The present invention is directed to co-therapy and methods for the treatment and prevention of glucose-related disorders such as Type 2 diabetes mellitus and Syndrome X. The present invention is further directed to pharmaceutical compositions for the co-therapy and methods described herein.

Diabetes mellitus is a medical term for the presence of elevated blood glucose. People with diabetes either don't produce insulin, produce too little insulin or do not respond to insulin, resulting in the build up of glucose in the blood. The most common form of diabetes is Type 2 diabetes, once referred to as adult onset diabetes or non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM), which may account for >90% of diabetes in adults. However, as the younger population becomes increasingly overweight or obese, Type 2 diabetes is becoming more prevalent in teens and children. Diabetes may also refer to gestational diabetes, Type 1 diabetes or autoimmune diabetes, once referred to as juvenile onset diabetes and type 1½ diabetes, also referred to as latent-autoimmune diabetes in adults or LADA. Diabetes may occur because of poor dietary habits or lack of physical activity (e.g., sedentary lifestyle), genetic mutations, injury to the pancreas, drug (e.g., AIDS therapies) or chemical (e.g., steroid) exposure or disease (e.g., cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, Cushing's syndrome). Two rare types of genetic defects leading to diabetes are termed maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) and atypical diabetes mellitus (ADM).
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or NIDDM) is a metabolic disorder involving disregulation of glucose metabolism and insulin resistance, and long-term complications involving the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and blood vessels. Type 2 diabetes mellitus usually develops in adulthood (middle life or later) and is described as the body's inability to make either sufficient insulin (abnormal insulin secretion) or its inability to effectively use insulin (resistance to insulin action in target organs and tissues). More particularly, patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes mellitus have a relative insulin deficiency. That is, in these patients, plasma insulin levels are normal to high in absolute terms, although they are lower than predicted for the level of plasma glucose that is present.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by the following clinical signs or symptoms: persistently elevated plasma glucose concentration or hyperglycemia; polyuria; polydipsia and/or polyphagia; chronic microvascular complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy; and macrovascular complications such as hyperlipidemia and hypertension which can lead to blindness, end-stage renal disease, limb amputation and myocardial infarction.
Syndrome X, also termed Insulin Resistance Syndrome (IRS), Metabolic Syndrome, or Metabolic Syndrome X, is a disorder that presents risk factors for the development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease including glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia, hypertension and obesity.
The diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus includes assessment of symptoms and measurement of glucose in the urine and blood. Blood glucose level determination is necessary for an accurate diagnosis. More specifically, fasting blood glucose level determination is a standard approach used. However, the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is considered to be more sensitive than fasted blood glucose level. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with impaired oral glucose tolerance (OGT). The OGTT thus can aid in the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus, although generally not necessary for the diagnosis of diabetes (Emancipator K, Am J Clin Pathol 1999 November; 112(5):665-74; Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Decision Resources Inc., March 2000). The OGTT allows for an estimation of pancreatic beta-cell secretory function and insulin sensitivity, which helps in the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and evaluation of the severity or progression of the disease (e.g., Caumo A, Bergman R N, Cobelli C, J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2000, 85(11): 4396-402). More particularly, the OGTT is extremely helpful in establishing the degree of hyperglycemia in patients with multiple borderline fasting blood glucose levels that have not been diagnosed as diabetics. In addition, the OGTT is useful in testing patients with symptoms of Type 2 diabetes mellitus where the possible diagnosis of abnormal carbohydrate metabolism has to be clearly established or refuted.
Thus, impaired glucose tolerance is diagnosed in individuals that have fasting blood glucose levels less than those required for a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus, but have a plasma glucose response during the OGTT between normal and diabetics. Impaired glucose tolerance is considered a pre-diabetic condition, and impaired glucose tolerance (as defined by the OGTT) is a strong predictor for the development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (Haffner S M, Diabet Med 1997 August; 14 Suppl 3:S12-8).
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a progressive disease associated with the reduction of pancreatic function and/or other insulin-related processes, aggravated by increased plasma glucose levels. Thus, Type 2 diabetes mellitus usually has a prolonged pre-diabetic phase and various pathophysiological mechanisms can lead to pathological hyperglycemia and impaired glucose tolerance, for instance, abnormalities in glucose utilization and effectiveness, insulin action and/or insulin production in the prediabetic state (Goldberg R B, Med Clin North Am 1998 July; 82(4):805-21).
The pre-diabetic state associated with glucose intolerance can also be associated with a predisposition to abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and high blood pressure, that is, Syndrome X (Groop L, Forsblom C, Lehtovirta M, Am J Hypertens 1997 September; 10(9 Pt 2):1725-180S; Haffner S M, J Diabetes Complications 1997 March-April; 11(2):69-76; Beck-Nielsen H, Henriksen J E, Alford F, Hother-Nielson O, Diabet Med 1996 September; 13(9 Suppl 6):578-84).
Thus, defective carbohydrate metabolism is pivotal to the pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance (Dinneen S F, Diabet Med 1997 August; 14 Suppl 3:S19-24). In fact, a continuum from impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose to definitive Type 2 diabetes mellitus exists (Ramlo-Halsted B A, Edelman S V, Prim Care 1999 December; 26(4):771-89).
Early intervention in individuals at risk to develop Type 2 diabetes mellitus, focusing on reducing the pathological hyperglycemia or impaired glucose tolerance may prevent or delay the progression towards Type 2 diabetes mellitus and associated complications and/or Syndrome X. Therefore, by effectively treating impaired oral glucose tolerance and/or elevated blood glucose levels, one can prevent or inhibit the progression of the disorder to Type 2 diabetes mellitus or Syndrome X.
Typical treatment of glucose disorders including Type 2 diabetes mellitus and Syndrome X focuses on maintaining the blood glucose level as near to normal as possible and includes diet and exercise, and when necessary, treatment with anti-diabetic agents, insulin or a combination thereof. Type 2 diabetes mellitus that cannot be controlled by dietary management is treated with oral antidiabetic agents including, but not limited to, sulfonylureas (e.g., not limited to first generation: chlorpropamide, tolazamide, tolbutamide; second generation: glyburide, glipizide; and third generation: glimepiride), biguanides (e.g., metformin), thiazolidinediones (e.g., rosiglitazone, pioglitazone, troglitazone), alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (e.g., acarbose, miglitol), meglitinides (e.g., repaglinide), other insulin-sensitizing compounds, and/or other anti-obesity agents (e.g., orlistat or sibutramine). For Syndrome X, the anti-diabetic agents are additionally combined with pharmacological agents for the treatment of the concomitant co-morbidities (e.g., antihypertensives for hypertension, hypolipidemic agents for hyperlipidemia).
First-line therapies typically include metformin and sulfonylureas as well as thiazolidinediones. Metformin monotherapy is a first line choice, particularly for treating Type 2 diabetic patients who are also obese and/or dyslipidemic. Lack of an appropriate response to metformin is often followed by treatment with metformin in combination with sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones, or insulin. Sulfonylurea monotherapy (including all generations of drugs) is also a common first line option. Another first line therapy choice may be thiazolidinediones. Patients who do not respond appropriately to oral anti-diabetic monotherapy, are given combinations of these agents. When glycemic control cannot be maintained with oral antidiabetics alone, insulin therapy is used either as a monotherapy, or in combination with oral antidiabetic agents. These same strategies, optionally in combination with additional strategies (e.g., anti-hypertensive) can be used for the treatment of Syndrome X.
Anti-diabetic agents include, but are not limited to:
(a) Sulfonylureas, which increase insulin production by stimulating pancreatic beta cells, and therefore act as insulin secretagogues. The primary mechanism of action of sulfonylureas is to close ATP-sensitive potassium channels in the beta-cell plasma membrane, initiating a chain of events that result in insulin release. Suitable examples of sulfonylureas include, but are not limited to chlorpropamide, tolazamide, tolbutamide, glyburide, glipizide, glimepiride, and like.
(b) Meglitinides, another class of insulin secretagogues, that have a mechanism of action distinct from that of the sulfonylureas. Suitable examples of meglitinides include, but are not limited to repaglinide.
(c) Agents which modify insulin secretion such as Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) and it's mimetics, Glucose-insulinotropic peptide (GIP) and it's mimetics, Exendin and it's mimetics, and Dipeptyl Protease Inhibitors (DPPIV).
(d) Biguanides which decrease liver glucose production and increase the uptake of glucose. Suitable examples include, but are not limited to metformin.
(e) Thiazolidinediones, insulin sensitizing drugs which decrease peripheral insulin resistance by enhancing the effects of insulin at target organs and tissues. These drugs bind and activate the nuclear receptor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) which increases transcription of specific insulin-responsive genes. Suitable examples of PPAR-gamma agonists are the thiazolidinediones which include, but are not limited to rosiglitazone, pioglitazone, troglitazone, isaglitazone (known as MCC-555), 2-[2-[(2R)-4-hexyl-3,4-dihydro-3-oxo-2H-1,4-benzoxazin-2-yl]ethoxy]-benzene acetic acid, and the like. Additionally, the non-thiazolidinediones also act as insulin sensitizing drugs, and include, but are not limited to GW2570, and the like.
(f) Retinoid-X receptor (RXR) modulators, also insulin sensitizing drugs, which include, but are not limited to targretin, 9-cis-retinoic acid, and the like.
(g) Other insulin sensitizing agents include, but are not limited to INS-1, PTP-1B inhibitors, GSK3 inhibitors, glycogen phosphorylase a inhibitors, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase inhibitors, and the like.
(h) Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors which act to inhibit alpha-glucosidase. Alpha-glucosidase converts fructose to glucose, thus these inhibitors delay the digestion of carbohydrates. The undigested carbohydrates are subsequently broken down in the gut, thereby reducing the post-prandial glucose peak. Suitable examples include, but are not limited to, acarbose and miglitol.
(i) Insulins, including regular or short-acting, intermediate-acting, and long-acting insulins, inhaled insulin and insulin analogues such as insulin molecules with minor differences in the natural amino acid sequence. These modified insulins may have faster onset of action and/or shorter duration of action.
(j) Small molecule mimics of insulin, including, but not limited to L-783281, TE-17411, and the like.
(k) Na-glucose co-transporter inhibitors which inhibit the renal reabsorption of glucose such as T-1095, T-1095A, phlorizin, and the like.
(l) Amylin agonists which include, but are not limited to pramlintide, and the like.
(k) Glucagon antagonists such as AY-279955, and the like.
In addition to antidiabetic agents, therapies may include add-on treatment with anti-obesity agents such as orlistat, a pancreatic lipase inhibitor, which prevents the breakdown and absorption of fat; or sibutramine, an appetite suppressant and inhibitor of the reuptake of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain. Other potential add-on anti-obesity agents include, but are not limited to, appetite-suppressants acting through adrenergic mechanisms such as benzphetamine, phenmetrazine, phentermine, diethylpropion, mazindol, sibutramine, phenylpropanolamine or, ephedrine; appetite-suppressant agents acting through serotonergic mechanisms such as quipazine, fluoxetine, sertraline, fenfluramine, or dexfenfluramine; appetite-suppressant agents acting through dopamine mechanisms, eg, apomorphine; appetite-suppressant agents acting through histaminergic mechanisms (eg, histamine mimetics, H3 receptor modulators); enhancers of energy expenditure such as beta-3 adrenergic agonists and stimulators of uncoupling protein function; leptin and leptin mimetics; neuropeptide Y antagonists; melanocortin-1, 3 and 4 receptor modulators; cholecystokinin agonists; glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) mimetics and analogues (eg, Exendin); androgens (eg, dehydroepiandrosterone and derivatives such as etiocholandione), testosterone, anabolic steroids (eg, oxandrolone), and steroidal hormones; galanin receptor antagonists; cytokine agents such as ciliary neurotrophic factor; amylase inhibitors; enterostatin agonists/mimetics; orexin/hypocretin antagonists; urocortin antagonists; bombesin agonists; modulators of protein kinase A; corticotropin-releasing factor mimetics; cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript mimetics; calcitonin-gene related peptide mimetics; and fatty acid synthase inhibitors.
There remains a need to provide an effective treatment for glucose related disorders such as elevated glucose levels, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, Syndrome X, and the like. There also remains a need to provide an effective treatment for glucose related disorders which also slows or prevents the progression and/or development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Combination therapy for the treatment of diabetes


Disclosed is a method used in an automatic transmission for controlling shifting into neutral when a vehicle is stopped in a first speed. The method provides for shifting in neutral when a brake of the vehicle has been depressed by the driver, the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined speed, the grade of a road is greater than a predetermined value, the throttle valve opening is 0%, the shift speed is a first speed of a drive D range or a drive D2 range, the oil temperature is greater than a predetermined temperature, the engine rpm Ne is within a predetermined rpm range, the output rpm of the transmission is 0 rpm, and the turbine rpm of a torque converter is 0 rpm.

This application claims priority of Korea patent Application No. 2000-24642, filed on May 9, 2000.
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method used in an automatic transmission for controlling shifting into neutral when the vehicle is stopped in a first speed. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for shifting an automatic transmission into neutral when stopped in a first speed such that fuel efficiency is improved, and a load of a torque converter is reduced to minimize noise and vibrations, thereby enhancing a ride feel.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In an automatic transmission used for vehicles, a shift control system performs control to realize automatic shifting into different speeds and shift ranges according to various factors such as throttle opening, vehicle speed and load, and several engine and driving conditions detected through a plurality of sensors. That is, based on such factors, the shift control system controls a plurality of solenoid valves of a hydraulic control system such that hydraulic flow in the hydraulic control system is controlled, resulting in the shifting of the transmission into the various speeds and shift ranges.
In addition, when the driver manipulates a shift lever to a particular shift range, a manual valve of the hydraulic control system undergoes port conversion as a result of the manual valve being indexed with the shift lever. By this operation, hydraulic pressure supplied from a hydraulic pump selectively engages a plurality of friction elements of a gearshift mechanism according to the duty control of the solenoid valves, thereby realizing shifting into the desired shift range.
In such an automatic transmission, shift quality is determined by how smoothly the friction elements are engaged and disengaged. Namely, when changing shift ranges, and speeds within the ranges, the timing between the engagement of a specific set of friction elements in relation to the disengagement of another specific set of friction elements determines the shift quality of the automatic transmission. Accordingly, there have been ongoing efforts to develop improved shift control methods that enhance shift quality by better controlling the timing of the friction elements to engaged and disengaged states.
When the vehicle is stopped for a relatively short period of time (e.g., when at a red light), the driver depresses the brake pedal rather than shifting into neutral or the parking range. This forcefully stops a powertrain of the automatic transmission while in a first speed such that a rotational force of the engine is absorbed by a slip operation in a torque converter. However, by maintaining the above state in which the engine rotational force is absorbed by the slip operation in the torque converter, a substantial load is generated in the torque converter. As a result, noise and vibrations are generated so that a ride feel is reduced when stopped. Fuel consumption is also increased.
The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method used in an automatic transmission for controlling shifting into neutral when the vehicle is stopped in a first speed such that fuel efficiency is improved, and so that a load of a torque converter is reduced to minimize noise and vibrations, thereby enhancing a ride feel when stopped.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method used in an automatic transmission for controlling shifting into neutral when the vehicle is stopped in a first speed. The method comprises the steps of (a) determining if a vehicle speed is less than a predetermined speed; (b) determining if a grade in the road is greater than a predetermined value if the vehicle speed is less than the predetermined speed; (c) determining if a throttle valve opening is 0% if the grade of the road is greater than the predetermined value; (d) determining if a present shift speed is a first speed of a drive D range or a drive D2 range if the throttle valve opening is 0%; (e) determining if an oil temperature is greater than a predetermined temperature if the present shift speed is the first speed in the drive D range or D2 range; (f) determining if present engine rpm Ne is within a predetermined range if the oil temperature is greater than the predetermined temperature; (g) determining if output rpm of the transmission is 0 rpm if the present engine rpm is within the predetermined range; (h) determining if turbine rpm of a torque converter is 0 rpm if the output rpm of the transmission is 0 rpm; (i) determining if a brake has been depressed by the driver if the turbine rpm of the torque converter is 0 rpm; and (i) performing control into neutral if the brake has been depressed by the driver, then returning to step (c) of determining if the throttle valve opening is 0%.
If the vehicle speed is greater than the predetermined speed in step (a), a present shift state is maintained; if the grade in the road is less than the predetermined value in step (b), it is determined if the grade in the road is less than 0%, and if it is, the present shift state is maintained, and if it is not, the process is returned to step (b). Also, if any one of the conditions of steps (c) through (i) is not satisfied, N-D shifting is performed.
According to a feature of the present invention, the predetermined speed of step (a) is 30 km/h.
According to another feature of the present invention, the predetermined value of step (b) is 3.5%.
According to yet another feature of the present invention, the predetermined temperature of step (e) is 20xc2x0 C.
According to still yet another feature of the present invention, the predetermined range of step (f) is between 350 rpm and 1000 rpm.
According to still yet another feature of the present invention, after control into neutral of step (j) is performed, it is determined if a difference in the turbine rpm and the output rpm is greater than 100 rpm, and if the difference in rpm is greater than 100 rpm, an ECU controls an air intake controller and an ignition timing controller such that idle control in the neutral range is performed, and if the difference in rpm less than or equal to 100 rpm, the ECU controls the air intake controller and the ignition timing controller such that idle control in the drive D range is performed.
According to still yet another feature of the present invention, the predetermined rpm is 100 rpm.

Method used in automatic transmission for controlling shifting into neutral


A thin type semiconductor package having a low thermal resistance and a low electric resistance is disclosed, that comprises a nitride ceramic supporting substrate having a first main surface and a second main surface, the nitride ceramic supporting substrate having via-holes that pass through from the first main surface to the second main surface, a resin film having a wiring layer, the resin film being bonded to the first main surface of the supporting substrate, the wiring layer being electrically connected to an edge portion of the via-holes on the first main surface, the resin film having an opening region, a semiconductor chip directly mounted on the first main surface of the nitride ceramic supporting substrate, disposed at the opening region of the resin film, and electrically connected to the wiring layer of the resin film, and external connection terminals disposed on the edge portion of the via-holes of the second main surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor package that is simply structured at low cost and to a semiconductor mounting part therewith.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as semiconductor fabrication technologies have been remarkably advanced, high integration and high power of semiconductor chips have been accomplished. Thus, the amount of heat generation of semiconductor chips has been correspondingly increased. In addition, the number of input/output signals per chip has been increased.
In these situations, packages that mount highly integrated semiconductor chips and so forth should effectively radiate heat generated by the semiconductor chips and have many terminals connected thereto at narrow pitches.
With respect to heat radiation of semiconductor packages, as portable electronic units and so forth have been advanced, heat radiation characteristic in natural convection state should be improved. In addition, as the sizes of electronic units are being decreased, the sizes of the semiconductor packages should be decreased.
In a conventional method for mounting a semiconductor chip with a large number of input/output terminals on a package, a semiconductor chip is bonded to a so-called TAB (Tape Automated Bonding) tape and the TAB tape is mounted on a package.
In the conventional package structure using the conventional TAB chip, however, the TAB chip is mounted on a package substrate composed of a multi-layered ceramic wiring board or a multi-layered resin wiring board. A wiring layer of the package substrate and TAB leads are connected. Thus, structurally, this package is expensive.
As another related art reference, an inexpensive package of which a TAB chip is sealed with a resin is known. However, in this structure, the heat radiation characteristic is remarkably low. Thus, this package cannot be used for such a highly integrated semiconductor chip and so forth.
As a further related art reference, a BGA (Ball Grid Array) type package using a TAB chip has been proposed. As shown in FIG. 7, in the BGA type package, a metal frame 3 or the like is bonded to a TAB tape 2 on which a semiconductor chip 1 is mounted so as to prevent so-called lead skewing such as bending and distortion of leads. However, in this structure, the heat radiation characteristic cannot be improved. Even if a heat radiation plate 4 is disposed at an upper portion of the metal frame 3, since a sealing resin 5 and so forth are disposed between the heat radiation plate 4 and the semiconductor chip 1, sufficient heat radiation characteristic cannot be obtained.
As a low heat resistance package with a high heat radiation characteristic, a so-called cavity-down structure type package has been proposed. In the cavity-down structure type package, as shown in FIG. 8, a semiconductor chip 1 is bonded on a lower surface side of a high heat radiation supporting substrate 6 composed of an aluminum nitride substrate or the like. A wiring portion 7 composed of a printed wiring board or the like is bonded on the same surface as the bonding surface of the semiconductor chip 1.
Although the cavity-down structure type package has; relatively high heat radiation characteristic, when the number of input/output signals increases, the package size becomes large. Thus, the requirement for decreasing the package size cannot be accomplished. In addition, as the package size increases, since the wiring length becomes long, electric characteristics such as wiring resistance and inductance degrade.
As described above, the conventional semiconductor packages that are simply structured at low cost have the following drawbacks. In the case of the package structure using a TAB chip, sufficient heat radiation characteristic cannot be obtained. In the case of the low heat resistance package having the cavity-down structure using the high heat radiation supporting substrate, when the number of input/output signals increases, the size of the package becomes large. Thus, the requirement for decreasing the package size cannot be satisfied. In addition, in this structure, electric characteristics are also degraded.
Thus, in the conventional semiconductor packages, the cost should be decreased in a relatively simple structure. In addition, both the improvement of heat radiation characteristic and the decrease of the package size should be satisfied. Moreover, the electric characteristics should be improved.

Semiconductor package and semiconductor mounting part


A memory device comprising a semiconductor material substrate with a dopant of a first type, a first semiconductor material well with a dopant of a second type formed in the substrate; a second semiconductor material well with a dopant of the first type formed in the first well, an array of memory cells formed within the second well. Each memory cell comprises a first electrode and a second electrode respectively formed by a first and a second doped regions with dopant of the second type formed in the second well, and a control gate electrode. The memory array comprises a first plurality of strips of conductive material extending over the second well in a first direction and forming rows of memory cells, a second plurality of strips of conductive material extending over the second well in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction and forming columns of memory cells, each strip of the second plurality electrically contacting the first electrodes of a respective group of memory cells, a third plurality of strips of conductive material extending over the second well in the second direction and intercalated to the strips of the second plurality, electrically contacting the second electrodes of the cells. A fourth plurality of strips of conductive material is provided extending over the second well in the second direction and intercalated to the strips of the second and the third pluralities, electrically contacting the second well in a succession of contact points distributed longitudinally to each strip of the fourth plurality.

It is known that memory devices, such as non-volatile memory devices like EEPROMs and Flash EEPROMs, comprise a memory cell array arranged in rows (word lines) and columns (bit lines). Each memory cell is substantially formed by a MOS transistor comprising an electrically insulated gate electrode, a control gate electrode, a drain electrode and a source electrode.
The control gate electrode of each cell is connected to a respective row of the array, and similarly the drain electrode is connected to a respective column; the source electrodes of the cells are all connected to each other.
The memory cell array can be formed directly in the substrate common to the entire semiconductor chip wherein the control circuitry is also integrated. In this case, a bulk electrode of the memory cells is biased as a substrate potential, generally a reference potential.
Non-volatile EEPROM and Flash EEPROM memory devices are known wherein the memory cells are fabricated inside a first semiconductor material well with a dopant of a first type (e.g., P-type), said first semiconductor material well being in turn contained within a second semiconductor material well with a dopant of a second type (e.g., N-type) that isolates the first semiconductor material well containing the memory array from the substrate. Devices manufactured of this kind are generally called "triple well devices".
In this way, i.e., the triple well configuration, it is possible to bias the bulk electrode of the memory cells at a potential different from that of the substrate. This is particularly advantageous for Non-volatile EEPROM and Flash EEPROM memories because it allows different methods for performing reading, programming and erasing operations, particularly in view of a possible reduction in the current consumption during said operations and/or of the use of lower supply voltages for the memory device.
A drawback of the use of a triple well device is given by the fact that the first semiconductor material well with dopant of the first type containing the memory cells, due to its limited depth, has a higher resistivity than the substrate does. This can cause undesired electric potential differences between different zones of the memory array during the operations involving significant bulk currents (such as, for example, programming and erasing operations). In a conventional memory array wherein the memory cells are formed directly within the substrate, it is sufficient to contact the substrate along the periphery of the array to guarantee that the bulk electrode potential of the memory cells is substantially constant within the array. This is however not sufficient for a memory array formed inside a triple well device.

Memory device with a cell array in triple well, and related manufacturing process


An electrical monitor circuit in which star points of taps on a first and a second side of a three-phase current limiting device are voltage compared. Possible applications are combinations with electrical switches, especially for power supplying and protecting circuits for electrical motors.

This invention relates to an electrical monitor circuit for monitoring a status of a three-phase current limiting device. The current limiting device is intended to limit or interrupt a current in a three-phase line. Consequently, the current limiting device comprises three one-phase current limiting means, one for each one-phase line.
The monitor circuit according to the invention is intended to monitor whether the current limiting device is in its normal conducting, i.e. relatively low resistance status or whether there is any current limiting or current interrupting effect of the current limiting device present.
A prior art solution concerning monitoring of a current limiting device is shown in DE 43 40 632 A1. Therein, the voltage across a PTC resistor being connected in series with a load break switch is used to trigger the opening of the load break switch. The PTC resistor is intended to improve the current limiting capability of the load break switch which finally interrupts the current.
What is also known are means to optically signalize that a thermal fuse has blown. These conventional proposals mainly relate to circuits in automobiles and are shown e.g. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,281,322, 4,514,723 and EP-A 0 911 853.
D 41 18 346 shows a monitor circuit for monitoring fuses in a three-phase line. This monitor circuit comprises two star points, each star point being connected to three respective taps on one respective side of the fuses and each star point relating to one side. In order to detect failure of all three fuses, additional circuitry between one of the star points and the corresponding side of the fuses is provided.
Also DE 42 13 443 shows a monitor circuit using taps on each side of fuses in a three-phase line. The circuitry connected to each one of both sides of the fuses is described as a triangle circuit, respectively.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,613 describes series connections of PTC-polymer current limiters and contactors controlled by control circuits responsive to the voltage across the PTC-polymer current limiters. Alternatively, series connections of PTC-polymer current limiters, contactors and circuit breakers are mentioned.
The technical problem underlying the present invention is to provide a simple electrical monitor circuit for monitoring a status of a three-phase current limiting device with improved efficiency.
According to the invention, this technical problem is solved by means of an electric monitor circuit for monitoring a status of a three-phase current limiting device for a three-phase line comprising three one-phase current limiting means, that circuit comprising: six taps, one respective tap for a first and a second side of each current limiting means, said taps being divided into two groups of three taps each; two star points, said three taps in each group being connected to one respective star point for each group via a respective resistor; and a voltage detector for detecting a voltage between said star points and producing a signal responsive to said voltage difference, characterized in that two taps on a first side of said current limiting device and one tap on a second side of said current limiting device are connected to one of said star points.
Further the invention relates to an apparatus for interrupting an electrical current in an electrical line, comprising an electrical monitor circuit as defined above, said three-phase current limiting device, a switch in said three-phase line and in series connection with said three-phase current limiting device, wherein said monitor circuit is adapted to, in case of a resistance change of at least one of said single-phase current limiting means, detect said voltage for a predetermined time period after said change and produce said signal only if said resistance change is present for said time period, to open said switch.
Still further, the invention relates to a circuit for power supplying and protecting an electrical motor comprising a monitor circuit or an interrupting apparatus as defined above.
One idea of the invention is that in a three-phase circuit it is generally not important in case of tripping of at least one of three one-phase current limiting means, to know which or how many current limiting means have tripped. To the contrary, it simplifies the monitor circuit and the structure of the signals to be produced by the monitor circuit, if there is only one signal indicating the tripping of anyone of three one-phase current limiting means. I.e. the status of the three-phase current limiting device is differentiated between a normal status in which ail current limiting means are normally conducting, and a triggered status in which one of them is triggered.
Therefore, the invention provides a voltage measurement between two star points, each of which combines three respective taps. These in total six taps are distributed on the three single phase current limiting means, one tap on each side of each means. Thereby, triggering of one of said means leads to an increase of the voltage between both star points and can thus be detected and used to produce a signal indicating the triggered status.
According to the invention, one star point is a combination of two taps of one side and one tap of the other side of said three-phase current limiting device, the other star point being a combination of the remaining three taps, again two on the latter and one on the former side. The advantage of the circuit design is that the monitor circuit is responsive equally to triggering of anyone, any two or all three single phase current limiting means and that the circuit design is remarkably simple.
If all resistors connecting the taps with their respective star point have equal values within each group, the voltage detected will be substantially zero in the normal conducting state of the current limiting device and different from zero in any other case, i.e. in the triggered status.
The signal produced responsive to the status of the current limiting device can be used for signalizing purposes only, e.g. for controlling a display, lamp etc. or for information of a remote control and supervision center. Preferably however, the monitor circuit according to the invention feeds said signal to a control circuit in order to control a three-phase switch in said monitored line. According to the basic idea of the invention, the switch is opened according to the signal, i.e. independently from which one of the single-phase current limiting means has triggered. In any case of triggering the switch is opened for all three lines. This function is advantageous for any application wherein a remaining one or remaining two phases must not be active in case of the triggering of another phase.
This applies especially to a preferred application of the invention in a circuit for power supplying and protecting an electrical motor. A three-phase motor can be destroyed if operated by only one or two phases. Therefore, the invention provides an important advantage over the mere application of independent single-phase current limiting devices in motor circuits.
The control circuit can be power supplied from the three-phase line. One possible realization is a combination of two taps in the three-phase line with a rectifier circuit. If the security aspect of a galvanic separation is important, an isolating transformer can be used, e.g. on the AC side of the above rectifier circuit.
A suitable choice for the three-phase switch is a load break switch, switch fuse and/or contactor. A regular circuit breaker is usually not necessary because of the limiting effect of the current limiting device. However, also a circuit breaker could be provided for in order to have a safe breaking capability in case of a failure of the current limiting device.
For the measurement it is preferred to introduce a galvanical separation between the control circuit controlling the switch and the starpoints in order to avoid disturbances of the formers potential by the latter. One preferred realisation of such a galvanic separation is an optical coupling, e.g. by a combination of a light emitting diode (LED) and a photo diode. Also, a security aspect can be relevant here.
In order to provide for said response time period, a capacitor and a resistor can be provided within the control circuit This has also proven to be an efficient measure especially for noise occurring during start up of an electrical motor. Reference is made to the following description of the embodiment.
In order to prevent a triggering of the voltage detector by very short disturbances and noise in the three-phase line that do not lead to a limiting effect of the current limiting device, it is also effective to provide for an another capacitor, additionally or alternatively, between both star points. Also the charging delay time of this capacitor can provide for a voltage buildup between the star points over said time period and thus for said time continued detection by the voltage detector.
As mentioned above, the signal produced responsive to the voltage detection according to the invention can be used also for signaling purposes instead of opening a switch. Further, both functions can be combined, e.g. by including a light emitting device such as a LED in the control circuit. Or by fitting the signal to a remote control center besides local action in terms of opening a switch.
So far, the term xe2x80x9ccurrent limiting devicexe2x80x9d has been used in its generality in order to demonstrate that the invention works with the variety of special embodiments for this device. However, the most common and commercially important embodiment is a set of three thermal fuses, each for one phase. A fuse is in fact more than a current limiting device, actually a current interrupting device. However, this is not essential for the invention. Accordingly, in this application the term current limiting also includes a limitation to zero. In case of thermal fuses, it is preferred to open at least one three-phase switch at a high voltage side of the fuses, more preferably two three-phase switches, each on one side of the fuses, it can be guaranteed by opening the switch(es) that the contacts in which the fuses are mounted and in which a replacement has to be effected, are free of any harmful potential.
Another preferred choice for the current limiting device is a set of three PTC resistors, especially PTC-polymer resistors.
PTC resistors are current limiting means in the sense that they are able to limit a current to small or very small values within a very short response time. However, they do not really provide for a galvanic interruption of the current as a thermal fuse does. Therefore, PTC resistors can advantageously be combined with conventional switches, e.g. a switch fuse or load break switch and/or a contactor, in order to improve the response time and thus the limiting capability of the switch and simultaneously provide for a galvanic interruption at least in cases in which this proves to be necessary. Consequently, the invention also relates to an apparatus for interrupting an electrical current with a three-phase current limiting device, especially a three-phase PTC resistor, and a switch in series connection, wherein the triggering of the current limiting device, i.e. a change from the PTC""s low resistance status to its high resistance status, is detected by means of the star point voltage for a certain time period. By choosing appropriate values for the pacitance of the capacitors and the resistance of the resistor, the time period can be predetermined.
In any case, voltage disturbances and noises of short time extension can be xe2x80x9cfiltered offxe2x80x9d and do not lead to an opening of the switch. On the other hand, if the high voltage across the PTC resistor is present over said time period, it can be concluded, that a serious fault has been detected leading to an opening of the switch. For further details of this interrupting apparatus, reference is made to the embodiment of the invention as described below.
The contactor can also be a microrelais switch.
As already mentioned above, the electric monitor circuit according to the inventionxe2x80x94as well as the interrupting apparatus just describedxe2x80x94can be used in a power supplying and protecting circuit for an electrical motor.
In the following, the invention will be described with reference to the figures which show preferred embodiments of the invention.

Monitor circuit for a current limiting device


Data transfers across a computer data connection are timed to measure the throughput of the connection. A counter in a computer system is updated to account for each measurement and the counter's value is checked to determine whether to allow the system's background tasks to operate.

The invention is directed to computer systems and computer data connections.
Many different types of application systems can be implemented using a computer system that has a computer data connection such as a network link. One such application system is a messaging system. In a messaging system, messages directed to a user are typically stored in a mailbox that is stored on the computer system. Messaging software provides access to the mailbox to allow the user to read the messages, create replies, and otherwise manipulate the messages. The mailbox is typically made up of one or more portions of one or more computer data files.
From time to time, the user directs the messaging system to move or copy one or more messages from the mailbox to a message store that is accessible via the messaging software. For example, a typical messaging system includes a housekeeping feature that causes old messages to be deleted from a mailbox automatically. To protect important old messages in such a case, the user directs the system to move or copy these old messages from the mailbox to the message store. These old messages are then safe from the housekeeping feature and can be manipulated by the user employing the messaging software.
Like the mailbox, the message store is typically made up of one or more portions of one or more computer data files. In the usual case, the store can be located at any of the system's storage devices, including, e.g., a hard disk, a floppy disk, or a memory array. Alternatively, the store can be located across the computer data connection, which may be a network link, a dialup connection, or a wireless link.
To promote the reliability and the efficiency of the use of the store, the messaging software typically includes various maintenance features that operate automatically without input from the user, i.e., that operate in the background. One such background feature, for example, is compaction, which moves and re-organizes messages in the message store to free up useful space in the store. A background feature such as compaction that involves writing data to the store typically blocks other access to the store during the operation of the feature. Other access is blocked to protect the integrity of the store's messages, e.g., to prevent a message from being read while the message is being moved, which could cause the message to appear garbled. Thus, the user is unable to gain access to messages in the store while such a background feature is in operation.
It is desirable that the background features are minimally intrusive, i.e., that the background features cause only imperceptible delays or other interference with user-directed actions of the messaging software. If, for example, the store is located on a hard disk, the compaction feature tends to be minimally intrusive, because the high-performance nature of the hard disk allows store reorganization to occur and to conclude quickly. The high-performance of a hard disk typically includes a high data transfer rate, i.e., a high throughput, of at least many thousands of bytes per second. Thus, in the case of a hard disk, there is typically no perceptible delay if a compaction operation is in progress when the user directs the software to display one of the store's messages. In such a case, the compaction operation is quickly concluded and the message is displayed immediately.
If, on the other hand, the store is located at a floppy disk, a background feature such as compaction is usually significantly intrusive, because the typical throughput of a floppy disk is low. Thus, in the case of a floppy disk, if a compaction operation is in progress when the user directs the software to display one of the store's messages, the message is not displayed immediately. The user is able to perceive a significant delay due to the operation of the background feature.
A computer data connection such as a network link typically has a working throughput that is closer to that of a hard disk than that of a floppy disk. However, a store located across a computer data connection is also susceptible to perceptible delays from time to time. The delays occur because the connection is susceptible to problems that temporarily reduce the connection's throughput, i.e., the connection's throughput is variable. When, for example, the connection is a network link, one such problem is network traffic. Network traffic can temporarily reduce a connection's throughput to the same level as the throughput of a floppy disk. If a background feature such as compaction is in progress during this temporary reduction, the user is able to perceive significant delays.
In efforts to determine the throughput of a computer data connection, two existing methods have been used. In the first existing method, an operating system ("OS") service is used to measure the throughput at various times. The OS service causes a test string of data of a known size to be transmitted across the connection, measures the time elapsed during the transmission, and divides the known size by the time elapsed to produce a throughput value. This method is typically undesirable for frequent use in detecting temporary reductions in throughput, because the method adds to network traffic and adds delays. In addition, some connections use one or more caches, which can cause errors in the throughput measurement. A cache is a fast-access memory that performs a read-speed enhancement function by storing a copy of a subset, typically a frequently-used or most-recently-used subset, of a store of data. When data in the subset is requested from the store, the cache provides the data instead, because the cache provides faster access to the data than does the store itself. If, when the OS service is used, at least a portion of the test string is delivered from such a cache instead of across the connection, the measured throughput value is in error. The value is in error because the portion delivered from the cache did not travel across the connection. Thus, the part of the elapsed time attributable to the portion is irrelevant to the measurement of the connection's throughput. Typically, the part of the elapsed time attributable to the portion is shorter than the amount of time the portion would have taken had the portion actually travelled across the connection. Therefore, under this method, if a connection uses one or more caches, the measurement of the connection's throughput usually produces a measured throughput value that is higher than the connection's actual throughput.
In the second existing method, such an elapsed time is measured only once, when the software is first loaded and run. Unlike the first method, this method produces no further delays. In addition, this method typically avoids cache-related errors, because the cache usually delivers no portion of the string when the string is first transmitted.
However, because only one measurement is taken, this method provides no means for detecting temporary reductions in throughput.


A process to restore and refurbish an engine part or accessory. The process includes the steps of visually inspecting the pair or accessory for cracks, erosion or broken areas. Selected areas of the part or accessory are then machined or drilled off. The selected areas of the part or accessory are then built up in excess of finished dimensions by welding. Finally, the selected areas of the part or accessory are machined to their finished dimensions.

1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention is directed to a process to restore and refurbish an engine turbo charger or exhaust part which has been subject to corrosion, pitting or breakage from use. In particular, the present invention is directed to a process to restore and refurbish selected airplane engine parts or accessories to their original finished dimensions.
2. Prior Art.
Various internal combustion engine parts and accessories are subject to Corrosion, pitting, wear and breakage from use. The parts or accessories may be constituted of stainless steel, aluminum, or high-strength alloy. Typically, after corrosion, pitting, wear, or breakage, the part or accessory is simply removed and then replaced with a new part or accessory.
In the case of aircraft engines, because of manufacturer standards and because of government regulations, the various parts and accessories of the engine must be dismantled and inspected after a number of hours of use. As an example, it may be required to dismantle and inspect certain airplane engine parts and accessories every 500 to 1800 hours of use.
There have been known procedures in the past to repair various internal combustion engine parts. While grinding and welding procedures have been used, the surface areas are ground down to a new surface which is not the original dimension.
It is, therefore, a principal object and purpose of the present invention to no longer discard such parts or accessories after use and operation.
It is a principal object and purpose to provide a process to restore and refurbish engine turbo charger and exhaust parts by machining or drilling selected areas, building up the selected areas in excess of original dimensions, and machining to finished dimensions.

Process to restore and refurbish an engine turbo charger or exhaust part


A hologram recording/reproducing apparatus includes: a coherent light source; a spatial light modulator which spatially modulates light from the coherent light source; a Fourier transform lens which concentrates light modulated by the spatial light modulator upon a hologram medium; and a two-dimensional light-receiving element array which receives light from the hologram medium. The spatial light modulator is divided into a reference light area and a signal light area, and the divergence angle of reference light emitted from the reference light area is wider than the divergence angle of signal light emitted from the signal light area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hologram recording/reproducing apparatus which is used for an external storage in a computer, an audio-visual information storage, or the like, and using holography, records and/or reproduces a hologram in and/or from a hologram medium.
2. Description of the Background Art
A compact disk (CD) is capable of recording 74-minute music data or 650-MB digital data, using a light source with a wavelength of 780 nm and an optical system including an objective lens with a numerical aperture of 0.45. A digital versatile disk (DVD) is capable of recording an MPEG2-system dynamic image for two and a quarter hours, or 4.7-GB digital data, using a light source with a wavelength of 650 nm and an optical system including an objective lens with a numerical aperture of 0.6.
In recent years, a high-definition dynamic image with a horizontal resolution of 1000 or above has been broadcast, and the performance of personal computers has been increasingly higher. Such a factor has made a greater demand for a high-density and large-capacity optical disk. In response to this, an optical disk unit or the like is offered which includes a light source with a wavelength of approximately 400 nm and an optical system including an objective lens with a numerical aperture of 0.85. In this unit, one side of a disk has a recording capacity beyond 20 GB. Hence, an optical disk unit is provided with a light source having a shorter wavelength and an objective lens having a higher numerical aperture, so that its data recording density can be heightened on a disk.
However, there is a limit to such a short-wavelength of a light source and a high-numerical-aperture of an objective lens. This approach to a high-density recording has nearly reached a dead end. Specifically, within a wavelength range of 400 nm or below, a glass material used for a lens disperses wavelengths more widely. This makes it difficult to control its aberration. In addition, the art of a solid immersion lens has been developed for the purpose of realizing a higher numerical aperture. In this art, a lens working distance, or the distance between a lens and a disk, becomes extremely short (approximately 50 nm). This causes the problem of making it harder to exchange disks or such with one another.
Therefore, in order to solve those problems and enhance the recording density of data on a disk, great attention has been paid to a holographic recording art. For example, FIG. 9 shows a hologram recording/reproducing apparatus provided with the system proposed by Horikome and others. It is a schematic view showing the configuration of an optical system of this hologram recording/reproducing apparatus (e.g., refer to Japanese Patent No. 3652340).
The hologram recording/reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 9 includes a laser light source 201, an isolator 209, a collimating optical system 207, a polarization beam splitter 208, a spatial light modulator 202, a Fourier transform lens 203, a quarter-wave plate 204, and a two-dimensional light-receiving element array 206. A beam of light emitted from the laser light source 201 is collimated by the collimating optical system 207. Then, it is reflected at the polarization beam splitter 208 and is incident upon the spatial light modulator 202.
As can be seen from its plan view in the upper part of FIG. 9, the spatial light modulator 202 is divided into pixels each of which has a width "d". It turns the polarization direction of light which irradiates each pixel individually according to an input electric signal. Then, it reflects the light. This spatial light modulator 202 is formed, for example, by a liquid-crystal device called a reflection-type LCOS device. This spatial light modulator 202 is divided concentrically into an external reference light area 221 and an internal signal light area 222. In the internal signal light area 222, the polarization direction of light reflected by each pixel is modulated in accordance with a signal to be recorded.
The light reflected at each pixel after its polarization direction has been turned goes straight again through the polarization beam splitter 208. Then, it passes through the quarter-wave plate 204. Thereafter, it is converged upon a hologram disk 205 by means of the Fourier transform lens 203 and turns into signal light. In contrast, the light reflected at each pixel whose polarization direction remains unturned is reflected again by the polarization beam splitter 208. Then, it returns toward the laser light source 201 and is absorbed by the isolator 209.
On the other hand, in the reference light area 221, the polarization direction of reflected light from each pixel is turned according to a specific pattern. The light which has passed through the polarization beam splitter 208 is guided to the hologram disk 205 and turns into reference light.
The hologram disk 205 is formed by sandwiching a hologram recording material 251 between transparent substrates. An interference fringe produced by the intersecting reference light and signal light is recorded as a hologram in the hologram recording material 251. The hologram recording material 251 is made, for example, of a photopolymer with a photo-curing property. The refractive index of this photopolymer is varied and fixed according to the fine intensity distribution of the interference fringe, so that the hologram can be recorded. Every time a hologram is recorded, the hologram disk 205 is rotated to record hologram rows one after another.
When reproducing a signal, the light of the signal light area 222 of the spatial light modulator 202 is cut off, and only the light modulated in the reference light area 221 irradiates the hologram disk 205. The produced diffracted light is detected by the two-dimensional light-receiving element array 206.
This system has the following characteristic. At the time of recording and reproduction, reference light forms a minute speckle pattern on the hologram disk 205. This makes it possible to record a large number of holograms in slightly different positions on the hologram disk 205. On the hologram plane (the focal plane of the Fourier transform lens 203), reference light has a light-intensity distribution obtained by giving a Fourier transformation to the distribution pattern of light on the plane of the spatial light modulator 202. On the spatial light modulator 202, the light is modulated in a random pattern, and thus, a random speckle pattern is formed on the hologram plane alike. When reproducing a signal, reproduction light is not produced until a speckle pattern of reference light at the recording time coincides with a speckle pattern of reference light at the reproduction time.
At this time, if the positional shift of the recorded hologram from the reference light at the reproduction time becomes a speckle size or greater, the quantity of reproduction signal light is conspicuously reduced. In practice, the speckle size is λ/2NA, if the numerical aperture of the Fourier transform lens 203 is NA and the wavelength of light is λ. For example, if the numerical aperture of the Fourier transform lens 203 is 0.6 and the wavelength of the laser light source 201 is 400 nm, then the speckle size is 0.33 microns. This helps record different holograms in positions apart in micron order from each other.
Another condition for selecting and reproducing a hologram as steeply as described above is to thicken the hologram disk 205 sufficiently. As described earlier, the positional shift of the reference light at the recording and reproduction times decreases the signal-light quantity. This is because diffracted light from different parts in the thickness directions of the hologram disk 205 interferes and negates each other. If the hologram disk 205 is not thick enough, adjacent holograms need to be recorded at a longer interval, thus hindering enlargement of the recording capacity.
The conventional hologram recording optical system of FIG. 9 has the problem of recording only a part of an interference fringe in the thickness directions of a thick recording medium which prevents the recording capacity from being increased. FIG. 10 shows a schematic configuration of a recording beam inside of the hologram disk 205 in the optical system of FIG. 9.
As shown in FIG. 10, the light from the pixels of the signal light area 222 and the reference light area 221 spreads through a diffraction phenomenon caused by the pixel apertures. Then, it turns into a parallel beam having a finite width and interferes with each other in the hologram recording material 251. In FIG. 10, the area of an interference fringe is shown by a slashed triangle having a lateral width of 0.4 mm and a height of 0.47 mm in the thickness directions. These numeric values are obtained when the wavelength of the laser light source 201 is 400 nm, the focal length of the Fourier transform lens 203 is 10 mm and the pixel width d of the spatial light modulator 202 is 10 microns.
As can be seen from FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, even if a thick hologram medium (the hologram recording material 251) is employed in the optical system having the configuration of FIG. 9, then the interference fringe is limited to the vicinity of the focal plane of the Fourier transform lens 203. This makes it impossible to secure a practically-effective hologram-medium thickness as well as a sufficient positional selectivity. This causes the problem of hindering enlargement of the recording capacity.


A laser annealing process of a drive backplane includes: providing a mask, which has a light transmission area; and sequentially moving the mask to cover different areas of an amorphous silicon layer of the drive backplane, and annealing the amorphous silicon layer exposed in the light transmission area to form a poly-silicon pattern.

A low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) backplane has a greater mobility and is suitable for applications in a current-driven backplane, such as OLED. In the existing poly-silicon technology, the poly-silicon are prepared by use of the LTPS technology. During the process, an amorphous silicon layer is firstly prepared, and then crystallized by a laser annealing technology to form poly-silicon TFT channels to improve mobility of the device. However, there are problems such as repeated irradiation, which do not permit to obtain better uniformity on a large-area substrate (for example, a substrate product produced by a sixth generation production line or the larger-size products produced by the updated generation production line), and are not suitable for development of large-area panel process, and also there are problems of difficult alignment caused by complex peripheral circuits, and frequent replacement and time consumption of the mask, etc.

Laser annealing process of drive backplane and mask


The present invention provides an electrically conductive member including a core and a resin layer provided on an outer peripheral surface of the core, wherein the resin layer is made of a resin composition in which an electrically conductive agent is dispersed, and the abrasion amount of the resin composition, measured by JIS K6902, is 20 mg or less. Moreover, the present invention provides a unit for cleaning an image holding member, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus each using the electrically conductive member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrically conductive member such as a charging member, a transfer member and a supporting member; a unit for cleaning an image holding member; and a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, many image forming apparatuses for forming images by an electrophotographic method often include functional rollers such as a charging member, a transfer member, and a supporting member. The functional roller used herein has a desired electrical resistivity, as well as hardness, rigidity, strength, deflection, and/or surface smoothness suitable for the application thereof.
Many of the above-mentioned currently used functional rollers have semiconductive properties, comprising a core made of stainless or iron and a layer of synthetic rubber or thermoplastic resin containing carbon, a metal filler or an ion conductive agent, and whose electrical resistivity is adjusted to about 1×105 to about 1×1010 ohm.
However, the functional roller mainly made of the synthetic rubber has the following drawbacks.
(1) The rubber of an elastic layer of the functional roller includes various components such as: residuals of a reaction initiator added to a reaction system during synthesis of a base polymer, and a by product accompanying the synthesis; a low molecular component of the base polymer; and a vulcanizer, a softener and a plasticizer added to the system during molding of a rubber roller. Many of these components easily react with the surface of a photoreceptor that is an image holding member. If the semiconductive roller is left for a long time in pressurized contact with the photoreceptor (image holding member), these components seep from the functional roller and adhere to the photoreceptor or react with the photoreceptor to reform the photoreceptor.
A solution to this problem is to form, on the functional roller surface, a barrier layer for preventing the components contained in the functional roller from seeping out. However, such a roller has a multilayered structure, resulting in increased material costs and complication of a manufacturing process, and therefore increased costs of the functional roller.
(2) In a conventional functional roller, the electrical resistivity thereof is adjusted by mechanically dispersing carbon, a metal filler, or an ion conductive agent and the like in a rubber material. Accordingly, in functional rollers having a rubber layer in which carbon is dispersed, control of the electrical resistivity thereof tends to be difficult or the electrical resistivities of the functional rollers often become uneven. Moreover, in functional rollers including the ion conductive agent, the ion conductive agent seeps out in an environment of high temperature and high humidity, and contaminates an image holding member (photoreceptor and/or intermediate transfer member).
(3) In recent years, quiet operations are also required of image forming apparatuses. A so-called "charging sound" which a charging roller generates when a high frequency AC bias is superimposed on a DC bias is an unpleasant, offensive sound, and reduction thereof has become a major technical issue.
As one method for reducing the charging sound, a method has been proposed in which a weight is put into the interior of a photoreceptor serving as an image holding member, thus preventing high frequency vibrations caused by the charging roller from propagating. However, this method requires the weight to remain fixed and a new (adhesion) process for fixing the weight inside of the photoreceptor serving as the image holding member, inevitably leading to increased costs. Moreover, as an alternative for preventing charging sound, a method has been adopted in which a foamed layer is provided on a charging roller to enable the charging member itself to absorb the vibrations. However, in this method, since the foamed layer is made of a rubber material, the aforementioned problems (1) and (2) cannot be avoided.
(4) As a measure for reducing the charging sound and preventing scraping of a photoreceptor acting as an image holding member, so-called "DC charging" has been proposed in which only a DC bias is applied to a charging roller. However, in order to realize even DC charging, the charging roller is required to have a more uniform resistivity and a smoother surface than ever. It is extremely difficult for a conventional functional roller in which a conductive agent is kneaded with and dispersed in a rubber material to form clear images with DC charging (i.e., to uniformly charge the image holding member).
(5) Moreover, for reduction in unit price of prints and photocopies (referred to as reduction in running costs), a longer life of a photoreceptor as an image holding member and various types of functional rollers have been desired.
In particular, when a high frequency AC bias is superimposed on a DC bias, discharge produced in a tiny gap between a photoreceptor serving as an image holding member and a charging roller scrapes the surface of the photoreceptor acting as the image holding member due to a so-called "etching action," greatly influencing the life of the photoreceptor serving as the image holding member. Moreover, these various types of functional rollers have a drawback in that electrifying the functional rollers for a long period of time gradually increases the electrical resistivity of the rollers, which remains a major issue to be solved.
Meanwhile, as a cleaning unit in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copier, a cleaning blade made of an elastic material such as rubber is conventionally used. A well known structure of such a cleaning blade has one edge thereof brought into contact with the surface of an image holding member such as a photoreceptor to remove a developer, such as a toner, adhering to the surface of the image holding member.
The cleaning unit has advantages in that it has a simple structure, is inexpensive, and can efficiently remove the toner. In the cleaning unit, it is very important to bring the edge of the cleaning blade into stable contact with the image holding member surface at a uniform pressure for a long period of time.
However, fusion of the toner to the edge, adhesion of paper powder, chipping of the edge due to degradation of the blade material and the like tend to cause defective cleaning. Furthermore, in a system using a toner having a small diameter to improve image quality, adhesion of the toner to the image holding member after transfer becomes extremely high due to increase in van der Waals force. Therefore, when a cleaning blade is used in such a system, it is necessary to set the contact pressure of the blade at a high value, which often causes a frictional force between the blade and the image holding member surface to increase and the blade to warp.
As an effective cleaning method for the above-mentioned system using a toner having a small diameter, a method is known in which an auxiliary brush that rotates in contact with the image holding member is provided more upstream than a cleaning blade. In this method, the adhesion of the toner firmly adhering to the image holding member surface with van der Waals force and the like is reduced with a mechanical shear force due to rotational contact of the brush to enable the cleaning blade to easily clean the image holding member (refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 1-312578).
Unlike a method using only a cleaning blade for cleaning, this method can remove the toner having a small diameter even when the contact pressure of the blade is not set to a high value.
Incidentally, a substance having a smaller diameter (mean diameter of about 1 to 50 nm) than a toner, which is referred to as an external additive, is generally added to the surface of each of toner particles in order to ensure a powder flowing property, and charging, transferring and cleaning properties. The mixing amount of the external additive depends on the specific surface area of the toner particles. Therefore, the smaller the toner particle diameter, the greater the external additive amount. Moreover, the greater the amount of toner consumed during image formation, the greater the amount of external additive reaching a cleaning zone. For example, in a full color image forming apparatus for successively developing images with four colored toners, originals are often photographic originals, and the amount of toner consumed is about ten times as many as that in the case of ordinary monochrome originals. Accordingly, the amount of the external additive consumed is also very large.
When the cleaning method using the blade or the cleaning method using the combination of the auxiliary brush and the cleaning blade is used in full color image formation, external additive particles having a very small diameter aggregate at the edge portion of the blade. The aggregating external additive particles adhere to an image holding member surface with vibration of the blade edge when the image holding member moves (a so-called "stick-slip phenomenon"), generating substantial image defects such as filming.
In order to solve such a technical problem, a conventional cleaning method using a belt-type cleaning member, namely a so-called "web," has been well known. For example, a method has been proposed in which the belt is disposed near an image holding member surface, in which a bias having a polarity opposite to that of a toner is applied to the belt, and in which an ultrasonic vibration is applied to the image holding member.
In the method, the toner can be significantly and efficiently removed, and the toner or an external additive is not pressed against the image holding member and therefore does not adhere to the image holding member.
However, in this method, since adhesion is strong, as mentioned above, and it is difficult to completely remove a large amount of the external additive, repetition of image formation causes accumulation of the external additive on the image holding member, resulting in degradation of image quality (refer to, for example, JP-A No. 60-6977).
Moreover, a method using a belt which includes, as a part of the material therefor, fabric made of a microfiber having a diameter of 15 μm or less has been proposed. According to this method, even if a toner has a small diameter, the toner can be sufficiently removed. However, when the amount of the toner which reaches a cleaning unit is large, the belt may not function adequately (refer to, for example, JP-A No. 3-196083).
For example, in the case of a full color image forming apparatus which successively develops images with four colored toners, much photograph development is involved, thus consuming about 10 times as much toner as that in the case of ordinary monochrome documents. Therefore, the toner floods at a portion of the belt contacting an image holding member surface, and some of the toner slip through the belt or adhere to the image holding member.
Accordingly, there has been a need for an electrically conductive member which does not contaminate an image holding member and the like when brought into contact with the image holding member and the like, and can stably obtain a desired electrical resistivity, and has a long life and whose physical properties hardly change. There has also been a need for a cleaning unit which can maintain good image quality for a long period of time even when a large amount of the toner having a small diameter constantly reaches the cleaning unit, and which ensures removal of toner from an image holding member and prevents an external additive from adhering to the image holding member surface. Moreover, there has been a desire for a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus which have the electrical conductive member and/or the cleaning unit, and which are highly durable and can reduce running costs.

Electrically conductive member, unit for cleaning image holding member, process cartridge and image forming apparatus


A pressure-reducing valve includes a housing, a pressure-reducing piston, a driving piston, and a spring mechanism. The housing is provided with a primary port and a secondary port. The pressure-reducing piston is displaceably retained in an interior of the housing. The pressure-reducing piston is displaced to control an opening degree of the primary port and configured to separate the interior of the housing into a primary-pressure space connected to the primary port and a secondary-pressure space connected to the secondary port. The driving piston is displaceably retained in the interior of the housing. The driving piston is displaced to cause the pressure-reducing piston to be displaced in association therewith and has a secondary-pressure receiving surface that receives a secondary pressure from a fluid in the secondary-pressure space. The spring mechanism is configured to exert a spring force against the secondary pressure to at least one of the pistons.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a pressure-reducing valve 1 according to prior art disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2003-150249. The pressure-reducing valve 1 includes a housing 2, a piston 3, and a spring member 4. In the interior of the housing 2, the piston 3 is axially displaceably mounted. In the interior of the housing 2, the piston 3 is axially elongated and is retained at an axial end portion and at an intermediate axial portion. The spring member 4 applies a spring force to the piston 3 along the axis of the piston. The housing 2 is provided with a primary port 5 and a secondary port 6. A protrusion 7 is formed to surround the outer periphery of the primary port 5. The protrusion 7 and a seat portion 8 of the piston 3 that is opposite to the protrusion 7 forms an orifice 9 for reducing pressure. The orifice 9 separates the interior of the housing 2 into a primary-pressure space 10 connected to the primary port 5 and a secondary-pressure space 11 connected to the secondary port 6. The pressure-reducing valve 1 reduces a primary pressure p1 of fluid supplied to the primary port 5 to a secondary pressure p2 by passing it through the orifice 9, and outputs the resulting fluid from the secondary port 6.
Since the prior art pressure-reducing valve 1 is constructed such that the elongated piston 3 is retained at the first axial end portion and at the intermediate axial portion, the following two problems arise.
First, if retaining portions 12 and 13 for retaining the first axial end portion and the intermediate axial portion of the piston 3 are disposed coaxially with low precision, then a non-uniform contact surface pressure is applied to the piston 3 in the circumferential direction. To be specific, the piston 3 is retained in an uneven contact condition in the interior of the housing 2. Thereby, an undesired friction force is applied to the piston 3, causing hysteresis to be generated in a pressure-reducing characteristic. The hysteresis of the pressure-reducing characteristic increases as the friction force applied to the piston 3 increases, making it difficult to control the pressure-reducing valve 1.
Second, to solve the above stated problem, it is necessary to improve the precision with which the retaining portions 12 and 13 are disposed coaxially. In order to improve the precision with which the retaining portions 12 and 13 are disposed coaxially, it is necessary to improve processing precision of the housing 2, i.e., decrease a coaxial tolerance. This leads to increased cost necessary to manufacture the housing 2. As a result, it becomes difficult to manufacture the pressure-reducing valve 1 in large quantities.

Kabushiki Kaisha Kawasaki Precision Machinery


Disclosed are a method and apparatus for a data storage library comprising a plurality of drives and a combination bridge controller device adapted to direct and make compatible communication traffic between a client and the plurality of drives. The combination bridge controller device is further adapted to encrypt a first data package received from the client. The combination bridge controller device is further adapted to transmit the encrypted first data package, a first moniker and a first message authentication code to one of the plurality of drives for storage to a cooperating mobile storage medium. The combination bridge controller device is further adapted to decrypt the first data package when used in combination with a first key associated with the first moniker and guarantee the decryption of the first data package was successfully accomplished with authentication of the first message authentication code.

The data storage industry is experiencing a boom fueled in part by aggressive cost reduction of data storage due to advances in storage technology, broadened international accessibility to the internet and the World Wide Web and the public's appetite to accumulate data. Unfortunately, with the boom has come associated undesirable activities, such as data attacks and data theft. Data stored in data storage libraries are among the primary targets of such attacks and theft.
Data storage libraries serve as data receptacles for a variety of clients including businesses, governments and the general population. These libraries are generally comprised of drive storage devices adapted to read and write data to and from media which can be archived within the libraries. Traditionally, tape media has been used in many of the mainstream storage libraries due to the relatively high storage capacity and data integrity robustness of tapes. One advantage of tape is mobility providing achievability in remote locations called "vaults" making an 'on-line' data attack difficult, if not impossible. However, should an attacker acquire a tape, the data stored on the tape may be subject to unwanted access. In attempts to prevent unwanted access, the tape, or other mobile media capable of being used in a data storage library, can be armed with a number of security measures including data encryption. One fundamental component of data encryption is the knowledge of how to decode or decrypt the data; such knowledge is known to those skilled in the art as the key. In order to increase security of data, decryption keys can be changed from one data set to another frequently enough to instill sufficient confidence that the encrypted data is secure. Dealing with numerous keys associated with various mobile media that may be located in a variety of different locations can be a management challenge.
In an effort to improve managing encrypted data on mobile media (within a library or vault, for example) both methods and apparatus are disclosed herein. It is to innovations related to this subject matter that the claimed invention is generally directed.

Data encryption using a key and moniker for mobile storage media adapted for library storage


A disk loading apparatus includes first and second main gears (35, 43) disposed at equal distances to each other in radial directions from the center of rotation of a disk table (85) which is the center of rotation of a disk-type recording medium at an insertion completion position of the disk-type recording medium, and first and second feed rollers (38, 46) provided at positions on the first and second main gears (35, 43) displaced from the centers of rotation of the first and second main gears (35, 43) for rolling on an outer circumferential face of the disk-type recording medium (100). The disk loading apparatus further includes a driving mechanism for rotating the first and second main gears (35, 43) such that, when the disk-type recording medium (100) is to be moved toward the insertion completion position, the first and second feed rollers (38, 46) revolve on the first and second main gears (35, 43), respectively, while the first and second feed rollers (38, 46) roll on the outer circumferential face of the disk-type recording medium (100).

Disk recording and/or reproduction apparatus are available which can perform recording, reproduction or both of recording and reproduction of an information signal onto and/or from a disk-type recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk. Some of such disk recording and/or reproduction apparatus can perform recording and/or reproduction of an information signal onto and/or from both of a disk-type recording medium having a diameter of 8 cm and another disk-type recording medium having another diameter of 12 cm.
In such disk-type recording and/or reproduction apparatus, a disk-type recording medium is mounted onto the disk table by a method wherein such mounting is performed manually or another method wherein such mounting is performed automatically using a disk loading mechanism.
In order to implement the method wherein mounting is performed manually, some disk recording and/or reproduction apparatus are configured such that the disk table has engaging pawls mounted for resilient displacement in radial directions on the disk table such that, when a disk-type recording medium having a diameter of 8 cm or another disk-type recording medium having another diameter of 12 cm is pressed at an inner circumferential edge thereof against the engaging pawls, the engaging pawls are resiliently displaced to allow the disk-type recording medium to be mounted onto the disk table.
In order to implement the method wherein mounting is performed automatically, some disk recording and/or reproduction apparatus of the tray type which have a disk tray supported for drawing out movement on a body section are configured such that a receiving recess for a disk-type recording medium having a diameter of 8 cm and another receiving recess for another disk-type recording medium having another diameter of 12 cm are formed concentrically on the disk tray and, when a disk-type recording medium having the diameter of 8 cm or another disk-type recording medium having the diameter of 12 cm is placed in one of the receiving recesses and the disk tray is accommodated into the body section, the disk-type recording medium is mounted onto the disk table.
In order to implement another method wherein mounting is performed automatically, a disk recoding and/or reproduction apparatus of a slot-in type wherein a disk-type recording medium is inserted through a disk slot formed in a body section is configured such that, when a disk-type recording medium is inserted through the disk slot and drawn into the body section, it is mounted onto the disk table.
However, in the conventional disk recording and/or reproduction apparatus described above wherein a disk-type recording medium is manually mounted onto the disk table, since the inner circumferential edge of the disk-type recording medium is pressed against the engaging pawls, there is the possibility that the inner circumferential edge may be damaged or the disk-type recording medium may be deformed.
Meanwhile, in the conventional disk recording and/or reproduction apparatus described above wherein a disk-type recording medium is mounted automatically onto the disk table, irrespective of whether the disk recording and/or reproduction apparatus is of the tray type or the slot-in type, a disk-type recording medium is mounted onto the disk table after it is mechanically or electrically detected whether the disk-type recording medium is a disk-type recording medium having the diameter of 8 cm or another disk-type recording medium having the diameter of 12 cm or an outer circumferential edge of the disk-type recording medium is held down by control means to control the position of the disk-type recording medium. Therefore, those disk-type recording media which can be mounted onto the disk table are limited to a disk-type recording medium having the diameter of 8 cm and another disk-type recording medium having the diameter of 12 cm.
However, while increase of the recording density on a disk-type recording medium and diversification of recording media proceed further in the future, in addition to disk-type recording media having the diameters of 8 cm and 12 cm, various disk-type recording media having various diameters may be placed on the market with a high degree of possibility. However, such conventional disk recording and/reproduction apparatus as described above cannot cope with such various disk-type recording media having various diameters as described above.
Therefore, it is a subject of the present invention to provide a disk loading mechanism and a disk recording and/or reproduction apparatus which overcome the problem described above and can prevent occurrence of a malfunction upon mounting of a disk-type recording medium onto a disk table and besides allows mounting of a disk-type recording medium onto the disk table irrespective of the size of the disk-type recording medium.

Disk loading mechanism, and disk recording and/or reproducing device


A first node generates and transmits a notification message including routing policy attributes such as network address information and a corresponding gateway identifier. The gateway identifier identifies a gateway in a physical network through which future generated data messages shall be forwarded to at least one host computer (e.g., any computer having an associated network address) as indicated by the network address information. A second node receiving the notification message utilizes the routing policy attributes to dynamically update its database identifying how to forward data packets. In this way, nodes (e.g., CE routers) of a network can be dynamically configured to support routing of messages based on the network address information and gateway identifier disseminated along with the notification message.

Virtual Private Networks (i.e., VPNs) provide a secured means for transmitting and receiving data between network nodes even though a corresponding physical network supporting propagation of the data is shared by many users. Typically, the data transmitted between such network nodes (e.g., edge nodes of a service provider network) is encrypted to protect against eavesdropping and tampering by unauthorized parties. Because the physical network is shared, costs of using resources are generally reduced for each of many users.
A physical network such as a service provider network topology may include peripherally located provider edge routers, each of which couples to one or multiple customer edge routers. The customer edge routers, in turn, may couple to private local area networks associated with one or multiple customers. Typically, the service provider network selectively couples the local area networks to each other through links created between its provider edge routers. To support operation, the provider edge routers typically maintain Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) information dictating how to route and forward traffic through the shared physical network to support corresponding VPNs for the different customers.
According to one conventional technique, a service network may be extended beyond provider edge nodes to customer edge nodes. For example, the connectivity model supported by RFC2547 generally enables any CE (Customer Edge) nodes to establish a link between each other for transmission of data messages between corresponding interconnected networks.

Methods and apparatus to distribute policy information


A hair trimmer with a rattle dampening structure, includes an elongated main body; a cutter block having a stationary blade and a movable blade, both of which are comb-shaped and are slidably in contact with each other, the cutter block being protrudingly installed at one end of the main body; a comb-shaped cylindrical comb attachment covering the cutter block such that it is movable in a projected direction of the cutter block; and an elastic member for elastically pressing the comb attachment for trim length adjustment, in a direction approximately perpendicular to a moving direction of the comb attachment.

Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. H1-214388 (hereinafter referred to as "Patent 1") discloses therein a trim length adjusting structure for a conventional hair cutter. In the conventional example described in Patent 1, a cutter block consisting of a stationary and movable blade, both of which are comb-shaped and one of which reciprocates, is protrudingly disposed at one end portion of a main body. A cylindrical comb attachment in a comb shape for trim length adjustment is movably engaged at the portion of the main body where the cutter block is disposed and along the projected direction of the cutter block. An elastic hook provided at the rear portion of the comb attachment is engaged with an annular groove provided at the front end of a cylindrical adjustment element which is rotatably and movably disposed around the main body. A protrusion projecting on the exterior surface of the main body is inserted into a spiral groove formed on the inner circumferential surface of the cylindrical adjustment element. By rotating the cylindrical adjustment element, the adjustment element is moved in the longitudinal direction while it rotates around the main body along the spiral groove. As a result, the comb attachment in a comb shape is movable in the projected direction of the cutter block.
Further, hair or beard brought in from the base portion of the comb attachment comes in contact with the stationary blade in a comb shape and then is cut by the movable blade at a desired cutting length. In this case, the cutting length can be adjusted by rotating the adjustment element.
However, in the conventional example above, since the cylindrical comb attachment is merely movably engaged with the main body, it rattles in an approximately perpendicular direction to its movable direction, thereby making a rattling noise while interfering the trimmer's handling quality. Further, also in the area where the protrusion on the main body's exterior surface is inserted in the spiral groove, the cylindrical adjustment element rattles and makes a similar noise. In this case, in order to eliminate such rattling, if the comb attachment and the main body are made to engage tightly, or otherwise, the spiral groove and the protrusion on the main body's exterior surface are tightly fitted, the friction between the parts would increase, so that precise operation of the cutter becomes more difficult. Further, in order to mass produce the cutter with features with such subtle dimensional variations, maintaining the product quality becomes a formidable challenge.

Hair trimmer with rattle dampening structure