In one example, a valve seat insert for a cylinder head seat pocket of an internal combustion engine is described. The valve seat insert comprises an annular body comprising a first material and including an inner surface, an outer surface opposite the inner surface, a front surface adjoining the inner and outer surfaces, and a back surface opposite the front surface adjoining the inner and outer surfaces. The front surface includes an inner circumference greater than an inner circumference of the back surface. The back surface includes a first recession inlaid with a sacrificial anode comprising a second material different from the first material and having an exposed surface. In this manner, it may be possible to substantially prevent corrosion of the cylinder head seat pocket.

A poppet valve may be used in an internal combustion engine to control the flow of a fuel/air mixture from a fuel intake port of a cylinder head into a combustion chamber of the engine. The poppet valve circumferentially seals the valve face and a valve seat. When the valve is closed, the valve face is pressed tightly against the valve seat insert and the fuel/air mixture is blocked by the valve. When the valve is open, the valve face is disengaged from the valve seat and the fuel/air mixture may flow through the valve.
In a cast iron cylinder head, the valve seat may be integral to the cylinder head, but in an aluminum or aluminum alloy cylinder head, the valve seat insert may be inserted into a cylinder head seat pocket. A valve seat insert may be made of a sintered metal alloy which is harder and more wear resistant than aluminum. The valve seat insert is typically press-fitted into the cylinder head seat pocket and a small gap may remain between the valve seat insert and the back of the cylinder head seat pocket.
During engine operation, fuel may migrate into the small gap. The fuel in the gap is generally benign when used with conventional fuel mixtures containing about 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol. However, the fuel in the gap may be more problematic when the fuel contains high percentages of ethanol, such as the E85 blend which contains 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Specifically, high concentrations of ethanol in the gap may enable the aluminum cylinder head seat pocket to corrode. Excessive corrosion of the cylinder head seat pocket may enable the valve seat insert to shift over time such that the valve no longer fully closes causing a loss of compression and possible overheating and damage to the valve.
The inventors herein have recognized that one source of corrosion may be a galvanic reaction as the electrically conductive ethanol acts as an electrolyte to transport ions from the aluminum cylinder head seat pocket to the valve seat insert. The valve seat insert acts as a cathode and the aluminum cylinder head seat pocket acts as an anode in the reaction. As ions are conducted from the anode, the anode material corrodes and the cathode material remains substantially free of corrosion.
One approach to address the above issues includes a valve seat insert for a cylinder head seat pocket of an internal combustion engine. The valve seat insert comprises an annular body comprising a first material and including an inner surface, an outer surface opposite the inner surface, a front surface adjoining the inner and outer surfaces, and a back surface opposite the front surface adjoining the inner and outer surfaces. The front surface includes an inner circumference greater than an inner circumference of the back surface. The back surface includes a first recession. A sacrificial anode comprising a second material different from the first material and including an exposed surface may be inlaid in the first recession of the back surface of the annular body. In this manner, the sacrificial anode may be preferentially corroded instead of the aluminum cylinder head.
Furthermore, a complementary approach to address the above issues includes a method for delivering fuel in an engine. The engine may include a cylinder head including a valve seat insert including a sacrificial anode facing the cylinder head. The method comprises inducting injected electrically conductive fuel past the valve seat insert and conducting ions from the sacrificial anode via a galvanic reaction. In this way, it may be possible to substantially reduce corrosion of the cylinder head seat pocket.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.


As a contactless identification tag is removed from a commercial product, a section to be detected is cut and separated from a removal detection circuit section composing the contactless identification tag and remains on the commercial product. When a detection section judges that the section to be detected is removed from the contactless identification tag, the contactless identification tag changes functions.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to data communications using contactless identification tags, and contactless communication systems and contactless identification tags which assure security and easy maintenance of contactless identification tags.
2. Related Art
In recent years, various types of contactless IC tags in a sheet configuration or a tag configuration, in which an IC having data is connected to an antenna coil, have been proposed, and they are used, being attached to commercial products, packing boxes or the like to defend them from shoplifting, and used in commercial distribution systems.
Conventionally, systems that use contactless IC tags to detect impacts have been proposed. For example, there is a system that detects that an impact is applied to a package (see Japanese Laid-open Patent Application 2002-150249), wherein an IC tag having an impact sensor (Japanese Laid-open Patent Application 2002-150248) is attached to the package, the impact sensor breaks and its voltage changes when an impact greater than a predetermined level is applied to the IC tag, and a change in the voltage is detected.
However, although the conventional IC tag described above can detect the presence or absence of an impact, it cannot detect the presence or absence of unauthorized access. Further, it cannot prevent data reading or writing through unauthorized access.
A contactless IC tag may have functions, for example, to read an ID (identification) number written in the IC tag, and to write data in a nonvolatile memory in the IC tag. To operate such functions, in general, commands from a reader/writer device are executed. Accordingly, writing data in or reading data from the IC tag can be done if a reader/writer device that can access the IC tag is prepared.
As a result, for example, if stored data includes purchase history and sales history including private personal information and important client information, it is possible that they can be accessed without being noticed by the owner of the IC tag, and the data may be falsified. Even when commands not open to the public are used as commands from a reader/writer device to execute data reading or writing, an analyzer device may be used to analyze communications between the IC tag and the reader/writer device, whereby a method to access the IC tag can be discovered. This poses a serious problem.
Also, data may be encoded to prevent unauthorized access. However, when IC tags are collected and maintained in the factory, there is a possibility that troublesome operations such as decoding (release) may be needed if an access method is encoded.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made by paying attention to the unsolved problems of the conventional technology, and its object is to provide contactless data communication systems and contactless identification tags which can enhance the security against accesses to the contactless identification tags, and facilitate accesses at the time of maintenance.

Contactless data communication system, and contactless identification tag


The present invention pertains to an apparatus for manipulating video or audio signals. The apparatus includes a mechanism for analyzing a video or audio signal having a size. The apparatus includes a mechanism for producing a representative signal from and corresponding to the audio or video signal that identifies the audio or video signal but has less information than the audio or video signal and is smaller in size than the size of the audio or video signal. The producing mechanism is connected to the analyzing means. The apparatus includes a mechanism for transmitting to a remote location the representative signal. The transmitting mechanism is connected to the producing mechanism. The apparatus comprises a mechanism for recreating the audio or video signal from the representative signal at the remote location. The recreating mechanism is connected to the transmitting mechanism.

Generally, computer file formats for digital audio (hereinafter referred to as a "Dynamic Audio File"), such as the AUI, WAV, etc. audio file formats, and digital video (hereinafter referred to as a "Dynamic Video File"), such as the MPEG video file format, are formatted in a dynamic manner permitting easy and routine editing, serving a very useful purpose in the music and movie industries. Unfortunately, the dynamic nature of these file formats results in the generation of very large computer file sizes (i.e. hundreds of millions of bytes in size for a 40 minute digital audio file of 44.1 kHz sound quality and multi Gigabytes of data for full length motion picture quality recordings in digital video form).
As example, each second of a CD quality Dynamic Audio File is divided into 44,100 discrete time intervals. Each of these time intervals can simultaneously contain multiple frequencies (i.e. pitch) of sound at multiple amplitudes (i.e. volume). The Dynamic Audio File instructs an audio playing device (hereinafter referred to as a "Dynamic Audio Player") to play discrete frequencies/amplitudes at a rate of 44,100 times per second for CD quality sound. In a Dynamic Audio File, even if a string of consecutive time intervals contains identical frequencies and their related amplitudes, such an occurrence is irrelevant since the Digital Audio File format was designed, in part, to enable specific editing and/or dynamic manipulation of each individual time interval. The Dynamic Audio File fails to take advantage of redundancies within a string of consecutive time intervals which happen to repeat one or more identical frequencies and their related amplitudes.
Additionally, motion picture quality Digital Video Files are generally composed of about 30 video frames (images) per second. Each of these video frames are composed of a two dimensional, usually rectangular or square, grid of pixels. Each such pixel is capable of being colorized by complex, and/or basic, colors. Usually, a complex color is generated by mixing distinct shades of the basic colors red, green, and blue. The greater the number of distinct shades of these three basic colors, the greater the color definition of the video recording. It is common practice to use 256 distinct shades of the basic colors red, green, and blue in combination to create a palette of 16,777,216 unique complex colors, which is more than enough complex colors to display a motion picture quality recording. As example, each pixel contains a numeric entry ranging from 000 to 255 to define a distinct shade of the basic color red, a numeric entry ranging from 000 to 255 to define a distinct shade of the basic color green, and a numeric entry ranging from 000 to 255 to define a distinct shade of the basic color blue, all three of these shades of the basic colors red, green, and blue combine to identify a specific complex color from the palette of 16,777,216 possible complex colors (i.e. 256×256×256=16,777,216). Furthermore, the complex color white is defined, as is customary, as the mixture of the basic colors red255, green255, and blue255, where the subscript defines the distinct shade; and the complex color black is defined, as is customary, as the mixture of the basic colors red000, green000, and blue000. Using this manner to mathematically describe complex colors, red116, green000, and blue095 mix to generate a discrete shade of purple. This manner to mathematically describe complex colors will be used throughout the teachings of the present invention.
The Dynamic Video File instructs a video playing device (hereinafter referred to as the "Dynamic Video Player") to display specific complex colors within each discrete pixel of each discrete video frame video frame of the video recording. In a Dynamic Video File, even if a string of consecutive video frames contains a pixel having the identical complex color, such a coincidence is irrelevant since the Digital Video File format was designed, in part, to enable very specific and independent editing or dynamic manipulation of each individual discrete pixel within each discrete video frame. The Dynamic Video File format fails to take advantage of similarities or redundancies within a string of consecutive video frames in which the color within discrete pixels remains constant over time.
Furthermore, use of the Dynamic Audio File and Dynamic Video File formats pose several problems when used to electronically distribute digital audio and digital video signals to the consumer markets (i.e. U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,573). The Dynamic Audio File and the Dynamic Video File formats, being very large as measured in bytes of data, require considerable time to transmit via telecommunications. Additionally, and as example, if the user desires to save Dynamic Audio Files in the home, a massive storage device would be required (i.e. 10 music albums of about 45 minutes in duration each, in AUI format, would require in excess of 7 Giga bytes of storage capacity).

Method and system for manipulation of audio or video signals


The present invention relates to an apparatus for and method of picking-up a center hub used with a flexible disk at a step of fixing the center hub and flexible disk to each other or at a similar step in the flexible disk cartridge manufacturing process. The spindle is lowered toward the center hub until the centering pin provided at the end thereof is projected into the central hole in the central portion of the center hub for centering. Next, the collet chuck is lowered until the end claws thereof are projected into the concavity in the central portion of the center hub. At this time, the flange portion of the center hub is raised due to as attraction exerted thereon by the magnets buried in the outer end face portion of the collet chuck other than at the end claws. Then the spindle is lifted, and the opening mechanism opens the collet chuck, the end claws of which will be, in turn, pressed toward the circumferential wall of the concavity in the central portion of the center hub, whereby the center hub is held in a required position.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for and method of picking-up a center hub used with a flexible disk, at a step of fixing the center hub and flexible disk to each other, or at a similar step in the assembly of the flexible disk cartridge manufacturing process.
(2) Description of the Related Art
The flexible disk used in a 3.5-inch (90-mm) flexible disk cartridge and the like has a center hub fixed at the center thereof as a driving disk (see Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 4-45382). This center hub is composed of a central and flange portions stepped with respect to each other, and the central portion has a central hole and drive hole formed therein.
At the center hub/adhesive ring attaching step in the flexible disk cartridge manufacturing process, an adhesive ring is attached to the flange portion of the center hub, and at the center hub/disk attaching step, a flexible disk is attached to the center hub by the adhesive ring.
In such a manufacturing process, the center hub must be picked-up and brought to predetermined positions (namely, to an adhesive ring on a center hub/adhesive ring attaching rotor and to a flexible disk on a center hub/disk attaching rotor), and for this purpose, a picking-up apparatus that uses a vacuum to pick-up the center hub is used.
The conventional center hub picking apparatus, however, picks-up the center hub by a vacuum suction only, and has no centering function, and therefore, the center hub cannot be attached to the adhesive ring, and therefore, the center hub cannot be attached to the adhesive ring, and then to the flexible disk, with a high precision.

Apparatus for and method of picking up flexible disk center hub


A variable valve timing control apparatus employs a five-blade vane member fixedly connected to a camshaft end and rotatably disposed in a phase-converter housing formed integral with a sprocket driven by an engine crankshaft. Five phase-retard chambers and five phase-advance chambers are defined by five blades of the vane member and the housing, for creating a phase change of the vane member relative to the housing. A circumferential width of each of a first pair of blades, located on both sides of a first blade having a maximum circumferential width, is dimensioned to be less than a circumferential width of each of a second pair of blades, circumferentially spaced apart from the first blade rather than the first pair. The circumferential width of each of the second pair of blades is dimensioned to be less than the maximum circumferential width of the first blade.

In recent years, there have been proposed and developed various variable valve timing control systems each employing a phase converter, such as a hydraulically-operated vane-type timing variator. A hydraulically-operated vane-type timing variator has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2002-30908 (hereinafter is referred to as "JP2002-30908"). In the hydraulically-operated vane-type variable valve timing control (VTC) device disclosed in JP2002-30908, a vane member is fixedly connected to a camshaft end and rotatably enclosed in a cylindrical housing of a timing pulley whose opening ends are enclosed with front and rear covers. The front cover, the cylindrical housing, and the rear cover are integrally connected to each other by means of a plurality of bolts. Four phase-advance hydraulic chambers and four phase-retard hydraulic chambers are defined by four frusto-conical partition walls (four shoes) radially inwardly extending from the inner periphery of the cylindrical housing and four blades (four vanes) of the vane member. The rear plate is formed integral with a timing-chain sprocket (or a timing-belt pulley), which serves as a rotary member driven in synchronism with rotation of an engine crankshaft. The first one of the four vane blades has an axial bore that slidably accommodating therein a lock pin (or a lock piston). On the other hand, the front plate has a lock-pin hole formed in its axially inside end. Depending on an engine operating condition, the lock pin is selectively engaged with or disengaged from the lock-pin hole. For instance, during an engine starting period, the lock pin is brought into engagement with the lock-pin hole, thus constraining rotary motion (free rotation) of the vane member relative to the cylindrical housing and consequently preventing the camshaft from rotating relative to the crankshaft. As a result, the vane member is held at a phase-retarded angular position suited to the engine starting period. Additionally, in the hydraulically-operated vane-type VTC device disclosed in JP2002-30908, the circumferential width L1 of the first vane blade, having the axial bore slidably accommodating therein the lock pin, and the circumferential width L2 of the second vane blade, diametrically opposing the first vane blade, are both dimensioned to be wider than each of circumferential widths L3 and L4 of the remaining vane blades (that is, L1, L2>L3, L4). Such setting of the circumferential widths L1–L4 is effective to ensure a comparatively great phase change of the vane member relative to the cylindrical housing without causing rotational unbalance of the vane member having three or more blades.

Variable valve timing control apparatus of internal combustion engine


A basic manufacturing method of a resin roll includes a procedure in which a synthetic resin outer cylinder (1) molded in the shape of a cylinder is arranged so as to cover an outer surface of a metal core (2), a clearance formed between metal core (2) and outer cylinder 1 is filled with a thermoset adhesive (3), and adhesive (3) is hardened to integrate the constituents into one piece through bonding. The manufacturing method of a resin roll has a feature in that integration of the constituents into one piece through bonding is performed by first hardening of the adhesive in a state where outer cylinder (1) is held at a first temperature and adhesive (3) is thereafter heated at a second temperature higher than the first temperature for second hardening.

A large-size, hard resin roll in the range of 300 mm to 1500 mm in outer diameter, in the range of 1500 mm to 10000 mm in face and of the order in the range of D70 to D99 in hardness (JIS K6253) has been used in various kinds of industries associated with paper making, iron manufacture, fibers, magnetic recording media and the like.
A manufacturing method of a resin roll to which the present invention is directed is basically a method including a procedure in which a synthetic resin outer cylinder molded in the shape of a cylinder is arranged so as to enclose and cover the outer surface of a metal core, a clearance formed between the metal core and the outer cylinder is filled with an adhesive, and the adhesive is hardened to integrate the constituents into one piece through bonding. A manufacturing method of a resin roll according to the procedure is disclosed in detail in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-47359. Generally, as procedures of a manufacturing method of a resin roll, there have been known in addition to the above-mentioned method: a procedure in which a synthetic resin in a liquid state is cast around a metal core, followed by hardening; a procedure in which a tape-like long strip impregnated with a synthetic resin is wound around the outer surface of a metal core, followed by hardening; and others, to which the present invention does not relate.
The manufacturing process according to Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-47359 is effective especially for manufacturing a large-size, hard resin roll and capable of manufacturing a resin roll, excellent in compressive strength and hard to be damaged on its surface, so that actual achievements thereof have been piled up as a manufacturing method of paper making calender resin roll.
In order to prevent breakage of the outer cylinder during operation, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-47359, conventionally, it has been accepted that a hardening temperature of the adhesive for bonding the synthetic resin outer cylinder is preferably almost equal to an operating temperature of the resin roll after being manufactured, and an example is specifically shown in the publication thereof that the adhesive is hardened by heating the roll in its entirety in a heating furnace at about 60° C.
A resin roll used in the above described applications is abraded on its surface at proper time for the purpose of removing a damage having generated on the surface of the roll during operation. Abrading water is poured on the roll surface during polishing.
In a resin roll manufactured according to the conventional method, however, a small damage has been easy to be extended to a large crack, when the small damage is present on the roll surface, during polishing, especially under a low temperature condition such as in winter. In addition, there has been a case where a new crack is generated under a low temperature condition. With an enlarged crack thereon, the roll cannot be used any longer. In addition, when a fracture of the roll originating from a crack flies away during polishing, it is considerably dangerous.
It has been considered that in order to provide an adhesive layer of a roll with sufficient strength and durability, the adhesive is effectively hardened at the highest possible temperature to thereby raise a glass transition temperature of the adhesive. However, it has been found that with a rise in a hardening temperature of an adhesive, extension of a crack under a low temperature condition becomes more conspicuous.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a resin roll, having sufficient adhesion strength and durability between a metal core and an outer cylinder and, in addition, suffering no cracking and not extending a damage, if any, to a large crack during polishing a surface of the roll even under a low temperature condition.


A diaphragm for electrolyzing alkali metal chloride solutions is provided which is one or more layers of a porous support, coated with a perfluoro ion exchange polymer and then wet with a wetting solution which has a surface tension of 22 to 45 dynes/cm. The wetting solution is preferably an aqueous alcohol and most preferably aqueous 3-6.5% butanol. The wetting solution assists in initial water penetration into the pores of the diaphragm, rendering the diaphragm hydrophilic so as to resist gas locking and premature shutdown of the electrolytic cell.

In the electrolysis or electrosynthesis of chemical compounds, a porous diaphragm is often used to separate the anode and cathode compartments and the reaction products, while permitting the flow of some liquid components from one compartment to another. For example, in the production of chlorine and sodium hydroxide from brine, the brine feed flows from the anode compartment through the porous diaphragm to the cathode compartment and then is discharged from the cell.
Porous diaphragms are widely used for the electrolysis of aqueous sodium chloride to make sodium hydroxide and chlorine. While asbestos has been widely used as a porous diaphragm in electrolytic cells, it is known to present serious environmental hazards and has a short lifetime.
Synthetic diaphragms are preferred to asbestos diaphragms in many respects because they can be operated at high current density and low cell voltage without being destroyed by power upsets, fluctuations or outages. Synthetic diaphragms do not present serious environmental hazards and exhibit a longer lifetime than comparable asbestos diaphragms. The synthetic diaphragm must, however, be resistant to the chemicals employed in separation devices or electrolytic cells at temperatures which frequently approach 100.degree. C. The effect of diaphragm structure on the performance of an electrolytic cell is quite complex. The diaphragm can be described in terms of pore size distribution, porosity, tortuosity, thickness and resultant permeability of the structure. For a given set of cell operating conditions, these parameters, and especially their uniformity across the active area of the diaphragm, determine the electrical energy usage of the cell. The art in designing a diaphragm for use in electrolytic cell is to properly balance the diaphragm properties to minimize overall electrical energy usage by reducing operating voltage while maintaining high current efficiency. This is most effectively done with a diaphragm whose properties are highly uniform across its active area.
Furthermore, the synthetic diaphragms, usually made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), are difficult to fully wet with the electrolyte. If the diaphragm is not fully wetted, gas bubbles generated at the electrodes will accumulate in the diaphragm pores, blocking both bulk and ion flow. This reduces the effective diaphragm area, leading to an increase in voltage and eventually causing premature shutdown of the electrolytic cell. This is called "gas locking."
U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,720 teaches the treatment of diaphragms containing both asbestos and synthetic fibers with ion exchange resins to help solve this problem.
Several patents describe porous PTFE diaphragms made by combining PTFE powder or fiber with a sacrificial filler. The mixture is formed into a sheet and the filler is removed by dissolving or decomposing it, leaving porous PTFE. These diaphragms generally operate at a high cell voltage.
Other patents describe synthetic diaphragms prepared by a PTFE fiber slurry deposition process. The size, shape and size distribution of the PTFE fiber available leads to a large pore, inherently weak, nonuniform structure which must be made very thick to provide utility. The result is high cell voltage.
Other patents describe a single-layer diaphragm made of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (EPTFE) which is wettable by various methods, including impregnating it with a solution of a perfluoro cation exchange resin. Without wettability achieved with a chemically resistant coating, an adequate level of hydrophilicity is not maintained and "gas locking" occurs reducing the effective diaphragm area leading to an increase in operating voltage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,477 describes a diaphragm of porous PTFE sheet material with a microstructure characterized by nodes and fibrils and having a multilayer structure wherein a number of such sheets are bonded together. Initial wettability is achieved by treatment with acetone and water, but treatment of the diaphragm with acetone and water alone does not provide long-term wetting. In the harsh environment of an electrolytic cell such as a chloralkali cell, the acetone and water do not provide long-term hydrophilicity and the diaphragm prematurely fails.
Other improvements in this technology which try to solve the problems of the prior art diaphragms, such as short life or gas blocking (as a result of incomplete wetting) or side-to-side non-uniformity of the diaphragm structure involve using multiple layers of EPTFE which are at least partially coated with a perfluoro ion exchange polymer. This provides more uniform flow rates across the diaphragm, resulting in improved current efficiency. The diaphragm may initially contain water soluble surfactant within its pores to enhance initial wetting. While this improvement represents an advance over the prior art, it has not been possible to reproduce satisfactory wetting without leaving microscopic air bubbles in the wetted diaphragm.
The present invention solves the problem of reproducible initial wetting of the dried diaphragm without losing any of the other desirable features of the prior art.


A disposable syringe includes a plunger movable in a barrel relative to a needle seat that engages an inner surrounding barrel wall surface of the barrel by a resisting force. The plunger includes a plunger body and a coupling rod which is in frictional engagement with the plunger body and which has a central anchored area disposed to engage an anchoring portion of the needle seat by a holding force. As such, when the plunger body is moved to bring the central anchored area into engagement with the anchoring portion, the resisting force is overcome to permit disengagement of the needle seat from the barrel, and the coupling rod and the needle seat can be retracted into the plunger body by virtue of a biasing action of a biasing member.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disposable syringe, more particularly to a disposable syringe which enables a needle cannula to be retracted into a plunger body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,628 discloses a syringe with an automatic retracting needle, which includes a barrel 11 with a chamber, a flexible lock member 12 fixed in the chamber adjacent to a lower end 111 thereof, a flexible needle seat 13 positioned in the chamber adjacent to the lower end 111 and formed with an opening 131, a needle cannula 14 fastened to the needle seat 13 in the opening 131 and extending through an orifice 112 in the lower end 111, a plunger 15 slidable in the chamber along an axis (X), a shaft 16 disposed in the plunger 15 and having an integral annular lower foot part 161 which is press-fitted against an upwardly extending lip 151 of the plunger 15, and a spring 17 surrounding the shaft 16 and having one end 172 which abuts against an upper end 163 of the shaft 16 and the other end 171 which is retained in a compressed state by engagement of the lip 151 with the lower foot part 161. The lock member 12 has a flexible inwardly protruding lip 121 which bears on a shoulder 134 of the needle seat 13 to prevent the needle seat 13 from moving upwardly.
The shaft 16 further includes a lower protrusion 162 shaped to mate with the opening 131. As such, when the plunger 15 is pressed downwardly along the axis (X), the lower protrusion 162 can be inserted into the opening 131, and the lower foot part 161 spreads the lip 121 outwardly so that the lip 121 is bent to disengage from the shoulder 134. At the same time, the residual force of the lip 121 against the lower foot part 161 causes a slight inward bend of the lower foot part 161 and momentarily causes the lower foot part 161 to lose contact with the lip 151. The compressive force of the spring 17 then urges the upper end 163 of the shaft 16 upwardly. Due to the mating fit of the lower protrusion 162 with the opening 131, the upward movement is also transferred to the needle seat 13 and the needle cannula 14 which are urged upwardly into the plunger 15.
However, in order to ensure smooth retraction of the needle seat 13 and the needle cannula 14 into the plunger 15, the engagement of the lower foot part 161 with the lip 151 cannot be very tight. However, a loose engagement may result in an undesired release of the compressive force of the spring 17. Moreover, some medicine may enter the plunger 15 from a clearance between the lower foot part 161 and the lip 151. Furthermore, the lower foot part 161, which has a conical shape, may interfere with the retraction of the shaft 16 into the plunger 15.


In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a method for processing an audio/video stream includes providing an audio/video stream including at least one segment of a show and at least one interstitial of the show, receiving location information to identify a video location within the audio/video stream, and processing the audio/video stream to identify boundaries of the at least one segment of the show based on the location information. Further, the method includes outputting the segment of the show for presentation by a display device without outputting the interstitial and outputting the interstitial for presentation by the display device subsequent to outputting the segment of the show.

Digital video recorders (DVRs) and personal video recorders (PVRs) allow viewers to record video in a digital format to a disk drive or other type of storage medium for later playback. DVRs are often incorporated into set-top boxes for satellite and cable television services. A television program stored on a set-top box allows a viewer to perform time shifting functions, and may additionally allow a viewer to skip over commercial breaks and other portions of the recording that the viewer does not desire to watch. However, the user performs this function manually, for example, using a fast forward button of a remote control associated with the DVR. This manual fast forwarding is an inconvenience for the user. Further, manual fast forwarding by a user often leads to inaccurate results, because the user may fast forward past portions of the recording they desire to watch, or may resume playback during the portion of the recording that they want to skip over.
In some instances, the user desires to watch the television program initially without the interruption of commercial breaks, but subsequent to watching the television program, desires to view the commercials that were previously skipped. In this case, the user must not only manually fast forward over the commercial breaks during the initial viewing of the television program, but must then also rewind after the television program is completed to view the commercials. The prior art thus fails to solve this problem in a manner that is easy and convenient for the user.

Method and apparatus for modifying the presentation of content


A raining bed heat exchanger includes: a hollow stack; a feed inlet located near the top of the stack for introducing particulate material into the stack so that the material falls through the stack; a gas inlet located near the bottom of the stack for introducing rising gases into the stack so that the gases flow counter to the falling material; a plurality of baffles supported within the stack between the feed and gas inlets for retarding the falling material and prolonging its exposure to the gases; and a disengagement section located near the top of the stack for separating from the gases particulates entrained by the rising gases. The disengagement section includes a screen positioned within the stack and having a plurality of gaps through which the rising gases pass in order to sufficiently separate the entrained particulates. Alternatively, the disengagement section can include a filter media to separate the entrained particulates. Also, at least one of the baffles can include a hollow tube and refractory insulation surrounding the hollow tube. The heat exchanger can be connected to a cyclone to form a heat exchanger system that includes a flow generating mechanism adapted to continuously reintroduce particulates separated by the cyclone back into the heat exchanger.

This invention relates to heat exchangers and their methods of use.
Heat exchangers provide a structure in which thermal energy can be transferred from a hot medium to a cold medium. In particular, a heat exchanger may provide a structure in which a flame or hot gases heat, melt, or drive chemical reactions in particulate material. For example, in glass manufacture, a furnace melts glass batch feedstock and cullet (recycled glass) using a flame formed from natural gas, oil, or coal, and preheated combustion air. Radiation from the flame and furnace enclosure transfer heat to the melt. In some cases, a separate heat exchanger preheats the glass batch and cullet using hot exhaust gases from the furnace.
In another example, a calciner furnace heats limestone (CaCO.sub.3) to drive off carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) and calcine the limestone into lime (CaO). One type of calciner includes a pair of connected silos in which natural gas is burned between the silos. During its use, limestone is fed into each of the silos. Then, air is drawn into one of the silos and passes through the natural gas flame, which heats the air. The heated air then passes through the second silo and transfers the heat to the limestone in that silo to drive the calcination reaction. After a time, the direction of the air flow between silos is reversed to heat the limestone in the first silo.
A rotary kiln can also be used as a calciner. A rotary kiln includes a large rotating pipe oriented at a small angle from the ground. Particulate material flows through the pipe from top to bottom and is heated by counter flowing hot gases. Rotation of the pipe mixes and breaks up the particulate flow to provide even heating. In addition, the rotary kiln can include chains hanging within the pipe to further break up the particulate flow and to transfer heat to the particulate material.
In all cases, the design of a heat exchanger attempts to optimize the efficiency of the thermal transfer process. The sizes of the particulate material can affect this efficiency. For example, in the connected-silo calciner, the spaces between the chunks of limestone fed into the silos must be sufficiently large to provide a passage for the air flow with an acceptable pressure drop. Also, in the rotary kiln, small particulates can "blanket" larger particulates and prevent heat transfer to these larger particulates. Another concern is the loss of small particulates to exhaust gases from the heat exchanger.

Raining bed heat exchanger and method of use


A method of determining an engagement position of a clutch of a vehicle is provided. The clutch is operable by a clutch pedal adapted to move over a travel range. The method comprises determining a rate of change of position of the clutch pedal, locating a dwelling range of the clutch pedal, the dwelling range comprising a plurality of positions of the clutch pedal along the travel range during which the rate of change of position of the clutch pedal is less than a predetermined rate of change for a predetermined length of time, and recording the travel positions of the clutch pedal in the dwelling range.

Automobiles and other vehicles typically have an engine with a multi-gear transmission. A clutch is typically used to engage a selected gear to a drive shaft, thereby transmitting power to the drive wheels of the automobile, or similar propulsion mechanism of other vehicles. Control of the clutch in automobiles is typically maintained by the operator in automobiles with manual transmissions and, in automatic transmissions, a control mechanism which performs gear-shifting under pre-determined conditions. Some automatic transmissions permit the operator to retain limited or complete control over gear selection, while still managing clutch engagement.
For partially- and fully-automatic transmissions, it is advantageous to ascertain the point of engagement of the clutch as accurately as possible. The engagement point of the clutch is the position of the clutch at which the selected gear interfaces with the drive shaft, beginning power transmission. Clutches in manual and partially-automatic vehicles are typically operated through the use of a clutch pedal. The operator can ascertain the engagement point of the clutch through feedback from various sources, including tactile feedback transmitted via the clutch pedal, changes in torque or revolution speed of the engine, engine sound, and so on. The operator can thusly ease the clutch through its operation, resulting in a gentle clutch engagement and graceful acceleration.
An automatic transmission control system or computer system can be given information corresponding to the engagement point of the clutch during manufacture or initial calibration. During the lifetime of the vehicle, however, the engagement point can change due to a variety of reasons, including component wear, and equipment maintenance and replacement. Accordingly, it can be difficult to continue to automatically operate some vehicles at peak efficiency over the lifetime of the vehicle.

System and method for determining the engagement point of a clutch


A field sequential driving method includes the following steps. First, a liquid crystal display (LCD) including a display unit and a backlight unit is provided. The display unit includes several pixel units. Next, a white light source of the backlight unit is enabled during a first sub-frame period of a frame period of the LCD. Then, red and blue sub-pixel data are provided to drive a first sub-pixel and a second sub-pixel in the pixel unit during the first sub-frame period. Next, a green light source of the backlight unit is enabled during a second sub-frame period of the frame period. Thereafter, green sub-pixel data is provided to drive a third sub-pixel of the pixel unit during the second sub-frame period.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a liquid crystal display (LCD), and more particularly to a field sequential LCD.
2. Description of the Related Art
A white light source, such as a white light emitting diode (LED) or a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL), often serves as a backlight source in conventional liquid crystal displays. In addition, the conventional LCD further displays a color image composed of red, green and blue colors using the white backlight source in conjunction with a pixel structure including red, green and blue sub-pixels. However, the conventional LCD has several drawbacks.
FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a chromaticity diagram showing a CIE model of a conventional LCD, wherein C1 and C2 respectively define a gamut of a NTSC (National Television System Committee) television system standard and a gamut of the conventional LCD. Because the green saturation, which may be displayed by the conventional LCD using a white light source in conjunction with a green color filter, is lower, the conventional LCD has the drawback of the insufficient green saturation.
In addition, the green saturation of the conventional LCD is insufficient, so the gamut that may be displayed by the LCD is substantially smaller than that of the NTSC television system standard. Thus, the conventional LCD further has the drawback of the narrower gamut.

Field sequential liquid crystal display and driving method thereof


A pliers-type stripping tool includes a base, a pair of pivot levers pivotally connected with the base, a pair of clamping members connected for relative longitudinal displacement on one of the pivot levers, a pair of cutting members connected for relative longitudinal displacement on the other of the pivot levers, a first spring biasing the clamping jaws apart, a second spring biasing the cutting jaws apart, and a first operating arrangement operable by a pair of pivotally-connected handles to displace the clamping and cutting jaws together from their normal separated conditions toward adjacent positions in clamping and insulation-piercing engagement with an insulated conductor positioned therebetween. The cutting members sever a length of the insulation layer that extends concentrically around the conductor, and a second operating arrangement is operable by the handles to separate the pivot levers, thereby to strip the severed insulation layer from the bare conductor.

1. Field of the Invention
A pliers-type stripping tool includes a base, a pair of pivot levers pivotally connected with the base, a pair of clamping members connected for relative longitudinal displacement on one of the pivot levers, a pair of cutting members connected for relative longitudinal displacement on the other of said pivot levers, first and second spring means biasing apart the clamping jaws and the cutting jaws, respectively, and first operating means including a pair of pivotally connected handles operable to displace the clamping and cutting jaws together from their normal separated conditions toward adjacent positions in engagement with an insulated conductor positioned therebetween. Owing to the spring biasing means, a certain degree of tolerance is provided to compensate for variations in the diametric dimensions of the insulated conductor components. The cutting members sever a length of the insulation layer, and second operating means are operable by the handles to separate the pivot levers, thereby to strip from the bare conductor the length of severed insulation.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Insulation stripping tools of the pliers type are well known in the prior art, as evidenced, for example, by the German patent No. DE 79 33 957 U1. This tool includes two clamping jaws and two stripping knives which operate in a pulling manner, that is to say, one clamping jaw each and a stripping knife are pulled in case of activation against a fixed clamping jaw and a fixed stripping knife. The movable clamping jaw and the stripping knife are not coupled together so that the movable clamping jaw and the stripping knife can be applied against the conductor independently of each other.
It is also known that one can provide a two-knife arrangement including two stripping knives each on stripping pliers that are arranged "back to back" with adjacent cutting areas. This can be advantageous because one does not leave any imprint of the clamping jaws on the conductor, which, under certain circumstances, could even damage the conductor, and because the very sharp knives can securely prevent the conductor from slipping through. On the other hand, separation with the two knife arrangement, positioned back to back, consisting of two stripping knifes each, is not always advantageous because that can result in an unsightly cutting result. The known stripping tools of this pliers design have the disadvantage that they have an extensively asymmetrical structure, something that makes production more expensive due to the large number of required parts and, moreover, the user finds handling this device to be rather difficult.
The present invention was developed to provide an improved pliers-type insulation stripping tool by means of which, using appropriate handling procedures, it is possible in a simple manner to provide a tolerance compensation for varying conductor diameters. Preferably, as an alternative, there is provided both a design with two clamping jaws and two stripping knives as well as an arrangement with an arrangement including two knives lying next to each other with two stripping knives each.
A certain degree of play is provided between the clamping and/or the cutting jaws due to the resilient action of a spring means with some degree of play in each case, which play is so designed that conductor tolerances, when clamping a conductor or when cutting the insulation end, can be equalized in a resilient manner.
According to manufacturer's data, conductors with the same nominal cross-section also differ somewhat from each other individually because, for instance, a single-wire, fine-wire, or multi-wire conductor may display a somewhat varying diameter. Therefore, the additional resilient arrangement also of the upper clamping jaw and the upper stripping knife or two stripping knives will have an advantageous effect in terms of "tolerance equalization."
It is possible to combine the advantages of a clamping jaw arrangement and a stripping knife arrangement with each other because, on the one hand, it is advantageous to cut the conductor only with one stripping knife pair in order to avoid an unsightly double cut and, on the other hand, it is advantageous to hold the conductor in a defined fashion with one clamping jaw pair. However, according to the state of the art, the absence of tolerance equalization for conductors that allegedly have the same cross-section turned out to be a problem. These problems are solved by the present invention in a simple and effective way. The pliers are distinguished by comfortable handling capability.
The present invention makes it possible also to provide a dual knife arrangement with two movable and two fixed stripping knives each or—in a particularly preferred manner—one clamping jaw arrangement with two clamping jaws and one knife arrangement with two stripping knives.


A liquid crystal display device has a liquid crystal panel displaying an image. A printed circuit board is arranged along one side of the liquid crystal panel, and a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards connect the liquid crystal panel and the printed circuit board. At least two driver ICs are mounted on each flexible printed circuit board and the at least two driver ICs are cascaded with respect to input signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device including a driver.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display device comprises a liquid crystal panel for displaying an image, a printed circuit board arranged along one side of the liquid crystal panel, and a plurality of flexible printed circuit boards connecting the liquid crystal panel and the printed wiring board and having driver ICs mounted thereon (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-44100 and No. 7-49657). Source bus electrodes are arranged along one side of the liquid crystal panel and gate bus electrodes are arranged along another side of the liquid crystal panel. The source bus electrodes are mainly described here, that is, the description of one side of the liquid crystal panel is given here.
Each flexible printed circuit board has a drive IC. Display data signals, voltage signals and control signals are input to the input terminals of the printed circuit board. The output terminals of the printed circuit board are connected to the input terminals of the flexible printed circuit board and the input terminals of the flexible printed circuit board are connected to the driver IC. The driver IC converts the input signals into liquid crystal drive signals, which are then supplied to the source bus terminals of the liquid crystal panel via the output terminals of the flexible printed circuit board. The liquid crystal is driven by the input signals supplied in this manner.
Recently, as the liquid crystal display device has become more compact and its resolution has become finer, the number of input and output terminals of the flexible printed circuit board has increased, resulting in an arrangement of input and output terminals with a narrower pitch. The input terminals of the flexible printed circuit boards are connected to the output terminals of the printed circuit board with an anisotropic conductive adhesive (ACF). As the pitch of the input terminals of the flexible printed circuit board becomes narrower, the pitch of the output terminals of the printed circuit board to be connected thereto also becomes narrower.
If the pitch of the output terminals of the printed circuit board becomes, for example, 0.3 mm or less, the pitch of the input terminals of the flexible printed circuit board may become different from that of the output terminals of the printed circuit board, resulting in shift in position, owing to the thermal contraction of the printed circuit board material, when the flexible printed circuit board and the printed circuit board are bonded with the ACF. However, if a special material with low coefficient of contraction is used for the printed circuit board, the cost of the printed circuit board is increased.

Liquid crystal display device with flexible printed circuit board


Provided is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, by which a cell transistor formed on a cell array area of a semiconductor substrate employs a structure in which an electrode in the shape of spacers is used to form a gate and a multi-bit operation is possible using localized bits, and transistors having structures optimized to satisfy different requirements depending upon functions of the transistors can be formed on a peripheral circuit area which is the residual area of the semiconductor substrate. In this method, a cell transistor is formed on the cell array area. The cell transistor includes a notch gate structure, a first channel region formed on a semiconductor substrate under the notch gate structure, a source region and a drain region formed on both sides of the first channel region, a first gate insulation film formed between the first channel region and the notch gate structure, and a memory layer locally formed on areas adjacent to the source and drain regions between the first channel region and the notch gate structure. At the same time that the cell transistor is formed, a plurality of peripheral circuit transistors including at least one transistor having a different structure from the cell transistor are formed on the peripheral circuit area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, by which process integration of a transistor capable of a multi-bit operation on a cell array area and a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) on a peripheral circuit area is facilitated simultaneously.
2. Description of the Related Art
Silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) or metal-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (MONOS) devices have been proposed as non-volatile memory devices that are widely used in mobile communications systems, memory cards, etc. Most of such SONOS semiconductor memory devices employ a stacked SONOS transistor structure in which an ONO structure exists over the entire channel area of a transistor. In this stacked SONOS transistor structure, since an ONO structure exists over the entire channel area of a transistor, the cell transistor has a high initial threshold voltage Vth and a high program current. Hence, integrating the stacked SONOS transistor together with a logic product having a low initial threshold voltage Vth into a single chip is difficult due to the high initial threshold voltage Vth. Also, in a stacked SONOS-type cell transistor, electrons trapped in a storage node layer within an ONO structure may move horizontally along the storage node layer, and thus an erasing operation may not be properly performed. Furthermore, as an FET is scaled to a high level with rapid development of the semiconductor industry, various problems, such as an increase in leakage current due to a reduction of the size of a semiconductor device, occur.
To operate a general flash memory device, there is a need to form a cell transistor array on a cell array area and also form a low voltage (LV) or high voltage (HV) MOSFET circuit block, including such circuits as a program/erase (P/E) controller, a data load latch, a word line decoder, an address buffer, and a sense amp, on a peripheral circuit area and a core area (hereinafter, both referred to as a peripheral circuit area). To integrate a cell transistor array having a storage node and circuit blocks of a peripheral circuit area into a single chip as in a SONOS structure, efficient process integration between a cell array area and the peripheral circuit is required. In particular, when a cell transistor having a structure capable of a multi-bit operation using localized bits is formed, a process of forming a cell transistor array on a cell array area and a process of forming an HV transistor and a LV transistor on a peripheral circuit area are simultaneously performed. In this case, a process of readily forming transistors having structures designed differently according to unique functions of the transistors to maintain the unique functions and electrical characteristics of the transistors is needed.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device having notched gate MOSFET


An electrophoresis device comprising a pair of electrically-insulating, liquid impermeable sheets disposed in spaced apart relationship to one another and a gel membrane disposed between the sheets acting as an electrophoresis medium, the gel membrane having a substantially flat surface thereon disposed below an edge of the sheets defining together with the sheets an elongated slot of predetermined thickness, wherein at least one liquid impermeable, elastomeric, compliant member, such as a solid cylinder or tube, is disposed within the slot and forms at least one sample well above the gel membrane.

This invention relates to an improved electrophoresis device.
Electrophoresis gels are widely used for separating and analyzing biomolecular materials such as proteins and nucleic acids, for example. A gel medium, such as polyacrylamide, agarose or combinations thereof, is commonly disposed between a pair of electrically-insulating, liquid impermeable sheets such as glass or plastic plates which are held in spaced-apart, opposing relationship by insulating spacers or the like. During use, sample liquids, which are to be subjected to electrophoresis, are placed, layered or injected into sample wells at the top of the gel medium and electrophoresis is begun by applying electrical power to the gel medium.
In the prior art, sample wells have been formed by inserting a comb shaped plastic member into the gel solution while it is still a liquid. After polymerization has occurred, the comb is removed and the sample wells are formed in the location where the teeth of the comb resided in the gel. The formation of consistently good sample wells in gels where the concentration of acrylamide is low has been generally unreliable and inconsistent using this technique. Low concentrations of acrylamide or other media provides a wider spectrum of biomolecules to be separated, particularly large size biomolecules.
Another technique that has been used to form sample wells is to first pour a gel with a flat top surface. A plastic insert is then placed on top of the surface to form the wells. The plastic insert, however, has not proven reliable in sealing the wells against leakage. Sample liquid leaks past some of the wells and contaminates adjoining wells.
The prior art techniques generally rely upon the fits and clearances between the plastic comb or insert and the slot or opening provided between the glass plates in order to accommodate them. The slot or opening between the glass or plastic plates is generally created by spacers which are typically made from plastic sheet material. The slot openings or gel thickness tolerances between the combs and spacers can vary significantly enough to negatively affect the formation of the sample wells using prior art techniques for forming sample wells.
It will be apparent that the prior art has thus far failed to provide a reliable, economical solution to forming consistent sample wells particularly in large size gels and gel media of low concentration or poor characteristics. Instead, manufacturers of precast (ready made) gels have resorted to producing gels with flat tops, thus leaving to the individual researcher the task of forming the sample wells on top of the resolving gels. The researcher will ordinarily utilize either one of the above described techniques for forming the wells.
It is therefore an important object of the invention to provide an improved electrophoresis device employing a gel medium together with preformed sample wells wherein the sample wells are of consistently good quality. Another object of the invention is to provide such an improved electrophoresis device which eliminates high rejection rates of precast gels due to faulty wells in order to economically justify the production of precast or ready made gels on a large scale commercial basis.


An apparatus and a method for retrofitting a storage rack assembly with a push-back system. Rail structures on which a push-back cart will travel are attached to an existing storage rack assembly with no or slight modification of the existing storage rack assembly. The push-back storage system may be retrofitted to a variety of different prior art storage racks; for example, a selective rack assembly or drive-in rack assembly.

The present invention relates in general to an apparatus and method for retrofitting storage rack assemblies with push-back systems. More specifically, the present invention comprises a set of rails, supported by a frame structure that not only serves to incline the rails but also keeps the rails at a predetermined distance from each other so that a push-back cart may translate along the rails. The configuration of the rails and frame allows them to be assembled or dropped into place on an existing rack assembly without requiring structural modification of the rack assembly.
Many companies and individuals find it desirable or necessary to have some form of storage rack assemblies to facilitate high density storage. These racks allow one to organize products for quick access while maximizing the effective use of available space. Presently, there are several different styles of storage racks, including selective rack assemblies and drive-in rack assemblies.
In one form of a selective rack assembly, a sturdy, weight-bearing structure is formed from various vertical, horizontal, and diagonal steel members, which are connected to create several stacked horizontal surfaces or shelves. Items, which are typically on pallets, are then placed on the racks. Since the shelves are capable of supporting a great deal of weight, the pallets of material often are placed on the racks with forklifts.
In a conventional drive-in rack, the pallets (on which the items to be stored are placed) directly provide much of the load support, contrary to what occurs with the selective racks. In the selective racks, the loaded pallets are slid onto horizontal support members, which pass underneath and support each pallet along multiple directions. On the other hand, in a conventional drive-in rack, the pallets are typically supported by the storage rack assembly along only two parallel sides of each pallet. Since conventional drive-in racks only have two parallel, horizontal weight-bearing support rails per lane, a forklift operator may drive into a lane between parallel support members to remove a pallet.
A drawback of the conventional drive-in rack is that, before the second load of an upper level may be accessed, all of the loads in front of the desired load that are at or below the level on which the desired load rests must first be removed. Thus, unless considerable rehandling is acceptable, a drive-in bay provides effective storage for just one type of item. Further, the forklift time required to place loads in and remove loads from drive-in racks is considerable, since the support rails are so close together that the forklift operator must move very slowly to preclude hitting the racks and damaging the racks or the merchandise.
The idea of retrofitting push-back lanes in drive-in racks has been used in the prior art. However, the prior art retrofitting systems require substantial modification of the existing rack assembly. In the prior art, the existing drive-in rails and supports are removed and replaced with new load beams so that a conventional push-back system may be installed.
It is an overall object of the present invention to provide push-back systems that may be rapidly and inexpensively retrofitted into existing storage racks with minimal modification of the existing storage racks. Push-back systems provide greater selectivity and increase the speed of put-away and retrieval operations. Using a push-back system, each lane of a storage rack may contain a unique item, and yet each item may be easily accessed without rehandling items in other lanes to get to the desired item.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a self-contained push-back module, which may be assembled on the ground and then lifted into position with a forklift, resulting in significant installation labor savings.
It is a further object of the present invention to build the rail pitch, which results in gravitational force acting on the push-back cart, into the push-back modules instead of the load beams. This allows the current invention to be attached to almost any existing storage rack.
It is yet another object of the present invention to standardize the push-back modules so that little custom engineering is required, and the modules can be sold as a catalog item. Unlike the invention disclosed herein, prior art systems require extensive custom engineering for each retrofit.

Push-back retrofit system for a storage rack assembly


A refrigeration system configured for use with a trailer including a container having a roof, a first sidewall, and a second sidewall. The refrigeration system includes a refrigeration unit configured to couple to the trailer and operable to condition the container. The refrigeration system also includes a duct in fluid communication between the refrigeration unit and an opening in the first sidewall. The duct is configured to direct an airflow in at least one of a first direction toward the refrigeration unit and a second direction away from the refrigeration unit.

The present invention relates to refrigeration systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to distributed refrigeration systems for trailers.
Large trucks (e.g., semi-tractor trailers) are commonly used to store and transport cargo, such as food product, within a trailer at a reduced or refrigerated temperature. Typically, the trailer includes a refrigeration system to maintain the cargo at the reduced temperature. One common type of refrigeration system includes a refrigeration unit having a compressor directly driven by a diesel engine and belt-driven condenser and evaporator fans. Another common type of refrigeration system includes a refrigeration unit that is electrically driven by an alternator coupled to the engine.
In either scenario, a single refrigeration unit is generally located on a front wall of a container of the trailer. The refrigeration unit typically must provide cooling to the entire container, even though some containers may be up to fifty-three feet long in trailers and seventy-two feet long in rail cars. As such, a powerful air circulation system is required to maintain a uniform temperature throughout the trailer. However, the energy required to operate the air circulation system and move air from one end of the container to another substantially reduces the overall efficiency of the refrigeration system.
In addition, if the container includes multiple compartments or portions that should be cooled to different temperatures, the complexity of the refrigeration system is greatly increased. For example, lengthy piping and additional flow control valves are commonly required to maintain different portions of the container at different temperatures, increasing the risk of refrigerant leaks and lowering the overall energy efficiency of the refrigeration system.


An electrowetting display device comprising at least one picture element including a first fluid and a second fluid immiscible with the first fluid. A protrusion arranged through the second fluid and in contact with the first fluid provides a preferential initiation of motion of part of the first fluid in a first direction and a different part of the first fluid in a second direction.

A known display includes a hydrophilic separator and a protruding spacer.
In one known electrowetting display device, a supporting member has an extending member protruding downward from a side wall of a rib part of the device. A non-polar solution near the extending member is repelled by the extending member which is hydrophilic, to form an arc position of the non-polar solution. Therefore, the non-polar solution shrinks from the arc position when a voltage is applied to an electrode.
It is desirable to provide an alternative electrowetting display device.


A technique is provided for dynamically extending a network device manager when a new device and/or service are added to a network. A technique for extending a rule set associated with the management system is also provided. A service discovery module discovers a new network device on a network. A service operation module (SOM) is generated for the network device. The SOM provides an interface for a management module (MM) to communicate with the network device. The SOM provides data, corresponding to the service provided by the network device, to the MM. When a client sends the MM a request for a service provided by the network device, the MM provides the service request to the SOM which forwards the request to the network device. Users of the network device manager may define rules for a network device after the network device is added to the network, wherein the MM issues a service request of a network device in response to receiving an event notification.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Various devices are increasingly becoming network-enabled. It is possible to have home appliances networked in such a way that a network management device may be used to correlate the services provided by the home appliances. Network-enabled devices, such as printers and computers, are more common in the business setting. For example, a network management device may be pre-configured to receive and process a notification from a printer when the printer runs out of paper and/or ink. Upon receiving the notification, the network management device will notify (e.g., email, instant message) one or more users of the network so that the problem can be quickly resolved.
However, in current device management systems, whenever a new device or new service provided by an existing device is added to the network, it is necessary to modify code pertaining to the entire management system in order to support the new device or service. Thus, current network management systems are not extendable without rewriting the device management code. Furthermore, the management and correlation of services provided by various network devices in existing network management systems are pre-defined and, thus, also not easily extendable. Extending the network with new devices, services, and rules thus requires time and a significant expense to pay someone with knowledge of programming the specific network device manager.


A method of fabricating the inner leads of a fine pitch leadframe having a small interval between leads. The inner leads of the fine pitch leadframe are fabricated by combining a new stamping tool for fabricating extended fine pitch portions of inner leads with an existing stamping tool for fabricating the inner leads of a leadframe. This method obviates the time and expense of manufacturing an entirely new stamping tool.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating a leadframe used in a semiconductor assembly process, and more particularly, to a method of fabricating a leadframe with inner leads having a fine pitch.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lead frame is an essential component of a semiconductor package because it connects the package to external devices and supports a semiconductor chip. The lead frame includes a chip pad for mounting a chip, an inner lead, and an external lead. There are two currently-known lead frame manufacturing methods, a stamping method and an etching method. In a stamping method, a sequential transfer-type molding machine transfers a lead frame material sequentially and presses it to manufacture a product in a predetermined shape. This method is usually employed in the mass production. In an etching method, a lead frame material is coated with a photoresist and undergoes photolithography, whereby a lead frame is manufactured by a chemical etch reaction. The etching is generally used during the initial development of a lead frame with a fine pattern. With the recent reduction in semiconductor chip size, a lead frame fabrication technique has been developed to achieve a lead frame with a finer pattern. For a lead frame fabricated by the stamping method, if the chip size is reduced, the lead frame design should be changed. Specifically, the chip pad size must be reduced and the interval between inner leads must be reduced, which results in a lead frame having a fine pitch.
In order to fabricate such a fine pitch type lead frame, known fabrication methods have required a new stamping tool punch for a stamping tool in order to fabricate the inner leads. Undesirable amounts of time and money are required to design and fabricate such a stamping tool punch.

Method for fabricating inner leads of a fine pitch leadframe


An FM multiplexed broadcasting signal received by an antenna and FM-demodulated by an FM tuner portion is demodulated by a demodulation LSI into a digital signal corresponding to packet data. The digital signal is successively supplied by every packet to a CPU of a receiving portion. The CPU of the receiving portion removes unnecessary data of the received data and then supplies only data required for a CPU of a personal computer via a buffer without delay from the reception. When a transferred packet is a successive reproduction program packet or a time information packet, the CPU of the personal computer calculates latency required before a predetermined data analysis processing is started, and performs data analysis processing in an elapse of the latency. Responsively, reconfiguration of program data is performed and corresponding character information or the like is output to a displaying portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiplexed digital signal receiving device which receives multiplexed digital broadcasting in which the main information signal is multiplexed with additional information data, and more particularly to a multiplexed digital signal receiving device capable of displaying character data or the like transmitted by FM multiplex broadcasting on a screen of a personal computer.
2. Description of the Background Art
As broadcast offering new services, FM multiplex broadcasting multiplexing digital signals with existing FM stereo broadcasting signals in their vacant frequency baseband spectra is now being developed for practical use.
FM multiplex broadcasting system is new media multiplexing digital signals in a frequency band higher than that of sound signals of existing FM stereo broadcasting to broadcast traffic information, character and graphic information, and the like. The FM multiplex broadcasting system is characterized in that, a frequency can be used effectively, broadcast equipment can be implemented simply, and that data can be received in mobiles and the like, whereby traffic information can be easily transmitted to mobiles such as automobiles, and the like.
Thus, FM multiplex broadcasting has partly been put to practical use as means for transmitting traffic jam information or the like to automobiles or the like mounted with a receiver in real time or means for providing an inexpensive transmission path through which a user having a handy type receiver can access necessary information any time and anywhere.
Prior to describing a configuration of a conventional FM multiplex broadcasting receiving device, a data structure in FM multiplex broadcasting will first be outlined.
In FM multiplex broadcasting, the cause of degradation of reception state includes multipath interference and fading interference. In particular, mobile reception generally has very poor transmission path characteristics. Even in such a case, a system which achieve complete reception at one time, if possible, is desirable. Practically, however, transmitted data sometimes cannot be completely received through one reception and in that case, it is assumed that retransmitted data is received to interpolate data which was not received. FM multiplex broadcasting service area is desirably equivalent to FM stereophonic broadcasting service area. However, even in the service area, some places have a large average bit error rate. Thus, a structure of data transmitted has an error correction system therefor and a frame configuration thereof determined taking such poor transmission path characteristics into consideration.
Specifically, the error caused by extreme voltage drop due to fading interference is fatal and sometimes uncorrectable. Thus, the unit data length of transmitted data is matched to the average burst length of an error caused by fading so that when an uncorrectable error is caused, the whole unit data including the uncorrectable error can be replaced with retransmitted unit data to interpolate the data.
Furthermore, because of the high error correction effect, a product code obtained by arranging two block codes orthogonally is used as the error correction method. Therefore, data has a two-dimensional frame configuration including an error correction code both in the longitudinal and lateral directions.
Transmission data has a hierarchical layered structure with data in the above described one frame as an elementary unit.
As a specific example of the above description, an FM multiplex broadcasting system disclosed in Proc. of Vehicle Navigation & Information Systems Conference (1994) A4-2 pp. 111-116 will be described.
FIG. 9 shows a specification of a hierarchical layered structure of the data described above.
In a layer 1, transmission path characteristics are defined. A multiplexed signal is overlapped on the side of frequency higher than that of an L+R signal and an L-R signal which are ordinary FM stereo broadcast signals.
As this overlapping method, a method called LMSK (Level controlled Minimum Shift Keying) is employed which controls the level of the multiplex signal by the degree of modulation of the L-R signal, taking into consideration the fact that the interference of a multiplex signal with a sound signal is significant when the degree of modulation of sound is small.
In a layer 2, a frame configuration of data including an error correction system is defined. Each frame is formed of 272 blocks in the column direction with a 16-bit BIC (Block Identification Code) added at the head. Based on the BIC, frame synchronization and block synchronization are carried out. 190 blocks out of 272 blocks in the column direction are packets which transmit data, and 82 blocks are parity packets transmitting parity in the column direction. Each packet is structured of a 176-bit information portion, a 14-bit CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Code) serving as an error correction code and an 82-bit parity portion in the row direction.
More specifically, with this one frame as an elementary unit, transmission data first is error-corrected at this stage.
In actually sending data, packets and parity packets are rearranged in a predetermined order in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 12, rather than with such a configuration as layer 2 shown in FIG. 10, and then the data is sent.
In a layer 3, a structure of a data packet is defined. The data packet includes 176 bits excluding the BIC, the CRC and the parity of each row (packet) from the frame.
Further, the data packet is structured of a prefix and a data block. The prefix includes information for identifying the content of data, designating, for example, to which program content, to be described later, the data packet belongs.
In a layer 4, a structure of a data group is defined. The data group is formed of one or a plurality of data blocks. More specifically, based on information within prefixes in data packets, data blocks are arranged in the order of data packet number and from a data block with a data packet number of 0 through a data block having an information end flag set within the prefix, to configure a data group. The data group also includes the CRC which is an error correction code and transmitted data is error-corrected also in this layer. One data group corresponds to one display unit, that is, data of one page.
A layer 5 defines a block of information data transmitted through FM multiplex broadcasting, that is, the structure of program data. FIG. 10 shows the configuration of this program data.
A program of character and/or graphic information is structured of a plurality of data groups. The head data group includes encoded information associated with the entire program, such as program number and the total number of pages, as program management data. There are a plurality of page data subsequent to the program management data, and data of each page is encoded.
The program data and the page data are each structured of a data header portion and a data unit portion. The data unit portion is configured of a plurality of data units into which a character data portion, a photographic graphic data portion and the like are divided for each encoding method.
More specifically, in the above described data structure, the program data is formed into a group of data representing one block of information on the receiving side. Taking traffic information as an example, program information represents the congestion or the like at each junction of a specific road (expressway). In the case of a weather report, program information represents weather report information and the like for a specific area.
Displaying in an FM multiplex broadcasting receiving device which receives the FM multiplex broadcasting described above is performed on a liquid crystal display screen generally having a display area of one page (corresponding to 15.5 characters.times.2.5 lines in displaying in Japanese).
Thus, the display area is disadvantageously small for a program having a plurality of pages or the like and thus the program becomes difficult to see.
In order to solve this problem, the method has been proposed in which a large amount of data received is held in a personal computer and displayed on a display screen of the personal computer.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a conventional example of an FM multiplex broadcasting receiving device which employs a personal computer.
An FM multiplex broadcasting receiving device 100 includes: a data receiving portion configured of an antenna 12 receiving FM radio wave, an FM tuner portion 14 receiving an output of antenna 12 and performing FM demodulation, and an FM multiplex decoding portion 15 receiving an output of FM tuner portion 14 to extract a baseband signal and perform error correction for outputting a corresponding digital signal; and a personal computer 120 (a data analysis processing portion) receiving a digital signal to configure unit data for displaying (i.e., page data) and display a corresponding character.
An FM multiplex signal received by antenna 12 is detected in an FM demodulation circuit 2 of FM tuner portion 14 in synchronization with a local oscillating wave output from a PLL circuit 4, and is output to FM multiplex decoding portion 15 via a buffer 6.
FM multiplex decoding portion 15 receives the demodulated signal via buffer circuit 8, extracts a signal component in a predetermined frequency range through a bandpass filter 18, and then performs LMSK demodulation, synchronization detection and error correction in a demodulation LSI 20.
A CPU 26 receives a data transfer request from demodulation LSI 20 every 18 msec and reads received data from demodulation LSI 20. When uncorrectable packet data exist therein, CPU 26 deletes the data, and selects and outputs only data required for displaying.
An RAM 28 stores data from CPU 26 every 18 msec by one packet, and operates as a buffer for outputting data to an interface 30.
When CPU 26 detects the personal computer 120 has been accessed, an address decoder 32 outputs data from interface 30.
A controller 34 typically receives output data from interface 30 and outputs data to personal computer 120. In starting up the device, however, initialization between interface is performed based on data stored in an ROM 36.
Personal computer 120 receives data output from FM multiplex decoding portion 15 via an interface 38. A CPU 40 receives output data, that is, packet data from interface 38 and selects a desired data packet according to the layered structure shown in FIG. 9. Then, CPU 40 extracts a data block from the data packet, reconfigures a data group of the data block and performs error correction for the data group.
Furthermore, CPU 40 extracts a data header and a group of data units corresponding to page data from data group data within a data group to reconfigure program data.
The reconfigured program data is stored with each program successively stored in a memory 44 by the page data. CPU 40 selects a predetermined number of pages of page data and outputs the page data to a displaying portion 42. Displaying portion 42 outputs corresponding character information or graphic information based on the received page data.
For a note type personal computer, a liquid crystal flat panel display is used as displaying portion 42 and the display area has a resolution of 640.times.400 dots or more.
The type of the program of FM multiplex broadcasting described above includes a successive reproduction program and a recorded program. The successive reproduction program is an information program which accompanies the content of an FM broadcasting (a main program), and displays, for example, information such as the title, the name of the singer and the like of the song currently played in a music program.
The recorded program is an information program which is not related to the content of an FM broadcasting, and displays, for example, information such as news, weather reports, traffic information and the like.
The practice limitations on FM multiplex broadcasting specify that decode processing for the successive reproduction program described above is timed to coincide with the packet reception a specified number of blocks (302 blocks) after the packet involved is received.
Thus, in a conventional FM multiplex broadcasting receiving device, the data receiving portion first determines whether or not received data is a successive reproduction program. Simultaneously the data receiving portion is also required to start counting the number of blocks received to set a decoding processing timing, and to transfer a signal which indicates the timing to the data analysis processing portion upon counting up 302 blocks.
A FM multiplex broadcasting also performs transmission of time information. In this case, it is specified that time setting is timed to coincide with reception of a packet with a specified block number two frames (one frame=272 blocks) after the packet data involved is received. Thus, as described above, the data receiving portion is required to count the number of blocks received to set a time timing, and to transfer the timing to the data analysis processing portion.
Furthermore, the configuration of a conventional FM multiplex broadcasting receiving device has the problem described below: when a liquid crystal flat panel display in a note type personal computer or the like is used as displaying portion 42, a plurality of pages can be displayed at one time and thus even a program over a plurality of pages can be displayed without any difficulty in seeing the program. Furthermore, since multiplexed data is held in the personal computer, various processing and modification can be applied to the data in the personal computer.
However, the conventional FM multiplex broadcasting receiving device described above requires RAM 28 for temporarily storing demodulated data in FM multiplex decoding portion 15. Thus, when the data receiving portion is made into a unit such as a PC card (a personal computer card), the existence of RAM 28, address decoder 32 which controls data transfer to and from personal computer 120 and the like hinders the miniaturization when the data receiving portion is made into a unit.
Received data is stored temporarily in RAM 28, and the data is transferred to personal computer 120 in response to a read command from CPU 40 of the personal computer. Thus, program analysis processing is not performed until a read command from the personal computer is issued and thus time delay is caused between data reception and signal processing so that displaying of received data is disadvantageously delayed.
Furthermore, since the time delay described above varies, signal processing performed with respect to the time of data reception is not stabilized.
Furthermore, the data transfer efficiency to the personal computer is poor, since demodulated data at a demodulation LSI in the data receiving portion do not go through selection and all of the data is transferred to the personal computer and only data required is selected and processed on the side of the personal computer.

Multiplexed digital signal receiving device capable of miniaturizing the configuration of a signal receiving portion


A sheet conveyer includes a feed roller, a pressure roller, a first guide and a second guide. The guides define a traveling passage between them for a sheet of paper to be sent to the nip between the rollers. The guides are positioned in such a manner that the passage narrows toward the nip. Even if a sheet of paper is wavy widthwise, it is flattened when sent to the nip. At least a front end portion of the second guide is made of material which can elastically deform toward the nip. The front end portion extends to a position very near to the nip. Even if the direction in which a sheet of paper is conveyed changes at a sharp angle just before the sheet reaches the nip, the elastic portion makes the sheet turn or bend gently, preventing it from turning or bending sharply.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet conveyer and a printer fitted with a sheet conveyer.
2. Description of the Related Art
The assignee's Japanese Patent Application No. 8-30814 discloses an ink jet printer, which includes a feed roller and pressure rollers in compressive contact with the feed roller. The pressure rollers are supported by holders. A sheet passage is formed between each of the holders and a passage wall positioned upstream from the feed roller. The passage wall inclines toward the holders. Whichever of the passage wall and the holders a sheet of paper is fed along, the front end of the sheet is guided or led finally along the holders securely to the lines of contact each between the feed roller and one of the pressure rollers.
If a sheet of paper is fed along the passage wall, and when the front end of the sheet is sent between the feed roller and the pressure rollers, the sheet turns or bends sharply at the front end of the wall toward the lines of contact between the rollers. This causes high resistance to the feeding. In particular, an envelope, a post card or another paper sheet of higher rigidity does not easily bend, and therefore the resistance to it is higher, hindering the feeding. Therefore, the front end of the passage wall might be spaced as away as possible from the feed roller so that a sheet of paper bends gently at the wall end. By the way, as shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings accompanying this specification, it is not avoidable that the front end of a sheet S being fed is largely wavy up (S2) and down (S1) over the width of the sheet. If the passage wall and the feed roller were spaced wide from each other, the valley/s of the sheet wave might meet the cylindrical surface of the feed roller nearly radially of the roller. As a result, the sheet might be damaged. In particular, the damage is serious if the wave valley/s meets/meet the feed roller turning reversely (in the direction opposite to the feeding direction) to register the sheet end. It is therefore not possible to make the space between the passage wall and the feed roller very wide.

Sheet conveyer and printer fitted therewith


A stable lift apparatus for a pickup truck includes a base which is supported on the sidewalls of the cargo compartment. Each of a pair of scissor assemblies has two lifting arms having the front ends pivotably attached to one of the base and a raisable platform. A pair of hydraulic cylinders moves a central pivot shaft upward to raise the platform. A portable stabilizer has a ground engaging foot adjustable in distance from the stabilizer's pivotable attachment to the lift apparatus or pickup truck. Prior to setting the stabilizer, its length is greater than the distance to the ground. Movement of the truck a short distance sets the stabilizer in a stabilizing mode.

This invention relates generally to lift platforms for supporting and raising persons or objects to an elevated position. More particularly, this invention pertains to lift platforms which are mountable in vehicles.
The prior art discloses a variety of portable lift platforms, each of which is intended to be mounted on a truck or trailer bed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,945,551 of Annin et al. shows a portable platform elevating device with a stacked scissor-type lifting apparatus denoted as "lazy tong frames". The lifting apparatus is supported on the bed of a flat bed truck, and is lifted by three sets of hydraulic cylinders. Two sets of cylinders operate in the horizontal plane, and one set generally in the vertical plane. When folded down, the platform is suspended in the air at about cab height.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,664,459 of Stephens et al. describes a somewhat similar lift platform which is elevated from a position above a pickup truck cab. A single hydraulic ram drives the multiple scissor linkage lifting framework from a base bolted to the truck.
One problem with such lifting devices is that when the platform is at its lowest level, it is too elevated above ground level for loading heavy or bulky items thereon without the use of another lifting device such as a front end loader.
Common prior art truck mounted lifting devices which are permanently attached to a truck cannot be easily used to transport a significant quantity of other materials, because of the lengthy time required to detach and remove the device.