A power factor control system for an A.C. induction motor determines the difference in phase between the voltage applied to the motor and the current drawn by the motor. Based upon this difference in phase, an integrator generates an error signal. The error signal is compared with a ramp wave to derive a pulse signal which controls the voltage applied to the motor, which in turn controls the amount of current supplied to the motor, in order to reduce the power consumed by the motor. The integrator includes a dual-path feedback filter having a polarized capacitor in each path. A power supply is used to quickly provide the full operating bias voltages required by several of the components contained in the control system.

The difference in phase between the voltage supplied to an induction motor and the resulting current through the motor is indicative of the load on the motor. It is known for a power control system to be connected to a motor in order to detect and compare these supplied-voltage and resulting-current signals. Based upon this comparison, the power control system may then control the voltage applied to the motor, which in turn controls the flow of current to the motor, in order to reduce the power consumed by a less than fully loaded motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,177 to Nola, for example, describes a power control circuit for an induction motor wherein a servo loop is used to control the voltage applied to the motor, which in turn controls the flow of current to the motor, in order to reduce the power consumed by the motor. In particular, a pulse signal is used to control the "on" time of a triac which is in circuit with the motor in order to maintain motor operation at a selected power factor. The pulse signal is based upon the measured current-voltage phase angle.
Power factor controllers of the prior art, such as the one just described, use an integrator as part of the processing required to produce the pulse signal. Typically, the integrator includes an operational amplifier and a filter which includes a capacitor and provides a single path of feedback from the output of the operational amplifier to one of the inputs of the operational amplifier. In this arrangement, the value of the capacitor is relatively large, or else the motor may vibrate.
A command signal circuit is also connected to one of the inputs of the operational amplifier, which is typically the same input to which the filter is connected. Conventionally, the command signal circuit contains a potentiometer, which is a relatively expensive electrical component. The potentiometer must be adjusted for the particular motor being controlled in order to provide a proper bias voltage to the operational amplifier. If, as commonly occurs, the potentiometer is incorrectly set, and thus an improper bias voltage is provided, an improper pulse signal will be provided to the triac. This may result in vibration or stalling of the motor, or even failure to start the motor.
Power factor controllers require a power supply in order to provide an operating bias voltage of, for example, 15 volts, to the controller's active components, such as the operational amplifier of the integrator, so that the pulse signal is provided to the triac. In attempting to start the motor, if an improper pulse signal is provided to the triac because the operating bias voltage is not yet up to full potential, the motor may not start, even after a proper pulse signal is later provided.
Power factor controllers of the prior art typically deal with this problem in one of two ways. In particular, some power factor controllers use a transformer as part of the power supply. The transformer provides the full operating bias voltage quickly enough to start the motor. However, a transformer is a rather bulky electrical component that results in oversized control units.
Power factor controllers which do not use a transformer as part of the power supply typically use a resistor and filter capacitor having relatively large values in the power supply. However, because of the large value of the resistor, the power supply generates an excessive amount of heat. Moreover, because of the large value of the filter capacitor, the capacitor takes a relatively long time to charge in order to provide the full operating bias voltage. As a result, the controller may require an additional circuit, commonly referred to as a start-up, or delay, circuit, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,266,177. The start-up circuit prevents any power from being applied to the motor until the operating bias voltage is essentially at full operating level.

Power control system for an A.C. induction motor


Acceleration detecting sensor (60) is provided in a sprung structure (50), while a vibration model comprising the sprung mass of a vehicle, the spring, and the shock absorber is previously stored in control unit (58). The deviation of the detected acceleration from the estimated vertical acceleration of the sprung structure is computed by a control unit (58) and then amplified. The vertical acceleration of the sprung structure and the relative velocity between sprung and unsprung structures are estimated by a control unit (58) according to the amplified deviation and the vibration model. The stored vibration model has one degree of freedom and a simple structure.

(i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for computing the relative velocity between sprung and unsprung structures in a vehicle connected through a shock absorber and a spring.
(ii) Description of the Related Art
A suspension of a vehicle is a system for connecting a sprung structure, such as a chassis, with an unsprung structure such as a wheel, which supports the sprung structure and greatly influences vibration, ride comfort, and maneuvering stability. The suspension includes such parts as a spring for moderating a shock from the surface of a road and a shock absorber for damping the free vibration of the spring and controlling the velocity of an attitude vary of a vehicle. As described above, the suspension has various requirements. However, these performances frequently conflict with each other. Therefore, in the case of design, it is desirable to find a certain compromising point by considering the balance between these performances.
In order to achieve the suspension's requirements to a high degree, an art is known which makes it possible to vary the characteristics of a suspension. For example, there is an art for varying damping forces of a shock absorber according to the state of a vehicle. In this example, a damping force is increased so as to early converge the free vibration of a spring system in the region of the resonance frequency of a sprung structure and the region of the resonance frequency of an unsprung structure and the damping force is decreased in regions other than the above regions so as to greatly absorb by the suspension the input from the road surface.
To control the above variable damping-force suspension and to analyze movement of the suspension, an apparatus for estimating the position and velocity of the suspension and parameters serving as other physical values has been proposed. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 6-106937, a suspension having a variable damping-force shock absorber is controlled by estimating a certain parameter showing the vertical velocity of a sprung structure and assuming that the damping force of the shock absorber is generated proportionally to the parameter. Moreover, according to the art disclosed in the official gazette, a single-wheel model with two degrees of freedom is used to estimate the parameter. That is to say, the model is used in which a sprung structure and an unsprung structure having a limited mass are connected each other by a spring and a shock absorber to input an external force from the unsprung structure through the spring element of a wheel.
However, when estimating a vibration having a frequency component close to the resonance frequency of a sprung structure, it is possible to ignore the motion of an unsprung structure because the amplitude of the unsprung structure is significantly small compared to that of the sprung structure. That is to say, it is possible to use a model with one degree of freedom instead of the above model with two degrees of freedom. In other words, the above-described conventional estimating apparatus uses an excessively large model in order to analyze a point nearby the resonance point of a sprung structure and it therefore has a problem that the operation load increases.

Vehicle sprung- and unsprung-structure relative-velocity computing apparatus


For image blur prevention, the present invention discloses an apparatus comprising an operation device which performs an initial setting for the image blur prevention (by determining a DC offset in the high-pass filter calculation on an output signal of an image blur detection sensor, from the output signal of the image blur detection sensor); and a determination device which determines a state of a signal (whether it is larger than a predetermined value) influencing the initial setting (the above-mentioned output signal of the image blur detection sensor) at a time when the operation device performs the initial setting operation, thereby enabling appropriate initial setting and thus achieving appropriate image blur prevention. If the output signal is determined as larger than the predetermined value, the initial setting is performed for example in a state where the direction of the optical apparatus is being altered. In such case the initial setting is determined as improper and is performed again.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image blur prevention apparatus for preventing image blur generated in a camera, an optical apparatus (device) or the like.
2. Related Background Art
In recent cameras, the probability of failure in the phototaking operation is very low even for an unskilled person for the camera operation, because the important operations for phototaking such as determination of exposure and focusing are all automated.
Also there has been developed an image blur prevention system for avoiding hand fluctuation applied to the camera, and almost no factor is left to induce the error of the photographer in phototaking. Such image blur prevention system will be explained briefly.
The hand fluctuation applied to the camera in phototaking operation is generally a vibration of a frequency of 1 to 12 Hz. The basic concept for obtaining a photograph without image blur even in the presence of such hand fluctuation when the shutter is released is to detect the fluctuation of the camera induced by such hand fluctuation and to displace a correction lens according to the detected value.
More specifically, in order to obtain a photograph without image blur even in the presence of camera fluctuation, it is essential to first detect the fluctuation of the camera exactly, and then to correct the variation in the optical axis resulting from the hand fluctuation. The detection of such camera fluctuation is achieved, in principle, by providing the camera with fluctuation detection means for detecting the angular acceleration, angular velocity or angular displacement, and camera fluctuation detection means for releasing an angular displacement by integrating the output signal of such fluctuation detection means in electrical or mechanical manner. The image blur prevention is achieved by displacing optical support means (correction means), supporting an optical element such as a lens or a prism, in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, based on the detection information.
FIG. 19 is a schematic view of a fluctuation prevention system employing conventional fluctuation detection means, utilized for example in a camera, for suppressing the image blur in directions indicated by arrows 81 (camera pitching 81p, and camera yawing 81y).
In FIG. 19 there are shown a lens barrel 82;
fluctuation detection means 83p, 83y for respectively detecting the camera pitching (in a direction 84p) and camera yawing (in a direction 84y); correction means 85, supporting a correcting optical element (such as prism or lens), for correcting the image blur resulting from the fluctuation; coils 86p, 86y for providing the correction means 85 with a driving force; and position detectors 87p, 87y for detecting the position of the correction means 85. The correction means 85 functions utilizing a position control loop and using the output signals from the fluctuation detection means 83p, 83y as target values, thereby correcting the image blur resulting from the fluctuation.
FIG. 20 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional image blur correction system, wherein an output signal from fluctuation detection means 2 is amplified by amplifier means 3, and supplied to an A/D converting port of a microcomputer 1. An output signal from position detection means 4, for detecting the position of the correction lens, is amplified by amplifier means 5, and supplied to an A/D converting port of the microcomputer 1. The microcomputer 1 processes these two data to release correction lens driving data from an output port, thereby causing correction lens driving means 6 to drive the correction lens, thus correcting the image blur. Lock/unlock drive means 7 executes drive of an unlock coil and maintaining of an unlocked state for locking or unlocking the drive for the correction lens.
FIGS. 21A and 21B are flow charts showing the function of the microcomputer 1 shown in FIG. 20. The image blur correction is executed by an interruption process, conducted for example at a predetermined interval. The main flow executes for example the lock/unlock control. When an interruption process is generated, the sequence starts from a step #81.
Step #81! executes A/D conversion of the output of an angular velocity sensor, constituting the fluctuation detection means.
Step #82! discriminates whether an instruction for initiating the image blur correction has been received, and the sequence proceeds to a step #85 or #83, respectively, if the instruction has been received or not.
Steps #83 and #84 are operations when the image blur correction is not conducted.
Step #83! initializes the DC offset and the integration, as the image blur correction is not executed.
Step #84! clears a timer for measuring the time after the reception of the image blur correction starting instruction.
Step #85! discriminates whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the reception of the image blur correction starting instruction. This corresponds to an operation time for determining the DC offset in a step #86, so that the image blur correction is not yet executed. The sequence proceeds to a step #88 or #86, respectively if the predetermined time has elapsed or not.
Steps #86 and #87 are operations within the predetermined time after the reception of the image blur correction starting instruction.
Step #86! calculates the DC offset, in order to avoid that the initial input to the high-pass filter becomes a stepped input because of the DC component.
Step #87! initializes the high-pass filter and sets the result of integration to zero, in order to electrically maintain the correction lens at the central position.
Steps starting from #88 execute the image blur correction.
Step #88! effects a high-pass filter operation, in order to effect the image blur correction.
Step #89! executes integration, to provide angular displacement data.
Step #90! adjusts the eccentricity (sensitivity) of the correction lens with respect to the fluctuation angular displacement, since it varies depending on the zoom/focus position.
Step #91! stores the result of calculation (drive data for image blur correction) in a RAM area, set by SFTDRV in the microcomputer 1.
Step #92! effects A/D conversion of the output from a position sensor, detecting the position of the correction lens, and stores the result in SFTPST in the RAM.
Step #93! effects feedback calculation (SFTDRV-SFTPST).
Step #94! multiplies the result of the calculation in the step #93 with a loop gain.
Step #95! effects a phase compensating calculation, for obtaining a stable control system.
Step #96! sends the result of the step #95, as PWM, to the port of the microcomputer, whereupon the interruption process is terminated.
The obtained output is supplied to a coil driver for driving the correction lens, thereby driving the correction lens with a moving coil to correct the image blur.
The image blur correction is achieved in the configuration and the system explained above.
The output signal of the angular velocity sensor, constituting the fluctuation detection means, is the sum of a DC component and a hand fluctuation component, as indicated by a solid line 10S1 in FIG. 22A. Consequently, the step #85 in FIG. 21A effects averaging by the application of a low-pass filter, thereby reducing the hand fluctuation component and determining the DC offset. Then the value of a broken line 10S2, after the lapse of a predetermined time, is regarded as the DC offset, and the value obtained by subtracting the DC offset from the A/D converted value of the output of the angular velocity sensor is used as the input data for the high-pass filter calculation.
In the ordinary hand-held state of the camera, the error between the actual DC offset and the above-determined DC offset (different between a DC offset signal 10R1 in FIG. 22A, indicating the actual DC offset, and the broken line 10S2 obtained with the low-pass filter) is small and negligible. However, if the image blur correction is started while the camera is swung in a large motion, the angular velocity signal assumes a form as indicated by a solid line 10S3 in FIG. 22B and can only provide a broken-lined signal 10S4 even after averaging with a low-pass filter, thus resulting in a significant error from the actual DC offset indicated by 10R2.
Such signal results in a significant transient response by the stepped input in the high-pass filter operation, deteriorating the start-up characteristics of the image blur correction.


In the paste type nickel positive electrode prepared by filling pores of a metal nickel plaque made of three-dimensional high porous sheet, or coating both sides or one side of a plaque made of either perforated nickel sheet or nickel plated steel sheet, with a paste type active material mainly composed of nickel hydroxide, by adding particles of cobalt hydroxide having the specific surface area of at least 10 m.sup.2 /g, average particle size of 1.7 microns or more, and content of fine particles with particle size of 1.0 micron or less of 20% or less, the utilization of positive electrode active material is enhanced, and by using this nickel positive electrode, the alkaline rechargeable battery, in particular, the nickel-metal hydride alkaline battery is enhanced in capacity and extended in service life.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nickel positive electrode for alkaline rechargeable batteries, and alkaline rechargeable batteries using the same positive electrode, more particularly nickel-metal hydride (Ni--MH) batteries.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Alkaline rechargeable batteries are batteries using alkaline electrolyte mainly composed of potassium hydroxide (KOH), and in almost all battery systems, the nickel positive electrode excellent in charge and discharge cycle performance is used. In the negative electrode, iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and others are used as active material, but because of the long charge and discharge cycle life and high reliability of sealed batteries, the main stream of alkaline batteries was nickel-cadmium (Ni--Cd) batteries using Cd negative electrode. Recently, using a hydrogen absorbing alloy capable of repeating absorption and desorption of hydrogen by charge and discharge, higher in capacity than in Cd negative electrode, in the negative electrode, the Ni--MH batteries are developed, and are expanding demands. In particular, they are expected to be applied widely, ranging from the small-sized power supply for portable appliances such as cellular telephone and camcorder, to large- and medium-sized power supply for electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV).
In these alkaline rechargeable batteries, in order to reduce further in size and weight, it is always demanded to enhance the energy density. Means for increasing the capacity to enhance the energy density in a specific battery system may be roughly classified into two types. First, in limited battery dimensions, the inner volume of the battery container is expanded as much as possible, while the volume of the materials and parts not directly responsible for charge and discharge reaction is decreased, and the active materials of the positive and negative electrodes contributing to reaction are used in good balance and as much as possible. For example, in the cylindrical cell, using the so-called DI can having a thick bottom and a thin side wall, the inner volume of the cell is expanded, and a thin separator is used, so that the occupied volume of positive and negative electrodes is increased. Hitherto, owing to the excellent high rate discharge characteristics and long life, using a thin porous sheet by sintering carbonyl nickel (Ni) powder as plaque, sintered electrodes having active materials impregnated therein were widely used, and by contrast, it has been attempted to increase the filling amount of active materials and enhance the capacity by employing foamed type electrodes filled with paste type active materials, using a foamed Ni sheet extremely high in porosity and large in pore volume as plaque, coated type electrodes coated with paste type active materials on one or both sides of a plaque which is a perforated Ni sheet or Ni plated steel sheet such as punching metal and expanded metal, and other paste type electrodes.
Other means for enhancing the capacity is to increase the of utilization of active materials of positive and negative electrodes contained in the cell. Herein, the utilization of active materials is expressed by percentage of the practical capacity to theoretical capacity of the contained active materials.
Cobalt (Co) is noted as one of effective additives for enhancing the utilization of nickel hydroxide, Ni(OH).sub.2, an active material of paste type nickel positive electrode of foamed type or coated type. Various methods of its addition have been proposed. Typical examples include the following: (1) a method of adding cobalt monoxide (CoO) (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Sho. 61-138458), (2) a method of adding at least one of CoO with particle size of 1/2 or less of the particle of Ni(OH).sub.2 of active material, beta- and alpha-cobalt hydroxide, and Co(OH).sub.2 (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Sho. 62-256366), and (3) a method of adding Co(OH).sub.2 with specific surface area of 20 m.sup.2 /g or less (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Sho. 62-66570), among others.
In the method of (1), CoO is easily oxidized in air, and is unstable and hard to handle. Yet, the addition effect of CoO is not exhibited unless it is let stand for a long time until the initial charge after composing the cell by injecting by using the nickel positive electrode to which CoO is added, and there was a problem in productivity.
In the method of (2), it is necessary to control the crystal structure of Co(OH).sub.2 of the additive, and there was a problem in supply of materials.
In the method of (3), when the specific surface area of Co(OH).sub.2 added for effectively enhancing the utilization of active materials of nickel positive electrode is increased nearly to 20 m.sup.2 /g, it becomes unstable in air. To the contrary, by using Co(OH).sub.2 of smaller specific surface area, the addition amount must be increased in order to enhance the utilization of positive electrode active material, which causes to increase the manufacturing cost.

Nickel positive electrode for alkaline rechargeable batteries and nickel metal hydride cells

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An inverter system for inverting variable input DC and providing therefrom controlled output AC including a feedforward sensor for sensing a variable parameter of the input DC, a feedback AC sensor for sensing the controlled output AC and an inverter controller responsive to the variable parameter of the input DC and to the controlled output AC for regulating the magnitude of the controlled output AC.

The present invention relates to a power conversion system, and more particularly to a plural inverter system for converting input DC into controlled output AC wherein both the controlled output AC and a parameter of the input DC are sensed for controlling the controlled output AC.
Copending patent application, having Ser. No. 454,434 filed on Dec. 20, 1989 and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, discloses a conversion system for providing a stepped output utilizing plural inverters. The system shown therein responds to the output AC for controlling the phase angle between the inverter outputs in order to control the output AC.
Power conversion systems are commonly used in many applications to convert a variable DC input into controlled AC output. For example, copending application Ser. No. 07/911,542 filed on Jul. 9, 1992 shows an inverter for use with systems, such as those on aircraft, where the input DC can vary 2:1 or more. If desired, the control AC output is designed to have constant voltage in order to supply loads with electrical power. The inverter used in such systems may be of the stepped waveform type. An inverter of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,662 to Compoly et al. Such a stepped-waveform inverter generates an output having a stepped shape that generally approximates a sine wave. The purpose of approximating a sine wave is to reduce the size of the filters, provided at the output of the inverter, that are used to remove unwanted harmonics. While previous stepped-waveform inverters may accomplish such goals, efficient and effective methods of control of such inverters have heretofore been lacking.
Prior application having U.S. Ser. No. 454,434 filed on Dec. 20, 1989, discloses a power conversion system utilizing a plurality of subinverters each inverting a DC input into AC output for supply to a summing transformer which sums the outputs from the subinverters to provide AC power having a stepped waveform. The system regulates the AC power by controlling a phase angle between the waveforms produced by at least some of the subinverters.
If the input DC varies, the variation in DC must pass through the system and vary the output AC in order for corrective action to be taken by the inverter control system. The feedback loop which senses the output AC and provides appropriate correction is slow, because any changes or transients in the input DC voltage must pass through the inverter, the control, and any associated filters, each having time constants which slow up the response.


A signal assembly is described and which includes a mirror which is operable to reflect, and pass electromagnetic radiation; a circuit substrate having a plurality of electrically conductive pathways which is borne on same; a light emitting device borne by the circuit substrate, and which, when energized, emits visibly discernable electromagnetic radiation which passes by each of the circuit substrate and the mirror; and an electrically actuated assembly, such as a heater, which may be electrically coupled with a source of electricity by way of the circuit substrate.

The beneficial effects of employing auxiliary signaling assemblies have been disclosed in various U.S. Patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,005,724 and 6,076,948, the teachings of which are incorporated herein. Yet further, numerous designs for signaling assemblies having various types of semitransparent mirrors including dichroic and electrochromic mirrors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,014,167; 5,207,492; 5,355,284; 5,361,190; 5,481,409; 5,528,422; and 6,749,325 to name but a few. These numerous references are also incorporated by reference herein. Assemblies such as what is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,005,724 and 6,076,948 have been incorporated into other mirror assemblies such as electrochromic mirror assemblies as more fully shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,512,624 and 6,356,376. These numerous patents are also incorporated by reference herein. The teaching of these patents show that in addition to providing an auxiliary signaling device, such prior art assemblies may also include auxiliary lighting assemblies, which may be remotely actuated, in order to provide an exterior vehicle security light to aid and assist operators and passengers during night time hours. Examples of such assemblies are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,371,659 and 5,497,305 to name but a few. Additionally, an integral signaling assembly and device for illuminating an area adjacent to an overland vehicle is shown in application Ser. No. 10/741,748, and which was filed on Dec. 18, 2003. This pending application is also incorporated by reference herein.
While many of these prior art assemblies, as discussed above, have operated with a great deal of success and have enjoyed wide commercial acceptance, there are shortcomings with respect to the individual designs which have detracted from their commercial acceptance and perceived usefulness.
In recent years, some automotive platforms have presented challenges to the designers of these types of mirror assemblies in view of the fact that the exterior mirror housing and the space available within the mirror housing, has been reduced in size because of exterior platform design considerations. Consequently, while many of the teachings of the prior art patents work with a good degree of success, they also occupy a rather significant amount of the interior space of the mirror housing in order to be rendered operational. Further, some of these assemblies are very complex in their overall design which increases the cost of manufacturing. Moreover, each of these assemblies requires that an electrical conduit or "pigtail" be extended from same in order to be connected to the electrical system of the overland vehicle. In an exterior mirror application which utilizes an electrochromic mirror which automatically dims, or changes its reflectivity based upon the ambient lighting conditions, it will be understood that to provide a signaling assembly in combination with an electrochromic mirror may result in a tangle of electrical conduits all of which must be routed and connected to an appropriate electrical connector. This confusing array of electrical conduits, creates problems in view of the lack of available space in the housing, and further creates difficulties in the final assembly, manufacture and installation of the product.
Attempts have been made to reduce this complexity by providing various assemblies such as an integral heater and signaling assembly such as seen in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/355,915, the teachings of which are incorporated by reference herein. However, these arrangements have been less then ideal inasmuch as the process of affixing, light emitting diodes and other similar assemblies to such integral assemblies have resulted in unduly complex manufacturing processes. This approach has also provided a less then ideal arrangement with respect to the repair and replacement of such assemblies in the event that a subcomponent, such as a light emitting diode, fails during the lifetime of the product.
Therefore, a signaling assembly which addresses these and other shortcomings in the prior art assemblies is the subject matter of the present application.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A display apparatus includes a display panel which includes a plurality of sub pixels each outputting a sub pixel value of R, G, or B, a renderer which renders a multi-view image to be outputted by the display, and a controller which determines a rendering pitch according to a viewing distance of a user, and controls the renderer so that each of at least some of the plurality of sub pixels outputs a combined sub pixel value corresponding to a combination of sub pixel values corresponding to each of the plurality of views of the multi-view image according to the determined rendering pitch.

1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with what is disclosed herein relate to displaying, and more specifically, to a display apparatus with which a user can view three-dimensional images without glasses and a display method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pursuing an objective of viewing images with more reality, efforts to develop three-dimensional (3D) display apparatuses have accelerated recently. Accordingly, 3D image signals which are typically watched in a theater have been made available for viewing in homes using display apparatuses such as televisions (TVs).
Meanwhile, 3D display apparatuses may be classified as glasses type displays and non-glasses type displays according to whether glasses are or are not required for a user to watch 3D images.
As one example of the glasses system, a shutter glasses type display apparatus can be discussed. This method provides dimensional feelings to a user by alternately closing and opening a left-eye shutter and a right-eye shutter of shutter glasses that a user wears while coordinating the shutters with the alternately outputted left-eye and right-eye images.
Non-glasses systems are also referred to as "autostereoscopy". A non-glasses type 3D display apparatus provides dimensional feelings by projecting light corresponding to images having different views toward the left and right eyes using parallax barrier technology or lenticular lenses while displaying optically divided multi-view images.
Meanwhile, regarding non-glasses type 3D display apparatuses, limitations in viewing distance may occur due to technological features. The use of a parallax barrier or a lenticular lens determines viewing distance. When a user views images outside of certain predetermined viewing distances, crosstalk may occur and disturb ordinary viewing.
FIG. 1 is a diagram provided to explain operation of displaying multi-view images in a non-glasses type 3D display apparatus. Specifically, FIG. 1 is a diagram displaying images having multi views. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows the display of 6 views in total. Referring to FIG. 1, when a viewing distance is L1, a first row of the non-glasses type 3D display apparatus may project a first image view toward a left eye and a second image view toward a right eye. Therefore, a user can perceive the dimension of the image by receiving different views with left and right eyes.
However, when the viewing distance changes to L1′, both the second image view and the first image view may be projected toward the user's left eye, and both the first image view and the second image view may be projected toward a user's right eye. Therefore, because crosstalk may occur as the viewing distance of the user changes, the quality of the perceived image deteriorates and the user's viewing may be disturbed.

Display apparatus and display method thereof


A network communication device is receive packet-based orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) transmissions from one or more other devices in a network over a communication channel. The network communication device may determine a delay spread of the communication channel based on receipt of a probe signal from a transmitting device, configure a channel filter to effectively shorten the channel based on the delay spread, and instruct the transmitting device to shorten a length of a cyclic prefix for subsequent packet-based OFDM transmissions to be received from the transmitting device over the channel.

Some coaxial networks, such as networks that operate in accordance with the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA®), use OFDM signals to communicate multimedia content between nodes. One issue with these coaxial networks is multipath. A cyclic prefix, which is a copy of the end of an OFDM symbol placed at the beginning, is often used to address issues associated with multipath. The cyclic prefix is generally long enough to cover the delay spread of the coaxial channel. The cyclic prefixes of each OFDM symbol, however, consume significant bandwidth and therefore reduce throughput.
Thus, there are general needs for communication nodes and methods for communicating multimedia content over coaxial networks that use shorter cyclic prefixes to provide increased throughput. There are also general needs for communication nodes and methods for communicating using OFDM signals over coaxial networks with improved throughput.

Communication device and method for packet-based OFDM communications with differing length cyclic prefixes


A drum cartridge includes a drum cover movable relative to a photosensitive drum between a first position at which the drum cover covers a part of a circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum and a second position at which the drum cover does not cover the part of the circumferential surface. The drum cover is located at an opposite side of a toner cartridge with respect to the photosensitive drum in a state where the toner cartridge is attached to the drum cartridge and the drum cover is located at the second position. The drum cover is located at the first position in a state where the drum cartridge is attached to a drawer and the drawer is located at a pulled-out position and located at the second position in a state where the drum cartridge is attached to the drawer and the drawer is located at an accommodated position.

A known image forming apparatus includes a main housing, a drawer, a drum cartridge, and a belt. The drawer is movable between an accommodated position and a pulled-out position. In a state where the drawer is located at the accommodated position, the drawer is accommodated in the main housing. In a state where the drawer is located at the pulled-out position, the drawer is pulled out from the main housing. The drum cartridge has a photosensitive drum. In a state where the drawer is located at the pulled-out position, the drum cartridge is attachable to the drawer.

Image forming apparatus and drum cartridge


Disclosed herein is an intelligent channel selection apparatus and method against various interferers in wireless communication systems, and a receiver using the same. The intelligent channel selection apparatus includes a channel power measurement unit, a channel list storage unit, a channel selection data generation unit and a channel selection unit. The channel power measurement unit measures received signal channel power of a plurality of available channels and storing the received signal channel power as channel power data. The channel list storage unit arranges the plurality of available channels and storing the plurality of available channels in a channel list. The channel selection data generation unit generates data for channel selection based on the signal channel power data and the frequency offsets of the channels of the channel list. The channel selection unit selects the highest priority channel from the channel list based on the data for channel selection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an intelligent channel selection system and method against various interferers in wireless communication systems and, more particularly, to an intelligent channel selection system and method, which generates data for channel selection based on frequency offsets and signal channel power and assigns a channel based on the data for channel selection so as to achieve out-of-band channel selection against various interferers in the industrial, scientific and medical band.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of mechanisms capable of solving general coexistence problems in the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band have been proposed. In particular, for channel selection methods in the ISM band in which various communication systems supporting various communication standards, in particular, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Bluetooth and Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID), exist, there are in-band channel selection methods and out-of-band channel selection methods.
The in-band channel selection methods are used to fulfill a desired Packet Error Rate (PER) by reducing the degradation of a signal-to-noise ratio caused by in-band channel interferers, and the out-of-band channel selection methods are used to reduce the degradation of a signal-to-noise ratio caused by out-of-band channel interferers. Furthermore, appropriate channel selection reduces the Minimum Detectable Signal (MDS) of a receiver, thus considerably reducing power consumption through a receiver power control loop and, consequently, increasing the life span of a battery.
For example, in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4 specifications (refer to IEEE Standard 802.15.4-2003 Annex-E pp. 637˜640), there are disclosed in-band channel selection methods, such as Channel Clear Assessment (CCA) and ED/LQI (Energy Detection/Link Quality Indication), and out-of-channel selection methods, such as Dynamic Channel Selection (DCS), Channel Alignment (CA) and Neighbor Pico-net Capability (NPC).
However, in the case where interferers of various sizes exist in the ISM-band in which various communication systems exist, channel selection/assignment should be performed carefully in terms of a minimum detectable signal and power consumption.
For example, the above-described DCS proposed in IEEE 802.15.4 specification is a frequency non-overlapping method, the efficiency of which decreases as the number of interferers increases.
U.S. Unexamined Pat. Publication No. 2003/0181211, which was filed by Razavilar et al., published on Sep. 25, 2003 and entitled "Method and apparatus for dynamic channel selection in wireless modems," discloses the DCS in which signal channel power is measured based on Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), lowest signal channel power is found out and the channel of the lowest signal channel power is assigned. Furthermore, when co-channel signaling exists, channel assigning is performed with the co-channel signaling being taken into consideration.
However, Razavilar el al.'s patent application does not consider the influence of frequency offsets. When neighboring strong interferers exist, the influence of frequency offsets should be considered more than signal channel power, but Razavilar el al.'s patent does not disclose the influence of frequency offsets.
Korean Unexamined Pat. publication No. 2003-0017618, which was filed by Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., published on Mar. 3, 2003 and entitled "dynamic frequency selection mechanism for IEEE 802.11 WLAN," discloses a scheme of selecting a channel based on Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) and RSSI, which does not consider the influence of frequency offsets.
The above-described conventional technologies are dynamic channel selection methods based on RSSI, and have no provision for selecting a channel while considering the influence of frequency offsets as well as RSSI. When a channel is selected using RSSI without the consideration of frequency offsets notwithstanding that frequency offsets have influence greater than that of the signal channel power when strong interferers exist nearby, various defects arise.
In the ISM-band in which various communication systems exist, systems based on different communication standards as well as a system based on a communication standard that a user uses may exist. The biggest problem in such a frequency band is the existence of interferers. Such interferers actually influence CSA at the communication standard that the user uses.
In this case, if inappropriate CSA is performed, a problem arises in that the minimum detectable signal of a receiver and power consumption are increased due to Inter-Modulation Distortion (IMD) and reciprocal mixing effects caused by stronger interferers in surrounding channels.
Accordingly, a method of reducing a minimum detectable signal and power consumption by decreasing the influence of interferers under the same frequency channel environments is required.

Intelligent channel selection apparatus and method against various interferers in wireless communication systems and receiver using the same


A method of producing a fiber reinforced composite material satisfies condition 1: a thermosetting resin base material (B) includes a thermosetting resin (a) and a nonwoven fabric-shaped base material (a thermosetting resin base material satisfying the condition 1 is referred to as a thermosetting resin base material (B-1)); and condition 2: the thermosetting resin base material (B) is a base material including the thermosetting resin (a), and a porous sheet-shaped base material (b) or a film-shaped base material (c), the thermosetting resin (a) has a viscosity of 1,000 Pa·s or more at 40° C., and the thermosetting resin (a) has a minimum viscosity of 10 Pa·s or less during heating from 30° C. at a temperature rise rate of 1.5° C./min (a thermosetting resin base material satisfying the condition 2 is referred to as a thermosetting resin base material (B-2)).

Fiber reinforced composite materials made from a reinforced fiber and a matrix resin are excellent in specific strength and specific rigidity, and are widely applied from aircraft structural members to pressure vessels and golf shafts. Demand of such fiber reinforced composite materials in automotive components has been increasing year by year particularly because of their contribution to weight reduction.
A generally employed method of producing a fiber reinforced composite material is a molding method of laminating prepregs obtained by impregnating continuous reinforced fiber bundles with a matrix resin, and then heating and pressurizing the resulting laminate to cure the matrix resin. Although prepregs provide molded articles excellent in quality because they are capable of being impregnated with a matrix resin uniformly and accurately, the prepregs are poor in formativeness into complicated shapes such as an uneven shape and a standing wall because the matrix resin constrains reinforced fibers.
Under such circumstances, as a method of producing a fiber reinforced composite material capable of being shaped into a complicated shape such as an automotive component, there have been proposed a resin transfer molding (RTM) method (Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-71856) and a resin film infusion (RFI) method (Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-11231), in both of which a resin-free fiber-reinforced base material is used.
The RTM method is a method of producing a fiber reinforced composite material excellent in formativeness by producing a preform obtained by shaping a resin-free fiber-reinforced base material into a predetermined shape, placing the preform in a die, then injecting a liquid thermosetting resin into the die, and curing the thermosetting resin while supplying the resin to the fiber-reinforced base material.
The RFI method is a method of producing a fiber reinforced composite material excellent in formativeness by laminating a resin-free fiber-reinforced base material and a film of an uncured thermosetting resin in a die, liquefying the film by heating and pressurization, and then curing the thermosetting resin while supplying the resin to the fiber-reinforced base material.
In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-234078 proposes a method of producing a fiber reinforced composite material excellent in formativeness by laminating, in a die, a resin-free fiber-reinforced base material and a resin supporting body obtained by heating an uncured thermosetting resin to bring the thermosetting resin into a semi-cured state (B stage) and making a soft foam absorb the semi-cured resin, and then completing the curing while supplying the semi-cured thermosetting resin to the fiber-reinforced base material by heating and pressurization.
Further, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2006-305867 proposes a method of producing a fiber reinforced composite material excellent in formativeness by laminating, in a die, a resin-free fiber-reinforced base material and a preform obtained by making a soft foam absorb an uncured thermosetting resin and then cooling the resulting product to solidify the product into a desired shape, then liquefying the thermosetting resin by heating and pressurization, and curing the thermosetting resin while supplying the resin to the fiber-reinforced base material.
In the production methods proposed in JP '856, JP '231, JP '078 and JP '867, a textile having good formativeness is suitably used as a fiber-reinforced base material.
Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2008-246981 discloses a method of producing a fiber reinforced composite material excellent in surface quality by laminating, in a die, a resin-free fiber-reinforced base material, and a prepreg or sheet molding compound (SMC) containing an uncured thermosetting resin, and then curing the thermosetting resin while flowing the thermosetting resin by heating and pressurization.
In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2004-99731 proposes an RFI method of laminating, in a die, a resin-free fiber-reinforced base material and a film obtained by filling an uncured imide oligomer film between perforated polyimide films, then liquefying the imide oligomer by heating and pressurization, and curing the imide oligomer while supplying the imide oligomer to the fiber-reinforced base material.
In the RTM method described in JP '856, however, it is necessary to flow the resin to every corner of the fiber-reinforced base material and impregnate the fiber bundle with the resin in the step of injecting the thermosetting resin. It is also necessary to cure the thermosetting resin at a high speed to improve the productivity, and the method has a technical problem of control of the flow and curing. If the flow is increased, the resin is improved in the impregnating property and the fiber reinforced composite material is excellent in quality, but the resin cures slowly and impairs productivity. On the other hand, if the resin is cured at a high speed, productivity is improved, but the resin is difficult to flow and inhibited from impregnating into the fiber-reinforced base material, resulting in impaired quality. For this reason, conditions of application of the RTM method are currently limited due to both the limitations.
In contrast, in the RFI method described in JP '231, since the thermosetting resin film is laminated, the burden of supplying the resin is greatly reduced, and the resin has only to be in a flowable state during impregnation into fiber bundles. However, the method has a major problem in handleability of the thermosetting resin film. That is, if the film has low rigidity, the film has good formativeness but has an unstable shape, and it is not easy to convey the film due to deformation or collapse caused by its own weight, and the film is difficult to laminate due to stickiness. On the other hand, if the film has high rigidity, the film is difficult to shape although the shape can be ensured. The resin undergoes an extreme temperature-dependent viscosity change, and it is difficult to obtain suitable handleability.
The method described in JP '078 improves the handleability by employing a foam-shaped resin supporting body compared to a thermosetting resin film. Although the method employs a resin that is liquid at room temperature, the method has a new problem of resin leakage during handling such as conveyance, and the method requires a step of semi-curing the thermosetting resin into a non-flowable state by heating. In addition, since the thermosetting resin undergoes a rapid reaction at the B stage, a great burden is imposed on the management of the thermosetting resin in terms of productivity. Moreover, if the thermosetting resin is brought into a non-flowable state, the resin may be remarkably deteriorated in the impregnating property to cause a quality problem.
Further, in the method described in JP '867, a solid resin is handled to cope with the problem in use of a resin that is liquid at room temperature. Thus, the method is required to include a preform step of making a foam material absorb a thermosetting resin, then cooling the resin, and further fixing the shape. This is equivalent to perform molding twice in terms of time and effort, resulting in significant loss of productivity.
Further, the method described in JP '981 is capable of improving the dimensional stability and surface quality of the fiber reinforced composite material by interposing the resin-free fiber-reinforced base material as a buffer material between the prepreg layers. However, the method has a problem of the impregnating property of the resin into the resin-free fiber-reinforced base material. Specifically, the amount of resin supplied from the prepreg to the resin-free fiber-reinforced base material is small, and the amount of the supplied resin may be insufficient to cause a problem of deterioration of the surface quality unless a resin-free fiber-reinforced base material having a small basis weight is used. Moreover, if the molding pressure is increased to squeeze the resin from the prepreg, the prepreg will flow sideways to cause a problem of deterioration of the dimensional stability.
Further, the method described in JP '731 improves handleability of the thermosetting resin that is difficult to form a film by using a bag formed of a thermally stable resin film as a supporting body. The method requires, however, processing of supplying the resin to the bag, and perforating the bag may cause resin leakage or breakage of the bag body during the conveyance, resulting in impaired productivity. On the other hand, if the bag is not perforated, control of the supply of the resin may be difficult to cause a problem of deterioration of the quality of the obtained fiber reinforced composite material.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a method of producing a fiber reinforced composite material capable of improving formativeness and productivity without deteriorating the quality of the molded article by using a thermosetting resin base material capable of suitably impregnating a thermosetting resin into a fiber-reinforced base material and is excellent in handleability.

Method of producing fiber reinforced composite material


An aqueous patch containing diclofenac sodium, wherein the patch contains a homogeneous mixed solution of diclofenac sodium, wherein the solution is obtained by mixing crotamiton, diclofenac sodium and water in the mixture ratio of crotamiton/diclofenac sodium of 8.0 or less and the mixture ratio of (water+crotamiton)/diclofenac sodium of 3.0-20.0.

Recently, many non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics for transdermal absorption have been formulated and widely used for various inflammatory diseases such as chronic rheumatism, osteoarthritis, spondylosis deformans, and low back pain. Especially, diclofenac sodium has an excellent anti-inflammatory analgesic action, and therefore, is widely used as an oral  agent or a suppository in clinical scenes. However, diclofenac sodium is also known to cause various side effects such as gastrointestinal disease.
In order to alleviate these side effects, an external preparation for transdermal absorption of diclofenac sodium has been investigated.
Especially, an external patch enables an efficient and continuous treatment because it can control a drug dosage and directly transfer a drug to the affected area just below the patch. However, diclofenac sodium has a very low solubility in water or an oily ingredient. Therefore, it is difficult to prepare a patch in which diclofenac sodium is completely dissolved, and even if such patch can be prepared by the addition of an excessive amount of an agent such as a diclofenac sodium solubilizer, it is difficult to preserve such patch with diclofenac sodium remaining in the dissolved state without a crystal precipitation in the patch for a long time. Also, when an oily ingredient which can highly dissolve diclofenac sodium is contained in an aqueous patch at a high concentration, the compatibility with other ingredients becomes worse, a phase separation readily occurs, and a stable storage for a long time becomes impossible. In addition, because the transdermal absorbability of diclofenac sodium is generally low, various investigations or efforts have been performed until now to solve these problems. However, a formulation which can solve the above problems has not been obtained so far.
For example, the following Patent Document 1 proposes a patch with an enhanced transdermal absorbability of diclofenac sodium prepared by adding crotamiton and a weak fatty acid to diclofenac sodium to convert the drug to a free acid. However, the stability of diclofenac sodium may be lowered by converting diclofenac sodium to the free acid, and further, the transdermal absorbability of the drug is not sufficiently high.
The following Patent Document 2 proposes a patch which has an excellent transdermal absorption efficiency of diclofenac sodium and a small chronological change consisting of two layers, i.e., an agent layer containing diclofenac sodium and a base layer not containing diclofenac sodium. However, because the preparation of this patch requires a process for pasting the agent layer and the base layer after they are separately prepared and spread, there are problems in complicated process management, economic efficiency, etc.
The following Patent Document 3 proposes an aqueous patch containing diclofenac sodium, an absorption enhancer consisting of 1-menthol and propylene glycol, and a hydrophilic base comprising a water-soluble polymer as the main ingredient. However, the solubility of diclofenac sodium in the patch is low and there is a fear of crystallization of the drug during a long storage, and further, the transdermal absorbability of the drug is not sufficiently high.
The following Patent Document 4 proposes the addition of 1-menthol and pyrrolidones (at least one of pyrrolidone or derivatives thereof) as transdermal absorption enhancers of diclofenac sodium. However, the solubility of diclofenac sodium in the aqueous patch is low and there is a fear of crystallization of the drug during a long storage, and further, the transdermal absorbability of the drug is not sufficiently high.                Patent Document 1: JP 07-089853 A        Patent Document 2: WO 2004/071499        Patent Document 3: JP 05-032544 A        Patent Document 4: JP 11-222443 A

Aqueous patches containing diclofenac sodium


A system and method are provided for canceling interference present in a local channel signal received at a receiver. The system includes a controller and a finger demodulator assembly. The controller is capable of selecting at least one interfering pilot channel signal that has a signal strength above a threshold, where the selected interfering pilot channel signals comprises an interfering set of pilot channel signals. The finger demodulator assembly can then be capable of producing a corrected local channel signal based upon the interfering set of pilot channel signals during the idle state and/or access state.

In accordance with Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) standard IS-95, the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) cellular radio system comprises a set of mobile stations and base stations. In the CDMA system, each base station continuously operates a pilot channel. If the base station has several sectors or beams, each sector or beam of the base station typically operates a specific pilot channel. It is previously known to use a pilot channel for identifying a base station, or a beam or sector of the base station. Each pilot channel signal typically comprises a spread-coded signal without data modulation that is continuously sent by the respective base station signal to its coverage area. The mobile station may identify the base station transceiver units by the pilot channel signal because the phases of the spreading codes in the pilot channel signal differ from one another.
In operation, upon power-up or entry into the system, each mobile station must typically initially acquire a pilot channel, typically the strongest pilot channel, of a local base station. Upon acquiring the pilot channel, when the mobile station does not have a connection on a normal traffic channel, the mobile station operates in an idle state by monitoring the paging channel of the local base station operating the respective pilot channel. Then, when necessary, the mobile station switches operation to an access state by sending messages on an access channel to the local base station, and continues to monitor the respective paging channel. When a connection is established between the mobile station and the local base station, either the mobile station or the local base station sends a connection establishment request. In the CDMA system, a specific Random Access Channel (RACH) is used as an access channel on which the mobile station initiates call establishment, such as by sending a connection establishment request. The local base station responds to the messages of the access channel on Forward Link Paging Channel.
When a traffic channel connection is to be established or when responding to a connection establishment request of the base station, the mobile station sends, via the access channel, a connection establishment message to the base station that forwards it to other parts of the system, typically to a base station controller where traffic channel resources are allocated to the connection. Subsequently, then, the mobile station and base station can communicate over the traffic channel. However, as the mobile station moves through the system, it typically continuously searches, during ongoing communications, for stronger pilot channels of base stations located near the base station, such as to determine whether to hand-off communications from one base station to another.
Also during ongoing communications, the mobile station maintains an active set, a candidate set and a neighbor set of pilot channels for a number of base stations. In this regard, the active set is a set of pilot channels operated by respective base stations that have assigned respective traffic channels to the mobile station. The candidate set is a set of pilot channels that have been received with sufficient strength by the mobile station to be successfully demodulated, but have not been placed in the active set by the base station. The neighbor set, on the other hand, is a set of pilot channels operated by respective base stations that are probable candidates for handoff. Normally, the neighbor set contains pilot channels of base stations that cover geographical areas near the mobile station. Once a pilot channel has been selected into the active set, the traffic channel (including the forward and reverse traffic channels) are capable of conveying digital voice and/or data to and/or from the mobile station, respectively.
In wireless channels, where signals can arrive at different times following different paths, the received signals can experience large amplitude and phase variations due to the interference of the different paths. In this regard, terrestrial wireless signals transmitted from or to a mobile station may be reflected from the terrain, fixed or mobile objects in the propagation path such as buildings or vehicles, or from a discontinuity in the atmosphere. If the energy of the reflected wireless signal is not significantly absorbed and/or attenuated, a plurality of different propagation paths for the wireless signals between the transmitter and receiver, referred to as multipath signals, are created. These different propagation paths, in turn, allow the wireless signals to "bend" around corners and propagate beyond terrain features and objects obstructing the line-of-sight between the base and mobile stations.
In a multipath environment during ongoing communications, non-orthogonal or noise contribution can cause degradation in multipath pilot and traffic channel signals and the resulting output of a rake detector in the CDMA receiver of the mobile station. The multipath pilot channel signal has the greatest likelihood of interfering with the other channels because it represents approximately twenty percent of total transmitted base station power. To reduce interference in such a system, techniques have been developed for suppressing interference caused by the pilot channel signal. More particularly, techniques have been developed for suppressing interference caused by one or more of the active set of pilot channel signals during ongoing communications between the mobile station and one of the active base stations over a respective traffic channel. In this regard, many such techniques suppress interference in the traffic channel of the local base station caused by the multipath local pilot channel signal, and/or interference in the each path of the local pilot channel signal caused by each other path of the local pilot channel signal.
As will be appreciated, when mobile station operates in the idle and access states, the active set of pilot channel signals includes only the pilot channel signal (referred to as the local pilot channel signal) of the local base station. As such, conventional techniques do not attempt to suppress interference from the pilot channels of other base stations since they are not included in the active set. When the mobile station operates in the idle and access states, however, other pilot channels can still interfere with the local pilot channel signal, such as those pilot channels with a signal strength sufficient to be included within the candidate set. Current techniques for suppressing interference, however, are not adapted to suppress interference caused by such pilot channel signals.

Interference suppression in a receiver during at least one of idle state and access state operation


A conductive paste including conductive particles each of which has a size of greater than or equal to 0.1 μm and less than or equal to 10 μm, a resin, and a solvent is placed over a first conductor and the solvent is vaporized. In this manner, a second conductor having the conductive particles and a memory layer including the resin between the first conductor and the conductive particles is formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory element, a semiconductor device including the memory element, and a method for manufacturing a memory element.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, semiconductor devices including a memory element have been significantly developed. More inexpensive and convenient semiconductor devices have been required as well as more functional semiconductor devices.
As a type of read only memory (ROM), a memory element to which data can be written by users is given. By using an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag on which a memory device is mounted, merchandise management and cargo management can be easily performed while fraud such as rewriting of data in the memory element is prevented.
As typical examples of such a memory element, a fuse-type memory element, an antifuse-type memory element, and the like are given. As for the fuse-type memory element, the element is burnt off with voltage, whereby data is written, while as for the antifuse-type memory, an insulating portion is made electrically conductive (short-circuited), whereby data is written. When the fuse-type memory element is used, a problem arises in that a high voltage is needed for burning off the element or dust is generated after burning off the element. Therefore, the antifuse-type memory element is developed more actively than the fuse-type memory element. As typical examples of the antifuse-type memory element, an element in which an insulating film such as a silicon oxide film provided between conductors is dielectrically broken down so that the conductors are electrically connected, and the like are given. In addition to the above, an element in which an organic material provided between conductors is dielectrically broken down so that the conductors are electrically connected, an element in which amorphous silicon provided between conductors is silicided so that the conductors are electrically connected, and the like have also been developed (e.g., Patent Document 1). Note that in this specification, a layer which is provided between conductors to electrically connect the conductors by an irreversible reaction, such as the above silicon oxide film, organic material, and amorphous silicon, is also referred to as a "memory layer".

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A constant velocity joint having an inner hub and an outer hub (1) in which races or tracks (3) associated with one another in pairs are provided and with balls received in respective pairs of races or tracks for transmitting torque. The constant velocity joint is further provided with at least one joint connector (2) which, when the joint is assembled, is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to one of the hubs (1) by mating profile members (6, 7) in order to transmit torque.

The invention relates to a constant velocity joint with an inner hub and an outer hub, each provided with a plurality of tracks associated with each other in pairs, which accommodate balls guided in a cage to transmit a torque between the inner hub and the outer hub, and with at least one joint connector that is connected to one of the hubs via mutually associated profiles of the hub and the joint connector to transmit a torque in the assembled state of the joint.
Such constant velocity joints are used, for example, in longitudinal driveshafts or in axle shafts of motor vehicles to transmit a torque from an engine to the driven wheels. In the constant velocity joints disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,396,284 (=DE 102 09 933) and GB 2,419,391 (=DE 103 40 583), the outer hub is enclosed by a driver housing, which is, for example, firmly welded to a tubular shaft. The outer hub and the driver housing have profiles associated with each other to transmit a torque. In the assembled state of the joint, the driver housing is axially fixed by a flange on the outer hub.
The profiles are typically formed by grooves and projections extending substantially in axial direction of the joint and having axially parallel sidewalls or flanks with a transition fit. Today, high-precision production processes are usually used for the joint components, such as a chipless process, for example. The transition fit should on the one hand enable the driver housing to be pushed onto the outer hub with maximum ease during assembly and should on the other hand provide the tightest fit possible between the driver housing and the outer hub in the assembled state of the joint.
However, because of the transition fits, there may be a slight play in operation between the outer hub and the driver housing, which causes a minimal relative movement between these components, particularly upon changes in the direction of rotation. In other words, with each change in the direction of rotation of the joint, there may be a differential movement in the joint before the circumferentially arranged sidewalls or flanks of the grooves and projections are adjacent to each other. This can cause an undesirable cracking noise in the joint.
US patent publication no. US 2007/032303 (=DE 103 42 497) proposes a journal and an inner hub designed in such a way that some radial play initially remains when the journal is inserted into the hub to enable the journal to be inserted by hand with ease. Only at the end of the displacement path do the journal and the hub fit tightly against each other in radial direction.


A switch is formed by a branch including a measurement resistance and a selectable one of switching resistances having different nominal values such that a switch position depends on which switching resistance is selected. The measurement resistance is connected through the selected switching resistance to a supply voltage whereby a voltage drop dependent on the switch position is across the measurement resistance. A controller identifies the switch position by comparison of a measured value (UM1) of the voltage drop with target voltage drops corresponding to switch positions, calculates a voltage drop (Uges) across the branch based on nominal values of the measurement and selected switching resistances and the supply voltage, forms a difference value (UDiff) between a measured value (UVcc) of the supply voltage and the branch voltage drop (Uges), and qualifies the identified switch position as faulty when the difference value (UDiff) exceeds a difference threshold value (UDiff-S).

Switching devices are used, for example, in motor vehicles in order to control various vehicle functions. For instance, a steering column module typically has integrated therein a switching device having a plurality of individual switches. The switches are for controlling the windshield wiper and washer assembly, the blinkers, the high-beam lights of the vehicle, etc.
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a switch assembly in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The switch assembly includes a switching device having a plurality of switches (in this example, a first switch SE1 and a second switch SE2) for controlling respective functions. For instance, first and second switches SE1, SE2 are for controlling first and second vehicle functions respectively.
Each switch SE1, SE2 is formed by a respective resistance branch. The resistance branch forming first switch SE1 includes a measurement resistance M1 and a switchable one of a plurality of switching resistances S11, S12, S13. Switching resistances S11, S12, S13 have different nominal resistance values amongst one another. The switch position of first switch SE1 depends on which switching resistance S11, S12, S13 is selected. First switch SE1 has three potential switch positions respectively corresponding with the three switching resistances S11, S12, and S13. As shown in FIG. 1, in this example, switching resistance S11 is selected such that first switch SE1 is in the switch position corresponding to switching resistance S11. Measurement resistance M1 is connected at one end to ground potential Gnd and is connected at its other end to a constant supply voltage Vcc through the selected one of the switching resistances S11, S12, S13. As such, in this example, the other end of measurement resistance M1 is connected to supply voltage Vcc through switching resistance S11 as first switch SE1 is in the switch position corresponding to switching resistance S11. Thus, in this switch position, the total resistance in the resistance branch forming first switch SE1 is measuring resistance M1 and switching resistance S11.
Likewise, the resistance branch forming second switch SE2 includes a measurement resistance R2 and a switchable one of a plurality of switching elements S21, S22, S23, S24. Switching resistances S21, S22, S23, S24 have different nominal resistance values amongst one another. The switch position of second switch SE2 depends on which switching resistance S21, S22, S23, S24 is selected. Second switch SE2 has four potential switch positions respectively corresponding with the four switching resistances S21, S22, S23, S24. As shown in FIG. 1, in this example, switching resistance S23 is selected such that second switch SE2 is in the switch position corresponding to switching resistance S23. Measurement resistance M2 is connected at one end to ground potential Gnd and is connected at its other end to supply voltage Vcc through, in this example, switching resistance S23 as second switch SE2 is in the switch position corresponding to switching resistance S23. Thus, in this switch position, the total resistance in the resistance branch forming second switch SE2 is measuring resistance M2 and switching resistance S23.
As shown in FIG. 1, the resistance branches of switches SE1, SE2, including the respective switching resistances (S11; S23 in this example) according to the respective selected switch positions, are connected in parallel to one another through a common electrical conductor to supply voltage Vcc.
The switching assembly includes a processor μC having analog-to-digital converter (ADC) inputs. In this example, the processor includes three ADC inputs A/D 1, A/D 2, and A/D3.
In an operation for detecting the switch position of first switch SE1, the actual voltage drop UM1 across measuring resistance M1 is measured. The measured voltage drop UM1 is supplied to ADC input A/D 1 for evaluation by the processor Likewise, in an operation for detecting the switch position of second switch SE2, the actual voltage drop UM2 across measuring resistance M2 is measured and supplied to ADC input A/D 2 for the processor. For both operations, the actual voltage UVcc of supply voltage Vcc is measured and supplied to ADC input A/D 3 for the processor.
Measuring resistances M1, M2 and switching resistances S11, S12, S13; S21, S22, S23, S24 have known nominal resistance values. For instance, the nominal resistance values of switching resistances S11, S12, S13 are 1 k ohms, 10 k ohms, and 100 k ohms. Supply voltage Vcc has a known nominal voltage value such as, for instance, 5V. Expected fixed set-points for the voltage drops across measuring resistors M1, M2 are obtained based on the nominal values. The predetermined fixed set-points are respectively associated with the different switch positions of switches SE1, SE2, and thus for the measured voltages UM1, UM2.
In the example in which first switch SE1 is in the switch position in which switching resistance S11 is selected, the measured voltage drop UM1 occurring across measuring resistance M1 depends on the actual resistance values of measuring resistance M1 and switching resistance S11 and the actual voltage value of supply voltage Vcc. However, the voltage drop expected to across measuring resistance M1 depends on the nominal resistance values of measuring resistance M1 and switching resistance S11 and the nominal voltage value of supply voltage Vcc. Thus, if any of the actual values differ from the corresponding nominal values, then the measured voltage drop UM1 will differ from the expected voltage drop. The same analysis applies to any other one of switching resistances and to second switch SE2.
Deviations of the actual resistance values from the nominal design values arise due to tolerances of the components and characteristic impedances or contact resistances at switches and connectors. This situation affects the entire switching device and can thus give rise to deviations in the measured voltages UM1, UM2 from the predetermined fixed set-points. If the deviations attain the order of magnitude of the intervals between the measured voltages UM1, UM2 associated respectively with the different switch positions, then this can lead to erroneous switch position information and thus to defective operation of the components powered by the switching device.

Method for detecting a switching position of a switching device


The present invention concerns a removable handle assembly for a casket which can secure the handles from the inside of the casket for more solidity and, to provide removable handles such as to facilitate the casket""s incineration. The removable handle assembly according to the invention includes at least one anchorage having a front and a back side, the back side being adapted to be fixedly secured to a surface, each of the at least one anchorage further having two opposite ends. The assembly also includes at least one removable support adapted to mate with the front side of each of the at least one anchorage; and a lock for locking each of the at least one support on the front side of each of the at least one anchorage. The assembly is completed with a handle pivotally connected to each of the at least one support.

The present invention relates to a removable handle mechanism, and more particularly, to a removable handle for caskets.
The manufacturer of casket furniture faces peculiar problems. His products are used only once and then burnt or buried, so that logic dictates they should be of the cheapest and most ephemeral kind. But the mores of (at least) Western contemporary society have, for quite sometime, required funerary furnishings to be of a quality proportional to the status of the deceased party.
It is common practice, in the casket industry, to use handles that are not removable. The reason is that the weight of the casket requires strong handles to be used. These handles are either integral with the casket or they are bolted from the inside of the casket.
Another criteria discerning in the choice of handles in the casket industry is their aesthetic look. The handle design must be in good taste. Thus, it is readily apparent that cheap-looking removable handles would be unacceptable for most clients.
An object of the present invention is to achieve almost contradicting demands for casket handles. Namely, to secure the handles from the inside of the casket for more solidity and, to provide removable handles such as to facilitate the casket""s incineration.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reusable and resistant handle for a casket.
More precisely, the above mentioned objects of the present invention are met with a removable handle mechanism, comprising:
at least one anchorage having a front and a back side, the back side adapted to be fixedly secured to a surface, each of the at least one anchorage further having two opposite ends,
at least one removable support adapted to mate with the front side of each of the at least one anchorage;
a lock for locking each of the at least one support on the front side of each of said at least one anchorage; and
a handle pivotally connected to each of the at least one support.
In an alternative preferred embodiment, the anchorage may be integrally formed with the surface thereby forming a receiving surface.
An advantage of the invention is that it allows repeated use of the handles once a casket is buried or incinerated.
Another advantage of the invention is that the handle mechanism is strong enough to withstand the weight of the casket.
A further advantage of the invention is that the handle is easily removable and has a feature that prevents the handle from falling down while removing it from the casket.


The charge pump circuit includes: a first switch for controlling either one of push operation and pull operation based on a first control signal; a current mirror circuit composed of a transistor different in attribute from the first switch; and a second switch composed of a transistor same in characteristic as a transistor constituting the first switch, for controlling input of a current into the current mirror circuit based on a second control. The other operation, the push operation or the pull operation, is performed with a current output from the current mirror circuit.

The present invention relates to a charge pump circuit, and more particularly, to a charge pump circuit suitable for feedback systems such as phase locked loop (PLL) circuits and delay locked loop (DLL) circuits.
In general, in feedback systems such as PLL circuits and DLL circuits, a charge pump circuit is used for generating a signal for controlling a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and a voltage-controlled delay circuit (VCD). FIG. 7 shows a configuration of a conventional charge pump circuit. When a signal UP is activated, a switch 101 is turned ON allowing a current to be supplied from a current source 102, to thereby implement "push" operation. When a signal DN is activated, a switch 103 is turned ON allowing a current to be drawn to a current source 104, to thereby implement "pull" operation. The current related to such "push-pull" operation is filtered with a low-pass filter 105, to generate a voltage Vo. The voltage Vo is used as a control signal for VCOs and VCDs (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-82954 (page 6, FIG. 6), for example).
In control of switches in a charge pump circuit, switching noise occurs in a current flowing under the push-pull operation. This switching noise will be described with reference to FIG. 8.
A switch made of a pMOS transistor is taken as an example in this description. First, during the OFF period until the switch is turned ON, "feedthrough noise" occurs in which the charge in an output capacitance is released and moves toward the gate via a fringe capacitance and the like of the switch. Once the switch is turned ON, "injection noise" additionally occurs in which the charge in the output capacitance is released and moves toward the gate via a gate capacitance and the like of the switch (period shown by A in FIG. 8). Therefore, the output current is not immediately supplied to a load capacitance as the defined value Io, but is used for charging of the fringe capacitance and the gate capacitance for a while, and the remaining charge is supplied to the load capacitance (period shown by B in FIG. 8). If the current is not from an ideal current source, the output voltage value of the current source changes under the influence of ON resistance of the switch with the passage of time, and thus the current value continues failing to reach the defined value Io (period shown by C in FIG. 8).
Upon turning OFF of the switch, the charges stored in the fringe capacitance, the gate capacitance and the like are output at one time (feedthrough noise and injection noise), and as a result the output current exceeds the defined value Io for a short time (period shown by D in FIG. 8). The feedthrough noise and the injection noise are then converged, so that the value of the output current is converged to zero (period shown by E in FIG. 8).
When a charge pump circuit is operated at high speed, a charge error caused by switching noise becomes too large to be neglected with respect to the charge moving under the push-pull operation. For example, assuming that the current source supplies a current of 5 μA and the charge pump circuit is operated at 250 MHz, the charge supplied with one time of switching is 5 f coulomb (C) (5 μA×1 ns). If the switch has a fringe capacitance of 1 fF, the charge caused by feedthrough noise occurring when the switch is operated at 4V is 4 fC (=4V×1 fF). In this case, therefore, the charge error caused by the noise is roughly the same in magnitude as the charge supplied from the current source. In other words, the charge moving under the push-pull operation of the charge pump circuit includes a considerable amount of noise-caused error.
In relation to the above, the following problem arises. That is, the noise-caused charge error differs among transistors different in attribute. In particular, n-channel transistors and p-channel transistors differ from each other in the relationship between the control voltages with which turning ON and OFF are determined and the threshold voltage of each transistor, and thus greatly differ from each other in the charge amount caused by charge injection noise. Considering the characteristics of transistors, it is virtually impossible to suppress occurrence of feedthrough noise and injection noise. Moreover, injection noise changes with variations of the power supply and the process. It is therefore extremely difficult to have an equal amount of switching noise for a p-channel transistor and an n-channel transistor. Therefore, in the conventional charge pump circuits, the switching noise is asymmetric due to the difference in attribute between the transistors, and thus it is virtually impossible to secure equilibrium between the charge formed with the push operation and the charge released with the pull operation.