An optoelectronic device for sensing an object without any contact, the optoelectronic device being adapted to be connected to a control device which is capable of sending an identification code to the optoelectronic device, the optoelectronic device includes an optoelectronic element (110, 111) for receiving an input signal and for converting the received signal into an electrical signal, an address memory (121) for storing a self identification code, a determining unit (126) connected to the address memory (121) for determining a coincidence between the self identification code stored in the address memory (121) and the identification code sent from the control device, and an activating unit (127) connected to the determining unit (126) for driving the optoelectronic element (110, 111) at a time when the self identification code coincides with the identification code.

The present invention relates to an optoelectronic device and an information apparatus using the optoelectronic device. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a data transmission system for controlling the information apparatus which includes a plurality of sensors and to transmit outputs of the sensors.
The above-mentioned optoelectronic device includes for example, a light-receptacle device, a luminous device, a solid-state relay, a photo-interrupter, and a photo-coupler for sensing an object without physical contact, a photo-coupler for inputting or outputting a signal. The above-mentioned information apparatus includes, for example a printer, a facsimile, a copying machine, and a programmable controller. The above-mentioned data transmission system represents a system which uses an apparatus such as a copying machine, a video tape recorder, an audio equipment, a domestic electric product, a car-equipped electric product, an electric music instrument, or an industrial apparatus.
A photo-interrupter which is arranged to have a luminous element 11, a light-receptacle element 12, an amplifier 13 and a transistor 14 is shown in FIG. 1. In operation the luminous element 11 is made luminous by flowing current therethrough. The photo-interrupter determines whether or not the light-receptacle element 12 receives a larger amount of light than a threshold light amount and outputs a high signal or a low signal depending on a result of the determination.
A copying machine which uses a large number of photo-interrupters mounted thereon for increasing its functions is shown in FIG. 2. For supplying a sensing signal from the photo-interrupters, the known copying machine is required to provide a plurality of signal lines 17 inside of a control unit 15 between the control unit 15 and the plurality of photo-interrupters. As a consequence, the inside wiring arrangement is very intricate, thereby inhibiting a reduction of the apparatus size.
A light-receptacle device is shown in FIG. 3. The light-receptacle device is arranged to have a photo-diode 18, an amplifying circuit 19 and a waveform shaping circuit 20. The light-receptacle device supplies a high signal or a low signal based on a result of the determination whether or not the light is applied to the photo-diode 18.
An information apparatus may use a larger number of light-receptacle devices in accordance with an increased number of the sensors provided in the apparatus. As shown in FIG. 4, the information apparatus is required to provide the corresponding number of transmission lines 22 to that of the light-receptacle devices for transmitting data between a plurality of the light-receptacle devices and one control unit (CPU) 21. It results in making the internal wiring arrangement more intricate, thereby the apparatus becomes bulkier.
This arrangement requires more power consumption, because it is necessary to provide the same number of the transmission lines connected between the CPU 21 and the light-receptacle devices as the number of the light-receptacle devices as stated above and the power for a light sensor circuit has to be turned on.
A photo-coupler shown in FIG. 5 may be used for an information apparatus, for example, a programmable controller. Several signal lines from input photo-couplers (input 1 to N) and output photo-couplers (output 1 to N) are connected in parallel with an external control device (microcomputer) C.
With an increase of a number of the photo-couplers being used, the overall length of patterns led inside of the substrate and lead wires installed inside of the device becomes considerably long, it results in occupying a considerable area and enlarging the size of the apparatus, overall.
A luminous device, which is shown in FIG. 6 is arranged to have a light-emitting diode 23 and an oscillation circuit 24 for driving the light-emitting diode 23. The luminous device operates to emit a pulsed ray of light constantly.
Recent information apparatus use a larger number of luminous elements with an increase of the sensors used in the information apparatus and having an arrangement as shown in FIG. 6. It is necessary to provide the corresponding number of transmission lines as that of the luminous devices in order to transmit data between those luminous devices and one central processing unit (CPU) 25 as shown in FIG. 7. As a consequence, wirings inside of the apparatus will be more intricate, thereby the apparatus becomes bulkier. Further, this arrangement requires more power consumption as mentioned above, because it is necessary to provide the corresponding number of transmission lines as that of the luminous devices and the power source for keeping the oscillation circuit 24 constantly.
A photo-triac used in a solid-state relay S as shown in FIG. 8. The solid-state relay S is arranged to have a luminous element (light-emitting diode) 26, a light-receptacle element 27, a photo-triac 28 and a main triac for power 29. The luminous element 26 serves to emit light to the light-receptacle element 27. The photo-triac 28 serves to conduct alternating ac in response to the light received in the light-receptacle element 27. The main triac for power 29 serves to switch on and off the external unit in a case that the photo-triac 28 becomes conductive. The alternating current is controlled on and off depending on the on-state and off-state of the luminous element 26.
In recent days, a copying machine utilizes a large number of solid-state relays in order to keep its function higher.
In a case that a plurality of solid-state relays are connected to a control unit 30 inside of the copying machine, as shown in FIG. 9, it is necessary to provide a plurality of signal lines 31 (lead wires) between those solid-state relays S and the control unit 30 for various purposes, resulting in making an arrangement of the internal wiring more intricate, thereby the copying machine becomes bulkier.
Another photo-interrupter is shown in FIG. 10. This photo-interrupter includes a luminous element 32, a light-receptacle element 33, an operational amplifier 34 and a transistor 35.
When the luminous element 32 is made luminous by flowing current therethrough, the light-receptacle element 33 serves to generate current depending on the quantity of the received light. Then, the operational amplifier 34 serves to amplify the generated current and to determine whether or not the amplified current is equal to or larger than a threshold quantity of light. The transistor 35 is arranged to supply a high or a low signal depending on a result of the above-determination.
In recent days, a copying machine utilizes a large number of the above-mentioned photo-interrupters in order to keep its function higher. For a certain type of copying machine, several hundreds photo-interrupters may be used.
As shown in FIG. 11, it is necessary to connect a plurality of signal lines 37 in parallel between the control unit 36 and those photo-interrupters for supplying sensing states of the photo-interrupters 38A to 38L to the control unit 36. As a result, the internal wiring arrangement will be more intricate, thereby the copying machine becomes bulkier.
A data transmission system is shown in FIG. 12. This data transmission system is arranged to have photo-interrupters 39, each of which is connected to a control unit (microcomputer) 40, a luminous element (light-emitting diode) 41, a current-limiting resistor 42, a light-receptacle element (photo-transistor) 43.
Output resistors 44 are connected to the photo-transistors 43, and output wires 45 are led from the output resistors 44.
Those output wires 45 are connected to the microcomputer 40. Since an object partially screens the light applied from the light-emitting diode 41 to the photo-transistor 43, the photo-interrupters 39 serve to change current flowing through the output resistors 44, thereby changing the voltages on the output wires 45.
With recent enhancement of functions of the apparatus, the photo-interrupter used in the data transmission system are increased in number. It results in increasing the internal wires in number and making the internal wiring arrangement more intricate.

Optoelectronic device, information apparatus and data transmission system using optoelectronic device for simplifying wirings and reducing size, and method of controlling the optoelectronic device


The invention provides a waveguide element (1000) comprising a first face (1001) and a second face (1002) with radiation transmissive material (1005) configured between the first face (1001) and the second face (1002), wherein the radiation transmissive material (1005) is transmissive for UV radiation, wherein the radiation transmissive material (1005) is a matrix material for a phase (1010) of another composition than the radiation transmissive material (1005), wherein the phase (1010) is available in the matrix as regions (1110) with the regions (1110) having mean particle radii (r1) selected from the range of 50-1500 nm and having an average region concentration selected from the range of 1*104-1.5*108/mm3 of the radiation transmissive material (1005).

Systems for anti-biofouling are known in the art. WO2014/188347, for instance, describes a method of anti-fouling of a protected surface, while the protected surface is at least partially submersed in a liquid environment, in particular an aqueous or oily environment, the method comprising providing an anti-fouling light; providing an optical medium in close proximity to the protected surface, the optical medium having a substantially planar emission surface; distributing at least part of the anti-fouling light through the optical medium in a direction substantially parallel to the protected surface; and emitting the anti-fouling light from the emission surface of the optical medium in a direction away from the protected surface.
WO2015/000756 describes a light-guiding member comprising a light transmissive, solid carrier material, and scattering particles of boron nitride dispersed in said carrier material. The light-guiding member is employed in a light emitting arrangement comprising a solid state light emitting element arranged to emit light into the light guiding member via a light input surface. Light can be guided within the light-guiding member to be outcoupled via at least part of a light output surface. The light emitting arrangement provides a simple and efficient illumination device for UV disinfection of water and other fluids.

UV LED waveguide system with scattering for anti-fouling


A method is disclosed for evaluating the performance of a website. An agent interacts with the website using a behavior model of an exemplary website customer. The agent interacts with the website according to the behavior model and gathers website performance data related to the interaction. The performance data is compared to a utility function for the behavior model. A rating is assigned to the website based on the comparison, and the rating is made available to potential website customers seeking information related to the website's performance.

In the field of network computing, it is desirable for users, or customers, of websites to know how a website performs relative to similar websites, before the customer uses the website. For example, a customer wanting to purchase a particular good or category of goods via a network, such as the Internet, often has numerous choices of websites that sell the desired product. A buyer of a book can access various websites that sell books. Given the wide availability of similar websites, it is desirable for customers to have some means of distinguishing the websites when deciding which website to use. Some websites may be slower than others, less reliable than others, or more complicated to use than other websites. A customer may want to avoid these lesser quality websites and instead immediately access a better website. Likewise, it is desirable for operators of good websites to have a means of advertising that their websites are "better" than other, similar websites, as judged by an objective rating system.
Existing systems do not provide an efficient, effective way of rating websites based on performance. One existing method for evaluating websites is to receive feedback from customers of the website and to display this feedback on the website or on a related website that includes customer feedback for multiple websites. One problem with this method is that it requires input from actual customers, which takes time to gather and process, particularly to obtain a statistically meaningful sample. Another problem with this method is that the feedback is from self-selected customers. Only those customers who take the time to provide feedback are considered, and their opinions likely will tend to be more skewed one way or another. Also, customer feedback is always a subjective matter that relies on individual responses based on a limited experience with one website. One particular customer's experience with the website at one instance, for one transaction might not hold true for other customers. What is needed is a more reliable method of evaluating websites.

Method and system for evaluating performance of a website using a customer segment agent to interact with the website according to a behavior model

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A wireless communication apparatus comprises an array antenna configured to receive a signal at multiple antenna elements; a DoA estimation unit configured to estimate directions of arrival of multiple paths contained in the received signal; an angle spread estimation unit configured to estimate an angle spread of the multiple paths; a first weighting calculation unit configured to estimate a common set of weighting factors for all the paths; a second weighting calculation unit configured to estimate an individual set of weighting factors for each of the multiple paths based on the estimated directions of arrival of the paths; a weighting unit configured to weight the received signal by multiplying the received signal by one of the common set of weighting factors or individual set of weighting factor; and a demodulator configured to demodulate the weighted signal.

The present invention generally relates to a wireless communication technique, and more particularly, to a wireless communication apparatus and method using an array antenna.
An adaptive array antenna technique is often used in wireless communication systems. In an adaptive array antenna, multiple dipole antennas are arranged in an array, and the weighting of each of the antennas is controlled in an adaptive manner so as to produce the optimum directivity (or beam pattern) for communication with counterpart equipment. In other words, the antenna gain is increased in the direction of desired signals (in which the counterpart equipment is located), while the antenna gain is made small in directions other than the desired direction. This arrangement allows the desired signals to be received, while reducing interfering waves.
The conventional wireless communications systems with the adaptive array technique, such as a third generation mobile system based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), are mainly adapted for circuit switching communication, including speech communication. In the circuit switching communication, the number of communication channels and the data rate are the same in the uplink and the downlink (with a symmetric traffic characteristic), and transmission and reception on the communication channels are continuous. The weighting factor is estimated using the least mean square (LMS) algorithm or the recursive least square (RLS) algorithm so as to converge to the optimum value.
In the circuit switching communication, it can be assumed at high probability that the direction of incoming interfering waves (or the direction of the user who is transmitting the interfering waves) on uplink is consistent with the direction of the incoming interfering waves on downlink. Accordingly, the antenna directivity set in receiving signals, or appropriately calibrated directivity, can also be used when transmitting signals. This realizes efficient signal transmission, while reducing interference. By achieving appropriate directivity on both uplink and downlink, the subscriber capacity of the system can be increased. Such an adaptive array antenna technique is described in, for example, S. Tanaka, M. Sawahashi, and F. Adachi, "Pilot Symbol-assisted Decision-directed Coherent Adaptive Array Diversity for DS-CDMA Mobile Radio Reverse Link", IEICE Trans. Fundamentals, Vol. E80-A, pp. 2445-2454, December 1997, and A. Harada, S. Tanaka, M. Sawahashi, and F. Adachi, "Performance of Adaptive Antenna Array Diversity Transmitter for W-CDMA Forward Link", Proc. PIMRC99, pp. 1134-1138, Osaka, Japan, September 1999.
However, the wireless communication systems are currently shifting from circuit switching type to packet type, taking into account the compatibility with the Internet networks. In packet communication systems, burst transmission of communication channels is performed. Transmission and reception on the communication channels are discontinuous in response to the presence or the absence of data packets, instead of continuously transmitting or receiving on the communication channels. For this reason, the LMS algorithm or the RLS algorithm used in the conventional communication system to estimate the optimum weighting factors by taking sufficient time on the assumption of continuous arrival of communication channels cannot be applied to the burst transmission occurring in a short period of time.
In packet switching communications, the uplink traffic and the downlink traffic tend to be asymmetric. For example, when a mobile terminal downloads a large volume of data, a mere command is transmitted on the uplink. In contrast, the downlink traffic requires a large number of channels to transmit the requested data to the mobile terminal. Signal transmission may be carried out only on the downlink, while no signal transmission occurs on the uplink. In this case, producing a transmission beam pattern based on the beam pattern of the received signal does not work. In addition, the assumption that the directions of incoming interfering waves are almost the same on uplink and downlink is not appropriate any longer, because of the asymmetric traffic characteristic and difference in frequencies used. Accordingly, it becomes difficult to reduce interfering waves and realize appropriate beam patterns on uplink and downlink (especially, on downlink).
To estimate weighting factors in the current and future wireless communication systems in which asymmetric traffic is expected, multipath fading occurring along with increased transmission rate and widened frequeuncy band, must to be taken into account. As the sampling frequency increases, multipath components, which are not captured in the conventional wireless communication systems, are detected as interfering waves. In this case, M weighting factors are estimated for each of L paths contained in the received signal, and L signal components received at the respective paths are combined for demodulation of the received signal, as disclosed in the above-described publications, where M is the number of antenna elements of the array antenna and L is the number of paths. Since each path is identified with this technique, the receiving performance is improved. This technique is preferable from the viewpoint of accuracy of the demodulated data.
However, because the received signal power obtained from each path is relatively small, the weighting error (which is the offset of the produced beam pattern from the optimum beam pattern due to thermal noise or other factors) becomes large.
Another known technique is to estimate M weighting factors using a composite signal of all the paths, without identifying each of the paths contained in the received signal. Since the combined signal has relatively large power, the weighting error becomes small. However, when the arriving direction varies among the paths greatly, namely, when the angle spread is large, then the receiving performance is degraded because the multiple paths are not distinguished. Because of multipath fading, interfering waves cannot be reduced sufficiently, and a satisfactory beam pattern cannot be produced.

Wireless communications apparatus and method using array antenna


In an approach for classifying an image containing a continuous characteristic using an image classifier, an image tagged with a single value is received, wherein the single value is from a set of ordered value. A processor sets at least two thresholds based on the set of ordered values. A processor derives at least two labels according to the single value tagged in the image and the at least two thresholds. A processor runs image through an image classifier. A processor receives at least two predictions from the image classifier based on the at least two labels. A processor adjusts the image classifier based on differences between the at least two predictions and the at least two labels.

The present invention relates generally to the field of neural networks, and more particularly to image classification using a neural network.
A neural network uses mathematical modeling to perform tasks without any task-specific programming. A neural network is trained by using example data sets. A neural network can be used in a wide variety of applications including, but not limited to, function representation, pattern recognition, and image classification. A convolutional neural network is set up similarly to a neural network but makes the explicit assumption that the inputs are images allowing certain parameters to be set up for images. A convolutional neural network used for image classification takes an input image and outputs a binary decision (i.e., positive or negative) as to whether the image is of a certain classification. During training, the convolutional neural network receives a data set of input images already labeled with a certain classification. Incorrect outputs can be corrected using a cost function, which updates weights and biases to the intermediate layers of the convolutional neural network in order to attain the correct output. Eventually, the convolutional neural network is able to classify a non-pre-designated image.

Multi-task image classifier for classifying inherently ordered values

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus for tensioning a chain is provided that compensates for the affect of temperature on oil viscosity by providing, in addition to a continuously open oil leakage path, an additional leakage path open only at lower temperatures when oil is more viscous and leaks at a slower rate. Thus, overall oil leakage at lower temperatures is similar to that at higher temperatures, when the additional leakage path is closed, and the less viscous higher temperature oil leaks at a faster rate from the continuously open oil leakage path. Accordingly, the affect of temperature on hydraulic stiffness of the tensioner assembly is minimized.

Chain drive tensioner assemblies are used to operate ancillary components associated with automotive engines. For example, chain drive tensioner assemblies are used to drive complex valve trains, balance shafts, oil pumps, high pressure fuel injection pumps and water pumps.
Known chain drive tensioner assemblies include a chain and a chain drive tensioner system that is operable to create an initial required tension on the chain. Known chain drive tensioner assemblies generally include a tensioner body and a tensioner piston attached to a shoe. Oil pressure within a hydraulic chamber of the tensioner body exerts pressure against the tensioner piston and shoe assembly, which engages the chain to create the required tension. Under impact forces from the chain, some oil leaks from the hydraulic chamber along an oil leakdown path with an orifice of fixed size. The stiffness of the chain drive tensioner assembly is controlled by the amount of oil leakage allowed from the hydraulic chamber. Increased tensioner stiffness leads to improved chain drive control. However, as oil temperature is increased, the viscosity of oil in the hydraulic chamber is decreased, and thus more oil leaks out of the leakdown path, decreasing stiffness of the assembly. When the oil temperature is relatively low, viscosity increases and therefore less oil can leak out of the fixed orifice leakdown path, increasing stiffness of the tensioner assembly and potentially causing the tensioner to experience "pump up" (i.e., an over-extension of the piston and shoe) which decreases chain drive control.

Chain tensioning apparatus with temperature-based leakdown


A method for structuring an insurance transaction. The method includes providing insurance coverage to reimburse an insured entity in the event that the insured entity incurs a loss based on the occurrence of one or more defined events, designating an insurance premium amount to be paid by the insured entity as an insurance premium. The method further includes requiring that the insurance premium amount be paid, at least in part, by a transfer of intellectual property assets, each intellectual property asset including a plurality of intellectual property rights.

The present application relates to systems and methods of financing an insurance transaction. In particular, the present application relates to systems and methods for financing an insurance transaction using a combination of cash payments and intellectual property assets.
An insurance transaction typically involves obtaining protection to compensate the insured if a specified event occurs. Common examples include auto, home, health and life insurances. Each type of insurance typically provides compensation to the insured in the event of a predefined event, such as an accident or theft in the case of automobile insurance. In most cases, the insurance premium is determined based on the probability that the event will occur and the compensation amount that will need to be provided if the event occurs.
Although insurance is most frequently obtained for assets such as a home, an automobile, health, etc., insurance may also be obtained for many other types of assets and events. In general, insurance is available whenever there is some risk of loss that an insured wants to protect against. For example, a company may wish to insure against the risk that a court will award a claim against them in a legal matter.
In return for the promise of compensation if the specified event occurs, the insured usually pays an insurance premium to the insurer. The insurance premium is generally a cash payment made on a periodic basis. The amount of the insurance premium is generally set by the insurer according to the probability and magnitude of risk being assumed by the insurer. For example, for a loss that is not very likely to occur and/or is not very expensive, the insurance premium may be low, while the insurance premium may be much higher for a loss that is very expensive and is likely to occur.
As stated above, one type of loss that a corporation may be likely to incur is a loss or expense related to a lawsuit. One type of legal loss or expense that may occur is a loss associated with an intellectual property lawsuit. Other examples may include losses associated with environmental or mass tort matters. These types of losses may be exceedingly expensive and, at least in some industries, also relatively likely to occur. When these factors combine (i.e., high magnitude of loss coupled with high probability of loss), insurance may be not only expensive but very difficult or impossible to obtain. If insurance can be obtained and normal assets are used to pay the insurance premiums, the amount of cash or other assets consumed may be considerable.
What is needed is a system and method for structuring an insurance transaction to provide protection against a loss. What is further needed is a system and method for protecting against a loss related to an intellectual property lawsuit, as well as to increase the availability of such protection. What is yet further needed is such a system and method configured to utilize intellectual property assets to finance the insurance premium associated with the protection.

System and method for financing an insurance transaction


The present invention relates to a temperature regulation apparatus capable of easily regulating the temperature of a support for a substance to be treated, such as a semiconductor wafer.. The temperature regulation apparatus includes a liquid nitrogen supply device for supplying liquid nitrogen into a temperature regulation space provided in the inside of a support so as to effect flashing of the liquid nitrogen. A heating device for heating the support and temperature sensors for detecting the temperature of the support are also provided. A temperature setting device sets the temperature of the support at a desired temperature and a controller controls the liquid nitrogen supply device and the heating device based on a temperature detected by the temperature sensors, so that the support reaches and is maintained at the set temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a treatment unit, for example, an etching unit, spattering unit or CVD unit, and more particularly to a temperature control apparatus for controlling the temperature of a support for a substance to be treated, such as a semiconductor wafer.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
In the treatment of semiconductor wafers, temperature plays an important role as a conditional factor for treating semiconductor wafers. For instance, in the case of a reactive ion etching (RIE) treatment, it has been known that the anisotropy of etching is improved if a semiconductor wafer is cooled down to -100.degree. C. or less. In a conventional RIE unit, there has therefore been previously developed a means of introducing a liquefied gas, such as liquid nitrogen, to a liquid reservoir in a support for a semiconductor wafer, i.e., a susceptor assembly, to cool down the semiconductor wafer. See, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (KOKAI) No. 216,076/1994.
The prior art treatment units, however, perform only a single temperature treatment in each unit. Temperature control in prior art treatment units therefore has not been performed with large variations in the treatment temperature. The prior art treatment units thus have taken long periods of time to continuously carry out different kinds of heat treatments in one treatment unit.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a treatment unit which overcomes the deficiencies in the prior art by providing a treatment unit which is capable of quickly controlling the temperature of the treatment unit over

Heating and cooling apparatus for reaction chamber


A magnetic cassette recorder comprises a magnetic head 19 which can be translated in directions 21 and 23 between an operating position, in which the head cooperates with a magnetic tape in an inserted cassette 3, and a withdrawn position, in which the head is clear of an inserted cassette. In the withdrawn position the head can be pivoted about a pivotal axis 25 between a first angular position and a second angular position. The head is electrically connected to stationary parts of the recorder by means of a flat flexible multiple electrical conductor 27, such as a foil carrying printed electrical conductor tracks or a flat cable. The conductor is arranged as a cylindrical spiral about the pivotal axis 25 and its end 55 which is remote from the head is connected directly to stationary parts of the recorder, so that translations of the head in the axial direction result in the spiral being extended/compressed and pivotal movements of the head result in the spiral being coiled/uncoiled.

The invention relates to a magnetic cassette recorder comprising a magnetic head which can be translated between an operating position, in which the head cooperates with a magnetic tape in an inserted cassette, and a withdrawn position, in which the head is clear of an inserted cassette, and which is, moreover, pivotable about a pivotal axis between a first angular position and a second angular position, which head is electrically connected to stationary parts of the recorder by means a flat flexible multiple electrical conductor, such as a foil carrying printed electrical conductor tracks or a flat cable.
Recorders of this type are used mainly for audio applications employing cassettes for recording and reproduction in both a forward and a reverse direction, such as the well-known Analog Compact Cassette recorders and the more recent Digital Compact Cassette recorders. In recorders of this type the tape is scanned in two adjacent parallel zones, one zone being scanned in one direction and the other zone being scanned in the other direction. The magnetic head may be constructed in such a manner that in fixed position it is capable of cooperating correctly with each of the zones in each of the two tape transport directions. However, in many cases a head of simpler construction is used, which must be reversed to cooperate with the relevant zone of the tape in the reverse transport direction. With this construction the head requires a smaller number of active transducing gaps than a head for a recorder using the first-mentioned construction. However, a consequence is that a mechanism must be provided for the reversal of the head, which partly outweighs the price advantage gained by the use of a simpler head. Some heads have many transducing gaps, such as the heads for DCC recorders, which have at least nine digital write gaps and nine digital read gaps and a number of additional gaps, such as two analog read gaps, i.e. at least twenty transducing gaps in total. Consequently, a large number of electrical conductors are needed to transfer signals between the head and the stationary electronic circuitry of the recorder. Providing a reliable electrical connection between pivoting and translating heads having such a large number of transducing gaps and the stationary parts of the recorder at a moderate cost price is a major technical challenge.
In the currently non-prepublished EP Application 92203768.4 (PHO 91-512, herewith incorporated by reference) it has been proposed to mount the head on a hollow pivotal shaft and to construct the electrical conductor as a two-part printed foil connected to the magnetic head through the hollow shaft. Mounting the foil is difficult, the space available for the foil inside the hollow shaft is small, and the length of the foil is comparatively great, resulting in a large distance between the head and the stationary parts to which the foil is connected.
It is an object of the invention to provide a recorder of the type defined in the opening paragraph, in which the magnetic head is connected to the stationary parts of the recorder in an effective and economical manner and so as to contribute to minimal dimensions of the recorder.
To this end the recorder in accordance with the invention is characterized in that the conductor is arranged as a cylindrical spiral about the pivotal axis and its end which is remote from the head is connected directly to the stationary parts of the recorder, so that translations of the head in the axial direction result in the spiral being extended/compressed and pivotal movements of the head result in the spiral being coiled/uncoiled.
The advantage of the invention is that only a short conductor is required and that this conductor can be mounted rapidly and simply. Mounting flat conductors is comparatively expensive and problematic. The favourable effect is obtained by the use of a spiral which is deformable in two directions, i.e. both in the translating and in the pivoting direction. This means that no separate provisions are needed for each of the two directions.
An advantageous embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the conductor end which is remote from the head is a conductor portion which extends parallel to the direction of the pivotal axis. The conductor is short, yet it can easily be connected to the stationary parts of the recorder, for example by means of a connector. Moreover, this embodiment is very suitable for use with a connector in the form of flat cable. Such cables are readily available only as straight cables having their ends cut at right angles to the sides of the cable.
A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the conductor end which is remote from the head is a conductor portion which extends transversely of the direction of the pivotal axis. This embodiment is particularly suitable for use with printed foils. Conductors of this type are available in almost any form and consequently provide much freedom as regards the location of the parts to be interconnected inside an apparatus.
A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the conductor end which is remote from the head is disposed in a plane which extends at least substantially tangentially to the outer turn of the spiral. By means of this embodiment it is avoided that the conductor part adjacent the spiral is bent unnecessarily and, hence, that the conductor is subjected to an unnecessarily high mechanical load.
A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the conductor end which is remote from the head extends at an acute angle to the direction of the pivotal axis. This embodiment is conceivably more favourable in order to reduce stresses in the conductor. These stresses may be caused in particular by the translation of the head.

Magnetic cassette recorder with reversing and translating magnetic head


A rigging system for reactor closure head and reactor internals lifts. The system includes a plurality of latchbox pendants attached to the lifting structure of an overhead crane. A first set of a plurality of lifting lugs is attached to the reactor internals, each of the lifting lugs corresponding to one of the plurality of latchboxes. A second set of a plurality of substantially identical lifting lugs, each of the lifting lugs corresponding to one of the plurality of latchboxes, is attached to a plurality of solid rod lifting pendants attached at one end to the reactor closure head. In operation, the latchbox pendants may be rigged once to the overhead crane for handling reactor internals and left in place throughout the entire rigging sequence without changing to turnbuckle pendants for reactor closure head handling.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to rigging components used for lifting heavy objects and, more particularly, to a system for rigging components for the heads of nuclear reactor vessels.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Nuclear reactor vessel heads must be lifted and removed periodically to perform scheduled or corrective maintenance. Also, the reactor internals may need to be lifted at the same time for similar reasons. Currently, lifting either of these components requires up to four rigging changes during a typical reactor outage. These changes are required because some reactor components must be lifted using a combination of turnbuckle pendants, solid rod lifting pendants, and/or bridge strands, while others must be lifted using latchbox pendants, solid rod lifting pendants, and/or bridge strands. The changeover between these rigging components requires a large amount of time and manpower.
It should be understood that the components being lifted are quite heavy, in some cases over 20 tons. Thus the rigging components are massive in size and require a great deal of time to change out. The time factor is important because increasing the time required to remove components increases personnel radiation exposure and the total time that a reactor must be out of service for maintenance/repair. Because the above-mentioned components are difficult to maneuver, each requirement for a rigging change increases the chance of personnel injury. Considerable cost-savings can be achieved and the chances for personnel injury may be reduced by reducing the number of rigging changes required for each lift. However, because of the capital expenditures restraints all utilities must live with, the cost of the rigging conversion must be relatively low.
Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved rigging system for nuclear reactor components that reduces the number of rigging changes required during a reactor outage while, at the same time, is easy to add to the existing rigging system.


The present invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising Ibrutinib. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tablet composition comprising Ibrutinib and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients and process for preparing such compositions.

Ibrutinib is an inhibitor of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK). It is chemically 1-[(3R)-3-[4-amino-3-(4-phenoxyphenyl)-1Hpyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-1-yl]-1-piperidinyl]-2-propen-1-one and is first disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,514,444. Ibrutinib is used in the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM), marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) and chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD).
Ibrutinib is approved in the form of capsules and marketed by Pharmacyclics/Janssen under the brand name IMBRUVICA®. The capsules are approved in the strengths of 70 and 140 mg. The recommended dose of ibrutinib for the treatment of various diseases is 420 mg (three 140 mg capsules) orally once daily or 560 mg (four 140 mg capsules) orally once daily.
Ibrutinib is also approved in the form of tablets in the strengths of 140, 280, 420 and 560 mg and marketed by Pharmacyclics/Janssen under the brand name IMBRUVICA®.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,655,857 discloses a high-load solid tablet formulation comprising ibrutinib and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients, wherein the high-load solid tablet formulation comprises at least 50% w/w of ibrutinib. It further discloses that the pharmaceutical composition comprises about 50% w/w to about 90% w/w of ibrutinib.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,545,407 discloses a solid dispersion formulation, wherein the formulation comprises a) about 49 to about 51% w/w of 50% active spray-dried ibrutinib, b) about 16 to about 18% w/w of lactose, c) about 24 to about 26% w/w of microcrystalline cellulose, d) about 5 to about 7% w/w of croscarmellose sodium, e) about 0.8 to about 1.2% w/w of colloidal silicon dioxide, and f) about 0.2 to about 0.8% w/w of magnesium stearate; and wherein the 50% active spray-dried ibrutinib is a spray-dried ibrutinib composition comprising about 50% w/w of ibrutinib dispersed into a polymer matrix; and the polymer in the polymer matrix is hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS) or polyvinyl caprolactam-polyvinyl acetate-polyethylene glycol graft copolymer (Soluplus®).
U.S. Pat. No. 9,713,617 discloses a formulation for oral administration comprising (a) about 40 mgs to about 200 mgs of Ibrutinib; (b) about 40 wt % to about 50 wt % of a diluent; (c) about 3 wt % to about 10 wt % of a disintegrating agent; (d) about 2 wt % to about 7 wt % of a surfactant; and (e) about 0.2 wt % to about 1.0 wt % of a lubricant.
US 2016/0287594 discloses a pharmaceutical composition comprising Ibrutinib, a salt, prodrug, or metabolite thereof, microcrystalline cellulose, croscarmellose sodium, sodium lauryl sulfate, and magnesium stearate. It further discloses that the composition contains about 40 to about 45% by weight of Ibrutinib.
US 2017/0252344 discloses a pharmaceutical composition comprising Ibrutinib, a salt, prodrug, or metabolite thereof, microcrystalline cellulose, carboxymethylcellulose sodium, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, citric acid monohydrate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, sucralose, sodium methyl parahydroxybenzoate, sodium ethyl parahydroxybenzoate, concentrated hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide, and water. It further discloses that the composition contains about 40 to about 45% by weight of Ibrutinib.
US 2017/0305919 formulation for oral administration comprising one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients and crystalline Form A of Ibrutinib.
WO 2017/125423 A1 discloses a pharmaceutical composition comprising ibrutinib, and wherein the pharmaceutical composition comprises i) at least 50% w/w of ibrutinib, and ii) excipients comprising about 10-30% w/w of filler, such as microcrystalline cellulose of the total weight of the pharmaceutical composition. It further discloses that the pharmaceutical composition comprises about 50% w/w to about 80% w/w of ibrutinib
WO 2017/125424 A1 discloses a pharmaceutical composition comprising ibrutinib, and wherein the pharmaceutical composition comprises i) at least 60% w/w of ibrutinib, and ii) excipients comprising about 4-7% w/w of mannitol, and about 13-16% w/w of crospovidone of the total weight of the pharmaceutical composition. It further discloses that the pharmaceutical composition comprises about 60% w/w to about 80% w/w of ibrutinib.
WO 2016/088074 A1 discloses an amorphous solid dispersion comprising ibrutinib and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers.
WO 2016/105582 A1 discloses a solid oral dosage form comprising (a) a compound that is an irreversible covalent kinase inhibitor, and/or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof; (b) means for release of the compound and/or the pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof in one or more mammalian intestinal sites selected from the jejunum and ileum and, (c) a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.
IN 599/CHE/2015 A discloses a premix comprising amorphous ibrutinib and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.
The above prior art references discloses compositions comprising different concentrations of ibrutinib. However, there exists a need to develop a pharmaceutical composition which is more convenient and easier to swallow for providing the daily dose of Ibrutinib in a single dosage form when compared to the administration of 3 capsules or 4 capsules once daily. The inventors of the present invention have surprisingly found that a tablet composition comprising more than 90% w/w of ibrutinib and which is free of diluent shows better/comparable dissolution with respect to the marketed capsule or tablet dosage form of Ibrutinib. None of the above references disclose composition comprising ibrutinib more than 90% w/w of the composition. Further, the inventors also found that due to the presence of less excipients, the total weight as well as size of the tablets is reduced, which will be convenient for intake by the patients and leads to increase in patient compliance. The inventors also found that the tablet composition with reduced weight can be easily manufactured and had good tablet characteristics.

Pharmaceutical compositions comprising Ibrutinib


A method and device for monitoring a fetal heart rate includes a reference fetal heart rate detected across an ultrasound depth zone of sensitivity. The ultrasound depth zone of sensitivity is scanned in overlapping increments of a first depth. An average fetal heart rate detected for each overlapping increment is tested for a coincidence with the reference fetal heart rate. Overlapping increments with the coincidence and a maximized signal quality rate are identified. An ultrasound depth increment of a second depth is selected representing the selected adjacent increments. Fetal heart rate is determined from an ultrasound signal returned from a scan depth of the second depth.

The present disclosure is related to the field of fetal monitoring. More specifically, the present disclosure is related to fetal heart rate monitoring with the detection of maternal artifacts.
Current methods to detect fetal heart rate (FHR) using Doppler ultrasound have difficulty when applied to obese patients as the ultrasound scanning depth of the solutions has a limited ultrasound penetration range that, when thickness of abdominal fat is taken into account, does not reach the heart of the fetus. Thus, the heart of a fetus with an obese mother is beyond the typical range of ultrasound sensitivity.
While ultrasound penetration depth can be increased either by increasing a duration of an ultrasound transmit pulse and a duration of a receive window or by increasing the duration of the receive window with a fixed transmit pulse, the increased penetration depth causes a decrease in the signal to noise ratio in the received reflected ultrasound signals. The ultrasound beam is produced in a cone shape and reflects across a wider area of physiological structures the deeper an ultrasound wave penetrates before it is reflected and returned. Therefore, ultrasound fetal heart rate monitors with extended penetration depth create a risk to pick up competing physiological signals of the mother, rather than the heart activity of the fetus. Abdominal ECG has been used to acquire fetal ECG signals in obese patients due to these challenges noted above for Doppler ultrasound FHR monitoring. However, the quality of the fetal heart rate determined using fetal ECG through abdominal ECG is typically lower than the quality of fetal heart rate detection experienced in the clinical setting for non-obese maternal patients using Doppler ultrasound. The abdominal ECG requires that a plurality of electrodes be applied to the patient, such electrodes are at risk of producing poor quality signals if careful skin preparation or maintenance of the electrodes is not considered.
An additional effect of this problem associated with increased Doppler ultrasound depth range is confusion of the maternal heart rate (MHR) for the fetal heart rate. Due to the increased risk of picking up the maternal pulse in the abdominal vessels, the MHR signal may dominate the returned ultrasound signals. This can occur in a case wherein the fetal heart signal is weak or lost due to worsening fetal health or due to movement of the fetal heart beyond the ultrasound beam as a result of maternal or fetal movements. In these instances, when operating at an increased ultrasound depth range, the monitor may mistakenly identify the MHR instead of the FHR. Also, if the MHR is elevated, then the monitoring device may lock on the MHR and erroneously produce a result indicating fetal well-being, when in fact the fetal health may be deteriorating.
One previously proposed solution has been to incorporate an additional independent transducer of MHR. Such independent transducer has exemplarily been a pulse oximetry (SpO2) device incorporated into a tocodynamometer. The addition of a still further technology and transducer adds complexity and cost to systems and such combinations present further challenges due to the operation of competing transducers in the same space. Specifically, SpO2 is known to be sensitive to motion artifact and the tocodynamometer membrane can be a source of such motion artifacts, limiting the quality of the MHR determined by the SpO2 transducer.

Method and device for fetal heart rate monitoring with maternal contribution detection


An ultrasound imaging system with a slewing bandpass filter is disclosed for selective passage of time varying acoustic signals. The acoustic signals represent artifacts of reflection of tissue and fluid. The bandpass filter includes two mixers and two fixed bandpass filters. The signal sources each provide a reference signal for two local oscillators. The first mixer mixes the input and first reference signals to a desired first frequency range. The first fixed bandpass filter has a top passband frequency above the first frequency range and provides a first filtered output signal. The second mixer mixes the first filtered signal and the second reference signal to a desired second frequency range. The second fixed bandpass filter has a center frequency and bandwidth not overlapping with the first bandpass filter. The second fixed bandpass filter provides a second filtered output signal with a scannable variable bandwidth passband characteristic useful for examining the time varying characteristics of the input signal. The slewing bandpass filter also includes a control means for controlling the first and second signal sources in accordance with time-varying characteristics of interest.

This invention relates to electronic processing of image information, and more particularly to spectral analysis of acoustic signals used to identify images in tissue and other complex close-spaced structures.
Arteriosclerosis, also known as atherosclerosis, is a common human ailment arising from the deposition of fatty-like substances, referred to as atheromas or plaque, on the walls of blood vessels. Such deposits occur in both the peripheral blood vessels, which feed the limbs of the body, and the coronary vessels, which feed the heart. When deposits accumulate in localized regions of a blood vessel, stenosis, or narrowing of the vascular channel, occurs. As a result, blood flow is restricted and the person's health and life are at great risk.
Numerous approaches for reducing and removing such vascular deposits are known, including balloon angioplasty, in which a balloon-tipped catheter is used to dilate a region of atheroma; atherectomy, in which a blade or cutting bit is used to sever and remove the atheroma; spark gap reduction, in which an electrical spark burns through the plaque; and laser angioplasty, in which laser energy is used to ablate at least a portion of the atheroma. In order to facilitate treatment of stenosis, it is often desirable to obtain a visual image of the interior of the blood vessel within the region of interest. Catheters with imaging elements such as ultrasonic transducers are often used to obtain these images.
In intraluminal ultrasound imaging, the ultrasonic transducers direct ultrasonic pressure waves radially at a target area. These transducers then collect echos from the target area to form an image. The resolution of the images can be increased by utilizing higher frequency ultrasound waves. However, as the frequencies are increased, a significant problem arises.
The ultrasound waves pass through blood to reach the vessel wall tissue. As a result, the transducers also collect undesirable echoes and scattered waveforms from blood cells. In fact, the amount of ultrasound scattering from the blood cells is proportional to the fourth power of the frequency of the ultrasonic wave. As the size of the acoustic wavelength approaches the size of the blood cell, the blood cells start absorbing the energy and radiating the energy back. This problem becomes so significant at higher frequencies that the generated images are practically unusable because the tissue is indistinguishable from the blood.
FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary ultrasound image according to the prior art. A transducer with a frequency of 20 MHz may be utilized to produce such an image. Regions 102 represent elements that may be of interest to an inspecting user such as a physician. These elements may include atheromas, plaque, and calcium deposits. However, since blood cells have a tendency to scatter some energy, the unprocessed image may also include undesirably bright blood echo regions. Accordingly, the current ultrasound images can include unwanted regions. These undesired regions increase in number and area as higher frequency transducers are utilized.
FIG. 1B illustrates an exemplary unprocessed ultrasound image from a higher frequency transducer. A transducer frequency of 30 MHz and higher may be utilized to produce such an image. Regions 104 represent elements that may be of interest to the user. As shown, the higher frequency transducer creates more regions for the user to inspect. Some of the additional regions are due to the blood echoes. Hence, the user will have a harder task when attempting to identify the true elements of interest such as atheromas, plaque, or calcium deposits.
In the past, the spectrum of interest of an ultrasound image was chosen by selecting from among a group of fixed bandpass filters. Several bandwidths and center frequencies would be chosen in an attempt to match the mechanical parameters of the transducer from which the image information was obtained. The result was a complex and cumbersome process for analyzing the image information. Prior ultrasound image processors include the Ultra instrument system marketed by Scimed Life Systems, Inc. of Maple Grove, Minn.
Prom the foregoing, it will be readily understood that it is desirable to provide ultrasound imaging over a broad range of frequencies, especially higher ultrasonic frequencies, while eliminating the undesired backscatter from the blood cells.

Slewing bandpass filter for selective passage of time varying acoustic signals


A wind driven turbine device is disclosed that includes a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a turbine rotor having a plurality of radially distributed turbine rotor blades mounted in the housing for rotation in direct response to atmospheric wind to thereby generate rotary power, a baffle arrangement is also provided for directing wind through the housing from the air inlet to contact the turbine rotor blades from behind as internal driving wind. The rotor is mounted in a manner such that the rotor blades are driven both by a combination of direct external wind and internally directed wind.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wind driven turbine devices and, more particularly, to a compact wind driven turbine device that combines external and internal airflow to propel the turbine blades in an efficient manner. The turbine system is compact and may be constructed in any desired size. The turbine is designed to power a corresponding electric generator.
II. Related Art
Wind driven generators have been known in the art for some time. Wind driven turbines having rotating enclosures that sense and seek the wind direction and align an enclosure inlet with the prevailing wind direction have also been made. Such devices having housings with internal turbines such that the wind is channeled to drive a turbine rotor which may have a plurality of blades or rotor vanes is also known. Such an arrangement is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,332,352 and 5,447,412 to Lamont which include primary and secondary air inlets and a horizontally mounted squirrel cage turbine device which has a plurality of vertical rotor vanes.
Despite the many varied wind driven turbine devices which have been devised to generate electric power, there remains a need for an inexpensive compact efficient turbine system which has a minimum of moving parts and uses a simplified construction.


Disclosed are a dye-sensitized solar cell module and a method of manufacturing the same. The dye-sensitized solar cell module includes a working electrode formed by stacking a collector and a photo-electrode to which a dye is adsorbed on a transparent conductive substrate; a counter electrode formed by stacking a collector and a catalytic electrode on a transparent conductive substrate; and an electrolyte filled in a space between the working electrode and the counter electrode sealed by a sealant. A glass substrate for the working electrode of glass substrates forming the transparent conductive substrates for the electrodes is a thin glass plate substrate thinner than the glass substrate for the working electrode.

(a) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a dye-sensitized solar cell module and a method of manufacturing the same. More particularly, it relates to a large-area dye-sensitized solar cell module which can reduce the weight of the cell without degrading performance by reducing the thickness thereof using a thin glass plate substrate, and a method of manufacturing the same.
(b) Background Art
In recent years, as global warming is becoming a serious problem, technologies for utilizing environmentally friendly energies have begun to emerge as a necessity in the future growth of energy sources. In particular, solar cells have been significantly beneficial because they utilize renewable energy. These solar cells include silicon solar cells, thin film solar cells using inorganic materials such as copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS)(Cu(InGa)Se2) and cadmium telluride (CdTe), dye-sensitized solar cells, organic solar cells, and organic-inorganic hybrid solar cell.
Among the solar cells, silicon solar cells have already been widely used commercially in various fields such as houses and industrial plants, but their price and installation costs are prohibitively expensive for smaller applications. However, dye-sensitized solar cells are inexpensive compared to silicon solar cells and can achieve semi-transparent designs or other various designs. Therefore, many studies on the dye-sensitized solar cells are being made.
More specifically, dye-sensitized solar cells may be applied not only to houses but also to building integrated photovoltaic power generation systems like silicon solar cells, and may be applied to various fields including electronic industrial fields such as home appliances and portable electronic devices, and roofs and glass windows for vehicles. Such a dye-sensitized solar cell includes a system for generating electricity by using a photoelectric conversion mechanism configured to absorb visible light from a Ru-based pigment adsorbed to a TiO2 and form a photocurrent.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a conventional dye-sensitized solar cell module. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the dye-sensitized solar cell module 1 includes a working electrode 10 on which a photo-electrode 13, to a which a dye is adsorbed, is stacked, a counter electrode 20 on which a catalytic electrode 23 is stacked, and an electrolyte 30 filled within a sealed space between the working electrode 10 and the counter electrode 20.
The example of the dye-sensitized solar cell module 1 includes a dye-sensitized solar cell module 1 where a photo-electrode 13 (or a semiconductor oxide thick film) such as TiO2, to which a Ru-based dye capable of absorbing light, is stacked on a transparent conductive substrate 11a of a working electrode 10. A catalytic electrode 23 using platinum Pt is stacked on a transparent conductive substrate 21a of a counter electrode 20, and an I−/I3−-based electrolyte 30 is filled in a space between the working electrode 10 and the counter electrode 20 sealed by a sealant 31 with the working electrode 10 and the counter electrode 20 which are bonded to each other.
A collector may be formed in an interior of the dye-sensitized solar cell module to acquire necessary electric power by applying the dye-sensitized solar cell module to applications, making it possible to effectively collect a photocurrent. Then, an overall efficiency of a dye-sensitized solar cell is influenced by the size of a collector and a photo-electrode in a working electrode when modules are manufactured through the same process. Accordingly, many studies on structures of dye-sensitized solar cell modules including components, shapes, and dispositions of collectors have been conducted to provide the most efficient cells. In particular, a collector capable of collecting a photocurrent may be used in order to apply a dye-sensitized solar cell to an application over a large area.
In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 11 denotes a substrate of the working electrode 10, the reference numeral 12 denotes a transparent electrode material layer (FTO, Fluorine Doped Tin Oxide (SnO2:F)) formed on the substrate 11, the reference numeral 21 denotes a substrate of the counter electrode 20, and the reference numeral 22 denotes a transparent electrode material layer formed on the substrate 21. Furthermore, the reference numeral 25 denotes a portion of the collector 24a exposed to the outside of the module 1, i.e. a collector bottom portion 25 of the counter electrode 20.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an example of forming a collector 14a in the working electrode 10. The collector 14a includes collector cells 14 surrounded by a protective film 16, and a collector bottom portion 15 to which the collector cells 14 are connected. More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 2, in a general dye-sensitized solar cell module having the collector 14a, the silver collector cells 14 surrounded by the protective films 16 interposed between the collector cells 14 and the TiO2 photo-electrode 13 are formed in a line on the transparent conductive substrate 11a. Then, the collector cells 14 extend to the collector bottom portion 15 stacked along a periphery of the transparent conductive substrate 11a to be integrally connected to each other.
Likewise, although not illustrated in the drawings, thin collector cells surrounded by a protective film interposed between the collector cells and the catalytic electrode 23 are formed in the counter electrode 20. The collector cells extend to the collector bottom portion 25 (see FIG. 1) stacked along a periphery of the counter electrode 20 to be integrally connected to each other.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the collector bottom portions 15 and 25 are exposed to the outside of the module 10 in the electrodes 10 and 20, and act as electrode portions electrically connecting adjacent modules when a solar cell module is constructed by using a plurality of solar cell modules 1.
The transparent conductive substrates 11a and 21a used for the working electrode 10 and the counter electrode 20 are manufactured by stacking a transparent electrode material, e.g., FTO on glass substrates 11 and 21 consisting of soda-lime glass, in which case the thickness of the glass substrates 11 and 21 is about 2 to 3 mm.
However, since the weight of the dye-sensitized solar cell module 1 tends to increase as the side thereof becomes larger, there is a need to reduce the weight of the module when the module is applied to application products such as a roof (e.g., a sunroof and a panorama roof) of a vehicle, a sun visor for a vehicular glass window, and other electronic products.
Although a dye-sensitized solar cell may be manufactured by using a flexible substrate in order to solve this problem, a performance of a dye-sensitized solar cell using a flexible substrate is degraded in comparison with a dye-sensitized solar cell which uses a conventional glass substrate.
Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2009-0067416 discloses a technology for applying a solar cell film using a flexible substrate to a vehicle in which a solar cell film is inserted into a glass window. However, although this flexible substrate is lighter than a glass substrate, and it is impossible to heat-treat the flexible substrate in an aspect of processing, a solar cell using a flexible substrate has performance characteristics which are much lower than that of a solar cell using a glass substrate and the utility of the solar cell using a flexible substrate is thus degraded.

Dye-sensitized solar cell module using thin glass substrate and method of manufacturing the same


A scroll compressor includes a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll. Each of the fixed and orbiting scrolls includes an end plate and a spiral wrap standing on a front surface of the end plate. The scrolls are arranged such that the front surfaces of the end plates face each other and the wraps are engaged with each other. The orbiting scroll eccentrically rotates, without turning on an axis thereof, with respect to the fixed scroll to compress fluid in compression chambers respectively formed inside and outside the wrap of the orbiting scroll. Each wrap is formed in a shape such that at least one of the compression chambers serves as a rate-reduced compression chamber where a volume change rate thereof is reduced in a middle of a compression phase.

Conventionally, a scroll compressor including, in a casing thereof, an electric motor and a scroll compression mechanism has been known (see, e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-286095). In the compression mechanism of the scroll compressor, a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll each including an end plate and a wrap standing on a front surface of the end plate and engaged, at the wraps thereof, with each other with the from surfaces of the end plates facing each other are provided. In such a scroll compressor, the orbiting scroll eccentrically rotates with respect to the fixed scroll to change the shape of each compression chamber formed between the wraps of the scrolls, thereby compressing fluid in the compressor. Fluid is sucked into the compression chambers from an outer circumferential side of the scrolls of the compression mechanism. Then, while the compression chambers are being deformed, the fluid flows toward a center part of the compression mechanism. When the pressure of the fluid reaches a predetermined pressure, the fluid is discharged from the center part of the compression mechanism.

Scroll compressor reducing over-compression loss


Sliding contacts comprising alloys such as Pd/Cu/Ag, Pt/Cu/Ag, Pd/Cu/Ag/Ni, Pt/Cu/Ag/Ni, Ag/Pd/Cu,Au, Ag/Pt/Cu/Au and two-layered composites comprising a surface layer of one of the foregoing alloys and a base layer comprised of copper or a copper-containing alloy. Also, three-layered composites comprising a surface layer of one of the foregoing alloys, an intermediate layer of one of the foregoing alloys and a base layer comprised of copper or a copper-containing alloy as well as direct current motors comprising commutators comprising a three-layered composite.

The present invention relates to contact material employed for an electrically and mechanically sliding portion, and more specifically to the contact material and clad composition material containing the contact material which may be employed in a commutator equipped in a direct current motor, especially in a direct current compact motor, having a sufficiently long life and a low starting voltage when it is employed for the material of a compact disk spindle.
In recent years, the number of apparatuses in which sliding contact occurs has been increased in the field of electronic industries so that the development of new sliding contact material and the research regarding abrasion have been extensively conducted. The abrasion and the contact resistance are problematic in the sliding contact material, but this abrasion phenomenon is complex so that there are many aspects academically unelucidated.
Even though the metal surface of the contact material is intended to be finished relatively smoothly, the microscopic observation reveals that the surface is not a completely flat surface but ordinarily possesses minute unevenness. Although two metal surfaces appear to be in contact with each other with a large contact area, they are actually in contact with each other only with isolated projections due to the existence of the several concaves and convexes.
The abrasion due to the friction is basically proportional to the strength of a contact force and inversely proportional to the hardness. A temperature, a humidity, a corrosive component, organic vapor, dust and the like are factors introducing a change in the abrasion and electrical performances (contact resistance).
The wear in the sliding contact material is largely divided into adhesive wear and abrasion wear. The adhesive wear takes place by means of the welding between the metals of the actual contact potions or the projections so as to tear off the softer metal which is shifted to the harder metal.
The abrasion wear is induced when two groups of material having largely different hardnesses are rubbed with each other or when two groups of soft material one of which contains hard particles are rubbed.
The sliding contact material is widely utilized for an earth ring, a rotary switch and other devices inclusion a direct current compact motor for a compact disk spindle and a commutator employed in the direct current compact motor. Three-layered clad composite material employed as a conventional commutator for a compact disk spindle of a direct current compact motor is known to consist of a surface layer composed of an Au--Ag alloy consisting of 40% in weight of Ag and a balance of Au, an intermediate layer composed of an Ag--Cu--Ni alloy consisting of 4% in weight of Cu. 0.5% in weight of Ni and a balance of Ag and a base layer composed of a Cu--Sn--Ni alloy consisting of 9.5% in weight of Ni, 2.5% in weight of Sn and a balance of Cu.
Another pertinent prior reference discloses a rectifier having as a commutator an Ag--Pd--Cu alloy essentially consisting of 2 to 10% in weight of Cu, 2 to 10% weight of Pd and a balance of Ag. However, in this rectifier, the improvements on the performances, especially under a high temperature circumstance, such as the increase of a contact resistance and instabilities generated by black powder produced due to Pd and the generation of an electrical noise have been requested.
With the miniaturization of audio devices in the recent years, the direct current compact motor is equipped near a heating element such as an amplifier so that the temperature of the motor even at normal operation condition may reach to 70.degree. C. Especially when the motor is equipped in an automobile, the temperature under the midsummer burning sun may reach over 70.degree. C.
Generally, the life of the direct current compact motor equipped with a brush under the high temperature circumstance is unexpectedly short. While the above motor has a life of about 6000 hours under a circumstance of a temperature of 25.degree. C. and a humidity of 60%, its life may be reduced to about 200 hours under a circumstance of a temperature of 70.degree. C. and a humidity of 5%.
Accordingly, the development of a direct current compact motor which does not lose the durability under the high temperature has been demanded.
As a result of detailed investigation of the reasons why the life is reduced, it has been clarified that the commutator material is scraped off by means of a brush at the time of sliding between the commutator and the brush under a high temperature circumstance, which is deposited on the brush surface to form projection-like sediment, and the projection acts as if it were a blade to scrape off the commutator material long and narrow.
The long and narrow needle-like powder thus produced fills the spaces among the divided cylindrical commutator to short-circuit and electrically conduct the divided commutators so as to result in the stopping of the motor.
Even if the electrical conduction does not occur, the abrasion rate under the above high temperature condition is larger than that of the condition of a temperature of 25.degree. C. and a humidity of 60%, and the scraping-off of almost all the motors reaches to the Cu alloy of the base layer in 500 hours not only to increase the contact resistance but also to hinder the conduction by means of CuO derived from the exposed Cu so that the motor functionally stops.

Sliding contact material, clad compoosite material, commutator employing said material and direct current motor employing said commutator


A solar venturi turbine includes an upwardly oriented venturi tube supported by a venturi support skirt. The venturi tube includes a tapered thermopane glass enclosure which allows sunlight to project therethrough and impinge on a tapered centrifugal fan fronting the thermopane enclosure and mounted within the venturi tube. Located above the centrifugal fan in the neck of the venturi tube is a high velocity fan. A high pressure compressor is mounted above the high velocity fan, and finally a turbine is mounted above the high pressure compressor. A venturi tube outlet flares outwardly directly above the turbine and is mounted to the venturi tube. The turbine is connected to a shaft to drive an electrical generator thereby producing electricity. The sun's rays heat the air within the thermopane glass enclosure causing the reduced density air to rise within the venturi tube and propel the centrifugal fan. The air continues upwardly through the high speed fan and the high pressure compressor increasing in velocity and finally passing through and turning the turbine which is connected to the generator by the turbine shaft. Initial start-up of the solar venturi turbine is with a motor which turns both fans and the high pressure compressor. The solar venturi turbine provides a clean and environmentally harm-free source of electricity without diminishing fossil fuel reserves.

This invention relates to an apparatus for generating electrical energy. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a solar energy harnessing device which is particularly adapted for use in combination with a generator to supply electricity.
As a result of the increasing costs and decreasing availability of conventional fossil fuels, there is an expanding need for an alternative to the combustion of fossil fuels for the generation of useful power. Options include atomic and hydroelectric installations. However, both atomic and hydroelectric installations have proven to be lacking as commercially viable alternatives to the production of electricity. Furthermore, such installations are practically limited by their potential detrimental affects upon the environment.
A number of approaches have been developed for utilizing the sun's radiation to produce useful energy. Solar energy can provide mechanical power to generate electricity without polluting the air and water, or draining valuable and limited fossil fuel reserves. One method of using solar energy to produce electricity involves the creation of an upward flow of air in a confined conduit. The upward flow of air rotates a turbine to provide torque capable of driving an electrical generator.
The upward flow of air in such systems is generated by allowing the sun's radiation to heat a volume of air in a substantially confined system. The heated air convectively rises relative to the colder ambient air resulting from the heating process. These thermally induced updrafts or air currents are then harnessed by a wind turbine. The turbine is geared to and drives a generator for the production of electricity. However, in known solar energy systems utilizing the thermally induced updrafts of air the practical applicability of such systems has proven to be very limited. Principally this is due to the specific structures and features utilized in many of the prior art systems which are not well adapted or designed for efficient, reliable, and economical power generation.
Therefore, a need exists for a new improved solar energy apparatus for the production of electricity which is both pollution free and cost effective.


A bearing with an oil film thickness measuring device in which sensor portions at distal ends of four common optical fibers are connected to sensor mounting portions formed at four positions in an axial direction of a bearing body. A lubricating oil containing a fluorescent agent is supplied to a sliding surface of the bearing body. A laser beam generated from a laser beam generator is branched into four beams, which are applied to an oil film on a sliding surface through each of sensor portions. Fluorescence generated by the fluorescent agent in the oil film, passing through a return-route optical fiber, is introduced into a photomultiplier tube, and is detected. Since the fluorescence intensity detected by the photomultiplier tube is proportional to the thickness of oil film, the absolute value of oil film thickness can be measured. In this case, the oil film thickness can be measured at four positions.

Conventionally, as a method of measuring a thickness of an oil film formed on a sliding surface of, for example, a bearing, a capacitance type device, an eddy current type device, or the like have been used. However, in these methods, because of a drawback in that although the measurement accuracy of displacement is high, the zero point (origin) drifts, the absolute value of an oil film thickness cannot be measured.

Bearing with oil film thickness measuring device


This invention relates to an automatic lead frame feeding device for a TO-220 semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which automatically feeds lead frames to die bonding and wire bonding processes for manufacturing TO-220 semiconductor packages, and has an object to provide an automatic lead frame feeding device which can load large quantities of lead frames at a time without using a separate magazine for loading them, and then feed automatically them accurately one by one. To this end, the feeding device includes a loading section including a pair of guide members disposed in spaced opposite relation to each other to stack up lead frames therebetween, a transferring section disposed at one side of the loading section for transverse movement to drop one by one the stacked lead frames in the loading section in sequence beginning with the lowermost lead frame, and a feeding section positioned to feed the dropped lead frame in the loading section to a subsequent process.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic lead frame feeding device for a TO-200 semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which automatically feeds lead frames to die bonding and wire bonding processes for manufacturing TO-220 semiconductor packages.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a semiconductor package is classified into a hole insertion packaging type and a surface packaging type according to a packaging form, and the hole insertion packaging type is further classified into a lead frame type and a pin type. This invention resides in a device for sequentially feeding lead frames during manufacturing of semiconductors of a single inline package type (will be hereinafter referred to as "TO-220 semiconductors") in the lead frame type.
This TO-220 semiconductor has an adverse effect on the semiconductor element resulting from heat generation during operation of the element. Therefore, a heat sink having a radiating surface of a great area and serving as a radiating path has been necessarily provided to be exposed to a top of a casing of the semiconductor element, thereby preventing breakage of the element due to elevation of an internal temperature thereof.
A lead frame having such a radiating path is of the form as shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings and comprises the heat sink 1a serving as the radiating path, a paddle 1b formed integrally with the heat sink 1a for attaching thereto a chip, a plurality of outer lead portions 1c connected integrally to the paddle 1b through respective bent portion 1f extending at a given angle from the paddle, and a support portion 1d for reinforcing and supporting the outer lead portions 1c. Further, there are formed index holes 1e in the heat sink 1a and the support portion 1d.
During the manufacture of the TO-220 semiconductor packages by using the thus constructed lead frames, the following principal processes are performed: a die bonding process for bonding the chips obtained in a dicing process to the paddles of the lead frames; a wire bonding process for interconnecting the chips and the lead frames by wires; a molding process for hermetically sealing the chips with resin; and a lead shaping process are performed, thereby producing a plurality of the complete semiconductor packages each being of the form as shown in FIG. 2. At this time, to perform the die bonding and wire bonding operations, the lead frames 1 must be loaded in a loader of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
In the past, since the lead frames 1 were slopingly stacked in the loader of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus owing to the bent portions 1f between the paddle 1b and the outer lead portions 1c, the lead frames could not be introduced directly into the loader, but instead were manually put into a separate magazine (not shown) at equal distances and in the same direction by an operator, and then introduced into the loader along with the magazine containing them. At this time, one magazine can contain about 20 sheets of the lead frames.
When the magazine containing about 20 sheets of the lead frames has been introduced into the loader, the lead frames are fed one by one to the die bonding or wire bonding process by an air cylinder actuated lower plate as the magazine is lowered stepwise by a stepping motor.
This automatic lead frame feeding device of the prior art is however disadvantageous in that the manual putting of the bent lead frames into the separate magazine is a tedious and time-consuming task and the replacement of the magazine is also a complicated task, resulting in lowering of productivity. Further, when the magazine is lowered stepwise by the stepping motor to feed the lead frames, index points may be out of register with each other, and thus jamming may occur.

Automatic lead frame feeding device for a TO-220 semiconductor manufacturing apparatus


Provided is a method of producing a polycarbonate-based resin composition, including mixing an aliphatic polycarbonate-based resin (A) containing a specific repeating unit (A-1), and at least one kind of aromatic thermoplastic resin (S) selected from the group consisting of an aromatic polycarbonate-based resin (B) containing a polycarbonate block formed of a specific repeating unit, an aromatic polyester-based resin (C) having a specific structural unit, and a polyarylate resin (D) having a specific structural unit in the presence of a transesterification catalyst at a temperature at which the resin components melt.

A molded body formed of a polycarbonate-based resin (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as PC-based resin) has high transparency, excellent heat resistance, and excellent mechanical strength, such as impact resistance. Accordingly, the molded body has been widely used as an industrial transparent material in the fields of, for example, electricity, machinery, and automobiles. In addition, the molded body is used as a plastic for an optical material in, for example, a lens or an optical disc.
The polycarbonate-based resins may be roughly classified into an aliphatic polycarbonate-based resin and an aromatic polycarbonate-based resin. The aliphatic polycarbonate-based resin has properties such as excellent light fastness, high surface hardness, and excellent chemical resistance (e.g., Patent Document 1). Meanwhile, the aromatic polycarbonate-based resin has properties such as excellent impact resistance and excellent heat resistance (e.g., Patent Document 2).

Method for producing polycarbonate resin composition