of the controllable power supply to set a current delivered to the PIN diode in the ON state.

Mobile communications devices are deployed to government personnel, and emergency service providers. In some applications, the mobile communications device is handheld, but in other applications, the mobile communications device may be more bulky, yet still portable, such as a manpack radio, as available from the L3Harris Corporation of Melbourne, Fla. The typical mobile communications device includes an antenna, and a transceiver coupled to the antenna. The transceiver and the antenna cooperate to transmit and receive communications signals.
For transmission, the typical mobile communications device modulates digital data onto an analog signal. As will be readily appreciated by the skilled person, there are several modulations available for most applications. For most communications devices, the transmitted and received signals are spectrally limited. In other words, the communications device operates within an expected frequency range, such as the ultra high frequency (UHF) range or the very high frequency (VHF) range. Because of the known operational characteristic, the communications device is usually designed to operate within the expected frequency range. Nevertheless, as communications devices have become more robust in the included feature set, some applications demand operating within multiple frequency bands, i.e. a multi-band device.
In some multi-band devices, such as the aforementioned manpack radio, the transmit/receive architecture may comprise a plurality of paths with respective amplifiers/receivers and antennas. To accommodate the multiple antennas, the radio device includes switches downstream to route the transmitted signal to the proper path. In some applications, PIN diodes may serve as the switches to route the transmit/receive signals. These applications may also include biasing circuits to bias the PIN diode in a desired state (i.e. ON and OFF states).
In one example approach, as shown in FIG. 1, a radio frequency (RF) device 100 includes a voltage source 101, a resistor 102 coupled to the voltage source, and an inductor 103 coupled to the resistor. The RF device 100 also includes a PIN diode 104 coupled to the inductor 103. A potential drawback to this approach is high power consumption.

RF device with biasing circuit for PIN diode and related methods


Cases for tablet computers and methods are disclosed. An embodiment of one such case has an interface configured to allow the tablet computer to communicate with a removable storage device using a communication protocol not supported by the tablet computer, where the case is configured to contain at least a portion of the tablet computer therein.

Tablet computers are typically portable computers that usually use a touchscreen as an input device. For example, some tablet computers may use a virtual keyboard, e.g., displayed on the touchscreen, for text input through the touchscreen. Some tablet computers may use handwriting recognition, e.g., responsive to marks made on the touchscreen with a stylus, as an additional means for text input through the touchscreen. Examples of tablet computers include the APPLE® iPad®, BLACKBERRY® Playbook, HP (Hewlett Packard) TouchPad™, ANDROID® tablets (e.g., Motorola Xoom ANDROID® Tablet), etc. Some tablet computers are not compatible with, e.g., cannot communicate with, certain removable storage devices, e.g., non-volatile memory cards, such as SD Secure Digital® (SD) memory cards, CompactFlash® (CF) mass storage memory cards, etc.
Although adapters exist for adapting the iPad® to communicate with SD and CF memory cards, SD and CF memory cards can cause excessive drain on the battery of the iPad®. In addition, existing SD and CF adaptors are inconvenient, difficult to use, and detract from the overall appearance of the iPad®.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for alternatives to existing adapters for adapting tablet computers to communicate with removable storage devices, such as SD and CF memory cards.


A method and apparatus for sewing flange material to a fabric panel, preferably the top or bottom panel of a mattress sack. The apparatus includes a sled which pulls the fabric panel to and through the sewing machine. The apparatus also includes an edge guide that guides one edge of the panel to the sewing machine as well as provides a thickness measurement of the panel and smooths the fabric panel prior to sewing. The apparatus also includes a moveable dolly which carries the sewing machine find the flange material, and a wheel which engages the fabric panel during movement of the sewing machine away from the fabric panel to prevent movement of the fabric panel. The apparatus also includes apparatus for automatically removing the fabric panel from the table after completion of the sewing operation, as well as a cutter for cutting the trailing flange material and the sewing threads. The method of this invention includes the steps of sewing each edge sequentially, rotating the parcel around the corners while cutting and sewing the corners, and measuring the thickness of the panel to space the rotating arm from the table a specified distance less than the thickness of the panel. The method also includes the steps of adjusting the speed of rotation of the edge flattened to produce a flattened corner without wrinkles or ridges.

Mattresses typically include an inner construction covered by a mattress sack. The mattress sack generally includes top and bottom panels which are interconnected by side panels. The sack usually is secured to the inner construction by a flange which is secured to the periphery of one of the top and bottom panels and which is connected to the inner construction using hog rings or the like. The inner construction typically includes springs of known configurations. The top and bottom panels may be sewn directly to the side panel, or joined with border tape or the like.
The flange material is usually affixed to the edges of a top or bottom panel at the same time as the edges of the panel are cut and stitched. This process utilizes a sewing machine adjacent a table upon which the mattress panel rests. While in the past, this process was primarily a manual operation, efforts have been made in more recent times to automate this process. Early attempts held the mattress panel stationary while propelling the sewing machine around the circumference of the mattress panel. More recent efforts in this regard have held the sewing machine stationary while manipulating the mattress panel on an air table. Examples of such apparatus are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,529,004 (assigned to the Assignee of the present application), Publication No. W095/25194 (assigned to the Assignee of the present application), U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,308 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,968.
Problems encountered in all of these systems, and partially solved in some of the foregoing patents, include proper alignment of the edge of the mattress panel with the sewing needle, and proper rotation of the mattress panel around a corner to produce a rounded, evenly cut corner with the desired radius and stitching, and proper alignment of the flange material.
It is highly desirable to automate as much of the process as possible and to minimize the amount of manual labor required for sewing the mattress panels. Automation saves labor costs and minimizes injury to workers, produces a higher level of accuracy and provides reproducibility to render a more uniform look to the finished product.
Despite efforts to improve accuracy and to minimize worker participation, there is still room for improvement in both areas. In particular, some of the foregoing existing apparatus still require manual guidance of the sewn edge of the panel as it passes through the sewing machine, particularly at the end of the sewing cycle. In addition, the foregoing existing apparatus still require that the panel be manually removed from the table or sewing area at the end of the stitching cycle.
Therefore, it is one object of the present invention to more fully automate the process of stitching the edges of a mattress panel and attaching the flange.
It is another object of the present invention to further increase the accuracy and reproducibility of the stitching of the edges of the top and bottom panels of a mattress sack, and the attachment of the flange.

Method and apparatus for sewing fabric panels


The present invention relates to novel coating compositions comprising polyisocyanates, aliphatic oligocarbonate polyols, oligoester polyols and polyacrylate polyols, to a process for their production and to their use in the production of coatings.

The present invention relates to novel coating compositions comprising polyisocyanates, aliphatic oligocarbonate polyols, oligoester polyols and polyacrylate polyols, to a process for their production and to their use in the production of coatings.
Scratch-resistant finishing lacquers, especially for the automotive finishing lacquer sector and for automotive repair lacquering, have already been of great interest for many years. As well as having the property of a low tendency to scratching, for example in a car wash, such finishing lacquer systems are further required to have excellent resistance to solvents and acids.
Accordingly, the market has opened for 2-component ("2K") polyurethane ("PUR") systems that are distinguished by good resistance to solvents and chemicals while at the same time having good scratch resistance and excellent weather resistance.
Polyacrylates, optionally in admixture with polyesters as polyol binders, are often used in such systems. Aliphatic and/or cycloaliphatic polyisocyanates based on hexamethylene diisocyanate and/or isophorone diisocyanate are mainly used as crosslinkers.
Such 2K polyurethane coating compositions have achieved a very good overall property level, but scratching of the clear lacquer is frequently observed, especially in the case of dark colors, after frequent washing cycles in car washes. Depending on the elasticity of the lacquer layer, the scratches recede over time, which is referred to as the so-called reflow. However, if the elasticity of the clear lacquer layer is increased in order to improve the reflow behavior, then the lacquer loses surface hardness, and its resistance to solvents and chemicals especially, in particular its resistance to acids, is impaired [Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich, Mo. Metalloberfläche 54 (2000) 60-64]. Attempts are therefore being made in the art to improve the scratch resistance of 2K PUR lacquers by increasing the elasticity of the polyol component, mainly by combinations of polyacrylates and more elastic polyesters.
DE-A 198 24 118 describes low-solvent binders based on polyester-polyacrylate, which can be cured with di- and/or poly-isocyanates to give rapidly drying coatings with good adhesion. However, because of the high polyester content, they have inadequate resistance to acids and are not suitable for use in automotive finishing lacquers.
WO 96/20968 describes a coating composition for cars and heavy goods vehicles which comprises a polyacrylate based on alkyl-substituted cycloaliphatic (meth)acrylate monomers or alkyl-substituted aromatic vinyl monomers, a multi-hydroxy-functional oligoester and a polyisocyanate. However, because the oligoesters, as a result of their preparation, contain a relatively large number of secondary hydroxyl groups in addition to primary hydroxyl groups, and because very large amounts of these esters (>60 wt. %, based on the total formulation) must be used for low-viscosity coating compositions (<3,000 mPa·s/23° C.), they cure fully only very slowly and at relatively high temperatures, so that they are unsuitable for heat-sensitive substrates such as, for example, add-on elements made of plastics.
EP-A 0 896 991 describes coating compositions based on polyacrylate-polyester mixtures having polyester contents ≦10 wt. % and hydroxyl numbers from 40 to 125 mg KOH/g. Owing to the resulting low crosslinking densities, PUR lacquers produced therefrom do not have adequate resistance to solvents and chemicals. Moreover, the viscosity, at 3,000 to 5,000 mPa·s (23° C.) at a solids content of 70 wt. %, is too high for the formulation of high-solids PUR lacquers.
In several documents, such as, for example, in EP 1 101 780 A, EP 819 710 A and EP 778 298 A, mention is often made generally of the use of mixtures of polyacrylates with other polyols, such as, for example, polyesters and/or polycarbonates as polyol binders and reactants for polyisocyanate crosslinkers in 2K PUR lacquers, without giving details of the specific advantages of such mixtures. Furthermore, no information is given about the quantitative composition or the molecular weight and OH functionality of the polycarbonate polyol of such mixed systems.
On page 584 of the anonymous publication 493099 of the Research Disclosure of May 2005, polycarbonate diols and possible combinations thereof with other polyols, as well as corresponding polyurethane coatings, are described. The achievable properties of such lacquers, such as, for example, good adhesion, high gloss, hardness development, flow, resistance to alkalis, flexibility, elasticity, impact resistance and wear resistance, are mentioned generally, without corresponding test results or evidence. However, no information is to be found regarding an improvement in the scratch resistance of corresponding lacquers.
The object of the present invention was, therefore, to provide novel coating compositions which exhibit a marked improvement in scratch resistance without thereby impairing the resistance of the finishing lacquer systems to acids and solvents.
It has been found, surprisingly, that by using specific combinations of aliphatic oligocarbonate polyols, oligoester polyols, specific polyacrylate polyols, and polyisocyanates acting as crosslinkers or curing agents, it is possible to produce coating compositions that exhibit markedly improved scratch resistance while having equally good or even improved resistance to solvents and acids.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention relates to the video playback unit of one or a plurality of videos, the delivery unit and the recording medium for recording the program of the processing of these units. The video playback unit of one video reads in order the video data of the video file from the storage unit. The display displays the video data, the time information sequence data and the still image sequence data positioned before and after the playback time of the video data. In this way, the video scene contained in the video file stored in the storage unit and the video file within the server network-connected can be effectively read or the target scene can be effectively retrieved. On the other hand, the playback unit of a plurality of videos divides a plurality of videos read from the storage unit into the main videos and the proxy videos so that these videos can be simultaneously displayed. In this way, a plurality of videos can be played back even in a limited transmission bandwidth and decoding capacity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video playback unit of one or more than plurality of videos, a delivery unit and a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
First, one example of a conventional unit capable of playing back and retrieving one video will be described with reference to FIG. 25. In FIG. 25, a video playback portion 120 reads video data in order from a storage unit 110 by control of a controller 100, and outputs a screen output signal, an audio output signal and a current playback time on a display 130. Further, the video playback portion takes a length of the entire video as a playback length P and outputs it to a playback starting time setting portion 101. When the time to start a playback is set by the playback starting time setting portion 101, the playback starting time setting portion 101 outputs a setting time (q) to the video playback portion 120. When the setting time (q) is inputted, the video playback portion 120 takes the video data of recording position information in the vicinity of the setting time from the storage unit 110 and performs the playback thereof. The display 130 takes a screen output signal, an audio output signal and a current playback time and performs the displaying of the video output, the audio output and the current playback time.
Another example of the conventional unit will be described with reference to FIG. 26. This conventional example is, as shown in the drawing, constituted by a client terminal 105 as the playback unit and a server system 102 connected by a network 104, and the video data are stored in the server system 102.
The controller 100 sends a control signal to the video playback portion 120, and requests the video playback portion 120 to play back a video. The video playback portion 120 sends a video request signal (r) to a server system 102 via a network 104. The server system 102 reads the request signal (r) by a video server 103, and sends designated video data to the video server 103 from the storage unit 110. The video server 103 transmits the video data to a client terminal 105 via the network 104.
The client terminal 105 stores the transmitted video data once in a buffer 106, and transfers it to the video playback portion 120. The video playback portion 120 reads the video data and outputs the screen output signal, the audio output signal and the current playback time to a display 130. Subsequent retrieval actions by using a playback starting time setting portion 101 are the same as those of the above described FIG. 25 and, therefore, the description thereof will be omitted.
The method of setting a playback starting time (setting time (q)) for the playback starting time setting portion 101 as in FIG. 25 and FIG. 26 has conventionally used the following methods of (1), (2). (1) The method of directly inputting the playback starting time. (2) The method of taking a length of the entire video as 100% and determining a designated ratio within that length as the playback starting time.
However, since the setting methods (1),(2) of the above described playback starting time do not reveal what sort of videos are stored at which position of the video data, an user is obliged to set several sorts of times by a time code or a scroll bar and, by playing back according to those setting times, to play back his target videos. For this reason, there was a problem that the retrieval of the videos took a lot of times and labors.
Next, one example of the conventional unit for simultaneously playing back a plurality of videos is shown in FIG. 27. By control of the controller 100, the video playback portions 101 to 10n take in order a plurality of video data 1 to n from the storage unit 110, and input them to video playback portions 101 to 10n. The video playback portions 101 to 10n reads in order the video data and outputs the screen output signal, the audio output signal and the current playback time to the display 130. The display 130 takes the playback time, the screen output signal and the audio output signal and performs the display of the playback time, the screen output and the audio output.
This conventional unit has a demerit that, since a processing load corresponding to the number of video data is imposed, the number of videos to be playing back is limited when the playback processing is performed by, for example, a software.
The conventional unit for simultaneously playing back a plurality of videos and playing back from a designated time is shown in FIG. 28. For example, when a length of the entire video from the video playback portion 101 is inputted to a playback starting time setting portion 201 as a playback length, the playback starting time setting portion 201 sets a time for performing the playback and outputs the setting time to the video playback portion 101. By so doing, the video playback portion 101 sets the recording position information of the video data in the vicinity of the setting time, and takes the video data from a designated recording position from the storage unit 110 and performs the playback thereof.
The setting method of the playback starting time at the playback starting time setting portion 201 uses the following two methods:    (1) The method of directly inputting the playback starting time.    (2) The method of taking the entire length of video data as 100% and determining a designated ratio within that length as the playback starting time.
Since this conventional unit does not reveal what sort of videos are stored at which position, the user is obliged to set several sort of times and performs the playback from those times onward by way of trial so as to find his target videos and play back the videos of that target. For this reason, there was a problem that the retrieval of the videos took a lot of times and labors.
The other conventional unit includes those where the above described storage unit 110 is provided within the server system connected via a network, and the videos necessary for playback are transmitted to a plurality of video playback portions via the network. However, in the case of this conventional unit, a bandwidth necessary for the transmission of videos depends on the number of videos, there was a problem that a line for high bandwidth is necessary for simultaneous network transmission.

Video playback unit, video delivery unit and recording medium


A vacuum fluorescent display and a manufacturing method thereof are disclosed. The vacuum fluorescent display has a faceplate and a substrate forming a vacuum-space, segments, filaments, grids, pin leads, stands for fixing filaments and a stationary base for fixing the stands. The stationary base is a hollowed-out rectangle which includes a pair of parallel setters for welding the stands on opposing sides of the substrate and a pair of spacing strips for maintaining the interval between the setters. The base is fixed to the substrate, and then setters are separated from each other by removing the spacing strips. The ends of setters extend outwardly from the vacuum-space to serve as a conductor to the filament.

The present invention relates to an improved vacuum fluorescent display and a manufacturing method thereof, which enables a pattern to be arranged as desired, the vacuum state within the tube to be stable, and automation to enhance productivity.
Vacuum fluorescent displays can be classified according to the form of their connecting leads. For example, in a frame-lead type, leads are integrally formed with the frame as a single body, and in a pin-lead type, the leads are composed of a plurality of separate pins.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional vacuum fluorescent display of pin-lead type, partially exposed.
In the display tube, a vacuum is formed between a faceplate 1 and a substrate 2 with an interposing spacer 3. All of the functional parts of the display are provided on the substrate 2. The following components can be given as examples of the functional parts: a segment (not shown) placed on the substrate below a grid (to be described later) providing an alphanumeric pattern; a filament 5 arranged over the segment; a grid 6 positioned between the segment and filament 5 for controlling low-speed thermoelectron emission; a getter (not shown) for additional enhancement of the vacuum in the tube; and a contact spring for applying a negative potential to a transparent conductive layer 1' which is formed on the faceplate's inner surface to assist the effective concentration of electrons.
In this vacuum fluorescent display structure, the functional parts are divided into two groups, some are formed directly on the substrate while others are spaced from the first group and formed over the substrate. The latter group includes the grid 6 and filament 5. The grid 6 is installed above the substrate 2 at a predetermined height by contacts 6' at both ends thereof which are used for fixing the grid to the substrate and for electrical conduction. The filament 5 is positioned at the top portion of the functional layer by bridge-type supports 4 which are provided at both edges of the inner surface of substrate 2.
Meanwhile, in order to operate, the functional layer must be supplied with external control voltages and provided with internal electrical circuits formed on the functional layer. To accomplish this, a plurality of exposed contacts 2' along the edge of substrate 2 form signal paths. At this time, a pin-lead 8 with U-shape clamps 8' is used for convenient connecting with a driving circuit on a separate printed circuit board. Respective pin-leads 8 arranged in a row along one edge of substrate 2 are engaged with the exposed contacts 2', and are permanently fixed by a sealing material such as frit glass 7.
In FIG. 2, a conventional frame-lead type vacuum fluorescent display is illustrated, which has similar functional parts as the foregoing pin-lead type vacuum fluorescent display. In more detail, all of the functional parts are provided on a substrate 2 below a faceplate 1 which together with substrate 2, encases a vacuum space. The functional layer includes an alphanumeric segment, a filament 5 disposed above the segment, and a grid 6 positioned between the segment and filament 5 for controlling low-speed thermoelectron emission.
Here, filament 5 and grid 6 are directly connected to the inner ends of selected leads 8b which are bent as crank and arranged parallel with one another along one edge of the substrate, different from the fixing construction of the pin-lead type. More specifically, grid 6 is fixed overlying the inner fixed end 8b' of lead 8b bent as crank, and the filament 5 is fixed by interposing a stand 4b with welding stop 4b' by the leads 8b placed at both ends. On the other hand, the segment makes contact with the inner end 8b" of other leads 8b of inverted "V" shape through the corresponding signal line connector 2", thereby forming an electrical circuit.
According to the above-described lead characteristics, the two aforementioned conventional vacuum fluorescent displays have merits and demerits as follows.
Since the functional layer pattern is independent of the shape of the lead, the pin-lead type vacuum fluorescent display offers a wide choice in selecting patterns of the functional layer, and it's vacuum tube has low probability of leakage. However, while the assembling jigs are simple, the process for manufacturing and assembling the leads is fastidious due to using a plurality of separate pin-type leads. Furthermore, the substrate may be damaged while fixing the leads, which makes automation in manufacturing the product difficult.
As for the frame-lead type vacuum fluorescent display, the functional part placed over the substrate such as the metallic components including the grid and filament is first fixed to the frame lead, separately from the substrate, and then is fixed to the substrate. Therefore, this type of display takes very little time to manufacture, and is favorable for automation. Further, since the lead itself is used for direct electrical connection to the filament, grid, and segment, connections between circuits are very stable and accurate. However, the orientation of the grid is determined by the direction of the leads, which offers narrower choice in selecting the desired pattern. Particularly, since a predetermined width of the lead must enter the vacuum space, the seal is apt to leak. This type is also disadvantageous in that the frame lead is integrally formed with the filament contacts, grid contacts, and segment contacts, thus, the material cost is expensive. Moreover, the manufacturing process of the frame lead itself is necessarily accompanied by punching and pressing while considering the position and/or height of each component. Once manufactured, frame lead is restricted to a specific model, impeding common usage of components. During the assembling process, strict management of the size is required to secure a stable connection of each lead to the connectors as the functional part.

Vacuum fluorescent display and manufacturing method thereof


An imaging apparatus includes: a control unit configured to detect a focus position by moving a focusing lens before and after a preset position which is a focusing lens position set by a focus preset function, with the control unit setting a scan range which is a movement range of the focusing lens to a different range according to a setting state of a zoom lens, obtaining an AF evaluation value along with movement of the focusing lens within the set scan range, and determining a focus position based on the obtained AF evaluation value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, imaging apparatus control method, and computer program. More particularly, the present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, imaging apparatus control method, and computer program, which perform focus control.
2. Description of the Related Art
With a great number of current imaging apparatuses such as still cameras, video cameras, and so forth, an auto-focus (AF) mechanism is implemented, which automatically focuses on a subject. For example, with focus control based on contrast measurement employed for many cameras, a focus position is determined by determining whether the contrast of imaged data obtained through a lens is high or low. That is to say, a position where the contrast intensity of an image becomes the maximum is detected while moving a focusing lens, and this position is regarded as a focus position. Note that a range where the focusing lens is moved is referred to as a scan range, and lens driving is typically performed with a range between the near side and the infinity side as a scan range.
Further, a great number of cameras are employed, which have a focus preset function whereby shooting can be performed by rapidly moving a lens to a focus preset position set by a photographer beforehand. For example, with Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-294570, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-64842, a camera having the focus preset function is described. Also, with Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-53722, a camera has been disclosed wherein subject distances which a user intends to shoot can be preset by being assigned to multiple buttons.
Employing the focus preset function enables shooting to be started by rapidly moving a lens to a predetermined position, and accordingly, the shooting start timing can be sped up as compared to the case of employing the auto-focus (AF) function.
With shooting employing auto-focus (AF), lens driving is performed with a range between the near side and the infinity side as a scan range, which results in a problem that it takes time to determine a focus position. Also, for example, in a case wherein there is a wire net in front, an animal exists on the other side thereof, and shooting of the animal is attempted, there is a possibility that a contrast peak will be detected in both of the wire net and animal with auto-focus processing, and a photo focused on the wire net is shot, which is not what the user intended.
With Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-349744, there has been proposed a method for restricting a scan range of AF to separate multiple subjects as an arrangement for solving such a problem. However, in the case of employing this method, there is a possibility that separation of multiple far and near subjects is not performed well at a zoom position (focal distance) of which the depth of field is deep, such as the wide angle side, and shooting is executed while focusing on a subject other than a target subject. Note that "depth of field" is an in-focus range available before and after one focus position (point of focus), and a state wherein this range is wide is referred to that the depth of field is deep. In general, the depth of field is deep in a case wherein the optical zoom is at the wide angle side, and the depth of field is shallow at the telescopic side.

Imaging apparatus, imaging apparatus control method, and computer program


A circuit, method, and system for intelligently soft starting switching regulators are provided. The circuit, method, and system provide for a switching circuit operable to couple an input voltage to an output of the switching regulator in response to a control signal, a controller operable to generate the control signal to control the switching of the switching circuit based in part on a reference voltage, and a soft start circuit operable to provide the reference voltage to the controller responsive to the switching of the switching circuit.

Voltage regulators are circuits designed to deliver a constant output voltage despite changes in load, temperature, and/or power supply. A switching regulator is a type of voltage regulator that produces a constant output voltage by alternately connecting and disconnecting an input voltage.
Switching regulators are becoming increasingly popular because of their efficiency, size, and weight. In addition, switching regulators, unlike linear regulators, can provide an output voltage that is higher or lower than the input voltage. A switching regulator that generates a reduced output voltage is usually referred to as a "buck" regulator and a switching regulator that generates an increased output voltage is usually referred to as a "boost" regulator. There are also other kinds of switching regulators, such as a "buck-boost" regulator, which is a switching regulator that can generate an output voltage that is opposite in polarity to the input, and a "flyback" regulator, which is a switching regulator that has multiple outputs and can generate output voltages that are less than or greater than the input.
FIG. 1 illustrates the startup characteristics of a conventional switching regulator under a sample small capacitor load (CLoad) and a sample large CLoad. In the example, both the small and large capacitor loads overshoot the target voltage of 1.4V as a result of excess current in the inductor. The small CLoad takes almost 160 microsecond (μs) to reach the target voltage and the large CLoad fails to reach the target voltage even at 200 μs. The overshoots and startup times are generally unacceptable.
To address the overshoot problem, some designers have incorporated a soft start into switching regulators. The soft start used increases a reference voltage provided to the switching regulator linearly so that excess current in the inductor is minimized. Depicted in FIGS. 2A-2B are the results of applying a linear soft start to the sample capacitor loads illustrated in FIG. 1.
In FIG. 2A, the linear soft start applied is sufficiently slow for the small CLoad, but not slow enough for the large CLoad. As a result, the large CLoad still overshoots the target voltage. In FIG. 2B, the linear soft start utilized is slow enough for the large CLoad, but the small CLoad then has to live with an unnecessarily long startup time.
Accordingly, there is a need for a soft start that optimizes startup time, minimizes overshoot, and is adaptable to load conditions. The present invention addresses such a need.

Intelligent soft start for switching regulators


Dry, water-soluble powder, substituted heterocyclic acid, substituted phenol herbicidal compositions, combinations thereof, or in combination with phenoxy and/or benzoic acid herbicides, are prepared by grinding and dry blending the herbicide in acid form with a dry, particulate solubilization medium selected from the group consisting of diammonium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, disodium phosphate, trisodium phosphate or tripotassium phosphate. At least about 1 mole of the medium is provided for each mole of active herbicidal agent in the initially dry blended mixture. The dry blended mixture may be packaged in suitable containers such as paper bags, and added directly to a quantity of water to form a solubilized herbicidal formulation containing from about 0.1% to about 2-1/2% of the active herbicide and which is suitable for direct application to vegetation to be controlled.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to water-soluble herbicidal compositions in dry powdered form which include herbicidally active agents selected from the group consisting of a herbicidally active substituted heterocyclic acid, a herbicidally active substituted heterocyclic acid combined with a solid herbicidally active substituted phenoxy acid, a herbicidally active substituted heterocyclic acid combined with a solid herbicidally active substituted benzoic acid, a herbicidally active substituted heterocyclic acid combined with a herbicidally active substituted phenoxy acid and a herbicidally active substituted benzoic acid, and a herbicidally active substituted phenol, each of which alone, or in combination with one another, are not readily soluble in water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Those herbicidal agents registered for use by commercial applicators are generally sold in concentrated form for economy of transport, and then diluted by the applicator either at a central distribution center, or less frequently at the point of use. The majority of effective herbicides and plant growth regulators are foliarly absorbed and therefore, to be effective, must be applied to the foliage of the target pest species. Other herbicides are root absorbed and the product must be applied in a manner as to be available to the roots of the target. This is commonly accomplished by spraying a dilute water solution, or dispersion of the desired pesticide on the vegetation to be treated. Most herbicides are therefore marketed as either (1) liquid or dry water-soluble formulations, (2) liquid, water emulsifiable formulations, or (3) solid or liquid water dispersible formulations. The concentrated formulations are diluted to the required effective concentration by the person doing the spray application. Thus, in order to obtain optimum effectiveness and to minimize agitation and other mechanical suspension requirements, water-soluble formulations are normally preferred.
Because of the difficulties of manufacturing a dry, soluble form of herbicide, most dry formulations are simply dispersible forms of essentially insoluble active ingredients. Typical examples of formulations are (1) wettable powders, (2) water dispersible granules, or (3) dry flowables. Formulations of these types depend heavily on surfactants and grinding techniques to provide a dry formulation of active ingredients that can be temporarily dispersed or suspended in water for spray application. Even when a dispersion can initially be obtained in water, the time of full dispersion is usually limited, thus requiring stirring, agitation with air, or other mechanical mixing. Dispersions of this type present additional problems in that the material tends to clog spray nozzles and other distribution components, and require the user to prepare smaller than desired batches in order to minimize application problems.
Because of the problems associated with attempting to prepare the dry powdered herbicide, suppliers have resorted in some instances to dissolution of the active ingredient in an organic solvent such as mineral spirits or the like. The concentrated formulation, containing suitable surfactants, is then diluted with water to form a dispersion that again usually necessitates some type of agitation to maintain the phases substantially homogeneous for a useful period of time.
In instances where the herbicides are dissolved in a solvent for shipment as a concentrate, the solvent presents health and physical hazards to the manufacturer as well as the user, the solvents add to the overall cost of the product, and the solvent agent is oftentimes phytotoxic to desirable plant species.
The wettable powders and solvent dissolved herbicides are frequently packaged in plastic containers
and disposal of these plastic packages is becoming increasingly difficult from an environmental standpoint.
Substituted phenoxy and/or benzoic acid herbicides such as (2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid [2,4-D], 4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)butanoic acid [2,4-DB], (+)-2-(4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy)propanoic acid [MCPP], (4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy)acetic acid [MCPA], (+)-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)propanoic acid [dichlorprop], 3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid [dicamba], 3-amino-2,5-dichlorobenzoic
acid [chloramben], and 5-[2-chloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]-2-nitrobenzoic acid [acifluorfen] have long been used to control unwanted vegetation.
These substituted phenoxy and/or benzoic acid herbicides are white crystalline solids with very low vapor pressures and low water solubilities. They are soluble only in alkaline solutions or polar organic solvents.
Phenoxy and/or benzoic acid herbicides are available commercially as acid, ester, alkali metal, and amine salt formulations that can also be applied as mixtures with other herbicides. The alkali metal and especially the amine salt formulations are preferred because they are the most water-soluble and can be more readily applied as aqueous sprays. However, the esters must be applied either as emulsions in water, or as solutions in organic solvents such as oils. 2,4-D for example, is an insoluble crystalline material having a pK.sub.a of approximately 2.6. For ease of application, 2,4-D is normally converted to a water-soluble amine or mineral salt by the manufacturer and then dissolved by the applicator in a water carrier before use.
However, water-soluble substituted phenoxy and/or benzoic acid salts exhibiting herbicidal activity are difficult to prepare in a dry state. Soluble salts such as potassium or sodium or dimethylamine must be first prepared in water or a solvent and then the solvent removed. This requires special equipment, is energy intensive, and frequently generates undesirable waste products. As a consequence, most dry forms of herbicide that are marketed are not of a soluble type but rather are merely dispersible forms of the essentially insoluble herbicide acid which are distributed as a wettable powder or a wettable, dispersible granule. Although both inorganic and organic salt forms are commercially available, the most common salt form is the dimethylamine salt of the substituted phenoxy or substituted benzoic acid herbicide. Typical formulations range from about 20% to 50% active ingredient concentrations in water or solvent solutions.
Similarly, 3,6-dichloropicolinic acid as a monoethanolamine salt [clopyralid], 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridyloxyacetic acid as a triethylamine salt [triclopyr], 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid as a potassium salt [picloram], 3,7-dichloro-8-quinolinecarboxylic acid as a 50% wettable powder [quinclorac] and 3-isopropyl-1H-2,1,3-benzothiadiazin-4 (3H)-one 2,2-dioxide as a sodium salt [bentazon] have been used commercially as herbicidal compositions.
Picloram has been combined with the amine salt of 2,4-D acid, clopyralid has been combined with the amine salt of 2,4-D acid, and triclopyr plus 2,4-D acid as an EC ester, have all been suggested and are in use as herbicidal agents.
Wettable powders, water-soluble amine salts, oil soluble amine salts, and emulsifiable concentrates have 10 also been provided of substituted phenolic herbicides including a 33.4% octanoic acid ester of 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile [bromoxynil], a 31.7% octanoic acid ester of bromoxynil plus 34% of isooctyl ester of 2-methyl-chlorophenoxyacetic acid, bromoxynil plus MCPA, and the octanoic acid ester of 3, 5-diiodo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile [ioxynil]. Various combinations of ioxynil and/or bromoxynil have been marketed in various foreign countries.
The water solubility of a solid herbicidal phenol such as bromoxynil is no more than about 130 mg/L. The water solubility of ioxynil is no greater than about 50 mg/L.
All of these herbicidal compositions suffer from the disadvantage that the acids either have to be converted to water-soluble form by forming amine salts therefrom, or other equivalent treatment, before they may be used by an applicator.

Dry, water-soluble powder, substituted heterocyclic acid or substituted phenol herbicidal compositions, and method of preparing same


A connecting element for electrically connecting a semiconductor chip and a superordinate circuit board includes an elastic metal strip that is bent forming two metal limbs with flattened limb ends, thus forming a base between the metal limbs which is suitable for contacting and providing electrical connectivity to a plurality of contact pads of a superordinate circuit board. At least one of the two limb ends is electrically connected to the contact areas of a semiconductor chip, while the other limb end is elastically supported on the top side of the semiconductor chip, thereby enabling the connecting element to be self supporting.

As the size of chips increases, the problem of differences in thermal expansion between a semiconductor chip, for example, made of monocrystalline silicon, and a superordinate circuit board or a rewiring plate, for example, made of glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy resin, becomes more significant. Thus, in the case of the connecting elements used hitherto, such as, for example, flip-chip contacts, which have external contact balls or external contact bumps made of a solder alloy, there is the risk that sheer stresses on solder balls or solder bumps that are a few micrometers in size can no longer be reduced by plastic creepage or by plastic deformation. The consequence is that the connecting elements exhibit a tear-off risk that increases as the chip size increases. This tear-off risk can be alleviated in part by suitable plastics, which are also called "underfill," supporting the connecting elements, in particular, the flip-chip contacts, but this is associated with an increased production outlay.
Other solutions to the problem envisage using elastic external contacts having a rubber-elastic core and a metallic conductor track that nestles against the core. In this case, the metallic conductor track is not self-supporting, but rather relies on support from the rubber-elastic core, which is associated with an increased production costs for elastic connecting elements of this type.
A further solution, known as "microspring," provides wire-bonded, resilient metal wire constructions as connecting elements in order to enable the compensation in the coefficients of thermal expansion of, for example, silicon and epoxy resin. This solution also has low mechanical stability due to the bonding wires used, so that mechanical protection is required which increases the production costs for "microsprings" of this type, and thus the production costs, in particular, as a result of the serial production of the wire-bonded connecting elements.
To enable an elastic, compliant connection between contact areas of a semiconductor chip or of a semiconductor wafer and contact pads of a superordinate circuit board and reduce the tear-off risk of connecting elements is desirable.

Self-supporting connecting element for a semiconductor chip


An electronic device, including at least one software component and at least one hardware component, generates a hash value by performing a hashing algorithm on an identifier of the at least one software component and an identifier of the at least one hardware component. The electronic device uses this generated hash value to determine whether software used by the electronic device for accessing a wireless network remains unmodified.

1. Technical Field
Exemplary embodiments of this invention relate a mobile software terminal identifier. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of this invention relate to a mobile software terminal identifier which is generated as a hash value and used to ensure that software for interfacing with a wireless network has not been modified in an unauthorized manner, and to track terminal hardware and terminal software for obtaining wireless access.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of a hash algorithm on a PC has been performed by Microsoft®. The hash algorithm is used to ensure that the Microsoft® operating system software only operates on the PC on which it was originally installed, and that it does not operate on additional PCs that it is not licensed to operate on. Alternatively, the hash algorithm is used to ensure that the Microsoft® operating system only operates on the PC to which it has been moved and that the operating system has been re-validated by Microsoft®. The hash algorithm checks some or all of the hardware components of the PC on which the Microsoft® operating system (OS) software is to be installed, calculates a hash based on the hardware elements of the PC on which the OS is to be used, communicates with Microsoft®, and obtains a code to enable the OS to operate. When the PC is started up again, the hash is calculated: if it is the same or within certain limits (that Microsoft® has established), the OS will operate. If the hash is outside those limits, the OS will not operate, and the user will have to communicate with Microsoft® if the PC hardware has been significantly changed. The hash checks only the hardware that the OS is installed on or to be installed on.
Many known mobile terminals are "closed" devices which permit essentially no user access to the software programming of the device (except recently for certain applications that the user is permitted to additionally install). These terminals are thus "fixed" except for the terminal manufacturer's initiated bug fixes and upgrades and permitted applications. Each of these terminals that uses a licensed "cellular" radio band; the terminal is identified by an international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI) if it is based on the Third-Generation Partnership Protocol (3GPP) standards (or an ESN (electronic serial number) if it is based on 3GPP2 standards). This IMEI is a unique number that can be accessed by a network operator. This IMEI is linked to the manufacturer of the terminal and the testing that ensured that the terminal conformed to the 3GPP requirements. The IMEI, since it is embedded in the terminal at manufacture in a manner to prevent any change, provides assurance to the operator that the terminal conforms to the applicable wireless standards and will operate without adversely affecting the network.
A new configuration of "terminal" has now been developed with the addition of a wireless local area network (WLAN) to the 3GPP access technologies. This "terminal" or "user equipment" may include a personal computer (PC) or personal digital equipment (PDA) or other device with a processor equipped with WLAN capability hardware and software (either built-in or added via a network interface card (NIC)) for WLAN access to a 3GPP network operator, and a subscriber identity module (SIM or universal subscriber identity module (USIM)) with a reader to interface the SIM (or USIM) to the PC and its software. This terminal has no IMEI since it does not use a licensed 3GPP radio band for WLAN communications, although there are now PCs that have cellular terminal capability built-in, and therefore will have a place for a SIM (or other means of storing subscription information, such as a PC Card to hold the SIM, and in such case the PC Card may comprise a cellular terminal).
This "terminal" may be assembled by a user. Since it is PC or PDA-based, there is an opportunity to "hack" the software used to interface with the mobile network. This opportunity to "hack" the software is much greater than in the "closed" terminals used in the licensed 3GPP radio bands. With the WLAN "terminal" configured by the user (or by others) which is based on a PC or PDA, there is no means of tracking the software used for the 3GPP WLAN access or tracking the "terminal" (i.e., computer plus WLAN NIC and software). There is also no means of ensuring that the software has not been "hacked." Even further, there is no means for the network operator to "personalize" the "terminal" to ensure that the terminal (which includes software provided by the 3GPP network operator) operates only with a SIM or USIM or other subscription (e.g., CDMA terminals manufactured without provision for a Removable User Identity Module or RUIM) provided by the network operator. "Personalizing" the terminal is also known as "SIM-locking"; it prevents the terminal from operating using a SIM from a different network operator.


A vaporization device includes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion includes a first body defining a first interior volume, a first half of a split-pod, a second half of a split-pod, an opening, a first heating apparatus, and a second heating apparatus. The first half of the split-pod is configured to hold a nicotine-containing liquid. The second half of the split-pod is configured to hold a non-nicotine-containing liquid. The opening separates the first half from the second half of the split-pod. The first heating apparatus is dedicated to the first half. The second heating apparatus is dedicated to the second half. The second portion includes a second body defining a second interior volume and a computing system. The computing system is disposed within the second interior volume. The computing system is configured to vary an amount of current supplied to the first and second heating apparatuses.

Vaporizer devices have been frequently used as a cigarette replacement or as a means to wean users of cigarettes. For example, vaporizer devices may be a battery operated device that is specially configured to mimic or simulate the feeling of smoking a cigarette. However, rather than burning actual tobacco, the vaporizer device is configured to burn a liquid solution, thereby creating a vapor inhalable by the user. Such liquid solutions may include a nicotine-containing substances similar to that of cigarettes.


The present invention aims at preventing deterioration of flatness of a substrate and contamination of a substrate-holding surface of a substrate holder, which are caused by a resist leaking into the back surface of the substrate.

The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to an exposure apparatus used for exposing a pattern onto a flat substrate for fabricating a flat panel such as a liquid crystal display panel and a plasma display panel.
Display qualities of recent liquid crystal display panels and plasma display panels are remarkably enhanced. Moreover, the liquid crystal display panels and the plasma display panels are thin and light, and thus are becoming major image display apparatuses as substitutes for CRTs. Particularly, a direct-view type active matrix liquid crystal panel is making progress in enlarging its screen size, and to that end the size of glass substrates used for fabricating the liquid crystal panels are becoming larger as well.
As an exposure apparatus for exposing element patterns of a display panel onto a large-sized glass substrate, a scanning-type exposure apparatus is known. The scanning-type exposure apparatus performs exposure by synchronously scanning a photomask or a reticle having a pattern formed thereon (hereinafter, referred to as a xe2x80x9cmaskxe2x80x9d) and a glass substrate applied with a photosensitive agent such as a photoresist (hereinafter, referred to as a xe2x80x9csubstratexe2x80x9d).
When a photosensitive agent such as a resist is applied onto a substrate by, for example, a spin coater or the like, the resist often leak into the periphery of the back surface of the substrate. When such substrate with the resist on its back is loaded on a substrate holder of the exposure apparatus, the substrate-holding surface of the substrate holder is contaminated, and the back surface of the substrate and the substrate-holding surface of the substrate holder may not contact closely to each other causing a problem of poor flatness of an exposure area of the substrate.
According to a scanning-type exposure, the number of scanning steps may increase depending on the size of the device pattern and the size of the substrate, which may result in poor throughput. As an example, a scanning-type exposure of a substrate to a mask pattern at one to one magnification size will be described.
Assume that the size of effective exposure area of the mask is 400 mmxc3x97700 mm, the size of the substrate is 720 mmxc3x97900 mm, and the size of a substrate holder for holding the substrate is 843 mmxc3x97890 mm (the whole surface of the substrate holder consists of a vacuum-holding surface). A scanning-type exposure apparatus, which synchronously transfers a mask stage (for supporting and transporting a mask) and a substrate stage (a substrate holder for supporting a substrate), with respect to a projection optical system, is used to expose a pattern of a 17-inch SXGA liquid crystal display panel onto a substrate. The size of the 17-inch SXGA panel including a circuitry pattern surrounding a pixel region is 279.7 mmxc3x97347.2 mm.
The size relationship is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. FIGS. 13 and 14 are schematic views showing the sizes of a rectangular substrate holder 15a and a substrate 200 held by the substrate holder 15a (which is represented by dotted lines in FIG. 14 for distinction from the substrate 200), respectively. As shown in FIG. 14, the substrate 200 is loaded on the substrate holder 15a such that the longer sides of the substrate 200 are arranged along the longer sides of the substrate holder 15a.
FIG. 15 is a schematic view for illustrating a manner of printing six 17-inch SXGA panels on the above-described substrate by using a mask 100 which has two 279.7 mmxc3x97347.2 mm circuit patterns 101 formed thereon. In FIG. 15, the substrate holder 15a is omitted.
With reference to FIG. 15, a pattern exposure for fabricating a 17-inch SXGA liquid crystal display panel is carried out as follows. First, a first scanning exposure is conducted by synchronously transferring the mask 100 and the substrate 200 in the X-direction as indicated by an arrow 1 to print two circuit patterns 101 on exposure areas 200a and 200b of the substrate 200.
Then, the mask 100 and the substrate 200 are transferred back to the exposure initiating positions to perform a second scanning exposure to print a single circuit pattern 101 on an exposure area 200c as indicated by an arrow 2. Since the length of the side of the substrate 200 is 900 mm, two circuit patterns 101 cannot be exposed at the second scanning exposure.
Next, while the substrate 200 is step transferred in the Y-direction, the mask 100 and the substrate 200 are transferred back to the exposure initiating positions to perform a third scanning exposure to print a single circuit pattern 101 on an exposure area 200d of the substrate 200 as indicated by an arrow 3. Finally, two circuit patterns 101 are printed on exposure areas 200e and 200f as indicated by an arrow 4.
According to such a conventional exposure method, even when the mask 100 is provided with two circuit patterns 101, there is a case where only a single circuit pattern 101 can be printed at a time. As a result, the number of scanning exposure increases, limiting improvement of the throughput.
In view of the current situation of exposure apparatuses, the present invention has an objective of providing an exposure apparatus in which the flatness of a substrate is not deteriorated with a photosensitive agent leaking into the back surface of the substrate, or in which a surface holding the substrate is not contaminated by the same. The present invention also has an objective of providing an exposure apparatus which requires less number of scanning steps and which has improved throughput without any device enlargement.
According to the present invention, a substrate-holding surface of a substrate holder is provided with grooves with which a periphery of a substrate make contact so that a photosensitive agent leaking into the back surface of the substrate can escape into the grooves. Furthermore, a structure of the present invention allows a substrate to be placed in sideways with respect to a substrate holder (placing the longer sides of the substrate in parallel to the shorter sides of the substrate holder) depending on the size of the apparatus and the size of the substrate. Where the substrate is placed in sideways with respect to the substrate holder, it is acceptable even when areas other than an effective exposure area should project out from the substrate holder, since there is no need of precisely controlling flatness of areas of the substrate where no pattern is to be printed.
Along with the reference numerals, the present invention is an exposure apparatus that exposes a pattern of a mask (10, 30) onto a substrate (14), comprising: a substrate holder (15a) having a substrate-holding surface to hold the substrate, the substrate-holding surface being provided with a first pair of grooves (31, 32) extending from one end to the other along a first direction (X-direction) and a second pair of grooves (33, 34) extending from one end to the other along a second direction (Y-direction) substantially perpendicular to the first direction; and a substrate stage (15) that supports the substrate holder to move in the first direction (X-direction).
The first grooves (31, 32) and second grooves (33, 34) are positioned such that they make contact with the periphery of the substrate (14) when the substrate (14) is vertically or horizontally placed on the substrate holder (15a). According to this structure, even when a photosensitive agent leaks into the periphery of the back surface of the substrate (14), the resist escapes into the first and second grooves (31, 32; 33, 34), thereby preventing deterioration of the flatness of the substrate (14) or contamination of the substrate-holding surface of the substrate holder (15a). The distance between a pair of first grooves (31, 32) may be equal to the length of the shorter sides of the rectangular substrate (14).
The exposure apparatus may be provided with a first holding member (60, 61, 62) to hold the substrate (14) at a first region (41, 42, 43) of the substrate-holding surface defined by the first pair of grooves (31, 32), and a second holding member (60, 61, 63) to hold the substrate (14) at a second region (41, 44, 45) of the substrate-holding surface defined by the second pair of grooves (33, 34). The exposure apparatus may further be provided with a selector (50) that selects one of the first holding member (60, 61, 62) and the second holding member (60, 61, 63).
The substrate holder (15a) is provided with a plurality of adsorbing pores on its substrate-holding surface. The plurality of adsorbing pores are provided over a plurality of regions which are defined by the first pair of grooves (31, 32) and the second pair of grooves (33, 34), and are selectively connected to a vacuum source (60) such as a vacuum pump with the first vacuum-holding members (60, 61, 62) and the second vacuum-holding members (60, 61, 63). The first vacuum-holding members (60, 61, 62) are used to vacuum hold the substrate (14) placed between the first pair of grooves (31, 32), while the second vacuum-holding members (60, 61, 63) are used to vacuum hold the substrate (14) placed between the second pair of grooves (33, 34). The selector (50) for selecting the first vacuum-holding members (60, 61, 62) and the second vacuum-holding members (60, 61, 63) can comprise a controller that controls opening and closing of an electromagnetic valve.
The exposure apparatus of the invention is an exposure apparatus for exposing a pattern of a mask (10, 30) onto a rectangular substrate (14), the substrate (14) being loaded on a substrate-holding surface of a substrate holder (15a), comprising: a substrate stage (15) capable of moving in a first direction (X-direction) while supporting the substrate holder (15a); and a detecting device (65, 66) for detecting whether the substrate (14) is loaded on the substrate-holding surface such that the longer sides of the substrate (14) are arranged along the first direction (X-direction). The detecting device (65, 66) can be realized with a contact switch provided on the substrate-holding surface of the substrate holder (15a), vacuum sensors provided in the middle of vacuum lines connecting with the vacuum pores in the substrate-holding surface. The substrate holder (15a) is rectangular, and a shorter side of the substrate holder (15a) is set shorter than the longer side of the substrate (14).
There is no need of precisely controlling the flatness of the areas of the substrate (14) where they are not exposed to a pattern of the mask (10, 30). Accordingly, when the substrate (14) is placed in sideways with respect to the substrate holder (15a) whose shorter sides are shorter than the longer sides of the substrate (14), it is acceptable even when areas other than the effective exposure area of the substrate (14) should project out from the substrate holder (15a). Since such non-exposed areas are allowed to project out from the substrate holder (15a), the exposure apparatus can be made small.

Abstract: A substrate-holding surface of a substrate holder is provided with a first pair of grooves 31 and 32 extending from one end to the other along a scanning direction and a second pair of grooves 33 and 34 extending from one end to the other along a direction generally perpendicular to the scanning direction. The first and second grooves are positioned such that they make contact with the periphery of the substrate when the substrate is vertically or horizontally placed on the substrate holder. Even when a resist on a substrate leaks into the periphery of the back surface, the resist escapes into the grooves, thereby preventing deterioration of the flatness of the substrate or contamination of the substrate-holding surface.


An electric toothbrush comprising an elongated body portion and a head including a static portion and a circular portion, a handle, and an angled shaft between the head and the handle. The circular portion rotates or oscillates about an axis normal to a longitudinal axis of the head. The circular portion includes stiff bristles and the static portion includes soft bristles. The stiff bristles are recessed with respect to the soft bristles. The elongated body portion is hollow and further includes a motor in the hollow portion, which is operatively connected to the circular portion for rotating or oscillating the circular portion. A switch is operatively connected to the motor to provide momentary and continuous operation of the toothbrush. A worm gear and a pair of step gears are located in the hollow portion. The motor is operatively connected to the worm gear and the step gears are operatively connected to the worm gear and to each other. One of the step gears is offset with respect to a longitudinal axis of the elongated body portion. A shaft which is operatively connected to the offset step gear and to a second end to the circular portion. A battery is located within the hollow section for powering the motor.

The present invention relates generally to electric toothbrushes. More particularly, it relates to an improved battery powered toothbrush.
The benefits of brushing one's teeth using motorized toothbrushes are well known, and motorized movement in toothbrushes has been the subject of much recent innovation and design activity. Also, the commercial market has seen the introduction, over the last several years, of many different types of motorized toothbrushes. However, an examination of the available technology shows, a tendency toward increasingly complex, expensive, and non-commercially feasible methods of achieving motorized motions in the bristles and heads of toothbrushes to aid in more effectively cleaning one's teeth.
The commercial marketplace has become divided into two price markets. On the higher priced end are some of these more complex motorized toothbrushes that provide various motions to the bristles and brush head. The lower end of the market has become the province of very simple motorized toothbrushes that only vibrate through the use of an offset weight attached to the motor shaft, and which provide very little true additional cleaning benefit with their use, since no vigorous motion is transmitted to the cleaning surface of the brush. The vibrations are also very uncomfortable to the hand and act as a disincentive to brush one's teeth for an adequate time.
Numerous electric toothbrushes have been developed over the years. Some known devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,567; U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,627; U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,870; U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,534; U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,153; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,433.
The intention of the present invention is to provide a low cost, effective, ergonomically correct, motorized toothbrush wherein the brush includes both a moving circular brush portion and a fixed brush portion.
Accordingly it has been considered desirable to develop a new and improved electric toothbrush which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.