An end cap system for scaffolding planks, especially for hollow core planks formed of fiberglass or other composite materials, is disclosed. The end cap includes an extrusion having a plank-receiving portion on one side and a rib profile on the other side for slidingly receiving scaffolding hooks. A reinforcing member is placed in the hollow core, extending between its walls, and surrounding the fastening device securing the end cap to the plank, to resist deformation of the plank by the compressive force of the fastening device. The end cap permits similar parts to be used for a wide variety of plank widths and allows for replacement of damaged hooks or the exchange of hook configurations, such as between "high" or "low" hooks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to worker-access systems and to planks used with scaffolding systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an end cap suitable for use with planks, such as hollow core planks. In its most preferred embodiment, the present invention relates to an extruded channel end cap for covering and protecting the end of a scaffolding plank formed with a hollow core and made of a non-metallic material, such as fiberglass or other composite material, and to an arrangement for securing the end cap to the plank. The channel is designed for replaceably supporting a plurality of hooks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wide variety of scaffolding systems, also called worker-access systems, are known to the art. The assignee of the present invention markets such systems in the United States. The major components of its systems include tubular, horizontal plank support members arranged for a particular application and planks which are removably placed on the members to allow workers to stand in desired elevated locations at a construction, renovation or other job site. A large number of planks now employed in the United States are made from steel. They typically have an upper planar surface which may include opened or roughened areas to allow water and wind to pass therethrough and to provide a non-slip surface for worker safety. Such planks typically include depending side walls which are inwardly bent at the bottom. Hooks adapted to be removably placed over horizontal scaffolding support members are typically welded to the ends of these planks.
While such scaffolding planks have met with considerable commercial success and have been used in many thousands of locations, certain problems remain. The most important is the weight of the steel planks and another is the fact that the hooks are permanently welded or otherwise attached to the planks making repair or replacement of the hooks time consuming and expensive.
It is also well-known that "high" or "low" hooks may be employed with such planks, depending on the complexity of the scaffolding system and on whether it may be desired to have the planking arranged, without spacers, in a side-by-side arrangement. In certain systems, the high hooks are used to raise the planking level with respect to the horizontal plank support members so that they are above plank couplers. One such type of connection is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,842 issued May 6, 1986 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The named inventor is Joseph S. Puccinelli, and the patent is entitled "Scaffold Joint For A Scaffold Structure". The horizontal members are illustrated at 18 in the figures and planks may be supported on high hooks so that they pass over the ring connections shown at 22.
It is also known to arrange the hooks to allow the planks to be reversed, from end-to-end without interference. In other words, the opposite ends of an individual plank have the hooks arranged at different locations to facilitate reversibility. It is further known, in existing systems, to employ a hold down finger along with the hooks to prevent wobbling of the plank on the horizontal supports if a worker were to walk along an edge thereof.
Certain technology changes have occurred in recent years, especially in Europe, with regarding to scaffolding planks. One such development is described in German Patent No. DE 40 36 026 A1, a copy of which is provided with this specification, along with a non-official translation thereof. The planking system described in this patent is made from a much thinner gauge steel than that used with earlier systems. The planks are configured with a generally planar upper surface and two hollow cores extending the full length thereof. The plank surface and the cores include various corrugations to increase the strength and stiffness of the plank. Such planks provide strength capabilities similar to those of the previously described planks, at a much lower weight. Accordingly, the planks are easier to carry and to erect.
As illustrated and described hereafter, end caps with lobes are provided in certain European systems for coupling the hollow core planks to a channel shaped support system. The end cap includes a flange adapted to extend along the upper surface of the plank and a bottom flange which fits under the hollow cores. Rivets are used to affix the end cap to the plank. The end cap also includes one or more elongate lobes adapted to be received and held in an elongate channel support. Preferably, the lobe is less than one-half the width of the channel support, so that another plank may be placed in end-to-end relationship with the first plank and be supported by the same channel member.
A variety of other types of planking systems are known in the scaffold art, including planks made from plywood or other kinds of lumber. One known structure includes two steel side members which have slots into which a wood plank is placed. Extruded aluminum ends are permanently attached to the side members. The ends include spaced apart top and bottom plates and an outer edge which extends upwardly and downwardly therefrom. Hooks slide over the outer edge and are welded or otherwise secured thereto. Since the hooks extend outwardly from the outer edge of the channel member, they are located a considerable distance from the plank. During use, stresses are transferred between the side members and the horizontal supports through the hooks.
A more complete description of the prior art is set forth in the description of FIGS. 1-4 in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/651,202, filed May 17, 1996, which is cross-referenced above.
Several difficulties remain with current scaffolding. The non-interchangeability of hooks for a variety of different scaffold support systems is one problem, especially for scaffolding erection entities which may maintain large inventories of a variety of components. It is also cumbersome in the manufacture of scaffolding planks to use different support components for each width of plank. It is also important that stresses generated during use of scaffolding planks be distributed appropriately from the plank to the support system. Furthermore, it is important to recognize the difficulties which can be encountered in replacing bent or broken hooks.
The patent application cross-referenced above sets forth an end cap system for metallic scaffolding planks formed with hollow cores, which overcomes a number of the disadvantages of the prior art systems noted above. However, it has been found that the further improvements in the end cap system of the cross referenced patent application would be desirable when the plank, with respect to which the end cap system is used, is made from a non-metallic material, such as fiberglass, or another composite material, and formed with one or more generally hollow cores.


An energy management device providing a series of user interface enhancements that enable the creation and modification of energy management schedules. The energy management device may provide these user interface enhancements in connection with a touch screen interface, as the user interface receives and processes a variety of touch screen gestures from users intended to create and manipulate the energy management schedules. The user interface enhancements may include calendar views with customizable periods of interest, calendar views with overlays of scheduling and pricing information, and clocks providing runtime indications of specific energy consuming systems.

Energy conservation is an important aspect of energy policies. Consumers from various sectors such as commercial, residential, and the like are looking for strategies to effectively manage their energy consumption to be compliant with regulations, or be socially responsible and achieve greater economic benefits. Programmable thermostats are one example of an energy management device that has been prevalent in the industry for a long time to help consumers optimize and minimize energy usage.
Applications operating on energy management devices generally allow the users to monitor and maintain their energy consumption at desired levels. Mobile devices such as smart phones and small-screen displays such as those in liquid crystal display thermostats, however, present real-estate constraints that may impact the ease-of-use of the device to accomplish certain complex tasks. Particularly, implementing a detailed programming schedule with existing interfaces of energy management devices is a complex task.

Intuitive scheduling for energy management devices


A node (200) includes a processor (201) for determining neighbor nodes in a routing path to a destination based on a routing table associated with the node (200). The node (200) includes a memory for storing a first authenticated tokens. The node includes a transmitter (203) for transmitting a first request-to-route (RTR) message including an indication specifying information units (IUs) from the first node to the neighbor nodes in a routing path from the first node to the destination. The node (200) includes a receiver (205) for receiving a neighbor reply message from one of the neighbor nodes to the first node which indicates that the neighbor node will route the information units (IUs). The transmitter (203) transmits a second authenticated tokens from the first node to one of the neighbor nodes. The second authenticated tokens are converted into a tradable entity and provide compensation to the neighbor node selected.

Wireless networks have experienced increased development in the past decade. Two types of wireless networks are infra-structured wireless networks, and ad hoc wireless networks.
An infra-structured wireless network typically includes a communication network with fixed and wired gateways. Many infra-structured wireless networks employ a mobile unit or host which communicates with a fixed base station that is coupled to a wired network. The mobile unit can move geographically while it is communicating over a wireless link to the base station. When the mobile unit moves out of range of one base station, it connects or "handsover" to a new base station and starts communicating with the wired network through the new base station.
The wired network typically has a billing manager, such as an authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) center, which monitors packet traffic to and from each wireless device. The AAA center provides a framework for intelligently controlling access to communication resources, enforces policies, audits usage, and provides the information necessary to bill for services. The accounting aspect of the AAA center measures the resources a user consumes during access. This can include the amount of system time or the amount of data a user has sent and/or received during a session. Accounting is carried out by logging of session statistics and usage information and is used for authorization control, billing, trend analysis, resource utilization, and capacity planning activities. Among other functions, the AAA center can maintain a count of packets transmitted by a wireless device and then charge the user of the wireless device for use of the network based on the number of packets transmitted.
In comparison to infra-structured wireless networks, such as cellular networks or satellite networks, ad hoc networks are self-forming networks which can operate in the absence of any fixed infrastructure, and in some cases the ad hoc network is formed entirely of mobile nodes (e.g., a peer-to-peer ad hoc network). An ad hoc network typically includes a number of geographically-distributed, potentially mobile units, sometimes referred to as "nodes," which are wirelessly connected to each other by one or more links (e.g., radio frequency communication channels). The nodes can communicate with each other over a wireless media without the support of an infra-structured or wired network. Ad hoc networks can also be self-healing. Links or connections between these nodes can change dynamically in an arbitrary manner as existing nodes move within the ad hoc network, as new nodes join or enter the ad hoc network, or as existing nodes leave or exit the ad hoc network. Because the topology of an ad hoc network can change significantly techniques are needed which can allow the ad hoc network to dynamically adjust to these changes. Due to the lack of a fixed infrastructure (e.g., a central controller), many network-controlling functions can be distributed among the nodes such that the nodes can self-organize and reconfigure in response to topology changes.
One characteristic of the nodes is that their transmission range is usually relatively limited in comparison to cellular networks. Each node can typically communicate over a short range with nodes which are a single "hop" away. Such nodes are sometimes referred to as "neighbor nodes." Because ad hoc networks lack infrastructure, each node in an ad hoc network relies on other nodes in the network to help to forward/route/relay its packets (e.g., data and control information) throughout the network until the packets reach their intended destination. For example, when a node transmits packets to a destination node and the nodes are separated by more than one hop (e.g., the distance between two nodes exceeds the radio transmission range of the nodes, or a physical barrier is present between the nodes), the packets can be relayed via intermediate nodes ("hop-by-hop") until the packets reach the destination node. Each intermediate node acts as a router which can intelligently route the packets (e.g., data and control information) to another node until the packets eventually reach their final destination. For instance, if the destination is a user connected to the Internet, packets sent from a source node to that user will "hop" or be routed by intermediate nodes until they reach a cellular base station, a WLAN AP or other gateway to the Internet.
To assist with relaying of packets, each node maintains routes or routing information to other nodes in the network and can utilize routing techniques to adapt to changes in the interconnectivity between nodes. The nodes can maintain this routing information by performing periodic link and topology updates. In this context it is desirable to provide techniques which maximize the robustness of the routing topology for the maximum period of time to enable uninterrupted communication.
When a node routes a packet sent from another node, this routing consumes the bandwidth and battery resources of the node which performs the routing function. Published U.S. Patent Application US20050165696A1, entitled "Micro-Payment Scheme Encouraging Collaboration In Multi-Hop Cellular Networks," and an article by L. Buttyan et al., "Stimulating Cooperation in Self-Organizing Mobile Ad Hoc Networks," ACM Journal for Mobile Networks (MONET), special issue on Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, October 2003, Vol. 8, No. 5, propose micro payment and bit credit/debit schemes that provide accounting techniques for packet routing. According to these techniques, a billing system, in the cellular core (wired) network, uses credits/debits to account for packets routed by a particular node for other nodes in its ad hoc network. However, these credits/debits provide little or no incentive to the owner of a particular node to route traffic (e.g., packets) to/from another node within their ad hoc network.
Notwithstanding these advances, techniques are needed to encourage nodes to perform a routing function to assist other nodes in routing packets throughout an ad hoc network. It would be desirable to provide techniques which can provide an incentive for nodes to route packets for other nodes.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

Method and apparatus for encouraging routing in a network


The invention provides a means of reducing the force required for fitting a lever connector. A connector 20 is divided into partitioned housings 22L and 22R. The timing of the fitting operation differs for each of the partitioned housings 22L and 22R, thereby causing the time at which peak fitting resistance occurs to differ. The peak fitting resistance being dispersed over the period between the beginning and the ending of the fitting operations of the two partitioned housings 22L and 22R. As a result, the overall peak value of the fitting resistance (the force required for the fitting operation) is reduced for the connector as a whole.

The present invention relates to a connector wherein the force required for a fitting operation is reduced.
Friction between terminal fittings causes multipolar connectors to have a high fitting resistance. In order to deal with this, one connector may be provided with a lever, and the other connector provided with cam pins. The lever is moved after the cam pins have been fitted into cam grooves, the cam operation thereby reducing the force required for the fitting operation.
In this type of connector, the cam operation of the lever is used to reduce the force required for the fitting operation, and the operating force increases commensurately with the number of terminal fittings. Since connectors having several dozen terminal fittings have recently come into common use, a means is required which will further reduce the operating force.
The present invention has taken the above problem into consideration, and aims to present a connector wherein the force for the fitting operation is reduced.
According to the invention there is provided a connector assembly comprising
a first connector having first connector portions,
a second connector having second connector portions for respective engagement with said first connector portions,
a plurality of cams being provided on one of said first and second connectors, each cam corresponding with respective connector portions,
cam followers being provided on the other of said first and second connectors and for co-operation with a respective cam, such that movement of the cams draws said connector portions into engagement,
wherein said cams and cam followers have a different timing whereby respective connector portions are engaged in a predetermined sequence.
Such an arrangement reduces the peak fitting force by separating the connection sequence of the connector portions. Accordingly the initial relatively high connection force, as the terminals make initial engagement, is distributed.
The cams may be pivotable or slidable linearly. The cams may be actuated in sequence, or may define different shaped tracks. The cam followers may be engaged sequentially. In the case of pivotable cams, a control mechanism may be provided to ensure the desired movement sequence as the connectors are engaged.


A linear planar-magnetron sputtering cathode comprises a cathode body (22) including two side-walls (104) two end-walls (106) and a target-supporting member (102) attached to the walls. The cathode body encloses a magnet array (40) which may be moved reciprocally in at least one direction relative to the cathode body. A cooling fluid may be flowed through the target supporting member for cooling the target. A cooling fluid may also be flowed through the side-walls and the end-walls for cooling the end walls. A cooled enclosure is thus be provided for the magnet-array.

A linear planar-magnetron, of the type generally used in in-line sputtering machines, usually has an elongated rectangular cathode body having target material attached to a surface of the body. The cathode body includes a target-supporting member or target-backing plate for supporting a target material to be sputtered. The target backing plate generally forms one surface of a box-shaped enclosure through which water is be passed for cooling the planar-magnetron during sputtering.
The target material is positioned over a magnet-array located within the enclosure. The magnet-array usually comprises three spaced-apart, parallel rows of magnets extending along the length of the cathode body. The rows usually are arranged with outermost rows near the edge of the target material, the outermost rows providing a south magnetic pole. The outermost rows are joined at each end thereof by shorter rows of magnets also providing a south magnetic pole. An innermost row is generally located equidistant from the outermost rows and provides a north pole. The rows of magnets are arranged on a ferro-magnetic magnet-backing plate or flux-return plate.
The above-described magnet-array provides a magnetic field having the form of a continuous tunnel extending in an elongated loop over the target material. This field defines a sputtering zone on the surface of the target material. Sputtering occurs primarily in this sputtering zone with the result that the target material is preferentially eroded in this zone to provide an erosion-zone having the form of the magnetic field. This erosion-zone is generally referred to by sputtering practitioners as the "racetrack" because of its characteristic form.
The above-described linear planar-magnetron has certain well known disadvantages, for example, as sputtering occurs primarily in the racetrack, target material may be completely eroded in the racetrack area before significant erosion has occurred elsewhere on the target material. Because of this, target material must be replaced after only a relatively small fraction of it, generally between about twenty-five and thirty-five percent, has been sputtered. Additionally, concentration of sputtering in the racetrack area concentrates generation of heat in this area. This eventually limits the power at which the linear planar-magnetron can be operated and thus limits the rate at which material can be sputtered.
Another disadvantage of the above-described linear planar-magnetron is found when it is used to deposit insulating materials by DC reactive-sputtering, particularly when it is used to deposit silicon dioxide by DC reactively sputtering silicon in an atmosphere including oxygen. When depositing an insulating material, the material is deposited on the surface of the target outside the racetrack area and builds an insulating layer on the surface of the target material. The insulating layer causes charge build-up on the surface of the target material which frequently is discharged in the form of an arc. Such an arc destabilizes sputtering conditions and may cause debris resulting from the arc to be deposited on a substrate being coated.
Solutions to preferential sputtering of a planar-magnetron target have been proposed. Certain of these solutions involve relative motion between the magnet-array and the target material.
McKelvey in U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,916 describes a linear magnetron having a cylindrical cathode body including a layer of target material on the outer surface of the body. Water may be passed through the body for cooling the magnetron during sputtering. A magnet-array within the body extends along the length of the body and defines a narrow elongated sputtering zone over the target material. The cylindrical body may be rotated continuously over the magnet-array during sputtering, with the result that almost the entire surface of the target material is sputtered.
The McKelvey magnetron is generally referred to as a rotating cylindrical-magnetron. A rotating cylindrical-magnetron similar to the McKelvey magnetron is available commercially, under the trade name "C-Mag", from Airco Coating Technologies of Fairfield, Calif.
The rotating cylindrical-magnetron substantially overcomes the preferential target sputtering disadvantage of the linear planar-magnetron, however it has it is often difficult to apply target material to the surface of the cylindrical cathode body. This true in the case of a material such as silicon which can not be readily fabricated in the form of a tube. Silicon material can be applied to a cylindrical cathode body by plasma spraying powdered silicon onto the cathode body, the resulting silicon layer however is porous. A porous layer may, at least partially, disintegrate during sputtering. Such disintegration may lead, for example, to reduction of target life.
Corbani, in German Offenlegungsschrift DE 27 07 144, describes, in principle, several magnetron arrangements including relative motion between a magnet-array and a sputtering-target. The Corbani patent is directed primarily to planar-magnetron and non-planar-magnetron arrangements in which the magnet-array is significantly smaller than the target surface area. In each of the arrangements, the magnet-array is moved about the target surface area such that the whole surface may eventually be evenly sputtered, it is evident, however, that for depositing films on a large surface area these arrangements would provide only a relatively low deposition rate.
A linear planar-magnetron cathode including a moving magnet is not believed to be commercially available. In large scale in-line sputtering machines of the type used for coating architectural glazings, the magnetrons used are either fixed-magnet-array planar-magnetrons or McKelvey type rotating cylindrical-magnetrons.
A linear planar-magnetron including a moving magnet-array would be particularly advantageous for depositing silicon dioxide films at a high rate by sputtering silicon in an atmosphere including oxygen. Silicon target material could be applied to the target backing plate in the form of tiles of crystalline silicon material, and the entire area of the silicon target material could be sputtered, thus significantly reducing the arcing problem encountered when sputtering silicon using a conventional planar-magnetron. Such a device would provide the advantages of a rotating cylindrical magnetron without the disadvantage presented by a porous silicon target material
A significant problem in the design of a practical moving-magnet planar-magnetron is that, for reasons of preserving reliability of bearings and seals associated with magnet-moving apparatus, the magnet-array should not located in an enclosure including cooling-water. Cooling must thus be applied within the target backing plate. A target backing plate, however, is limited in thickness, because the magnet-array must be held relatively close to the target material to provide an optimum field shape. Providing effective means for target-cooling is thus very important in developing a reliable high-deposition-rate moving-magnet linear planar-magnetron for large scale in-line sputtering apparatus.

Linear planar-magnetron sputtering apparatus with reciprocating magnet-array


Described are semiconductor package devices with improved reliability and methods of manufacturing thereof. In one embodiment, a package device is disclosed that includes a chip having an active surface and a coupling surface opposite the active surface, where the chip has one or more integrated circuits and bumps. The device also includes a thermal spreader thermally coupled to the coupling surface of the chip for dissipating heat generated by the chip, and a thermal interface material located between the thermal spreader and the coupling surface of the chip for improving the heat dissipation. In addition, the device also includes a boundary material located between the thermal spreader and the coupling surface of the chip, where the boundary material is configured to surround a perimeter of the thermal interface material to maintain the thermal interface material between the thermal spreader and the coupling surface of the chip.

The packaging of integrated circuit (IC) chips is one of the most important steps in the manufacturing process, contributing significantly to their overall cost, performance and reliability. Packaging of IC chips account for a considerable portion of the cost of producing the device, and failure of the package can lead to costly yield reduction. One of the approaches taken to solve such packaging problems is the development of "flip-chip" semiconductor packages.
A flip-chip packaged device includes a direct electrical connection of face down (that is, "flipped") electronic components onto substrates, such as ceramic substrates, circuit boards, or carriers using conductive solder bumps formed in a ball grid array (BGA) on bond pads of the chip. Flip-chip technology is quickly replacing older wire bonding technology that uses face up chips with a wire connected to each pad on the chip. Flip-chip technology fabricates bumps (typically Pb/Sn solders) on aluminum bond pads on the chips, and interconnects the bumps directly to the package media, which are usually ceramic- or plastic-based.
The bumps of the flip-chip assembly serve several functions. The bumps provide an electrical conductive path from the IC chip (or die) to the substrate on which the chip is mounted. A thermally conductive path is also provided by the bumps to carry heat from the chip to the substrate. The bumps also provide part of the mechanical mounting of the chip to the substrate. A spacer is also provided by the bumps, which prevents electrical contact between the chip and the substrate connectors. Furthermore, the bumps also act as a short lead to relieve mechanical strain between the chip and the substrate.
In addition to bumps and spacers, metal heat spreaders or heat sinks can be utilized to dissipate the considerable amount of heat generated during operation of flip-chip packaged devices. The chips are attached to the metal heat spreaders with a thermal interface material (TIM) to decrease the thermal resistance between the chip and the metal heat spreaders.
Despite providing numerous advantages, such flip-chip packaged devices or assemblies are very delicate structures, the design and manufacturing of which creates difficult and unique technical problems. For example, the substrate onto which the flip-chip may be mounted can be a single layer structure, or the substrate may comprise two or many more layers of materials. Often these materials tend to be quite diverse in their composition and structure. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for these different layers may be considerably different and may result in uncontrolled bending or thermally induced substrate surface distortions.
Furthermore, there may also be potential CTE mismatch between the chip and the substrate resulting in additional warpage or distortion. Such distortions can cause failure of the flip-chip or other components of the substrate. In particular, the TIM can suffer from vertical compression and be pumped out from between the chip and the heat spreader after long power-cycle periods. This is especially true when the TIM is a non-solid material such as a silicon-oil-based AlN (aluminum nitride) filled thermal grease. The thermal grease "pump-out" issue can therefore lead to early failure of the flip-chip packaged devices resulting in poor reliability and thermal performance. Thus there exists a need to minimize the "pump-out" issue by improving the TIM reliability within a flip-chip package.

Semiconductor packages and methods of manufacturing thereof

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Reducing the peak-to-average power ratio of a signal comprises receiving the input signal, where the input signal is associated with at least one unacceptable frequency range. The input signal is clipped about an amplitude range to yield a clipped signal and clipped information, where the clipped information represents intermodulation products. The clipped information is filtered to yield an error signal. The error signal represents a subset of the intermodulation products, where an intermodulation product of the subset corresponds to the unacceptable frequency range. The error signal is subtracted from the input signal to yield an output signal.

A power amplifier amplifies signals. In general, reducing the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the signals may increase the power efficiency of the amplifier. Reducing the peaks of the signals may reduce the required peak power capacity of the power amplifier, which may increase power efficiency. Reducing the peaks, however, may produce spectral splatter into restricted frequency ranges. Known techniques for compensating for the spectral splatter involve filtering the signal. The known techniques for filtering the signal, however, are inefficient in certain situations. It is generally desirable to efficiently compensate for spectral splatter.


The present invention provides a process for preparing a bitumen composition which comprises mixing at an elevated temperature an oxidised bitumen having a penetration index of at least 0 with a thermoplastic rubber which is present in an amount of less than 5% wt., based on total bitumen composition; bitumen compositions obtainable by such process; and the use of such bitumen compositions in asphalt mixtures for road applications.

Bitumen is used as a binder in road asphalt mixtures, and has developed continually to meet ever-increasing performance demands from road building constructors. In general bitumen performs well in road asphalt, but increasingly heavy traffic loads have led to the premature wear of many roads through rutting and cracking of the surface. Cracking is a serious defect in a road asphalt because it allows water to reach lower layers of the road surface where it causes rapid deterioration, and accelerates the need for premature repairs. Increasing the bitumen content of asphalt or using a softer grade of bitumen improves the crack resistance of asphalt at low temperatures but increases the risk of excessive rutting at higher temperatures because the mixture is effectively softer. Conversely, resistance of rutting can be improved by reducing the amount of bitumen in the asphalt mixture or by using a harder grade of bitumen, at the expense of crack resistance because the mixture becomes less flexible.
In view of the above it will be clear that it would be advantageous to develop a hard bitumen composition meeting today's crack resistance requirement, i.e. a bitumen composition having both a good low temperature performance and a good high temperature rutting resistance.
It is known that the low temperature properties of bitumen can be improved by blending them with a polymer. However, when this modification is applied to hard bitumen, an incompatibility between the bitumen and the polymer is generally observed, resulting in hardly or not improved low temperature properties and a relatively poor ageing behaviour.
It is further known to prepare industrial and roofing-grade bitumen by subjecting a bitumen/polymer mixture to a conventional blowing process. These bitumen compositions, however, appear to be not suitable for road applications, due to their high softening point and relatively high penetration.

Process for preparing bitumen compositions


A composite structure includes a structure that contains first reinforced fibers and first resin and a laminate that is disposed on at least one surface of the structure and has a plurality of layers containing second reinforced fibers and second resin, with the structure and the laminate integrated, the first reinforced fibers being discontinuous fibers and having a thickness-wise average fiber orientation angle in a range of 5 to 60°, the second reinforced fibers being discontinuous fibers and having a thickness-wise average fiber orientation angle in a range of 0 to 5°, the structure having a density in a range of 0.01 to 1 g/cm3, the laminate having a variation in volume content of the second reinforced fibers in a range of 0 to 10%, and the composite structure having a protruding portion on a laminate's surface opposite from a laminate's surface in contact with the structure.

Recently, improved rigidity and lightness are increasingly required of industrial products such as an automobile, an aircraft, and a sport product in the market year after year. In order to meet such a requirement, fiber-reinforced plastic having excellent rigidity and lightness are being widely used for various industrial purposes. Specifically, in order to satisfy the lightness and the rigidity, studied is using a light fiber-reinforced substrate as a core material of a sandwich structure (see Patent Document 1). On the other hand, as a technique that involves a fiber-reinforced plastic laminate formed in consideration of shape formativeness, a disclosed technique is disposing a so-called prepreg formed of continuous reinforced fibers and resin on a surface of a resin sheet material having a filler blended therein (see Patent Document 2). Further, as a technique of improving the formativeness into a plurality of shapes, disclosed is a laminated substrate obtained by laminating a sheet-shaped product with voids on at least one surface of a prepreg containing reinforced fibers and thermoplastic (see Patent Document 3).

Composite structure and method for manufacturing same


An electro-wetting display panel is provided. The electro-wetting display panel comprises a first transparent substrate, a second transparent substrate, and pixel units. The pixel units comprise first electrodes, a first hydrophobic layer, a plurality of first barriers, a second electrode, a polarized liquid and a plurality of first non-polarized liquids. The hysteresis phenomenon of the non-polarized liquids can be prevented by using the recess areas on the hydrophobic layer.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional electro-wetting display. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional electro-wetting display 10 comprises an electro-wetting display panel 20 and a backlight module 30. The electro-wetting display panel 20 includes two opposite and transparent substrates 21 and 22, and a polarized liquid 23, a hydrophobic dielectric layer 24, transparent electrodes 25, walls 26 and oil layer 27 (non-polarized liquid) of different colors are disposed between the two transparent substrates 21 and 22, and the oil layer 27 includes a red oil 27R, a green oil 27G, and a blue oil 27B. When a voltage from a voltage source 28 is applied between the transparent electrodes 25 and the polarized liquid 23, a surface tension between the polarized liquid 23 and the hydrophobic dielectric layer 24 can be modified, so as to control the positions of the oils. Therefore, by passing through the oil layer 27 of different colors, a white light LW emitted from the backlight module 30 can be transferred into a red light LR, a green light LG, or a blue light LB having different gray-scales, thereby forming a full-color display effect.
In the conventional electro-wetting display, the transparent electrodes 25 are uniformly formed on the transparent substrate 22, and a uniform electric field is formed on the transparent electrodes 25. However, while continuously displaying images of different gray-scales, the polarized liquid 23 and the oil layer 27 may be affected by other forces, and thus a hysteresis phenomenon occurs. The hysteresis phenomenon results in a difference between an actual area of the oil layer 27 on the transparent substrate 22 and a predetermined area of the oil layer 27 thereon, and it will result in a poor performance of the gray-scales of the conventional electro-wetting display, thereby greatly degrading a display quality.
As a result, it is necessary to provide an electro-wetting display panel and an electro-wetting display apparatus, so as to solve the problems existing in the conventional technologies as described above.

Electro-wetting display panel and electro-wetting display apparatus

SHENZHEN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


The method is for adjusting a bandwidth capacity of a dynamic channel in a network topology by allocating a bandwith value (b1) to the dynamic channel wherein the channel extends from a first node to a second node in a network topology. The traffic flow in the channel is measured to calculate a measured bandwidth value (B1). The allocated bandwidth value (b1) is dynamically adjusted to the measured bandwidth value (B1) so adjust the bandwidth (b1) to the actual bandwidth used.

The traffic flow in information channels, such as dynamic transfer mode topologies, may vary greatly over time periods. If the flow capacity of a channel is too low, only a restricted amount of information may flow through the channel. If the flow capacity of the channel is too high, the channel takes up unnecessary resources from the entire system. There is a need for dynamically adjusting the allocated resources of information channels so that the capacity of the channel is fully adjusted to the actual traffic flow in the channel. For example, if the traffic flow is increased, more bandwidth should be allocated to the channel and if the traffic flow is decreased, the allocated bandwidth should be reduced and allocated elsewhere in the topology to most effectively use the resources available on the topology.
The present invention provides a solution to the above-described problems. More particularly, the method is for adjusting a bandwidth capacity of a dynamic channel in a network topology by allocating a first bandwith value (b1) to the dynamic channel wherein the channel extends from a first node to a second node in a network topology. The traffic flow in the channel is measured to calculate a measured bandwidth value (B1). It is determined if the measured bandwidth value (B1) is greater than the allocated bandwidth value (b1) minus an offset value (Of). When the bandwidth value (B1) is greater than the bandwidth value (b1) minus the offset value (Of), it is determined if the bandwidth value (B1) plus the offset value (Of) plus a delta parameter value (De) are greater than a peak bandwidth parameter value (p) wherein the parameter value (p) being a maximum allowable bandwidth value. When the bandwidth value (B1) plus the offset value (Of) plus the delta parameter value (De) are greater than the peak bandwidth parameter value (p), the bandwidth value (b1) is increased to the peak bandwidth parameter value (p). When the bandwidth value (B1) plus the offset value (Of) plus a delta parameter value (De) are not greater than the peak bandwidth parameter value (p), the bandwith (b1) is increased to a bandwidth value (b2) wherein the bandwidth value (b2) being greater than the bandwidth value (b1).

Method of adjusting a bandwidth capacity of a dynamic channel


A refrigerator assembly includes a cabinet having one or more compartments and a door configured to provide access to the one or more compartments. The refrigerator assembly further includes a mullion portion movably attached with respect the door and a hinge assembly attaching the mullion portion to the door such that the mullion portion is rotatably movable with respect to the door about a rotational axis between a first position and a second position. The refrigerator assembly further includes a leaf spring and a cam structure. The cam structure includes a first recess for receiving the leaf spring when the mullion portion is in the first position. The cam structure further includes a second recess for receiving the leaf spring when the mullion portion is in the second position.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to refrigerator assemblies, and, more particularly, to a refrigerator assembly having a mullion assembly attached to a door.
2. Description of Related Art
Various types of refrigerators include side by side doors ("French Door"). Refrigerators incorporating side by side doors may use a mullion assembly to improve a seal between the doors and refrigerator cabinet. In the past, magnets, such as Neodymium magnets, have been used to pull (e.g., flip) the mullion assembly between an opened and closed position. However, magnets can be expensive and relatively difficult to incorporate. As such, it would be beneficial to reduce the use of magnets in the mullion assembly.


A sail system for a velocipede uses a swinging gate that pivots between a closed position, flush against the velocipede and an open position for sailing. A spring cord pulls the gate toward the open position while a control cord pulls the gate toward the closed position. A slide slidably disposed on a top tube controls positioning of the control cord and locks this cord in a particular position. A shield is also attached to the velocipede.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a board holding implement that attaches to a velocipede so that the board acts as a sail in order to allow wind to help provide locomotive power to the velocipede.
2. Background of the Prior Art
The use of wind power to propel velocipedes is well known. A sail is attached to the velocipede, typically at the front or at the rear of the velocipede, so that the sail can harness the wind and help propel the velocipede, relieving the rider of some or even all of the pedaling effort needed for locomotion. Many varieties of such systems exist, however, they come with drawbacks.
Many velocipede based sail systems are unduly complex in design, attachment to the velocipede, and use, making such sail systems not only expensive to purchase and maintain, but also difficult to use and control, potentially sacrificing the ability to safely control the velocipede. Other systems, being front attached, prevent the rider from having a good view of the road ahead making driving tricky. Some front-based sails are attached to the handle bars of the velocipede making steering of the handle bars difficult especially in high wind load conditions.
A large portion of velocipede attached sails, especially rear mounted sails, take up an inordinate amount of real estate on the velocipede crowding the rider and making the rider uncomfortable during use. Additionally, the ability to store other items on the velocipede is compromised.
Numerous sails that are attached to a velocipede are essentially fixedly attached thereto. The sail is always present on the velocipede and cannot be removed without substantial effort. Replacement of such sails back onto the velocipede after being removed also entails a substantial effort. Accordingly, the rider has the sail present on the velocipede whether or not sail power is desired.
What is needed is a sail system that attaches to a velocipede in order to provide wind assisted locomotive power to the rider, wherein the sail system overcomes the above stated shortcomings currently found in the art. Specifically, such a sail system should be relatively simple in design and construction so that it is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, is easy to install, and is easy to maintain. Such a sail system should be easy to control while allowing the rider to have good vision of the road. Such a system should not compromise the velocipede's ability to haul cargo. Such a sail system should allow the sail to be readily demountable so that the rider can ride the velocipede without sail power as desired.


A controller is disclosed for determining that the currents from the two AC power sources are correctly phased. Required circuitry can be disposed within a housing from which extend power cables having single phase 240V AC, 50 A male connector plugs connected at remote ends. Prongs in each of plugs can be arranged so that the plugs are connectable to a 240V, single phase AC source. A power cable, having a connector at a remote end, can also extend from the housing. The power cable connector can be connected to an AC power supply. The power cable connector supply a power transformer with single phase AC power at 240V and 100 A. The circuitry can assure that the phases and voltages of the two AC sources driving the connectors are properly connected to the connectors to enable the cable to supply the power cable connector with single phase AC.

It is desirable for certain applications to combine the AC current from two AC single phase power sources having about the same voltage to drive an AC load. In particular, many pleasure boats have single phase AC load requirements of about 240 volts and 100 amperes. Typically, marinas where such pleasure boats land have single phase AC power sources cable of delivering 240 volts and only 50 amperes. A prior art system enables such boats to be powered by marinas having AC power sources which are combined to satisfy the boat power requirements. The AC commercial system includes a controller employing a considerable number of relays which frequently do not respond in sufficient time to provide safe and proper operation of the pleasure boat electrical system and is often out of service due to moisture in the relays and in the connections between the relays.

Controller for plural supplies driving single load


A black-and-white photographic developing composition has improved stability and is more compatible with the environment when discarded. The composition includes one or more ascorbic acid developing agents and a preservative (such as a sulfite) and is essentially free of hydroquinone and similar developing agents. It comprises an xcex1-ketocarboxylic acid stabilizing agent at a molar ratio to the ascorbic acid developing agent of from about 0.05:1 to about 2.5:1, and at a molar ratio to the preservative of from about 0.05:1 to about 6.25:1.

This invention relates in general to photography and in particular to improved black-and-white developing compositions. More particularly, it relates to improved and stabilized ascorbic acid developing compositions and to methods for their use in processing photographic silver halide materials.
Photographic black-and-white developing compositions containing a silver halide black-and-white developing agent are well known in the photographic art for reducing silver halide grains containing a latent image to yield a developed photographic image. Many useful developing agents are known in the art, with hydroquinone and similar dihydroxybenzene compounds and ascorbic acid (and derivatives) being some of the most common. Such compositions generally contain other components such as sulfites, buffers, antifoggants, halides and hardeners.
Dihydroxybenzenes (such as hydroquinone) are the most common black-and-white developing agents and are quite active to provide development in various black-and-white photographic elements with or without booster and nucleating compounds. However, they are disadvantageous from several technical and environmental considerations. For example, hydroquinone compositions are not completely stable in air, being prone to aerial oxidation. The by-products from instability are often insoluble, black and tarry materials that contaminate the processing solutions and equipment.
The oxidation of hydroquinones also leads to higher pH that in turn leads to increased developer activity. Images can be produced faster so the processing time must be reduced. The net effect is less control of the process, and less desirable sensitometric properties in the processed materials.
In addition, hydroquinones have become an increasing concern from the point of view of potential toxicity and environmental pollution.
Another class of black-and-white developing agents are known in many publications as ascorbic acid and its various derivatives, for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,816 (Purol et al). While these types of developing agents are considerably more suitable to the environment, a major concern with ascorbic acid type developing agents is their stability to aerial oxidation. It is well known to improve stability of hydroquinone developing agents by means of various additives, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,997 (Marchesano), for processing high contrast graphic arts films.
There is a need however for more stable ascorbic acid developing compositions for processing a wide variety of photographic silver halide materials that require a black-and-white developing step.
An improved black-and-white photographic developing composition comprises:
a) an ascorbic acid developing agent,
b) a stabilizing amount of a xcex1-ketocarboxylic acid, and
c) a preservative,
wherein the molar ratio of the xcex1-ketocarboxylic acid to the ascorbic acid developing agent is from about 0.05:1 to about 2.5:1, the molar ratio of the xcex1-ketocarboxylic acid to the preservative is from about 0.05:1 to about 6.25:1, and the composition is essentially free of dihydroxybenzene compounds.
This invention also provides a method of providing an image comprising contacting an imagewise exposed photographic silver halide material with the black-and-white photographic developing composition described above for at least 10 seconds.
This invention also provides a photoprocessing kit comprising the black-and-white developing composition described above, and one or more additional photochemical processing compositions.
The present invention provides a highly stabilized black-and-white developing composition by the use of the xcex1-ketocarboxylic acid as a stabilizing agent, and the specific molar ratios of the xcex1-ketocarboxylic acid to the ascorbic acid developing agent and preservative. This composition is essentially free of dihydroxybenzene compounds, and is preferably also essentially free of alkanolamines.
In addition, the activity of the developing compositions of this invention can be suitably maintained using a replenisher composition that has essentially the same components, concentrations and pH. In effect, the replenisher composition is equally stable as the working composition.
Because the compositions of this invention have increased stability, they can be used as lower replenishment rates during photoprocessing. This would lead to lower effluent volumes and costs. In addition, a certain amount of xcex1-ketocarboxylic acid from the developing step can be carried over into a later processing bath, such as a photographic fixing bath. This xe2x80x9ccarry-overxe2x80x9d xcex1-ketocarboxylic acid may be helpful to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,138 (Faranda et al), and to reduce image dye stain.
The improved stability (that is, reduced aerial oxidation) would generally reduce composition color change. The developing compositions are also xe2x80x9ccleaner workingxe2x80x9d because they require less preservatives (such as sulfites) that create sludge or dirt in the processing bath.

Stabilized ascorbic acid developing compositions and methods of use


A method for abnormality detection in an energy unit includes passively detecting an abnormality in an energy unit by detecting electromagnetic radiation generated by the abnormality, the energy unit comprising at least one of an electrical energy unit and an electrochemical energy unit. A method for detecting an abnormality in an energy unit includes (a) applying a signal to the energy unit, (b) performing a plurality of measurements, at a respective plurality of different locations within the energy unit, of a response of the energy unit to the signal, and (c) processing the plurality of measurements to identify the abnormality.

This invention is in the field of electrical and electrochemical devices for storing or harnessing energy. This invention relates generally to management of such devices to reduce the severity of consequences of abnormalities occurring or existing in the devices. Batteries are a prominent example of a type device to which this invention relates.
As battery technology development has progressed, the use of batteries, particularly rechargeable batteries, as a power source has increased substantially. Batteries are used as power sources for a wide array of devices including relatively low-power devices, such as consumer electronics devices, and higher-power devices, such as electric cars. Lithium ion batteries are the most widely used form of rechargeable battery. An Achilles heel of lithium ion batteries is the risk of an electrical short developing inside a lithium ion battery cell and the consequences associated therewith. An electrical short may cause rapid heating of the battery cell. In the matter of seconds, the local temperature at the location of the short may rise to temperatures sufficient to set the battery on fire. This is particularly worrisome in the case of high-capacity lithium ion battery systems, such as those used in electric cars. To reduce the danger associated with electrical shorts and other abnormalities in lithium ion batteries, some battery systems use a battery management system for monitoring the state of charge and/or the state of health of the battery system. Monitoring is typically based upon measurements of properties such as the terminal voltage of the battery system and/or the temperature of the battery system.

Systems and methods for detecting abnormalities in electrical and electrochemical energy units


Disclosed are a semiconductor device having a porous member as an active region, the porous member comprising a plurality of porous regions having different structures or compositions; and a process for producing a semiconductor device, comprising a step of modifying partially a non-porous substrate, and a subsequent step of making the substrate porous.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device such as an electronic element, an optical element, and integrated circuit thereof which performs functions of light-emission, sensing, or the like, and also relates to a process for producing the semiconductor device. In particular, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a porous region and to a process for producing the device.
2. Related Background Art
Porous materials are attracting attention in recent years as a novel functional material for constituting an active region of an element.
The porous structure of a semiconductor crystal of Group IV, for example, were primarily used in the past as structural members which are not related to the electronic and optical properties of the material and uses such as formation of SOI (Silicon On Insulator) structure utilizing capability of high speed oxidation (see, for example, T. Unagami and M. Seki: J. Electrochem. Soc., 125, 1339 (1978)).
In recent years, the porous material is applied to an active region material of a gas sensor by utilizing the large surface area resulting from the porosity (see, for example, A. Motohashi, et al.: Oyo Butsuri Gakkai Gakujutsu Koenkai (Shuki) Yokoshu (Preprint of Autumnal Meeting of Society of Applied Physics), 29p-ZB-9 (1986)); and light-emission phenomenon was discovered which is caused by a structure sufficiently fine for imprisonment of carrier quantum (see L. T. Canham, Appl. Phys. Lett., 56, 1046 (1990)). Since then, studies are actively being made on functional application of porous material to light-emitting element, and other applications. The functional application of the porous material will possibly become an attractive novel technique if several practical problems are solved, because the porous structure can be formed readily by treating the base material.
The most serious of the problems in realization of the functional application of the porous material is the lack of stability of structure of the material.
The porous material, as understood from the name, inherently has many voids in the space where the material is to be filled. Therefore, the structural strength is unavoidably low in comparison with the base material. Further the absolute value of the strength naturally depends on the size, shape, density, and so forth of the remaining structure. A material of finer porous structure is generally more brittle than the one having a coarser structure. Accordingly, a coarse porous material is advantageous as far as desired functions are performed with the coarse structure. However, in application fields in which finer structure is required, the structural instability becomes a serious problem.
Referring again to the example of the aforementioned semiconductor crystal of Group IV, a finer structure is desired to obtain a larger surface area for higher sensitivity of a gas sensor; and visible light-emission is not achievable without a superfine structure of finer than several nanometers. In the latter application, to obtain shorter wavelength of emitted light, much more finer structure is required.
Practically, however, such a superfine porous material is extremely brittle, and will collapse immediately on touching. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to practicalize the instable material with a definite element size.
Another problem in functional application of a porous material is the difficulty of signal transmission between the porous active region and the outside.
The active element needs to transmit or receive signal or energy to or from the porous region. However, the porous structure or the composition of the intended porous material is frequently not suitable for the transmittance function. For example, the aforementioned light-emitting element involves the problem that an electrode formed for injecting carriers into the porous active region is insufficient in structural strength and further does not give sufficient injection efficiency because of excessively high contact resistance.
Generally, unsolved problems exist not only in transmission of signals and energies but also in simultaneous practice of a plurality of functions.

Process for producing semiconductor device having porous regions


A nursing garment for use by a nursing woman includes two releasable panels, each panel having opposed ends. At least one of the opposed ends of each panel is selectively releasable thereby exposing at least one breast of the nursing woman. The released panels provide coverage for breastfeeding and pumping activity.

Many women choose to breastfeed and pump their breastmilk. Doing so requires accessing one or both breasts, which is difficult to do while wearing standard clothing without exposing more than one is comfortable with, e.g. the abdomen or the shoulders and upper breast area. Nursing clothing is designed to provide easier access to a nursing woman's breasts without exposing the rest of the body. However, most nursing clothing provides limited access and still requires stretching in order to sufficiently expose the breast area, which ruins the appearance of the fabric. Furthermore, if the fabric has to be stretched, it will likely shrink down during the breastfeeding activity, which could lead to the fabric being soiled with breastmilk if it gets too close to, or makes contact with, the child's mouth. Also, if the fabric makes contact with the child's mouth, the child's latch on the nipple could be disrupted, which could cause a shortened nursing session and irritability in the child. Additionally, most women wear bras and often women wear nursing bras, which require adjustment to accommodate breastfeeding and pumping breastmilk. Adjusting a nursing bra is difficult to do in clothing that provides limited access. Nursing clothing that does provide sufficient access often does not offer a means of covering exposed areas, which causes the need for carrying an additional cover and that causes an inconvenience for a nursing woman who may already be carrying other childcare items. Also, covers can be difficult to position a child under and the excess fabric can cause unease for a nursing woman concerned about the child's temperature and the child's ability to breathe beneath the cover. Many workplaces now have private rooms where women can pump their breastmilk, which provides the nursing woman with the option of undressing before pumping breastmilk and that avoids some of the aforementioned inconveniences. However, women who use these private rooms often must use them multiple times per day and undressing and dressing each time is inconvenient and inefficient, which can reduce a nursing woman's productivity and discourage her from continuing to pump breastmilk. Ultimately, the inconveniences of nursing can lead to earlier than intended weaning. Therefore, nursing clothing that offers more functionality is needed.


A paper toweling which provides a combination of strength, bulk and absorbency while presenting an attractive appearance. Included are a single ply paper towel having areas of light and heavy embossing perforations which form diamond shaped islands of heavy embossing perforations surrounded by intersecting bands of light bosses.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a paper toweling which provides an improved combination of strength, bulk and absorbency while presenting an attractive appearance. This invention further relates to a paperlike web having perforate and non-perforate boss elements which are arranged to incorporate strength control while enhancing bulk. The invention further relates to single ply paper towels having areas of light bosses and heavy boss perforations which form islands of heavy boss perforations surrounded by intersecting bands of light bosses.
2. Background of the Invention
Roll paper toweling such as that used in commercial, "away-from-home" dispensers, is a relatively modest product normally sold almost exclusively on the basis of cost as the purchaser is rarely the user. Accordingly, since improved performance can only rarely justify even a minimal increase in cost, techniques for improving the quality of this product must usually meet the most stringent of economic criteria, i.e., they can add nothing to the marginal cost of production.

Paper towel with dual level diagonal infundibulate striae of slitted elongate hexagonal bosses


A filing tool for filing trowel edges includes a metal file and a body to contain and hold the file in a securely clamped arrangement. The body forms a relatively narrow guide slot which is given generally parallel side walls as well as a generally open bottom, front and back. The file's filing surface forms the upper boundary of the slot. The slot is given a gap that allows close fitting passage of blade of a trowel. The filing tool is used for dulling and straightening the sharp and worn edges that appear on the blade of a finishing trowel and are caused by use of the trowel while spreading, shaping and/or leveling abrasive viscous material such as cement, mortar, or grout and the like.

The invention relates to a filing tool for filing trowel edges, and more particularly concerns a hand-held filing tool for dulling and straightening the sharp and worn edges that appear on the blade of a finishing trowel. These sharp edges are caused by use of the trowel while spreading, shaping and/or leveling abrasive viscous material such as cement, mortar, or grout and the like as typically used by various trades such as cement finishers, brick layers, masons, plasterers, sheet-rockers, stucco finishers, floor-tile layers and so on.


A first steering column member and a second steering column member are engaged for pivoting movement, and include confronting surfaces that limit the relative movement of the members. A bumper is disposed between the confronting surfaces to absorb impact during the adjusting movement. The bumper is fixedly connected to one of the first and second steering column members in a snap-fit connection.

Steering columns are often adjustable in telescope or in tilt/rake. Such steering columns include first and second steering column members moveable relative to one another over a path of adjusting movement. The end limits of the path of adjusting movement are often defined by corresponding confronting surfaces of each of the first and second steering column members. In other words, movement along the path of adjusting movement stops when the confronting surfaces contact one another. It can be desirable to position a cushion or bumper between the confronting surfaces to reduce the likelihood of noise and/or vibration when the confronting surfaces contact one another.


The present invention provides for an organopolysiloxane rubber composition for coating high voltage electrical insulators comprising the product which is obtained by mixing 30 to 50 weight percent of a mixture of 40 to 44 weight percent of a polydimethyl siloxane fluid having a viscosity from 10 to 15 Pa.S at 25.degree. C; 2.0 to 3.0 weight percent of a SiO.sub.2 reinforcing filler with a specific gravity of 2.2 and a range of particle size of 0.5 to 10 microns; 1.0 to 3.0 weight percent of an organosilicone cross-linking agent; 0.5 to 2.0 weight percent of an adhesion promotoer; 0.1 to 0.2 weight percent of a dibutyltindilaurate condensation catalyst and 36 to 48 weight percent of alumina trihydrate, the alumina trihydrate having a median particle size of 13.mu.m, containing 65.1 percent Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, 34.5 percent combined H.sub.2 O, 0.3 percent Ha.sub.2 O, 0.02 percent CaO, 0.01 percent SiO.sub.2 and having a specific gravity of 2.42, the alumina trihydrate being present in a proportion of 90 to 110 parts by weight of alumina trihydrate per 100 parts by weight of the polyorganosiloxane base, with 50 to 70 weight percent of a hydrocarbon solvent as a dispersion medium. The organopolysiloxane rubber composition of the present invention provides a coating for high voltage electrical insulators with greater resistance to leakage of electrical current.

Several organopolysiloxane rubber compositions for coating high voltage electrical insulators have been disclosed for improving the electrical characteristics of electrical insulators. For example, Niemi describes a method for preparing high voltage insulators in U.S. Pat. No. 4,476,155 in which a composition containing the product obtained by mixing a hydroxyl endblocked polydimethylsiloxane with aluminum trihydrate and a ketoxime functional silane, is applied to the outer surface of an insulator.
Adkins in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,830 describes organopolysiloxane elastomers having improved adhesion, improved contact angle, accelerated cure rate, improved arc resistance, longer useful life, resistance to arcing and improved resistance to leakage of electrical current.

Organopolysiloxane rubber composition for coating high voltage electrical insulators having improved electrical properties


Disclosed is an optical isomer separating agent composed of a stationary phase having a support and a chemically modified conalbumin. The separating agent may be used in a high-performance liquid chromatography column.

It is known that only one of the optical isomers constituting a racemic modification has a physiological activity in the natural world. It has recently been found in the field of drugs that only one of the optical isomers constituting a racemic modification has a remarkable pharmacological effect or a low toxicity in some cases, for which the development of a drug with an isolated optical isomer has risen in importance.
Only a few methods for the separation of optical isomers can be practically conducted on an industrial scale, though many methods therefor have been known hitheroto. Therefore, a method which can separate optical isomers easily and at a low cost has been sought. In recent years, with the progress in high-performance liquid chromatography, methods for separating optical isomers have become known generally and separatory columns having various performances have also been reported.
However, there are only a few columns usable for the separation of optical isomers while it is known that very many compounds have optical isomers. In addition, not all optical isomers can always be efficiently separated, and therefore the development of a new separatory column has been expected.

Separating agent comprising bonded conalbumin


An etching process of a metal layer of a display panel is provided. First, a substrate with at least one display panel region, a testing device region, and a non-device region is provided. Then, a metal layer is formed over the substrate to cover the display panel region, the testing device region, and the non-device region. Next, a mask is formed on the metal layer to expose a portion of the metal layer. The area of the metal layer exposed by the mask substantially occupies 70%˜88% of the total area of the metal layer. Thereafter, a wet etching process is performed to remove the metal layer exposed by the mask.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an etching method, and more particularly to a method for etching a metal layer of a display panel.
2. Description of Related Art
Nowadays, displays have served as major communication interfaces between humans and machines. Thus, users may get information from displays and then control the operation of apparatuses. Particularly, the liquid crystal displays (LCDs) have become mainstream display products. In general, an LCD mainly includes a thin film transistor (TFT) array substrate, a color filter substrate, and a liquid crystal layer sandwiched between the two substrates. Here, each of the TFTs including a gate, a channel layer, a source and a drain is mainly used to control the data input into a pixel of the LCD.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating one of the TFTs in the conventional TFT array substrate. Referring to FIG. 1, a TFT 110 disposed on a substrate 100 includes a gate 111, a gate insulating layer 112, a channel layer 113, a source 114a, a drain 114b, and a passivation layer 115. In addition, a pixel electrode 120 is electrically connected to the drain 114b through a contact 115a in the passivation layer 115. The method for fabricating said gate 111, said gate insulating layer 112, said channel layer 113, said source 114a, said drain 114b, and said passivation layer 115 mainly includes performing several thin film deposition processes, lithographic processes, and etching processes repeatedly, such that the aforementioned devices are formed on the substrate 100.
The structure of the metal layer of the TFT array substrate poses a significant impact on the electrical performance of the TFTs. If the width of the metal line is poorly formed, it affects the electrical characteristics of the TFT. Not only the performance of the TFT is reduced, but the functions of the TFT array substrate are influenced.
For example, if the line width of the metal lines is not uniform, structural differences among the TFTs then occur. The different electrical characteristics of the TFTs lead to undesirable displaying quality of the display. Moreover, if a chamfer is formed at the metal layer after the etching process, the capability of step coverage of a thin film is then deteriorated in a successive thin film deposition process, thus resulting in defects of the TFTs and failure of the devices. Furthermore, the formation of the chamfer brings about a point discharge effect on the devices, therefore making the TFTs fragile and having a negative influence on the performance and the life span of the displays.
Generally speaking, the etching process performed on the metal layer includes a dry etching process and a wet etching process. With the growing demands for larger-sized TFT panels and substrates, an increase of glass substrates in size results in various issues in the current manufacturing process if the dry etching process is performed to pattern the metal layer of the TFT. For example, it is required to provide a larger vacuum environment when a larger glass substrate is placed into a dry etching chamber to perform the dry etching process. Thereby, the cost of exhausting gases out of the large vacuum environment is certainly increased, and it is rather difficult to maintain uniformity of the etching plasma in the large dry etching chamber, thus bringing about non-uniformity of etching.
To overcome said shortcomings, a method of two-step etching is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,218,821 to solve the problems arisen from the formation of the chamfer at the metal layer. In the related art, a wet etching process is conducted to etch an upper barrier layer and a main metal layer. Then, a dry etching process is performed to etch a lower barrier layer and a channel layer of a TFT device. However, said method including two-step etching not only requires an increase in the number of machines and in costs of manufacturing the TFTs, but also causes undesired metal patterns, thus resulting in loose control of the quality of the TFTs.
Furthermore, the method for fabricating the TFTs disclosed in US Publication No. US 2004/004220 provides a dry etching method comprising multiple steps by using different gases, so as to prevent the formation of the chamfer at the metal layer. Comparatively speaking, this related art requires neither an increase in the number of machines nor sufficient costs incurred in the manufacturing process. However, in terms of an even larger TFT array substrate, the dry etching method still faces the problems of uniformity of etching and the operating costs.
To resolve the issues arisen from etching the metal layer by using the dry etching process, it is common to conduct the wet etching process to etch the metal layer in the manufacturing process of TFTs. A process of patterning one of the metal layers by wet etching in the conventional TFT manufacturing process is described below for further illustration.
FIGS. 2A to 2B are schematic cross-sectional flow charts illustrating a fabrication process of patterning a metal layer through the wet etching method in a conventional process of manufacturing the TFT array substrate. Referring to FIG. 2A, a gate 111, a gate insulating layer 112, a channel layer 113, a metal layer 114, and an mask 130 are successively formed over the substrate 100. Then, a wet etching process is performed to remove the metal layer 114a uncovered by the mask 130. Then, referring to FIG. 2B, the source 114a and drain 114b are formed after the etching process is performed on the metal layer 114. Finally, the mask 130 is removed.
The disadvantages of the increase in costs and non-uniformity of etching in the dry etching process can be prevented when the wet etching process is applied to the process of manufacturing large-sized panels. However, the wet etching process is an isotropic etching process i.e. it has a greater lateral etching rate, the etching process performed on the metal layer causes the problems of an excessive lateral etching amount, further resulting in the formation of the chamfer at the metal layer 114 as shown in FIG. 2B and in an uneven profile of the metal layer 114.
FIG. 2C is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a formation of other film layers on the metal layer with the chamfer. Referring to FIG. 2C, when other film e.g. the passivation layer 115 is continuously deposited on the metal layer 114, the capability of step coverage of the passivation layer 115 is reduced due to the existence of the chamfer. Thus, defects or point discharge effects are likely to occur at the tip 116, further leading to failure of the devices.
Additionally, the chamfer at the metal layer or the uneven profile thereof results in non-uniformity of width of the metal lines in the TFT array substrate. The consequential differences in electrical characteristics of each TFT device then affect the optical characteristics of the display panel using the TFT array substrate and cause mura defect. This significantly reduces the displaying quality of the panel.
It can be deduced that one of the critical factors to evaluate the performance of the LCD is the way to decrease the lateral etching amount of the metal layer during the wet etching process. Thereby, the formation of the chamfer can be prevented after the metal layer is etched and a desirable profile of the metal layer can be further obtained.
In order to etch the metal layer through the wet etching process without forming the chamfer due to the fast lateral etching rate, an annealing process is performed after the formation of the metal layer to form a layer of fine crystal grains thereon, as is provided in Taiwan Patent No. I584914. Since the layer of the fine crystal grains has a faster etching rate than the metal layer does, the formation of the chamfer at the metal layer can be avoided.
On the other hand, a sacrificial layer, with a faster etching rate than the metal layer, is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,297,161. The sacrificial layer disposed on the metal layer also prevents the formation of the chamfer. All of the related arts discussed above, however, result in an increase in the manufacturing costs, and the etchant inactivates as used repeatedly. Thus, the lateral etching amount is not under an effective control even though the etchant is replaced by a new one.
According to the aforesaid methods for reducing the formation of the chamfer, the manufacturing costs of the TFT array substrate increase regardless of performing the annealing process to change the characteristics of the upper film on the metal layer, or of forming the sacrificial layer. Moreover, with the change of the characteristics of the upper film or the formation of the sacrificial layer, the characteristics of the TFT devices change. This can be one of the factors affecting the characteristics of the TFT devices, and it is even more unlikely to control the electrical characteristics of the TFT devices and to monitor the yield rate. Thus, a better solution is still required.
One of the most common manufacturing processes utilized in the industry is to increase the thickness of the passivation layer or the insulating layer in accordance with Taiwan Patent No. I586223. Alternatively, a planarization layer is added to reduce the influence on the electrical characteristics of the TFTs due to the formation of the chamfer. Still, the increase in materials and costs during said manufacturing processes does exist and brings about greater height differences of the TFTs. Hence, the subsequent alignment process is affected, and the displaying quality of the displays is further reduced.
In general, when the nitric acid solution reacts with the metal layer e.g. Al layer, two of chemical reactions occur,Al+HNO3→Al2O3+H2O+NO2  (reaction 1)Al+HNO2→Al2O3+H2O+NO2  (reaction 2)
Here, the nitride dioxide (NO2) produced in reaction 1 reacts with water and produces nitrous acid (HNO2). HNO2 oxidizes the Al metal and produces aluminum oxide (Al2O3), and the valence of the nitrogen atoms in HNO2 is +3, which is relatively unstable to a +5 valence of the nitrogen atoms in the nitric acid. Therefore, reaction 2 has a reaction rate higher than that of reaction 1, such that reaction 1 is the rate determining step (RDS) when the Al metal reacts with the nitric acid solution.
It should be understood that the etchant used in the conventional etching process is, as a rule, the nitric acid solution, and the concentration thereof usually is in a range from 0.2% to 6.0%. The concentration is raised to 1.5%˜10% when the etchant is replaced, and reaction 2 is then induced. Thereby, the lateral etching rate of the Al metal is increased to a range between 100 Å/sec and 180 Å/sec, and the ratio of the maximum lateral etching amount to the minimum etching amount is about 0.85˜1.0. Thus, the occurrence of reaction 2 and the corresponding reaction with the Al metal are the key factors of the formation of the chamfer at the Al metal layer and non-uniformity of lateral etching.
Another well-known manufacturing process to reduce the formation of the chamfer at the metal layer is performed by adjusting a recipe of the etching solution e.g. by changing the ratio of composition of the nitric acid or by adding a surfactant to decrease the etching reaction rate. Thereby, the lateral etching amount can be controlled to reduce the formation of the chamfer. However, given that the chemical concentration of the etchant is decreased, the etching process using said etchant cannot be frequently and constantly performed. In other words, the performance of the etchant is significantly reduced after the etching process is performed on few substrates, such that the replacement frequency of the etchant is high and the manufacturing cost is increased.

Etching method for metal layer of display panel


Measurement of individual quiescent supply currents from multiple power supply pads located across a semiconductor die provides a means of characterizing across-die variation. A ratio is created by combining the individual pad supply current with the sum of all pad supply currents for a given die. An n-tuple is formed from the set of ratios for all pad supply currents to provide a unique signature for different across-die variation profiles.

The present disclosure relates to the field of computers, and specifically to their use in automating semiconductor process characterization.
As semiconductor processes scale to smaller geometries, the chips or dies produced become more sensitive to process variations. These process variations often result in variability in performance parameters across the final die.

Characterizing across-die process variation

International Business Machines Corporation


A current generating circuit, which generates a driving current weighed corresponding to a digital image signal, is disposed for each pixel in the display device of this invention. The driving current is supplied to an organic El element. The current generating circuit has D/A conversion function, which is capable of converting the digital image signal into the weighed driving current, enabling the gradation display corresponding to the digital image signal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a display device, especially to a display device with a DA conversion function converting a digital image signal into an analog image signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electroluminescent (referred to as EL hereinafter) display device with an EL element has been gathering attention as a display device substituting a CRT or an LCD. The development effort for the EL display device with a thin film transistor (referred to as TFT hereinafter) as a switching element for driving the EL element has been made accordingly.
FIG. 7 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a pixel of an organic EL display panel. A gate signal line 50 supplying a gate signal Gn and a drain signal line 60 supplying a drain signal, a video signal Dm, cross each other. The video signal Dm is produced by sampling a video signal by using a sampling signal.
An organic EL element 120, a TFT 100 for driving the organic El element 120, and a TFT 110 for selecting the pixel are disposed near the crossing of the signal lines.
A positive source voltage PVdd is applied to the drain 100d of the driving TFT 100 of the organic EL element. And the source 100s is connected to an anode 121 of the organic EL element 120.
The gate 110g of the TFT 110 for selecting pixel is provided with the gate signal Gn by being connected to the gate signal line 50, and provided with the video signal Dm by being connected to the drain signal line 60. The source 110s of the TFT 110 is connected to the gate 100g of the TFT 100. The gate signal Gn is generated from a gate driver circuit (not shown in the figure). The video signal Dm is outputted from a drain driver circuit (not shown in the figure).
The organic EL element 120 includes the anode 121, a cathode 122 and an emissive layer 123 inserted between the anode 121 and the cathode 122. The cathode 122 is provided with a negative source voltage CV.
A storage capacitance element 130 is connected to the gate 100g of the TFT 100. That is, one of the electrodes of the storage capacitance element 130 is connected to the gate 100g, and the other electrode is connected to a storage capacitance electrode 131. The storage capacitance element 130 is disposed in order to keep the video signal of the pixel for one field period by keeping the charge corresponding to the video signal Dm.
The operation of the display device with the above configuration is as follows. The TFT 110 turns on when the gate signal Gn becomes a high level for one horizontal period. Then the video signal Dm is supplied from the drain signal line 60 to the gate 100g of the TFT 100 through the TFT 110. The conductance of the TFT 100 changes according to the video signal supplied to the gate 100g and the corresponding driving electric current is supplied to the organic EL element 120 through the TFT 100, which results in an illumination of the organic EL element 120.
An analog image signal inputted to the drain signal line 60 is obtained by converting the inputted digital image signal into the analog image signal by a D/A converter. Conventional display devices with a D/A converter built inside the display panel usually have the D/A converter near the driver circuit disposed in the peripheral area of the pixels.
However, since the D/A converter is disposed near the driver circuit, the conventional display device has complicated circuit designs in the peripheral area of the pixels, leading to an enlarged framing area of the display panel to accommodate the D/A converter.


A disposable active humidifier particularly for inspiratory lines of respiratory circuits for intensive care, comprising a body (2,2') provided with an inlet (3,3') and an outlet (4,4') for its connection along the inspiratory line and internally forming a chamber (10) for the flow of the gases of the inspiratory line, the humidifier further comprising a hydrophobic membrane (11) forming at least one portion of the surface of the chamber. The body (2,2') can be introduced by immersion in a water containment chamber (21) at least at the region affected by the membrane (11), the membrane being adapted to allow the passage of water in molecular form in the gas flow chamber (10).

It is known that in intensive-care wards, where the patient is ventilated artificially with a respirator, heated humidifiers are usually used which are placed along the inspiratory line and are capable of providing a level of humidity and heat that the upper air passages of the patient, having been bypassed, cannot ensure, in order to maintain ordinary mucociliary functions.
Currently commercially available humidifiers heat the gases supplied by the ventilator and load them with humidity; in order to ensure the sterility of the inspiration gases, the water that is ventilated for humidification is necessarily sterile.
However, despite the use of sterile water, sterility conditions are not maintained, since in conventional active humidifiers the gas becomes loaded with humidity by flowing over the water surface. With this arrangement, the aerobic bacterial loads present in the incoming gases necessarily contaminate the heating bath.
The particular environmental condition, with the presence of humidity and heat, is the ideal medium for the proliferation of bacterial loads.
Furthermore, in addition to this type of contamination, the bath is also contaminated by means of the condensation that forms along the line that connects the humidifier to the patient; this condensation acts as a vehicle for the bacterial loads that are present in the air expired by the patient.
Accordingly, after a period of approximately two or three hours of operation, very high concentration of bacterial loads forms inside the humidification chamber; these loads constitute a severe risk of cross-infections for the patient.
With the conventional solutions, therefore, humidifiers are used which require the use of sterile water for their operation but do not allow to maintain sterility conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,704 discloses a humidifier apparatus for admixture of heated water vapor into a gaseous stream, including a water heating platen, and a disposable vapor transfer chamber formed by a hydrophobic filter membrane supporting structure and a cover. The supporting structure is arranged over the water heating platen such that the filter is arranged above and extends parallel to the platen whereby heated water vapor rises through the filter and into the cover, which is provided with gas intake and discharge ports, to mix the heated water vapor into the gaseous stream.


In accordance with the invention, features can be directly imprinted into the surface of a solid substrate. Specifically, a substrate is directly imprinted with a desired pattern by the steps of providing a mold having a molding surface to imprint the pattern, disposing the molding surface adjacent or against the substrate surface to be imprinted, and irradiating the substrate surface with radiation to soften or liquefy the surface. The molding surface is pressed into the softened or liquefied surface to directly imprint the substrate. The substrate can be any one of a wide variety of solid materials such as semiconductors, metals, or polymers. In a preferred embodiment the substrate is silicon, the laser is a UV laser, and the mold is transparent to the UV radiation to permit irradiation of the silicon workpiece through the transparent mold. Using this method, applicants have directly imprinted into silicon large area patterns with sub-10 nanometer resolution in sub-250 nanosecond processing time. The method can also be used with a flat molding surface to planarize the substrate.

Methods of patterning small features onto substrates are of great importance in the fabrication of many electronic, magnetic, mechanical, and optical devices as well as devices for biological and chemical analysis. Such methods are used, for example, to define the features and configurations of microcircuits and the structure and operating features of planar optical waveguides and associated optical devices.
Optical lithography is the conventional method of patterning such features. A thin layer of photoresist is applied to the substrate surface and selected portions of the resist are exposed to a pattern of light. The resist is then developed to reveal a desired pattern of exposed substrate for further processing such as etching. A difficulty with this process is that resolution is limited by the wavelength of the light, scattering in the resist and substrate, and the thickness and properties of the resist. As a consequence optical lithography becomes increasingly difficult as desired feature size becomes smaller. Moreover applying, developing and removing resists are relatively slow steps, limiting the speed of throughput.
A more recent approach to patterning small features is nanoimprint lithography wherein a nanofeatured molding surface is imprinted into a resist or resist-like material (polymer) and the imprinted pattern is removed to selectively expose the substrate surface. This process eliminates the limitations on resolution caused by the wavelength of light, but nonetheless has limitations imposed by the use and processing of resists or polymers. Further details concerning nanoimprint lithography are set forth in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,905 issued Jun. 30, 1998 and entitled "Nanoimprint Lithography" and U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,742 issued Nov. 19, 2002 and entitled "Fluid Pressure Imprint Lithography". The '905 and '742 patents are incorporated herein by reference.
The electronics and optical communications industries, as well as companies entering new fields of nanotechnology, continue to seek new methods for the production of microcircuits, optical devices and new nanoscale structures. In particular they seek faster processes for patterning substrates with higher resolution patterns.

Laser assisted direct imprint lithography