A recording and/or reproducing device that includes a disc stocker for holding a plurality of disc cartridges in tiers so that each disc cartridge is partially exposed to outside. A transport device selects one of the disc cartridges held by the disc stocker and transports the selected disc cartridge to a recording and/or reproducing unit. The transport device thrusts toward the inside of the disc stocker to initiate the operation of selecting one of the disc cartridges and transporting the selected disc cartridge to the recording and/or reproducing unit. The transport device includes a movably supported movement member and an endless driving belt having a portion lying along a path of movement of the movement member. The endless belt is placed around and fed by a driving pulley member. A follower pulley member is arranged on the movement member and carries the endless driving belt placed therearound. A profiling member is movably mounted on the movement member and moved by rotation of the follower pulley member. A cam member arranged along a path of movement of the movement member limits movement of the profiling member relative to the movement member.

In the conventional disc player, designed and constructed as an auto-changer, a mechanical chassis carrying essential components of the disc player apparatus, such as a spindle motor or an optical pickup, is selectively moved as moved components in one direction, such as downwards, or in the other direction, such as upwards, by a movement device. The mechanical chassis is moved between positions associated with plural recording discs loaded in a stacked fashion within the disc player apparatus and selectively loaded with a recording disc for writing and/or reading information signals on or from the disc.
The movement device may be a lift stage loaded with personnel, vehicles or luggage in general, or a device for lifting a pallet as a moved article, or a so-called elevator or lift.
Such movement device is designed to move the moved article from on extreme position to the other extreme position and to be halted at at least one position between these extreme positions. That is, with the above-mentioned movement device for moving the mechanical chassis of the disc player apparatus, the mechanical chassis is halted at a plurality of positions each facing a recording disc. With the movement device designed as the lift, the lift stage or the pallet is halted at plural positions corresponding to the floor surfaces of the respective stories.
A variety of different types of the movement devices, including those having a horizontally movable plate cam 101, as shown in FIGS. 99 to 103, have hitherto been proposed. The upper edge of the plate cam 101 is designed as an inclined portion generally inclined in one direction having intermediate first to fifth horizontally extending sections 101a, 101b, 101c, 101d and 101e. On the upper edge of the plate cam 101 is set a profiling pin 102 mounted on a moved article. The profiling pin 102 is guided by a vertically extending guide groove 103 so as to be movable only in the vertical direction. The plate cam 101 is movable on the first horizontal section 101a by movement means, not shown, in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the guide groove 103 between a position in which the first horizontal section 101a is in registration with the guide groove 103, as shown in FIG. 10, and a position in which the fifth horizontal section 101e is in registration with the guide groove 103, as shown in FIG. 99.
When the first horizontal section 101a is in registration with the guide groove 103, the profiling pin 102 is set on the first horizontal section 101a and is at a standstill at the lower most position. When set on the second, third or fourth horizontal sections 101b, 101c or 101d, the profiling pin 102 is moved to progressively high positions. By the plate cam 101 being halted at a pre-set position, the profiling pin 102 is set on the upper edge of one of the second to fourth horizontal sections 101b, 101c and 101d and halted thereat. When the fifth horizontal section 101e is at a position registering with the guide groove 103, the profiling pin 102 is set on the fifth horizontal section 101e and hence is halted at the upper most position.
If, with the above-described movement device having the plate cam 101, the profiling pin 102 is to be halted on one of the horizontal sections 101a to 101e, the profiling pin 102 can be halted at a precisely set height, without regard to accuracy in the plate cam halting position, since the upper edges of the horizontal sections 101a to 101e are horizontal, that is parallel to the direction of movement of the plate cam 101.
There is also known a movement device employing a disc-shaped rotary plate cam 104 rotated about a center shaft 105, as shown in FIGS. 104 to 108. The rotary plate cam 104 has an inclined cam surface 104a extending towards its rim. The outer edge portion of the inclined cam surface 104a is generally spirally-shaped and has a plurality of intermediate concentric portions. These concentric portions are in the form of arcs of circles centered about the center shaft 105. On the outer edge of the inclined cam surface 104a is set a profiling pin 102 mounted on the moved article. The profiling pin 102 is movable only in the up-and-down direction by being guided by a guide groove extending in the up-and-down direction with the center shaft 105 as the lower most end. The rotary plate cam 104 is rotated by movement means, not shown, between a rotational position shown in FIG. 108 in which the portion of the inclined cam surface 104a closest to the center shaft 105 is in registration with the guide groove and a rotational position shown in FIG. 104 in which the portion of the inclined cam surface 104a remotest from the center shaft 105 is in registration with the guide groove.
When the rotary plate cam 104 is at the rotational position shown in FIG. 108 in which the portion of the inclined cam surface 104a closest to the center shaft 105 is in registration with the guide groove, the profiling pin 102 is set on the concentric circle and is halted at the lower most position. The profiling pin 102 is moved to progressively higher positions by the rotation of the rotary plate cam 104. When the rotary plate cam 104 is at such a rotational position in which the portion of the inclined cam surface 104a remotest from the center shaft 105 is in registration with the guide groove, as shown in FIG. 104, the profiling pin 102 is halted at the upper most position.
For halting the profiling pin 102 at the respective concentric circles in the movement device having the rotary plate cam 104, since the upper edges of the concentric circles are in the from of arcs of circles centered about the center shaft 105, the profiling pin 102 can be halted at correct height positions without regard to accuracy in the plate cam halting position.
There is also known a movement device shown in FIGS. 109 to 113 which is comprised of a pair of bell cranks 110, 110 and a horizontal rod 130 interconnecting these bell cranks 110, 110 and adapted to lift a moved article 111. Each bell crank 110 has its mid portion rotatably supported with respect to a base 106 by a pivot 107. Each of these bell cranks 110, 110 has its one end rotatably mounted by rotary shafts 109, 109 on the horizontal rod 130 so that the bell cranks will have the same rotational angular position with respect to the base 106. Each bell crank 110 has its opposite end connected via rotary shafts 108, 108 to the moved article 111. Each bell crank 110 has an elongated engagement opening engaged by the rotary shaft 108. The engagement opening is elongated in the direction towards the pivot 107. The rotary shafts 108, 108 are engaged in a pair of guide grooves 112, 112 formed in the base 106, such that the moved article 111 is movable only in the up-and-down direction with respect to the base 106.
With the above movement device, the moved article 111 may be moved between the upper position shown in FIG. 109 and the lower position shown in FIG. 113 via the bell cranks 110, 110 by horizontally shifting the horizontal rod 130.
There is also known a movement device constituted by links 113, 114 and a horizontal rod 115. With such movement device, the moved article 111 and the horizontal rod 115 are interconnected by a pair of elongated links 113. That is, each of the elongated links 113, 113 has its one end rotatably mounted to the moved article 111, while having its other end rotatably mounted on the horizontal rod 115. The horizontal rod 115 is supported by the base 106 for movement only in the horizontal direction. The moved article 111 is movable only in the up-and-down direction by a pair of guide grooves 112, 112 formed in the base 106. The mid portions of the elongated links 113, 113 and the base 106 are interconnected by reduced-length links 114, 114. That is, each of the reduced-length links 114, 114 has its end rotatably mounted on a mid portion of each elongated links 113, 113, while having its opposite end rotatably mounted on the base 106.
With such movement device, the moved article 111 may be lifted via the elongated and educed-length links 113, 113, 114, 114 by horizontally moving the horizontal rod 115.
There is also known a movement device shown in FIGS. 119 to 123 including a pair of rotary links 116, 117 each having its mid portion rotatably supported with respect to the base 106. The rotary links 116, 117 are mounted on the base 106 for rotation by support shafts 128, 129. The one ends of the rotary links 116, 117 are rotatably connected to each other by a connecting shaft 118. That is, the rotary links 116, 117 are formed at one ends thereof with elongated holes 121, 122 each having its long axis extending towards the supporting shafts 128, 129, and are connected to each other by the connecting shaft 118 being passed through these elongated holes 121, 122. The other ends of the rotary links 116, 117 are formed with elongated openings extending towards the supporting shafts 128, 129 and adapted for being passed through by the rotary hafts 129, 130. The rotary shafts 119, 120 are movable only in the up-and-down direction via a pair of guide grooves 112, 112 formed in the base 106.
With the above-described movement device, the moved article 111 may be moved between an upper position shown in FIG. 119 and a lower position shown in FIG. 123 by rotating the rotary links 116, 117 about the support shafts 128, 129.
There is also known a movement device having a Geneva wheel 123 and a rack gear 126 meshing with the Geneva wheel 123, as shown in FIGS. 124 to 136. The geneva wheel 123 is mounted for rotation about the center shaft with respect to the moved article. The Geneva wheel 123 has a pair of engagement pins 124, 125 provided at an interval of 180.degree. via the center shaft. The rack gear 126 has plural grooves 127 arrayed at a pre-set interval and adapted for being engaged by the engagement pins 124, 125, and is fixedly mounted on a base, not shown.
If, with the above movement device, the engagement pins 124, 125 are engaged in the grooves 124, 127, as shown in FIGS. 124, and the Geneva wheel 123 is rotated in one direction as indicated by arrow J in FIG. 124, only the engagement pin 125 is ready to be engaged in the groove 127, while the Geneva wheel 123 is moved relative to the rack gear 126 in a direction corresponding to the rack gear 126. When the Geneva wheel 123 has been rotated through 180.degree. from the initial state, the pins 124, 125 are engaged in the grooves 127, 127, as shown in FIG. 136. The Geneva wheel 123 is moved at this time a distance equal to one pitch of the groove 127 relative to the rack gear 126.
With such movement device, shown in FIGS. 99 to 103, if the angle of inclination or the pressure angle of the cam surface, which is the upper edge of the plate cam 101, is set to within a practical range, the distance of horizontal movement of the plate cam 101 needs to be increased relative to the distance of vertical movement of the profiling pin 102. The result is that the movement device is increased in size.
On the other hand, the movement device shown in FIGS. 104 to 108 is increased in size because the rotary plate cam 104 has a diameter equal to at least twice the distance of movement of the profiling pin 102.
With the movement device shown in FIGS. 109 to 113, it is difficult to control the device for halting the moved article 111 at the pre-set position. If an impact is applied from outside, the risk is high that the moved article 111 be moved under the shock applied thereto. The movement device has a large number of component parts and hence is complicated and difficult to put together.
With the movement device shown in FIGS. 114 to 118, since the distance of movement of the horizontal rod 115 is not proportionate to that of the moved article, it is difficult to control the position of the moved article 111. Aside from the difficulties in halting the moved article 111 at the pre-set position, there is a risk that the moved article 111 be moved under the impact applied from outside. In addition, the movement device also has a large number of component parts and hence is complicated to put together.
With the movement device shown in FIGS. 119 to 123, it is difficult to control the moved article so as to be halted at the pre-set position. In addition, there is a risk that the moved article 111 be moved under the impact applied from outside. Besides, the movement device also has a large number of component parts and hence is complicated to put together.
Furthermore, with the movement device shown in FIGS. 124 to 136, since the Geneva wheel is mounted on the moved article, driving means, such as an electric motor, needs to be provided on the moved article, and hence the moved article becomes complicated in structure. Since a number of Geneva wheels need to be provided on the moved article, it is difficult to synchronize the rotation of the respective Geneva wheels.
There is also known a movement device having a feed screw. Since the feed screw is rotated with the direction of movement of the moved article as its axis, the mechanism for rotating the feed screw become bulky in size. Besides, it is similarly difficult to halt the moved article at a pre-set position.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a movement device which is simple in structure and easy to assemble, and in which, despite the small size of the device, the moved article can be halted with accuracy at a pre-set position and can be positively maintained at the halted position despite the shock applied thereto from outside.
There has also hitherto been proposed a recording and/or reproducing apparatus, as a so-called disc changer device, in which a plurality of disc cartridges, each comprised of a recording disc housed within a cartridge main member, are accommodated, and in which one of these disc cartridges is selected for recording/reproducing information signals on or from the disc cartridge.
With such disc changer apparatus, the disc cartridges are accommodated and held in a disc stocker provided in a casing of the disc changer device.
With such disc changer device, the recording/reproducing unit, having a spindle motor, an optical pickup and so forth, is moved between the positions facing the disc cartridges housed within the disc stocker, for selecting the disc cartridge and loading the selected disc cartridge thereon for recording/reproducing information signals on or from the disc cartridge.
With such recording and/or reproducing apparatus, constituted as a disc changer device, since each disc cartridge is housed within the disc changer device and hence cannot be visually recognized from outside, it is impossible to read indications on an outer surface of the disc cartridge or on the label affixed thereto. These indications are relative to the contents of the information signals recorded on the disc cartridge.
Consequently, if it is desired with such recording and/or reproducing apparatus to confirm the indications concerning the disc cartridge housed therein, it is necessary to take out these disc cartridges out of the apparatus by a laborious operation.
On the other hand, if, with the above-described recording and/or reproducing apparatus, one of the disc cartridges contained therein is selected and loaded on the recording/reproducing unit, it is inconveniently not clear which of the disc cartridges has been selected. Although a device may be annexed for indicating which disc has been selected, such device complicates the structure of the recording/reproducing apparatus.
In addition, it is not possible with such recording and/or reproducing apparatus to exchange a disc cartridge during recording and/or reproduction on or from another disc cartridge, such that it is not possible to effect continuous recording/reproduction.
Furthermore, with the above recording and/or reproducing apparatus, since the disc cartridge is housed in the disc cartridge inserting direction, it is difficult to reduce the size of the disc cartridge along the inserting direction, that is the depth of the disc cartridge.
In view of the foregoing, it is another object of the present invention to provide a recording and/or reproducing apparatus in which each of the disc cartridge loaded thereon may be visually recognized from outside, in which it can be clearly indicated which of the disc cartridges is currently recorded/reproduced, without complicating the structure of the apparatus, the disc cartridge loaded in the recording/reproducing unit can be exchanged for another disc cartridge, and in which the apparatus can be reduced in size along the disc cartridge inserting direction, that is along the depth of the disc cartridge.

Recording and/or reproducing apparatus with disc stocker and transport


A flip-flop circuit includes a data input, a clock input for receiving a clock signal having active edges and inactive edges, a data output, an input circuit, a pulse generator, and a latch. The input circuit sets first and second nodes to different initial logic states in response to an inactive edge of the clock signal, and selectively changes the logic state of either the first node or the second node in response to a pulse input signal to control the state of a third node, such that the selection depends on the logic state of the data input. The pulse generator circuit enables the pulse input signal in response to an active edge of the clock signal, and disables the pulse input signal in response to detecting the change in the initial logic state of either the first node or the second node. The latch stores a data output signal for output at the data output, the data output signal depending on the logic state of the third node.

The present invention relates to flip-flop circuits, and in particular to flip-flop circuits having low set up and hold time characteristics.
Flip-flop circuits are widely used in digital electronic circuits. Examples of conventional flip-flop circuit configurations include D-type, JK-type, and master-slave type devices.
FIG. 1(a) shows the logic diagram of a master-slave type flip-flop 100 comprising a master latch 102 and a slave latch 104. Master latch 102 receives a data input signal DATA_IN on a data input terminal. Slave latch 104 includes a data input coupled to a data output Q1 of master latch 102 and receives a clock input signal CLK1′ which is the complement of clock signal CLK1.
FIG. 1(b) shows the timing diagram of the master-slave type flip-flop 100. On the active edge 110 of clock input signal CLK1, which in this example is a rising edge, the master latch 102 transmits the data input signal DATA_IN to data output terminal Q1 after a time delay representing the propagation delay of the master latch 102. Slave latch 104 ignores changes to data output Q1 until the falling edge 112 of the clock input signal CLK1, which corresponds with the rising edge of inverted clock signal CLK1′.
On the falling edge of the clock input signal CLK1, the data output at data output terminal Q1 is transmitted to output terminal Q as DATA_OUT after a time delay representing the propagation delay of the slave latch 104. The master latch 102 thus latches the data input signal DATA_IN when the clock signal CLK1 is in a first state and the slave latch 104 latches the data output signal from the master latch 102 when the clock signal CLK1 is in a second state.
For a master slave flip-flop 100 to function predictably, data input signal DATA_IN must satisfy two timing constraints, namely, a setup time and a hold time, relative to active edges of clock input signal CLK1. The setup time is the minimum time that data input signal DATA_IN must be held valid prior to an active clock edge. The hold time is the minimum time that data input signal DATA_IN must be held valid after an active clock edge. If either the setup time or hold time requirement is not satisfied, the data output signal DATA_OUT of master-slave type flip-flop 100 is undeterminable and may result in a metastable condition.
Flip-flops circuits with long setup and hold time requirements thus present an obstacle to increasing clock frequency, and therefore to improving the performance of digital circuits. Hence, it is becoming increasingly important to implement flip-flop circuits having relatively low setup and hold time requirements.
Higher speed flip-flops have been created by employing pulse-triggered flip-flops which incorporate pulse-generating circuits for converting a clock signal into a pulse signal having a width less than that of the clock signal. Pulse-triggered circuits may be implemented using a single latch and thus require less area, and lower power requirements as compared to conventional master-slave flip-flops.
FIG. 2(a) shows the logic diagram of a pulse-triggered flip-flop 200 having a data input terminal D1 for receiving data input signal DATA_IN, a clock input terminal, and a data output terminal Q1. Pulse-generation circuit 202 includes a series arrangement 204 of inverters and XNOR gate 206. Clock input signal CLK1 is passed to the input 'A' of XNOR gate 206 and included in a logical XNOR operation with the delayed and inverted data signal at input 'B' of XNOR gate 206.
FIG. 2(b) shows the timing diagram of pulse-generation circuit 202. The output at XNOR gate 206 provides a clock input to register 208 as a pulse signal (PULSE) having a pulse width (W) that depends on the total propagation delay (Tpd) introduced by the inverter arrangement 204.
The total propagation delay (Tpd) provided by the inverter arrangement 204, and thus the width (W) of the pulse signal, depends on the propagation delay of each inverter in the inverter arrangement 204, which in turn is susceptible to process-voltage-temperature (PVT) variations. These PVT related variations lead to stringent setup and hold time requirements which place constraints on the data input signal. The constraints depend on a "worst" case PVT variation and a "best" case PVT variation. For example, for the "worst" case PVT variation, meaning the PVT case where the propagation delay (Tpd) is highest and thus the pulse width (W) is wider, data input signal DATA_IN is required to be held constant for a longer duration. On the other hand, for the "best" case PVT variation, where the propagation delay (Tpd) is lowest and thus the pulse width (W) is narrower, the slew rate of data signal DATA_IN is required to be higher. If either of these conditions are not satisfied, a race condition will occur.
A need exists for a flip-flop circuit that avoids the set up time requirement and provides a reduced hold time requirement.


There is disclosed a laminate comprising (a) a layer of a styrenic polymer having a higher degree of syndiotactic configuration and a crystallinity of at least 25%, preferably 35%, (b) a layer of paper and optionally (c) an adhesive layer and (d) a barrier layer. The above laminate is excellent in heat resistance, hydrolytic resistance, tearability, dead foldability and gloss and can find a wide range of effective application.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laminate. More particularly, it pertains to a laminate excellent in heat resistance, moisture resistance, hydrolytic resistance, tearability, dead foldability and gloss.
2. Description of the Related Arts
There has heretofore been used a laminate comprising a paper and resin as packaging material, release paper for industrial use, ovenable tray, baking carton and the like. Specifical examples of known laminates include a laminate of paper/polyethylene aimed at moisture resistance and heat sealing property, that of paper/polypropylene aimed at oil and chemical resistances and flexibility, that of paper/vinylidene chloride aimed at steam and gas barrier properties, that of paper/cellophane aimed at dead foldability, tearability and gloss, and those of paper/polymethylpentene and paper/polyester each aimed at heat resistance and the like.
In recent years, however, new demands have become greater in addition to the above-mentioned last two items of aims. More specifically, the paper/cellophane laminate is required to solve such problems as the use of a large amount of harmful chemicals during the production of cellophane films, complicated production process thereof by the remarkable variation in physical properties due to the moisture of the film to be obtained and expensive cost of the laminate. The paper/polymethylpentene laminate and paper/polyester laminate each aimed at heat resistance are incapable of enduring the cooking with the latest ovens; the paper/polyester laminate is liable to be hydrolyzed; and the paper/polymer laminate excluding paper/cellophane laminate involves the problem of insufficient dead foldability, that is, the failure to leave dead fold when folded. The solution of the foregoing problems is eagerly desired.
In view of the above-described situations, intensive research and investigation were made by the present inventors on the lamination of a paper and a variety of resins for the purpose of developing a laminate excellent not only in heat resistance, moisture resistance, water resistance and gloss but also in tearability and dead foldability. As a result, it has been discovered that the laminate of a styrenic polymer having a specific configuration and paper combined with each other meets all of the aforestated purposes. The present invention has been accomplished on the basis of the above-mentioned finding and information.


A track fastener apparatus for use with a locking track of the type used to secure a seat or cargo apparatus to the floor of a vehicle. The track fastener includes at least one locking disc sized to fit in a predetermined one of the enlarged openings in the track, and mounted for movement between an unlocked position wherein the locking disc is positioned above the enlarged opening in the track and a locked position wherein the locking disc is positioned in the enlarged openings in the track and engaged by the locking segments of the locking track adjacent the enlarged openings thereby preventing movement of the track fastener along the length of the track. A vertical bore extends through the track fastener housing and communicates with the bottom side of the track fastener housing adjacent the at least one locking disc. A lock actuator is positioned in the bore and operatively connected to the locking disc for moving the locking disc between the locked and unlocked position. The lock actuator includes a cam follower positioned in the bore in fixed relation to the track fastener housing and a cam engaged with the cam follower for translating rotational movement of the lock actuator into vertical movement of the locking disc as the cam is rotated about the cam follower. At least one locking stud is positioned on the track fastener housing to prevent vertical movement in the slot of the locking track when the locking disc is in the locked position and in unlocked relation permitting movement of the track fastener apparatus along the slot of the track when the locking stud is in the unlocked position.

This invention relates to a track fastener apparatus of the type used to anchor seats or cargo to tracks fitted to the floor of a vehicle. The particular embodiment disclosed herein is of a track fastener apparatus for securing an aircraft passenger seating unit to the floor of an aircraft. Therefore the vehicle referred to throughout this application is an aircraft. It is understood that the invention relates as well to other types of vehicles such as trains, buses or the like.
Many aircraft require the capability to be differently configured to meet varying cargo and/or passenger-carrying requirements such as the removal or addition of passenger seats and/or cargo. In addition, aircraft also must have the capability of easily and quickly relocating or reposition seats and/or cargo. It is often necessary in aircraft to change the spacing between seats to increase or decrease the passenger density throughout a portion of or the entire aircraft. For example, it may be necessary to change the density of loading of a particular aircraft from its normal first class and coach density to an all-coach configuration such as might be necessary with charter operations. In addition, some aircraft, particularly those operating on late night schedules, carry both passengers and cargo, the cargo being carried in one or more compartments normally used to carry passengers. In particular, Boeing 747's frequently fly a configuration wherein passengers occupy the fore and midsection compartments, with cargo being carried in the aft compartment.
To provide this capability, the aircraft manufacturers install locking tracks that run fore and aft along the deck of the major compartments of the aircraft. These locking tracks have a slot that runs the entire length of the track along its top side. Enlarged cut-out openings are spaced at regular intervals along the length of the track to receive portions of various types of track fasteners to permit the track fasteners to be positioned along and locked into the track in order to secure passenger seats and/or cargo which is itself secured to the track fastener. These track fasteners are adjustable within the track, thereby permitting the seats and/or cargo to be repositioned or removed.
The tracks and track fasteners are designed with safety as a paramount concern. A seat or cargo container which is not securely locked into the track is subject to sudden movement which can cause injury, structural damage to the aircraft or a substantial change in aircraft balance. The track assembly must be able to safely distribute the load to the track so that an unsafe load is not transmitted through only a few load distribution points in a manner that would cause an unsafe condition. It is also desirable for any track fastener to provide an indication of when the track fastener is properly locked to the track, so that during inspection it can be readily determined whether the track fastener is properly tightened. Any track fastener should also be capable of being easily installed on and removed from the locking track so the seats and/or cargo can be repositioned or removed quickly, safely and with minimal effort.
Attempts have been made in the past to provide the features mentioned above. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,344 discloses an apparatus for indicating when the track fastener is properly locked in the track. This is accomplished by uses of a locking wire that can be pivoted into position after the fastener has been placed in the locked position. However, the locking track fastener requires a separate distinct step in order to properly position the locking wire. In addition, the locking wire may be rotated into its partially locked position and thereby incorrectly indicate to an observer that the locking fastener is in its locked position when in fact it is not. Furthermore, the track fastener disclosed in the '344 Patent has components that engage the track and do not permit the track fastener to be readily moved lengthwise along the track since these portions must be removed from the enlarged areas of the track.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,432 discloses a track fastener in which a locking screw member is positioned in the housing of the track fastener in such a manner that when the track fastener is unlocked, the locking screw member extends above the top side of the track fastener and is therefore clearly visible. However, it is possible to tighten the locking wedge against the top of the track in such a way that the locking screw member does not extend above the top side of the track fastener to the same extent. The seat may seem to be securely fastened to the track, but in fact the seat will come loose quite easily upon even light stress being placed on the seat or track fastener. A cursory inspection, particularly in bad lighting conditions, might lead an inspector to incorrectly conclude that the track fastener is properly locked when in fact is it not. U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,313 discloses a two-position adjustable passenger seating system which includes a means for moving a seat a predetermined distance in fore and aft directions. A lever and a cam follower enables the spacing of the seat to be varied by moving the locking means into and out of release and engaged positions.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,169,091 and 5,178,346 each disclose track fasteners which use a spring-loaded actuator which is positioned in a fully released and easily visible condition unless properly locked. Both require several turns of a screw-thread actuator to move the fastener between locked and unlocked positions.
The invention of the present application provides a considerable additional measure of safety by making it impossible for the locking discs of the track fastener to be tightened to any extent unless the locking discs are properly aligned and positioned in the enlarged openings of the track for which it is intended. The invention also enables the track fastener to be quickly released and relocked with only a single turn or less of the actuator pin, instead of multiple turns required of screw-threaded track fastener locking pins.


Refrigeration process for gas liquefaction which utilizes one or more vaporizing refrigerant cycles to provide refrigeration below about −40° C. and a gas expander cycle to provide refrigeration below about −100° C. Each of these two types of refrigerant systems is utilized in an optimum temperature range which maximizes the efficiency of the particular system. A significant fraction of the total refrigeration power required to liquefy the feed gas (typically more than 5% and often more than 10% of the total) can be consumed by the vaporizing refrigerant cycles. The invention can be implemented in the design of a new liquefaction plant or can be utilized as a retrofit or expansion of an existing plant by adding gas expander refrigeration circuit to the existing plant refrigeration system.  Method for the liquefaction of a feed gas which comprises providing at least a portion of the total refrigeration required to cool and condense the feed gas by utilizing a first refrigeration system comprising at least one recirculating refrigeration circuit, wherein the first refrigeration system utilizes two or more refrigerant components and provides refrigeration in a first temperature range, and a second refrigeration system which provides refrigeration in a second temperature range by work expanding a pressurized gaseous refrigerant stream. Compressed refrigerant in the first refrigeration system may be cooled by refrigeration provided by a third refrigeration system. Compressed refrigerant in the second refrigeration system may be cooled by refrigeration provided by a third refrigeration system. At least a portion of the pressurized gaseous refrigerant stream, prior to work expansion, may be entirely cooled separately from cooling of the feed gas.

The production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is achieved by cooling and condensing a feed gas stream against multiple refrigerant streams provided by recirculating refrigeration systems. Cooling of the natural gas feed is accomplished by various cooling process cycles such as the well-known cascade cycle in which refrigeration is provided by three different refrigerant loops. One such cascade cycle uses methane, ethylene and propane cycles in sequence to produce refrigeration at three different temperature levels. Another well-known refrigeration cycle uses a propane pre-cooled, mixed refrigerant cycle in which a multicomponent refrigerant mixture generates refrigeration over a selected temperature range. The mixed refrigerant can contain hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane, propane, and other light hydrocarbons, and also may contain nitrogen. Versions of this efficient refrigeration system are used in many operating LNG plants around the world.
Another type of refrigeration process for natural gas liquefaction involves the use of a nitrogen expander cycle in which nitrogen gas is first compressed and cooled to ambient conditions with air or water cooling and then is further cooled by counter-current exchange with cold low-pressure nitrogen gas. The cooled nitrogen stream is then work expanded through a turbo-expander to produce a cold low pressure stream. The cold nitrogen gas is used to cool the natural gas feed and the high pressure nitrogen stream. The work produced by the nitrogen expansion can be used to drive a nitrogen booster compressor connected to the shaft of the expander. In this process, the cold expanded nitrogen is used to liquefy the natural gas and also to cool the compressed nitrogen gas in the same heat exchanger. The cooled pressurized nitrogen is further cooled in the work expansion step to provide the cold nitrogen refrigerant.
Refrigeration systems utilizing the expansion of nitrogen-containing refrigerant gas streams have been utilized for small liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities typically used for peak shaving. Such systems are described in papers by K. Müller et al entitled "Natural Gas Liquefaction by an Expansion Turbine Mixture Cycle" in Chemical Economy & Engineering Review, Vol. 8, No. 10 (No. 99), October 1976 and "The Liquefaction of Natural Gas in the Refrigeration Cycle with Expansion Turbine" in Erdöl und Kohie—Erdgas—Petrochemie Brennst-Chem Vol. 27, No. 7, 379-380 (July 1974). Another such system is described in an article entitled "SDG&E: Experience Pays Off for Peak Shaving Pioneer" in Cryogenics & Industrial Gases, September/October 1971, pp. 25-28.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,511,058 describes a LNG production system using a closed loop nitrogen refrigerator with a gas expander or reverse Brayton type cycle. In this process, liquid nitrogen is produced by means of a nitrogen refrigeration loop utilizing two turbo-expanders. The liquid nitrogen produced is further cooled by a dense fluid expander. The natural gas undergoes final cooling by boiling the liquid nitrogen produced from the nitrogen liquefier. Initial cooling of the natural gas is provided by a portion of the cold gaseous nitrogen discharged from the warmer of the two expanders in order to better match cooling curves in the warm end of the heat exchanger. This process is applicable to natural gas streams at sub-critical pressures since the gas is liquefied in a free-draining condenser attached to a phase separator drum.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,768,912 (equivalent to International Patent Publication WO 95/27179) discloses a natural gas liquefaction process which uses nitrogen in a closed loop Brayton type refrigeration cycle. The feed and the high pressure nitrogen can be pre-cooled using a small conventional refrigeration package employing propane, freon, or ammonia absorption cycles. This pre-cooling refrigeration system utilizes about 4% of total power consumed by the nitrogen refrigeration system. The natural gas is then liquefied and sub-cooled to −149° C. using a reverse Brayton or turbo-expander cycle employing two or three expanders arranged in series relative to the cooling natural gas.
A mixed refrigerant system for natural gas liquefaction is described in International Patent Publication WO 96/11370 in which the mixed refrigerant is compressed, partially condensed by an external cooling fluid, and separated into liquid and vapor phases. The resulting vapor is work expanded to provide refrigeration to the cold end of the process and the liquid is sub-cooled and vaporized to provide additional refrigeration.
International Patent Publication WO 97/13109 discloses a discloses a natural gas liquefaction process which uses nitrogen in a closed loop reverse Brayton-type refrigeration cycle. The natural gas at supercritical pressure is cooled against the nitrogen refrigerant, expanded isentropically, and stripped in a fractionating column to remove light components.
The liquefaction of natural gas is very energy-intensive. Improved efficiency of gas liquefaction processes is highly desirable and is the prime objective of new cycles being developed in the gas liquefaction art. The objective of the present invention, as described below and defined by the claims which follow, is to improve liquefaction efficiency by providing two integrated refrigeration systems wherein one of the systems utilizes one or more vaporizing refrigerant cycles to provide refrigeration down to about −100° C. and utilizes a gas expander cycle to provide refrigeration below about −100° C. Various embodiments are described for the application of this improved refrigeration system which enhance the improvements to liquefaction efficiency.

Hybrid cycle for the production of liquefied natural gas


Paintable thermoplastic polyolefin compositions are disclosed which comprise (i) about 20 to about 70 wt % of at least one graft-modified polypropylene, (ii) about 10 to about 40 wt % of at least one nongrafted or graft-modified homogeneously branched linear ethylene polymer, ethylene-propylene monomer rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene monomer rubber, heterogeneously branched linear ethylene polymer, styrene block copolymer, or a combination thereof and (iii) about 5 to about 50 wt % of an interpolymer of ethylene and an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated carbonyl copolymer, e.g. a copolymer of ethylene and acrylic acid. The polypropylene and, optionally the homogeneously branched linear ethylene polymer, ethylene-propylene monomer rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene monomer rubber, heterogeneously branched linear ethylene polymer, and styrene block copolymer are grafted with an unsaturated organic compound containing at least one site of ethylenic unsaturation and at least one carbonyl group, e.g. maleic anhydride. The compositions exhibit excellent paintability with conventional paints without prior application of a primer or surface treatment, good heat resistance, good low temperature impact resistance, and they can be recycled by melt blending the compositions with thermoplastic materials, e.g., in an extruder.

This invention relates to paintable compositions. In one aspect, the invention relates to paintable compositions comprising (a) polypropylene; (b) a homogeneously branched linear ethylene polymer, ethylene-propylene monomer rubber, ethylene-propylene-diene monomer rubber, heterogeneously branched linear ethylene polymer, styrene block copolymer, or combination thereof; and (c) an interpolymer of ethylene and an .alpha.,.beta.-unsaturated carbonyl, in which the polypropylene and optionally the polymer of component (b) are grafted with an unsaturated organic compound containing a carbonyl group, e.g. maleic anhydride. In yet another aspect, the invention relates to articles fabricated from these paintable compositions.
Thermoplastic polyolefins (TPO'S) have many desirable properties, e.g. light weight, durability, low cost, etc., that make them an attractive material of construction for many consumer goods, e.g. interior and exterior automotive parts, decorative fascia for household appliances, and the like. However because of their nonpolar nature, TPOs do not readily accept paint or decorative print. Most paints and inks are polar in nature, and thus require a surface with some degree of polarity before it can adhere to the surface with any degree of desirable fastness.
In the past, this problem has been addressed from a number of different directions. One typical and effective method of applying a paint to a TPO is first to apply a primer to the TPO. Primer materials are typically compositions containing a halogenated polyolefin and an aromatic solvent. While widely recognized as effective, primers are expensive and their application is an extra step in the finishing of the TPO article.
Another effective approach is to subject the surface of a TPO article to a physical or chemical treatment, such as etching with a chemical abrasive or irradiating with a plasma. While generally effective, these methods are more complex in nature than the application of a primer, and thus more difficult to control in terms of quality and consistency from part to part.
Another approach is to modify the physical and/or chemical properties of the TPO either by blending it with other thermoplastic polymers, or by incorporating into one or more polar groups, or both. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,896 to Mitsuno, et al. teaches a paintable TPO comprising 20-80 weight percent (wt %) polypropylene; 5-38 wt % of an ethylene copolymer consisting of ethylene, an ester unit of either alkyl acrylate or methacrylate, and an unsaturated dicarboxylic acid anhydride; and 5-70 wt % ethylene-propylene rubber. U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,391 to Domine, et al. teaches a paintable polyolefin composition comprising a blend of a polyolefin as the continuous phase with an ethylene/acrylate/acrylic acid terpolymer as the discontinuous phase. U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,005 to Aleckner, Jr., et al. teaches paintable TPOs comprising 2-25 wt % of a copolymer of an ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid and ethylene; 3-50 wt % of an ethylene .alpha.,.beta.-olefin copolymer; optionally a crystalline homopolymer or copolymer of propylene; 5-50 wt % of an inorganic filler; and 10-35 wt % of a polyethylene or a copolymer of ethylene and an alpha-olefin. PCT/US93/05363 (Publication No. WO 93/25617) teaches a paintable polyethylene comprising at least 50 wt % polyethylene grafted with at least about 0.01 wt %, based on the weight of the polyethylene, of an unsaturated organic compound containing at least one double bond and at least one functional acid group, e.g. maleic anhydride, and at least one thermoplastic polymer containing polar groups, e.g. polyurethane. Each of these disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.
While these and other modified TPO compositions all demonstrate some degree of efficacy, a continuing interest exists in identifying and developing new paintable TPOS.

Paintable olefinic interpolymer compositions


An electronic device includes a user interface, the user interface being communicably coupled to processing circuitry configured to operate a research browser plugin, the research browser plugin, via the processing circuitry, being configured to determine a user's access permissions to a document, the document being stored at network locations in document versions that are categorized by a predetermined hierarchy. Additionally, the research browser plugin is configured to generate, on the user interface, a one-click control and associate the one-click control with a resource locator (e.g., URL) of a selected document version, the selected version being the highest version in the hierarchy to which the user has access permissions, and retrieve the document associated with the resource locator in response to one-click activation of the one-click control.

The "background" description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.
Typical academic researchers access around 250 journal articles in PDF format each year from a range of different publishers, websites, and other online platforms. Journal content is split between "open"/free content which can be accessed freely without the need for subscriptions and paywalled content which is typically licensed by research institutions on behalf of researchers. Some articles exist in both open (often "preprints" or author "manuscripts") and final published versions (also known as "version of record", VoR, or "published journal article", PJA). Preprints, manuscripts, and the like have typically been uploaded by the authors to "repositories", or databases, or their own personal webpages. Versions of record are professionally typeset, have volume, issue, and page numbers based on where they appear in the journal, and are guaranteed to include the corrections from the peer review process and are so preferable to the "open" versions.
Generally, a researcher seeks a document that has been peer reviewed and published in a research journal. However, not all documents are in such peer-reviewed state and in some cases, the researcher may not have the credentials to access such a peer-reviewed article through a publisher's website. In such cases, the researcher may have to settle on a lesser version, e.g., a preprint or author manuscript located at an open content website. Finding the best version, i.e., a VoR over a preprint or manuscript, can consume costly researcher resources and development of systems that can reduce the expenditure of such resources is ongoing.

Retrieving digital content over a network


The present disclosure discloses an optical fiber welding machine, including a device for butt joint of the optical fiber's core. The said device comprises a base and a number of units with V-shape groove. The base and the units are shaped respectively. The said units are mounted on the base fixedly. Comparing with the traditional overall molding device for butt joint of the optical fiber's core, the disclosed embodiment splits said traditional device, which has complicated structure and high accuracy requirements, into a base and a number of V-shape groove units, thus simplifies the shape of the components, which are shaped respectively, so as to facilitate the purpose of molding mould and shaping components, and then the v-shape groove units are mounted on the base. After completion of assembly, a v-shaped slot is grooved on top of each v-shape groove unit to ensure enough precision. The disclosed embodiment reduces both the mold manufacturing cost and the molding cost of components. It also solves the long-standing problem of precision within the art of manufacturing mold and molding components, and there is a good application prospect. In addition, an electrode gland is included in the optical fiber welding machine. The said gland includes a gland body and a screw connecting the workbench through the gland body, and a rotation unit is set at the top of each screw. The rotation unit protrudes from the gland body.

An optical fiber welding machine is used to connect two optical fiber segments. The two optical fiber segments are placed in V-shape grooves respectively at the same time, and the ends of the fiber segments contact with each other, then a pair of electrodes are putted near the contact point of the fibers, then high voltage is applied on the electrodes to generate arc discharge, and the point of contact is fused by the heat generated by the arc discharge, so as to fuse with the two fiber segments and complete the connection.
First of all, the following problems may exist in the structure of device for butt joint of the optical fiber's core (hereafter referred to as a butt point device or a core device):
As the diameter of the optical fiber is only a few tens of microns, the dust in the air falls into the v-shaped track of fibers easily during working, then the alignment of the fiber is affected, leading to loss of fusion welding. Both devices for butt joint and non-butt joint of the optical fiber's core are adopted in current market, and the device for non-butt joint of the optical fiber's core works inefficiently, and the loss is not stable. Although the device for butt joint of the optical fiber's core is expensive, it has high efficiency, stable loss, more demand of market. Because the butt joint device has complex structure, the cost of integrated mold is higher, and the mold manufacturing and component shaping are difficult. In the existing domestic thermosetting molding technology, the precision of the material and molding equipment, which is used to manufacture the thermosetting mold with high precision, is poor. Meanwhile the dimension stability of raw materials is not enough, which is not conducive to make the components with complex shape and high precision.
Then, electrode plates have the following possible defects:
An electrode is connected to the high voltage power supply equipment, and the tip of the electrode is tapered to ensure it easy to produce arc discharge. The cone shape of electrode tips must be very accurate in order to correctly complete the connection of fine fiber. But after several times of arc discharging, the electrode will wear gradually, thus the shape and the location of the arc discharge will change, and heat is added to wrong location of the optical fiber, leading to that two pieces of fiber cannot be connected to each other normally, may also cause a defect product when it is serious, when the electrode need to be replaced. An electrode is located on the workbench by an electrode gland, and thus the electrode gland must be removed in replacement. Current electrode glands have screws, and fix to the workbench by the screws. When remove the screw, we need to use a special screw wrench to unscrew the screw, and then the electrode gland is removed, the electrode is taken off from the workbench and the replacement is done. When the new electrode is installed, firstly the new electrode must be put on specific location of the workbench, then the electrode gland is placed on the workbench, and then the gland is fixed to the workbench and the new electrode is located by fastening the screw using the special wrench. Due to the small size of the electrode gland screw, special wrenches are needed to be used to tighten or loosen it. It is easy to get the wrench lost in daily work, and it is difficult to find other alternative tools, leading to difficulty to install or remove the electrode gland and replacement, bringing much inconvenience to the work.


A liquid crystal phase shifter, a liquid crystal antenna, a communication apparatus, and a method for operating a liquid crystal phase shifter are provided. The liquid crystal phase shifter includes a microwave transmission structure and a phase adjustment structure opposite to each other, and a liquid crystal layer between the microwave transmission structure and the phase adjustment structure; wherein the phase adjustment structure comprises a plurality of phase adjustment units; the plurality of phase adjustment units are configured to change a dielectric constant of the liquid crystal layer according to a voltage applied to the phase adjustment units and a voltage applied to the microwave transmission structure, so as to adjust a phase of a microwave signal; and phase shift amounts adjusted by the plurality of phase adjustment units are different from each other.

A phase shifter is a device that may change a phase of an electromagnetic wave signal. An ideal phase shifter has a very small insertion loss, and nearly the same loss at different phase states to achieve amplitude balance. The phase shifter may be of an electrically, optically, magnetically, mechanically controlled type, or the like. A basic function of the phase shifter is to change a transmission phase of a microwave signal by means of controlling a bias voltage. The phase shifter may be classified as a digital phase shifter (whose phase shift amount is discretely adjustable) and an analog phase shifter (whose phase shift amount is continuously adjustable). The digital phase shifter is an important component in a phased array antenna, is used for controlling a phase of each signal in an antenna array, and may enable a radiation beam to perform an electrical scan. The digital phase shifter is also often applied to a digital communication system, as a phase modulator.

Liquid crystal phase shifter, method for operating the same, liquid crystal antenna, and communication apparatus


Provided is a compound having at least one selected from the group consisting of cell growth promoting activity, angiogenesis promoting activity, lumen formation promoting activity, cell migration promoting activity, and neurocyte growth promoting activity, which is a chemically stable low-molecular-weight substance that has high absorbability and can be supplied stably at a low cost because of its low molecular weight. A cyclobutyl purine derivative, a tautomer or stereoisomer thereof, or a salt, solvate, or hydrate thereof according to the present invention is a cyclobutyl purine derivative represented by the following general formula (1), a tautomer or stereoisomer thereof, or a salt, solvate, or hydrate thereof.

It is conventionally known that some derivatives having a nucleic acid bound to then four-membered rings have antiviral action. Examples of such derivatives include cyclobutyl purine derivatives (see Patent Documents 1 to 3, for example) and oxetanocin derivatives having a nucleic acid bound to their oxetane rings (see Patent Document 4, for example).
On the other hand, as substances that promote angiogenesis, neurocyte growth, and the like, living organism-derived growth factors such as fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), platelet-derived growth factors (PD-ECGFs), vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs), and nerve growth factors (NGFs) are known. Some of these growth factors are used as active ingredients in wound healing agents, hair growth agents, and the like.

Cyclobutyl purine derivative, angiogenesis promoting agent, lumen formation promoting agent, neurocyte growth promoting agent, and drug

National University Corporation Kagawa University


An improved user premises device enhances the channel change experience. In response to a channel-up or a channel-down command, a currently displayed program is re-sized to fit within a smaller program window. In the display area that is exposed due to the re-sizing of the currently displayed program, additional content such as an advertisement or channel change progress information is displayed. Additional program windows that render snapshots of content from one or more program up and one or more program down may be displayed in windows that are organized in a vertical alignment with the program window of the currently displayed program. The program windows are animated or scrolled in a direction to bring the program window of the user-desired next program in place of the program window of the currently displayed programmed. The program window of the next program is then resized to occupy the entire display.

This patent document relates to presentation of digital video programs and, in one aspect, to user experience during changing program channels.
Digital video delivery systems offer improved video quality over conventional analog video delivery systems and other benefits. User experience in changing program or television channels is an important aspect of the quality parameters in digital video delivery systems. However, channel change times in certain existing digital video delivery systems tend to be slower than channel change times in analog delivery systems.

User interface techniques for television channel changes


A clock deskew method includes receiving a data signal and a clock signal, processing the data signal to generate a jitter characterization parameter, shifting the clock signal by about 90° from the jitter characterization parameter to generate a sampling clock signal, and sampling the data signal with the sampling clock signal to generate a deskewed data signal. A clock deskew unit includes a clock unit, a sampling unit, and a deskew unit. The deskew unit includes a jitter characterization unit that generates a jitter characterization parameter. The jitter characterization parameter establishes a phase location for aligning a clock signal. Shifting the clock signal by about 90° from the phase location of the jitter characterization parameter provides a location for sampling a data signal to generate a deskewed data signal.

Data rates in electronic systems in general and digital systems in particular continue to increase. High data rates leave little margin for error in aligning clock signals to data signals. Alignment errors between clock signals and data signals increase the bit-error-rate (BER) in a system. Systems that have high BERs sometimes retransmit bits that are in error. Unfortunately, the retransmission of bits reduces a system's effective bandwidth.
Skew is any unintended alignment error between signals in a system. Skew has many different sources. For example, mismatches between the lengths of transmission lines that carry clock signals and the lengths of transmission lines that carry data signals can cause skew between the clock signals and the data signals. In another example, mismatched turn-on and turn-off times between the circuits that drive clock signals and the circuits that drive data signals can cause skew between the clock signals and the data signals. Finally, a voltage fluctuation on a bus that supplies power to circuits that generate clock signals or data signals can cause skew between the clock signals and the data signals.
Controlling skew sources is one method of reducing skew between clock signals and data signals. For example, transmission line lengths can be measured and trimmed to match transmission line lengths for clock signals to transmission line lengths for data signals. Circuits that drive clock signals and circuits that drive data signals can be individually selected to have substantially identical electrical properties. Finally, power supply voltages can be filtered and controlled to reduce or eliminate power supply fluctuations. Unfortunately, controlling skew sources is an unsatisfactory method for reducing skew because it is both difficult and expensive.
For these and other reasons there is a need for the present invention.


A developing device including a developing unit configured to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on a latent image bearing member with a developer comprising a toner and a carrier, and a circulation unit configured to collect the developer from the developing unit and return the developer to the developing unit. The circulation unit includes a container including a main body having an inverted cone shape, a supply opening provided in a top thereof, and a discharge opening provided in a bottom thereof, configured to hold a part of the developer and provided on an upstream side from the developing unit relative to a direction of circulation of the developer. The container includes a plurality of agitation members configured to agitate the developer collected from the developing unit and fresh toner so that a plurality of flows of the developer is produced in the container.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present invention generally relate to a developing device employing a stirring mechanism for a two-component developer, and an image forming apparatus including the developing device.
2. Description of the Background
A related-art image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a multifunction printer having two or more of copying, printing, scanning, and facsimile functions, forms a toner image on a recording medium (e.g., a sheet) according to image data using an electrophotographic method. In such a method, for example, a charger charges a surface of an image bearing member (e.g., a photoconductor); an optical scanning device emits a light beam onto the charged surface of the photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor according to the image data; the electrostatic latent image is developed with a developer (e.g., a toner) to form a toner image on the photoconductor; a transfer device transfers the toner image formed on the photoconductor onto a sheet; and a fixing device applies heat and pressure to the sheet bearing the toner image to fix the toner image onto the sheet. The sheet bearing the fixed toner image is then discharged from the image forming apparatus.
In such an image forming apparatus, either a one-component developer consisting essentially of a toner (e.g., magnetic toner and non-magnetic toner) or a two-component developer including a toner and a carrier which carries the toner is used for development.
The toner, when agitated and mixed into the carrier, is frictionally charged so as to be electrostatically attracted to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor. Thus, the toner is consumed during development whereas the carrier is not.
A typical developing device, which holds the developer, generally includes a developing sleeve, configured to form a magnetic brush of the developer on a surface thereof and to supply the developer to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor, and an agitator sleeve, configured to supply agitated developer to the developing sleeve. Developer in which the toner has been consumed in the development of the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor is collected and returned to the developing device.
Consumption of the toner included in the developer causes a decrease in image density, and therefore fresh toner needs to be supplied to the developer. The fresh toner may be supplied from above a conveyance screw including a screw auger serving as the agitator sleeve, or from an edge of a rotation shaft of the conveyance screw.
The fresh toner is supplied to the developer based on developer density detected by a toner density sensor or the like, in amounts controlled by controlling a rotation of a supply member configured to supply the fresh toner stored in a toner supply unit. When the fresh toner is poured into the developer in a developer tank, the fresh toner and a carrier are agitated by the conveyance screw provided in the vicinity of the supply member so that the developer is frictionally charged. As a result, the developer having a predetermined or desired charge is supplied to the developing sleeve.
Published unexamined Japanese patent application No. (hereinafter referred to as JP-A) 2001-188408 discloses a developing device including a screw auger configured to agitate a developer to frictionally charge the developer as described above. JP-A 11-143196 discloses a developing device in which an agitating unit provided separately from a developing unit at a position where a developer is circulated agitates collected developer and supplied toner so that the resultant developer is frictionally charged. Japanese Patent No. (hereinafter referred to as JP) 3734096 discloses a developing device in which an agitating unit provided separately from a developing unit includes a screw auger configured to move a developer upward.
In general, the supplied toner is dispersed throughout the developer, and the developer is frictionally charged by being agitated by rotation of the screw auger for a short time until the developer thus prepared is conveyed to the developing sleeve. Consequently, the degree of mixing depends in part on the amounts supplied. Thus, when a larger amount of toner is supplied to the developer, the toner may not be dispersed sufficiently in the developer in the brief time allotted for agitation, and consequently, the toner may not be charged sufficiently when discharged from the developer tank. As a result, weakly charged toner could reach the developing sleeve, fouling of a surface of the photoconductor and scattering over peripheral components, thereby degrading image quality.
When the screw auger described above is used, only that developer which contacts the screw auger itself is agitated, as is the case when using a stirring paddle. Consequently, the supplied toner may not be sufficiently dispersed in the developer and reliably charged in the developer tank.
One possible method for solving the above-described problem is to increase a rotation speed of the screw auger to cause the toner to contact the carrier more frequently so that a predetermined or desired charge is reliably applied to the developer. However, the screw auger driving system may be damaged due to the increased transfer resistance to the developer when the developer is agitated. Moreover, the toner may be damaged due to increased force of impact on the developer and heat caused by increased friction, increasing stress on the developer.

Developing device including a stirring mechanism for a two-component developer and image forming apparatus including same


A semiconductor structure and a scheme for forming a layer of amorphous material on a semiconductor substrate are provided. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor structure is provided comprising an amorphous alloy formed over at least a portion of a semiconductor substrate. The amorphous alloy comprises amorphous aluminum nitride (AlN) and amorphous gallium nitride (GaN). The amorphous alloy may be characterized by the following formula:

This invention was made with government support under Contract No. N00014-96-1-0782 awarded by Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. The Government has certain rights in this invention.
The present invention relates to an improved semiconductor material and a method of its production. More specifically the present invention relates to an amorphous semiconductor alloy including aluminum and gallium and to a method of production that allows for convenient band gap engineering of the alloy and for deposition of the alloy on a variety of vacuum compatible materials.
Crystalline GaN, AlGaAs, GaAs, and InGaP have enjoyed success in a number of electronic and optical applications. For example, light emitting diodes formed of AlGaAs, GaAs, and InGaP have been proposed using epitaxial crystal growth techniques, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,928. UV detectors formed of crystalline AlxGa1xe2x88x92xN are proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,248. The present invention is partially based upon the recognition that the success of these crystalline semiconductor materials is limited by the various processes for their production because these processes necessarily incorporate specific steps to preserve the crystalline state of the semiconductor material.
For example a typical semiconductor deposition scheme is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,271, where solid layer semiconductor compositions are deposited by simultaneously sputtering and discharge reacting materials and depositing the materials on a heated substrate. The substrate is typically heated above 300xc2x0 C. to provide polycrystalline growth and typically to above 500xc2x0 C. to provide highly oriented, epitaxial growth. Higher temperatures may be needed for epitaxial growth on silicon substrates. The present inventors have recognized that these particular heating steps limit the availability of economical electronic and optical devices including conventional crystalline materials. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved semiconductor material and a more versatile method of depositing such a semiconductor material.
This need is met by the present invention wherein a semiconductor structure and a scheme for engineering a band gap of an amorphous material and forming a layer of the amorphous material on a semiconductor substrate are provided. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor structure is provided comprising an amorphous alloy formed over at least a portion of a semiconductor substrate. The amorphous alloy comprises aluminum nitride (AlN) and gallium nitride (GaN) and may be characterized by a band gap between about 3 eV and about 6 eV. The amorphous alloy may be characterized by the following formula:
AlxGa1xe2x88x92xN
where x is a value greater than zero and less than one.
The amorphous alloy may further comprise indium nitride and may be characterized by a band gap between about 2 eV and about 6 eV. A dopant may be incorporated into the amorphous alloy. The dopant may comprise a rare earth element or, more specifically, a rare earth luminescent center.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method of forming a layer of amorphous material on a semiconductor substrate is provided. The method comprising the steps of: (i) positioning the semiconductor substrate in a reactive sputter deposition chamber of a reactive sputtering system including at least one sputter target containing aluminum and gallium; (ii) introducing a nitrogen gas into the sputter deposition chamber; (iii) operating the sputtering system to promote reaction of aluminum and gallium from the sputter target and nitrogen from the gas in the sputter deposition chamber; (iv) maintaining the semiconductor substrate at a deposition temperature selected to promote growth of an amorphous aluminum gallium nitride alloy on the semiconductor substrate; and (v) further operating the sputtering system so as to designate relative proportions of aluminum and gallium in the amorphous aluminum gallium nitride alloy.
The sputter target may comprise a single integrated common target, a pair of discrete target portions, where one of the target portions contains aluminum and the other of the target portions contains gallium, or a pair of targets, where one of the targets contains aluminum and the other of the targets contains gallium. The method may further comprise the step of varying the relative proportions of aluminum and gallium in the amorphous aluminum gallium nitride alloy so as to selectively control a band gap of the alloy.
The sputter target may further include indium and the method may further comprise the steps of: (i) operating the sputtering system to promote reaction of aluminum, gallium, and indium from the sputter target and nitrogen from the gas in the sputter deposition chamber; (ii) maintaining the semiconductor substrate at a deposition temperature selected to promote growth of an amorphous indium aluminum gallium nitride alloy on the semiconductor substrate; and (iii) operating the sputtering system so as to designate relative proportions of indium, aluminum, and gallium in the amorphous aluminum gallium nitride alloy.
The method may further comprise the step of introducing a dopant into the amorphous alloy. The dopant may comprise a rare earth element or, more specifically, a rare earth luminescent center.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor material is provided comprising an amorphous alloy including amorphous aluminum nitride (AlN) and amorphous gallium nitride (GaN). The amorphous alloy may further include amorphous indium nitride.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved semiconductor structure and a convenient scheme for forming a layer of amorphous material on a semiconductor substrate. Other objects of the present invention will be apparent in light of the description of the invention embodied herein.

Band gap engineering of amorphous Al-Ga-N alloys

Abstract: where x is a value greater than zero and less than one. The amorphous alloy may further comprise indium nitride. Relative proportions of aluminum and gallium in the amorphous aluminum gallium nitride alloy are controlled to engineer the band gap of the amorphous alloy.


A centralizer includes a centralizer body to be situated at the outer surface of a pipe string in the form of casing, liner, or the like used while drilling, the centralizer body being formed with a plurality of outer centralizer blades arranged in an inclined manner to the longitudinal axis thereof, wherein the centralizer body has an separate split inner tube secured to the pipe string by means of a press fit, and low friction inner surface of the centralizer body and separate center tube facing each other are made from low friction material.

Several different centralizers exist on the market today wherein most of them have been designed for traditional casing and liner running and are not intended for drilling operations using the same.
When running casing or liner into a borehole the centralizers are used to improve cementing operations and also to reduce friction during such operations. If drilling with centralizers, the centralizer should also protect the pipe string from wear. Low rotational and running friction becomes increasingly important as horizontal displacement increases and drilling with liner and casing develop into a common technique.
Current technologies have a wide assortment of designs and components but the challenges of drilling with centralizers on the pipe string have not been properly considered during construction. This means that current equipment available on the market may cause friction forces between the casing and the borehole which are too high for a drilling application, even with the use of centralizers. The current equipment may also induce concern regarding the wear and integrity of a rotatable pipe string over time.
To be able to meet future well construction demands, there is a need for a centralizer which:                gives low rotational and sliding resistance;        protects the pipe string from external wear;        facilitates tripping, i.e. running a drill string into or pulling it out of a borehole;        can sustain long periods of rotation with flow; and        is robust enough to prevent possibility of junk in the borehole.
The providers of centralizers also provide stop collars for locking the centralizers in place. Most of the current products are fastened to the pipe string by a number of bolts or screws through the stop collar body, biting into the surface of the pipe to lock the collars in place to prevent movement.
Recent testing has revealed that existing stop collars have weaknesses and might slide out of position downhole. This is particularly true when used in a liner- or casing-drilling application.
An extended amount of rotation is experienced during drilling operations with a casing or liner. The current means are not designed with drilling in mind and there is a high risk of the stop collars loosing their grip on the casing and starting to move. This causes the centralizers to shift position, which would disrupt the pipe string structure and also have a potential for damaging the pipe string integrity, e.g. with respect to burst and collapse, as the bolts of a loose stop collar can scrape into the outer surface of the pipe string at each rotation. A need exists for an improved design which can                secure a centraliser in place        reduce wear on end portion of centraliser        minimise friction between stop collar and centraliser        remove risk of reduced casing integrity from protruding bolts


A receive and/or transmit microwave planar array antenna is of the multiplate stack type comprising a plurality of slot radiating elements disposed along the rows and the columns of a matrix. The basic stack comprises three ground plates incorporating openings and two independent excitation circuit planes, enabling transmission or reception of two inclined beams. At least two other excitation circuit planes are provided so that each beam can additionally have dual polarization. The excitation circuits are microstrips, coplanar waveguides, dipole lines, of the loop or slot type, or a combination of such lines. Two consecutive lines are oriented at 90.degree. to each other. Applications include individual reception from two geostationary television satellites.

1. Field of the invention
The invention concerns a planar microwave receive and/or transmit array antenna.
It is more particularly concerned with a dual polarization and dual beam antenna.
It also concerns the application of an antenna of this kind to individual reception from two geostationary television satellites, also known as DTH (Direct To Home) satellites, for example in the X band (12.1 GHz).
2. Description of the Prior art
It is clear that dual beam antennas are highly beneficial in many applications such as reception from two satellites in different orbital positions. This applies to pairs of satellites such as ASTRA and TELECOM, ASTRA and EUTELSAT, etc.
The standard technique uses parabolic antennas having two receive heads offset relative to the focusing point, each adapted to receive one of the beams. It is also possible to use motorized parabolic antennas enabling reception from two or more satellites, but these are of higher cost.
This type of antenna is naturally large, even if the high radiated power of recent satellites has made it possible to reduce the overall dimensions significantly. The esthetics of such antennas have also been criticized.
An interesting alternative to this type of antenna could be planar array antennas, essentially based on multilayer printed circuit boards, and more particularly antennas of the slot radiating element type.
However, despite considerable research and development effort, there are as yet no dual beam and dual polarization planar antennas for consumer applications of the above type that are both economical and suitable for mass production.
Furthermore, this type of antenna must have a high efficiency and a wide bandwidth to cover the bandwidth of the satellites to be received (typically 20% of the combined bandwidth).
Many planar antennas have been proposed. However, these are either projects that did not get beyond the laboratory stage (experimental antennas) or antennas for professional use, for example for radar applications.
There follows a non-exhaustive list of such antennas:
An experimental radial line dual beam type planar antenna is proposed in the article by Jun-Ichi Takada et al: "A Dual Beam-Polarized Radial Line Slot Antenna" published in "IEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium", 1993, pages 1624-1627. However, this antenna provides only one polarization per beam. It should also be noted that a radial line antenna provides only a narrow bandwidth (less than 5% of the combined bandwidth). Furthermore, the structure adopted has inherent tight manufacturing constraints, even in a single beam version. The problems are naturally more severe in a dual beam version.
Inclined beams for array type antennas can be generated by feeding the radiating elements of such antennas with signals having a progressive phase-shift to match the phase differences of the inclined wave received by each radiating element.
This phase-shift can be obtained in the circuit feeding the array by many methods, for example using phase-shifters, delay lines, etc. These methods are well known in the context of radar or space transmission applications.
In the case of fixed beam passive arrays, the phase-shift can be obtained by appropriate modification of the length of the feed lines, as described, for example, in "Handbook of Microstrip Antennas", R. P. OWENS, J. R. James Hall, P. S. Hall, IEE, Vol. II, 1989, Peter Peregrinus, London, pages 825-843 and 856-866 (see more particularly (figure 14.9).
For multiple beams, a plurality of radiating element phase excitations are required, using beam forming networks. Blass or Butler matrices may be used for this, for example.
These methods are relatively simple to implement in the case of linear arrays, but not in the case of planar two-dimensional arrays. It becomes very difficult to lay out the required circuits, feed lines, power dividers, hybrid circuits, etc, especially when there are hundreds of radiating elements, as in large size array antennas suitable for receiving from direct broadcast television satellites. These components have to be inserted between the radiating elements.
Moreover, in this type of application the series feeds described in the aforementioned book (figure 14.33) are not suitable anyway since the bandwidth is limited for large size arrays.
Other types of feed have been proposed, for example in European patent application EP-A-0 252 779 (Emmanuel RAMMOS), more particularly with reference to figure 16. The structure described (length of the excitation line and the output connectors) provides a large bandwidth. However, the antenna described provides dual polarization or a dual beam but not both at once.
Finally, the combination of series feeds and matrices or hybrid circuits is also possible. One such combination is disclosed in the aforementioned book, more particularly with reference to figure 14.35, but it does not provide sufficient bandwidth for the preferred application of the invention. What is more, it is in practise restricted to relatively small arrays.
One possible solution, meeting all the requirements of the preferred application of the invention and solving all the problems that have been raised, would be to implement transitions between the radiating elements and multilayer feed arrays. This technique has been used in the case of generation of dual polarization for vertical transition arrays. It is described in the aforementioned book, with reference to figure 14.32.
However, it should be noted that transition radiating elements are in practise ruled out for antennas for receiving from direct broadcast television satellites. They have a narrow bandwidth, require the use of high-performance dielectric materials and imply very tight manufacturing tolerances. Even in the case of dual polarization at only two levels, feed transition arrays are not suitable for an antenna for receiving from satellites. Arrays of this kind have not been marketed. A fortiori, at the manufacturing stage, this type of transition array is not compatible with multilayer feeds, without having recourse to vertical transitions, soldering, etc, which are highly complex and costly.
The teachings that can be drawn from prior art antennas and studies we have carried out show that, realistically, an antenna for "consumer" requirements must be derived in a simple manner from an existing planar antenna design. It must additionally offer a dual beam and dual polarization reception facility for it to be applied to receiving from direct broadcast television satellites. More generally, it must offer a transmit and/or receive capability having this two-fold property for less specific applications.
An object of the invention is therefore to provide an antenna of the aforementioned type, compatible with all the stated requirements, in particular low manufacturing cost, easy manufacture with no need to comply with tight tolerances, high efficiency and large bandwidth. It additionally offers the two-fold property just referred to.
To this end, the antenna of the invention retains most of the features of the structure adopted for prior art planar antennas, advantageously those of the antenna described in the previously mentioned European patent application EP-A-0 252 779.
This latter antenna, in an embodiment with provision for dual polarization, comprises slot radiating elements. To this end, a stack of three metal ground plates is provided, having openings and a pair of suspended printed circuit technology microstrips. The microstrips are disposed between the ground plates, one for the vertical polarization and the other for the horizontal polarization.
As described in detail hereinafter, to achieve the object of the invention it is sufficient to add to this basic structure a pair of feed circuits, one on top of the sandwich formed by the aforementioned three plates and the other under it.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention each pair of microstrips (or more generally transmission lines) has the dual polarization facility.
By virtue of these arrangements, the antenna of the invention has a dual beam and dual polarization receive and/or transmit capability enabling it to receive from and/or transmit to two different directions an electromagnetic signal having two different polarizations.

Planar microwave receive and/or transmit array antenna and application thereof to reception from geostationary television satellites


Embodiments of the present invention provide an efficient and cost-effective implementation of a method and system for increasing the frame-display rate of a video display device. Video data is often input to a video-display device in a compressed form that includes encoded and compressed motion vectors. The motion vectors provide information about portions of successive video frames which change in relative position. The motion vectors are decompressed and decoded along with the frames. In certain embodiments of the present invention, a first frame and an accompanying motion-vector table are transmitted from a processing component to a timing-controller component of a video-display device, using which the timing-controller component can generate a second frame that is displayed following display of the first frame.

Motion pictures, broadcast television programs, and videos rendered on video-display devices provide to a viewer the illusion of continuous motion by rapidly displaying a sequence of still images. The still images are referred to as "frames." When a sufficient number of frames are displayed per second, the human visual system fills in the time gaps between successive frames to create the illusion of continuous motion. Motion pictures display 24 frames per second, with a 1/30 second interval between frames, analog television displays 30 frames per second, or, equivalents, 60 interleaving fields per second, and future high-definition television ("HDTV") standards are expected to specify a frame-display rate of 60 frames per second.
While, in general, the illusion of continuous motion generated by display of a sequence of still frames allows humans to watch and enjoy motion pictures and television broadcasts, the illusion of continuous motion provided by motion pictures and television broadcasts is not perfect. Certain artifacts and annoyances arise from the discontinuous nature of motion pictures, television, and video display, collectively referred to as "video display" in this document. One exemplary artifact is that, in television broadcast of old western movies, the wheels on covered wagons and carriages occasionally appear to move backwards when the carriages and covered wagons are moving forward and the rotation of the wheels, in revolutions per second, is slightly slower than the frame capture rate of the motion-picture camera. An example of an annoyance that arises from the discrete nature of video display is the perceptible flicker of cathode-ray-tube-based television displays and computer monitors.
As video-display devices have improved, over the years, and evolved from analog devices to digital devices, video-display devices have become capable of providing higher display rates, including display rates that are higher than the frame-capture rates at which video frame are recorded and transmitted through various broadcast and electronic or optical data-transmission media. Increased display rates generally provide a better illusion of continuous motion with fewer artifacts and annoyances. However, implementations of video-display devices capable of these higher frame-display rates may be substantially more complex and expensive. For this reason, designers and manufacturers of various types of video-display devices strive to increase frame display rates while minimizing increases in hardware complexity and implementation cost.

Method and system for increasing frame-display rate

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.