Disclosed herein is a distal end electrode assembly for use in connection with electrosurgical devices, particularly those adapted for the modification, sculpting, resection, removal, or vaporization of tissue, configured for coagulation, cauterization or hemostasis purposes, or utilized for thermal treatment of normal and tumorous tissues. In the context of the present invention, mechanical fastening means, epoxies and other high-temperature adhesives connecting electrode(s) to insulator(s) are replaced with brazed joints to yield electrosurgical devices capable of safely and reliably operating at high power densities and elevated temperatures without thermal failure of the bonds between the electrode and the insulator. The use of brazed joints further permits the construction of miniaturized, compact electrosurgical devices, of both monopolar and bipolar configurations, having utility in a number of divergent fields, from arthroscopy to otolaryngology to oncology, and applicable to both laparoscopic and open surgery techniques. Thus, active electrodes and electrosurgical devices of the present invention maximize efficiency, safety and reliability while minimizing manufacturing cost and device profile.

Minimally invasive surgical techniques have gained significant popularity due to their ability to accomplish desirable outcomes with reduced patient pain and accelerated recovery and return of the patient to normal activities. Arthroscopic surgery, wherein the intra-articular space is filled with fluid, allows orthopedic surgeons to efficiently perform procedures using special purpose instruments designed specifically for arthroscopy. Among these special purpose tools are various manual graspers and biters, powered shaver blades and burs, and electrosurgical devices. During the last several years, specialized arthroscopic electrosurgical electrodes referred to in the art as "ablators" have been developed. Examples of such instruments include "ArthroWands" manufactured by Arthrocare (Austin, Tex.), VAPR electrodes manufactured by Depuy Mitek (Raynham, Mass.) and electrodes by Smith and Nephew, Inc. (Andover, Mass.). These ablator electrodes differ from conventional arthroscopic electrosurgical electrodes in that they are designed for the bulk removal of tissue by vaporization rather than the cutting of tissue or coagulation of bleeding vessels. While standard electrodes are capable of ablation, their geometries are generally not efficient for accomplishing this task. The tissue removal rates of ablator electrodes are lower than those of arthroscopic shaver blades, however, electrosurgical ablators are used because they achieve hemostasis (stop bleeding) during use and are able to efficiently remove tissue from bony surfaces. Ablator electrodes are used in an environment filled with electrically conductive fluid.
During ablation, current flows from the ablator into the conductive fluid and locally heats the fluid to its boiling point. The relative heating of the conductive fluid is proportional to the density of electrical current flowing from the electrode into the fluid. Regions of high current density will experience higher rates of heating as compared to regions of low current density. In general, regions of high current density occur at the corners and edges of the electrode. Steam bubbles form first at the edges of an ablator but eventually cover virtually the electrode's entire exposed surface. When a steam bubble reaches a critical size, arcing occurs within the bubble and enclosed portion of tissue. A train of sparks occurs within the bubble with the train ending when the bubble grows too large or the tissue enclosed in the bubble is evaporated and conditions within the bubble become unfavorable for sparking.
During ablation, water within the target tissue is vaporized. Because volumes of tissue are vaporized rather than discretely cut out and removed from the surgical site, the power requirements of ablator electrodes are generally higher than those of other arthroscopic electrosurgical electrodes. The efficiency of the electrode design and the characteristics of the Radio Frequency (RF) power supplied to the electrode also affect the amount of power required for ablation. Electrodes with inefficient designs and/or powered by RF energy sources with poorly suited characteristics will require higher power levels than those with efficient designs and appropriate generators. Because of these factors, the ablation power levels of devices produced by different manufacturers vary widely with some using power levels significantly higher than those commonly used by arthroscopists. Ablator electrode systems from some manufacturers may use up to 400 Watts, significantly higher than the 30 to 70 Watt range generally used by other arthroscopic electrosurgical electrodes.
During arthroscopic electrosurgery, all of the RF energy supplied to the electrode is converted into heat, thereby raising the temperature of the fluid within the joint and the temperature of adjacent tissue. Prior to the introduction of ablator electrodes, the temperature of the fluid within the joint was not of concern to the surgeon. However, due to the higher power levels at which they generally operate and the longer periods of time that they are energized, fluid temperature is a major concern during the use of ablator electrodes. Standard arthroscopic electrosurgical electrodes are usually energized for only brief periods, generally measured in seconds, while specific tissue is resected or modified, or a bleeder coagulated. In contrast, ablator electrodes are energized for longer periods of time, often measured in minutes, while volumes of tissue are vaporized.
The temperature of the fluid within the joint is critical since nerve damage and cell death can occurs at tissue temperatures as low as 45-50° C., a temperature easily reached with high-powered ablators if fluid flow through the surgical site is insufficient. Patient injury may result. Such injuries have been documented.
The likelihood of thermal injury is strongly affected by the amount of power supplied to the ablator. This, in turn, is determined by the efficiency of the ablator and the speed with which the surgeon desires to remove tissue. A highly efficient ablator will allow the surgeon to remove tissue at desirably high rates while requiring low levels of power input. Under these conditions, the likelihood of thermal injuries is reduced significantly.
Ablator electrodes are produced in a variety of sizes and configurations to suit a variety of procedures. For example, ablators designed for use in ankle, wrist or elbow arthroscopy are generally smaller than those used in the knee or shoulder. Each size embodiment is then produced in a variety of configurations to facilitate access to various structures within the joint being treated. These configurations differ in terms of the working length of the electrode (i.e., the maximum distance that an electrode can be inserted into a joint), the size and shape of the ablating surfaces and the angle between the ablating face and the axis of the electrode shaft. Electrodes are typically designated by the angle between a normal to the ablating surface and the axis of the electrode shaft, and by the size of their ablating surface and any associated insulator.
Primary considerations of surgeons when choosing a particular configuration of ablator for a specific procedure include its convenience of use (i.e., the ease with which the instrument is able to access certain structures) and the speed with which the ablator will be able to complete the required tasks. When choosing between two configurations capable of accomplishing a particular task, surgeons will generally choose the ablator with the larger ablating surface so as to remove tissue more quickly. This is particularly true for procedures during which large volumes of tissue must be removed. One such procedure is acromioplasty, the reshaping of the acromion. The underside of the acromion is covered with highly vascular tissue that may bleed profusely when removed by a conventional powered cutting instrument, such as an arthroscopic shaver blade. Ablator electrodes are used extensively during this procedure since they are able to remove tissue without the bleeding which obscures the surgeon's view of the site. Ablation in the area under the acromion is most efficiently accomplished using an electrode on which a line normal to the ablating surface is approximately perpendicular to the axis of the ablator shaft. Such an electrode is referred to in the field as a "90 Degree Ablator" or a "side effect" ablator. Examples of such electrodes include the "3.2 mm 90 Degree Three-Rib UltrAblator" by Linvatec Corporation (Largo, Fla.), the "90 Degree Ablator" and "90 Degree High Profile Ablator" by Smith and Nephew (Andover, Mass.), the "Side Effect VAPR Electrode" by Depuy Mitek (Raynham, Mass.), and the "3.5 mm 90 Degree Arthrowand", "3.6 mm 90 Degree Lo Pro Arthrowand", and "4.5 mm 90 Deg. Eliminator Arthrowand" by Arthrocare Corporation, and "3 mm OPES Ablator" and "4 mm OPES Ablator" and others by Arthrex (Naples, Fla.).
Recently ablator electrodes have been configured with mechanism and means for removing bubbles and debris from the surgical site. During electrosurgery in a conductive fluid environment, tissue is vaporized producing steam bubbles that may obscure the view of the surgeon or displace saline from the area of the intra-articular space that the surgeon wishes to affect. In the case of ablation (i.e., bulk vaporization of tissue), the number and volume of bubbles produced is even greater than when using other electrodes since fluid is continually boiling at the active electrode during use. Ideally, flow through the joint carries these bubbles away; however, in certain procedures, this flow is insufficient to remove all of the bubbles. Accordingly, the ablator is configured with an aspiration means that removes some bubbles as they are formed by the ablation process, and others after they have collected in pockets within the joint. The ablator aspiration means is typically connected to an external vacuum source that provides suction for bubble evacuation. An illustrative example of an aspirating ablator is described by Carmel, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 7,837,683 issued Nov. 23, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. While Carmel suggests positioning an aspiration port in the center of the active electrode, other aspirating schemes are contemplated. See, for example, the flexible aspirating ablators described in a co-pending application to Van Wyk, U.S. Ser. No. 13/091,584 filed Apr. 21, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
The construction of ablators may be generally separated into two categories: (a) those with simple construction in which the RF energy is conducted to the active electrode by the distally extending structural member, and (b) those with complex construction in which the RF energy is conducted to the active electrode by wires within a tubular distally extending structural member. Examples of simple construction ablators include the monopolar devices marketed by Linvatec, Arthrex and Smith and Nephew. Examples of complex construction ablators include those marketed by Arthrocare, DePuy Mitek, Stryker Corporation (San Jose, Calif.) and the bipolar ablators marketed by Smith and Nephew. All bipolar devices are necessarily categorized as a "complex construction" necessitated by the presence of both active and return electrodes at the vicinity of the electrode distal tip.
Arthroscopic ablators have a distal end construction in which an active electrode is surrounded by a ceramic insulator that covers the active electrode, with the exception of the exposed ablating surface that generally protrudes beyond the insulator a short distance. The axial positioning of the insulator generally is maintained by a flange on the active electrode, the flange typically having a distally facing surface against which the proximal end of the insulator is positioned. The insulator is generally held in place by an adhesive (typically, an epoxy) and/or by a dielectric coating that covers the elongated distal element of the ablator and overlaps the proximal end of the insulator. The dielectric coating is frequently applied as a powder that is then fused to the device by curing at an elevated temperature.
Heat from the ablating arcs heats the active electrode. Indeed, the arcs vaporize portions of the active electrode on which the arcing occurs such that the ablating surface and its features are eroded during use. Heat from the arcs flows into the active electrode raising the temperature of the active electrode and the adjacent insulator. In the case of ablators of simple construction, wherein the insulator is retained on the assembly by an adhesive or polymeric coating, the local elevation of electrode and insulator temperatures may result in the melting or degradation of the adhesive or coating. This is particularly true in the region in which the proximal face of the insulator contacts the flange of the active electrode, as the protruding discontinuity of the active electrode surface at this location tends to result in a concentration of the electric field. High temperatures at this location, combined with the intensified electric field, may cause a premature breakdown of the insulating polymeric coating so that arcing occurs between the underlying electrode at this location and the conductive fluid surrounding the ablator. After initial breakdown of the insulating coating, arcing at the location destroys adjacent coating and the opening in the coating grows. Arcing at this location causes additional heating of the active electrode and insulator frequently leading to catastrophic failure of the coating. This catastrophic failure frequently destroys the bond between the active electrode and the insulator, thereby allowing the insulator to fall off of the assembly into the patient's joint. The high temperature resulting from coating failure may also cause thermal gradients within the insulator that may, in turn, cause it to break apart. As accident reports documented by the database maintained by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) demonstrate, insulator pieces frequently fall into the patient's joint. When the insulator or parts thereof fall into a patient's joint space, the surgeon must retrieve the foreign bodies from the site. This can be easily accomplished if the foreign bodies are ejected into a site where they are visible. However, in many cases, the pieces fall into locations that are hidden from view and the surgeon must do an extensive search, a process that frequently involves bringing an imaging system into the operating room or, in some cases, converting the minimally invasive procedure to a full open surgical procedure. The task of retrieving pieces that fall into the patient body is further complicated by the fact that such pieces cannot be easily detected by various X-ray or fluoroscopy imaging systems. This can cause lengthy delays in the surgery, and in some cases, can result in the insulator or insulator fragments remaining in the body of the patient after the surgery. Obviously, neither of these unintended consequences is desirable.
To prevent failure of the polymeric coating and adhesive, and therefore to increase patient safety by increasing the reliability of electrosurgical devices, it is desirable to use coatings and adhesives with high service temperatures. However, the selected material must also be biocompatible. The dielectric coating that covers the elongate distal member and overlaps the proximal end of the insulator may be applied electrostatically as a powder and cured at elevated temperature or, alternatively, may be a tubular "heat shrink" material, i.e., an extruded polymeric tube that is positioned on the device and then shrunk in place using heat. While a cured powder coating is able to both cover the tube and provide a means for retaining the insulator in position, use of the heat shrink material requires the use of an additional adhesive to retain the insulator in position. If the adhesive fails due to excessive heating during use, the heat shrink tubing provides little retaining force on the insulator, and the insulator is thus easily ejected into the joint. Nevertheless, biocompatible heat-shrink materials are available with high dielectric strengths and service temperatures higher than those of biocompatible powder coatings thereby making the use of heat-shrink materials desirable on electrosurgical devices when possible.
The temperature of the active electrode/insulator assembly may be minimized through efficient dispersal of heat from the active electrode. With non-aspirating electrodes, the heat may be conducted proximally into the elongate member by maximizing the device cross-section proximal to the insulator so as to allow effective heat conduction. In the case of aspirating ablators, the flow through the device may be maximized to provide effective convective cooling of the electrode. The flow is limited, however, by the size of the aspiration port, and cooling of the assembly may be limited by the presence of any dielectric coating on the inside of the aspiration lumen.
A novel means to prevent ejection of an insulator from an electrosurgical ablator into a patient is described in DeCesare et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 7,150,746 issued Dec. 19, 2006. Therein, a flange is provided on the distal portion of the active electrode to prevent the insulator from slipping distally off of the active electrode in the event of coating failure. While this is effective, it requires a unique construction not applicable to all types of ablators, and further requires increasing the size of the device distal end beyond what may be desirable in many applications.
Indeed, it is desirable to make the distal end of an ablator as small as is practically possible so as to minimize the requisite diameter of the introductory canola and thereby minimize trauma to the joint space. Also, ablating tissue in tight spaces like the wrist and elbow requires the use of a small ablator, the smaller sizes affording the surgeon with greater maneuverability in the joint space. Accordingly, the design options for an arthroscopy ablator are limited by thermal concerns and the inability to use mechanical fastening means to affix the insulator to the active electrode except in extremely limited circumstances.
However, the afore-mentioned problems are not unique to arthroscopy ablators. Other medical applications require the construction of electrosurgical devices that are very small in size, yet reliable and safe for the patient. For instance, in the field of urology, in the context of treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a condition commonly referred to as "enlarged prostate", the ablators must be sufficiently small to pass through the lumen of a resectoscope inserted into the urethra of a patient. One such device is by Carmel et al. in WO 2008/039746 published Apr. 3, 2008, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. These resectoscopes generally have lumens measuring less than 0.3 inches (7.5 mm) and accommodate an optic used to view the surgical site as well as the ablator used to treat tissue. As with arthroscopy ablators, the portion of the active electrode element forming the ablating surface is exposed and the rest of the element is covered by an insulator, preferably fabricated of a non-conductive ceramic material. Because the electrode assembly of an ablator used in a resectoscope is mounted to the distal end of two wires of small cross-section, there is little conductive removal of heat from the assembly, and aspiration flow is not present.
Accordingly, the electrode assembly of an electrosurgical device for tissue vaporization and coagulation used with a resectoscope is frequently heated to temperatures higher than those of arthroscopy ablators, beyond the temperature at which polymeric adhesives provide a reliable bond between the active electrode and insulator. Because the assemblies are very small, it is extremely difficult to mechanically affix the insulator to the active electrode, and doing so unacceptably limits design choices. The problem is compounded if the device is bipolar, with the return electrode also mounted to the insulator, or if the device employs a "floating electrode" as described by Carmel in the above-referenced pending application or in the context of U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,563,261 and 7,566,333, issued Jul. 21, 2009 and Jul. 28, 2009, respectively, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Accordingly, there is a significant need in the art to improve the affixation of insulator to electrode in the context of electrosurgical devices, particularly those adapted for the modification, sculpting, resection, removal, or vaporization of tissue, configured for coagulation, cauterization or hemostasis purposes, or utilized for thermal treatment of tumors as well as normal tissues. The process should allow the use of heat-shrink materials for insulating of the elongate distal element and proximal portion of the electrode element. At the same time, there is a significant need in the art for the miniaturization of electrosurgical devices without sacrificing the safety and reliability of the device. This is especially important in the context of ablation devices, since the tendency of many electrosurgical vendors is to employ higher and higher electrical power levels, currently as much as 400 Watt, in order to achieve the desired clinical results.


An electroactive elastomer converter is described comprising at least one electroactive elastomer layer (3) with a top side and underside and an electrically conductive electrode body (1′) that is two-dimensionally connected to the top side at least in regions. An electrically conductive electrode body (1′) is dimensionally connected in at least two regions to the underside. At least one electrode body (1′) in each case has an electrode surface facing the elastomer layer (3). At least one opening (2) is present to which an a two-dimensional region in which there is no two-dimensional bond between the elastomer layer (3) and the electrode body (1′). A compressible medium is provided in the area of the opening.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electroactive elastomer converter that comprises at least one electroactive elastomer layer having a top side and underside, and also an electrically conductive electrode body two-dimensionally connected to the top side at least in regions and an electrically conductive electrode body two-dimensionally connected to the underside at least in regions, wherein at least one electrode body in each case has an electrode surface facing the elastomer layer, and in which at least one opening is present to which a region in which there is no bond between the elastomer layer and the electrode body can be assigned.
Description of the Prior Art
Electroactive elastomer converters provide at least two electrode bodies that are arranged at a distance from each other and are usually of layered construction, between which a layer of dielectric elastomer is inserted, which has exceptional elongation properties, typically of over 300%. Elastomer converters of such kind are very often constructed in the form of a multilayer stacked structure of a plurality of elastomer and electrode layers in an alternating layer sequence. The stacked structure thus contains the elastomer layers of dielectric elastomer material, each in a two-dimensional bond between two electrode layers and which elastomer layers form a capacitive stacked structure. The application of a suitably selected electrical voltage to the electrode layers creates attractive electrostatic forces between the electrode layers, which in turn cause the elastomer layers to be compressed, particularly in the thickness direction. Due to the stacked construction of the converters, the changes in thickness of all of the elastomer layers present in the multilayer stacked structure are added together until they represent a change in the travel path that is useful for actuation purposes. On the other hand, a mechanical deformation of such a multilayer stacked structure in the thickness direction of the individual elastomer layers results in a change in capacitance of the capacitive stacked structure, which is useful for electrical energy generation or an electrical signal pick-up.
Elastomer converters of such kind that function according to the "Maxwell voltage effect" use non-compressible elastomers, which change shape according to their design and elongation properties but retain their tare volume when exposed to compressive forces. In order to match the lateral by orientated lengthwise extending capabilities of elastomer layers within a multilayer stacked structure, the electrode layers, which are each in a two-dimensionally bonded structure with the elastomer layers, have lateral expansion properties.
WO 2007 029275 A1 describes an electroactive polymer based actuator with a stacked structure and having an electroactive polymer in a strip having strip surfaces respectively contacted by a two-dimensionally elastic flat electrode to form a strip-like layer structure that is folded in serpentine form to provide a plurality of layered structure plies arranged one on top of the other in a stack. When an electrical voltage is applied to the flat electrodes, the compressive forces in the direction of the layer thickness act on the individual electroactive polymer layer plies so that the actuator is able to contract in controlled manner in the direction of the layer thickness.
The use of expandable electrode layers for constructing stacked elastomer multilayer converters using synthetic dielectric elastomer layers emerges from an article by Chuc, Nguyen Huu; Park, Jong Kil; Thuy, Doan Vu; Kim, Hyon Seok; Koo, Ja Choon; Lee, Youngkwan et al. (2007): Multi-stacked Artificial Muscle Actuator Based on Synthetic Elastomer. In: Proceedings of the 2007 IEEE/RSJ International, pages 771-776. In particular, the article describes elastomer converter systems with annular or rectangular elastomer and electrode layers.
U.S. Published Application 2007/0114885 A1 describes an elastomer multilayer stacked actuator having thin metal electrode layers. While the electrode layers are not stretchable due to the material they are made from, their corrugated structure enables them to undergo deformation along a preferred spatial axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,110 B1 discloses an elastomer multilayer stacked actuator, as illustrated in FIG. 2G, which provides multiple elastomer layers arranged on top of each other in a stack. Each layer is connected by an adhesive layer incorporating a spatially discontinuous electrode layer for activating the elastomer layers. In this way, the elastomer layers are bounded directly either by the adhesive layer or by the electrode surfaces.
The article by G. Kovac, L. During, S. Michel, G. Terrasi, "Stacked Dielectric Elastomer Actuaro for Tensile Force Transmisson", Sensor and Actuators A 155 (2009), pages 299-307, contains a representative overview of the related art in terms of elastomer stack converters, all of which provide for the use of elastic electrode layers.
By virtue of the two-dimensionally elastic properties of both their elastomer and electrode layers, the known electroactive elastomer converter systems allow relatively large travel paths or changes in layer thickness. However, the dynamic response or operating characteristics of elastomer converters of this kind is limited to the individual layers by their two-dimensionally elastic properties both in the lengthwise elongation and in the direction of thickness. This applies particularly to the frequency range with which it is possible to recover electrical energy or electrical useful signals from mechanical movements, particularly vibrations, using known elastomer converters.

FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.


An electrochemical cell stack comprises a plurality of membrane electrode assemblies interposed between pairs of separator plates. The stack comprises adhesively bonded layers. Preferably each membrane electrode assembly is adhesively bonded to the adjacent pair of separator plates. The adhesive bond between the plate and membrane electrode assembly preferably provides a substantially gas and liquid-tight seal around the perimeter of the electrochemically active area of the membrane electrode assembly and around any fluid manifold openings formed therein. Alternatively, or in addition, adjoining pairs of separator plates in an electrochemical cell stack may be adhesively bonded together. Such pairs of adhesively bonded plates may define cooling spaces between neighboring cells. Stacks comprising a plurality of individual cell modules may be formed, each module comprising a membrane electrode assembly bonded to a pair of separator plates.

The present invention relates to electrochemical energy converters with a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM), such,as fuel cells or electrolyzer cells or stacks of such cells, wherein the cells or stacks comprise adhesively bonded layers.
Electrochemical cells comprising polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) may be operated as fuel cells wherein a fuel and an oxidant are electrochemically converted at the cell electrodes to produce electrical power, or as electrolyzers wherein an external electrical current is passed between the cell electrodes, typically through water, resulting in generation of hydrogen and oxygen at the respective electrodes of the cell.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical design of a conventional electrochemical cell comprising a PEM, and a stack of such cells. Each cell comprises a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) 5 such as that illustrated in an exploded view in FIG. 1a. MEA 5 comprises an ion-conducting PEM layer 2 interposed between two electrode layers 1,3 which are typically porous and electrically conductive, and comprise an electrocatalyst at the interface with the adjacent PEM layer 2 for promoting the desired electrochemical reaction. The electrocatalyst generally defines the electrochemically active area of the cell. The MEA is typically consolidated as a bonded laminated assembly. In an individual cell 10, illustrated in an exploded view in FIG. 1b, an MEA is interposed between a pair of separator plates 11, 12, which are typically fluid impermeable and electrically conductive. The cell separator plates are typically manufactured from non-metals such as graphite or from metals, such as certain grades of steel or surface treated metals, or from electrically conductive plastic composite materials. Fluid flow spaces, such as passages or chambers, are provided between the plate and the adjacent electrode to facilitate access of reactants to the electrodes and removal of products. Such spaces may, for example, be provided by means of spacers between separator plates 11, 12 and corresponding electrodes 1, 3, or by provision of a mesh or porous fluid flow layer between separator plates 11, 12 and corresponding electrodes 1, 3. More commonly channels (not shown) are formed in the face of the separator plate facing the electrode. Separator plates comprising such channels are commonly referred to as fluid flow field plates. In conventional PEM cells, resilient gaskets or seals are typically provided between the faces of the MEA 5 and each separator plate 11, 12 around the perimeter to prevent leakage of fluid reactant and product streams.
Electrochemical cells with a ion-conductive PEM layer, hereinafter called PEM cells, are advantageously stacked to form a stack 100 (see FIG. 1d) comprising a plurality of cells disposed between a pair of end plates 17, 18. A compression mechanism (not shown) is typically employed to hold the cells tightly together, maintain good electrical contact between components and to compress the seals. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1c, each cell 10 comprises a pair of separator plates 11, 12 in a configuration with two separator plates per MEA. Cooling spaces or layers may be provided between some or all of the adjacent pairs of separator plates in the stack assembly. An alternative configuration has a single separator plate or xe2x80x9cbipolar platexe2x80x9d interposed between pairs of MEAs, contacting the cathode of one cell and the anode of the adjacent cell, thus resulting in only one separator plate per MEA in the stack (except for the end cell). The stack may comprises a cooling layer interposed between every few cells of the stack, rather than between each adjacent pair of cells.
The cell elements described have openings 30 formed therein which, in the stacked assembly, align to form fluid manifolds for supply and exhaust of reactants and products and, if cooling spaces are provided, for a cooling medium. Again, resilient gaskets or seals are typically provided between the faces of the MEA 5 and each separator plate 11, 12 around the perimeter of these fluid manifold openings to prevent leakage and intermixing of fluid streams in the operating stack.
In the future it is anticipated that a major area of application for PEM fuel cells will be for electrical power generation in stationary power plants and portable power generation systems, and for propulsion in motor vehicles. For these applications, a PEM fuel cell service life of at least 10 years is desirable. Production costs are important and will play a central role in the successful commercialization of PEM fuel cells for these applications. Other important considerations when designing a PEM cell are simplicity and cost-effectiveness of maintenance and repair.
The present invention relates to improved sealing and construction of individual PEM cells and stacks of such cells. Conventional PEM cell sealing mechanisms generally employ resilient gaskets made of elastomeric materials, which are typically disposed in grooves in the separator plates or MEAs, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,176,966 and 5,284,718. Over the course of an electrochemical cell""s service life the elastomeric gaskets are subjected to prolonged deformation and sometimes a harsh operating environment. Over time such gaskets tend to decrease in resilience, for example due to compression set and chemical degradation, and may become permanently deformed. This impacts negatively on the sealing function and can ultimately lead to an increased incidence of leaks.
With such gasketed plates, the plastic deformation of the plates increases as the full force of pressure on the sealing area of the plate is continuously applied. Moreover, an uneven gasket pressure force distribution along the length of the stack, with a minimum in the center, can be observed in stacks using such a sealing mechanism. Thus, the sealing elements of the cells are typically exposed to higher pressure in the end plate areas in order to guarantee adequate sealing performance in the center cells of the stack. Increased sealing pressure applied to the cells in the end plate areas may then lead to increased plastic deformations and a shorter time to gasket failure.
The assembly of a PEM cell stack which comprises a plurality of PEM cells each having many separate gaskets which must be fitted to or formed on the various components is labor-intensive, costly and generally unsuited to high-volume manufacture due to the multitude of parts and assembly steps required. Further, in the design and manufacture of PEM cells, in order to achieve the desired specifications, such as increased power density, there is a desire to make the individual cell elements thinner. Accordingly, there will be finer dimensional tolerances required for such thin cell elements and it will become more difficult to design gaskets which will maintain high dimensional tolerances, despite the use of highly elastic materials, as even highly elastic materials have a limited elastic deformation range.
With conventional PEM cell designs, it is sometimes difficult to remove and repair an individual cell or to identify or test which cells in a stack may require repair. Furthermore, disassembly of a stack consisting of multiple cells each comprising separate cell components can be very costly as in many instances, after the removal of one cell, the gaskets of all the remaining cells may need to be replaced before the stack can be reassembled and reused.
Another disadvantage of conventional PEM cells arises because the PEM typically projects beyond the edges of the electrodes and cell separator plates around the perimeter and around manifold openings. The projecting portion of the PEM may serve to avoid short circuits between plates, and it typically contacts and cooperates with the gaskets to form the fluid seal between the MEA and separator plates. However, such designs tend to leave the PEM edge exposed to air and/or reactant or coolant streams. Exposure to air or other dry gas streams can cause drying of the PEM beginning from the edge and moving towards the center. Drying of the membrane can lead to permanent damage to the membrane, reduced cell performance and ultimately malfunction of the PEM cells. Exposure of the PEM edge to some coolants and other streams can result in physical and/or chemical damage to the membrane or electrodes.
German Published Patent Application No. DE 44 42 285 describes a PEM cell stack where individual components of the stack are mechanically pressed together with a frame element or clamp of U-shaped cross-section. Specifically, the edge portions of two separator plates are pressed against the membrane, which is disposed between them, to form a gas-tight seal.
European Published Patent Application EP 0 331 128 and related U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,568 disclose a liquid electrolyte fuel cell with a porous electrode substrate which has a sealant material injected into a marginal edge portion thereof.
European Patent 0 122 150 describes a fuel cell stack with liquid, fixed electrolytes. In this stack array, two adjacent, porous and gasbearing plates are bonded or glued together across their entire surface, in a face-to-face bond. The purpose of this arrangement is to keep the gases in the two gas-bearing plates separated from one another.
In European Patent 0 083 937 and related U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,917, individual components of a fuel cell stack are glued together with an adhesive material. The purpose of this arrangement is to solidly join the components to form a stack, and not to reliably seal the gas spaces.
German Published Patent Application No. 19 64 811 discloses a fuel cell stack where the electrodes are attached inside a sectional plastic frame, respectively, and where the sectional frames are glued together in a gas and liquid-tight manner.
An improved electrochemical PEM cell uses an adhesive bonding agent between individual PEM cell components and/or between adjacent PEM cells in a stack. The present approach provides a simplified PEM cell and stack design with a reduced part count, and associated manufacturing and cost benefits. Sealing is generally more reliable with this approach, and embodiments of the present construction may permit easier stack disassembly, testing, repair and maintenance.
In one embodiment, an electrochemical PEM cell comprising a membrane electrode assembly interposed between a pair of separator plates further comprises a substantially gas and liquid impermeable adhesive bond between each separator plate and the MEA in those regions of the cell where sealing is necessary or desirable. Thus, adhesive materials (otherwise commonly referred to as adhesives, bonding agents, glues or cements) are employed to form a seal and bond, for example, around the perimeter of the electrochemically active area of the MEA and around fluid manifold openings formed in the cell elements, while consolidating individual components of the PEM cell into a unitary structural unit. Preferably an adhesive bond, and thereby a seal, is formed between each separator plate and the membrane of the MEA. In the present approach the MEA is firmly bonded or adhered to the separator plates such that force would be required to separate the components. This contrasts with conventional PEM cell elastomeric seals or gaskets which may be attached to one component but are not bonded to both components between which they are forming a seal.
In the MEAs, the polymer electrolyte membrane may extend or protrude beyond the edges of the electrodes or may be coextensive with the electrodes. Either way, in preferred embodiments, the adhesive bonding agent encapsulates edge portions of the polymer electrolyte membrane. Thus, the adhesive bonding agent covers the cross-sectional edge of the membrane in addition to adjacent portions of the membrane""s major surfaces. The adhesive may be impregnated into the porous electrode structure in the edge portions thereof. Besides providing a reliable, gas and liquid-tight bond of the elements, such an arrangement also protects the membrane from drying-out and exposure to the ambient environment and/or fluid streams in an operating cell.
The adhesively bonded electrochemical PEM cells described above may also be stacked or layered to form a PEM cell stack. In such a stack, the anode separator plate of one cell may also serve as the cathode separator plate of an adjacent cell, the bipolar separator plates being adhesively bonded to two MEAs disposed on opposite sides thereof. In this way some of all of the cells in the stack may be adhesively bonded together. Further stack components such as end plates and bus plates may also be adhesively bonded to adjacent components if so desired.
Alternatively the stack may comprise a plurality of stacked individual xe2x80x9cPEM modulesxe2x80x9d, each PEM module comprising a membrane electrode assembly interposed between and adhesively bonded to a pair of separator plates. Stacked PEM modules may be electrically connected in parallel, but are more commonly connected in series through plate-to-plate contact of adjacent modules. The stacked PEM modules are preferably compressed between two end plates in order to maintain good electrical plate-to-plate contact between adjacent modules.
It can be advantageous to build PEM cell stacks comprising a plurality of PEM modules which are not adhesively bonded to each other, as this may allow for easier identification of defective modules and subsequent repair or replacement, as individual modules can be removed and tested without damage to the sealing mechanisms of other cells in the stack.
However, in an alternative embodiment of a stack comprising PEM modules, separator plates of adjacent PEM modules may be adhesively bonded together. They may be bonded across substantially their entire contacting surfaces or, similar to the adhesive bond between the MEA and each separator plate, the separator plates of adjacent modules may be joined with an adhesive around their perimeter and around any fluid manifold openings. The two adjacent separator plates may define a cooling space through which a coolant stream is directed in an operating stack. For example, cooling spaces typically take the form of grooves formed in the surface of at least one of the two adjacent separator plates. The adhesive bond between adjacent separator plates preferably provides a substantially gas and liquid impermeable perimeter seal for the cooling space.
Electrochemical PEM cell stacks comprising cooling layers formed by adhesively bonding pairs of adjacent separator plates may also be used in stacks where the PEM cell MEAs are not adhesively bonded to the separator plates. In this case, conventional sealing mechanisms could be used to seal around the MEAs.
In the embodiments described above, preferred adhesives are physically and chemically stable and compatible with the PEM cell and/or stack components and with the reactant, product and coolant streams, in the cell operating environment. For example, the adhesives used are preferably compatible with the electrocatalyst and polymer electrolyte membrane, particularly if the adhesive will be in direct contact with the membrane and/or electrodes. For contact with the MEA and/or reactants, adhesives which are substantially ion-impermeable, or at least have a low ion permeability, and which are stable in an acidic environment are preferred. The adhesive may form a rigid bond or a resilient bond. The adhesive may be selected to be electrically conductive or electrically insulating depending on the components to be bonded. For example, if the adhesive is forming a plate-to-plate bond between adjacent separator plates or PEM modules in a series connected stack, an electrically conductive adhesive will generally be preferred. However, if the adhesive is encapsulating the edge portion of the membrane and interconnecting the anode and cathode electrodes or plates of a single PEM cell, the adhesive should be electrically insulating to avoid short circuiting the cell. The adhesive is preferably a flow processable or formable liquid or paste, however adhesive films may be used. The following are merely examples of adhesive bonding agents which may be suitable for use in some of the described embodiments:
epoxy resins, such as, for example, 9223-2 (manufacturer: 3M) or AY 105/HY991 (manufacturer: CIBA);
methacrylate resins;
PUR, such as, for example, Araldite 2018 (manufacturer: CIBA); and
ALIPS, such as, for example, FEC2234 (manufacturer: Morton).
The adhesive may be applied to the various PEM cell components using a variety of techniques or processes including, but not limited to, screen printing, dispensing, spraying, roll coating and injection molding.
In any of the embodiments described above the electrochemical PEM cell is preferably a PEM fuel cell or an electrolyzer cell. However, the present approach may be applicable to other types of electrochemical cells such as batteries and methanol/air cells.
Furthermore, the present approach is applicable with practically any cell geometry or configuration such as, for example, square or round embodiments. Moreover, the present approach may also be used in designs where the fluid supply and exhaust manifolds are external manifolds located outside the active cell surface or internal manifolds formed by aligned openings within the electrochemically active area of the cells.

Polymer electrolyte membrane electrochemical fuel cells and stacks with adhesively bonded layers


A method of conducting a Baccarat game incorporating one or more side wagers is disclosed. The side wagers are dependent upon the number of cards dealt during the Baccarat hand and may be incorporated into all types of Baccarat games including Mini and Midi games. Accordingly, players may place wagers on whether 4, 5 or 6 cards will be dealt during the Baccarat hand. In one version, a payout of 3 to 2 is paid on winning wagers dependent on 4 cards being dealt and a payout of 2 to 1 is paid on winning wagers dependent upon 5 and 6 cards being dealt. Importantly, the side wagers do not impact the play of the conventional Baccarat game. While ideal for a live game, the side wagers are also suitable for electronic gaming devices, online and mobile versions.

Baccarat is a popular casino game that is often played by high rollers. However, Baccarat is also offered with table limits appealing to all players. In Baccarat typically 6 or 8 decks of standard playing cards are used. The cards are shuffled and placed in a shoe from which they are dealt during the play of the game. Prior to the deal, each bettor can make one of the following wagers: 1) that the banker hand will win; 2) that the player hand will win; or 3) that the banker hand and the player hand will tie. After all bets are made, two cards are dealt from the shoe to the banker position and two cards are dealt from the shoe to the player position on the table layout. More specifically, the cards are dealt one to the player, one to the banker, one to the player and one to the banker. The cards are turned face up and the value of the banker hand the player hand is determined.
Aces count one; tens and face cards count zero and the other cards count their respective face value. The suits have no meaning. The highest hand value in Baccarat is nine. All hand values range from 0 to 9. If when the cards are added together, the total of the hand exceeds nine, then the hand value is determined by subtracting ten from the total of the hand. For example, a seven and an eight total fifteen, but the hand value is 5. An Ace and a nine total ten, but the hand value is 0. In other words, for two digit values, only the ones digit is used to determine the value. Whichever of the banker hand or the player hand is closest to a total of 9 is the winner.
A two-card hand value of 8 or 9 is known as a "natural" and a two-card total of 0 is known as a "Baccarat." If either the player or the banker hand has a natural on the first two cards, the hand with the highest point total is declared the winner (or the hand is a tie). If neither the player nor the banker hand has a natural, then there is a possibility of a third card draw, as will be explained in detail below. The value of the third card is added to the total of the first two cards to obtain a new value. Again, if the new hand total exceeds 9, the hand value is determined by using the ones digit.
The object of the game of Baccarat is for the bettor to successfully wager on whether the banker hand or the player hand is going to win. The bettor receives even money for his wager if he selects the winning hand or side and loses his wager if he selects the losing hand or side. Because of the rules of play of Baccarat, the banker hand has a slightly higher chance of winning than does the player hand. Therefore, if the bettor wagers on the banker hand, the bettor must pay a 5% commission of the amount the bettor wins. No commission is charged if the bettor successfully wagers on the player hand. The 5% commission is boxed and is paid by the player prior to leaving the table. In other words, rather than paying the commission each time it is due, the house tracks and aggregates the commissions due from each player during the gaming session and the players pay the total amount of commissions before leaving the table.
Winning wagers on the tie hand bet are paid off at 9 to 1 or 8 to 1 odds (depending on the casino). If a tie hand occurs, all wagers on the banker hand and all wagers on the player hand are "pushes" and the amount wagered is returned to the bettor.
Other than the tie wager, which provides a large house edge of 4.8% to 15.75%, the probabilities associated with Baccarat wagers are quite small relative to the normal casino wager. Depending on the number of decks used, banker wagers provide a corresponding house edge of 1.01% to 1.06% and player wagers provide a corresponding house edge of 1.24% to 1.29%. Accordingly, for players to win at Baccarat, they must be on the right side of a streak of outcomes or must get lucky and consistently place the correct wager. In other words, other than the tie wager, the game requires large wagers to accumulate large wins. Moreover, the game can become stale over a long gaming session.
Consequently, there is the need to heighten the excitement level of Baccarat by incorporating additional wagers providing higher returns while maintaining a mutually desirable house edge. That is, the house must continue to have the edge but not at such a high level that the additional wagers are never placed. Moreover, the additional wagers should be optional and have no impact on conventional and well-known Baccarat rules. Additionally, the new wagers must not impact player choices thereby maintaining the integrity of the underlying Baccarat game.


The present invention provides a touch structure and a display panel. The touch structure includes a polarizing layer and a touch layer disposed on a surface of one side of the polarizing layer, wherein a material of the polarizing layer includes a conductive polymer and an iodine molecule.

The present invention relates to the field of display, and in particular, to a touch structure and a display panel.
Due to demand for smart driving, smart home appliances, portable terminals, etc., flexible displays have attracted much attention in recent exhibitions and are considered to be an important development direction for future displays.
Liquid crystal displays or OLED displays have been widely used and widely accepted by market due to advantages of light weight, thinness, and good display effect. However, market demand for thin screens is constantly increasing. In recent years, continuous demands for thickness reduction of whole machines by mobile phone manufacturers have continuously required reduction in thickness of mobile phone screens (TFT-LCD/OLED). A polarizer is one of the main structures of screens, and a thickness of a body of the polarizer is also expected to be increasingly thinner while maintaining normal function, thereby reducing overall thickness of screens.
In this regard, industries continue to develop and reduce the thickness of the polarizer from an initial single piece of about 200 μm to an overall thickness gradually reduced to 100 μm through TAC and PVA structures. Afterwards, polarizer suppliers began to explore to further reduce the thickness by replacing the TAC with a thinner COP material. What's more, by reducing TAC layer, the overall thickness is reduced to about 80 μm. Considering the problems of support strength reduction and reliability, polarizer POL which reduces the TAC layer is mostly used in lower polarizer with anti-reflection film, so that the overall thickness of the upper and lower polarizers can be reduced to about 160 um.
An objective of the present invention is to solve a technical problem that an electrical conductivity of a touch structure in prior display devices is not good.

Wuhan China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Co., Ltd.


Embodiments of methods, apparatuses, devices, and/or systems for heat dissipation are disclosed.

As the circuit density of microelectronic components increases, heat generated by these devices may typically increase as well. Microelectronic components may include, for example, microprocessors, such as central processing units (CPU), graphic processing units (GPU), digital signal processors (DSP); one or more memory devices; one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASIC); and other types of electronic components such as capacitors and/or resistors, as just a few examples. Various techniques may typically be used to remove or dissipate heat generated by a microelectronic component. These techniques may include passive and/or active thermal solutions, for example. One such technique, which may be classified as a passive thermal solution, involves the use of a thermally conductive device in thermal contact with a microelectronic component. This thermally conductive device may comprise a mass of thermally conductive material such as a slug or heat spreader, or may comprise a device configured to enhance convective heat transfer, such as a heat sink. However, techniques for heat dissipation and/or removal may not produce the desired results, and additional techniques and/or devices for dissipating and/or removing heat continue to be desired.

Method and apparatus for heat dissipation


An image capturing device having de-friction function is disclosed. The present invention comprises a substantially rectangular transparent platform, an image sensing module which includes a sensor means and an accomodation base, and a supporting member. A plurality of spherical elements are provided on a first surface of the accomodation base while a "point contact" relation is retained between the spherical elements and the transparent platform in order to reduce the frictional resistance when moving the image sensing module.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capturing device, and more particularly, to an image capturing device which has de-friction function.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An innovative image capturing component, such as contact image sensor (CIS), has been commonly ultilized in nowadays flatbed scanners which structure is illustrated in FIG. 1. The traditional flatbed scanner comprises a transparent platform 10, a CIS module 20, a friction pad 40 and a supporting member 30, wherein the CIS module 20 further includes a CIS 201 and an accomodation base 202, the supporting member 30 further includes a spring 31 and a roller 32.
The CIS module 20 having a contact surface 21 is installed beneath the transparent platform 10, and its contact surface 21 is arranged parallel to the transparent platform 10. The friction pad 40 is provided on each corner of the contact surface 21 and is biased against the transparent platform 10 by an elastic force generated by the spring 31. When a scanning process is triggered, the supporting member 30 is driven by a transmission mechanism (not shown) of the flatbed scanner, and the CIS module 20 moves along the transparent platform 10 so that an image of an object to be scanned can be captured. The function of the friction pad 40 is to retain a fixed gap between the contact surface 21 of the CIS module 20 and the transparent platform 10 so that a correct focus can be secured.
However, since the friction pad 40 is generally in square or round shape, that is, the friction pad 40 ultilized by the CIS module 20 is in a "face contact" with the transparent platform 10, therefore, when the CIS module 20 moves along the transparent platform 10, a greater friction resistance will be generated to the transparent platform 10 by the friction pad 40.

Image capturing device having de-friction function


Methods and systems for making decisions regarding handing off a user-equipment device from a serving base station to a neighboring base station. Base stations in a wireless communication network measure parameters regarding forward-links from the base stations and reverse-links to the base stations. Each base station transmits its measured parameters to its neighboring base station(s). Each base station can determine differences between the parameters it measures and the parameters measured by a neighboring base station. The differences indicate whether the quality of service provided by the serving base station is greater than the quality of service provided by a neighboring base station. The servicing base station transmits the differences to user-equipment devices served by that base station. The user-equipment device compares the differences pertaining to the serving base station and multiple neighboring base stations and selects a neighboring base station to which the user-equipment device is to be handed over.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the elements described in this section are not prior art to the claims and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A user-equipment (UE) device, such as a cellular phone, operating within a first radio frequency (RF) coverage area provided by a base station can be handed over from that base station to a base station providing a second RF coverage area. Handing over the UE device permits a communication session (such as voice call or internet browsing session) occurring via the UE device to continue as the UE device is moved from the first coverage area to the second RF coverage area.
RF signals transmitted from a base station within a coverage area to the wireless UE device can be referred to as forward-link signals. RF signals transmitted from the UE device to the base station can be referred to as reverse-link signals. Handing over the UE device from the first RF coverage area to the second RF coverage area can be based on a forward-link signal.

Methods and systems for using reverse-link measurement parameters for making handoff decisions


An improved inkjet printer ink cartridge is provided having a print head unit and a housing. The print head unit has a head chip in which a nozzle hole is formed to fire ink onto paper, and a flexible circuit board for transceiving signals with a printer system. The housing has a receiving part at the bottom thereof to receive the print head unit, and an ink chamber disposed therein, the receiving part having an ink feed hole including a dam on its circumference, and a secondary dam of the same height as the dam. Accordingly, when attaching the print head unit into the housing print head receiving part, the print head unit is prevented from being slanted. Further, problems from heat stress when an adhesive is heat cured, such as a membrane crack, or a circuit wire or conductive path breaking, are minimized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printer, and more particularly to an ink cartridge having an improved structure, which is mounted in an inkjet printer.
2. Related Art
In general, demand for inkjet printers is increasing since an inkjet printer causes less noise, superior resolution, and is less costly for color representing. The inkjet printer performs printing work by attaching bubbles generated by heating an ink to a printing paper through nozzles. To do this work, the inkjet printer comprises a print head unit having a plurality of fine nozzle holes for firing an ink, and an ink cartridge for storing the ink.
FIG. 1A is a sectional side view of a conventional inkjet cartridge of an inkjet printer, and FIG. 1B is a bottom view of the same.
Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the conventional inkjet cartridge of the inkjet printer comprises a housing 10 having an ink chamber 1 for storing an ink, a print head unit 20 connected to one side of the bottom of the housing 10, and a filter 30 for filtering the ink supplied to the print head unit 20.
The housing 10 is mounted on a cartridge (not shown) of the inkjet printer, and thus moves in association with the cartridge. An ink is ejected from the print head unit 20, thereby forming a desired image. At an inner bottom side of the housing 10, a stand pipe chamber 11 is formed for forming an ink path to supply the ink to the print head unit 20.
Between the stand pipe chamber 11 and the ink chamber 1 is disposed a filter 30 to filter the ink stored in the ink chamber 1 and supply the filtered ink to the stand pipe chamber 11.
A receiving part 15 is formed at the bottom of the housing 10 in which the print head unit 20 is received and fixed by an adhesive 19. At the bottom of the receiving part 15, an ink feed hole 17 is formed for forming the ink path. As a result, the ink is supplied to the print head unit 20 passing through the ink chamber 1, the filter 30, the stand pipe chamber 11, and the ink feed hole 17.
FIGS. 2A and 2C show a partially enlarged view of part 'A' of FIG. 1B. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view along a line II—II of FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2D is a cross-sectional view along a line II′—II′ of FIG. 2C. Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2C, respectively, the ink feed hole 17 is formed either in the center or inclined to one side of the receiving part 15. In order to prevent the adhesive 19 from causing backflow toward the ink feed hole 17 when attaching the print head unit 20 to the receiving part 15, a dam 17a is formed on a circumference of the ink feed hole 17 of the receiving part 15. A thermosetting epoxy for the adhesive 19 is applied in a space between an outer wall 15a of the receiving part 15 and the dam 17a, and a head chip 21 is attached in precise arrangement. The head chip 21 is connected to a flexible circuit board 23 (FIG. 1A), and has a heating element (not shown) and a nozzle hole (not shown).
However, as shown in FIG. 3A, the head chip 21 and a bottom of the receiving part 15 are separated apart by a space S, which causes the head chip 21 to slant when attaching the head chip 21, as shown in FIG. 3B. In addition, the adhesive 19 may flow over the dam 17a to the ink feed hole 17, blocking the nozzle hole or contaminating the ink. Further, the ink drop may be ejected askew rather than vertically with respect to a printing paper. This can result in different arrival distances. Accordingly, an image quality is deteriorated due to the differences of ink dropping positions.
In addition, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, a nozzle unit 21a of the head chip 21, in which the ink flows, is formed as a thin membrane. The print head unit 20 is attached by heat hardening the adhesive 19. At this time, the adhesive 19 is constantly heated more than an hour at high temperature exceeding 100° C. Therefore, the adhesive 19 expands as it is heat-hardened, thereby generating stress that extends to the print head chip 21. Due to the stress, problems usually occur in vulnerably structured print head chips, such as a crack in the membrane, a wire breaking, or breaking of electrically conductive patterns on the chip. Such problems are aggravated when the structure is not symmetrical due to the ink feed hole 17 being inclined to one side of the receiving part 15, or when a sealant is applied broader than the unapplied area, as shown in FIG. 2C. Moreover, the above problems also occur in the multiple color print head unit of a color ink cartridge of FIG. 4B.


A vehicle with a cabin comprises a vehicle body supported by a plurality of wheels; a cabin bracket supported by the vehicle body; an elastic member for supporting the cabin, disposed between the cabin and the cabin bracket; and a weight member attached to a plate-shaped member of the cabin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle with a cabin, in which the cabin is supported by a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
As disclosed in JP 2002-356184, for example, a vehicle with a cabin is known as a conventional technique in which an acoustic absorbent sheet is provided to the floor, the ceiling wall, and other parts of the steering unit of the cabin so as to reduce noise inside the cabin.
In the vehicle with a cabin disclosed in the above reference, a configuration is adopted in which the in-cabin noise is transmitted to an acoustic absorbent material via a plurality of holes formed in the surface of the acoustic absorbent sheet, and noise inside the cabin is reduced through the sound-absorbing effects of the acoustic absorbent material. However, the noise inside the cabin is not reduced by reducing vibration transmitted from the vehicle body to the floor surface, ceiling walls, and other parts of the steering unit. As a result, even when the acoustic absorbent sheet is provided to the floor, ceiling walls, and other parts of the steering unit, not only are the noise-reducing effects minimal for the surface area in which the acoustic absorbent sheet is affixed or provided, but noise inside the cabin cannot be adequately reduced, and noise caused by vibration that is transmitted from the vehicle body to the floor, ceiling walls, and other parts of the steering unit contributes significantly to in-cabin noise, which continues to cause discomfort to the operator.
In the vehicle with a cabin disclosed in the abovementioned reference, a configuration is adopted in which noise inside the cabin is reduced by affixing or providing an acoustic absorbent sheet having a wide surface area over a wide range that includes the floor, ceiling walls, and other parts of the steering unit. As a result, drawbacks occur in that the cost of the acoustic absorbent sheet increases; the manufacturing cost of the vehicle markedly increases; a large amount of time is required to affix or provide the acoustic absorbent sheet to the floor, ceiling walls, and other parts of the steering unit; and the productivity of assembling the vehicle is adversely affected.
Therefore, a reinforcing member, a steel plate for suppressing vibration, or the like may be attached to the floor, ceiling walls, and other parts of the steering unit to reduce vibrations transmitted from the vehicle body to the floor, ceiling walls, and other parts of the steering unit, and to reduce the in-cabin noise that is uncomfortable to the operator. However, when a reinforcing member, a steel plate for suppressing vibration, or the like is attached to the floor, ceiling walls, and other parts of the steering unit, drawbacks occur in that the manufacturing cost of the vehicle markedly increases, and the weight of the vehicle increases in conjunction with attaching the reinforcing member, the steel plate for suppressing vibration, or the like.
As disclosed in JP 8-142776, a soundproofing structure for a vehicle is known as another conventional technique in which an acoustic absorbent material is provided between an inner lining material and a door body so that noise inside the cabin can be reduced by the door.
In the vehicle soundproofing structure according to JP 8-142776, a configuration is adopted in which the acoustic absorbent material is housed inside the inner lining material, noise that penetrates into the door body from the joint or the like between the inner lining material and the door body is transmitted to the acoustic absorbent material, and the noise inside the cabin can be reduced, but the in-cabin noise is absorbed by the inner lining material, and is less likely to be transmitted to the acoustic absorbent material. As a result, the noise that occurs inside the cabin is less likely to be absorbed by the acoustic absorbent material, and there is room for improvements to be made to reduce the noise inside the cabin.


A display, a method of manufacturing the display, and an electronic apparatus are provided. The display includes a resin, a transistor; and a light shielding material positioned between the resin and the transistor. The light shielding material is configured to suppress an incidence of light on the transistor. Light is prevented from entering an oxide semiconductor layer to be used as an active layer so as to suppress deterioration of transistor characteristics.

The present disclosure relates to a display employing a thin film transistor (TFT) in which an active layer is made of an oxide semiconductor and a method of manufacturing the display.
TFTs are widely applied, as a basic technology, to liquid crystal displays, organic EL displays, and the like. Generally, a semiconductor layer serving as an active layer of a TFT is made of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) or poly silicon, but in recent years, oxide semiconductors such as metal oxides which may be formed by inexpensive apparatuses adopting a sputtering method or the like are also used to form such a semiconductor layer. However, if light (especially ultraviolet light of 420 nm or less) is irradiated on a semiconductor layer made of an oxide semiconductor, its TFT characteristics may be varied by photoinduction, or more specifically, its threshold level voltage (Vth) may be shifted to negative (−) direction.
In order to solve this issue, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-115902 discloses a TFT employing a light shielding film provided on the rear face of a substrate. In addition, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-224354 discloses a bottom-gate type TFT employing a light-absorbing layer provided between a gate electrode and an active layer, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-150157 discloses a TFT employing a base material (substrate) made of a material in which transmittance of light having a wavelength shorter than the band gap energy is 10% or less.

Display and method of manufacturing the same


The invention provides an organic electro-luminescence element having improved reliability and light emission characteristics and its manufacturing method. The organic electro-luminescence element can include a first substrate, an anode containing a transparent conductive material, a light emitting layer containing an organic electro-luminescence material, cathodes, each including a metal layer and formed in a portion of a forming region for the light emitting layer, antireflection layers, and at least one of a protection layer and a sealing layer. The anode, light emitting layer, and cathodes are stacked on the first substrate in order, the antireflection layers are stacked corresponding to the cathodes, and the at least one of the protection layer and sealing layer can be formed at least between the cathodes and antireflection layers.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an organic electro-luminescence (EL) element, a method for manufacturing the same, and a display device. More specifically, the invention relates to the configuration of an organic EL element with excellent reliability.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a display device with an organic EL element has been in the spotlight as a selfluminous type display device. It has been thought that the organic EL element itself may be used as, not only a display for representation, but also a frontlight (illumination device) for a nonluminous type display device, such as a reflected type liquid crystal panel. In the case of using an organic EL element as a display for representation, it may be so arranged that a metal electrode used as a cathode is formed on the substrate and users visually recognize through a transparent electrode used as an anode with a light emitting layer interposed between the electrodes. In this case, the cathode can be formed over the entire surface of the substrate without the need for patterning. In contrast, for example, in the case of using an organic EL element as a frontlight for a display device, cathodes each composed of a metal electrode cannot be formed over the entire surface of the substrate, so that cathode patterning is required in order to visually recognize the display.
FIG. 17 is a view showing an example of the basic configuration of a conventional organic EL element used as a frontlight for a display device. The organic EL element 103 is arranged to have a transparent electrode (anode) 117, a hole transport layer 122, a light emitting layer 118 of an organic EL material, and cathodes 121, which are stacked on a glass substrate 116 in order, and further a sealing layer 126 formed so as to cover the resultant substrate and a cover glass 127 formed on the sealing layer. The organic EL element emits light through recombination of holes and electrons in the light emitting layer 118, when holes and electrons are injected into the light emitting layer 118 from positive and negative electrodes.
In the organic EL element 103, in order to enhance an electron injection efficiency of electrons injected from the cathodes 121 into the light emitting layer 118, keep the stability of the cathodes, and ensure the reflectivity, as the cathodes 121 are used multilayered electrodes each composed of an alkaline-earth metal layer 119 of a material with a low work function such as calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), and a metal layer 120 of a material with a higher work function and a high visible light reflectivity such as aluminum (Al) and silver (Ag).

System and methods for providing organic electro-luminescence elements


The present invention relates to methods for modulating bursts of oscillatory brain activity, such as sleep spindles, in a subject. The invention further relates to methods of improving memory or cognitive function in a subject and method of modulating or enhancing the frequency of occurrence, structure, amplitude, and/or synchronization of sleep spindles in a subject by detecting a burst of oscillatory brain activity in the subject and passing an oscillating current through the skull of the subject.

Oscillatory patterns are fundamental to the organization of thalamo-cortical activity and are conserved across species (Buzsaki et al., Neuron 80:751 (2013); Buzsaki et al., Science 304:1926 (2004)). The presence of oscillations at different frequencies is dynamically regulated as a function of overall behavioral state and moment-to-moment fluctuations in cognitive demands (Buzsaki et al., Neuron 80:751 (2013); Buzsaki et al., Science 304:1926 (2004); Harris et al., Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 12:509 (2011); Lee et al., Neuron 76:209 (2012)). The transient occurrence of pronounced rhythmic activity is commonly observed in recordings of cortical network dynamics. However, the causal role of the dynamic occurrence of brain oscillations remains poorly understood. Most prominently, sleep spindles are transient electroencephalograph (EEG) oscillations between 11 and 16 Hz (De Gennaro et al., Sleep Med. Rev. 7:423 (2003); Warby et al., Nat. Methods 11:385 (2014)). The functional role of sleep spindles in cognitive processes has been hypothesized but not yet been directly demonstrated (Fogel et al., Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 35:1154 (2011); Rasch et al., Physiol. Rev. 93:681 (2013)). Besides the issue that the majority of previous studies on the role of sleep spindles are based on correlations between sleep spindles and memory consolidation, the few studies that manipulated sleep using tones, electrical stimulation or pharmacology enhanced sleep spindles as a side effect of enhancing slow oscillations/slow wave sleep (Del Felice et al., Brain Stimulation 8:567 (2015); Marshall et al., Nature 444:610 (2006); Mednick et al., J. Neurosci. 33:4494 (2013); Ngo et al., Neuron 78:545 (2013); Westerberg et al., Neurobiol. Aging 36:2577 (2015)). This fundamental gap in our understanding of these thalamo-cortical oscillations is the result of the lack of a tool to monitor and selectively enhance transient epochs of oscillatory activity in real-time in humans. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) applies a weak electrical current to the scalp and recent evidence demonstrates that tACS is capable of inducing frequency-specific effects on brain dynamics (Boyle et al., In Neural Engineering (NER), 2013 6th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on. (IEEE), pp. 140-143 (2013); Helfrich et al., Curr. Biol. 24:333 (2014); Schmidt et al., Brain Stimul. 7:878 (2014); Vossen et al., Brain Stimul. 8:499 (2015); Herrmann et al., Int. J. Psychophysiol. pii: S0167-8760(15)00033-1. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.02.003. (2015); Herrmann et al., Front. Hum. Neurosci. 7:279 (2013)) and can be used to identify the functional role of brain oscillations in cognition (Herrmann et al., Front. Hum. Neurosci. 7:279 (2013); Fröhlich, Dialogues Clin. Neurosci. 16:93 (2014); Lustenberger et al., Cortex 67:74 (2015); Santarnecchi et al., Curr. Biol. 23:1449 (2013)). Yet no approach to selectively target transient oscillations has been described.
A need exists for effective and specific modulation of brain oscillations such as sleep spindles.

Feedback brain stimulation to enhance sleep spindles, modulate memory and cognitive function, and treat psychiatric and neurological symptoms

THE UNIVERSIIY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL


The invention relates to a clamping device and is designed for releasably clamping a supporting body on which a workpiece can be arranged. The clamping device has a main body with receiving bores each for receiving a clamping bolt of the supporting body. Each clamping body can be moved linearly along the longitudinal axis thereof between a clamping position and a release position. The movement from the release position into the clamping position and/or conversely from the clamping position into the release position can be effected by means of an actuation device. Each clamping body has a clamping end which protrudes into an associated receiving bore in the clamping position. The longitudinal axes of the clamping bodies form a plurality of intersection points in a common projection plane parallel to which the longitudinal axes extend. In a preferred embodiment, at least three or four intersection points are formed. More particularly, four clamping bodies can be present, each with a longitudinal axis, wherein four intersection points are formed, in each of which two of the available longitudinal axes intersect.

The invention refers to a clamping device for clamping a support body. The support body can comprise a holding device for holding a workpiece. With such clamping devices workpieces held on the support body can be clamped in a machine tool with high position accuracy. Particularly, clamping devices can be present in different machining stations or in different machine tools such that a uniform clamping is allowed in all stations or machine tools.
Such a clamping device is, e.g. known from WO 03/039807 A. The clamping device has a base body having an abutment surface and receptacle holes for clamping bolts of the support body. A clamping body having a clamping end and an operating end is assigned to each receptacle hole. The clamping end of each clamping body can act on a clamping bolt arranged in a receptacle hole and thus clamp the support body on the base body.
In an embodiment of the clamping device known from WO 03/039807 A1 the clamping bodies are arranged in pairs respectively and are moved along a common axis in a movement direction between a clamping position and a release position. All of the clamping bodies are supported in a manner to be movable relative to each other in this movement direction. In other embodiments the clamping bodies are arranged such that their longitudinal axis intersect in a common center point. A common hydraulic cylinder or a common rotor with multiple curved surfaces can act on or can move the clamping bodies.
The known clamping device has proven itself. Starting from the prior art it can be considered as object of the present invention to improve the clamping accuracy and to concurrently guarantee a simple configuration of the clamping device.

Clamping device and workpiece holding device with a clamping device


A rinsing tray system for cleaning the pipette tips of a multipipetting device is described. The rinsing tray system substantially comprises a first tray and a second tray below the latter, these two trays communicating via openings which are arranged in the same grid dimension as the pipette tips of a multipipetting device. The openings are made in webs so that the rinsing liquid located in the first tray can flow into the second tray only by means of the pipette tips and not directly. The rinsing tray system according to the invention enables a particularly time-saving and space-saving cleaning of the pipette tips of a multipipetting device.

a) Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a rinsing tray system for cleaning the pipette tips of a multipipetting device.
b) Description of the Related Art
A feature common to all multipipetting devices is that they simultaneously take up liquids into the pipette tips from supply vessels so that these liquids can then be emptied into one or more vessels again, namely, Terasiki plates or microtitration plates, as they are called.
These multipipetting devices mostly operate on the principle of air displacement. That is, e.g., 96 pistons (arranged in an 8.times.12 grid pattern) are moved by a common driving means and generate a vacuum or overpressure in 96 air spaces formed by the piston seal and the pipette tip, so that liquids can be taken up or emptied into the microtitration plates.
The microtitration plates have depressions or wells for receiving liquids, wherein the wells are arranged in an 8.times.12 grid pattern and generally have a distance from center to center of 9 mm.
There are basically two ways of handling microtitration plates. Either the microtitration plate is brought to the pipette tips of the multipipetting device by means of a lifter or the pipette ties along with the entire pipetting arrangement are brought to the microtitration plate.
In a number of cases of application, it is desirable not to exchange the pipette tips of the multipipetting device, but rather to wash them out and clean them with a rinsing agent. Often, this is done by taking up liquid into the pipette tip from a refillable vessel and then emptying it out again into another drop vessel, as it is called. This process is usually repeated several times. The rinsing or cleaning is time-consuming principally because the appropriate vessel must be brought over and then brought back again, and the drop vessel must then be brought over and brought back again. This requires not only a minimum transporting distance corresponding to the dimensions of the vessels, but also necessitates additional space in the device.

OPALJENA Gesellschaft fuer optische Analytik und Labortechnik mbH


A power-on detection circuit is arranged to cooperate with a thermal-voltage generator to determine when predictable circuit operation is achieved. The power-on detection circuit includes a comparator circuit and an inverter circuit. A power-on reset (POR) signal is generated by the inverter circuit, which evaluate an output of the comparator circuit. The comparator circuit includes a differential pair arrangement that is imbalanced with a resistor. The differential pair in the comparator circuit is arranged to determine when the thermal voltage has reached a desired target level by evaluating two points within the thermal-voltage generator circuit. The comparator circuit can have a target level that is below 100% of full operation to improve reliability.

Typical microelectronic systems have various electronic components that often share one or more common biasing circuits. Examples of circuits that have common biasing arrangements include current sources, operational amplifiers, comparators, as well as other various analog and digital functions. The various circuit functions operate in a predictable fashion when the biasing circuits reach steady-state operation. However, stable operation of the various circuit functions can be delayed as a result of start-up transients and other conditions that occur when power is initially applied to the circuit. In digital circuits, it is possible that a digital logic circuit may find a trapped state or other undetermined condition during power-up. Similarly, analog circuits may reach a condition where transistors lock themselves in an off condition during power.
Various power-on detector circuits are used in electronic systems to ensure that a stable operating power-up condition has been achieved. Start-up circuits and power-on reset (POR) circuits can be used to initialize circuits and otherwise stabilize the operating conditions of various circuits. A POR signal is often asserted during an initial power-up sequence until some minimal operational criteria is achieved. Logic initialization problems can be avoided by incorporating reset circuits that are held active while a POR signal is asserted. Also, one or more nodes in various circuits can be initialized to a desired operation condition while the POR signal is asserted. Once the POR signal changes states, the various circuit functions can be presumed to be operating in a predictable fashion.

Power-on detect by measuring thermal voltage


A heat shield for an internal combustion engine exhaust system for supporting a first heat shield plate and a second heat shield plate on a U-shaped exhaust pipe extending from an exhaust port of an engine, via a support member such as band members, and heat shield plate attachment fixtures. The first heat shield plate covers all around a curved section of the U-shaped exhaust pipe in the vicinity of the exhaust port. The second heat shield plate covers an upper part of a straight section of the U-shaped exhaust pipe and extends rearwardly from the curved section. Further, since the exhaust pipe is formed as one piece, the first heat shield plate may be formed as a simple two-part structure using the band members. With this configuration, an effective heat shielding effect can be exhibited, and cost can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat shield for an internal combustion engine exhaust system in which the heat shield can have a simple two-piece structure.
2. Description of Background Art
As a heat shield for an internal combustion engine exhaust system, it is known to divide an exhaust pipe into two parts. For example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho. 54-120277 (paragraph 2, FIG. 4).
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho. 54-120277 will be described in the following. The reference numerals are those used in that document.
FIG. 4 of Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Sho. 54-120277 shows an exhaust pipe in which an outer pipe a and an inner pipe b, that is inserted into the outer pipe a, are welded to a flange 4 at end sections of the respective outer pipe a and inner pipe b, and then curving processing is carried out using a roller 11 of a rotary bender B.
With the related art, the workability for welding the end sections of the outer pipe a and the inner pipe b is poor. Furthermore carrying out the bending processing on the two-part exhaust pipe with good precision requires advanced techniques, which contributes to increased cost.

Heat shield for internal combustion engine exhaust system


The provided forward error correction (FEC) apparatus for a transmission system includes a low pass filter (LPF) passing only a low frequency component of an input signal having a predetermined transmission rate; an AC power meter converting an energy value of an signal output from the LPF into a DC voltage value; a logarithm amplifier converting the exponentially varying DC voltage value from the AC power meter into a linear logarithmically varying DC voltage value; a digital signal processor (DSP) determining the transmission rate of the input signal according to a magnitude of the linear DC voltage value and outputting a control signal according to the transmission rate; a clock generator receiving the control signal and generating a clock signal according to the control signal; and a FEC module receiving the clock signal and performing FEC operation on the received signal. A method for FEC is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for forward error correction (FEC), and more particularly to an apparatus and method for forward error correction that occurs in a variable code length.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to current trend of rapidly growing multimedia demands, the need for a mass storage transmission system is increasing fast. A major role of the mass storage transmission system is performing a FEC (Forward Error Correction) operation, which includes detecting and correcting an error generated during the signal transmission back to an original state. Currently, numerous types of FEC devices have been introduced in the form of a chip. In most conventional FEC devices, the length of overhead added on a payload may be variable in response to an adapted algorithm, so that a line rate (i.e., transmission rate) for carrying out an error correction can be also varied in response to the adapted algorithm. As such, it is impossible to establish a mutual signal exchange protocol between optical networks using the conventional FEC chips.
FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a conventional FEC system used in processing a fixed transmission rate. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional FEC system comprises a pre-amplifier PIN/PreAmp 100, an amplifier (Limiting Amplifier) 110, a FEC (Forward Error Correction) module 120, an EAM-LD 130, a controller 140, and a clock generator (Clock Box) 150. In operation, the pre-amplifier PIN/PreAmp 100 and the amplifier (Limiting Amplifier) 110 amplify input signals to a predetermined signal level, respectively. Then, the FEC module 120 performs a FEC operation on the input signals according to the control signals of the clock generator (Clock Box) 150 and the controller 140. The controller 140 controls the overall operation of the clock generator (Clock Box) 150 and the FEC module 120. The output signal of the FEC module 120 is an error-corrected signal, and the EAM-LD 130 converts the output signal of the FEC module 120 to an optical signal.
The output signals transmitted from the system of FIG. 1 are typically transmitted/received at a predetermined transmission rate. To achieve this, the controller 140 presets the predetermined transmission rate in the clock generator (Clock Box) 150, and the clock generator (Clock Box) 150 generates clock signals corresponding to the predetermined transmission rate. However, as the conventional FEC systems are only operable at a predetermined transmission rate, they cannot recognize a data frame coming at a different transmission rate. According, they must be manually adjusted to the different transmission rate to establish synchronization each time.

Apparatus and method for forward error correction