This invention relates to a method for preparing acrylonitrile by ammoxydation using a multi-story quenching tower. The method comprises the steps of supplying the reacted gas into the first quenching chamber of the multi-story quenching tower, said first quenching chamber has a water supply pipe equipped with spray nozzles at a two-dimensional density of more than 2 nozzles/m.sup.2 for the sectional area of the multi-story quenching tower and contacting the reacted gas with 5 T or more of water per 1 T of the reacted gas fed from the nozzles.

The method for preparing acrylonitrile by ammoxydation has been improved on various points since its success in industrialization and it is said that the method has technically matured. Still, there have been made efforts to improve utility unit consumption and to reduce production cost by achieving production efficiency.
It is well known that the reacted gas obtained from various raw materials contains by-products such as hydrocyanic acid, acetonitrile or aldehyde in addition to acrylonitrile when acrylonitrile is prepared by ammoxydation. The by-products react with acrylonitrile in the presence of unreacted ammonia or react with one another; as a result, high boiling point compounds are produced. The high boiling point compounds cause not only reduction in the yield of acrylonitrile, the target product, but also clogging at various parts in the quenching tower in the downstream processes. Consequently, the by-products must be immediately separated from the reacted gas. Especially, the unreacted ammonia facilitating undesired reactions must be completely removed as soon as possible.
Conventionally, there has been adopted the method for separating unreacted ammonia in the form of a salt and simultaneously removing other impurities and the by-products mentioned above by preliminarily cooling the reacted gas produced in a reactor, immediately sending the cooled reacted gas to a quenching tower, and washing and quenching the reacted gas with water containing acids such as sulfuric acid. As one of the conventional methods excellent in production efficiency, there has been proposed a method employing a multi-story quenching tower to divide a quenching process into two steps or more, which comprises separating most, unreacted ammonia in the form of a salt by contacting the water containing a sufficient amount of sulfuric acid to neutralize the unreacted ammonia and simultaneously condensing not all but a part of the vapor contained in the reacted gas in the first chamber, and condensing most of the residual vapor in the second chamber (U.S. Pat. No. 3,649,179).
This method succeeded in reducing the cost of recovering and treating the salt because of its higher collectability of ammonia and higher concentration of the resultant ammonium salt than the conventional methods. Yet, the collectability of ammonia achieved by this method is not sufficient. Accordingly, problems such as an acrylonitrile loss and trouble caused by clogging due to high boiling point compounds (so called heavies) have still remained.


A non-display signal encoding method cooperates with a matrix substrate including a plurality of electrodes. The electrodes cross each other and transmit a plurality of display signals and a plurality of non-display signals. The non-display signal encoding method comprises steps of: transmitting the non-display signals by at least one of the electrodes during a first time; and receiving by coupling at least a part of the non-display signals by at least an external object, wherein the non-display signals have at least three states, i.e. a first state, a second state, a third state or their any combination, and the first, second and third states are different from one another. A matrix substrate is also disclosed.

Field of Invention
The invention relates to a nondisplay signal encoding method and a matrix substrate.
Related Art
In recent years, for expanding the application of the consumer electronics, people start to introduce the near field communication (or short range wireless communication) technology in the electronic products. Near field communication technology can allow the transmission, such as command, music, picture, business card, data or file from an electronic apparatus to another electronic apparatus without establishing a physical wire connection, so that the electronic apparatus is more favorable for the data transmission and can be applied to mote different areas. For example, the occasions require IC cards, such as access control, tickets, credit cards, or receive advertising information, such as receiving the coupon ticket from the screen in the market through the Bluetooth technology.
For applying the near field communication to the electronic product, the conventional way is to adopt a special signal emitting device. Also, a proper encoding method is required to maximize the efficiency of the signal emitting device. Therefore, it is an important subject to provide an innovative structure of the signal emitting device and an encoding method in the near field communication technology.

Non-display signal encoding method and matrix substrate


A vibration isolation supporting structure and a vibration isolation system that can prevent a high-frequency vibration and a low-frequency vibration generated on a floor of a building. The vibration isolation supporting structure includes a plurality of supporting portions erected facing each other in a predetermined area near a wall of a floor of a building, a supporting structure supported on the floor by the supporting portions, and a fixing device configured to fix the supporting structure to the floor, and when receiving a release command, the fixing device releases fixing of the supporting structure to the floor.

A nuclear reactor building that houses a nuclear containment vessel or the like is firmly constructed using reinforced concrete or the like such that the nuclear reactor building can withstand natural disasters such as an earthquake. In recent years, there is also a demand for further enhancement of safety against an aircraft collision or the like.
When a flying object such as an aircraft collides with the nuclear reactor building, vibration generated by the collision propagates through a floor from a roof or a wall, and vibrates equipment placed on the floor in the building. The vibration includes a high-frequency component and may generate a large acceleration in the equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the vibration of the equipment placed on the floor so that the acceleration of the equipment is an allowable level or less.
In the related art, as a structure for reducing the vibration of the floor, a vibration isolation floor structure that can quickly attenuate the vibration of the floor is proposed (PTL 1). In this technique in the related art, between a floor beam and a structural frame that supports an end of the floor beam, a supporting member that transmits a load of the floor beam to the structural frame and a viscoelastic member that prevents a rotational displacement of the end of the floor beam generated by a vibration of the floor beam are disposed. The supporting member includes a rod-shaped member (reinforcement or circular steel pipe) having a circular cross section, a spherical member (steel ball), or the like, and is disposed along a direction perpendicular to a material axis of the floor beam. The viscoelastic member is formed of a silicone or polyurethane resin, and is disposed on both sides of the supporting member. In the structure of the related art, the rotational displacement of the end of the floor beam generated by the vibration of the floor beam is prevented by the viscoelastic member, so that the vibration of the floor can be attenuated quickly.
A technique for preventing a high-order vibration when the aircraft collides with a nuclear power plant is also known (PTL 2). In the technique of PTL 2, a spherical impactor having a large mass is fixed so as not to move normally, and the impactor can be moved during an aircraft collision. Then, a vibration energy is attenuated by moving the impactor with an impact generated during the aircraft collision.

Vibration isolation supporting structure and vibration isolation system


The present invention comprises a graphical user interface tool particularly adapted for use with a program that shows multiple files simultaneously, each in a different panel of the display. The tool presents the user with a series of optional actions that can be taken in connection with the file that is displayed within one panel of the display. In accordance with the invention, a user manipulates a cursor to a position in one of the multiple panels on a display screen and issues an instruction to invoke the tool, such as by clicking on the right mouse button. The tool is then made to appear and displays a series of optional operations from which the user may select. The operations are specific to the file in the panel within which the tool was invoked.

By now, almost everyone is familiar with the Internet and the World Wide Web (Web). The Internet is a collection of interconnected communication networks that together span the globe. Information content on the Internet is presented via pages, each page comprising one or more files that are stored on a computer server that is coupled to the Internet. Each page is assigned a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), which is essentially an address on the Internet identifying the server and the particular file on that server. These pages are accessible to anyone with access to a computer coupled to the Internet and who knows (or at least can determine, for instance, via a search engine) the URL of the particular page of interest. Most pages on the Web are, not only directly accessible, but also accessible via other pages on the Internet through a protocol termed hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is a computer language generally used to describe how pages are organized, formatted, and linked together via the Internet. Other languages are known and are being developed also.
Web browsers are computer programs that understand HTTP and HTML and enable one to access and view Web pages via direct addressing (typing the address of a Web page in an address field) and/or by hyperlinking as described above. Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer are the two most common Web browser software packages in use today. These Web browsers generally load and display a single page on the computer screen at any given time. When a Web browser links to that page, the browser software loads and displays that page.
In HTTP, pages on the Web may be interconnected via hyperlinks. A hyperlink is a portion of text or an image in one Web page that automatically addresses another page on the Web. By manipulating one's mouse to cause the screen pointer to move over the hyperlink and clicking the left mouse button, the page associated with that hyperlink is accessed via the Internet and is made to replace the previous page on one's computer screen.
The organization of Web pages relative to each other in accordance with hyperlinks in the HTTP protocol may be characterized as linear or tree-like. One may directly access any page on the Web simply by typing in its URL in the appropriate field of a Web browser. However, accessing Web pages through the use of hyperlinks, which, in practice, is the way most Web pages are accessed, is through a tree-like organization. That is, a first Web page contains a plurality of hyperlinks to other Web pages. Those other pages contain multiple hyperlinks to even further pages, and so on.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/561,862 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Three Dimensional Internet and Computer File Interface", which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a web browser that provides an interface to the Web that displays multiple Web pages simultaneously in a display mode that emulates three or four dimensional space. The browser provides its user a Web surfing experience like moving or navigating through a three or four dimensional space. While the method and apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned patent application is particularly adapted for use in connection with browsing the Web, it can also readily be applied to interfacing with any computer program on which a user might wish to open and view multiple files simultaneously, each in its own window or panel.
In accordance with aforementioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/561,862, a plurality of related Web pages are organized and presented for view on a computer screen in an apparent three or four dimensional relationship to each other, as illustrated in FIG. 1. In one embodiment, five Web pages, labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively, are displayed comprising center, top, bottom left, and right panels forming five inside faces of a cube. The sixth and last face of the cube corresponds to the view screen of the monitor and is not filled with a page. Accordingly, the operator of the computer has the impression that he is looking into the inside of a cube from one end of the cube.
Other Web browsers are known which allow the simultaneous display of multiple Web pages in other arrangements, e.g., a standard, two-dimensional, tile arrangement.
Many computer application software programs other than Web browsers also can simultaneously display multiple files, each in a different panel.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved graphical user interface tool for interfacing with a computer program that displays multiple panels simultaneously each corresponding to a different file or file portion which can be operated upon by the program independently of the files in other panels.

Graphical user interface method and apparatus


A proximity sensor 717 comprising a combination of an arbitrarily selected one of a plurality of types of detection end modules 707, a plurality of types of output circuit modules 709 and a plurality of types of outer shell cases 711. The detection end module 707 includes an integrated arrangement having a detection coil assembly (705, 701, 702) with the detection characteristic self-completed by a mask conductor 700 for reducing the conductor detection sensitivity in a specific peripheral area where the outer shell case is assumed to exist, and a detection circuit assembly (703) with the coil of the detection coil assembly as a resonance circuit element. The characteristics of the proximity sensor are completely adjusted before shipment. As a result, the adjustment of the characteristics which otherwise might be required each time is eliminated even in the case of the combination with an outer shell case of a different material. Thus, the commodity design and production are facilitated for a great variety of commodity specifications.

The basic component elements of a proximity sensor include a detection coil assembly having a coil and a core, an oscillation circuit unit, an output circuit unit and an outer shell case for accommodating these elements. In order to meet the users' demand for a wide range of product specifications in versatile way, the makers are required to reduce the cost by concentrating the basic component parts as far as possible.
In promoting the cost reduction by concentration of the component parts of a proximity sensor, various problems unique to the proximity sensor are posed from the viewpoints of both magnetic and electric circuits.
With regard to the magnetic circuit, for example, the cost reduction by the concentration of component parts poses the following problems in respect of the characteristics and structure of the detection coil assembly.
The proximity sensor of induction type has a detection coil assembly responsive to the approach of a metal. This detection coil assembly includes a coil and a ferrite core. The approach of a metal is detected utilizing the change in the characteristic of the detection coil assembly. The body case (outer shell case) of the proximity sensor is formed of any of various materials including brass, stainless steel and resin due to the variety of the operating environments. The detection performance of the proximity sensor changes also with the outer diameter of the detection coil assembly. For this reason, many variations of the detection coil assembly of cylindrical type having different outer diameters are prepared including M8 (about 8 mm in outer diameter), M12 (about 12 mm in outer diameter) and M30 (about 30 mm in outer diameter).
The detection characteristic of the detection coil assembly of the proximity sensor of induction type is affected to a large measure by the variations in the material and the dimensions of the body case (outer shell case), the plating thickness of the body case and the relative assembly positions of the detection coil assembly and the body case. As a result, the various problems are encountered as described below.    (1) To provide products of different materials, shapes and sizes of the body case, the detection coil assembly and the oscillation circuit are required to be designed both individually and as need arises. This leads to an increased number of design steps and an increased cost on the one hand and an increased parts cost due to the difficulty of parts concentration on the other. The production line is also required to be designed individually, thereby requiring a plurality of lines and steps.    (2) To eliminate the variations of the detection distance, the relative positions of the detection coil assembly and the body case are required to be accurate, the quality such as the dimensional accuracy of the body case must be improved, and an ingenious method of adjusting the detection distance is required, thereby leading to a higher parts cost and an increased number of production steps and production cost.
The above-mentioned problem points of the proximity sensor of induction type will be discussed in more detail below with reference to several specific examples of the detection coil assembly.
Detection Coil Assembly According to Prior Art 1:
FIG. 23 shows a structure of the detection coil assembly of shielded type (which is defined as the one capable of being buried in a metal on which it is mounted) having a metal body case.
In this drawing, numeral 101 designates a cylindrical body case (outer shell case) of a metal such as brass or stainless steel, numeral 101a a male screw formed on the outer peripheral surface of the body case, numeral 102 a ferrite core, numeral 103 a coil making up a detection coil, and numeral 104 an insulating internal case in the shape of a bottomed cylinder for accommodating the core 102 and the coil 103.
In the detection coil assembly of this structure, the detection characteristic of the detection coil assembly varies to a large measure depending on the material of the body case 101 located on the outer periphery of the coil 103 and the core 102. This is probably because the body case 101 is also located in the magnetic field formed by the coil 103.
The detection characteristic of the detection coil assembly according to the prior art 1 is shown in the graph of FIG. 24. This graph is plotted based on the measurement data of the detection coil assembly of M8 shielded type. The abscissa represents the detection distance (mm) and the ordinate the conductance g (μS) of the detection coil. The conductance of the detection coil increases with the approach of a metal object. The proximity sensor operates on the principle that a detection signal is generated by utilizing the change in the conductance g of the detection coil. As apparent from this graph, variations of the material of the body case 101 including resin (nonmetal), brass and stainless steel are seen to greatly change the conductance characteristic (i.e. detection characteristic) correspondingly. From this, it will be understood that the circuit constants (the constants and the threshold value of the oscillation amplitude of the oscillation circuit, etc.) of the detection circuit are required to be changed in accordance with the material of the body case 101, thereby making it difficult to concentrate the parts.
FIG. 25 shows a structure of a detection coil assembly of unshielded type having a metal body case (defined as the one not suitable for use in the form buried in a mounting metal and having a longer detection distance than the shielded type).
In this drawing, numeral 107 designates a cylindrical body case (outer shell case) of a metal such as brass or stainless steel, numeral 107a a male screw formed on the outer peripheral surface of the body case, numeral 102 a ferrite core, numeral 103 a coil making up a detection coil, and numeral 108 a coil case in the shape of a bottomed cylinder made of resin for accommodating the coil 103 and the core 102. As apparent from the drawing, the resin coil case 108 has a structure protruded forward of the metal body case 107.
In the detection coil assembly of this structure, the difference in material of the body case 107 located rearward of the coil 103 and the core 102 greatly changes the detection characteristic of the detection coil assembly.
The detection characteristic of the detection coil assembly according to the prior art 2 is shown in the graph of FIG. 26. This graph is plotted based on the measurement data of the detection coil assembly of M8 unshielded type. The abscissa represents the detection distance (mm), and the ordinate the conductance g (μS) of the detection coil. The approach of a metal object increases the conductance g of the detection coil. The proximity sensor operates on the principle that a detection signal is generated utilizing the change of the conductance g of the detection coil. As apparent from this graph, the different materials including resin (nonmetal), brass and stainless steel of the body case 107 are known to result in correspondingly quite different conductance characteristics (i.e. different detection characteristics). From this, it will be understood that the circuit constants (the constants, the threshold value of the oscillation amplitude of the oscillation circuit, etc.) of the detection circuit are required to be changed in accordance with the material of the body case 107, thereby making it difficult to concentrate the parts.
Next, from the viewpoint as an electrical circuit, the reduction in cost by concentration of component parts encounters the following problem due to the configuration of the oscillation circuit and the output circuit as well as the characteristic and structure of the detection coil assembly.
As described already, the oscillation conditions of the oscillation circuit including the coil of the induction-type proximity sensor change with the approach of a metal object. By detecting the change of the oscillation conditions, therefore, a metal object is detected. In the proximity sensor of induction type, the detection performance also changes with the outer diameter of the coil of the detection coil assembly. Therefore, variations of proximity sensor having different outer diameters are prepared. As a result, the oscillation circuit constant is determined for each coil outer diameter used or the detection distance adjusted.
On the other hand, assume a sensor application at the production site, etc. in which the presence or absence of a metal work is detected and various actuators are controlled by this detection signal. The configuration of the power line and the signal line connected to the proximity sensor is divided into DC three-line type, DC two-line type and AC two-line type to suit various situations. Also, the output status is classified into NPN or PNP type, voltage output or current output type, detection-related drive type or nondetection-related drive type, etc. In commercializing a proximity sensor, therefore, many circuit variations are prepared in accordance with the power form and output status of the respective proximity sensors. In keeping with the demand for a compact proximity sensor, the latest trend is toward concentration of the oscillation circuit, the power supply, the output circuit, etc. into a one-chip IC.
With this background, in designing a proximity sensor, an attempt to renew a given function (such as an increased detection distance, a reduced circuit current consumption, a lower voltage for driving the power supply driven, etc.) is accompanied by the need of remaking all the circuits of the proximity sensor into a one-chip IC. In addition, to meet the great commodity variations, the constants of the parts built around the IC and the coil constant require redesigning. As a result, the following various problems present themselves.    (1) The development cost of a new commodity is tremendously high.    (2) The commodities meeting the operating conditions of the user of the proximity sensor cannot be provided immediately.    (3) The vast commodity variations and the resulting multi-item scant production, which increases the production cost, the management cost and the parts cost, lead to a higher overall production cost.    (4) The replacement design and the acquisition work in case of suspension of the parts production are vast in amount.    (5) In the case where a quality problem shared by various products arises, the requirements for all the commodities cannot be quickly met.
The above-mentioned problem points of the proximity sensor of induction type will be explained in more detail with reference to several specific examples of the oscillation and output circuits.
Proximity Sensor Circuit According to Prior Art 1:
FIG. 27 shows a circuit configuration of a proximity sensor of DC three-line type. In this drawing, numeral 200 designates a metal object (such as a metal work), numeral 201 a custom IC, numeral 202 an oscillation circuit, numeral 203 an integration circuit, numeral 204 a discrimination circuit, numeral 205 a logic circuit, numeral 206 an output control circuit, numeral 207 a constant voltage circuit, numeral 208 a power reset circuit, numeral 209 a shorting protection circuit, numeral 210 a display circuit, numeral 211 a detection coil, numeral 212 a capacitor making up a resonance circuit, numeral 213 a regulation circuit, numeral 214 a capacitor making up an integration circuit, numeral 215 an output transistor, numeral 216 a light-emitting element, numeral 217 a first power terminal, numeral 218 a second power terminal, and numeral 219 a signal output terminal.
Proximity Sensor Circuit According to Prior Art 2:
FIG. 28 shows a circuit configuration of a proximity sensor of DC two-line type. In this drawing, numeral 220 designates a metal object (such as a metal work), numeral 221 a custom IC, numeral 222 an oscillation circuit, numeral 223 an integration circuit, numeral 224 a discrimination circuit, numeral 225 a logic circuit, numeral 226 an output control circuit, numeral 227 a constant voltage circuit, numeral 228 a power reset circuit, numeral 229 a shorting protection circuit, numeral 230 a display circuit, numeral 231 a detection coil, numeral 232 a capacitor making up a resonance circuit, numeral 233 a regulation circuit, numeral 234 a capacitor making up an integration circuit, numeral 235 an output transistor, numerals 236, 237 light-emitting elements, numeral 238 a first power terminal, and numeral 239 a second power terminal.
The prior art 1 and the prior art 2 described above share substantially all the circuit elements except for the difference in power system. As a representative of the two, therefore, the configuration and operation of the circuit elements of the prior art 2 shown in FIG. 28 will be explained below.
The detection coil 231 is a solid copper wire or twisted Litz wire wound by an appropriate number of turns. The resonance capacitor 232 is connected in parallel to the detection coil 231 and makes up a LC parallel resonance circuit, which is connected to the oscillation circuit 222. The custom IC 221 is an IC (integrated circuit) with the main circuits of the proximity sensor built in one chip. This custom IC 221 has built therein the oscillation circuit 222, the integration circuit 223, the discrimination circuit 224, the logic circuit 225, the output control circuit 226, the constant voltage circuit 227, the power reset circuit 228, the shorting protection circuit 229 and the display circuit 230. The regulation circuit 223 includes a plurality of resistors combined. By changing the resistance value of a part of the resistors by replacement or by laser trimming or otherwise, the gain of the oscillation circuit 222 is changed, thereby making it possible to adjust the detection sensitivity of the proximity sensor. The integration capacitor 234 is combined with the integration circuit 223 to make up a CR integration circuit. The output transistor 235 generates a large drive current based on the control signal (CONT) output from the custom IC 221. Numeral 236 designates an operation indication lamp for indicating the output operating conditions of the proximity sensor. Numeral 237 designates a setting indication lamp indicating a set position which assures positive detection against any variations of the detection distance due to the operating environment. Numerals 238, 239 designate power supply terminals led out of the proximity sensor through a cord and a connector. This case involves a two-line proximity sensor, and therefore the first power terminal 238 doubles as an output terminal.
FIG. 29 shows an example of a specific circuit configuration of the oscillation circuit, the integration circuit and the discrimination circuit according to the prior art 2 shown in FIG. 28. FIG. 30 is an operation time chart for the circuits shown in FIG. 29.
As shown in these diagrams, the oscillation voltage ((b) of FIG. 30) of the oscillation circuit 222 is smoothed by the integration circuit 223. The output ((c) of FIG. 30) thus smoothed is binarized by being compared with the reference voltages C and D of the discrimination circuit 224, thereby producing the detection signals E and F in binary form ((d), (e) of FIG. 30).
These detection signals E, F are sent to the output control circuit 226 through the logic circuit 225, and controls the output transistor 235 thereby to turn on/off the output 238 of the proximity sensor ((f) of FIG. 30), while at the same time turning on/off the operation indication lamp 236 and the setting indication lamp 237 ((g), (h) of FIG. 30).
The oscillation circuit 222 has such a characteristic that the oscillation amplitude thereof is changed substantially linearly in accordance with the distance by which a metal object approaches. As long as the metal object 230 has not approached, the oscillation amplitude A ((b) of FIG. 30) is sufficiently large, and the binarized detection signals E, F are off ((d), (e) of FIG. 30). With the approach of the metal object 230, the oscillation amplitude A and the integration output B are reduced gradually with the distance covered by the approach. In the case where the integration output B is reduced to or below the reference voltage C, the detection signal E is turned on. In the case where the integration output B is reduced to or below the reference voltage D, on the other hand, the detection signal F is turned on. The detection signals E, F are logically processed in the logic circuit 225 shown in FIG. 28 and sent to the output control circuit 226. After that, the output control circuit 226 operates to drive the output transistor 235.
The constant voltage circuit 227 is supplied with power from the power terminals 238, 239 and thus generates a constant voltage output while at the same time driving each internal circuit. On the other hand, a minimum required voltage is kept in the power terminal to drive the circuit when the output is turned on. The power reset circuit 228 prohibits the output during the period from the time when power is supplied from an external source to the time when the constant voltage output is stabilized. The shorting protection circuit 229, with the output terminal 238 thereof connected directly to the power supply, detects that an excess current has flowed in the output transistor 235, and activates the power reset circuit 238, thereby prohibiting the output.
The assumption of the circuit configuration described above will further facilitate the understanding of the problem points encountered in the process of cost reduction. As described above, the detection distance of the proximity sensor depends to a large measure on the outer diameter of the coil 231, and therefore many models of proximity sensors having different outer diameters are required to be prepared. Also, with regard to the specification of power supply and output, preparation of many models is required including DC or AC, three-line type (FIG. 27) or two-line type (FIG. 28), NPN or PNP, normally open or normally closed, cord output or connector output, etc. to meet the requirements of the users of the proximity sensor. Further, in accordance with the environment in which the proximity sensor is used, various models are required to be prepared including the metal case or resin case, brass or stainless steel, or short body or long body.
Conventionally, products with many combinations of these specifications have been designed and produced each time. It has been common practice, therefore, for the makers to supply a vast number of types of products. Under these circumstances, additional demand which may come from many users for an increased detection distance, a reduced product cost or an improved quality for each commodity is becoming more and more difficult to meet on the part of the makers.
In response to a demand for an increased detection distance, for example, the oscillation circuit is required to be designed for each of the custom ICs 201, 221 having different power specifications. Further, the capacitance value of the resonance capacitor 232 for determining the oscillation circuit constants, the resistance value of the regulation circuit 233 and the capacitance value of the integration capacitor 234 for determining the integration time constant are required to be designed for each coil having a different outer diameter specification. The resultant new addition of several types of custom IC would increase the external IC parts by several tens of types. Furthermore, the detection characteristic of the proximity sensor is considerably affected by the material of the body case. Even in the case where the specification is the same for the shielded type with the outer diameter M18 having the rated detection distance of 7 mm, for example, the metal case and the resin case produce different detection characteristics. To regulate them to the same detection distance, therefore, the oscillation constant is unavoidably different. This simple fact will facilitate the understanding of the difficulty of reducing the production cost through the concentration of the parts while maintaining the great variety of product specifications.
These problems of the conventional configuration derived from the magnetic circuit and the electrical circuit described above have various inconvenient effects on the production process of the proximity sensor.
FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the steps of the conventional production process of a proximity sensor of shielded type (which can be used in the form buried in a mounting metal) having a metal body case.
In this drawing, the first step (A) is to produce a detection end assembly 304 by assembling the coil 301, the ferrite 302 and the parts package board 303 integrally. In the next step (B), the coil 301 and the parts package board 303 are soldered on the detection end assembly 304. In the next step (C), the detection end assembly 304 that has been soldered is subjected to an operation check test (distance inspection, etc.) and the external appearance inspection. In the next step (D), the coil case 305 is filled with epoxy resin. In the next step (E), the detection end assembly 304 completed just now is accommodated in position in the coil case 305 filled with epoxy resin. In the next step (F), the resin is hardened by being left to stand for a predetermined length of time at room temperature, for example, and a detection end assembly 307 with a coil case is thus completed. In the next step (G), the operation test to adjust the distance is conducted on the detection end assembly 307 with the coil case completed in the preceding step. This distance adjustment is carried out by conducting the operation test while the detection end assembly 307 having the coil case is mounted in a dummy case 307a, and the adjustment is carried out based on the test result by replacing the chip resistor or otherwise. In the next step (H), the cord 308 is soldered to the detection end assembly 307 with the coil case thereby to complete the detection end assembly 309 with the cord. In the next step (I), the detection end assembly 309 with the cord, the cylindrical metal body case 310 and the cord clamp 311 are assembled integrally thereby to produce a semi-finished proximity sensor 312. In the next step (J), resin is injected in the semi-finished proximity sensor 312 and hardened thereby to produce a completed proximity sensor product 313. In the next step (K), the withstanding voltage test and the characteristic test are conducted to produce a tested final product 314.
In the fabrication process described above, the detection distance is adjusted in step (G) with the proximity sensor inserted in the dummy case 307a having the same material and the same shape as the metal body case actually mounted. The difference between the actual and dummy cases in the material, the plating thickness and the position of the metal case or the coil often causes a difference between the detection distance determined by adjustment of the detection distance and the actual detection distance measured with a metal case mounted thereon. As a result, a nonconforming product deteriorates the yield and sometimes requires the repair work. In addition, to cope with the difference in the material among metal cases, different dummy cases must be prepared, often wastefully requiring an increased number of dummy cases and frequent setup jobs.
Also, in view of the fact that the IC is configured in the form including the oscillation circuit and the output circuit, difference output circuits generates jobs of setup change (due to different power supplies) inefficiently in spite of the fact that the oscillation circuit remains the same.
Also, in the step of adjusting the detection distance with the dummy case 307a, the adjust resistance value is read by applying a terminal with a variable resistor to the adjust resistance wiring of the substrate having the circuits including the oscillation circuit mounted thereon. Due to the device difference and the resistance difference between different terminal-device connections, however, a difference develops between the actually read resistance value and the actually required resistance value. To fill up this gap, a correction value is determined. Since the correction value varies due to the variations of parts, ICs and the assemblies (position difference between the coil and the core, position difference between the core and the case, etc.), however, the correction values must be changed inefficiently for each part lot and each product lot. In addition, the difference in output status generates frequent jobs of setup change for a deteriorated production efficiency.
In the detection circuit adjust step, an adjust resistance value reading equipment is introduced. Due to variations between equipments, however, the adjustment is inconveniently made impossible for an assembly of a different model than the originally intended model.
Further, in the detection distance adjust step, the adjust resistance value reading equipment is affected by noises from other devices. Since a correction value is determined taking the particular noises into account, the correction value is inefficiently required to be changed each time of equipment movement or equipment part change.
This invention has been achieved in view of the above-described problem points of the conventional proximity sensor, and the object thereof is to provide the aforementioned type of sensor which permits simple commodity design and production against a great variety of commodity specifications.


A metal connection for an integrated circuit device is effectively "cast" in place at any level of an integrated circuit. The "mold" for the connection is formed by depositing and patterning a sacrificial material, such as aluminum oxide or other metal oxides, and covering the sacrificial material with a protective material such as silicon dioxide or other insulators. After forming bore holes to the deposit of sacrificial material through the protective layer, the sacrificial material is removed by isotropic etching to form a cavity beneath and at least partially overlaid by the protective layer. Alternatively, a defect may be produced below the protective layer and filled with metal either with or without enlargement by further removal of material. This cavity is then filled with metal by deposition of the metal by, for instance, evaporation, sputtering and chemical vapor deposition or combinations thereof. Connections formed by this technique can be produced at any level of the integrated circuit and do not interfere with surface wiring. A plurality of such connections may be simultaneously formed at the same or different levels of the integrated circuit and the method may be repeated to form multi-level wiring patterns.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the fabrication of integrated circuits and, more particularly, to the formation of connections between contact areas thereon, such as contact studs or metal lines.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Integrated circuits are now well known and, in recent years have become increasingly complex and densely integrated. The electrical elements within the integrated circuits have also been constructed according to higher performance designs, usually involving an increased number of layers in the construction thereof. Even simple integrated circuits invariably require some electrical connections between individual elements, such as transistors, of which the integrated circuit is constituted.
As complexity, density and circuit element performance has increased, the difficulty of making connections has increased. The success of making such connections has been limited because of the inherent physical properties of the materials used while there have been substantial increases in the quality required in such connections. For instance, as chip size has increased connections of increased length have been required. As integration density has increased, the width of connections has decreased. Further, increased integration density often requires a connection to traverse severe topology, which can engender connection defects while ever greater defect free lengths of connection must be formed. Even if connections can be formed with acceptable manufacturing yields under such conditions, increased length and reduced width both contribute to increased resistance of the connection, particularly when the connections must be formed of semiconductor materials.
Specifically, highly conductive materials such as copper and tungsten cannot generally be used other than at the surface of the integrated circuit (e.g. over all active layers but beneath a final protective oxide layer) due to difficulty in dry etching and patterning of such materials. The formation of metal connections at lower levels is also made difficult since further processing at high temperatures causes silicidation of the metals which causes such connections to become discontinuous over severe topology. Therefore, at lower levels of the integrated circuit, metal silicide (e.g. polysilicon which has undergone silicidation) connections, such as TiSi.sub.2, have been typically used. However, this material is particularly susceptible of becoming discontinuous when deposited over severe topologies of complex, multi-layered integrated circuit structures and also limits conductivity to the 100-200 .mu.ohm-cm range.
Further, it is clear that all connections required in an integrated circuit cannot be made in the same layer because complex circuits will seldom be free of crossing conductors. The formation of insulators for such crossing conductors requires additional processing steps, increasing integrated circuit cost, and complicates the roughness of the topology over which such connections must be formed. As the number of layers of the integrated circuit is increased, the roughness of the topology of the integrated circuit simultaneously increases the defect-free length of conductor which is required and increases the likelihood of a defect occurring within any given length of conductor.
Additionally, both conductors and insulators must be formed at each level, substantially increasing the number of processing steps for each additional layer of connections which is required in the device. The number of processing steps is also increased in the present technology by the additional steps required to form studs for interconnecting different connection layers.
Further, voltage drops within an integrated circuit can pose limitations on design both from the standpoint of heat dissipation and operating voltage margins. No method has heretofore existed to allow connections to be made with low resistance metals at lower layers within the integrated circuit device.

International Business Machines Corporation


Embodiments are disclosed herein that relate to compact optical systems for incorporation into head-up and near-to-eye display devices. One disclosed embodiment provides a head-up display system comprising a light source, a flat panel display including multiple copies of an image, and a lens array structure with a separate lens element for each copy of the image.

Head-up display devices, such as those found in automotive and aircraft applications, may include various optical components arranged within the device, such as light sources, image producing elements, lens systems and/or other optical elements. Such optical components tend to occupy a significant amount of space, which may result in a head-up display having a large volume. As some head-up displays may be configured to fit into automobiles or aircraft cockpits, a large volume or high mass for such devices is often undesirable, as it may interfere with requirements for heating ducts, other instrumentation or safety features. Likewise, near-to-eye displays have similar requirements for low mass and volume for reasons related to user comfort.

Optical system for head-up and near-to-eye displays


In accordance with aspects of the present invention, a method, an apparatus, a system, and software are provided to link channel quality indication reporting with periods when communication terminals, such as user equipment, are active. In one aspect, an apparatus (e.g., a communication terminal) includes a determination module configured to determine when at least one component of the apparatus is in an inactivated state. The apparatus also includes an interrupter configured to interrupt a transmission of at least one channel quality indication report when the at least one component is in the inactivated state. In another aspect, a method includes determining when at least one component of a communication terminal is in an inactivated state and interrupting transmitting at least one channel quality indication report when the at least one component is in the inactivated state.

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a wireless system that is known in the art and is designed to provide higher data rates and enhanced service to subscribers. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including the specifications relating to the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) and Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), standardizes UMTS. The UMTS network includes user equipment (UE, also referred to as a "user equipment device" or a "user equipment terminal"), UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), and core network (CN). The UE is interfaced to the UTRAN over a radio Uu interface, while the UTRAN interfaces to the core network over a wired Iu interface. The CN is coupled to an external network, which may include the Internet, a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), etc., which can exchange information to and from a UE. A communication terminal (e.g., user equipment) may be a wireless communication terminal such as one employed in a network, not just by an "end user."
The UTRAN includes multiple Radio Network Subsystems (RNSs), each of which contains at least one Radio Network Controller (RNC). However, it should be noted that the RNC may not be present in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of UTRAN (E-UTRAN). LTE may include a centralized or decentralized entity for control information. In operation, each RNC may be connected to multiple Node Bs, which are the UMTS counterparts to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) base stations. Each Node B may be in radio contact with multiple UEs via the radio Uu interface.
The Third Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) project is the name generally used to refer to an ongoing effort across the industry to improve the UMTS for mobile communication to cope with continuing new requirements and the growing base of users. The goals of this broadly based project include improving communication efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum opportunities, and achieving better integration with other open standards. The 3GPP LTE project is not by itself a standard-generating effort, but will result in new recommendations for standards for the UMTS.
The wireless communication systems as described herein are applicable to, for instance, 3GPP LTE compatible wireless communication systems and, of interest, are an aspect of LTE referred to as "evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network," or E-UTRAN. In general, E-UTRAN resources are assigned more or less temporarily by the network to one or more UEs by the use of allocation tables, or more generally by the use of a downlink resource assignment channel or physical downlink shared control channel (PDSCCH). The 3GPP LTE compatible wireless communication systems are packet-based systems and, therefore, there may not be a dedicated connection reserved for communication between a UE and the network. Users are generally scheduled on a shared channel every transmission time interval (TTI) by a Node B or an evolved Node B (e-Node B). A Node B or an e-Node B controls the communications between user equipment terminals in a cell served by the Node B or e-Node B. In general, one Node B or e-Node B serves each cell. Resources needed for data transfer are assigned either as one time assignments or in a persistent/semi-static way. The 3GPP LTE compatible wireless communication systems, also referred to as 3.9G, generally support a large number of users per cell with quasi-instantaneous access to radio resources in the active state. It is typically a design requirement that at least 200 users per cell should be supported in the active state for spectrum allocations up to 5 megahertz (MHz), and at least 400 users for a higher spectrum allocation.
In order to facilitate scheduling on the shared channel, the e-Node B transmits an allocation in a downlink-shared channel to the UE. The allocation information may be related to both uplink and downlink channels. The allocation information may include information about which resource blocks in the frequency domain are allocated to the scheduled user(s), the modulation and coding schemes, the size of the transport block, and the like.
A Node B or an e-Node B requires information related to instantaneous channel quality so that it can perform scheduling and allocation. In order for a Node B or e-Node B to be informed of the channel quality, the UE provides channel quality indication (CQI) reports (which may also be generally referred to herein as "channel quality reports") to the Node B or the e-Node B. The UE periodically or in response to a particular event may "send" (i.e., may "transmit" or may "report") CQI reports to the respective serving Node B or e-Node B. The CQI reports indicate the recommended transmission format for the next transmission time interval. For an active UE (i.e., a UE that is involved in communication that is configured to use periodic reporting), the UE sends a CQI report every given number of sub-frames. In event-based CQI reporting (i.e., triggered CQI reporting), UEs only send a CQI report when a certain system event has occurred, for instance, when it is assigned a downlink resource or when transmitting an acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) in an uplink. The CQI report may be constructed in such a way that it indicates the expected supported transport block size under certain assumptions, which may include the recommended number of physical resource blocks (PRBs), the supported modulation and coding scheme, the recommended multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) configuration, as well as a possible power offset.
The CQI reports are used for resource scheduling and adaptive modulation and coding. The Node B or e-Node B typically assigns user equipment resources based on their respective channel qualities as indicated by the CQI reports. User equipment is also assigned a code rate and modulation format based on channel quality. The Node B typically attempts to adapt to the current channel conditions of a UE by selecting the highest possible modulation and coding scheme that will keep the frame error probability below a certain threshold, for example 10% in High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA).
Transmission of a CQI report, like any other transmission from a UE, is an energy-consuming event that detracts from "battery life." Battery life relates to the battery-recharging interval for the UE, which is a critical market acceptance parameter for an end user.
Considering the requirement for a UE to transmit a CQI report as described above, what is needed in the art for a communication system including UEs powered by an internal battery is a system and method capable of providing CQI reports to a Node B or an e-Node B for downlink packet scheduling and link adaptation to adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) that accommodate conservation of power in the UE, while also providing efficient support of discontinuous reception (DRX) and transmission (DTX) processes operative therein.

Method, apparatus and system for providing reports on channel quality of a communication system


An image forming method includes: exposing a surface of an image carrier with a light based on an image pattern including an image portion and a non-image portion to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image pattern. The image portion is made up of a plurality of pixels. Some of the pixels that make up the image portion are exposed with light of a first output value that is higher than a prescribed optical output value when the entire pixels corresponding to the image portion are exposed over a prescribed time period.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming method and an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have recently been increased demands for high image quality and high stability in the electrophotography process of an image forming method.
Exemplary ways to improve the image quality in the electrophotography process include a method for reducing the exposure beam diameter. A smaller exposure beam diameter allows smaller electrostatic latent images to be formed, so that a higher resolving power can be achieved.
When an electrostatic latent image is formed with a smaller exposure beam diameter, however, not only the image height can be controlled less easily, but also the costs are increased.
The cost for controlling the image height of electrostatic latent images formed with a smaller exposure beam diameter comes to occupy a higher proportion of the entire costs of the image forming apparatus.
Thus, in the electrophotography process, an alternative for forming very small electrostatic latent images without reducing the exposure beam diameter has been sought for.
Furthermore, in the conventional image forming method, the height of attached toner on a line image, that is, the pile height of a line image is different from that on a solid image. Such a difference in the pile heights is caused by a difference in the sizes of the electrostatic latent images of these images.
In consideration of the demand for improved image quality and the demand for reduction in the environmental burden, the pile height needs to be controlled to an appropriate level.
The pile heights of line images and solid images may be controlled by performing some process in the developing process.
To control the pile height in the developing process, however, the latent images of a line image and a solid image need to be developed at different sensitivities because the electrostatic latent images of a line image and a solid image are different in size.
This method for controlling the pile height by developing the latent images of a line image and a solid image at different sensitivities is not preferable, because such a method causes some defects, e.g., lost faithfulness, in the resultant latent images.
An image forming method for controlling the pile height without performing any process in the developing process is therefore desirable. Desired in an image forming method is a way in which an electrostatic latent image is formed in such a manner that any variation resulting from the electrophotography process, without limitation to the pile height, is compensated.
A technique is disclosed in which, when the area of an input image is smaller than a predetermined size in an image forming method, the exposure energy per unit pixels is increased from a level used when written is a solid image (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-193540, for example).
Another exemplary technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-190787 corrects the image data by removing some pixels from or adding some pixels to the image to be exposed so that the optical energy output from each light source becomes uniform.
In an image forming method, there is also a demand for output images allowing very small characters, particularly outlined character images, that is, outline characters, in a size of two or three points to be recognized at a high dot density, e.g., at 1200 dpi.
While some improvements have been made in the developing, the transfer, and the fixing processes of the image forming method to allow high quality images to be output at a high dot density, such outputting of high-quality image has still been difficult.
While micron-order measurements of electrostatic latent images have been conventionally difficult, such measurements can now be conducted highly precisely. Such measurements have uncovered that a latent image, which is an image before development, was a cause of image quality deterioration in the image forming process.
In other words, uncovered by the measurements was that, when output as an image pattern was an outlined image, the electric field vector in the latent image in a direction perpendicular to the sample was not exactly the reverse of the electric field vector in the latent image of the ordinary image, and the vector in the outlined image was smaller than that intended in the image pattern.
In other words, when a very small image is to be output at a high dot density, a latent image resulting from an image pattern signal supplied from the controller does not match the image pattern. This means that high quality image outputs would be still difficult even if any improvements in the developing, transferring, and fixing processes are made in an image forming method.
The inventors of the present invention also found out that an effective way to output images of outlined characters, in particular, at high image quality is to increase the electric field vector in the latent image in the direction perpendicular to the sample toward the side not causing the toner to be attached.
From the view point of electromagnetism, the simplest way to increase the electric field in a white part of an image is to increase the amount of electric charge in the white part, but it is difficult to increase a local amount of electric charge.
It is therefore desirable for such a process to be performed easily without requiring any special process such as edge detection or character information recognition in an image forming method, without being affected by image information such as that of an outlined image.
There is a need to provide an image forming method capable of forming a high-quality image by controlling an electrostatic latent image.

Image forming method of exposing the surface of an image carrier with light and image forming apparatus


A method of operating a display includes operating a pixel of the display using a first signal to provide a first brightness level. A characteristic of the first signal is represented by a value in a range extending from a minimum signal value to a maximum signal value. A second brightness level is then selected and is different from the first brightness level. A truncated table is consulted and contains overdrive values for selected pairs of possible first and second brightness levels. The overdrive values are in a range extending from a minimum table value to a maximum table value, where the minimum table value is less than the minimum signal value or the maximum table value is greater than the maximum signal value or both. An overdrive signal is determined from the overdrive values of the truncated table based on the first and second brightness levels. The pixel is briefly operated using the overdrive signal to facilitate transition to the second brightness level. The pixel is then operated using a second signal corresponding to the second brightness level.

In liquid crystal and other displays, the brightness or "gray level" of each pixel of the display can be controlled by variation in a signal applied to that pixel. In the case of liquid crystal displays, a liquid crystal material is typically disposed between two electrodes and is reoriented by application of a voltage across the electrodes. Variation in the voltage applied between the electrodes (e.g., between a threshold voltage and a saturation voltage) can result in different levels of transmission of light through the liquid crystal cell. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as "gray level" or "gray scale". Manipulation of the gray level can increase the contrast, vibrancy, and accuracy of displayed images.

Methods and systems for determining display overdrive signals


An alignment utensil includes two guide rails (100A, 100B), an alignment device (10) aligning the guide rails (100A, 100B), and connectors (110A, 110B, 120) fixing the aligned guide rails (100A, 100B) together. The alignment device (10) includes a body (12) having a lateral surface (31) extending across abutting ends of the guide rails (100A, 100B). Each of two clamping pads (70) mounted on the body (12) is moved to press against a first lateral wall (108A) of one of the guide rails (100A, 100B) to abut a second lateral wall (108B) of each guide rail (100A, 100B) against the first lateral surface (31), aligning the first lateral walls (108A) of the guide rails (100A, 100B) and aligning the second lateral walls (108B) of the guide rails (100A, 100B). A method of aligning the guide rails (100A, 100B) uses the alignment device (10) and the connectors (110A, 110B, 120).

A woodworking utensil including two guide rails and an alignment device for a woodworking tool are shown. A method using the alignment device to align the guide rails is also disclosed.
Guide rails are used to guide woodworking tools, such as circular saws, routers, jigsaws, and the like, in a straight line, allowing increased accuracy and ease of use of the woodworking tools. The guide rails are generally constructed of aluminum and include a substantially flat bottom surface that rests on the workpiece in use and include one or more tool base guiding tracks on a top surface to engage with one or more channels in a base of the woodworking tool being guided. The tool base guiding tracks have provisions to accept accessories, such as clamps, stops, and connectors. In a case that the workpiece is longer than the length of a single guide rail, two or more guide rails have to be connected end-to-end. Although connectors for securing the guide rails together are available, the connectors can not insure that the guide rails are connected in a straight line. In use, it is difficult to connect guide rails together in a straight line.
Thus, a need exists for a novel alignment device for insuring alignment of two guide rails connected end-to-end and for a novel method for reliably aligning the guide rails.

Alignment device and method for aligning guide rails for a woodworking tool


Temperature of an electric drive is regulated to prevent undesirable thermal effects. Temperature conditions of the electric drive system are monitored and torque of the electric drive system is limited based on the temperature conditions.

It is known to utilize electric drive systems in vehicle powertrains to drive or boost power at an output shaft. In addition, it is desirable to recover kinetic energy of the vehicle and store such recovered energy in energy storage device. Electric motors of electric drive systems have provided one convenient method for this bi-directional flow of energy to and from an output shaft. One aspect of utilizing such an electric drive system is managing the buildup of heat within system components. Electrical components are frequently sensitive to over temperature conditions, and it is beneficial to operate these components at temperatures that promote efficient operation and avoid undesirable thermal effects.

Thermal protection of an electric drive system


A thermally activated display with a temperature management feature and a cover comprising a thermochromic material generally changes from a first color to a second color. The temperature management feature can be a mattress and has a top surface. The cover is substantially flush with the top surface.

The present disclosure generally relates to a thermally activated display and more particularly, to a visual display for indicating effectiveness of a temperature management feature in a mattress or mattress material.
Mattresses with temperature management features, such as phase change materials, ventilated mattress features (e.g. air-cooled technology), and the like, are generally known in the art. One of the problems associated with these mattresses is the inability to demonstrate effectiveness, compared to a mattress without such features, to an individual at the point of sale. Proving usefulness to a customer in the brief interaction occurring during the shopping or purchase process, which can be less than two minutes, can be challenging.
Thermal imaging (TI) photography offers a solution for validating effectiveness or utility of temperature controlling technologies in mattresses. Unfortunately, however, TI cameras can be expensive. In addition, effective utilization entails training, skill, and experience. Furthermore, TI photography can be impractical because it requires an employee or salesperson to continuously acquire images.
Accordingly, there is a need for a convenient, low cost visual display at the point of sale for demonstrating functionality of a temperature management feature in a mattress. It is to solving this need the present disclosure is directed.

Thermally activated mattress cover and display


A bulk-optics assembly for a transmitting/receiving QKD station (BOB1) in a two-way autocompensating QKD system (101) is disclosed. The assembly consists of a first beamsplitter (104) having a high (e.g., 90:10) beamsplitting ratio, a 50:50 beamsplitter (106) and a polarizing beamsplitter (108). The assembly also optionally includes a polarizer (102), and/or a fixed attenuator (FOA), and/or an optional blocking filter (110) downstream of the polarizing beamsplitter. The compact bulk-optics assembly is easier to manufacture than a fiber-based optical system, and is simpler and more compact than prior art bulk-optics assemblies for QKD systems.

Quantum key distribution involves establishing a key between a sender ("Alice") and a receiver ("Bob") by using weak (e.g., 0.1 photon on average) optical signals transmitted over a "quantum channel." The security of the key distribution is based on the quantum mechanical principle that any measurement of a quantum system in unknown state will modify its state. As a consequence, an eavesdropper ("Eve") that attempts to intercept or otherwise measure the quantum signal will introduce errors into the transmitted signals, thereby revealing her presence.
The general principles of quantum cryptography were first set forth by Bennett and Brassard in their article "Quantum Cryptography: Public key distribution and coin tossing," Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers, Systems and Signal Processing, Bangalore, India, 1984, pp. 175–179 (IEEE, New York, 1984). Specific QKD systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,410 to Bennett, and in the article by C. H. Bennett entitled "Quantum Cryptography Using Any Two Non-Orthogonal States," Phys. Rev. Lett. 68 3121 (1992) (hereinafter, "the Bennett 1992 paper"). The general process for performing QKD is also described in the book by Bouwmeester et al., "The Physics of Quantum Information," Springer-Verlag 2001, in Section 2.3, pages 27–33.
The above mentioned publications and patent each describe a so-called "one-way" QKD system wherein Alice randomly encodes the polarization or phase of single photons, and Bob randomly measures the polarization or phase of the photons. The one-way system described in the Bennett 1992 paper and in the '410 patent is based on two optical fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometers. Respective parts of the interferometric system are accessible by Alice and Bob so that each can control the phase of the interferometer. The signals (pulses) sent from Alice to Bob are time-multiplexed and follow different paths. As a consequence, the interferometers need to be actively stabilized during transmission to compensate for thermal drifts.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,234 to Gisin (the '234 patent), which patent is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a so-called "two-way" QKD system that is autocompensated for polarization and thermal variations. Thus, the two-way QKD system of the '234 patent is less susceptible to environmental effects than a one-way system.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a two-way QKD system 10 that includes a conventional fiber-optic-based QKD station BOB, as disclosed in FIG. 4 of the article by Bethune and Park, "Autocompensating quantum cryptography," New Journal of Physics 4, (2002) 42.1–42.15 (hereinafter, "the Bethune Article") which Article is incorporated by reference herein. QKD transmitter BOB serves as a transmitter and receiver and includes a distributed feedback (DFB) laser 12, a variable optical attenuator (VOA) 14, a polarization controller 16 and a circulator 18, coupled in series via sections of optical fiber 20.
One port of circulator 18 is coupled via an optical fiber section 21 to a polarization-maintaining (PM) variable coupler 26. One port of the PM variable coupler 26 is coupled to an optical fiber section 22A that in turn is coupled to a coupler 30. Another port of coupler 26 is coupled to another optical fiber section 22B that includes a phase modulator 34. Optical fiber section 22B is also coupled to coupler 30. A third port of coupler 26 is coupled to an optical fiber section 40 that leads to a first single-photon detector (SPD) D1. Also, one of the ports of circulator 18 is coupled to an optical fiber 42 that leads to a second SPD D2. SPDs D1 and D2 are coupled to a controller 50. Controller 50 is also coupled to phase modulator 34.
In operation, light pulses P0 are emitted by laser 12 and attenuated by VOA 14. The attenuated light pulses are then polarized by polarization controller 16. Circulator 18 passes the pulses to PM variable coupler 26. At PM variable coupler 26, each light pulse is split into two light pulses PA and PB having different polarizations, with one light pulse (say, PA) directed to optical fiber section 22A, while the other light pulse (PB) is directed to optical fiber section 22B. Because pulses PA and PB are outgoing, pulse PB remains unmodulated by phase modulator 34. These pulses are then re-introduced into optical fiber channel 60 at coupler 30 with a relative time delay.
Pulses PA and PB travel over fiber channel 60 to a second QKD station ALICE, where one of the pulses (say, PB) is randomly phase-modulated by a second phase-modulator 70 after reflecting from a Faraday mirror 72, which rotates the polarizations of the pulses by 90°. Pulses PA and PB then travel back to BOB over fiber channel 60. At coupler 30 pulse PA is directed into fiber section 22B, where it is randomly phase modulated by phase modulator 34 via the operation of controller 50. Because pulse PA now is time-delayed by the same amount as pulse PB, it combines with pulse PB at PM variable coupler 26, where the pulses interfere with one another. Depending on the relative phase imparted to the pulses, the resulting combined pulse will either travel over optical fiber section 40 to SPD D1 or over optical fiber section 42 to SPD D2. The detection events are then counted as clicks in controller 50. These clicks are then processed using known techniques (e.g., sifting, error correction and privacy amplification), to create a secret quantum key shared by BOB and ALICE.
The fiber-based optical system of BOB has a number of significant drawbacks. First, there are a large number of optical fiber splices, which results in losses in the system. Second, system is not particularly compact because of the lengths of optical fibers needed to connect the various components. Third, the extinction ratio, while good, is difficult to improve in the optical fiber-based configuration.
While the Bethune Article also offers a bulk-optics configuration as shown in FIG. 1 therein, it requires six elements including Faraday rotators and waveplates, and does not include certain elements that should be included in a bulk-optics embodiment of BOB1's optic's layer to be used in a commercially viable QKD system.

Compact optics assembly for a QKD station


A hydraulic circuit for a construction machine is disclosed, which can prevent an energy loss of a hydraulic system by automatically reducing revolution of an engine when a working device such as a boom is not driven. The hydraulic circuit includes first to third hydraulic pumps, a first switching valve, a second switching valve, a third switching valve, a confluence switching valve, a first shuttle valve selecting any one of a pressure of a first signal line in which a signal pressure is formed when the third switching valve for working devices connected to the third hydraulic pump is shifted and a pressure of a second signal line in which a signal pressure is formed when a switching valve for traveling devices is shifted, and a second shuttle valve selecting any one of the pressure selected by the first shuttle valve and a pressure of a third signal line in which a signal pressure is formed when switching valves for the working devices connected to the first and second hydraulic pumps are shifted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydraulic circuit for a construction machine, which can implement an auto idle function by automatically reducing revolution of an engine when a working device of the construction machine is not driven.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a hydraulic circuit for a construction machine, which can minimize an energy loss of a hydraulic system by automatically reducing revolution of an engine when a working device such as a boom is not driven.
Hereinafter, in the accompanying drawings, only the construction of pilot signal lines related to an auto idle function is illustrated. When corresponding switching valves are switched, the pilot signal lines are intercepted. The switching state of the valves and the connected lines between a main pump and a working device during the switching operation of the corresponding switching valves are not separately illustrated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional hydraulic circuit for a construction machine having an auto idle function includes first, second, and third hydraulic pumps P1, P2, and P3; a first switching valve A composed of valves installed in a flow path of the first hydraulic pump P1 and shifted to control hydraulic fluid fed to working devices (right traveling motor, arm, boom, bucket, and so forth); a second switching valve B composed of valves installed in a flow path of the second hydraulic pump P2 and shifted to control hydraulic fluid fed to working devices (left traveling motor, arm, option device, and so forth); a third switching valve C composed of valves installed in a flow path of the third hydraulic pump P3 and shifted to control hydraulic fluid fed to a swing device and so on; and a confluence switching valve 8 installed on a downstream side of the flow path of the third hydraulic pump P3 and shifted to selectively supply the hydraulic fluid from the third hydraulic pump P3 to the working devices on the first hydraulic pump side P1 or the working devices on the second hydraulic pump side P2, in response to a pilot signal pressure Pi1 applied thereto.
In a general small-sized excavator, the hydraulic fluid fed from the first hydraulic pump P1 is supplied to the right traveling motor and the hydraulic fluid fed from the second hydraulic pump P2 is supplied to the left traveling motor to drive the traveling motors. In the case of driving other working devices (arm, boom, bucket, and so forth), the confluence switching valve 8 is used to supply the hydraulic fluid fed from the third hydraulic pump P3 to the working devices.
The confluence switching valve 8 is shifted, in response to the pilot signal pressure Pi1 applied thereto, to supply the hydraulic fluid fed from the third hydraulic pump P3 to the working devices (arm, boom, bucket, and so forth) on the first hydraulic pump side P1 or to the working devices (arm, boom, option device, and so forth) on the second hydraulic pump side P2.
The pilot signal pressure Pi1 for shifting the confluence switching valve 8 is supplied from a pilot pump (not illustrated) through a first throttling part 1 installed in a pilot signal line 3.
A signal line 4 includes a signal line 5 passing through the switching valves A and B for the working devices and a signal line 6 passing through a switching valve D for traveling devices. In the case where only either the working devices or the traveling devices are shifted to operate, no signal pressure is formed in the pilot signal line 3.
By contrast, in the case where the working devices and the traveling devices are simultaneously shifted to operate, the pilot signal pressure Pi1 is formed in the pilot signal line 3, and the confluence switching valve 8 is shifted in response to the pilot signal pressure Pi1 formed in the pilot signal line 3. Accordingly, the hydraulic fluid fed from the third hydraulic pump P3 is supplied to the working devices (arm, bucket, boom, and so forth) of the first hydraulic pump side P1 or the working devices (arm, boom, option device, and so forth) of the second hydraulic pump side P2.
In the case of simultaneously implementing the above-described confluence circuit and the auto idle function, it is required to provide a signal device that can sense the shifting of the switching valves for the working devices and the switching valves for the traveling devices. Since the pressure is not formed in the pilot signal line 3 when either the switching valves for the working devices or the switching valves for the traveling devices are shifted, the pressure in the pilot signal line 3 cannot be used as an auto idle signal pressure.
That is, in the case of shifting the switching valves for the working devices or the switching valves for the traveling devices, a separate signal line 7 that can sense the shifting is required. The signal line 7 is connected to the signal line for supplying the pilot signal pressure to the confluence switching valve 8 and is connected to a flow path in which a second throttling part 2 is installed. In addition, the signal line 7 is constructed to pass through all the switching valves A, B, C, and D for the working devices and the traveling devices.
Accordingly, in a neutral state of the switching valves A, B, and C connected to the first to third hydraulic pumps P1, P2, and P3, respectively, it is judged that no signal pressure is formed in the signal line 7 and the working devices do not operate, and the engine revolution of the heavy equipment is automatically reduced. In the case of shifting at least one of the switching valves A, B, C, and D, the signal pressure is formed in the signal line 7, and thus the engine revolution can be accelerated by the formed signal pressure.
Referring to FIG. 2, another conventional hydraulic circuit for a construction machine having an auto idle function includes a confluence switching valve 8 that is shifted by a pilot signal pressure Pi1 fed through a third throttling part 11 formed in a pilot signal line 13; a signal line 15 which is connected to the pilot signal line 13 and in which a signal pressure is formed when switching valves A and B for working devices are shifted; a signal line 16 which is connected to the pilot signal line 13 and in which a signal pressure is formed when a switching valve D for working devices is shifted; and a signal line 17 which is connected to a pilot signal pressure Pi2 formed through a fourth throttling part 12 and in which a signal pressure is formed when the switching valves A, B, C, and D for the working devices and the traveling devices connected to first to third hydraulic pumps P1, P2, and P3, respectively, are shifted.
The conventional hydraulic circuit of FIG. 2 further includes the first, second, and third hydraulic pumps P1, P2, and P3; the first switching valve A composed of valves installed in a flow path of the first hydraulic pump P1 and shifted to control hydraulic fluid fed to working devices (right traveling motor, arm, and so forth); the second switching valve B composed of valves installed in a flow path of the second hydraulic pump P2 and shifted to control hydraulic fluid fed to working devices (left traveling motor, boom, and so forth); and the third switching valve C composed of valves installed in a flow path of the third hydraulic pump P3 and shifted to control hydraulic fluid fed to a swing device and so on. However, since these constituent elements are substantially the same as those of the circuit as illustrated in FIG. 1, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. The same drawing reference numerals are used for the same elements across various figures.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional hydraulic circuits having an auto idle function requires a confluence circuit and separate auto idle signal lines, and this causes the construction of the signal lines to be complicated. In particular, the hydraulic circuit as illustrated in FIG. 2 has a very complicated signal lines.
In addition, since the signal line 7 passes through all the switching valves A, B, C, and D of the working devices and the traveling devices, the hydraulic fluid may leak through joint surfaces of the respective switching valves A, B, C, and D. Particularly, in a high-temperature working environment, the formed auto-idle pressure may become unstable due to the leakage of the hydraulic fluid.

Hydraulic circuit for construction machine

Volvo Construction Equipment Holding Sweden AB


End dividers are connected to a harvesting reel of a header such that fore and aft translational movement of the harvesting reel results in corresponding translation of a leading part of the end dividers. The end dividers may be secured to a header frame such that the end dividers float over uneven terrain. The end dividers can also include extensions or shrouds for receiving and protecting the ends of the reel, as well as sockets at their tips for releasably attaching various types of harvesting fixtures.

The subject application relates generally to a header for use with agricultural harvesters. In particular, the subject application relates to a movable end divider for a header of a combine harvester.
The headers for agricultural harvesters, such as combines, that harvest crops may assume a variety of configurations depending on the crop being harvested. Regardless of the crop, however, harvester headers include at least a pair of crop dividers on opposite ends of a crop gathering mechanism. The end dividers serve to divide and lift the crop and guide it inwardly toward the crop gathering mechanism where it may be harvested and possibly further processed. In corn headers, for example, a plurality of intermediate dividers is typically used in conjunction with the end dividers in order to effectively harvest rows of corn. In other headers, such as those for harvesting wheat and other crops not normally grown in well-defined rows, the header is referred to as a draper header or auger header and includes a long spoked reel that works in conjunction with a knife to shear off and gather the crop.
Crops grow to varying heights and have other distinguishing physical characteristics. Taller plants typically require longer end dividers in order to divide the crop whereas shorter plants can normally be harvested using shorter end dividers. Heretofore, combine harvester headers use multiple differently-sized, fixed-length, detachable end dividers that are mounted to the headers to suit the type of crop being harvested. That is, when tall crops are harvested a pair of fixed-length long end dividers are attached to opposite ends of the header and, when it comes time to gather shorter crops, the long end dividers are replaced with shorter ones. Presently, therefore, the farmer who grows a variety of crops normally needs an assortment of differently-sized end dividers that must be physically attached to and detached from the header depending on the crop being harvested. Such a system is not only time and labor intensive but also requires the keeping of an inventory of end dividers which involves considerable expense and consumes valuable equipment storage space.

End divider for a header of an agricultural harvester


The present invention can provide an antireflection film improved in the scratch resistance while having a sufficiently high antireflection property, and a polarizing plate and a display device using the antireflection film, the antireflection film antireflection film comprising: a transparent support; and as an outermost layer, a low refractive index layer containing a fluorine-containing polymer, wherein the low refractive index layer comprises at least one inorganic fine particle having an average particle size of 30 to 100% of the thickness of the low refractive index layer; the polarizing plate using the antireflection film for one of two protective films of a polarizer in the polarizing plate; and the image display device using the antireflection film or polarizing plate for the outermost surface of the display.

On a display device such as cathode ray tube display device (CRT), plasma display panel (PDP), electro-luminescence display (ELD) and liquid crystal display device (LCD), the antireflection film is generally disposed on the outermost surface of the display so as to prevent the reduction in contrast due to reflection of external light or prevent entering of an image by reflection.
In general, such an antireflection film is produced by forming a low refractive index layer to an appropriate thickness on a support, in which the refractive index of the low refractive index layer is lower than that of the support. In order to realize a low reflectance, a material having a refractive index as low as possible is preferably used for the low refractive index layer. Furthermore, the antireflection film is used on the outermost surface of a display and therefore, this film is required to have high scratch resistance. In order to realize high scratch resistance of a thin film with a thickness of about 100 nm, strength of the film itself and tight adhesion to the lower layer are necessary.
For lowering the refractive index of a material, techniques of (1) introducing a fluorine atom and (2) decreasing the density (introducing voids) may be used, however, in both of these techniques, the film strength or the adhesive property at the interface is liable to decrease and low scratch resistance results. Thus, it has been difficult to realize a low refractive index and a high scratch resistance at the same time.
As described in JP-A-2002-265866 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application") and JP-A-2002-317152, the film strength may be increased to a certain extent by a method of using a fluorine-containing sol-gel film, however, this method causes large restrictions, for example, (1) curing requires heating over a long time and the load of production is large or (2) the film has no resistance against a saponification solution (alkali treatment solution) and in the case of saponifying the TAC surface, this treatment cannot be performed after the antireflection film is formed.
On the other hand, JP-A-11-189621, JP-A-11-228631 and JP-A-2000-313709 describe a technique of introducing a polysiloxane structure into a fluorine-containing polymer to reduce the friction coefficient on the film surface and thereby improve the scratch resistance. This technique is effective to a certain extent for the improvement of scratch resistance, however, in the case of a film lacking in the substantial film strength and interface adhesion, a sufficiently high scratch resistance cannot be obtained only by this technique.

Antireflection film, polarizing plate and image display device


A memory device that includes source and drain regions formed in a semiconductor substrate, with a first channel region of the substrate extending there between. A floating gate is disposed over and insulated from the channel region, wherein the conductivity of the channel region is solely controlled by the floating gate. A control gate is disposed over and insulated from the floating gate. An erase gate is disposed over and insulated from the source region, wherein the erase gate includes a notch that faces and is insulated from an edge of the floating gate. Logic devices are formed on the same substrate. Each logic device has source and drain regions with a channel region extending there between, and a logic gate disposed over and controlling the logic device's channel region.

Split gate non-volatile memory devices are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,927,994, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a split gate non-volatile memory cell, where two different portions of the channel region are controlled by two different gates (a floating gate and a select gate). The memory cell additionally includes a control gate over the floating gate, and an erase gate over the source region. The split gate memory cell is advantageous because operating voltages are relatively low, which means on board power supplies can be smaller and more efficient. The split gate memory cell is disadvantageous because the memory cell size is enlarged to accommodate two separate gates laterally displaced to control the two separate portions of the channel region.
Stacked gate non-volatile memory device, where only a single gate (floating gate) controls the channel region, are well known in the art. A control gate is formed over the floating gate. The stacked gate memory cell is advantageous because the memory cell can be scaled down to smaller sizes given that only a single gate is used to control the channel region. The stacked gate memory cell is disadvantageous because operating voltages are relatively high.
There is a need for a memory cell design that can be scaled down to smaller sizes, yet operates using relatively low voltages. There is also a need for a method of making such memory cells on the same chip as other logic devices, such as low voltage logic devices (core devices) and higher voltage logic devices (HV devices).

Memory cell with floating gate, coupling gate and erase gate, and method of making same