Systems and methods for distributing load of an energy plant are disclosed herein. A target load of at least a first device and a second device of the energy plant is obtained. A first power consumption of the first device and the second device predicted to result from operating the first device and the second device according to a first combination of set points to satisfy the target load is predicted. A second power consumption of the first device and the second device predicted to result from operating the first device and the second device according to a second combination of set points to satisfy the target load is predicted. The first power consumption and the second power consumption are compared, and a combination of set points rendering lower power consumption is selected to operate the energy plant.

The present disclosure relates generally to the operation of a central plant for serving building thermal energy loads. The present disclosure relates more particularly to systems and methods for distributing loads of subplants in a central plant.
A heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system (also referred to as "a central plant" or "an energy plant" herein) may include various types of equipment configured to serve the thermal energy loads of a building or building campus. For example, a central plant may include HVAC devices such as heaters, chillers, heat recovery chillers, cooling towers, or other types of equipment configured to provide heating or cooling for the building. Some central plants include thermal energy storage configured to store the thermal energy produced by the central plant for later use.
A central plant may consume resources from a utility (e.g., electricity, water, natural gas, etc.) to heat or cool a working fluid (e.g., water, glycol, etc.) that is circulated to the building or stored for later use to provide heating or cooling for the building. Fluid conduits typically deliver the heated or chilled fluid to air handlers located on the rooftop of the building or to individual floors or zones of the building. The air handlers push air past heat exchangers (e.g., heating coils or cooling coils) through which the working fluid flows to provide heating or cooling for the air. The working fluid then returns to the central plant to receive further heating or cooling and the cycle continues.
Controlling the central plant includes distributing the thermal energy loads of HVAC devices, and operating the HVAC devices according to the distributed thermal energy loads. One approach of distributing thermal energy loads includes identifying HVAC devices in a common branch, and splitting thermal energy load evenly for the HVAC devices in the common branch. However, distributing the thermal energy load evenly may not render an efficient solution (e.g., power efficiency).

Building control based on uneven load distribution


A downhole tool, having a central axis defined, may selectively include a sensor section including one or more arms connected to the tool body with an open/close mechanism. The open/close mechanism is configured to move in a radial direction with respect to the axis of the tool body. The tool also includes at least one sensor attached to the arm, and the tool may include at least one transmitter section on the tool. The transmitter is configured to transmit acoustic energy to a formation.

In oilfield exploration and production operations, various logging techniques are employed to characterize and explore downhole formations. For example, in monopole, dipole or other multi-pole sonic logging, the measurement is usually taken with an array of sensors distributed circumferentially and axially along a tool body. These sensors each receive a signal sent from a transmitter. The transmitter can be located on a different section of the tool or on the surface. The transmitter sends the signal through the formation to the sensors in the tool.
The radial distance between opposite sensors distributed uniformly circumferentially is used as a fundamental parameter to determine the sensitivity of the measurement. The radial distance is determined by the diameter of the circle that the sensors form at a given tool axial location. Non-axis symmetry modes, such as dipole and quadrupole modes, are particularly sensitive to this parameter. A dipole field is generated by two opposite polarity sources a fixed distance apart. In this context, the magnitude of the dipole field propagating along the borehole can be measured with pairs of sensors located on opposite sides of the tool. Similarly, a quadrupole field involves four polarity sources, and in this context the magnitude of the quadrupole field involves four sensors equally spaced along the circumference of the circle that the sensors form at a given axial location.
An important factor determining the quality of the measured fields is noise suppression. Noise is generally unwanted. For instance noise may be generated due to direct interaction between tool hardware and borehole wall, or other random occurrences in the borehole in which this noise may be perceived by the sensors when measuring. Road noise suppression by both hardware design and processing are key challenges of tool configuration. Such noise generated by tool hardware tapping the borehole wall propagates inside of borehole often been seen as coherent energy wave as if it is signal comes through formation. Noise is typically minimized by avoiding tool from direct contact from borehole while measurement is in progress. Noise can also be suppressed through filtering and data processing means. For example, a dipole source transmits at a specific frequency, depends on borehole size and formation velocity, in sonic logging typically within 0.3 to 5 kilohertz, and the sensor then records all frequencies. However, because expected frequency and energy propagation mode is known, other signals of other frequencies and propagation mode can be filtered out during processing.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a typical variation of a peak amplitude of a dipole pressure field 130 across a borehole is shown. In this figure, the sensor locations of the circumferentially distributed sensors 120 are shown centered about the tool axis 100 and positioned away from the borehole wall 110. As can be seen, the amplitude of the dipole pressure field 130 drops when moving from a borehole wall 110 to the center of the borehole.
Referring now to FIG. 2, another variation of a dipole peak amplitude of a dipole pressure field 230 across a borehole is shown. With the same radial positioning of the sensors 220 about the tool axis 200, as with FIG. 1, and a larger borehole diameter, the distance between the sensors 220 and the borehole wall 210 is increased. As stated previously, the dipole pressure field 230 decreases when moving from the borehole wall 210 to the center of the borehole 200. Larger borehole diameters usually exist at the top of the well. As such, the formation shear speed is typically much slower than the mud speed. These conditions lead to the amplitude of a dipole pressure field dropping more rapidly moving from the borehole wall 210 to the center of the borehole 200.
Current wireline tools usually have an outer diameter smaller than four inches (making the radial distance between sensors even less). This limited radial separation of the sensors makes sonic logging difficult in large boreholes, especially at the top of the well. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the smaller tool diameter to borehole diameter ratio results in smaller signals at the sensor locations. Additionally, it may be difficult to keep the tool centered in large diameter boreholes, in which tool eccentering may result in mode contamination of the received signal. For example, if the tool is centered in the borehole, a dipole logging signal may be obtained by subtracting the signals from two diametrically opposite sensors at a tool axial location. If the tool is eccentered, the subtraction will result in a certain amount of monopole signal. These "leaked" monopoles, typically known as Stoneley signals, hinder an accurate extraction of the formation shear speed from the recorded signal. Further, if more than two circumferential sensors are used to obtain the dipole pressure field, the mode "leakage" can be exacerbated.
A transmitter source is also typically constrained to fit within the outer diameter of the tool. As a result, a large portion of the acoustic energy excited by the transmitter may be lost in the mud surrounding the tool and within the casing, and thereby not exciting the borehole modes of interest. Like the sensor assembly, centering the transmitter source along the borehole axis may be difficult. Firing an eccentered transmitter generates unwanted modes. For example an eccentered dipole transmitter will excite a dipole field but will also excite monopole and other multi-pole fields in the borehole. Those unwanted modes make it harder to extract the originally wanted signal which is to be used to extract information on the rock. As such, there exists a need for a downhole tool to improve upon current tool eccentering and data accuracy.


Disclosed are compositions and methods for the treatment of fibrosis. Also disclosed are methods of screening for agents that treat fibrosis.

Scleroderma is a debilitating disease characterized by immune system activation and autoimmunity, small-vessel vasculopathy, and fibrosis of the skin, lungs and other organs. It affects approximately 100,000 people in the US, mostly women. The major cause of morbidity and mortality in scleroderma is pulmonary fibrosis (55,56), i.e. the excessive accumulation in the lungs of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, particularly collagen. The cell type most frequently associated with fibrosis is the myofibroblast. Myofibroblasts are fibroblasts that exhibit certain muscle-like properties: they are contractile and they contain the marker protein α-smooth muscle actin (ASMA) (5). There are few myofibroblasts in normal lung tissue. In contrast, there are many more fibroblasts in fibrotic lung tissue than in normal tissue. Many of these fibroblasts are myofibroblasts, and collagen deposition in fibrotic lung tissue routinely occurs at sites rich in myofibroblasts. Thus it is clear that these cells play a key role in the genesis of fibrotic lesions.

Method of treating fibrosis in a subject in need thereof comprising administering a composition comprising a CSD


The present invention is intended to provide a working machine allowing to form a large opening angle of an equipment cover while avoiding an obstacle even existing in front thereof. A rotating base is installed on a travelling machine body which includes right and left travelling devices, wherein an operation seat and vehicle equipment are arranged in the right and left, an equipment cover for covering the vehicle equipment is openably and closably provided, and a front lower portion of the equipment cover is pivotally supported on the rotating base via a lateral shaft. The lateral shaft of the equipment cover is inclined rearward from one end which is positioned in a side of the operation seat to the other end which is positioned in a side of a side portion of the rotating base.

As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A2008-231698, in a conventional working machine such as a back hoe, a rotating base is disposed on a travelling machine body which includes right and left travelling devices, an engine is disposed in a rear portion of the rotating base, a working device performing an excavation work is attached to a front portion, an operation seat and vehicle equipment are respectively allocated to be disposed in a frontward left side and a right side of the engine on the rotating base, and an equipment cover covering the vehicle equipment is openably and closably provided.
In this working machine, a front lower portion of the equipment cover is pivotally supported on the rotating base about a lateral axis, and when the equipment cover is opened, the rear portion is to be largely protruded upward or frontward of the front portion.


Techniques for switching an optical element from one path to another, where each path has high dimensional stability in a harsh thermal and dynamic environment, are disclosed. In one particular embodiment, the optic is mounted on a rotable platform. A spring mechanism preloads the platform against a hard stop, thereby providing accurate and repeatable placement of the optic in its deployed position. The motor's actuator arm is the only element whose position is sensed, allowing the switching system to work without requiring highly precise position feedback. In the stowed position, the spring mechanism operates as a firm tension cable, thereby securing the optic out of the laser beam path.

Lasers are employed in a number of applications, including both commercial and military applications. In general, lasers provide a highly precise mechanism to communicate information (e.g., control signals or targeting information) from one point to another. The distance between the points may be a short distance (e.g., closed box applications) or a great distance (e.g., laser guided targeting applications). Optics are used in conjunction with the laser, so as to control the path which the laser beam follows. Thus, precision aiming of the laser beam is enabled.
In many applications, controlling the laser beam so that it remains on its intended path is not trivial, particularly those applications where the laser system is subjected to harsh thermal and dynamic environments. The slightest deviation from the desired beam path can render a laser system unreliable for its intended purpose. The optics must therefore operate to continuously adjust to ensure beam accuracy. In addition, where the laser beam is switchable between two or more paths, the switching scheme must be highly repeatable (e.g., within one milliradian) so as to prevent inconsistencies associated with the paths.
There are a number of existing mechanisms that enable highly repeatable laser switching schemes, such as stepper driven or motion controlled brushless DC driven single axis stages, over-center toggle mechanisms driven by snap action solenoids, low backlash driven mechanisms using highly accurate feedback from a sensor such as an optical encoder or Eddy current sensor, or a single axis linear stepper motor for directly positioning the optic on a moving platen (armature). Each of these mechanisms is associated with a number of disadvantages.
For example, stepper motors and motion controlled brushless DC motors require considerable electronic and mechanical hardware to control motion. Such motor based schemes are typically appropriate when controlled contouring motion is required, but are overkill for point to point applications where low cost, small size, and low complexity are required. In addition, these methods allow sensing of the motor axis motion, which when performed, still requires a close to zero backlash connection between the motor and optic, thereby increasing cost and complexity.
Since small solenoids cannot be continuously energized without direct cooling, solenoid driven mechanisms used in small systems in harsh environments usually involve push-pull arrangements requiring two coils, coupled to an over-center toggle mechanism. Alternatively, there are two solenoids, with one for actuating and the other for locking the device. This is often acceptable when the device being moved is of extremely low mass. However, if the object has a relatively large mass, then the solenoid driven mechanism must be of sufficient size to accomplish placement and holding. Furthermore, such a solenoid driven mechanism employs "snap action" by definition. Oftentimes, however, no dashpot or other damping mechanism is allowed due to cleanliness requirements in the optical compartment.
Optical encoders are typically big and expensive. In addition, an appropriate encoder for closed box applications associated with high mass devices would be linear, and would sense the actual optic (or its mount) position. In harsh environments, maintaining optic/mount in a precise position may be difficult or untenable. An Eddy current sensor would sufficiently sense final position of the optic or mount, but such sensors are extremely expensive. Moreover, a scheme would have to be devised to hold the position of the optic in a harsh thermal and dynamic environment. Linear steppers are also expensive, and require separate motion control apparatus.
What is needed, therefore, are low cost and complexity techniques for causing a laser beam, to switch from one path to another, where each path has high dimensional stability in a harsh thermal and dynamic environment.

Bae Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration INC


Method and apparatus for a bidirectional transceiver cell is described. Each bidirectional transceiver cell has a transmitter and a receiver, where the transmitter and the receiver share a phase-locked loop. The bidirectional transceiver cell is configured to act as either a transmitter or a receiver. The bidirectional transceiver cell is for multi-gigabit data rates.

Use of current-mode logic ("CML") technology is becoming increasingly popular for high-speed communication, especially point-to-point communication. CML is especially attractive in applications with communication rates equal to or in excess of a gigabit per second. However, CML interfaces heretofore have had dedicated data paths. For example, a CML interface conventionally includes a plurality of cells. Of those cells, each cell included dedicated circuitry, where some of the cells were receivers and others of the cells were transmitters. Thus, each cell of a CML interface was either a transmitter-only cell or a receiver-only cell as determined by the manufacturer of the integrated circuit containing such cells. However, this inflexibility not only imposes application design constraints, it further requires dedicated phase locking circuitry, such as a phase-locked loop ("PLL") for each of the cells. Thus, if there were 64 cells, there would be 64 or more separate PLLs.
Accordingly, it would be both desirable and useful to provide an interface cell that overcomes one or more of the above-mentioned limitations associated with prior interface cells.


A sheet loading apparatus includes an ejecting unit for ejecting sheets from an image forming apparatus onto a tray, a non-contact distance measuring unit disposed on the tray to measure the distance between the upper surface of the sheet bundle on the tray and a predetermined position, a lifting unit for vertically shifting the tray, and a unit for performing sheet loading abnormality detection on the tray, vertical shift control for the tray, sheet presence/absence detection on the tray, and sheet loading amount detection on the tray in accordance with the distance measuring result of the distance measuring unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet loading apparatus having a means for measuring the distance from sheets on a tray.
2. Related Background Art
Some conventional image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and laser printers have post-processing apparatuses for performing post-processing such as sheet binding. In such a post-processing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 46, a tray 103 serving as a sheet table is mounted on a vertically movable tray shift table 102, and a sheet level detecting sensor 105 for detecting that the number of sheets S ejected to the tray 103 has reached a predetermined number is arranged on an upper swinging guide 88.
The sheet level detecting sensor 105 comprises a pivotal lever 106 having an axially supported upper end portion and resting in contact with the sheets S loaded on the tray 103, and a photosensor 107 for outputting a predetermined signal upon pivotal shifting of the lever 106 by a predetermined angle. The lever 106 gradually pivots upward as the number of sheets S loaded on the tray 103 increases. For this reason, whether the distance between the upper surface of the uppermost one of the sheets S and a sheet ejecting port 50 has reached a predetermined value can be detected.
In the conventional apparatus, however, since the sheet bundle height on the tray is detected using the lever, the distance between the sheet ejecting port and the upper surface of the uppermost sheet cannot be kept at a fixed distance that depends on the lever position, and the sheet loadability is limited. In addition, since the lever extends over the tray, a plurality of trays cannot be mounted or changed.
The trailing end of a sheet which is caught at the ejecting unit is often kept bent due to the differences in the type of sheet to be ejected, ejecting speed, and the like (see FIG. 47). The conventional apparatus described above cannot detect this bent state.
The sheet whose trailing end is caught and kept bent at the ejecting unit may be pushed by the next sheet to drop from the tray and scatter.

Sheet loading apparatus having means for measuring distance from sheet on tray


A cover for an airbag module of an air bag restraint system is formed by a single door which is mounted in front of the air bag module about horizontal pivots, the horizontal pivots are disposed on an axis positioned intermediate of the horizontal edges of the door, so that upon opening of the door a portion of the door will move to the air bag module side of the pivot axis thereby reducing the extent to which the door extends to the other side of the pivot axis when open, fastening means being provided to maintain the door in its closed position, until a predetermined load is applied thereto upon expansion of the air bag.

The present invention relates to improvements in and relating to air bag restraint systems.
In air bag restraint systems, the air bags are located behind covers formed in trim panels, so that upon inflation of the air bag, the bag will burst through the cover and be deployed in front of the occupant of the vehicle.
It is desirable that upon inflation of the air bag, the parts of the burst cover will remain attached to the trim panel, so that they will not fly off and cause possible injury to the occupants of the vehicle. Furthermore, it is important that the burst parts of the cover do not intrude significantly into the passenger compartment as this again may present a hazard to the occupants, during a collision.
Hitherto, it has been proposed to form the cover from a pair of horizontally hinged doors, one door hinged along its upper edge and the other along its lower edge, a frangible seam being provided between the two doors which upon inflation of the bag will fracture to permit the doors to open by pivoting along their hinges. According to one form of construction proposed, an aluminium pressing defines the frangible seam and hinge formations for the doors, suitable facia panels being applied to the aluminium pressing. However, due to the necessarily weakened nature of the frangible seam and hinge formations, the aluminium pressing forms a frail construction and requires supporting jigs during application of the trim facia and installation into the vehicle.
Furthermore, the formation of the cover from a pair of doors requires a trim finisher to cover the central seam which places restraints upon the final appearance of the facia.


Methods and apparatus are provided which generate an error signal if a sensor is either anticipated to fail or fails. At least two sensors provide input signals having magnitudes that approximately correspond to a sensed event. A processor calculates an actual correlation error for the two signals. A processor then further calculates an estimated new correlation value based on the difference of a stored initial correlation value and the actual correlation error. After a predetermined number of estimated correlation values are calculated, the error signal is generated if the difference between an estimated correlation value and the actual correlation error exceeds a predetermined threshold.

Many kinds of mechanical equipment utilize electrical sensors to provide signals for measuring parameters or identifying physical events. More particularly, modern internal combustion engines utilize Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) to adjust the fuel injectors, the engine spark and the amount of airflow through an intake manifold to an intake port of the engine in response to sensor monitored operator variations of the throttle. Such ETC systems provide advantages such as reduced costs, improved simplicity, engine noise reduction, throttle command conditioning for emissions reduction, and/or torque based control functions.
Operator adjustment of the throttle or accelerator is typically accomplished through the use of an accelerator input mechanism, such as a foot pedal, joystick, hand pedal, lever or track ball. The input mechanism is mechanically coupled to sensors that in turn provide control signals having magnitudes indicative of the accelerator position to an ETC microprocessor. In response, the microprocessor generates additional electrical control signals for enabling the hardware of the vehicle engine to provide the operating level indicated by the accelerator.
Multiple input sensors are utilized to sense a particular parameter such as the amount of accelerator depression to improve sensing reliability. Redundancies in the accelerator sensors and associated hardware have become standard in ETC systems with the multiple sensors being processed to ensure secure pedal and throttle signals. Failure or deterioration of any of such sensors can possibly result in inconsistent or inaccurate throttle control. Thus, prior art ETC systems monitor the condition of the accelerator sensors so that corrective action can be taken if a sensor is failing or has failed. The corrective action can include the initiation of a "limp home" mode which results in a dash board warning light indication, reduced vehicle acceleration capability and an immediate trip to a repair facility.
"Correlation Error" is a function of the difference in the instantaneous magnitudes of the control signals from a pair of the foregoing sensors. Some prior art ETC systems monitor and store the correlation error of such sensors only when the accelerator pedal is released, for instance. Thus, a correlation error for these sensors is learned only at one accelerator position such as at idle when the throttle is closed. As a result, only the one correlation error value is monitored by such prior art systems to determine ETC accelerator pedal sensor reliability.
In view of the foregoing, it should be appreciated that it is desirable to provide methods and apparatus for improving the detection and notification that a sensor is failing or has failed. It is desirable to anticipate that a sensor is failing so that corrective action can be taken prior to the performance of the sensor degrading a predetermined amount that results in the previously mentioned undesirable "limp home" operation, for instance. In addition, it is desirable to provide methods and apparatus for learning sensor variations over time and for multiple input mechanism positions to allow the manufacturing tolerances for the sensing system to be less restrictive thus permitting a lower system cost. Furthermore, additional desirable features will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the foregoing background of the invention and the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments and the appended claims.

Methods and apparatus for determining the condition of a sensor and identifying the failure thereof


An antenna having a high gain, of small-size, and capable of setting the radiation direction of electromagnetic waves in a desired direction. The antenna also allows electromagnetic waves to be radiated stably. The antenna has a first planar conductor shaped like a flat plate. Disposed on the first planar conductor is a bar-shaped dielectric strip having one end connected to a waveguide or a transmission circuit and the other end being an open end which does not reach the position of openings in a second covering planar conductor. The end surface of the open end of the dielectric strip is shaped like a flat surface, and a column-shaped dielectric resonator is disposed at the open end side on the extension axis of the dielectric strip. A surrounding member is provided around the side of the dielectric resonator so as to surround it with a space therebetween. Further, a second planar conductor is disposed so as to cover the top surfaces of the dielectric strip, the dielectric resonator and the surrounding member. The second planar conductor has two rectangular-shaped openings above the dielectric resonator so as to be parallel to the extension axis along the length direction of the dielectric strip and to a line symmetry of the strip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna and, more particularly, to an NRD guide (nonradiative dielectric waveguide) antenna in the millimeter-wave band used for collision prevention apparatus of automobiles, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Antennas used in a conventional millimeter-wave band NRD guide and shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Shown in FIG. 8 are planar conductors 71 and 72. A dielectric strip 73 is interposed between the conductors 71 and 72, forming an NRD guide. Further, one end of the NRD guide is connected to a transmit-receive circuit (not shown), and the dielectric strip 73 projects from between the conductors 71 and 72, thus forming an antenna 74. The antenna 74 constructed in this way radiates electromagnetic waves along the direction of the length of the dielectric strip 73.
Shown in FIG. 9 is a dielectric strip 81. Planar conductors 83 and 84 are mounted on the top surface and under surface of the dielectric strip 81, respectively, thus forming an NRD guide. Notches 81a through which electromagnetic waves radiate are formed along the horizontal direction (along the X-axis direction in FIG. 9) of the dielectric strip 81. A coaxial line 82 for supplying power is mounted on the side of one end portion of the dielectric strip 81. Further, a plurality of openings 85 are formed in the conductor 83 on the top surface in such a manner as to be parallel to the direction of the length (along the Y-axis direction in FIG. 9) of the dielectric strip 81, thus forming a plane antenna 86.
From the plane antenna 86 constructed as described above, electromagnetic waves are radiated from the dielectric strip 81 in the horizontal direction (in the X-axis direction in FIG. 9), and when openings 85 are formed in the conductor 83 at intervals of one wavelength thereof, electromagnetic waves are radiated via the openings 85 in the vertical direction (in the Z-axis direction in FIG. 9) of the plane antenna 86.
However, in the above-described conventional antenna 74, the radiation direction of electromagnetic waves is only in the direction of the length of the dielectric strip 73. Therefore, if the antenna 74 is used in a collision prevention apparatus of an automobile and mounted in such a way that the radiation direction of electromagnetic waves is directed in the moving direction of the automobile, the antenna 74 is disposed parallel to the moving direction of the automobile, and the sides of the conductors 71 and 72 of the antenna 74 project, for example, into the engine compartment. Thus, the mounting position of the antenna 74 is limited.
Further, since the plane antenna 86 is used in the millimeter-wave band, machining of the notches 81a formed in the dielectric strip 81 and the openings 85 of the conductor 83 requires high precision. Also, since a plurality of openings 85 are required, the surface areas of the conductors 83 and 84 become wide, and the conductors 83 and 84 flex due to insufficient strength of the conductors 83 and 84, causing variations in the antenna characteristics.
Furthermore, the gain of the antenna 74 depends upon the length of the dielectric strip 73. When the amount of loss in the dielectric strip 73 is taken into consideration, only 20% to 50% can be obtained as the antenna efficiency. If it is desired to increase gain in the plane antenna 86, its shape becomes enlarged.


A non-slip mat, pad or coaster which is considerably thinner than present known and available pads, the mat or pad being formed from a thin plastic sheet having a lower surface with a tacky characteristic to provide a non-slip coefficient of friction; the mat or pad being formed from a suitable plastic material, such as polyvinyl, polyproplylene, polycarbonate, polystyrene or polyester, etc., and the lower surface is formed by coating the surface with a suitable ink, such as an ultraviolet ink, water-based ink or solvent-based ink containing a tackiness agent in the form of an acrylated polymer. The ink may be applied as a very thin firm of the ink adhesively joined to the underside of the plastic, or the ink is coated onto the undersurface of the pad or mat by silk screening, or in a multimaterial coating operation.

With the advent of the computer mouse, the roller on the bottom of the mouse required a pad or mat with a relatively smooth surface upon which the mouse would roll, but the pad would necessarily require a non-slip surface on its lower surface which contacts the desk or shelf surface for the computer or its accessories. A computer mouse is a hand-held device operated on a flat surface which, in cooperation with the appropriate computer hardware and software, permits a computer operator to control the movement of a cursor or pointer located on a computer display such as a CRT monitor. Typically, a computer mouse includes a generally rounded body to be grasped by the operator with a control cable connected to the computer. The lower surface of the mouse includes a roller ball which is connected electronically via the control cable to a cursor or display pointer located on a video display associated with the computer. A typical computer mouse further includes activation buttons. A computer mouse may be used with a graphical use interface (GUI), such as Microsoft Windows 95.
If the operator of the mouse desires to move the display pointer or cursor to the upper left of the display, the operator orients the mouse on the flat operating surface and pushes the mouse in the direction of the upper left corner of the display while watching the display. The cursor changes its position to correspond to the relative change in the position of the mouse; thus, the operator can guide the cursor to any position on the display by use of the mouse.
The use of a mouse greatly increases the speed and ease of inputting commands to the computer and facilitates much faster data entry than that provided by keyboard usage. While computer mice are capable of achieving high resolutions, the work surface upon which the mouse can move can have a profound impact on the resolution and the efficiency of the mouse.
Recently, there has been increased interest in the construction and use of a mouse pad for a computer mouse, or a mat used for a counter, such as for making change in a fast food establishment or in a convenience store. Conventional mouse pads typically consist of a completely flat pad constructed from soft foam materials which may fray and splinter with extended use and with a generally smooth top surface on which the mouse operates. Another problem is that where the mat or pad is contaminated by spillage of liquids or semisolid materials, the foam rubber backing for the smooth top surface may absorb the liquid or other contaminant resulting in degradation of the foam or adherence of the foam material with the top surface of the counter. If not removed promptly, the foam material may stick to the supporting surface, resulting in a later problem of removal.
It would be desirable to provide a mouse pad or non-slip mat for a counter top which is constructed from a very thin material having a lower non-slip surface that is easily manufactured and will not break down or denigrate with extended use, but the material provides a non-slip surface whether the supporting surface is wet or dry.


A flat secondary battery having a fusion-bonded sealing type laminate film as an armored body tends to be inferior in sealing reliability to a flat secondary battery having a welded sealing type can as an armored body, due to a difference in sealing method between the two batteries. Therefore, there has been a large challenge of finding the way to make the sealing reliability of the laminate film secondary battery closer to that of the can type secondary battery.

Generally, a metal can type secondary battery is the most dominant type of secondary battery, and in many cases, this battery is produced in such a manner that, after inclusion of a power generating element and an electrolyte in a metal can, a step of extracting electrodes is performed and lastly, a metal cover is laser welded. Thus, the can type secondary battery has a high sealing property, being advantageous in having a very few problems in terms of leakage of an electrolyte from a metal can to outside, even in a long-term use. Meanwhile, there has been a strongly demand for an improved weight density as well as shape flexibility, being attributed to the recent appearance of an increasing number of secondary batteries having a laminate film as an armored body which are lighter than the metal can type secondary battery and have shape flexibility.
A laminate film used a laminate film secondary battery is obtained by bonding a nylon sheet to the front surface of a thin aluminum sheet, and adhering a polyethylene sheet or polypropylene sheet, in general, having a fusion bonding property, to the rear surface of the thin aluminum sheet. After wrapping a power generating element with this aluminum laminate film and extracting electrodes, three or four sides of the laminate film are fusion-bonded to produce a secondary battery, which is often called a laminate film secondary battery. Because the laminate film type secondary battery structurally has fusion-bonded sides, the sealing property of the fusion-bonded sides can be said to be related to the electrolyte leakage problem. Under present circumstances, however, it has been difficult that the sealing property obtained by fusion bonding secures longer-term reliability than the sealing property obtained by laser welding in the can type battery, and it has therefore been a large challenge for the laminate film type secondary battery to extend the life of the sealing property.

Abstract: The sealing reliability is improved by further increasing a sealing force without taking any measure to the existing laminate film secondary battery, in such a manner that the fusion bonding area of the existing laminate film secondary battery is sandwiched from upside and downside to be cramped from outside so as to mechanically add a sealing force from outside to the sealing force of the laminate film itself.


The invention relates to a control valve (10) for controlling the pressure and flow of hydraulic oil from or to the working connections (A, B) of a consumer. The pressure and the pressure flow are controlled by means of at least one sliding piston which can be actuated by at least one drive mechanism and which can be displaced in a slider hole and in co-operating annular channels. The invention is characterized in that the annular channels are symmetrically arranged, whereby a tank connection annular channel is arranged in the symmetrical centre point on a symmetrical axis. Annular channels associated with the working connections (A, B), pump-pressure annular channels, load-sensing annular channels and end-chamber annular channels are arranged behind each other on both sides. According to the invention, the latter can be connected to other channels. The aim of the invention is to create equivalent hydraulic ratios for both working connections A and B and to keep the number of control edges in the control valve to a minimum.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a directional valve for controlling the pressure and flow of hydraulic oil to an from working connections of a consumer, wherein the pressure and flow can be controlled by a slide piston which is actuable by a drive and displaceable in a slide bore and by annular ducts connected to the piston.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such directional valves are suitable, for example, for the activation of hydraulic drives which move implements or tools on working appliances, such as harvesting machines and loaders. The hydraulic drives may in this case be, for example, single-acting plunger cylinders, double-acting synchronous or differential cylinders or oil motors for one or two directions of rotation. Directional valves for such applications are known in large numbers and in the most diverse possible versions.
A directional valve of this type is known from DE 32 25 003. The pressure medium quantity is controlled by means of clocked switching magnets in proportion to an analog input signal. In this directional valve, there are no load recording lines. The usefulness of such a directional valve is therefore greatly restricted. In one of the exemplary embodiments, three of the annular ducts of the directional valve are connected to the tank. This solution is therefore not particularly advantageous because, with a view to the dynamic behavior of the direction valve and also to the manufacturing costs, the aim must be to keep the number of annular ducts as low as possible.
A directional valve is also known from DE-A1-196 46 445 which shows a valve arrangement containing two directional valves. Each of these directional valves serves for activating a double-acting consumer. Each of the directional valves is assigned a pressure balance in each case. The common pressure balance is placed in the valve slide of each directional valve, said valve slide being designed as a hollow slide. As a result of the axial movement of the valve slide into one of the working positions A and B, this pressure balance can be assigned to one or other of the working connections A, B. Directional valves and lifting cylinders of such a type are used in mobile hydraulics, for example in agricultural appliances.
DE-A1-196 46 426 discloses an arrangement which contains two directional valves and which likewise contains the pressure balance in the valve slide designed as a hollow slide. In one of the directional valves, there is an additional control magnet, as a result of the activation of which the control piston of this directional valve is brought into a position in which the two working connections of the cylinder to be controlled are connected to one another, this being known as a floating position. It is specified, in this respect, that separate ducts for control lines and pilot valves are not necessary in order to achieve the floating position.
DE-A1-197 07 722 discloses an arrangement, by means of which the inflow and return to and from a double-acting consumer can be controlled independently of one another. This is achieved by means of a continuously controllable directional valve for the inflow and continuously controllable throttle devices from the working connection A or B to the return. Here, too, the pressure balance is arranged in the valve slide of the directional valve.
Details of a valve, to be precise its stop valves, are known from DE-A1-199 19 014. The pistons of these stop valves bear with their end faces on one another, but these possess recesses forming a pressure space. When this pressure space is acted upon by a pressure of defined magnitude, the pistons can be moved axially apart from one another. The floating position for the valve is thereby assumed.
An arrangement with a directional valve which manages without a pressure balance is known from GB-A-2 298 291. The function of the latter is achieved by alternative means, to be precise by pressure sensors in the inflow and outflow of the hydraulic consumer, a pressure sensor for the pump pressure, travel sensors in each case on a valve slide acting independently for the working connection A or B, and an electronic control, using the signals from these sensors. This also shows that a plurality of identical valve units can be assembled to form a block controlling a plurality of consumers. In the event of the failure of sensor signals, a direct control of the volume flow or of the pressure in the working connection is no longer possible. Additional means are therefore necessary in order to compensate this disadvantage to an extent such that it is at least still possible to move the working appliance into a safe position.
The above description of the known prior art shows that there is a series of solutions for achieving a comprehensive functionality of such directional valves. The aim in this context is always to provide valves which are as simply constructed as possible and can be produced cost-effectively. The functionality and, particularly, the dynamic behavior are determined by the configuration of the valve slide and of the annular ducts and connecting lines cooperating with it. This also governs the number of control edges. In this case, the behavior is also decisively influenced by dimensional tolerances. It is also always necessary to take into account that the inflow metering and the return throttling for the hydraulic consumer are to be independent of one another.


In the method for manufacturing a pipe with a partition, a flat plate is molded such that a pair of semidivided cylindrical portions are arranged in parallel to each other through a connecting portion, a U-shaped partition forming portion is so formed in the pair of semidivided cylindrical portions as to project inwardly thereof, and the partition forming portion is compressed from the two sides thereof to thereby form a semidivided partition portion. The connecting portion situated between the partition forming portion is cut to thereby form an escape hole. The escape hole is formed of not only by first and second lateral-direction lines opposed to each other with a gap between them and crossing the connecting portions but also by first and second longitudinal-direction lines connecting together the end points of the first and second lateral-direction lines on the same side thereof, and the distance between the first and second longitudinal-direction lines decreases as they approach the centers of the longitudinal-direction lines. Further, the compression of the U-shaped partition forming portion is carried out in such a manner that the compression and deformation amounts of the other portions of the U-shaped partition forming portion than the leading end portion thereof are larger than that of the leading end portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a pipe with a partition in such a manner that a partition portion is formed integrally with the middle portion of the pipe.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in a heat exchanger such as a capacitor for use in a car or the like, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei. 4-63992, a partition is provided in a header to thereby change a fluid flow passage.
And, conventionally, this type of header with a partition for use in a heat exchanger is manufactured in the following manner as shown in FIG. 25.
At first, an aluminum alloy pipe member with a brazing member clad on the outer surface thereof is cut to a given size to thereby obtain a pipe 11 which can be used in a header.
After then, in the pipe 11, there are formed a tube insertion hole 13, a slit for a divide 15, a fluid flow-in port 17, and a fluid flow-out port 19.
Next, an aluminum alloy divide 21 with brazing members clad on the two surfaces thereof is inserted into the slit for a divide 15, and also two aluminum alloy patches 23 are respectively pressure inserted into the two ends of the pipe 11 so as to manufacture a header pipe.
However, in the thus structured header with a partition for use in a heat exchanger, since there is used an expensive pipe member which has been previously formed in a cylindrical shape, the material cost thereof increases.
Also, there is a fear that a poor brazed condition can occur between the pipe 11 and divide 21.
Conventionally, as a method which has solved these problems, there is known a method for manufacturing a pipe with a partition which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 7-314035.
In this method for manufacturing a pipe with a partition, as shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, there is manufactured a pipe with a partition structured such that a partition portion 33 comprising of a pair of semidivided partition portions 32 is formed in the central portion of a cylindrical-shaped pipe portion 31 thereof.
And, the present pipe with a partition can be manufactured in the following manners:
That is, at first, in a molding step shown in FIG. 28, a plate member formed of aluminum is molded in such a manner that a pair of semidivided cylindrical portions 35 are formed.
The pair of semidivided cylindrical portions 35 are arranged in parallel to each other with an arc-shaped connecting portion 37 between them.
And, each of the paired semidivided cylindrical portions 35 includes a partition forming portion 39 which projects inwardly in a U-shape manner.
Also, each of the paired semidivided cylindrical portions 35 is smaller by 2 mm or so in radius than a pipe portion 31 to be formed, while each semidivided cylindrical portion 35 further includes an edge portion 41 on the outside thereof.
The above-mentioned molding step is carried out by holding a flat plate between a given pair of metal molds and press working the flat plate.
Next, in a cutting step shown in FIG. 29, a portion of the connecting portion 37 situated between the partition forming portions 39, that is, an escape hole 37a, as well as the edge portions 41 respectively situated on the two sides of the partition portions 39 are cut and removed together with the excessively increased thickness portions 41a of the edge portions 41.
This cutting step is executed by trimming and piercing the press worked plate using a press work machinery.
Then, in a compressing step shown in FIG. 30, the partition forming portion 39 is compressed from both sides thereof in a direction of an arrow a in FIG. 30 to thereby form a semidivided partition portion 32.
This compressing step is carried out in such a manner as shown in FIG. 31: that is, the outsides of the semidivided cylindrical portions 35 are respectively held by a work holder 51 which is energized by springs 49 and, on the other hand, two compressing members 53 are respectively disposed on the two sides of the partition forming portion 39 located inwardly of the semidivided cylindrical portions 35, whereby the partition forming portion 39 is compressed and molded by the compressing members 53.
In this compression molding operation, between the compressing members 53, there is interposed a dimension correcting block 55; that is, the inwardly projecting length H of the semidivided partition portion 32 can be corrected by the dimension correcting block 55.
Next, in an edge portion molding step shown in FIG. 32, the two edge portions 41 on the two sides of the pair of semidivided cylindrical portions 35 are molded and, as shown in a lower side in FIG. 32, the edge portions 41 are formed in an arc-shaped manner; that is, the edge portions 41 are so formed as to continue with their respective semidivided cylindrical portions 35 in an arc-shape manner.
This edge portion molding, step is carried out by holding a pair of semidivided cylindrical portions 35 between a given metal molds and then press working them.
Then, in a mutually opposing stop shown in FIG. 33, the connecting portion 37 is projected from the inside thereof to thereby allow the pair of semidivided cylindrical portions 35 to be disposed in such a manner that they are opposed to each other.
In particular, this mutually opposing step is carried out by storing the outsides of the semidivided cylindrical portions 35 into a metal mold 57 and then pressing the connecting portion 37 against the arc portion 61 of the metal mold 57 by a punch 59.
Next, in a butting step shown in FIG. 34, the pair of mutually opposed semidivided cylindrical portions 35 are butted against each other.
This butting step is carried out by storing the outsides of the semidivided cylindrical portions 35 into a metal mold (not shown) and then moving the metal mold. In this step, the semidivided cylindrical portions 35 are molded into a pipe shape.
After then, a connecting step is carried out; that is, not only the pair of semidivided cylindrical portions 35 but also the pair of semidivided partition portions are connected to each other, thereby manufacturing a pipe with a partition which is shown in FIGS. 26 and 27.
The connecting step can be achieved, for example, by executing a brazing operation using non-corrosive flux.
Now, FIG. 35 shows a header with a partition for use in a heat exchanger manufactured in the above-mentioned partitioned pipe manufacturing method; and, the present header with a partition for a heat exchanger includes a partition portion 33 formed in the central portion of a cylindrically-shaped pipe portion 31A thereof.
Also, on one side of the outer periphery of the pipe portion 31A, there are formed tube insertion holes 63 which are spaced from each other at given intervals.
Further, the openings of the pipe portion 31A, which are respectively formed in the two ends of the pipe portion 31A, are closed by cover members 65 respectively.
In the present method for manufacturing a header with a partition for a heat exchanger, after completion of the edge portion molding step shown in FIG. 32, as shown in FIG. 36, the tube insertion holes 63 are formed in one of the semidivided cylindrical portions 35 at given intervals and, at the same time, there are formed a fluid flow-in port 67, into which a thermal medium is allowed to flow, and a fluid flow-out portion 69 from which the thermal medium is allowed to flow out.
This step can be carried out by alit-pierce molding the semidivided cylindrical portion 35 using a press work machinery.
In the thus manufactured header with a partition for a heat exchanger, since a single piece of plate member can be molded easily into a pipe portion 31A having a partition portion 33 formed integrally therewith, there is eliminated the need for use of an expensive pipe member which has been previously formed into a cylindrical shape. This makes it possible to reduce the material cost thereof greatly when compared with the former conventional header.
Also, with use of the present header with a partition for a heat exchanger, when compared with the method in which a pipe is manufactured in a cylindrical shape, since the partition portion thereof is formed integrally with the pipe portion thereof, the number of parts used can be decreased to thereby be able to reduce the cost of the header.
Further, because the tube insertion hole 63 can be worked in a semicircle condition, a mold used to mold the tube insertion hole 63 can be made sufficiently strong, the working time of the tube insertion holes 63 can be shortened, and thus the cost of the header can also be reduced.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional method for manufacturing a pipe with a partition, when the pair of mutually opposed semidivided cylindrical portions 35 are butted against each other to thereby form a pipe shape according to the butting step shown in FIG. 34, actually, as shown in FIG. 37, there is raised a problem that a relatively large gap S is produced between the semidivided partition portion 32 and connecting portion 37.
Such gap S is produced because, in the cutting step shown in FIG. 29, the connecting portion 37 situated between the partition forming portions 39 is cut into a rectangular shape to thereby form the rectangular-shaped escape hole 37a.
That is, if the escape hole 37a is formed in a rectangular shape, after completion of the edge portion molding step following the compressing step shown in FIG. 30, it is assumed that, as shown by dotted lines in FIG. 38, the edge portions of the semidivided partition portions 32 on the connecting portion 37 side thereof are parallel to the center lines of the semidivided cylindrical portions 35.
However, in fact, in the molding step shown in FIG. 28, the reduction of the plate thickness of the partition forming portion 39 on the connecting portion 37 side thereof is smaller than the remaining portions of the partition forming portion 39 and, for this reason, if the partition forming portion 39 is pressed to thereby form the semidivided partition portion 32 according to the compressing step shown in FIG. 30, then the larger plate thickness portions of the partition forming portion 39 on the connecting portion 37 side thereof, as shown in FIG. 38, are caused to project toward the connecting portion 37 side in a trapezoidal manner, so that there are produced projecting portions 32a.
And, if the projecting portions 32a are produced in this manner, then, in the butting step shown in FIG. 34, it is difficult to form the connecting portion 37 in an arc shape and, as shown in FIG. 31, there is formed a relatively large gap S between the semidivided partition portion 32 and connecting portion 37.
By the way, on the opposite side of the semidivided partition portions 32 to the projecting portions 32a, there are formed portions 32b which are parallel to the center line of the semidivided cylindrical portions 35. However, in the butting step shown in FIG. 34, since the edge portions 35a of the semidivided cylindrical portions 35a are deformed and are thereby contacted closely with the portions 32b, there is no possibility that a large gap can be formed in the portions 32b.
Further, according to the above-mentioned conventional partitioned pipe manufacturing method, in the compressing step shown in FIG. 30, as shown in FIG. 39, if the pair of compressing members 53 are pressed against the partition forming portion 39 from the two sides thereof to compress the partition forming portion 39 to thereby form the semidivided partition portion 32, then there is produced a minute gap C1, for example, of the order of 0.05 mm on the outside of the semidivided partition portion 32 and, between the minute gap C1 and the leading end portion 32c of the semidivided partition portion 32, there is produced a relatively large gap C2 of the order of 0.3 mm; that is, there is a fear that, if liquid collects in the gap C2, then the gap C2 portion can be caused to corrode.
It has been found that the cause of production of the gaps C1 and C2; that is, the cause is that, in the molding step shown in FIG. 28, the root portion of the partition forming portion 39 becomes thin in thickness, whereas the leading end portion of the partition forming portion 39 becomes thick in thickness.

Method for manufacturing a pipe with a partition


First and second load-lock mechanisms are installed in a vacuum chamber. An external arm and first and second robot arms are disposed outside of the vacuum chamber. The external arm can hold a process object and can carry the held process object either into the first load-lock mechanism or into the second load-lock mechanism. The first robot arm can transfer the process object between a stock site outside of the vacuum chamber and the first load-lock mechanism and between the stock site and the external arm. The second robot arm can transfer the process object between the stock site and the second load-lock mechanism and between the stock site and the external arm.

A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum processing system, and more particularly to a vacuum processing system having at least two load-lock mechanisms for carrying a process object into and out of a vacuum chamber.
B) Description of the Related Art
A conventional wafer carrying method will be described by taking as an example an ion implanter. JPA HEI 3-29258 (JPB HEI 7-54688) discloses an ion implanter having a vacuum chamber installed with two load-lock chambers. A wafer is carried in and out via the load-lock chambers.
For carrying wafers, first a robot arm picks up a processed wafer from the load-lock chamber and carries it to a wafer stock area. Thereafter, a new wafer still not processed is picked up from a wafer stock area and once placed on an aligner to adjust the posture of the wafer (position alignment based upon a notch or an orientation flat). Thereafter, the robot arm carries the wafer from the aligner into the load-lock chamber.
Since two load-lock chambers are used, a wafer carrying process can be speeded up.
In a conventional ion implanter, the time taken to carry a wafer into and out of a load-lock chamber and taken to the wafer to another location is longer than the time taken actually to implant ions into the wafer.

Vacuum processing system being able to carry process object into and out of vacuum chamber


In a press having a plunger supported so as to be movable linearly back and forth by drive means which include at least one servomotor in combination with a rotatably supported inertia structure connected for rotation with the servomotor, the inertia structure has an inertia moment which is small enough to permit reversal of the servomotor within a stroke length of the plunger so that the stroke of the plunger is adjustable under the control of a control device connected to the servomotor for controlling its operation.

The invention relates to a mechanical press for example for shaping metal sheets but also for forming massive parts. The press includes a plunger which is movable back and forth by a drive arrangement.
Mechanical presses generally include a main drive with a shaft which is driven by one or several electric motors and which drives one or more eccenters which are directly connected to a plunger by a connecting rod or indirectly by a bell crank. The main shaft is connected to a flywheel which compensates for load variations and which makes the rotation of the main shaft more uniform.
With such presses, the distance-time curve which the plunger follows is determined by the eccenter drive or possibly a bell crank drive. Even if the stroke of the plunger is adjustable the basic distance-time characteristic cannot be changed.
Therefore presses have been proposed wherein the eccenter driving the plunger is driven by a servomotor.
Such an eccenter press is known from DE 41 09 796 C2. Herein, it is proposed to couple an eccenter directly to a servomotor and to connect the plunger to the eccenter by way of a connecting rod. The upper and lower end points of a back and forth movement of the plunger can be variably determined by a flexible control of the servomotor. The servomotor does not rotate uniformly but moves back and forth. Depending on the anglular range of the rotation of the eccenter and depending on the part of the annular movement of the eccenter, the stroke and force generated by the press are different.
In this arrangement, the servomotor needs to generate the force required for the forming of the material at any time. There is no flywheel for releasing stored forces in support of the drive motor.
EP 0 536 804 also discloses a press which is driven by a servomotor but which includes a bell crank drive. The servomotor drives an eccenter by way of a worm drive, the eccenter being connected to the bell drive by way of a connecting rod.
By an appropriate control of the servomotor in either a back and forth operating manner or in a continuous operation, the desired travel distance-time curve for the plunger can be obtained. But also, in this case, the maximum force to be provided by the plunger must be fully supplied by the drive, particularly the drive connecting the servomotor to the eccenter. The otherwise equalizing effect of the flywheel which reduces the load on the drive components disposed between the drive motor and the eccenter is not present. Consequently, the load on the teeth of the worm drive is very high. This is particularly apparent when such a press is to be designed for high press forces.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a motor-driven press which is simple and sturdy in its design and which has a relatively high loading capacity.


The present invention relates to a resin-molded article with a spring structure, and to a method and apparatus for preparing a superficial layer of such a resin-molded article with a spring structure which has surfaces free from undulations, comprises fused filaments whose fusion is resistant to separation, maintains its cushioning activity and strength even after long use. A water flows from a cooling water outlet 53b into a space between a water-permeating sheet 55 and an inclined plate 51a. Some part of the flowing water C penetrates the water-permeating sheet 55 to appear on its top surface to form there an overlying current M on which receives lengthwise arranged peripheral continuous filaments, and agitates them to cause adjacent filaments to contact each other, to be entwined and gathered, thereby enabling the formation of a superficial layer of the three-dimensional structure 3.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resin-molded article with a spring structure, and to a method and apparatus for preparing a superficial layer of such a resin-molded article with a spring structure. More specifically, the present invention aims to provide a resin-molded article with a spring structure which comprises the loops and curls of a three-dimensional structure such as filaments of a resin extending in a three-dimensional space, and a method for improving the quality of a superficial layer of the resin-molded article, thereby making the resin-molded article with a spring structure more adaptable to widely different applications, and adding to the value of the resin-molded article with a spring structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various proposals as to the method of producing resin-molded articles with a spring structure and apparatuses suitable for the manufacture thereof have been presented.
Such proposals can be seen, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications Nos. 1-207462, 1-241264, 5-106153, 7-68061, 7-68284, 7-189106, 8-74161, 8-99093, and 9-21054, Japanese Examined Patent Application Publications Nos. 3-17668 and 4-33906, and WO 01/68967A1.
Among such proposals, one advocates the use of an extrusion molding system which is equipped with shoots for guiding filaments falling from a die.
An exemplary molding system comprises two rod-like heaters arranged on the two long sides of a bundle of falling filaments (the bundle is responsible for the formation of a three-dimensional structure as described herein), and a pair of panels arranged beneath the respective heaters. Each panel consists of two strips: the upper strip forms a slope of about 45-80° with respect to a horizontal plane and the lower one is submerged under cooling water. The two lower strips can be driven centrally to enclose the bundle of filaments in a gap between them.
Another exemplary molding system comprises static or movable curved plates coated with a fluorine resin arranged along a bundle of filaments to modify the bundle into a three-dimensional structure whose density and shape can be adjusted as desired.
See Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 4-33906 and or WO 01/68967A1.
The applicants of the present invention had developed a system (to be referred to simply as the pilot system hereinafter) for forming a three-dimensional structure as shown in FIGS. 12-15 during their pursuit of the present invention. The pilot system allows cooling water M to flow down over shoots 51 with which a bundle of melted continuous filaments are firstly brought into contact so as to cool the bundle of filaments 2, to thereby prevent the adhesion of filaments to the shoots 51. Each shoot 51 consists of a stainless steel plate whose working surface is coated with a fluorine resin. Coating of a fluorine resin is for preventing the adhesion of filaments 2 to the shoot 51, and promoting the spread of cooling water M over the shoot 51. Above each shoot 51 consisting of a fluorine resin-coated plate, is placed a water tank 53 for storing cooling water which has, on its bottom, a row of holes having a specified diameter being separated from each other with a specified distance. The water tanks 53 shed, like a shower, a row of cooling water M over the shoots 51. Melted filaments 2, being brought into contact with cooling water M flowing down over the shoots 51, are distorted as a result of cooling and agitation, and the filaments now deformed in loops and curls fall into a water bath 26 below.
According to a system disclosed in the Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 4-33906, a bundle of filaments, when it reaches a level just above the surface of cooling water, is sandwiched by a pair of inclined upper strips which restrict the thckness of the bundle. Therefore, it may happen that parts of outward filaments fall directly on the upper strips, slip thereon and plunge into the cooling water.
A conventional system as disclosed in WO 01/68967A1 often produces resin-molded articles with a spring structure whose surfaces become rough or nappy because of defective loop or curls formation.
The pilot system also exhibits following problems, and is restricted in its improvement of the quality of products.
The cooling water does not evenly spread over the shoots 51 because of the water-repellent activity of the fluorine resin coats. The water-repellent coat hinders the uniform spread of cooling water (see FIGS. 12 and 15). Some thin water currents M independently flow down straight over the shoots 51 after they contact with the latter, while other thin water currents merge with each other. This makes it difficult to uniformly cool the entire lengthwise surfaces of a resin-molded article with a spring structure. Moreover, filaments 2 slip so readily on the fluorine resin-coated surfaces that the loop or curl formation of the filaments is disturbed (see FIG. 16(B)).
The joining distances (γ in FIG. 16(A)) required for gathering and compressing continuous melted filaments are rather short. Even if the joining distance is made large, the produced resin-molded article will have an insufficient cushion property because of the fact that the three dimensional structure is not uniformly cooled with this system.
As a consequence, the resin-molded articles with a spring structure produced by the pilot system exhibit following shortcomings.
Filaments are often cooled so much that the spring structural resin molded product produced by the system have undulated surfaces (see FIG. 15(A)). For example, on some parts of the shoots 51, water currents merge (see streak E of FIG. 14), and filaments exposed to such merged currents are cooled so much that the resin constituting the filaments shrinks and becomes less adhesive.
On the other hand, with regard to filaments exposed to independent thin currents, they are not cooled so much that their loops and curls are distorted. Thus, the filaments constituting the superficial layers 4, 5 of a resin-molded article 3 with a spring structure produced by the pilot system often have defective loops and curls. When thin water currents merge into one, there is formed a water deficient line(s) (see streak S of FIG. 14) on one or both sides of the thickened current. Melted continuous filaments exposed to such water deficient lines are not sufficiently cooled, and mechanically so fragile that, when they are pulled downward during falling, they are easily cleaved. Their cut ends spread and exhibit a characteristic pattern. When the cut ends are spiky, they take pattern (1) (see FIG. 15(B)). When the cut ends are thread-like or cord-like and stretched during falling, they take pattern (2) (see FIG. 15(C)).
Thus, the water films formed over the shoots do not have a uniform thickness, and with regard to a resin-molded article with a spring structure exposed to such water films, fusion of adjacent loops and curls is readily released (see FIG. 16(C)). This is because loops and curls have different adhesive activities owing to the uneven distribution of cooling water on the shoots. When a three-dimensional structure affected with such defects is bent, fused portions of loops and curls are easily separated giving a crush sound (see FIG. 16(C)). Such a three-dimensional structure may be defective in cushioning activity and strength.
The defective formation of loops and curls is accompanied by the distorted formation of individual filaments, resulted in changing in sectional view of the filament. If the filament is a hollow filament, for example, it will have a distorted cross-section instead of a normal round shape.
Because with the pilot system it is not possible to exert strong compression, the resin-molded article produced by the system cannot help but having a large thickness. If strong compression is simply applied using the pilot system without introducing any appropriate compensatory modifications, the resulting resin-molded article will have a reduced cushion property as well as a reduced thickness.
When the pilot system exhibiting the shortcomings as described above is used for the production of resin-molded articles with a spring structure, the resin-molded articles or products using the resin-molded article as a material exhibit following problems.
If it is required to insert a resin-molded article with a spring structure in a covering member, the undulated, nappy, or spiky surfaces of the article will get caught by the covering member, and damage the latter, or conversely fused loops forming the surfaces of the article will be pulled apart to be damaged.
Fused joints of adjacent filaments of a three-dimensional structure are susceptible to cleavage, and the cushioning property of a resin-molded article deteriorates after long use.
The resin-molded article must have a comparatively large thickness which leads to the enlargement of the volume. This causes clumsiness for handling which may lead to the increase of a production cost.
In view of above, the present invention aims to provide a system for producing a resin-molded article with a spring structure capable of uniformly distributing cooling water over the entire surfaces of shoots, thereby relieving a three-dimensional structure of the risk of being exposed either to thickened water currents or to thinned water currents, applying strong compression on the three-dimensional structure, and preventing the separation of fused loops constituting the three-dimensional structure. The present invention also aims to provide a resin-molded article with a spring structure where the surfaces are practically free from undulations, fusion of adjacent loops is prevented against separation, the cushioning property and strength are maintained even after long use, and its weight is comparatively light which is advantageous from an economical viewpoint for the material.

System for producing resin molded article with spring structure


A switch assembly 16 which is selectively deployed upon a weapon and which normally causes electrical power to be communicated to a visible energy emission assembly 14 from a source of electrical power 90 and which requires positive actions to interrupt such communication.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a switch for the control of weapon mounted electronic assemblies, a weapon having such a control switch and a method for using a weapon and more particularly, to a switch which allows various types of dissimilar electronic assemblies which are operatively attached to and/or mounted upon a weapon to be selectively operated in an efficient and highly desired manner, effective to increase user safety and reduce the likelihood of inadvertent or unintentional injury or death.
2. Background of the Invention
A weapon, such as and without limitation a firearm, may include one or more electronic assemblies, such as a visible energy generating assembly, such as a light. Particularly, these visible energy generating assemblies are generally deployed upon the weapon (e.g., either as "originally provided equipment" or as an aftermarket or "add-on" accessory) in order to allow the user of the weapon to accurately view a person of interest (e.g., be able to identify if a real threat exists). Of course, such visible energy generating assemblies are particularly useful in dark environments in which a threat may not be readily and visually perceived.
While such weapon-mounted visible energy generating assemblies do selectively provide needed light or visible energy, such assemblies suffer from many drawbacks. By way of example and without limitation, these assemblies all require that the weapon user take some "positive action" in order to "switch on" or allow the visible energy emitting assembly to become selectively activated (i.e., the term "activated", in this context, means a state in which the assembly selectively generates visible energy). Such positive action typically manifests itself in the required movement of a switch (such as a rocker switch or shuttle switch or a tape type switch) which causes electrical energy to be communicated to the visible energy emitting assembly, effective to allow the assembly to generate visible energy or to become "activated". Thus, these prior visible energy generating assemblies are normally "deactivated".
The required "positive action" undesirably adds a level of complexity to one who knowingly already faces a dangerous situation. That is, whether used by a soldier, police officer, or a citizen these visible energy emission assemblies are used when a perceived threat is present or potentially present. In the context of the existence of a very real threat, even professionally trained and well-practiced weapon users are hard pressed to skillfully employ the weapon. It is well documented that in such stressful situations, fine motor skills, such as those required to operate a weapon, rapidly deteriorate. Thus, requiring further action on the part of these individuals to energize or actually activate the visible light emission assembly further increases the already complex actions of properly operating the weapon and such additional complexity occurs at a time in which fine motor skills are deteriorating.
Further, since the consequences of failing to properly allow visible energy to be emitted from the visible light emission assembly are oftentimes deadly (e.g., the threat has not been identified in sufficient time to engage it), such increased complexity is very undesirable and actually increases the probability of death or injury to the weapon user or to an innocent or "non-threat" who is not correctly identified, by the weapon user, as a non-threat because of the decision of the weapon user to "shoot first and activate the visible energy emission device later".
Thus, the existing requirement of the weapon user to provide positive motion or action to activate a normally de-energized energy emitting assembly (e.g., one which is normally in the "off" or non-energy emitting state) is undesirable and this undesirability is a common attribute to each of the existing switch assemblies which are currently utilized.
Additionally, many rocker switch implementations have an additional drawback in that they require constant force or pressure in order to allow desired energy to be emitted (i.e., requiring a constant amount of positive action) or require complex movement that requires a user to select one of three states (i.e., the respective states of constant "on", momentary "on" or "off"), each of which is represented by a respectively unique position of the multi-position switch. Such complex operation, as described above, is undesirable and increases the likelihood of death or injury.
Further, the tape type switches generally suffer from additional drawbacks in that they typically comprise a flexible wire conduit which attaches to the body or switch housing of the energy emitting assembly and extend along the underside of a trigger guard of the weapon or firearm until it meets the intersection of the rear of the trigger guard and the top forward portion of the grip of the weapon or firearm (i.e., a front strap). A portion of the flexible wire conduit normally extends down the front strap and terminates in a membrane switch that is located on the front strap.
The placement of the membrane switch on the front strap requires that, in order to allow the weapon, such as a pistol, to be drawn from a holster without activating the energy emission assembly, it must be done only with the two smallest and weakest fingers of the user. This attribute not only compromises the weapon draw but also undesirably impacts the ability to assume a proper grip on the weapon which is critical to shooting accuracy. Further, the membrane switch is immediately adjacent (i.e., the membrane switch is separated from the trigger by about one-quarter of an inch) to the trigger and is operated in the same manner as the trigger (i.e., by a squeezing motion). Thus, it is quite possible that one may accidentally squeeze the trigger (e.g., causing the firing of one or more bullets) when it was intended that only the membrane switch was to be squeezed in order to just to allow visible energy to be emitted. Thus, inadvertent death or injury of an individual may result.
Lastly, the tape type switch implementation is un-aesthetically pleasing and is not fully attached to the weapon, making it prone to "snagging" or damage. Yet further, the pressure switch embodiment provides a dimensional change in the grip area of the weapon and in those situations in which the pressure switch is used only as an "as needed" basis (i.e., attached to the weapon as needed), a user will encounter two distinct grips which add yet further complexity to the overall operation of the weapon and makes it difficult for a user to obtain a "consistent" grip on the weapon.
The present invention overcomes these and other disadvantages and drawbacks of prior and currently utilized weapon switches in a new and novel manner.

Switch for the control of weapon mounted electronic assemblies, a weapon having a control switch and a method for using weapon


A half-rate clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit includes a first and a second gated voltage-controlled oscillators (GVCOs) and a first and a second frequency detectors. The first frequency detector generates a first output current according to a reference signal and a second divided clock, and the second frequency detector generates a second output current according to a first divided clock and the second divided clock. A loop filter converts either the first output current or the second output current to a first control voltage to control the second clock, and generates a second control voltage according to the first control voltage to control the first clock. A lock detector receives the reference signal and the second divided clock, and accordingly generates a lock signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to clock and data recovery, and more particularly to a half-rate clock and data recovery circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
Clock and data recovery (CDR) is a crucial building block adopted in a receiver of a wireline communication system, such as an optical-fiber or a serial-link system. Jitter tolerance and jitter transfer function are two important parameters to characterize a CDR circuit. The jitter tolerance is defined as the maximum amplitude of a sinusoidal jitter that is tolerated without increasing a bit error rate (BER). The jitter transfer function is defined as an output jitter divided by an input jitter varying at difference rates. In order to enhance the jitter tolerance of a CDR circuit, a loop bandwidth needs to be increased. The increased loop bandwidth, nevertheless, degrades the jitter transfer function. Therefore, a compromise needs to be reached between the jitter tolerance and the jitter transfer function in a conventional CDR circuit.
For the foregoing reason, a need has thus arisen to propose a novel CDR circuit with enhanced jitter tolerance without sacrificing the jitter transfer function.

Half-rate clock and data recovery circuit

NCKU Research and Development Foundation


A film/video detector includes circuitry for generating the differences between corresponding pixel values in successive frames of video signal. These differences are accumulated over respective frame intervals. Accumulated values for respective frames are applied to a signal averager and to a correlation circuit. Average values from the averager are subtracted from correlation values from the correlation circuit, and film mode signal is indicated if the latter differences are greater than a predetermined value.

Source material shot on film at 24 frames per second is translated to video (at 30 frames per second) by a process known as 3:2 pulldown. In this process every other film frame is converted to three interlaced video fields. The intervening film frames are converted to two interlaced video fields. FIG. 1A illustrates video signal originated via video processing. Each box represents a video frame. Each column of circles represents a field. Successive columns of circles represent interlaced video fields. FIG. 1B illustrates video signal originated via the 3:2 pulldown process. Each box represents a film frame of source material. For every other film frame three video fields are generated, two of which contain identical information, for example fields A and C in frame 1 are identical and fields F and H of frame 3 are identical. Being able to determine whether video material is derived via 3:2 pulldown or video processing can be used to advantage in many video signal processing systems such as IDTV receivers or digital video compression systems.
Consider video signal compression. Video signal originated from film includes one redundant field in every five fields, or a 20 percent redundancy. If the video signal can be determined as having originated in film mode, it is possible to delete the redundant fields in the compression process to achieve an 20 percent compression bonus. FIG. 1C illustrates the formation of frames of interlaced video for compression according to the MPEG (Moving Pictures Expert Group of the International Standards Organization) protocol. FIG. 1D illustrates the formation of frames of interlaced film mode video for MPEG compression wherein it may be seen that redundant fields may be excised.

Video/film-mode (3:2 pulldown) detector using patterns of two-field differences


The present invention provides a double gate transistor and a method for forming the same that facilitates the formation of different transistors having different threshold voltages. The embodiments of the present invention form transistors having different body widths. By forming double gate transistors with different body widths, the preferred embodiment forms double gate transistors that have different threshold voltages, without adding excessive process complexity. The preferred embodiment of the present invention is implemented using a fin type double gated structure. In a fin type structure, the double gates are formed on each side of the body, with the body being disposed horizontally between the gates.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of semiconductor manufacturing and, more specifically, to a method for forming double gated field effect transistors.
2. Background Art
The need to remain cost and performance competitive in the production of semiconductor devices has caused continually increasing device density in integrated circuits. To facilitate the increase in device density, new technologies are constantly needed to allow the feature size of these semiconductor devices to be reduced.
The push for ever increasing device densities is particularly strong in CMOS technologies, such as the in the design and fabrication of field effect transistors (FETs). FETs are used in almost all types of integrated circuit design (i.e., microprocessors, memory, etc.) One of the fundamental parameters of FET design is the threshold voltage (Vt). The threshold voltage of a FET is generally defined as the gate voltage required to switch the transistor on or off (depending upon the type of FET). FETs with different threshold voltages have different operational characteristics. For example, transistors with lower threshold voltage generally can operate at higher operational frequency, and have a higher current drive. However, transistors with lower threshold voltage also have higher leakage current, and thus generally use more power than transistors with higher threshold voltages.
Thus, in some applications it is generally desirable to have transistors with lower threshold voltages to improve performance, while in other applications it is generally desirable to have transistors with higher threshold voltage to reduce unwanted power consumption. Unfortunately, it is generally difficult to make transistors with different threshold voltage on the same device when the transistors employ ultra-thin bodies.
This is especially true of double gated field effect transistors. Double gated FETs use two gates, one on each side of the body, to facilitate scaling of CMOS dimensions while maintaining an acceptable performance. In particular, the use of the double gate increases the control of the gate on the channel potential, which allows the transistor to have better current control, without increasing the gate length of the device. As such, the double gated FET is able to have the current control of a larger transistor without requiring the device space of the larger transistor.
Thus, there is a need for improved device structures and methods of fabrication of double gated transistors that provide transistors having different threshold voltages on the same device without overly increasing fabrication complexity.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a double gate transistor and a method for forming the same that facilitates the formation of different transistors having different threshold voltages. In a first aspect, the invention is a method for forming a plurality of transistors having different threshold voltages, the method comprising the steps of:
a) providing a semiconductor substrate;
b) forming a plurality of shapes on the semiconductor substrate, each of the plurality of shapes having a width;
c) selectively adjusting the widths of at least one selected shapes;
d) patterning the semiconductor substrate using the plurality of shapes to form a plurality of transistor bodies such that the width of each the plurality of transistor bodies is at least partially determined by the width of a corresponding one of the plurality of shapes;
e) providing a first gate structure of a first work-function adjacent a first body edge of each of the plurality of transistor bodies; and
f) providing a second gate structure of a second work-function adjacent a second body edge of each of the plurality of transistor bodies.
In a second aspect, the invention is a plurality of transistors comprising:
a) a plurality of transistor bodies formed on a substrate, the transistor bodies each having a first vertical edge and a second vertical edge defining a transistor body width, wherein a selected portion of the plurality of transistor bodies has an adjusted width;
b) a plurality of first gate structures, each of the plurality of first gate structures adjacent to one of the plurality of transistor body first vertical edges, the plurality of first gate structures having a first work-function; and
c) a plurality of second gate structures, each of the plurality of second gate structures adjacent to one of the plurality of transistor body second vertical edges, the plurality of second gate structures having a second work-function.
The foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Variable threshold voltage double gated transistors and method of fabrication

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for determining polynomials to model circuit delay includes the step of determining one or more error areas in a characteristic map that exceed an error margin. Next, a current domain count is set to zero and selecting one error area of the one or more error areas is selected. A patch region that will contain the error area determined the patch region is then curve fitted and the current domain count is increased by one. The steps of repeating steps of selecting an error area, determine a patch, curve fitting within the patch, and increasing the domain count by one are repeated until there are no error area within the patch region. Then a previous domain region having the largest domain count and at last one error area is curve fitted without using data points in any of the domain regions greater than the previous domain region if the previous domain region contains at least one error area, repeating steps of selecting an error area, determine a patch, curve fitting within the patch, and increasing the domain count by one. Then, a domain region having at least one error area is selected as the previous domain region. The steps of curve fitting a previous domain level having at least one error area is repeated for all domain regions less than the previous domain region that has at least one error areas, until all error areas are removed from all domain regions. Additionally, the method can include using a nth order polynomial for curve fitting and associating the polynomial with the current domain region.

To model delay in electronic circuits and devices, such as logic cells, delay models can be used. A commonly used methods to model delay or other device characteristics is the non-linear delay model (NLDM), developed by Synopsys, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. The NLDM uses look-up tables indexed by sample points and utilizes bilinear interpolation to find delay within a certain domain. These look-up tables form libraries that define the structure, function, timing, and environment of the circuits and devices. The NLDM, while useful for many circuits, fails to take into account voltage and temperature effects in a single library. Additionally, large tables are required to support higher accuracy model calculations.
As an improvement to the NLDM, a scalable polynomial delay model/scalable polynomial power model (SPDM/SPPM) has been introduced. In the SPDM/SPPM, the lookup tables of the NLDM are replaced by scalable polynomials to model delay/power. Scalable polynomials are polynomials that can have both their order and form scaled to fit the data. In a SPDM/SPPM system, the data results achieved through simulation of a device can be curve fitted to an n-dimensional polynomial, which can be save as a Liberty library for further use in modeling the device. An advantage of the SPDM/SPPM system is that the stored polynomials typically take less memory to save as compared to the lookup tables used in the NLDM system. In addition, the SPDM can include temperature and voltage as additional dimensions.
One drawback to the use of SPDM/SPPM is that the derived curve may have a large error as compared to actual results. For example, while a given polynomial may be successful curve fitted to a given data set, other points outside the data set can lie far from derived polynomial curve. This error is known as overfitting. Overfitting typically becomes worse the higher the order of the polynomial that is used to curve fit the data set. One way to minimize overfitting is to increase the number of data points in the data set before curve fitting. Another way to minimize overfitting is to use lower order polynomials to curve fit the data.
Thus, current SPDM/SPPM systems have a tradeoff in terms of accuracy and throughput. In order to increase accuracy of a curve fit, high-order polynomials are needed to model the given circuit. However, the higher the order of the polynomial, the more likely overfitting is to occur. To compensate for the overfitting, more control points are needed to use to perform curve fitting. The more control points the larger the curve fit runtime and the lower the throughput. Increasing throughput requires less curve fit runtime, which implies less control points. If there are less control points, there is a more likelihood of overfitting occurring. In order to compensate for the likelihood of overfitting, lower order polynomials are used, which reduces the accuracy of the model.

Polynomial generation method for circuit modeling