The technology presented herein has a feature of providing a liquid crystal display device of an excellent viewing angle characteristic and high brightness, including: liquid crystals containing polymerizable monomers between a first substrate with a pixel electrode having micro slits and a second substrate facing the first substrate; wherein the monomers are polymerizable with voltage applied to the liquid crystals; and an alignment orientation of the liquid crystals is controllable to a direction of extending the micro slit, wherein the pixel electrode includes: a direct coupling part electrically connected to a switching element; a capacitive coupling part electrically insulated from the switching element, and a space between the direct and capacitive coupling parts, wherein directions in which the micro slits are extended along the direct and capacitive coupling parts are orthogonal to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device for use in a display unit of electronic appliances.
2. Description of the Related Art
For a liquid crystal display device which can attain a wide viewing angle, a liquid crystal display device in MVA (Multi-domain Vertical Alignment) mode is known. The liquid crystal display device in the MVA mode has liquid crystals of negative dielectric anisotropy which are sealed between a pair of substrates, a vertical alignment film which aligns liquid crystal molecules almost vertically with respect to the substrate surface, and an alignment regulating structure which regulates the alignment orientation of liquid crystal molecules. For the alignment regulating structure, a linear protrusion formed of a dielectric and an open part (main slit) of an electrode are used. When voltage is applied, the liquid crystal molecules are tilted in the direction vertical to the direction in which the alignment regulating structure is extended. The alignment regulating structure is used to provide a plurality of areas in a single pixel, the area being different in the alignment orientation of the liquid crystal molecules, and thus a wide viewing angle can be obtained. However, in this liquid crystal display device, since the protrusion and the main slit are formed in the pixel area, the aperture ratio is lower than ones in the TN (Twisted Nematic) mode etc., and thus the light transmittance is reduced.
FIG. 34 shows the pixel structure of a liquid crystal display device in the MVA mode in which the aperture ratio is improved. FIG. 35 shows the sectional structure of the liquid crystal display device sectioned at line A-A shown in FIG. 34. As shown in FIGS. 34 and 35, the liquid crystal display device has a pair of substrates 102 and 104, and liquid crystals 106 which are sealed between the substrates 102 and 104. On the substrate 102, a gate bus line 112 and a drain bus line 114 are formed as they intersect with each other through an insulating film. A pixel area is defined by the gate bus line 112 and the drain bus line 114. Near the position at which the gate bus line 112 and the drain bus line 114 intersect with each other, a TFT 120 is formed. In each of the pixel areas, a pixel electrode 116 is formed. The pixel electrode 116 is formed with a micro slit 116d which is cut from a rim. The alignment orientation of the liquid crystals molecules 108 is controlled by an oblique electric field at the end of the pixel electrode 116. In this liquid crystal display device, a high aperture ratio and light transmittance can be obtained because the linear protrusion and the main slit are not formed in the pixel area. However, since the micro slit 116d has weaker alignment control than that of the linear protrusion and the main slit, the liquid crystal display device has a long response time of the liquid crystals, and the alignment is easily disturbed by a finger press or so.
Then, a polymer sustained alignment (PSA) technique is introduced in which polymerizable monomers are mixed in liquid crystals to polymerize the monomers in the state in which voltage is applied to the liquid crystals and thus the orientation in which the liquid crystals are tilted is stored (for example, see Patent Document 1). In the liquid crystal display device using the PSA technique, a polymerized film which stores the alignment orientation of the liquid crystals is formed on the interface of an alignment film. Thus, strong alignment control is obtained, and it can be ensured that liquid crystals molecules 108 are tilted in the direction in parallel with the micro slit 116d.
However, in a liquid crystal display device in the VA mode in which the birefringence property of the liquid crystals vertically aligned is used for switching light, the phase difference caused by birefringence in the oblique direction is greatly shifted from that in the front direction, and thus display can have a white patch when a screen is viewed from the oblique direction. This is a phenomenon called washout in which the gray level brightness characteristic, that is, the γ characteristic is shifted from a set value in all the gray scale levels more or less.
For a scheme to improve washout, there is a technique in which a single pixel is split into a plurality of areas to vary the voltage applied to liquid crystals in a single pixel. This is a technique in which the alignment orientation of liquid crystals is varied in the azimuth angle direction as well as in the polar angle direction to reduce the shift of the phase difference between the oblique direction and the front direction. More specifically, the alignment orientation of liquid crystals in a single pixel is split in the polar angle direction as well as in the azimuth angle direction to average the variation in the phase difference in the polar angle direction as well, and thus a white patch can be reduced.
FIG. 36 shows the pixel structure of a liquid crystal display device which implements the technique above. As shown in FIG. 36, a pixel electrode in each of pixel areas has a direct coupling part 116a which is directly connected to a source electrode of a TFT 120, a capacitive coupling part 116b which is indirectly connected to the source electrode through capacitance formed between it and a control capacitance electrode 125, and a space 117 which isolates them. The direct coupling part 116a and the capacitive coupling part 116b each have a plurality of line electrodes (width l) which is extended in a predetermined direction, and a micro slit (width s) which is between the adjacent line electrodes. Near the space 117, the micro slits of the direct coupling part 116a and the micro slit of the capacitive coupling part 116b are extended almost in parallel with each other. In the configuration shown in FIG. 36, the voltage applied to the liquid crystals are varied between the direct coupling part 116a and the capacitive coupling part 116b to obtain an effect to reduce a white patch.
However, this mode has a problem that a potential difference is generated between the direct coupling part 116a and the capacitive coupling part 116b and that potential difference causes a shift of the alignment orientation of liquid crystals in the space 117 from the orientation defined by the micro slit of the pixel electrode. FIG. 37A shows the pixel electrode structure near the space 117. FIG. 37B shows the simulation result of the display state of a pixel. As shown in FIG. 37A, since a smaller voltage is applied to the capacitive coupling part 116b when it is driven than that to the direct coupling part 116a, the electrode end of the direct coupling part 116a works just like a main slit, and the tilt orientation of the liquid crystal molecules is temporarily vertical to the electrode end of the direct coupling part 116a. On this account, the alignment at the direct coupling part 116a and the capacitive coupling part 116b near the space 117 is greatly disturbed. This phenomenon is called azimuth angle (φ) fluctuations. When the φ fluctuations occur, the birefringence properties of the liquid crystals are locally reduced to generate a dark line as shown in FIG. 37B. Thus, the light transmittance of a pixel is decreased. In addition, the shift of the alignment orientation of liquid crystals also affects the viewing angle characteristic to reduce the effect that improves the white patch described above as well. In order to reduce the influence on the viewing angle characteristic, it is necessary to shield light in the space 117 between the direct coupling part 116a and the capacitive coupling part 116b by a black matrix (BM). On this account, a problem arises that the light transmittance of a pixel is further decreased.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2003-149647
Patent Document 2: JP-A-2003-177408


A light source driving apparatus, a display apparatus and a driving method thereof are disclosed. The light source driving apparatus includes a tapped-inductor boost converter (TIBC) circuit, the TIBC circuit including: a switching unit configured to be turned on and off in accordance with a preset cycle; a tapped inductor configured to transfer a current from a primary side to a secondary side as the switching unit is turned on; and a snubber configured to include a clamp capacitor and clamp diode configured to clamp a voltage of the switching unit, a resonance capacitor configured to perform a resonance as being charged and discharged corresponding to a switching cycle of the switching unit, and first and second resonance diodes configured to charge and discharge the resonance capacitor. Thus, the TIBC circuit provided with the lossless snubber can prevent the voltage stress from increasing during the resonance since the voltage of the switching unit is clamped.

Technical Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the exemplary embodiments relate to a light source driving apparatus, a display apparatus and a driving method thereof. More particularly, the exemplary embodiments relate to a light source driving apparatus, a display apparatus and a driving method thereof, in which a snubber is provided for preventing voltage and current spikes generated in switching of a switching device.
Description of the Related Art
In a display apparatus such as a television (TV), a driver for driving a light emitting diode (LED), or the like, light source may include a driving circuit to which a tapped-induced boost converter (hereinafter, referred to as a 'TIBC') method is applied.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a TIBC driving circuit of the related art, and FIG. 2 shows ideal waveforms of the TIBC driving circuit of FIG. 1.
The waveforms shown in FIG. 2 are ideal waveforms in which all parasitical components of the circuit are ignored, without reflecting noise generated in implementing the practical circuit. For example, N1 and N2 of FIG. 1 indicate magnetically coupled inductors serving as a transformer. In FIG. 1, a leakage inductance component L1k inevitably parasitic on the transformer is not shown, and a capacitance component Cds between a drain and a source parasitic on metal oxide field effect transistor (MOSFET) M1 is not shown.
In a boost converter of the related art, voltage stress applied between both ends of the MOSFET is equal to Vo. However, in the TIBC, as shown in the waveforms of VD of FIG. 2, voltage stress applied between both ends of the MOSFET is drastically lowered into (N1Vo+N2Vi)/(N1+N2), but an advantage of lowering the voltage stress is cancelled out by the leakage inductance L1k and capacitance Cds.
FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a TIBC driving circuit including a main parasitical component, and FIG. 4 shows waveforms of the TIBC driving circuit of FIG. 3. The waveforms of FIG. 4 show real waveforms of the TIBC circuit in FIG. 1, which involves waveform ringing due to parasitic components as compared with the ideal waveforms of FIG. 2.
Specifically, as compared with the waveforms of FIG. 2, the waveforms of FIG. 4 show that a very high voltage spike and ringing due to the spike are generated in response to the MOSFET M1 being turned off (t—off), and thus the spike and ringing are generated in a current ip and id. The spike and the ringing are caused by resonance between the parasitic components L1k and Cds. As shown in FIG. 3, a drain of M1 is not clamped anywhere and connected to a tap portion to which primary and secondary winding wires are connected, and therefore VD increases without limit while energy stored in L1k is transferred to Cds by resonance. That is, if a current flowing in L1k just before turning off M1 is Ip, the spike of VD has an amplitude of Ip*√(L1k/Cds). Therefore, the voltage spike becomes higher as Ip increases, as L1k increases or as Cds decreases. For example, the spike having a high voltage of about 150-200V is generated when VD is about 30V.
As a method of preventing the spike and the ringing, the circuit may be changed to achieve voltage clamping, or to additionally include a resistor R, a capacitor C and a diode D that constitute an RCD snubber circuit. FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an example where an RCD snubber 51 is applied to the TIBC circuit of FIG. 3.
However, the RCD snubber shown in FIG. 5, which is a dissipative snubber or a lossy snubber, is difficult to be applied to the TIBC circuit of the driver since it has disadvantages that an efficiency of the circuit is low and a snubber resistor generates a lot of heat.

Light source driving apparatus having a snubber to prevent voltage and current spikes, display apparatus and driving method thereof


Memory cells comprising: a semiconductor substrate having at least two source/drain regions separated by a channel region; a charge-trapping structure disposed above the channel region; and a gate disposed above the charge-trapping structure; wherein the charge-trapping structure comprises a bottom insulating layer, a first charge-trapping layer, and a second charge-trapping layer, wherein an interface between the bottom insulating layer and the substrate has a hydrogen concentration of less than about 3×1011/cm−2, and methods for forming such memory cells.

Non-volatile memory ("NVM") refers to semiconductor memory which is able to continually store information even when the supply of electricity is removed from the device containing the NVM cell. NVM includes Mask Read-Only Memory (Mask ROM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and Flash Memory. Non-volatile memory is extensively used in the semiconductor industry and is a class of memory developed to prevent loss of programmed data. Typically, non-volatile memory can be programmed, read and/or erased based on the device's end-use requirements, and the programmed data can be stored for a long period of time.
In general, NVM cells contain a charge-storage layer situated above a channel region of the cell. When appropriate programming voltages are applied to a source and a drain, which are positioned adjacent to opposite sides of the channel region, and to a gate situated above the charge-storage layer, charge carriers moving across the channel enter the charge-storage layer. In subsequent reading operations, the presence or absence of the trapped charge carriers can be detected based on the measured channel current.
Conventional floating gate flash memory cells, which are a type of NVM, generally employ a memory cell characterized by a vertical charge-storage stack of a first dielectric, a first conductive (charge-storage) layer over the first dielectric, a second interlevel dielectric over the first conductive layer, and a second conductive layer (control gate) over the interlevel dielectric. In floating gate memories, the charge is stored throughout the entire conductive storage layer. Thus, the memory states are trapped charge or no trapped charge, i.e., a single bit of data.
Another type of NVM cell that has received a great deal of attention in recent years based on increasing demands for higher memory capacity and smaller cell dimensions employs localized charge-storage to provide two bits of data per memory cell. In such devices, a non-conductive, charge-trapping layer is disposed between the channel and the gate, and preferably between two dielectric layers, such as silicon dioxide. One such type of NVM is referred to as nitride read only memory ("NROM") and generally comprises an oxide/nitride/oxide ("ONO") charge-trapping structure. One primary advantage of NVM cells which employ charge-trapping materials is the localized storage of charge which allows two bits of data to be stored in each cell. Such localized charge storage allows one charge (bit-1) to be stored in the charge-trapping layer in an area proximate to one source/drain region and another charge (bit-2) to be stored in the charge-trapping layer in an area proximate to the other source/drain region.
Unfortunately, non-volatile memory cells which employ charge-trapping layers and store charge in a localized manner are not without problems. For example, in nitride storage memory cells where the charge-trapping layer generally comprises a silicon nitride layer sandwiched between two silicon dioxide layers ("ONO structure"), hydrogen atoms may become trapped at the interfacial sites between the silicon substrate and the bottom oxide (first insulating) layer of the charge-storage ONO structure. Hydrogen can be generated and introduced into the charge-storage structure via various techniques used for forming one or more of the layers, for example, via chemical vapor deposition techniques. Although hydrogen can passivate dangling bonds at oxide/silicon interfaces, silicon-hydrogen bonds can be weakened when devices are subjected to hot-hole injection, which can be used for erasing various kinds of non-volatile memories, including ONO structures. Therefore, it is believed that interfacially trapped hydrogen is at least partly responsible for some loss of threshold voltage in memory devices having an interface between silicon and an oxide.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for non-volatile memory cells with localized charge-storage having improved properties and which suffer less from the problems associated with interfacially trapped hydrogen.

Methods of forming low hydrogen concentration charge-trapping layer structures for non-volatile memory


A self-inflating tire assembly includes an air tube connected to a tire and defining an air passageway, the air tube being composed of a flexible material operative to allow an air tube segment opposite a tire footprint to flatten, closing the passageway, and resiliently unflatten into an original configuration. The air tube is sequentially flattened by the tire footprint in a direction opposite to a tire direction of rotation to pump air along the passageway to a regulator device. The regulator device regulates the inlet air flow to the air tube and the outlet air flow to the tire cavity.

Normal air diffusion reduces tire pressure over time. The natural state of tires is under inflated. Accordingly, drivers must repeatedly act to maintain tire pressures or they will see reduced fuel economy, tire life and reduced vehicle braking and handling performance. Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems have been proposed to warn drivers when tire pressure is significantly low. Such systems, however, remain dependant upon the driver taking remedial action when warned to re-inflate a tire to recommended pressure. It is desirable, therefore, to incorporate a self-inflating feature within a tire that will self-inflate the tire in order to compensate for any reduction in tire pressure over time without the need for driver intervention. It is also desired to provide a valve system in order to regulate the tire pressure.

Self-inflating tire with inlet control valve


A component, in particular a sun visor that is designed for use in a vehicle, is described having a structural part and a cover part, the cover part being connected to the structural part by a removable connection. In order to produce the connection, the cover element performs a connection displacement in relation to the structural part in a tangential direction to at least one main extension direction of the cover element.

Components, such as sun visors, which are used in particular in the interior of a vehicle, are generally known. It is desireable that they be lightweight and cost-effective. On the other hand, it is also desireable that their assembly be cost-effective and they have a long service life, during which they are sometimes subjected to extreme situations with regard to temperature conditions and with regard to oscillating and/or vibrating conditions. Furthermore, at the end of their useful life, it is desireable that such components be easily accessible to material utilization (recycling). Also, it is desireable that such components be designed to be aesthetically attractive.
With such known components it is common for so-called snap-in connections—also called clip connections—to be used for the external fastening of individual parts to structural elements of the components. Such snap-in connections generally engage with an insertion element in a corresponding recess of the component, either the insertion element or, however, the component itself being first deflected and then snapped in, during the connection, in the region of its recess. Here, the insertion movement is generally arranged substantially perpendicular to the surface and/or to the face of the component to be covered (as are the insertion element and the recess).
In order to ensure a stable hold, a plurality of such insertion elements are generally present which has the result that, during assembly, the plurality of insertion elements usually have to be aligned in their corresponding recesses, before they may be finally snapped in. As these two steps are movements in the same direction (namely the insertion of the insertion elements into the recesses), the two steps may be combined, so that, for example, one of the plurality of insertion elements is already snapped in, meanwhile a further insertion element would have to be still further aligned, which, however, is sometimes no longer possible as the one insertion element is already snapped in. Therefore, with conventionally known components, the assembly is typically awkward, and is difficult and expensive to automate and suffers from certain drawbacks, for example a high rejection rate.
The object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a component, in particular a sun visor that is designed for use in a vehicle, which avoids the drawbacks of the prior art.

Sun visor for use in a vehicle and method for producing a sun visor

Johnson Controls Interiors GmbH & Co. KG


The present invention relates to a system (1) for estimating cardiovascular fitness of a person, comprising a heart rate monitor (10) for acquiring a heart rate signal including information about the heart rate of the person, an activity monitor (20) for acquiring an activity signal indicative of physical activity of the person, a classifier (30) for classifying the activity of the person based on the acquired activity signal, a selector (40) for selecting one or more heart rate features obtained from the acquired heart rate signal based on the acquired heart rate signal and the classification of the activity for use in an estimation of the cardiovascular fitness of the person, and an estimator (50) for estimating the cardiovascular fitness of the person based on the one or more selected heart rate features.

Cardiovascular fitness is important in several fields, such as sports, fitness industry, clinical for diagnostic, prognostic and rehabilitation, and self monitoring in asymptomatic individuals. The direct measurement of fitness requires maximal physiological effort, which is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular events, expensive devices and trained personnel. The indirect estimation of fitness overcomes some of these limitations but still requires to undergo rigorously a specific protocol, takes time and often involves the use of specific equipment (such as lab-bicycles, steps etc.).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,684 discloses a device, which is capable of determining the maximum oxygen uptake quantity without the restriction of a large device or requiring troublesome operations to be carried out. The device displays the upper and lower limit values for the pulse rate corresponding to an appropriate exercise intensity, and realizes in a wireless manner by means of optical communications the sending and receiving of information such as pulse wave signals to and from an information processing device which processes pulse wave information. The device is provided with a pulse wave detector for detecting the test subject's pulse waveform; an FFT processor for determining the test subject's heartbeat rate from the pulse waveform; a body motion detector for detecting body motion when the test subject is running; an FFT processor for determining the pitch from body motion during running by the test subject; exercise intensity calculator for determining pitch, the test subject's stride, and the exercise intensity from body motion during running; and a nomogram recorder for recording the relationship indicated by an Astrand-Ryhming nomogram, and determining the maximum oxygen uptake quantity from the heart rate and exercise intensity. The obtained maximum oxygen uptake quantity is divided by the test subject s body weight, to calculate the maximum oxygen uptake quantity per unit body weight. Next, the maximum oxygen uptake quantity and pulse according to sex are determined, and the pulse rate is multiplied by the upper and lower limit value coefficients, to determine the upper limit value and the lower limit value for the pulse rate.
WO 2012/057852 A1 discloses techniques for detecting ischemia and classifying a type of ischemia. Electrograms of cardiac activity are generated and evaluated. Ischemia is detected and classified as benign or malignant based on whether a change of an electrogram metric is detected, or first detected, in an electrogram. The relative timing of the change in the electrogram metric and a change in heart rate or patient activity may also be considered. The system may create a stress test for detecting ischemia by instructing the patient to exercise or increasing the cardiac pacing rate.
EP 2 524 647 A1 discloses a system and method for determining sleep stages of a person. A heart rate and a body movement are detected and classified. Combinations of heart rate class and body movement class are identified and a sleep stage and/or a sleep event of the person is determined based thereon.
EP 2 335 563 A1 discloses a system for processing exercise-related data comprising heart activity sensor and a motion sensor further. The type of exercise the user wishes to carry out is input by the user through a user interface. Based thereon exercise-related information can be calculated.
Altini et al. disclose personalizing energy expenditure estimation using a heart rate normalization factor in order to reduce an energy estimation error and inter-individual variability ("Personalizing energy expenditure estimation using a cardiorespiratory fitness predicate," 7th International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare (PervasiveHealth), pp. 65-72, 5-8 May 2013). The estimation of said normalization factor is based on a fixed set of parameters comprising the subject's heart rate while lying down resting and walking at different speeds together with anthropometric characteristics.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for estimating cardiovascular fitness of a person


This disclosure relates to a search result processing method and apparatus, and a storage medium. The method may include acquiring a search result according to a search keyword and obtaining an accurate matching score of the search result relative to the search keyword. The method may further include determining a semantic matching weight vector of the search result, a semantic representation vector of the search keyword, and a semantic representation vector of the search result. The method may further include obtaining a semantic matching score of the search result relative to the search keyword according to the semantic representation vectors and the semantic matching weight vector. The method may further include obtaining a similarity between the search result and the search keyword according to the accurate matching score and the semantic matching score.

With the development of the Internet, a user may acquire required information through searches. However, the user has diverse search needs, and there are massive resources on the Internet. As a result, numerous search results may be found. To save time for the user and facilitate browsing, search results need to be sorted, and search results that better meet needs of the user rank in the top.
In the conventional technology, after a user inputs a search keyword, a corresponding search result list may be acquired according to the search keyword, text similarities are then calculated by using an algorithm model, sorting is performed according to similarity scores, and a search result list obtained after sorting is returned. However, in the conventional technology, algorithm models with similarity calculation are usually used for an application scenario of a single search need, for example, a general need, different search needs of a user are not considered, and the impact of text word orders and context is ignored. Search results with relatively high similarity scores do not necessarily meet needs of the user. As a result, search results that rank in the top in a search result list obtained through sorting according to similarities are not necessarily the most satisfactory or desirable results for the user.

Search result processing method and apparatus, and storage medium

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


A mixing device for an exhaust system of a vehicle includes an inlet pipe, through which exhaust gas can enter a mixing chamber of the mixing device, and an outlet pipe for the exhaust gas to leave the mixing chamber. The inlet pipe and the outlet pipe form an angle. The mixing chamber includes an opening for an outlet of a dosage device, by means of which a reducing agent for exhaust gas aftertreatment is introducible into the mixing chamber. A baffle is arranged at a wall of the inlet pipe a baffle, which is induces a turbulence in the exhaust gas flow entering the mixing chamber.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a mixing device for an exhaust system of a vehicle. The mixing device comprises an inlet pipe through which exhaust gas can enter a mixing chamber of the mixing device. The exhaust gas can leave the mixing chamber through an outlet pipe of the mixing device. The inlet pipe and the outlet pipe form an angle. The mixing chamber comprises an opening for an outlet of a dosage device, by means of which a reducing agent for exhaust gas aftertreatment is introducible into the mixing chamber.
PCT patent publication WO 2009/128 885 A1 describes a mixing device designed for the fine distribution of a reducing agent for exhaust gas aftertreatment, for example an urea-water solution. A mixing pipe is arranged within a mixing chamber formed by a pipe with a 90° angle. The mixing pipe has an opening adapted to receive a nozzle of a urea dosage device. A funnel-shaped end portion of the mixing pipe bears against a wall of the mixing chamber. The mixing pipe is provided with a multitude of large-area perforations on its circumference, which enable the exhaust gas to enter the mixing pipe. Other perforations in the funnel-shaped end portion of the mixing pipe lead to an exhaust gas flow along the circumference of an outlet pipe connected to the mixing chamber.
One disadvantage of this urea mixing device is that it leads to a considerable backpressure of the exhaust system. Additionally, in case of urea as the reducing agent, an enhanced danger for unwanted deposits may exist.
Extensive mixing of urea with the exhaust gas helps improve the conversion of nitrogen oxides in an SCR catalytic converter (SCR=selective catalytic reduction) arranged downstream of the mixing device in the exhaust system. In the SCR catalytic converter nitrogen oxides (NOx) contained in the exhaust gas react with ammoniac (NH3) released from the urea of the urea containing solution or such a reducing agent. Thus, nitrogen oxides are converted with the ammoniac to nitrogen and water in a selective catalytic reduction reaction. This leads to a decrease of the content of nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a mixing device that achieves an enhanced mixing of the reducing agent with the exhaust gas.
The mixing device according to the invention comprises a baffle element. This baffle element is arranged at a wall of the inlet pipe, and it is designed to induce a turbulence in the exhaust gas flow entering the mixing chamber. The baffle element guides the exhaust flow and introduces a turbulence or swirl in the flow field downstream of the baffle element. Therefore, turbulences are already induced at a location of the mixing device, where the reducing agent is injected into the mixing device and the mixing of reducing agent and exhaust gas takes place.
Such a mixing device significantly enhances the mixing of the reducing agent, in particular the mixing of urea with the exhaust gas. With urea as the reducing agent this leads to an improvement of the conversion efficiency regarding nitrogen oxides in an SCR catalytic converter arranged downstream of the mixing device in the exhaust system.
Due to the performance improvement of the mixing device a cost reduction in the operation of the mixing device can be achieved, as less reducing agent needs to be utilized. As the design of the mixing device with the baffle element arranged inside the inlet pipe is very simple, there are low maintenance costs and relatively few parts are incorporated in the mixing device.
Another advantage is the reduction in the chance of a deposit of the reducing agent inside the mixing chamber and downstream of the mixing chamber. This is also due to the open design of a volume of the mixing chamber close to the dosage device. In other words the mixing chamber is empty, i.e. devoid of any elements that would increase backpressure.
The turbulences introduced in the exhaust gas entering the mixing chamber very efficiently avoids the deposit of the reducing agent within the mixing chamber. The mixing device is therefore highly effective and a low cost exhaust gas aftertreatment component.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention the baffle element is arc-shaped with an outer boundary contacting the wall of the inlet pipe and an inner boundary forming a section of a circular-arc. Such a baffle element has proven to be particularly effective in inducing turbulences in the exhaust gas flow and also guiding the flow direction of exhaust gas in an advantageous manner, while the backpressure is only slightly increased by the baffle element.
It has further proven to be advantageous if the baffle element is contacting the wall of the inlet pipe substantially along a quarter of an inner circumference of the inlet pipe. This leaves a large part of the inner circumference of the inlet pipe free of any flow guiding element, but nevertheless the baffle element is efficient in inducing turbulences.
A first section of the wall of the inlet pipe is located on the same side of the mixing device as the opening in the mixing chamber. A second section of the wall of the inlet pipe is located opposite the first section. Preferably at least a major part of the baffle element is arranged at a portion of the wall of the inlet pipe, which is located between this first section and the second section. In other words the baffle element is preferably arranged at other locations of the inlet pipe than the first section and the second section. However, the baffle element can be arranged in a quadrant of the inlet pipe adjoining an imaginary central plane going through the opening in the mixing chamber and dividing the inlet pipe into two halves. It has been found out that a particularly good distribution of reducing agent in the exhaust gas downstream of the mixing device can be achieved by such arrangements of the baffle element.
In a further advantageous development of the invention a width of the baffle element is less than 25% of a diameter of the inlet pipe. With such a relatively small height of the baffle element the mixing device can achieve particularly good backpressure values. This is particularly true if the width of the baffle element is about 10% of the diameter of the inlet pipe.
It is further advantageous if a portion of the mixing chamber, which is closer to the inlet pipe than to the outlet pipe, is substantially square-shaped. Such a shape of a main part or body part of the mixing chamber allows the exhaust flow to stay relatively long within the mixing chamber and to interact to a very high degree with the reducing agent. This further enhances the mixing of the reducing agent spray with the exhaust gas.
In a further advantageous development of the invention the mixing chamber comprises a bulge in a side wall facing the inlet pipe. This leads to an enhanced formation of turbulences or swirls in the mixing chamber itself and in the outlet pipe connected to the mixing chamber. The uniformity of mixing is largely improvable by this design of the mixing chamber. Also, the flow inertia and the characteristics of the exhaust gas-reducing agent interaction are utilized by this design of the mixing chamber. This bulge or pocket, which is located in a prolongation of the inlet pipe, has proven to be very effective in producing strong swirls in the exhaust gas flow.
During operation of the exhaust system the exhaust gas flow from the inlet pipe is guided by the flat side walls of the mixing chamber to the bulge or pocket at the bottom. The flow thus experiences one or more swirls in a volume close to the bulge before it turns towards the outlet pipe. The strong swirls induced by this design of the mixing chamber are effective even in the outlet pipe. This further enhances the mixing of the reducing agent with the exhaust gas.
A deposit of reducing agent within the bulge can be minimized, if according to a further advantageous development of the invention a portion of the bulge is bevelled, which is adjacent to a wall of the mixing chamber, in which the outlet opening of the dosage device is located.
By the sloped design of this portion of the bulge, which is adjacent to the wall of the mixing chamber with the opening, there is no flow recirculation in this region, which could otherwise lead to a deposit of the reducing agent within the mixing chamber. As such a deposit is critical for the performance of the aftertreatment device, bevelling this portion of the bulge improves the performance.
In order to minimize backpressure and to ease the flow from the inlet pipe into the mixing chamber and from the mixing chamber to the outlet pipe, it has further proven to be advantageous if the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe are smoothly fitted in respective accesses of the mixing chamber. Such blended transitions considerably help reducing backpressure.
For a simplified introduction of the reducing agent into the mixing chamber and a good mixing performance it has further turned out to be advantageous if the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe form an angle of about 90°.
The features and feature combinations mentioned above in the description as well as the features and feature combinations mentioned below in the description of figures and/or shown in the figures alone are usable not only in the respectively specified combination, but also in other combinations or alone without departing from the scope of the invention.

Mixing device for an exhaust system of a vehicle


A binarizing circuit is provided for converting an image signal generated by an image scanner into a binary signal. The image scanner scans an image and generates a corresponding image signal. The image signal has a signal magnitude which varies in accordance with the density of the scanned image. A first comparator compares the signal magnitude of the image signal with a first threshold, and a second comparator compares the signal magnitude of the image signal with a second threshold which is different than the first threshold. An output circuit generates a binary signal which is made up of first and second values which respectively denote a presence of the scanned image and an absence of the scanned image. The output circuit generates the first value of when the signal magnitude of the image signals is between the first and second thresholds, and the output circuit generates the second when the signal magnitude of the image signal is not between the first and second thresholds.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a binarizing circuit of scanner read image signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to the prior art shown in FIG. 4, a scanner 2 reads an image 6 drawn on a paper sheet 4. In order to change the read analog image signals (multi-value voltages) obtained by a sensor reader 2a of the scanner 2 to binary data, a voltage threshold is set and each analog image signal is binarized using the voltage threshold as a boundary. As shown in FIG. 5, a single threshold value T is used in the conventional technology.
As also shown in FIG. 5, if the density of dirt and dust present on the sheet 4 is darker than that of the image 6 (line) to be read, the dirt and dust may also be read, thus producing erroneous results.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the sensor reader 2a is made up of a plurality of sensors arranged in a line direction. Referring to FIG. 4, assume that one of the plurality of sensors (i.e. sensor 40) detects the presence of the line 6 on the sheet 4 and another of the plurality of sensors (i.e. sensor 100) detects the presence of dust on the sheet 4. The remaining sensor elements detect neither the line 6 nor dirt or dust. As shown in FIG. 5, the output from the sensor element 40 will fall below the threshold T due to the presence of the line 6. Also, the output of the sensor element 100 will fall below the threshold T due to the presence of dust on the paper 4. Thus, the binarized output for the sensor elements 40 and 100 will be zero (BLACK) whereas the binarized output of the remaining sensor elements will be one (WHITE). Thus, since the binarized output for the sensor 100 is zero (denoting "black"), an error in the read operation is created.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a binarizing circuit of scanner read images signals which overcomes the shortcomings of the conventional technology.

Binary circuit of scanner read image data


The invention is directed to a wave characteristic adjusting device used to compensate for a wave characteristic distortion caused by the scanning motion of a probe beam of a two-wave mixing interferometer. The invention is also directed to an apparatus and method for using the wave characteristic adjusting device in a rapid scanning laser ultrasound testing device. In a rapid scanning laser ultrasound testing device, a laser pulse is directed at periodic points along a path across the surface of a manufactured object. The laser pulse initiates an ultrasonic signal associated with the manufactured object. An interferometer may be used to measure the initiated ultrasonic signal. The interferometer scans a probe beam along a path similar to the sonic initiating laser. A pulse of the probe beam is directed at the manufactured object in the vicinity of the initiating laser pulse while continuously scanning. As a result, the probe beam pulse may exhibit a Doppler shift. This Doppler shift may cause a loss in sensitivity of the two-wave mixing interferometer. The wave characteristic adjusting device may be used to compensate for the Doppler shift, thereby improving the sensitivity of the two-wave mixing interferometer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for detecting ultrasound signals. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for compensating for loss of sensitivity of a two-wave mixing interferometer caused by rapid scanning of a manufactured object or by the relative motion between the inspection system and the manufactured object.
2. Description of Prior Art
Ultrasound testing methods are non-invasive, generally non-destructive, techniques used to measure features of materials. These features may include layer thickness, cracks, delamination, voids, disbonds, foreign inclusions, fiber fractions, fiber orientation and porosity. The features influence a given material's qualities and performance in given applications. Each application places unique demands on the material's qualities including the need for differing strength, flexibility, thermal properties, cost, or ultraviolet radiation resistance. With the changing demands, more non-invasive, non-destructive testing of materials is being performed using techniques such as ultrasound testing.
Ultrasound techniques are applied in research as well as industrial settings. In research, ultrasound techniques are used to test new materials for desired features. The techniques are also used to seek defects in material that has undergone stress or environmental endurance testing. In industry, the techniques are used during scheduled servicing to inspect parts for defects. Aircraft, automobile and other commercial industries have shown increasing interest in these techniques.
As seen in FIG. 1, ultrasound testing uses a sonic energy signal generator 72 to initiate a sonic energy signal 76 about a manufactured object 74. The sonic energy signal 76 is measured by a sonic energy signal measuring device 78. In some cases, a signal analyzer 80 is used to discern features of the manufactured object 74 from the measured sonic energy signal 76.
The sonic energy signal measuring device is often an interferometer. One particular interferometer is a two-wave mixing interferometer. This two-wave mixing interferometer presents the advantages of being simpler, cheaper, and smaller than a Fabry-Perot interferometer. The two-wave mixing interferometer is also less sensitive to laser noise. Additionally, it has a much better low-frequency response than the Fabry-Perot interferometer.
The two-wave mixing interferometer operates by directing a probe beam at the manufactured object and collecting the scattered beam. As seen in FIG. 2, the scattered probe beam 12 is directed at a photo-refractive crystal 16. In the photo-refractive crystal 16, the scattered probe beam 12 in conjunction with a pump beam 14 creates an interference grating. Part of the pump beam 14 is diffracted by the interference grating in the crystal and travels collinearly with the scattered probe beam 12. In one embodiment of a two-wave mixing interferometer, the two beams go directly into a detector 22. In another embodiment, the beams are split into two polarized components by a polarized beam splitter 20. Then, the two polarized components are detected separately by two detectors 22 and 24. A halfwave plate 18 that controls the separation of the polarized components on each detector.
In the photo-refractive crystal, the probe beam 12 and the pump beam 14 interact to form a grating if the optical frequencies of the beams are similar. The grating diffracts part of the pump beam in the same direction as the probe beam. This diffracted pump beam has a phase-front nearly identical to the one of the probe beam. Interference between the two beams is then possible and can be detected by the detector or detectors 22 and 24.
One important parameter of the two-wave mixing interferometer is the grating building time. The grating building time is the time required for the interaction between the two beams to create the optical grating in the crystal. The grating building time is determined by the crystal properties and by the pump beam power.
However, the two-wave mixing interferometer has some drawbacks. The two-wave mixing interferometer is sensitive to target displacements. Two different effects related to the displacement direction can be observed. As seen in FIG. 3, if an axis 34 called "line of sight" is defined as the axis parallel to both the detection laser beam and to the detection optical axis, the target displacement perpendicular to the line of sight is the lateral displacement 38. The target displacement parallel to the line of sight is the normal displacement 40.
The sensitivity of the two-wave mixing interferometer to lateral displacement is directly related to the grating building time. If the target moves laterally, the speckle pattern changes, modifying the phase-front of the probe beam. If the grating building time is small enough, the grating building will be able to follow the phase-front changes and the probe and pump beam will continue to interfere. However, if the grating building time is too long, the quality of the interference between the two beams decreases, decreasing ultrasonic signal quality. The grating building time can be reduced by increasing the power in the pump beam. With increased power, the grating building time values may be low enough to allow the crystal grating to follow speckle pattern changes.
In the case of normal displacements of the target, the displacement induces an optical frequency change in the probe beam (Doppler shift). This difference between the optical frequencies of the probe and pump beams disturbs the grating in the crystal. This problem cannot be solved using practical levels of pump powers. The amplitude of the ultrasonic probe decreases rapidly with the Doppler shift. For example, for an optical wavelength of 1.064 μm and a grating building time of approximately 1 μs, the sensitivity of the two-wave mixing interferometer drops to nearly 0 for an apparent normal velocity of 0.1 m/s.
These two drawbacks limit the use of the two-wave mixing interferometer for laser-ultrasound inspection of complex composite parts. In one exemplary application, there are two lasers involved. One laser generator may be used to initiate a sonic energy signal and one laser may be used for detection. In laser-ultrasound, these two laser beams are scanned along the surface of the sample. The generation laser fires at discrete points. In addition, the detection laser fires at the same points. The two-wave mixing interferometer measures the signal during fractions of seconds after the generation laser fired. The detection laser duration is usually longer than the duration of the initiated ultrasonic signal. Usually, when scanning, the laser beams are not stopped at each measurement point. If the detection laser beam is scanned continuously during the measurement, even only for a few microseconds, there is a change of distance between the measurement point and the laser. This change during the measurement creates an apparent movement of the scanned object.
If the detection laser beam is scanned along the surface of composites having complex shapes, the laser beam scanning effect is similar to sample displacements. An adequate pump power can compensate for the lateral displacement of the laser beam, however, the normal displacement would rapidly render the signal useless. FIG. 4 illustrates the apparent normal displacement while scanning a part 52. The distance from the scanning mirror 56 to the point where the laser probe beam impinges the sample is X. The distance X is parallel to the line of sight of the system. The distance X changes with the scanning mirror angle and the part shape. As the scanning mirror angle varies, the distance changes. The changing distance creates an apparent normal displacement in the part 52. This apparent normal displacement causes an apparent change in frequency. This apparent change in frequency is similar to a Doppler shift. This shift reduces the sensitivity of the two-wave mixing interferometer. As a result, it is difficult to make measurements of sonic energy signals with a two-wave mixing interferometer in a rapid scanning testing system.
As such, many two-wave mixing interferometers suffer from lost sensitivity during rapid scanning. Many other problems and disadvantages of the prior art will become apparent to one skilled in the art after comparing such prior art with the present invention as described herein.

Method and apparatus for using a two-wave mixing ultrasonic detection in rapid scanning applications


The invention relates to a staircase element comprising                a tubular mast erectable to a vertical position onto the floor or a corresponding surface of a stair hall, and fillable with concrete;        stair step elements fastened at their first end stepwise to the mast and branching off radially from the mast;        at least one tubular stringer fastened to the second end of the stair step elements, fillable with concrete and connectable with fastening members to at least one wall of the stair hall, for supporting the stair step elements at their second end and for anchoring the staircase element to a building. The invention also relates to a method for building a staircase.

At present, staircases built up from elements are normally assembled from uncoated concrete elements having the height of one flight. After the installation of the stair elements of the staircase, the steps of the staircase are coated with a suitable surface material, such as, for example, a mosaic or stone surface. The other surfaces of the staircase are also e.g. skim coated and/or painted after the installation of the staircase elements.
If the staircase is installed in an existing elevator or stair shaft, a foundation usually has to be made for the staircase to enable the installation of the staircase whose weight may often be as high as 15 000 kg. Moreover, it is laborious and time consuming to install heavy elements one by one and to fix them to each other. In many cases, it is also difficult and slow to coat the different surfaces of the staircase in a stair hall which is often narrow.

Staircase element and method for building a staircase


Provided is an internal-combustion-engine control device that minimizes a detection error of a cylinder pressure sensor used in a control of an internal combustion engine. The internal-combustion-engine control device is an electronic control unit (ECU) 1 for an internal combustion engine 100 that includes a cylinder pressure sensor 140 for detecting cylinder pressure in a combustion chamber. The ECU 1 includes an overall controller 81 configured to correct an output signal S2 transmitted from the cylinder pressure sensor 140 in a cylinder 150. The overall controller 81 corrects the output signal S2 from the cylinder pressure sensor 140 in accordance with a correction period calculated based on drive of components of the internal combustion engine 100, such as a fuel injector 400.

Techniques such as Lean-burn and Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) have been developed in recent years for purposes of improving fuel economy for vehicles and increasing vehicle exhaust gas restriction. With the Lean-burn technique, a system is operated by air-fuel mixture leaner than a theoretical air-fuel ratio, and the EGR technique works by recirculating a part of exhaust gas after combustion back to the system.
With an internal combustion engine for such purposes of improving fuel economy and increasing exhaust gas restriction, an amount of fuel or air in a combustion chamber deviates from a theoretical value, causing the combustion in a cylinder to turn in an unstable state. Thus, the internal combustion engine includes a cylinder pressure sensor (also referred to as a combustion sensor) for detecting a combustion state of gas in the combustion chamber. The internal combustion engine detects the combustion state in the combustion chamber based on a measurement result by the cylinder pressure sensor.
However, in the internal combustion engine of this type, the cylinder pressure sensor may be affected by operating noise of a fuel injector or the like in the internal combustion engine, thereby resulting in an increased cylinder pressure detection error.
In view of the problem above, PTL 1 discloses an internal-combustion-engine control device that reduces an influence of operating noise of a fuel injector or the like in order to reduce a detection error of a cylinder pressure sensor.


A scroll compressor (10) with a fixed scroll (18) and orbital scroll (20) has an axial thrust and anti-rotation assembly (22), a drive assembly (24), a balance assembly (26) and a control system (28). The drive assembly (24) includes a crankshaft (116) and a bushing assembly (108). The bushing assembly includes a bushing body (146) with a slot (154) journaled on the orbital scroll and a drive lug (150) positioned in the slot and non-rotatably secured to the crankshaft. Springs (156) bias the bushing body toward a position in which the axis of the bushing body (178) coincides with the axis (176) of the crankshaft (116) and the crankshaft can rotate without moving the orbital scroll (20). The bushing body can be moved by compressed fluid to a position in which the springs are compressed, the scroll wraps (34 and 56) are in sealing contact and the drive assembly will drive the orbital scroll (20) in a circular orbit with a radius R.sub.o. The balance assembly includes two weight assemblies (184 and 186) with four weights (192, 196, 210 and 214) that are rotated about the axis of cylindrical extension (182) in response to movement of the drive lug (150) relative to the bushing body (146) between a position in which the orbital scroll is balanced and a position in which the weights balance themselves when the crankshaft rotates without driving the orbital scroll. The control system includes a trigger compressor (242) and a solenoid valve (246) which directs compressed fluid to the sump (88) when the valve is open and to the chamber (162) in the bushing assembly when the valve is closed.

Scroll type fluid material handling machines are commonly used to compress, pump, expand or meter fluids. These machines have a pair of scrolls with end plates and spiral wraps that cooperate to form a pair of fluid pockets. The fluid pockets move either toward the center of the end plates or toward the radially outer edge of the end plates depending upon the direction of orbital movement of one scroll relative to the other scroll. The relative orbital movement of one scroll relative to the other scroll can be obtained by rotating both scrolls about axes that are offset from each other or by holding one scroll in a fixed position and driving the other scroll in an orbit relative to the fixed scroll.
Scroll type fluid displacement machines which form fluid pockets and move the pockets toward the center of the scrolls are commonly used to compress fluid. As the fluid pockets move toward the center of the scrolls, the pockets decrease in volume thereby compressing the fluid they contain. The fluid pockets deliver the compressed fluid they contain to a discharge aperture at an elevated pressure near the center of the end plates. Such compressors are useful in various machines including refrigeration systems.
Scroll type compressors can be driven by a dedicated power source which drives only the compressor. When they are driven by a dedicated power source, the power source can be turned off when the compressor is not needed. Other scroll type compressors are driven by power sources that drive driven equipment other than the compressor. An example of such a compressor would be an air conditioning compressor for a vehicle with an electric motor or an internal combustion engine which provides power to propel the vehicle, to steer the vehicle, to brake the vehicle, and to operate other accessories. When a scroll compressor is driven by a power source that provides power for other functions, it is desirable and generally necessary to provide a separate clutch that allows the scroll type compressor to be disconnected when it is not needed. Substantial energy can be saved by disconnecting a compressor when the compressor is not needed.
Clutches for scroll type compressors can take many forms. The most common type clutch used to drive compressors on automotive vehicles are electromagnetic clutches. Electromagnetic clutches are relatively small, compact, reliable and efficient compared to some other clutches. However, an electromagnetic clutch attached to a scroll compressor substantially increases the size and weight of a compressor and drive clutch combination. An electromagnetic clutch is likely to be larger in diameter than a scroll type compressor that it drives. The electromagnetic clutch also increases the length of a clutch and compressor combination. In addition to being physically large, electromagnetic clutches have substantial weight. A lightweight scroll type compressor could weigh less than the electromagnetic clutch which drives it.

Control system for a clutchless scroll type fluid material handling machine


A method for weaving a webbing, comprising at least one first right-hand weft thread and at least one second left-hand weft thread, characterized in that the two weft threads are introduced into the same shed from both sides of the webbing, are wound around weft thread retainers in weft change loops, are substantially retained by the weft thread retainers until shed change and are then stripped off from the left thread retainers by the reed and after shed change and are bound against the stop.

The present invention relates to a method for weaving a webbing comprising a right-hand weft thread (SFR) and a left-hand weft thread (SFL), it also relating to a narrow fabric needle loom.
Known from DE 27 19 382 C3 (Berger) is weaving a single-ply seat belt webbing having tubular selvedges on a narrow fabric needle loom by a sole weft needle. One of two single-ply woven edge portions is pulled up to the selvedge of the middle portion to form the one tubular selvedge by pulling the weft thread.
Known from CH 648 069 A5 (Berger) is a webbing particularly for automotive seat belts made on a narrow fabric needle loom. The webbing features a relatively stiff middle portion and soft edge portions formed into tubular selvedges. To speed up production two weft needles are provided working simultaneously in parallel, the one picking a soft weft thread in the middle portion and the two edge portions, the other picking a stiffer weft thread in just the middle portion and picking only the two outermost warp threads of the two edge portions. Two weft needles pick simultaneously two different weft materials into partly different shed openings. The two flat edge portions are drawn into tubular selvedges by the one weft thread picked only via the middle portion. The middle portion is reinforced to achieve a higher performance. The aim was to double the output by using two weft needles as compared to single needle systems. However, the larger mass and the needed larger and faster movements of the auxiliary pickers resulting from the two weft needles only made it possible to achieve much less than twice the output.
Known from DE 33 45 508 C2 (leperband) is a webbing (safety belt) woven single-ply, likewise making use of two weft needles simultaneously to pick two different weft yarns. A monofil weft thread merely serves to reinforce the middle portion and must not be used to pull over the flat edge portions. By current standards these known webbings and methods of their production are too costly and have since ceased to satisfy the increasing demands of the automotive industry. What has particularly increased are the demands on webbing having comfortable soft edge portions whilst the inner portion is required to feature maximized transverse stiffness. On top of this, these known devices for producing webbing are very complicated and difficult to master in operation.
It is thus the object of the present invention to propose a webbing, a method and a narrow fabric needle loom of the aforementioned kind which now avoids or at least greatly minimizes the drawbacks of prior art. This object is achieved by a method as set forth in claim 1, namely a method for weaving a webbing comprising a right-hand weft thread and a left-hand weft thread, characterized in that the two weft threads are picked into the same shed from both sides of the seat belt webbing, are wound around weft holdbacks in weft reversal loops, are substantially retained by the weft holdbacks until beat by the reed against the fell, it not being until then that a shed change is made. This technique in accordance with the invention results in two weft threads each coming simultaneously from the right-hand and left-hand weft picking side being picked practically symmetrically transversely over the webbing where they are each held back at the opposite side by a separate weft holdback provided there, after which the weft needles are retracted to their side thereby entraining the weft thread and holding it taut until the reed has beaten up the freshly picked weft threads to the already woven webbing material, the weft threads being held back up to this point in time by the weft holdbacks being set by the advanced shed change.
In this arrangement the webbing is advantageously produced without any need of tucking or crotchet, tongue or pusher needles whatsoever and also without any meshing or crotcheting of the weft thread being needed. These weaving devices as standard on more complicated means of prior art can now all be eliminated by application of the method in accordance with the invention. Merely weft holdbacks in contact with the usual control of catch needle holders are still needed.
An advantageous further embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention for weaving a seat belt webbing comprising an inner portion, a preferably soft right-hand edge portion and a preferably soft left-hand edge portion, is characterized by a continuous repeat of a first step sequence;    ar) picking the right-hand weft thread from the right-hand side of the webbing into the right-hand edge portion and into the inner portion by means of a right-hand weft needle,    al) picking the left-hand weft thread from the left-hand side of the seat belt webbing into the left-hand edge portion and into the inner portion by means of a left-hand weft needle simultaneously to step ar),    br) retaining the right-hand weft thread in the transition portion from the inner portion to the left-hand edge portion by means of a left-hand weft holdback,    bl) retaining the left-hand weft thread in the transition portion from the inner portion to the right-hand edge portion by means of a right-hand weft holdback simultaneously to step br),    cr) tucking the right-hand weft thread with the left-hand weft holdback and returning the left-hand weft holdback to the fell,    cl) tucking the left-hand weft thread with the right-hand weft holdback and returning the right-hand weft holdback to the fell simultaneously to step cr),    dr) returning the right-hand weft needle to the right-hand side of the seat belt webbing,    dl) returning the left-hand weft needle to the left-hand side of the seat belt webbing simultaneously to step cr),    e) stripping off the weft loops formed in the previous step from the two weft holdbacks by the reed to the fell and forwarding the two weft holdbacks away from the fell,    f) beating the two weft threads by a reed.The method is advantageously characterized in that two weft needles guiding the weft threads each coming from the right and left weft picking side respectively pick the weft threads simultaneously and practically symmetrically transversely over the webbing, each of which is held back on the opposite side in the transition between the inner portion and edge portion by the weft holdback element located there in each case, after which the weft needles are returned to their side entraining and tensioning the weft threads tensioned until the reed beats up the newly inserted weft threads to the already woven webbing material. Up until this point in time the weft threads held back by the weft holdbacks are beat up and set by the following shed change.
In application of the method in accordance with the invention as it reads from claim 2 both weft threads are arranged in the inner portion, and only one in each case being in the edge portion belonging to its weft thread picking side. This results in the advantage that each edge portion is occupied only with one weft thread and is thus softer, whilst the two weft threads in the inner portion endow it with a higher transverse stiffness due to twice the proportion of material as compared to the edge portions.
Another advantageous further embodiment of the method for weaving a seat belt webbing whose right and left-hand weft threads are hybrid threads is characterized by the following step implemented after weaving: thermosetting the seat belt webbing. Used as weft threads in this arrangement are hybrid threads as are converted after weaving by said thermosetting into monofil-type structures in endowing the seat belt webbing in accordance with the invention with additional monofil qualities adequately for transverse stiffness without making use of actual monofil threads. Hybrid threads are threads made of materials having different melting temperatures as are known from prior art. The advantage in this is that after weaving such hybrid threads as weft threads, as claimed herein, the hybrid threads can be solidified into a monofil condition by subjecting them to thermosetting after weaving, resulting in the components of the hybrid threads having a low melting point to melt embedding the components having a higher melting point into monofil type structures featuring enhanced flexibility, transverse stiffness and as termed with seat belt webbing, rebound transversely to the webbing.
A further advantageous aspect of the method in accordance with the invention is the use an additional left-hand weft needle for picking a monofil weft needle supplied in the transition between the left-hand edge portion and the inner portion, the monofil weft needle being held secure on both sides in addition to the just mentioned weft threads likewise by the weft holdbacks resulting in the monofil weft threads being woven only in the inner portion. This is characterized by the following further steps:    az) picking a monofil weft thread fed preferably in the transition portion from the inner portion to the left-hand edge portion from left to right up to the transition portion from the inner portion to the right-hand edge portion by means of a supplementary weft needle simultaneously to step ar)    bz) retaining the monofil weft thread in the transition portion from the inner portion to the right-hand edge portion by means of the right-hand weft holdback simultaneously to step cr),    cz) tucking the monofil weft thread with the right-hand weft holdback and returning the right-hand weft holdback up to just before the fell simultaneously to the step cr)    dz) returning the supplementary weft needle simultaneously to step dr).Catching, releasing and beating the monofil weft thread is done analogous to the actions as already described relating to the weft threads as described above, for which, as explained further on in the description, an additional weft needle is employed. The supplementary monofil weft thread additionally incorporated in the inner portion in accordance with the invention results in the advantage that the seat belt webbing now features enhanced transverse stiffness in the inner portion whilst the edge portions remain soft as wanted.
A further advantageous embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention for weaving a webbing is characterized by the following second sequence in the steps optionally alternated with the first sequence of steps as it reads from claim 2 for optionally forming picots at the selvedges of the webbing:    apr) picking the right-hand weft thread from the right-hand side of the webbing over the full webbing width beyond the left-hand webbing side by means of a right-hand weft needle),    apl) picking the left-hand weft thread from the left-hand side of the webbing over the full webbing width beyond the right-hand webbing side by means of a left-hand weft needle, simultaneously to step apr),    bpr) retaining the right-hand weft thread outside of the webbing adjoining the left-hand edge portion by means of a second left-hand weft holdback in forming weft loops,    bpl) retaining the left-hand weft thread outside of the webbing adjoining the right-hand edge portion by means of a second right-hand weft holdback in forming weft loops simultaneously to step bpr),    dr) returning the right-hand weft needle to the right-hand side of the seat belt webbing,    dl) returning the left-hand weft needle to the left-hand side of the seat belt webbing simultaneously to step dr),    ep) stripping off the weft loops formed in the steps bpr) and bpl) from the two weft holdbacks,    f) beating the two weft threads by a reed.This now makes it possible to produce webbing with weft loops or so-called picots optionally included to protrude beyond the selvedge which is particularly favorable in the production of ribbons and braids, mainly for ready-to wear garments. Involved in this is also a further advantageous embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention which is characterized by elastic warp threads being made use of.
In another advantageous further embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention multifil threads are employed as weft threads to guarantee a soft selvedge. As a rule multifil threads are also employed as warp threads for seat belt webbing, resulting in the wanted soft selvedge of advantage in the edge portions. In another advantageous further embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention elastic threads are employed. This now makes it possible to produce elastic webbings for ready-to wear garments.
The object is furthermore achieved by a narrow fabric needle loom as it reads from claim 9 featuring a right-hand weft needle and a left-hand weft needle configured controllably simultaneously to each other, as well as a right-hand and a left-hand weft holdback for retaining and releasing the left-hand and right-hand weft thread respectively, and also being configured to work coordinated to each other, particularly working simultaneously with each other, and a reed. In a further advantageous aspect of the invention the narrow fabric needle loom is characterized in that the weft holdbacks are fixedly secured to the loom and that an elastic arrangement of stripper/holder wires is provided oriented preferably slightly towards the fell suitable for stripping off the weft thread loops before the shed change and before the fell from the weft holdbacks and retaining same by urging them to the fell until the reed itself beats up the weft threads. In this arrangement the narrow fabric needle loom in accordance with the invention may be additionally characterized in that the weft holdbacks are configured vertically pliant so that they are easily lifted by the tensioned weft threads in facilitating the sliding down of the weft threads.
With the narrow fabric needle loom in accordance with the invention the method in accordance with the invention for producing a seat belt webbing in accordance with the invention fabrication is now much simpler and with less wear and tear as is known in prior art. No catchment threads and no blocking threads now being needed to produce soft edges, this also eliminating the need for all of the equipment needed for this purpose in prior art. This greatly simplifies producing the seat belt webbing as compared to methods and devices as known from prior art. When employing hybrid threads as the weft threads thermosetting is done after weaving which, however, adds nothing to costs of the method as compared to prior art since any seat belt webbing, even when not made of hybrid weft threads, requires thermosetting to endow the seat belt webbing with the necessary shrinkage and stretch together with the wanted buffer for stretching thereof. Further advantages and features read from the sub-claims.

Seat belt webbing, method and narrow fabric needle loom for production of same


A current sensor includes a casing including a pair of arms and coupling part, multiple magneto-electric transducers arranged on the circumference of a virtual ellipse whose major axis or minor axis extends between the arms, a support disposed obliquely relative to the major axis or the minor axis of the virtual ellipse within an angle formed by the major axis and the minor axis so as to be close to one of the arms when viewed from the center of a wire disposed and fastened between the arms, and a band wound around a circumferential surface of the wire fastened between the arms, part of the band being caught by the support, the wire being fastened by the band such that the central axis or center of the wire is held close to the support.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to current sensors for measuring target current flowing through an electric wire (hereinafter, referred to as a "wire"), and in particular, relates to a current sensor including a magnetic sensing element.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of motor drive technology for electric vehicles and hybrid cars, relatively large current is used, and therefore current sensors capable of measuring such large current in a contactless manner are required. Such current sensors recently developed include a current sensor that allows magnetic sensor elements to detect a change in magnetic field caused by target current (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-322706, for example).
The current sensor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-322706 includes a substrate with a slit having a circular end located in middle part of the substrate and four magnetic impedance elements arranged apart so as to surround a wire extending through the circular end of the slit. In the current sensor, a target current is determined on the basis of the sum of values of signals output from the magnetic impedance elements, the values varying depending on an induced magnetic field from the target current flowing through the wire extending through the circular end of the slit.
As an installation position of the current sensor is displaced relative to a wire, a magnetic flux density at the position of the sensor significantly changes. Accordingly, when the installation position of the current sensor including the magnetic impedance elements is displaced relative to the wire, the output of the sensor significantly fluctuates. The current sensor therefore has to be securely fixed to the wire. The current sensor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-322706 is positioned and fixed by pressing the wire against an inner surface of the circular end of the slit.
In such a structure in which a wire is pressed against a casing (or an inner surface of a circular end of a slit) as in the current sensor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-322706, the centers of wires having different diameters differ in position from one another when fixed. Unfortunately, an output may fluctuate as described above.

Current sensor for wires having different diameters


Transceiver circuitry (10, 200) for use in a GBIC module uses readily available off the shelf components to satisfy the specifications of the GBIC standard. In both passive and active modules, a voltage divider (98) and parallel transistors (94, 96, 100) are utilized to insure that the differential voltage of the received differential signal is at an acceptable level. In active modules, a diode cross over quad (84) is utilized to extend the input range of a low input differential receiver (78) and a coaxial cable driver (60) designed to drive 50 ohms is utilized to drive 150 ohms.

This invention relates to signal detect circuitry for use in a passive Gigabit Interface Converter (GBIC) module.
Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet are high speed data transfer interfaces that can be used to interconnect workstations, mainframes, supercomputers and storage devices. Supporting numerous channel and network Upper Level Protocols (ULPs), Fibre Channel allows faster data transfer over longer distances between a larger number of devices or communication points. The standard combines attributes of a channel with attributes of a network, thus providing a general transport vehicle for ULPs such as the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), the Intelligent Peripheral Interface (IPI), the High Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI), the Internet Protocol (IP), Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) and the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). Accommodating the pattern of ever increasing data rates, Fibre Channel is a scalable interconnect standard that considers all aspects of speed, length and media (copper and fiber). Fibre Channel development is focused on data transfer at 1.0625 Gbits/sec with provisions for 2.125 Gbits/sec and 4 Gbits/sec.
AMP Incorporated of Harrisburg, Pa., Compaq computer Corporation of Houston, Tex., Vixel Corporation of Bothell, Wash. and Sun Microsystems Computer Company of Mountain View, Calif. have together agreed on and written a standard for a serial transceiver module, which is called the Gigabit Interface Converter (GBIC) module. The module provides a single small form factor for a wide variety of standard Fibre Channel connectors and transmission media. The module can be inserted in or removed from a host or switch chassis without first removing power from the receiving socket. Any copper and optical transmission technologies consistent with the form factor can be used.
The GBIC module has a plug in a first insulative housing and a receptacle in a second insulative housing at respective opposite ends of the module. A printed circuit board containing transceiver circuitry is secured to, and connects, the plug and the receptacle. The module is insertable into a guide structure mounted to a host board and having a receiving end and a terminating end. The terminating end of the guide structure has a receptacle for mating engagement with the module plug when the module is fully inserted in the guide structure. The guide structure houses and aligns the module and provides polarized guide rails to prevent incorrect installation of the module and is designed to accept the side retention latches specified in the GBIC module standard.
The standard for the GBIC module sets signal specifications for all positions of the module plug and receptacle. In particular, the GBIC module is driven from the host board with serial differential positive emitter coupled logic (PECL) signals applied to a pair of transmission data leads. There are two basic types of GBIC modules when the transmission medium is wire, rather than fiber. The passive GBIC module is for use when the length of the wire is up to about thirteen (13) meters. Thus, the passive GBIC module merely passes signals between the host and the transmission medium, without providing any signal processing or amplification. However, when the length of the wire is greater than about thirteen (13) meters, up to about thirty (30) meters, an active GBIC module is required to provide an appropriate power boost to the signals.
The serial receiver on the active GBIC module board detects incoming signals and amplifies and converts them to provide to the host board serial differential PECL data signals on a pair of receive data leads. Various control and status signals are also specified in the active GBIC module standard. For example, a receive loss of signal (RX_LOS) indication is generated when the incoming data signal amplitude is not sufficient to achieve the specified bit error rate or to indicate loss of power at the receiver circuit. A transmission fault signal is generated to indicate a failure has been detected in the transmission conversion circuit or to indicate loss of power at the transmit circuit. The output from the transmission conversion circuit is also disabled in response to a transmit disable signal generated by the host.
A typical application for a passive GBIC module is in a fiber channel arbitrated loop. In such a loop, there is a hub with multiple ports, each with a passive GBIC module. The hub interrogates the ports to see what is connected to each port. If the passive GBIC module is connected either to an open line or to a turned off terminal, crosstalk between the receive and transmit wires sends the interrogation signal back to the hub receiver at a very low level. The sensitivity of a hub receiver is typically 25 millivolts, whereas the GBIC specification calls for a minimum signal level of 400 millivolts. The crosstalk signal sent back to the hub could exceed the 25 millivolt sensitivity of the receiver, so that the receiver senses this signal and waits for a handshake which never arrives. Accordingly, the entire system freezes up. Until now, the passive GBIC module did not contain any active circuitry, its only function being to pass signals between the host and the transmission media. It would therefore be desirable to equip a passive GBIC module with circuitry for detecting when a received signal was below the minimum threshold called for in the GBIC specification so as to prevent the host from falsely responding to a low level signal.
A passive GBIC module is adapted for connection between a host and a transmission medium, with the module having a pair of receive circuit paths extending between a receptacle connectable to the transmission medium and a plug connectable to the host. Each of the pair of receive circuit paths includes a respective first series capacitor. According to the present invention, a signal detection circuit is connected to the pair of receive circuit paths and a respective second series capacitor is inserted in each of the receive circuit paths on the other side of the respective connection to the signal detection circuit from the respective first series capacitor.
In accordance with an aspect of this invention, the signal detection circuit comprises a current supply and an operational amplifier having an inverting input, a non-inverting input and an output. A first controllable switching element is coupled to the current supply and to the non-inverting input of the operational amplifier. A second controllable switching element is coupled to the current supply and to the inverting input of the operational amplifier. A third controllable switching element is coupled to the current supply and to the inverting input of the operational amplifier. The second controllable switching element has a control terminal coupled to a first of the pair of receive circuit paths and the third controllable switching element has a control terminal coupled to the other of the pair of receive circuit paths. The control terminals of the second and third controllable switching elements are further coupled to a fixed bias voltage and the control terminal of the first controllable switching element is coupled to a bias voltage equal to the fixed bias voltage plus one half the predetermined differential threshold. Accordingly, the output of the operational amplifier is at a first level when the differential between signals appearing on the pair of receive circuit paths exceeds the predetermined differential threshold and is at a second level when the differential between signals appearing on the pair of receive circuit paths is less than the predetermined differential threshold.

Signal detect circuitry for a passive GBIC module


A snow-gun for producing man-made snow from a combination of compressed air and water features a new nozzle configuration for discharging a mixture of water-particles and air into the surrounding atmosphere. Such nozzle is provided with an elliptically-shaped discharge port having a transverse cross-section that gradually expands in size in the direction in which the air and water particles are discharged from said nozzle. Preferably, the area of the elliptical port changes non-linearly through the front wall of the nozzle, whereby water particles exiting the gun through the nozzle port are less likely to collide with the side walls of the port or with each other before reaching the relatively cold ambient atmosphere.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the "art" of making snow. More particularly, it relates to improvements by which conventional snow-making devices, i.e., "snow-guns", are rendered more efficient in terms of requiring less compressed air to produce a given amount of snow.
2. The Prior Art
In the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,013 issued to H. Ronald Ratnik, a snow-gun is disclosed that is adapted to produce a multitude of ice crystals resembling natural snow from a mixture of pressurized water and compressed air. Such a device (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) operates by injecting water from a pressurized source (e.g., between 60 and 120 pounds per square inch (PSI)) radially inwardly through a plurality of equally spaced holes circumferentially located in the wall of a cylindrical conduit through which air is flowing from a compressed air source at a high flow rate (e.g., between 400 and 900 cubic feet per minute (CFM)). The respective holes in the conduit wall are typically between ¼ and ⅛ inch in diameter, and each hole serves to break-up the water passing through it into relatively small droplets, between 100 and 300 microns in diameter. The air rushing through the conduit serves to carry the droplet and water mixture into contact with a concave anvil or "cup" axially located on the longitudinal axis of the conduit, a short distance from the outlet end of the conduit. Upon impacting the cup, the water droplets are further broken-up and reduced in size (e.g., to between 50 and 100 microns). Upon reflecting from the concave surface of the cup, the atomized mixture of air and water enters a mixing chamber within the forward portion of the gun. The mixing chamber is of significantly larger volume than the cup, and the water particles entering the mixing chamber are cooled appreciably by the cooler ambient temperature therein. The water particles are then further cooled as they exit the mixing chamber and expand into the surrounding atmosphere through a circular or oval-shaped aperture formed in a nozzle carried by the forward-most wall of the snow gun.
For decades, snow-guns of the type described above have been used commercially at ski resorts and the like for supplementing the amount of natural snow-fall received at these areas. Indeed, it is not uncommon for such snow-guns to provide the majority of snow on the ground at these resorts. In addition to the initial cost of the snow-guns, the most significant expense in making snow "artificially" is the cost to the compressed-air component. The need to transport compressed air up a mountain side from a base unit situated at the bottom of the mountain to a multitude of snow-guns situated at various levels on the mountain readily translates into a certain amount of horsepower which, in turn, translates into Kilowatt hours of electrical energy and, hence, financial outlay. Thus, any significant reduction in the amount of compressed air required to produce a nominal amount of snow is greeted with great enthusiasm by the owners and operators of these facilities.
As indicated above, snow-making is more of an art-form than science. Why a particular snow-gun design "works" well (or poorly) is not totally understood. Where, during the design phase, major modifications are expected to enhance the snow-making efficiency of a snow-gun, actual testing in the field has often proven the designers to be wrong. And vice-versa, i.e., where seemingly minor or trivial changes in a design are expected to have little or no effect on performance and efficiency of a given snow-gun, field-testing has yielded totally unexpected significant increases in output and efficiency of the snow-gun. The invention described herein is an example of the latter situation.


The present invention relates to a liquid crystal alignment agent, a liquid crystal device produced by using the liquid crystal alignment agent thereof, and a method for alignment of liquid crystal molecules by using the liquid crystal alignment agent. In more detail, the present embodiments relates to a novel liquid crystal alignment agent used in a method of aligning liquid crystal molecules, wherein the agent includes a molecule having a highly polar functional group grafted onto an end of the molecule.

The present exemplary embodiments relate to materials for promoting vertical alignment of liquid crystals. It finds particular application in conjunction with the vertical alignment of liquid crystals on SiOx and other substrates, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present exemplary embodiment is also amenable to other like applications.
Liquid crystal (LC) materials are rod-like molecules which have different optical properties along their long and short axes. The molecules exhibit some long range order so that locally they tend to adopt similar orientations to neighboring molecules. The local orientation of the long axes of the molecules is referred to as the "director". There are three types of LC materials: nematic, cholesteric (chiral nematic), and smectic. For a liquid crystal to be used in a display device, it must typically be made to align in a defined manner in the "off" state and in a different defined manner in the "on" state, so that the display has different optical properties in each state. Two principal alignments are homeotropic or vertical (where the director is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the cell walls) and homogeneous or planar (where the director is inclined substantially parallel to the plane of the cell walls). In practice, planar alignments may be tilted with respect to the plane of a cell wall, and this tilt can be useful in aiding switching.
Homeotropic alignment of liquid crystals on substrates is useful in liquid crystal displays, rear projection TVs, optical communication, and other applications. Usually in this mode liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropies are employed because they are electrically switchable when molecules are aligned vertically. Numerous methods have been developed to achieve vertical alignment of liquid crystals.
For example, sputtered SiO2, evaporated SiOx, SiOx evaporation followed by alcohol treatment, and polyimide thin layers have all been used. Among these methods, SiOx evaporation and SiO2 sputtering attracts much interest because they are non-contact and rub-free.
LC homeotropic alignment is a difficult process to control, typically using a chemical treatment of the surface, such as lecithin or a chrome complex. These chemical treatments may not be stable over time, and may not adhere very uniformly to the surface to be treated. Homeotropic alignment has been achieved by the use of special polyimide resins such as those developed by Japan Synthetic Rubber Co. These polyimides need high temperature curing which may not be desirable for low glass transition plastic substrates. Inorganic oxide layers may induce homeotropic alignment if deposited at suitable angles. This requires vacuum processes which are subject to the problems discussed above in relation to planar alignment. Another possibility for producing homeotropic alignment is to use a low surface energy material such as PTFE. However, PTFE gives only weak control of alignment angle and may be difficult to process.
However, it is still difficult to vertically align many liquid crystals on them. We found a group of materials that promote vertical alignment if mixed with other liquid crystals at an appropriate concentration range.
Previous researchers have reported that liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy tend to align homeotropically on deposited inorganic surfaces while those with positive dielectric anisotropy tend to align homogeneously. Minhua Lu, K. H. Yang, T. Nakasogi, and S. J. Chey, SID Digest, 2000, pp 446-449.
Specifically, the researchers found that several liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy could be aligned homeotropically on evaporated SiOx and sputtered SiO2 substrates. The paper further pointed out that due to the smoothness of the SiOx surface, steric forces play only minor roles in the alignment of liquid crystals. Therefore, the van der Waals forces are the keys. This research also suggested a model to explain this effect by taking the induced dipole-dipole interaction into account in calculating the anisotropy of liquid crystal polarizabilities. This model was expressed using the equation:
  V  ∝                              ɛ          lc                -        1                              ɛ          lc                +        2              *                            ɛ          SiO                -        1                              ɛ          SiO                +        1              *          r              -        6
This model predicts that liquid crystals with positive dielectric anisotropy should align homogeneously on SiOx surfaces while liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy should align homeotropically on SiOx surfaces. This has been experimentally proved in many cases.
However, it has been shown that while liquid crystals with moderate values of a negative dielectric anisotropy typically align as predicted, there are at least some liquid crystals that have a large negative dielectric anisotropy that are difficult to align vertically on SiOx or even on polyimide substrates. This is problematic because large negative values of the dielectric anisotropy are desired to enhance the electro-optical response of devices.
It is desirable to have a more controllable and manufacturable alignment method for LC devices. Thus, it would be helpful to develop a method for promoting vertical alignment of any liquid crystal exhibiting negative dielectric anisotropy on inorganic substrates. and to be able to control the type of alignment through the simple addition of a specific alignment promoting material to the liquid crystal.

Materials for promoting alignment of liquid crystals on SiO