Nanocomposite thin films with low dielectric constants are made by the simultaneous deposition of an oxide dielectric and an organic polymer at near room temperatures. Suitable oxides include SiO2, and suitable organic polymers include poly(chloro-para-xylylene). The two dielectric materials, when deposited, form nanocomposites characterized by nanometer-sized domains of dielectric material. The nanocomposite thin films of this invention are useful as dielectric layers for interlevel dielectric (ILD) and intermetal dielectric (IMD) dielectrics in the manufacture of semiconductor devices as well as for thin films for flat panel displays, food wraps, hybrid ceramics, glass, hard disk drives, and optical disk drives. Additionally, the invention comprises semiconductor devices and semiconductor chips made incorporating nanocomposites deposited by chemical vapor deposition.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention comprises low dielectric constant nanocomposite materials for use in the semiconductor industry. Specifically, the invention relates to composites containing an oxide such as SiO2 and an organic polymer, such as a poly(chloro-para-xylylene) (PPXC).
2. Discussion of the Related Art
As semiconductor device density increases to permit faster computer operations, the demands on dielectric materials used in semiconductor manufacture becomes greater. The dielectric materials must be good insulators, i.e., must possess high dielectric strength and must possess a low dielectric constant (K). Additionally, as device density increases, the dielectric materials should have sufficient mechanical strength to withstand subsequent processing steps of manufacture, including chemical mechanical polishing. Additionally, the dielectric materials should have sufficient thermal stability to withstand subsequent processing steps and long-term operation at elevated temperatures.
Currently, SiO2 is the most commonly used dielectric material. SiO2 has sufficient mechanical strength and thermal stability. However, SiO2 has a relatively high dielectric constant (K=3.9-4.3) and thus, is not ideally suited for the demand of low dielectric constant high performance sub-0.35 micron semiconductor technologies.
More recently, organic polymeric materials have been proposed for use as dielectric materials in semiconductor manufacturing. Organic polymers include poly(para-xylylenes), or PPX, among others. These organic materials have a lower dielectric constant than SiO2, but have insufficient mechanical strength and thermal stabilities to meet the rigorous demands of semiconductor manufacture.
To provide advantages of both types of dielectric materials, nanocomposite structures have been proposed for use in the semiconductor industry. Nanocomposites of this invention are thin film materials characterized by the existence of mixtures of individual domains of dielectric materials, each being in the size range of from about 20 xc3x85 to about 200 nm.
Several methods have been proposed to synthesize nanocomposite and intercalative layered structures and the different polymer and ceramic constituents in these composites. One currently available process for manufacturing nanocomposite materials utilizes sol-gel methods {Mattes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,081, herein incorporated fully by reference. Another method utilizes sputtering methods {Holtz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,933, herein incorporated fully by reference}. {Gonsalves et al., Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 435:55-65 (1996)}. Using these methods a chemical link is formed between the ceramic and organic phases and therefore may produce desired properties in the bulk nanocomposite or nanocomposite coating.
However, a chemical bond between ceramic and organic phases is not a prerequisite for enhanced material properties, especially when interpenetrating phases are present on the order of the nanometer size range. At the size of the crystallites within a nanophase structure, molecular interactions may take place which affect the large scale properties of the films. Nanocomposites which are made by solution or melt-based methods rely on good thermodynamic mixing or molecular dispersion to make effective nanoscale blends.
However, the solution-based and sol-gel based processes are not well suited for the manufacture of semiconductors with sub-micron feature sizes. With device features of 0.35 xcexcm and less, the thickness and conformality of the dielectric layers must be very carefully controlled, and the compositions of each phase must be reproducible. Bulk mixing of components is unsatisfactory for achieving this aim.
Additionally, sputtering, conventional thermal CVD, and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) methods can be used to co-deposit dielectric materials. However, they are poorly suited for depositing nanocomposites with widely different physical properties because deposition conditions may be very different for each material in the composite. For example, the typical CVD deposition of SiO2 occurs at high temperatures (above 350xc2x0 C.), whereas deposition of organic polymers such as poly(para-xylylenes) can take place at temperatures well below 100xc2x0 C. Therefore, current manufacturing methods do not permit the deposition of dielectric materials as thin films of differing physical and chemical properties.
So far, however, no CVD method has been developed to synthesize nanocomposite thin film materials. The lack of these methods has inhibited the use of nanocomposite materials for thin film applications, especially those related to the electronics industry. Therefore, new methods are needed for accurately and reproducibly producing thin film nanocomposites for semiconductor manufacturing.
Thus, one object of the invention is the development of methods for manufacturing nanocomposite thin films with low dielectric constant, high dielectric strength, high thermal stability, and high mechanical strength.
Another object of the invention is to provide methods for the co-deposition of different semiconductor materials which have different physical and chemical properties.
A further object of the invention is to provide semiconductor device thin films comprising nanocomposites made by co-depositing dielectric materials.
An additional object of the invention is the manufacture of nanocomposites comprising organic co-polymers.
A further object of the invention is the manufacture of nanocomposites comprising cross-linked oxide and organic polymers.
Another object of the invention is the manufacture of nanocomposites at near or below room temperatures using chemical vapor deposition.
Yet another object of the invention is to manufacture graded films of oxide and organic polymeric dielectric materials of varying ratios.
Another object of the invention is the manufacture of semiconductor wafers comprised of nanocomposites deposited by chemical vapor deposition.
A further object of the invention is the manufacture of semiconductor devices with nanocomposite thin films deposited by chemical vapor deposition.
According to the invention, new methods are disclosed which can be used to deposit novel semiconductor thin films in the form of nanocomposites using chemical vapor deposition of oxide and organic polymer materials which co-deposit to form the thin film.
Thus, one aspect of the invention is an apparatus for co-depositing different dielectric materials simultaneously.
Another aspect of the invention is the co-deposition of oxide and organic polymeric dielectric materials to form nanocomposites.
An additional aspect of the invention is the deposition of nanocomposite thin films with low dielectric constant, high dielectric strength, high thermal stability and high mechanical strength.
Another aspect of the invention is the deposition of nanocomposite dielectric materials as semiconductor device thin films.
An additional aspect of the invention is the manufacture of nanocomposites comprising organic co-polymers.
A further aspect of the invention is the manufacture of nanocomposites comprising cross-linked oxide and organic polymers.
Yet another aspect of the invention is to manufacture gradient films of oxide and organic polymeric dielectric materials of varying ratios.

Near-room temperature CVD synthesis of organic polymer/oxide dielectric nanocomposites

Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.


A caster for equipment, furniture and medical equipment, the caster including a support arm that includes a base portion and a top portion and receives an attachment bolt wherein the base portion supports a wheel axle that supports at least one wheel; a direction fixing device; and a movable blocking element configured to lock the direction fixing device, wherein the moveable blocking element is in direct or indirect friction contact with the wheel so that a friction force that is caused by the friction contact causes a locking of the direction fixing device and a direction fixing of the caster in a first direction when the caster moves in the first direction.

DE 203 17 456 U1 discloses a caster with a direction fixing device wherein an interlocking plunger engages a pointed teething of an interlocking disk 19 to provide direction fixing when a foot lever is actuated.
DE 100 47 006A1 discloses a steerable caster for equipment, furniture, and hospital beds, wherein a brake device that fixes a pivot direction and/or fixes a wheel rotation is controllable by an actuation rod.
When transporting heavy medical equipment in a hospital it has become apparent that direction changes are difficult to perform for a single person in tight hospital alleys or rooms when manual operator interference is required.


In some embodiments, a drive circuit may be coupled to a spatial light modulator, wherein the drive circuit provides a non-linear analog ramp signal to the spatial light modulator. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

A spatial light modulator (SLM) is a device which imparts information onto a light beam. For example, SLMs include liquid crystal devices (LCD—reflective and transmissive) and micro-electronic mirror systems (MEMS). SLMs are useful as part of display devices. One known type of display device utilizing an SLM is an LCD having a liquid crystal (LC) material which is driven by electronics located under each pixel. There are many known pixel architectures for these devices, each of which utilizes different structures and techniques to drive the LC material. For example, an analog pixel architecture might represent the color value of the pixel with a voltage that is stored on a capacitor under the pixel. This voltage can then directly drive the LC material to produce different levels of intensity on the optical output.


The objective of the present invention is to provide a relay-welding detection device and method, the device and method capable of determining, whether a relay is welded, by using an analog-digital converter (ADC). Another relay-welding detection device according to the present invention comprises: a first ADC for measuring a voltage of a relay input terminal; a second ADC for measuring a voltage of a relay output terminal; and a CPU for comparing the voltage of the relay input terminal with the voltage of the relay output terminal and determining whether the relay is welded.

Recently, dissemination of electric vehicles (EVs) has emerged as part of an environmental preservation policy. In order to commercialize such EVs, a charging infrastructure for electric charging needs to be established. Chargers of the EVs can charge the EVs by using a relay.
In detail, in a charging standby state or a charging completion state, a relay inside the charger needs to be turned off to stop charging and allow a user to operate the charger.
Then, when an EV is to be charged, the relay needs to be turned on to perform charging. That is, the EV is charged by using a switching operation of the relay.
Here, due to frequent switching operations of the relay, the relay may be loosened and welding may occur. Due to such a welding phenomenon, the relay is not turned off and always remains on. Thus, there is a risk of electric shock when the charger is used.
Therefore, a detection device needs to be provided to determine whether the relay is welded, to thereby prevent such safety accidents.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a relay-welding detection device in the related art.
As shown in FIG. 1, the relay-welding detection device in the related art includes a welding relay WELDING RELAY connected to a relay input terminal INPUT, and a photocoupler PC connected to a relay output terminal OUTPUT.
In addition, a main relay MAIN RELAY that performs a switching operation for a charger is disposed between the relay input terminal INPUT and the relay output terminal OUTPUT.
Detecting a welding phenomenon is to detect a state in which the main relay MAIN RELAY remains on even when the main relay MAIN RELAY should remain off.
Accordingly, when the main relay MAIN RELAY remains off, an input WRin is applied to turn on the welding relay WELDING RELAY. At this point, when the main relay MAIN RELAY is not welded, a path via which a signal is transmitted through the main relay MAIN RELAY is not established. However, when the main relay MAIN RELAY is welded, the path via which the signal is transmitted through the main relay MAIN RELAY is established.
Therefore, when the main relay MAIN RELAY is welded, the signal is transmitted through the photocoupler PC and detected as an output WRout. By using this method, whether the relay is welded is determined.
When whether the relay is welded is determined by using the above-described method, the welding relay WELDING RELAY and the photocoupler PC are additionally needed, thus resulting in a disadvantage with respect to arrangement.
In addition, when welding is detected, the welding relay WELDING RELAY may also be welded. Accordingly, reliability of the relay-welding detection device may also deteriorate.

Relay-welding detection device and detection method


A connector for use with a mobile platform, such as an aircraft, which forms a part of the aircraft installation, and which can therefore not be readily removed from the aircraft once installed. In one preferred form the connector includes a standardized connector body that mechanically and electrically couples to an existing electronics module on the mobile platform. The connector body is attached to a backshell having a recess that houses an ID module component. The connector includes a lanyard that is secured to a portion of the mobile platform to prevent removal therefrom. The ID module component includes pre-programmed ID information pertinent to a specific mobile platform on which the connector is to be deployed. The ID module can be configured after it is installed in the system. Advantageously, the electrical connections between the ID module component and the connector itself are all contained within the recess in the backshell.

In applications where one of a plurality of mobile platforms, such as, for example, one of a plurality of aircraft, busses, ships, trains, motor craft, etc., need to be identified, it is common to provide some form of identification code to the mobile platform. This allows the mobile platform to identify itself to other, mobile platform or with a base station with which it is in communication with. Often, in communication systems such identification is required to provide a specific network node address which is explicitly associated with a single mobile platform. In this manner, a network operation center can identify and communicate with a single given mobile platform from within a group of mobile platforms operating within a given coverage region, and supply the requested information content to the given mobile platform. Other important platform specific information such as calibration and configuration related information often also needs to be automatically associated with a specific mobile platform.
An identification code as described above could be programmed into one or more of the electronic units that are typically carried on a commercial aircraft. However, information contained in an electronic unit is not tied directly to the aircraft installation (i.e., not tied to those components that are not readily removable from the aircraft) and thus could be separated from the aircraft during normal maintenance actions as electronic units are removed and replaced for service by aircraft mechanics. Thus, associating the identification code or information of a given aircraft with an electronic unit of the aircraft that is capable of being readily removed for service gives rise to a risk that the identification code for a given aircraft could be lost or confused with a different aircraft when the electronic units are replaced.
Previously, an aircraft ID has been associated with a specific aircraft installation by uniquely wiring a set of connector pins within each aircraft installation to be read by an electronic unit of the aircraft via discrete interface pins. Such an approach can require 25 or more connector pins. This, in turn, contributes to the need for larger and more expensive, and heavier, connectors. It also increases installation complexity and span time, and gives rise to an increased chance for wiring errors during installation due to the larger number of wires involved and the uniqueness between each installation, in addition to providing the possibility of increased susceptibility to electromagnetic interference (EMI). The increased number of connector pins also can contribute to a decrease in the reliability of the connector.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to be able to retain an identification code for a mobile platform, for example an aircraft, which cannot be lost or corrupted because of the removal of one or more electronic units or other electronic components of the aircraft during normal service and/or maintenance operations. It would also be desirable to accomplish this without the need for attaching a large plurality of wires to existing connectors used on a mobile platform. By providing some means for tying the identification code to the mobile platform installation, the risk of losing an identification code for a given mobile platform is significantly reduced.

Connector identification module for mobile platform


The present invention is an improvement in a method of screening a line screen slit mask color picture tube that includes coating a faceplate panel of the tube with a photosensitive material, inserting a slit shadow mask into the panel and exposing the photosensitive material by passing light from a line light source through a misregister correction lens and through the slits of the mask. The improvement comprises positioning a skew correction lens between the line light source and the misregister correction lens during exposure of the photosensitive material. The skew correction lens has a surface with a general overall cylindrical shape with deviations from the cylindrical shape being in the four corners of the skew correction lens.

Most color picture tubes presently being manufactured are of the line screen slit mask type. These tubes have contoured rectangular faceplates with line screens of cathodoluminescent materials thereon and somewhat similarly contoured slit-apertured shadow masks adjacent to the screens. The mask slits are aligned in vertical columns, with each column containing a plurality of slits that are vertically separated by bridge or web portions of the mask.
Such line screen slit mask tubes are screened by a photographic method that utilizes a line light source, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,451, issued to H. B. Law on Sep. 20, 1977. The use of a line light source to form continuous phosphor lines, however, has an inherent geometric problem that must be solved. Because of the substantial curvatures of the shadow mask and tube faceplate, the images of the line light source that pass through the apertures off the major and minor axes of the mask are angled or skewed relative to the intended straight lines. If uncorrected, such skewing of the line light source images results in the formation of phosphor lines that are relatively ragged.
There have been several techniques suggested for solving the light source image skew problem. One solution is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,841, issued to Ragland on May 14, 1985. That patent teaches the use of a cylindrical-shaped lens located near a line light source during exposure of photosensitive material on the faceplate. The longitudinal axis of the cylindrical lens is oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the line light source. Because of the presence of the lens, the images of the line light source, projected through the slits of the mask onto the photosensitive material at locations off the major and minor axes of the panel, are rotated toward parallelism with the minor axis, thereby resulting in exposure of smoother lines on the photosensitive material.
In a modern color picture tube, the screen edges are perfectly rectangular and the phosphor lines are essentially vertical, depending on mask and panel contours. The cylindrical lens now in use to correct light source image skew has a constant radius across its width, producing an increasing skew correction for increases in distance from the major axis of the lens, which is parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the lens cylindrical shape. Since the skew angle of the line light source image and the skew correction angle provided by the lens vary by different amounts, the skew correction of the lens must be compromised by substantially balancing overcorrection in one area of the screen with undercorrection in another area of the screen. This compromise correction can produce a loss of color purity tolerance in a finished tube, because it results in the width of a phosphor line not being constant over the screen due to the remaining skew. Thus, in one example of a 27 V tube using a cylindrical skew correction lens with a 3.9 inch radius, a maximum skew angle of plus 3.5 degrees was noted at the top of the screen, between the minor axis and the corner, and a skew angle of minus 0.9 degree was noted at the corner. The skew angle of 3.5 degrees causes formation of wider phosphor lines, which results in a loss of tolerance of about 35 micrometers. Furthermore, a large skew angle also creates some amount of line necking which may be visible and thus objectionable in a finished tube. Therefore, there is a need to improve the design of skew correction lenses to reduce the amount of skew angle remaining during screening. The present invention meets this need.

Method for screening line screen slit mask color picture tubes


A developing roller for use in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process. The image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum having a transcribing roller cleaning device; the developing roller disposed between a transcribing device and an exposing device adjacent to the photosensitive drum, for frictionally charging toner at a place where the developing roller contacts with a supply roller and transferring the charged toner to a developing region so as to attach the charged toner to a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum; a regulating blade disposed between the developing region and the supply roller, for regulating a toner layer on the developing layer into a thin toner layer, being in contact with the developing roller; the supply roller in contact with the developing roller, for frictionally charging the toner transferred into a contact nip by a relative motion therebetween; and an agitator for transferring the toner in a toner cartridge to the supply roller. The developing roller includes a body corresponding to a image region; end parts corresponding to a non-image region; a shaft for transferring a driving force and maintaining strength of the developing roller; and a joint where the body and the end parts are joined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process, such as a laser beam printer, an LED printer, a facsimile, and a digital copying machine, and in particular, to a developing roller for an image forming apparatus employing a developing technique for forming a toner image using negative toner and a non-magnetic single component developing technique using a non-magnetic single component toner for developer.
2. Description of the Related Art
As illustrated in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process translates a digital image signal received from a computer or a scanner onto a recording sheet in the form of a visible image. The image forming apparatus includes a developing unit for forming a latent image according to the received digital image signal and attaching toner onto the latent image to form a toner image. Then, the toner image is fixed on the recording sheet, so that the original digital image signal may be printed out on the recording sheet in the form of a fixed image.
Referring to FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus uniformly electrically charges a surface of a photosensitive drum 1 by corona discharging of a charging roller 7. The digital signal received from the computer or scanner is converted into an optical signal by a laser scanning unit or an LED array 9. The optical signal forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1. Toner 6 contained in a toner cartridge 8 is transferred toward a supply roller 3 by rotation of an agitator 4, and charged with a negative electric charge by the supply roller 3. Then, as a developing unit 2 rotates, the toner is transferred to a developing nip composed of the photosensitive drum 1 and the developing roller 2. A toner regulating blade 5 mounted on an upper part of the developing roller 2 forms a uniform toner layer on the surface of the developing roller 2. Thereafter, as the photosensitive drum 1 rotates, toner particles 6a charged with the negative electric charge are transferred onto the latent image, passing through a contact between the photosensitive drum 1 and the developing roller 2, thereby forming the visible toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1.
Further, recording sheets 12 stacked in a sheet feeding cartridge 13 are picked up sheet by sheet by a sheet feeding roller 11 and transferred to registration rollers 14 and 14' placed at a front end of an aligning unit. Then, the recording sheet 12 is transferred to a transcribing nip which is a rotatable contact part between the photosensitive drum 1 and a transcribing roller (or a corona device) 10, in synchronism with a scanning unit 9. As the recording sheet 12 enters the transcribing nip, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is transcribed onto the recording sheet 12 by an electrostatic force according to an air breakdown phenomenon by a high voltage applied to the transcribing roller 10, the high voltage having an opposite polarity to that of the toner. The recording sheet 12 on which the toner image is transcribed is transferred to a fixing unit by a transfer guide 15a, and the toner is fixed on the recording sheet 12 by the heat and pressure caused by a heat roller 16 and a pressure roller 17 in the fixing unit.
The image fixed on the recording sheet 12 is discharged to an exterior of the apparatus passing through lower sheet discharging rollers 19 and 19a, and upper sheet discharging rollers 18 and 18a, being guided by guide members 15b and 15c of a sheet discharging unit.
FIGS. 2A and 2B show a plane view and a side view of the image forming apparatus for use in an image printing device, respectively. In the conventional image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the toner leaking out through transfer paths A and B may contaminate the photosensitive drum 1 in the shape of a belt, and the toner having passed the regulating blade 5 at an interval D where the toner, which has failed to undergo friction charging by a side wall of the developing roller 2 or the supply roller 3 and thus does not enough negative electric charge, may be transferred to the photosensitive drum 1. The non-image region keeps the negative potential. The contamination belt of toner may cause the contamination on both sides of the recording sheet 12.
Now, reference will be made to FIG. 3 to describe the paths A and B which are the origin of the above stated contaminations. As illustrated, toner 6, frictionally charged at a nip E formed between developing roller 2 and supply roller 3, is attached to developing roller 2 and transferred toward a lower part of regulating blade 5, as developing roller 2 rotates. Regulating blade 5 regulates toner 6 attached onto the surface of developing roller 2, so that a limited amount of the toner only may be transferred to the surface of developing roller 2 upon passing through regulating blade 5. Regulating blade 5 blocks transfer of the toner attached onto developing roller 2, so that a considerable pressure is caused at a space between the supply roller 3 and regulating blade 5 on developing roller 2. In order to prevent the contamination of recording sheet 12 and the interior of the apparatus due to the pressure, the conventional image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B includes a circular seal (or rubber foam) 20a for preventing leakage of the toner among developing roller 2, regulating blade 5, and toner cartridge 8. In order to prevent leakage of the toner having passed through circular seal 20a, a side-wall seal 20b blocks leakage of the toner through side walls of developing roller 2 and regulating blade 5. Alternatively, any one of circular seal 20a and side-wall seal 20b is selectively used to prevent leakage of the toner.
FIG. 4 illustrates a principal part of an image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese patent publication No.07-253715, filed by Tanaka, in which a low-friction material is coated over a contact part between a developing roller 22 and a regulating blade 23 disposed at an upper part of developing roller 22. Further, side-wall seals 24, comprising seal portions 24a and 24b, are mounted at both sides of developing roller 22 by using double-faced adhesive tape 24d. In order to prevent leakage of the toner through the path B, a seal piece 24c is mounted at both contacts of regulating blade 23 and side-wall seal portions 24a and 24b are mounted at both side walls of developing roller 22. It is noted that this prior art device does not include the circular seal 20a (FIGS. 2A and 2B) mounted at the supply roller.
By coating the contact part between developing roller 22 and regulating blade 23 by using the low-friction material, the prior art device described above may successfully regulate the toner layer, when developing roller 22 has no toner attached thereto (i.e., an initial condition before the toner is supplied), or when toner remains after use of the apparatus. Further, the device has side-wall seals 24 mounted on the side walls of the developing roller 22, so as to prevent leakage of the toner. However, from the viewpoint of sealing, if the supply roller does not have circular seal 20a, the toner in the developing unit has more opportunities to pass through the side wall, so that more toner may penetrate into a space between side-wall seal portion 24b and developing roller 22. As developing roller 22 rotates, the toner having penetrated between side-wall seal portion 24b and developing roller 22 is transferred to the photosensitive drum, causing the contamination belt of toner thereon. As a result, the recording sheet may be contaminated at both sides thereof.
Further, if an over-pressure is applied to the side walls in order to solve this problem, the side walls of developing roller 22 will be worn away so that the worn developing roller 22 may no longer maintain the toner sealing function. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5, the device may have an worn area 25 through which the toner leaks out.
FIG. 6 illustrates an image forming apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,602, filed by Kasai, in which a high voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to a non-image region b of a developing roller 25, so that a regulating roller 26 may attract the unnecessary toner to prevent the unnecessary toner from being transferred to the photosensitive drum. However, the device proposed by Kasai has the following shortcomings in putting it to practical use.
First, U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,602 assumes that the toner is charged with only one of the negative and positive electric charges. Actually, however, the existing commercialized toner has a friction charge distribution feature as shown in FIG. 7. The toner maker makes a deep study to produce the toner which has a narrow charge distribution width and prevents generation of wrong signed toner particles having an insufficient charge A in case of necessity of the negative charge. Therefore, when using the commercialized toner having the charge distribution feature of FIG. 7, if the toner is charged with the negative charge, it may be impossible to electrically control the toner particles at an area A as expected.
That is, referring again to FIG. 6, in a developing technique using negative toner, in order to prevent the toner from being attached to the non-image region thereby to prevent leakage of toner, a negative voltage is applied to a non-image sleeve 25c of the developing roller 25 and a positive voltage is applied to a sleeve 26c of the regulating roller 26. The conventional device is effective for the toner at the areas other than the area A. However, the leakage of the toner may be increased undesirably at the area A. That is, the insufficiently charged toner, which is neutral or reversed, transfers excessively to the photosensitive drum, thereby causing the contaminations of the photosensitive drum and the recording sheet.
Second, the prior art apparatus can not prevent the toner from leaking through an interval "c" and the side walls of developing roller 25. This leakage becomes more serious when developing roller 25 pressingly contacts regulating roller 26 with a specified nip.
Third, insulating layers 25b and 26b at a boundary between an image region "a" and a non-image region "b" of the developing roller 25 and the regulating roller 26 cannot freely control the movement of the toner. Since the toner particles have a diameter of 3-15 .mu.m, the uncontrollable toner may leak out at this boundary little by little, thereby contaminating the photosensitive drum.
FIG. 8 illustrates an image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese patent publication No. 04-085571, filed by Fukumoto, in which a PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene resin) layer 29b is attached to a chloroprene rubber (or silicon rubber) 29a with hot melt or double-sided tapes 29c and 29d, in order to stably seal a developing roller 30, by using elasticity of the chloroprene or silicon rubber and a low-friction feature of the PTFE layer. However, the prior art apparatus is effective only for two-component or 1.5-component developing technique in which the toner is charged and transferred by a carrier which is much larger than the toner particle in size, and is placed on developing roller 30.
In the case of single component non-magnetic toner, the carrier (commonly having a diameter of over 3 .mu.m) is not used and the toner has a diameter of 3-15 .mu.m. Thus, it is impossible to prevent penetration of the toner between the PTFE sealing material and the developing roller. Particularly, in case of the old-fashioned polymer toner, it is more difficult to prevent leakage of the toner by the PTFE sealing material.
Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus proposed by Fukumoto, the toner penetrating between PTFE 29b and developing roller 30 is easily charged with a positive electric charge. That is, the principal ingredients of the toner is styrene and, in accordance with triboelectric charge service, the PTFE charges the toner with the positive electric charge more easily than nylon, polyurethane, SEP (Silicon Ethylene Propylene) rubber, and NBR (Nitril Butadiene Rubber) do. When using a known developing technique (e.g., a commercialized LBP or LED printer), unwanted reversely-charged toner (in this case, the toner charged with zero or "+" electric charge) exists on developing roller 30. In this case, since the toner has the polarity opposite to that of the non-image region of photosensitive drum 31, the toner may be readily transferred to photosensitive drum 31, thereby contaminating the photosensitive drum. Furthermore, in case of increasing pressure of the seal in order to prevent penetration of toner, both end parts of developing roller 30 which rub against PTFE 29b may be worn out.
As illustrated in FIG. 9, Japanese patent publication No. 03-102369, filed by Umezawa, discloses another image forming apparatus, in which a belt-shaped sealing material 33 is inserted between a photosensitive drum 31 and a developing roller 32 of which both ends are tapered. This prior art apparatus may effectively seal the space between the photosensitive drum 31 and the developing roller 32, but it needs a separate sealing plan in order to prevent undesired leakage of the toner from a developing chamber composed of the developing roller 32, a supply roller 34, and a regulating blade 35.

Developing roll device of an electrophotographic processor for preventing frictional erosion of the developing roll in surface portions thereof


An imaging apparatus that includes a main body that includes a recording and reproducing unit that houses a main recording medium and records an information signal. The information signal from the main recording medium is reproduced. An auxiliary recording medium unit is detachably mounted on a mounting section of the apparatus main body and houses an auxiliary recording medium separate from the main recording medium. During imaging, the apparatus main body is placed on one shoulder of a camera operator and a grip section is disposed on a front surface side of the apparatus main body. The mounting section is formed between the grip section and the recording and reproducing unit. The auxiliary recording medium unit is detachably attachable during imaging.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus in which a main recording medium and an auxiliary recording medium are used, and, more particularly to an imaging apparatus in which an auxiliary recording medium unit that houses the auxiliary recording medium is detachably attached to an imaging apparatus main body.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera or a video camera, an accessory shoe for mounting an accessory such as a flash light for emitting auxiliary light or a microphone for recording sound is often provided. Such an accessory shoe of the imaging apparatus in the past includes a holding section for connecting the accessory to a flat mounting surface and a terminal section provided on the mounting surface for supplying power to and exchanging signals with the accessory. A connector that is inserted in the accessory shoe is provided in the accessory attached to the imaging apparatus. The connector includes an attaching section that is attached to the holding section of the accessory shoe and a connecting section provided in the attaching section for supplying power to and exchanging signals with the accessory.
The connector is inserted in the accessory shoe by linearly sliding the connector along the mounting surface with the attaching section of the connector pressed against the mounting surface of the accessory shoe and engaging the attaching section with the holding section of the accessory shoe. The connecting section of the accessory is electrically connected to the terminal section of the accessory shoe with the attaching section held by the holding section (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3528845 and JP-A-2007-6282).
In a video camera for business use and a video camera of a high-end model for higher-level amateur users, a DV tape or an optical disk such as a DVD or a BD stored in a video camera main body is used as a main recording medium. Besides, there is also proposed a video camera in which an auxiliary recording medium unit that houses an auxiliary recording medium is detachably mounted on an apparatus main body to prepare for situations such as a recording mistake in the main recording medium and recording exceeding a recording capacity. In this auxiliary recording medium unit, for example, a memory card is used as a recording medium. When the auxiliary recording medium unit is mounted on the video camera, the auxiliary recording medium unit is supplied with electric power of a video camera main body and driven. With such an auxiliary recording medium unit, it is possible to edit recorded data independently from the video camera by removing the auxiliary recording medium unit from the apparatus main body and, then, connecting the auxiliary recording medium to an editing device. Therefore, it is also possible to perform imaging and editing in parallel by using only the auxiliary recording medium unit to edit the recorded data.
In such a video camera, when a connecting section provided in the auxiliary recording medium unit is connected to a terminal section on the apparatus main body side on which the auxiliary recording medium unit is mounted, driving power is supplied to and an information signal is transmitted to the auxiliary recording medium unit. During imaging, after such an auxiliary recording medium unit is removed, it could be necessary to attach another auxiliary recording medium unit anew or replace a memory card inserted in the auxiliary recording medium unit. However, depending on an imaging condition such as data collection or relay broadcast, imaging may not be able to be suspended. Therefore, it is demanded that work for replacing the auxiliary recording medium unit and the memory card should be performed without suspending imaging.
For transmission of an information signal and stable supply of driving power, it is necessary that the terminal section on the apparatus main body side and the connecting section of the auxiliary recording medium unit are surely connected. Therefore, both the terminal sections need to have resistance against a load exerted thereon when the terminal sections are inserted in and detached from the connecting section. The video camera is used not only in a stationary state. The video camera may move together with the camera operator or may be sometimes used by the camera operator while running. In such a case, the terminal sections need to be strong enough not to break even if vibration and impact are transmitted to the terminal sections via the connecting section of the auxiliary recording medium unit.
A communication terminal based on, for example, the IEEE 1394 standard may be provided to be branched from a transmission path for transmitting an information signal other than the main-body-side terminal section connected to the auxiliary recording medium unit. When such a communication terminal and the main-body-side terminal section for the auxiliary recording medium unit are simultaneously used, plural external apparatuses are connected to the identical transmission path. As a result, transmitted signals are mixed and reliability of operations is spoiled.


A method of reducing delay in Circuit Switched FallBack (CSFB) in a Radio Access Technology (RAT) communications network. The method includes initiating, by a terminal, a combined attach procedure by sending an attach request message to the RAT communications network, receiving, by the terminal, an attach accept message along with Location Area Identification (LAI) information from the network in response to the attach request message, checking, by the terminal, network identifier information in a RAT information table based on the received LAI, and selecting a mobile network based on the network identifier information to trigger establishment of a circuit-switched call.

1. Field of Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communication, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method to reduce delay of Circuit Switched FallBack (CSFB) (voice) Call while operating with Multi/Dual SIMs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a technology proposed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) which supports high data rate (e.g., 50 Mbps UpLink (UL) and 100 Mbps DownLink (DL)) and is a packet switched system. In a 3GPP based 3G/LTE system, during a combined registration procedure on LTE, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) coordinates with a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) configured to that MME and provides the Location Area Identified (LAI) and Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) to connect a Circuit Switched (CS) domain directly in a GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) Edge Radio Access Network/Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (GERAN/UTRAN) without registration. In the case where a User Equipment (UE) is in LTE and a Mobile Originated/Mobile Terminated (MO/MT) Call is triggered, the UE initiates an Extended Service Request Procedure. As a response to this procedure, the network will trigger a Redirection Request based on the MSC to which it is connected and the LAI information it has provided in an Attach/Tracking Area Update (TAU) Accept message.
However, if the UE is in LTE and an MO/MT Call is initiated, the Extended Service Request Procedure can fail because of one or more of, but not limited to, a lower layer failure, network congestion, a connection failure, and the like. According to current specifications, and the nature of a packet switched system, only burst data is processed by the UE. In order to support a voice call in a multimode device capable of LTE/3G/2G, 3GPP has developed the CS Fallback mechanism to fall back to 2G or 3G for a voice call, wherein a CS Fallback supported UE should switch to GERAN/UTRAN and proceed with the Mobility management (MM) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) MM (GMM) specific procedures.
When a user attempts to make a normal/emergency call, and when the UE is on an Evolved UTRAN (EUTRAN) network, a CSFB Call Request may fail because of various reasons, such as, but not limited to, temporary causes like MSC Not Reachable, network congestion, temporary radio related problems (like random access failure, Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection failure) or permanent causes (CS domain not available), and any other causes as mentioned in the 3GPP specification. The main problem is selecting the right Radio Access Technology (RAT). In EUTRA, an Attach Accept network provides only LAI information but does not provide any RAT information where the provided LAI is valid. In this case, the UE may select a High Priority RAT based on Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) files and proceeds with the same RAT. If it is not present in the SIM, the UE may select the RAT randomly and proceed with a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) scan. In this case, if the UE selects an incorrect RAT, the call might be delayed significantly.
FIG. 1 is a flow diagram 100 illustrating a procedure between a network and a UE during an Extended Service Request (ESR) failure for a CS call, according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, the network transmits an Evolved Packet System (EPS) Attach Accept message to the UE along with LAI information, wherein the LAI information comprises location and area details of the network. Upon receiving the EPS Attach Accept message, the UE can initiate a Mobile Originated (MO) voice call. While initiating the MO voice call, the UE can transmit an Extended Service request (ESR) to the network for making the voice call.
The network can experience a lower layer failure and thus can send a RRC Connection Release message to the UE, and thereby the UE stops the voice call. Upon receiving the RRC Connection Release message, the UE determines that the RAT providing the GERAN/UTAN has a lower layer failure problem and must switch to another RAT for network access. As the UE does not have any other secondary RAT to rely on, the UE randomly searches for a GERAN/UTRAN RAT to camp on. The UE can initiate a PLMN scan on a selected RAT to identify a suitable RAT to camp on. Scanning and searching for a suitable RAT can be a time consuming process and until a RAT is identified, the UE will be without any RAT to camp on. Once the UE identifies a suitable RAT, the UE sends a Cubic Metric (CM) service request to the selected RAT. According to the present procedure, the UE does not have any specific information regarding which RAT is to be selected, and the selection is done randomly.
FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram 200 illustrating a procedure between a network and a UE, wherein the lack of RAT information causes delay in RAT selection, according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 2, the network transmits an EPS Attach Accept message to the UE along with LAI information, wherein the LAI information comprises of location and area details of the network. Upon receiving the EPS Attach Accept message, the UE can initiate a MO voice call. While initiating the MO voice call, the UE can transmit an ESR to the network for making the voice call.
The network can experience a lower layer failure and thus sends a RRC Connection Release message to the UE, and thereby the UE stops the voice call. Upon receiving the RRC Connection release message, the UE can determine that the RAT providing the GERAN/UTAN has a lower layer failure problem and must switch to another RAT for network access. As the UE does not have any other secondary RAT to rely on, the UE randomly searches for a GERAN/UTRAN RAT to camp on. The UE can initiate a PLMN scan on a UTRAN to identify a suitable RAT to camp on. The network responds to the UE with a message indicating that the UTRAN is not available for switching, and the UE can switch to any of the 2G networks for accessing the network. The UE can initiate scanning on a GERAN upon receiving the message from the network. The process of scanning for the UTRAN, receiving the message from the network, and initiating the scanning of a GERAN can cause delay in identifying a suitable RAT. Once the UE identifies a suitable RAT, the UE sends a CM service request to the selected RAT. According to the present procedure, after ESR procedures fails due to a lower layer failure, the UE selects the 3G RAT, but the network can be configured with only LTE and 2G networks. So a long delay can be experienced before the call is established.
So, in case of temporary or radio failure causes according to the 3GPP specification (e.g. 3GPP 24.301 TS), it is mentioned that the UE should move to a GERAN/UTRAN. Currently, there is no method to identify to which RAT a UE should move in case of a voice call pending, while the UE was on LTE. Therefore, maintaining the mapped LAI, SIM and RAT information when the UE successfully performs registration using one SIM will help the other SIMs to camp on to a cell immediately and process the CS call without a long delay.
Thus, there is a need for a system and method that can obtain RAT related information on a UE side locally using the CSFB call success information when a call is triggered on one SIM to overcome the problems discussed herein above.

Method and system to reduce delay in circuit switch fallback (CSFB) procedures while operating with multi/dual SIMs


A combined control and regulating valve (1) having a housing (2) with an inlet (3) and an outlet (4) as well as a partition (5) between said inlet and outlet and having a seat (6) designed for an interaction with a main valve body (7), which is adjustable from outside. Said inlet and said outlet are connected to one measuring nipple each (31-39 and 41-49 respectively) for the measurement and the control of temperature and/or pressure. One of the measuring nipples (41-49) is designed as a multiple function nipple (50) having a cutt-off-function designed to interact with a seat (53) in a passage (40), which receives said nipple. In a housing neck (55), which encloses said nipple, are access openings (56) disposed, through which e.g. water can be discharged or filled, when said nipple is in its outer screwing position. Said neck is enclosed by a completely closed casing (57) or a casing (57') having a connection (60), which casing is retained by means of a nut (66) screwable on said neck, said nut having an opening (67), through which the outer end of said measuring nipple projects, at which end the nipple is provided with an inner insertion and control opening (38) as well as a cover (37), which covers said opening.

Such valves are used e.g. in heating and cooling systems as well as in tap water systems and they are designed to regulate and cut off respectively a liquid flow, allow a measurement of the pressure difference, allow a discharge and/or filling of liquid and/or a temperature measurement. This valve suitably is designed to allow a presetting of the liquid flow, e.g. by means of the wheel, which is manually controlled or driven by a motor.
The valves used so far for this purpose are often very complicated and expensive to produce, assemble and mount as well as to handle. Also, the various functions are usually not present in one existing valve construction or they are distributed in a not advantageous way, which makes at least some part or a few parts of the valve difficult to access, since such valves often are mounted in positions which are difficult to access. Also, there may be an increased risk of leakage and above all it is difficult or impossible to optimize the known valves as to various combinations of purposes and differently conceived plants, i.e. it is difficult to adjust the known valves to varying needs in a quick and simple way.
Such previously known valves are exemplified in EP-A2-0221464, in which alternative functions are mentioned as such, but without any specific illustration or description. EP-A1-0153427 is a typical example of separately provided measuring and tapping/refilling connectors (FIG. 1). Despite common base or connector for these functions, this is the case as well with GB-A-1 110 157, in which a connector branch houses a shut-off or throttling valve, while a different connector branch may be connected to arbitrary apparatus.

Apparatus for measurement and control, respectively, of temperature and/or pressure


A semiconductor memory device includes a substrate having a cell region and a peripheral region, a gate stack including a plurality of insulating layers and a plurality of gates alternately stacked on the cell region of the substrate, a stress buffer layer on the gate stack, a vertical channel that extends vertically through the gate stack and is electrically connected to the substrate, a memory layer wrapped around the vertical channel. A bit line electrically connected to the vertical channel may be provided on the gate stack. In a method of fabricating a semiconductor device, the buffer stress layer is formed directly on an upper insulating layer of a stack whose shape is altered to form the gate stack to inhibit warping of the substrate during fabrication of the device.

The inventive concept relates to semiconductor devices and methods of fabricating the same. In particular, the inventive concept relates to three-dimensional semiconductor memory devices, having vertical channels, and methods of fabricating the same.
In general, many kinds of layers are formed by deposition and patterning processes on a substrate in the manufacturing of semiconductor memory devices. In the case of a three-dimensional semiconductor memory device such as a vertical NAND flash memory, many different kinds of layers, namely, insulating and conductive layers, need to be formed one atop the other on the upper surface of a substrate, and openings through these layers need to be formed and filled to produce features of the device such as the vertical channels. The substrate should remain relatively planar or flat throughout the course of the fabrication process to prevent process failures and poor electrical characteristics.

Semiconductor memory devices and methods for fabricating the same


A detergent emulsifier for laundry and other hard surface cleaning using an APE-free surfactant blend is disclosed. The emulsifier system is efficacious for removal of oily soils and greasy food removal. The compositions according to the invention include linear and branched fatty alcohol ethoxylates and ethoxylate propoxylate block copolymers. Methods of using the same are disclosed.

Conventional detergents used in the laundering industries and various other cleaning applications, particularly those intended for institutional use, generally contain alkyl phenol ethoxylates (APEs). APEs are used in detergents as a cleanser and a degreaser for their effectiveness at removing soils containing grease from a variety of surfaces. Commonly used APEs include nonyl phenol ethoxylates (NPE) surfactants.
However, while effective, APEs are disfavored due to environmental concerns. For example, NPEs are formed through the combination of ethylene oxide with nonylphenol (NP). Both NP and NPEs exhibit estrogen-like properties and may contaminate water, vegetation and marine life. NPE is also not readily biodegradable and remains in the environment or food chain for indefinite time periods. There is therefore a need in the art for an environmentally friendly and biodegradable alternative that can replace APEs in hard surface cleaners and laundry detergents.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the claimed invention to develop NPE-free laundry detergent emulsifiers and other hard surface cleaning detergent emulsifiers.
A further object of the invention is to provide NPE-free laundry detergents and other hard surface cleaning detergents that provide effective soil removal, including oily soils, such that organic grease, fat and oils are emulsified.
A further object of the invention is to provide the NPE-free compositions without using harsh solvents in place of the NPEs or other APEs, which again may cause environmental concerns such as high content of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), biodegradability, aqua toxicity, etc.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention relates to a method of determining at least one traffic route in an MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) network. In this route determining method, when a traffic is arrived at an ingress edge router, the edge router removes links of remaining capacity below the traffic demand from all links of a given MPLS network to produce the first network topology, calculates distance of every link of the first network topology based on current traffic flowing each link and the traffic demand, determines the first route for the traffic demand based on the calculated distance information; removes links of remaining capacity below the traffic demand and links belonging to the first route from the MPLS network to produce the second network topology, calculates every link distance of the second topology based on current traffic flowing each link and the traffic demand, determines the second route for the traffic demand based on the distance information obtained from the second topology, partitions the arrived traffic into two portions, and allocates the two portions to the first and the second route, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of determining at least one traffic route in an MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) network.
2. Description of the Related Art
An MPLS ensures quality of service (QoS) for a traffic transported through an IP (Internet Protocol) network and efficient use of network resources. Therefore, it is spotlighted in traffic engineering field.
The MPLS traffic engineering determines an LSP (Label Switched Path) in various ways to appropriately accept a variety of QoS demands for users' IP packets. The LSP is a point-to-point (PTP) path connecting from an ingress to an egress edge router.
The IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) committee is under discussion about reroute, protection switching, and fast reroute in determining an LSP to prepare against unexpected network fault. The methods of protection switching and fast reroute reserve a backup path for a primary LSP to prepare against network fault. However, when a backup path is reserved, some bandwidth of the backup path is reserved and is not able to be used for other traffic.
Another method has been proposed to resolve such a drawback. In this method, a reserved backup path is used for other traffic demanding low QoS in case of normally-operative network and for a traffic of primary LSP in case of faulty network.
Despite such an improved method, new methods are still demanded to prepare for network fault while reducing a bandwidth allocated for a backup path as possible as it can.
In addition, conventional methods consider only current traffic being routed through network as link or node cost in LSP determination. In other words, they do not consider traffic to be routed at all, which restricts the most optimal path determination from an overall network point of view. Therefore, such conventional methods reveal low efficiency of traffic engineering.
In the meantime, due to rapid growth of an IP base network, various multimedia services such as VoIP, VOD, AOD, on-line movie, and video conference are being demanded. Many of those multi-media services require a point-to-multipoint (PTM) tree. If a PTM multimedia service is provided through PTP LSPs, use efficiency of network resources becomes worse and/or management of QoS becomes not easy. This is because multicast traffic is routed through a unicast way.
In the Internet proposal room of the IETF committee, many ways to distribute MPLS label are being listed up. Those many ways use PIM-SM or PIM-DM which is conventional multicast IP protocol. Besides the proposed many ways, MPLS multicasting way is being standardized in the IETF.
However, since tree determining methods of existing multicast protocols proposed until now are all receiver-based, it is not easy to reflect intentions of a service provider or users appropriately. Furthermore, a multicast traffic transporting method using an existing PTP path determining way can not use network resources efficiently, which results in deterioration of service quality.
In addition, all existing tree determining methods consider only current network state, namely they do not consider traffic to be routed at all, which causes a problem that traffic load is not distributed uniformly over an overall network.

Route determining method in a multi protocol label switching network


A semiconductor integrated circuit structure includes a plurality of diodes disposed in the substrate. These diodes are electrically coupled in series. At least one insertion region is disposed in the substrate between two of the diodes and a supply voltage node electrically coupled to the insertion region. Preferably, a guard ring surrounds the diodes.

It is well known that extremely high voltages can develop in the vicinity of an integrated circuit due to the build-up of static charge. A high potential may be generated to an input or output buffer of the integrated circuit, which may occur by a person simply touching a package pin that is in electrical contact with an input or output buffer of the integrated circuit. Upon electrostatic discharge, a high current is produced at the package nodes of the integrated circuit. Due to the potential of destroying the entire integrated circuit, ElectroStatic Discharge (ESD) is a serious problem for semiconductor devices.
One difficulty in designing ESD protection circuits is based on the demanding performance requirements that must be met. The characteristics of most semiconductor devices are such that they can be damaged even when subjected to very short duration transient voltages. Therefore, over voltage protection devices such as fuses and circuit breakers that operate on a thermal principal ordinarily respond much too slowly and usually cannot be relied upon to adequately protect semiconductor devices.
For this reason, it is rapidly becoming a known practice to incorporate an ESD protection system in the circuitry itself. Traditionally, a diode string is used. FIG. 1 is a schematic of a typical diode string 110 that includes four diodes 1141-1144 (any one of which can be referred to as diode 114) formed in a silicon substrate (shown in FIG. 2). The circuit 100 also includes a reverse diode 112. Each diode 114 has a voltage called the threshold voltage or turn on voltage. When a voltage applied in the forward direction exceeds the turn on voltage of a diode, the diode changes to an "on" or conducting state. In the case of ESD protection, static charges are discharged through the diode string 110, and the voltage that can be applied on any one diode 114 is limited even though the current may be high. The diode string 110 also has a turn on voltage at which all diodes 114 change to a conducting state and the diode string 110 starts conducting. When the diode string 110 is turned on, static charges are discharged through the diode string, and the voltage between Vdd and Vss is brought down. During a positive voltage transient, the diode string 110 turns on and sinks ESD current, and during a negative voltage transient, the reverse diode 112 turns on and sinks the ESD current.

Semiconductor structure and method for ESD protection

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


With regard to the present invention, valves are modularized so as to improve operativity, and the valves are formed by one member and changed the arrangement thereof so as to be miniaturized, thereby making the maintain work easy. Namely, a PTO rear cover 3c, in which a PTO driving mechanism having a PTO clutch 28 is housed, is attached to a rear end of a rear housing 3 of a vehicle body, PTO valve equipment 72 controlling on/off of the PTO clutch 28 is provided integrally with the PTO rear cover 3c, and an oil passage communicating the PTO valve equipment 72 with the PTO clutch 28 and a hydraulic port are formed in the inside of the PTO rear cover 3c. A plurality of valves is provided so as to control operation of a forward/rearward travel selector 210 and fixed to one of side surfaces of a front housing 201, an attachment member 281 formed by one plate-like member touches the vehicle body housing 201, and the valves are arranged on substantial same plane in parallel to the touching surface.

Conventionally, as described in Patent Literature 1, for example, PTO valve equipment of a working vehicle is well known. With regard to the PTO valve equipment described in Patent Literature 1, a rear end of a rear housing of a vehicle body is covered by a PTO rear cover, and the PTO rear cover supports tips of a brake support shaft of a brake braking a clutch housing of a PTO clutch, a clutch shaft, and a PTO shaft, so as to construct a sub assembly. Accordingly, the sub assembly is built in the vehicle body simultaneously when attaching the PTO rear cover to the rear end of the rear housing.
However, with regard to the PTO rear cover which is attached to power take off equipment of the working vehicle, modularization of the PTO valve equipment is not considered, and switching from a mechanical PTO clutch to a hydraulic PTO clutch is not considered. Since the conventional PTO valve equipment is positioned far from the PTO clutch mechanism, oil pressure is lost in piping and the like between the PTO valve equipment and the PTO clutch mechanism, whereby control pressure of oil is changed and the control is unstable.
On the other hand, with regard to a working vehicle such as a tractor, a forward/rearward travel selector, a high/low speed selector (transmission), and the like is disposed in a clutch housing or a transmission casing (hereinafter, referred to as a vehicle body housing). Among other things, the forward/rearward travel selector is controlled by a forward traveling hydraulic clutch and a rearward traveling hydraulic clutch so as to switch the traveling direction of the working vehicle. The equipment in which valves controlling the operation of the forward/rearward travel selector are inserted is referred to as control valve equipment, and arranging the equipment on one of the sides of the vehicle body housing is known (for example, see Patent Literatures 2 and 3).
With regard to Patent Literatures 2 and 3, construction of the control valve equipment shown in FIG. 19 is disclosed. Namely, the control valve equipment 469 is inserted into an opening 451 in one of side walls of a front housing 401 of a vehicle body housing so as to be fixed to the front housing 401. The control valve equipment 469 comprises a plate member 469a along the outer surface of the side wall of the front housing 401, an outer housing member 469b along the plate member 469a through a thin partition 450, and an inner housing member 469c along the inner surface of the outer housing member 469b, and positioned in the front housing 401.
The plate member 469a is screwed to the outer housing member 469b through the partition 450 by bolts, and the inner housing member 469c is screwed to the inner side of the plate member 469a. With regard to these members, the plate member 469a is used mainly to form an oil passage, and a connection oil passage between the plate member 469a and the outer housing member 469b is formed in the partition 450. An oil passage connecting the oil passage in the plate member 469a to the oil passage in the inner housing member 469c is arranged to face them.
A housing part 469d is formed on the outer side surface of the outer housing member 469b of the control valve equipment 469 a main relief valve 471, which controls the flow rate of pressure oil, and a directional control valve 470 are provided in the housing part 469d vertically with each other and along the longitudinal direction. A relief valve 472, a flow rate control valve 473 and an oil passage shut-off valve 474 are arranged along the longitudinal direction.
Accordingly, the conventional control valve equipment is attached separately from the forward/rearward travel selector and the like, whereby the forward/rearward travel selector can be built in the vehicle body housing easily. Furthermore, the conventional control valve equipment can be fixed to the side wall of the vehicle body housing easily, whereby the control valve equipment itself also can be attached easily.
However, since the valves are arranged laterally, the lateral width of the conventional control valve equipment is large. Furthermore, the equipment comprises plural members, making it difficult to construct the equipment compactly. A vehicle body frame is disposed longitudinally at the lateral center of a platform, and fuel tanks are arranged at left and right sides of the vehicle body frame. Then, the control valve equipment is disposed on one of the side walls of the vehicle body frame so as to be positioned in a gap between the fuel tank and the vehicle body frame. Accordingly, if the lateral width of the control valve equipment is large, the capacity of the fuel tanks arranged at left and right sides of the vehicle body frame cannot be increased.
To detach the valves from the control valve equipment so as to maintain or exchange the valves, it is necessary to remove the control valve equipment from the vehicle body frame temporarily so as to take out the valves disposed inside. This work is troublesome because the fuel tanks are arranged at left and right sides of the vehicle body frame. Even if the valves are disposed on the side surface of the control valve equipment and along the lateral direction of the vehicle body frame, it is not easy to remove the valves.
Moreover, the control valve equipment disclosed in Patent Literatures 2 and 3 is arranged by providing an opening in the side wall of the vehicle body frame. Accordingly, the production process becomes complex so as to form the opening separately, thereby improving the production cost.
Patent Literature 1: the Japanese Patent Laid Open Gazette 2003-94970Patent Literature 2: the Japanese Patent Laid Open Gazette Hei.8-156620Patent Literature 3: the Japanese Patent Laid Open Gazette Hei.8-277802

Hydraulic valve equipment of working vehicle


A mechanism which enables management of frequency resources while suppressing a calculation amount under an environment where location information of a communication device changes. A management server including: a creating unit to create list information; an acquiring unit to acquire a step size relating to transmission power setting of the communication device; a re-creation judging unit to judge whether or not to re-create the list information based on first location information when the list information has been created last time, second location information to be judged and the step size; and a notification unit to notify the communication device which uses the list information, of the re-created list information in a case where it is judged to re-create the list information and the list information created last time in a case where it is judged not to re-create the list information.

In recent years, various kinds of radio systems such as a cellular network, a wireless local area network (LAN), a TV broadcasting system, a satellite communication system, and program making special events (PMSE) are in widespread use. To allow each radio system to normally operate, it is desirable that frequency resources to be utilized are managed so that interference does not occur among the radio systems. This is also similarly desirable among local networks included in one radio system.
Regarding management of frequency resources, as one measure for alleviating depletion of frequency resources in the future, frequency sharing is studied. For example, a mechanism for causing a frequency channel allocated to one radio system to be temporarily utilized by another radio system is studied. There is a case where such a mechanism is also referred to as frequency secondary utilization. In general, a system to which a frequency channel has been allocated by priority is called a primary system, and a system that secondarily utilizes the frequency channel is called a secondary system.
A number of technologies for appropriately managing frequency resources have been developed. For example, the following Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology of suppressing a case where communication by base stations becomes a cause of interference by frequencies being allocated in accordance with locations of the base stations.

Management server, communication device, method and recording medium


An ink supply system includes a recording apparatus and an ink cartridge. The recording apparatus has a recording head, configured to discharge ink, includes an ink storage chamber for storing ink therein and a plurality of ink receiving portions communicating with the ink storage chamber. The ink cartridge, detachably attached to the recording apparatus, contains ink and has a plurality of ink supply portions for supplying ink to the recording head. The recording head has a first positioning component between at least a pair of adjacent ink receiving portions, and the ink cartridge has a second positioning component provided between a corresponding pair of adjacent ink supply portions. The first and second positioning components are configured to engage each other so as to align the plurality of ink receiving portions and the plurality of ink supply portions relative to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink supply system, which is typified by an ink jet recording apparatus, and an ink cartridge.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, the so-called pit-in (pit-stop) ink supply method has been known as one of methods for supplying ink to a liquid discharge head (ink jet head). In the pit-in ink supply method, there are provided a liquid storage container (sub-tank) for supplying a liquid to the liquid discharge head, and a liquid replenishing container (ink cartridge serving as a main tank) for replenishing the liquid storage container (sub-tank) with the liquid. A head cartridge, on which the sub-tank and the ink jet head are integrally mounted, is mounted on a carriage. Then, the carriage is moved to a predetermined position, in which a liquid supply member that is provided in a portion of the sub-tank is made to be connected to the liquid replenishing container (ink cartridge), so that the sub-tank is replenished with the liquid.
For the replenishment with ink using the pit-in ink supply method, it becomes necessary to have such an arrangement as to replenish the liquid storage container with a predetermined amount of ink neither too much nor too little. Accordingly, it becomes necessary to properly connect the liquid supply member that is provided in a portion of the liquid storage container to the liquid replenishing container (ink cartridge). Moreover, since the replenishment of the liquid storage container with ink is performed a number of times depending on the consumption of ink, the reliability and durability to be obtained when the liquid supply member that is provided in a portion of the liquid storage container is connected to the liquid replenishing container (ink cartridge) become important. Furthermore, in order to maximize the reliability obtained after the completion of such a connection, it is necessary to connect the liquid supply member that is provided in a portion of the liquid storage container to a predetermined supply portion of the ink cartridge with high precision.
Therefore, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 01-141750, there is disclosed, as one of commonly-used connection methods, an ink jet recording apparatus in which a part of the ink cartridge is provided with a protruding portion or portions for guiding the ink cartridge. The ink cartridge is locked and positioned relative to the ink jet recording apparatus by means of the protruding portion or portions.
In addition, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,631, there is disclosed an ink supply system in which a claw portion is provided on the surface of the ink supply port of an ink cartridge and a mounting portion for engagement with the claw portion is provided in an ink jet recording apparatus, and a projection of the claw portion serves to prevent the ink cartridge from being inserted into the main body of the ink jet recording apparatus in an erroneous manner and also serves as a latch for opening and closing of a cover of the ink jet recording apparatus when the ink cartridge is inserted.
Furthermore, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-127444, there is disclosed an ink supply system in which a positioning pin is provided on an ink cartridge and a positioning hole corresponding to the positioning pin is provided on the side of a holder for the ink cartridge, so that the precision of connection in the ink supply portion can be assured with the engagement between the positioning pin and the positioning hole.
In addition, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,780, there is disclosed an ink supply system in which a positioning pin and an ink supply pipe are fixedly held at an interval and a mechanism for making a positioning-pin receiving portion and an ink-supply-pipe coupling portion integrally slidable relative to the positioning pin and the ink supply pipe is provided, so that the sliding portion is displaced in response to the coupling between the ink cartridge and the ink jet recording apparatus so as to perform positioning. There is also disclosed another ink supply system in which, conversely, the positioning-pin receiving portion and the ink-supply-pipe coupling portion are fixed and a mechanism for making the positioning pin and the ink supply pipe integrally slidable relative to the positioning-pin receiving portion and the ink-supply-pipe coupling portion is provided, so that the sliding portion is displaced in response to the coupling between the ink cartridge and the ink jet recording apparatus so as to perform positioning.
The ink cartridge positioning methods disclosed in the above-mentioned examples of prior art can be said to have been devised on the premise that an ink cartridge would be loaded into the ink jet recording apparatus only once or several times by an ordinary user. However, in cases where the replenishment of the sub-tank with ink is performed with the action of connecting the liquid supply member that is provided in a portion of the sub-tank to the liquid replenishing container (ink cartridge), as described in the foregoing, the sub-tank will be replenished with ink a plurality of times depending on the consumption of ink, and there is a probability that the replenishment of the sub-tank with ink will be performed several tens of times to several hundred times due to the use of a high-capacity ink cartridge. Therefore, there are required the high reliability and high durability in long-term use to be obtained when the liquid supply member that is provided in a portion of the liquid storage container is connected to the liquid replenishing container (ink cartridge).
In addition, on the other hand, in recent ink jet recording apparatuses, compatibility with color recording has been advancing, and such a type of ink jet recording apparatus that forms a color image by superimposing droplets by means of a plurality of color ink jet heads has come into wide use. In general, in color recording, there are three or four kinds of ink jet heads and ink cartridges corresponding to three primary colors, i.e., yellow (Y), magenta (M) and cyan (C), or four colors including black (B) in addition to the three primary colors.
In these days, ink jet recording apparatuses having ink jet heads for three or four colors mounted thereon to form a color image have been in practical use. Also, ink jet recording apparatuses capable of forming a high-definition image with photographic accuracy through the use of inks of six colors including light magenta (LM) and light cyan (LC) in addition to the above-mentioned four colors have been in practical use.
Accordingly, ink storage containers for inks of a plurality of colors come to be included in a single ink cartridge, and, therefore, it becomes necessary to perform ink replenishment (connection or coupling) individually for each color.
However, if a claw or pin such as that disclosed in the above-mentioned examples of prior art is provided in each of the connection portions for inks of a plurality of colors, an ink cartridge would increase in size.
Furthermore, in the embodiments disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,780, since the sliding mechanism is provided on the side of the ink supply pipe or, conversely, on the side of the ink-supply-pipe coupling portion, an ink cartridge would tend to increase in size. Also, in cases where inks of a plurality of colors are used with the ink supply system having such a sliding mechanism, the sliding mechanism is required to be provided for each of coupled portions between the ink supply pipe and the ink-supply-pipe coupling portion for inks of a plurality of colors, so that such an ink supply system can not be said to be adapted to a small-sized printer. Further, in the case of a printer in which the ink replenishment (connection or coupling) is assumed to be performed a great number of times (several tens of times to several hundred times), there is a possibility that the sliding mechanism itself might deteriorate, so that it becomes necessary to improve durability of the sliding mechanism.
On the other hand, if, in order to prevent the ink cartridge from increasing in size, a single claw or pin is used to perform positioning of a plurality of coupled portions, it becomes difficult to absorb variations in the coupled portions, so that the precision of connection or coupling would diminish. Further, there is a probability that, as the precision of positioning lowers, surplus ink occurring at the time of connection or coupling will remain in the ink supply portion or the like of the ink cartridge. Such surplus ink will accumulate gradually according to the repetition of the above-mentioned connecting or coupling operation and then will spread over the ink supply portion, so that there is a possibility that inks of different colors will be mixed to cause a phenomenon of color mixture.
If the mixed inks of different colors are accidentally loaded into the liquid supply member that is provided in a portion of the sub-tank, the color of ink as discharged would vary, thereby lowering image quality and hindering the reliability of recording from being assured.


A stroller is convertible between an unfolded state and a folded state, and includes a wheel frame, a brace member and a handle frame. The handle frame includes two inclined swing rods connected pivotally to the wheel frame, and a handle rod disposed above and connected pivotally to the swing rods. The brace member interconnects the wheel frame and the swing rods so as to prevent rotation of the swing rods relative to the wheel frame. After two sliding sleeves are moved upwardly on the handle rod, the handle rod can be pivoted forwardly relative to the swing rods so as to fold the stroller.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stroller, and more particularly to a foldable stroller.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,574 discloses a foldable stroller that is convertible between an unfolded state and a folded state. However, the foldable stroller is hard to fold.

Foldable stroller with a control cable operable to allow for folding of the stroller


A system for transporting a carrying plate may include a lifting assembly comprising a carriage, and a carrying assembly. The lifting assembly may include a carriage having one or more lifting arms configured to lift the carrying assembly at least in part by one or more carrying arms of the carrying assembly. A carrying assembly may include a perimeter frame surrounding a perimeter of a carrying plate, one or more carrying arms attached to the perimeter frame, and one or more indexing pins extending or extensible inwardly from the perimeter frame. The one or more indexing pins may detachably secure the carrying plate to the perimeter frame. A method of transporting a carrying plate may include detachably securing a carrying plate to a perimeter frame of a carrying assembly and transporting the carrying assembly with a lifting assembly.

Additive manufacturing systems that utilize a powder bed fusion (PBF) technology to additively manufacture components generally involve selectively solidifying sequential layers of a powder material by exposing selected regions of the sequential layers to an energy beam such as a laser or an electron beam that melts or sinters the powder material. The layers of powder material are supported by a build platform that is sequentially lowered into a build chamber in concert with the addition of sequential layers of powder material. At the completion of a build, the build platform has been lowered into the build chamber, with the build chamber housing a volume of unsolidified power material surrounding the additively manufactured component or components.
To remove the additively manufactured components from the build chamber, generally the build platform is raised towards the top of the build chamber, revealing the volume of unsolidified powder material. The additively manufactured components are unpacked from the unsolidified powder using an unpacking process that may involve the use of manual or automated unpacking tools such as vacuums, blowers, brushes and so forth. The unpacking process may take place at the same location where the components were additively manufactured and/or at an unpacking station located elsewhere in the additive manufacturing system. After unpacking, the additively manufactured components may be subjected to various finishing processes that may include thermal, mechanical, and/or chemical treatments to give the additively manufactured components desired strength, surface finish, and other properties or features.
At some point in the additive manufacturing process, the additively manufactured components may be removed from a workstation, such as a manufacturing or processing station, and/or transported from one workstation to another workstation, either before or after unpacking the components from the unsolidified powder. However, there are several challenges involved with moving or transporting additively manufactured components, whether alone or together with unsolidified powder material. The components may exceed weight or ergonomic limitations of workers, whether being transported individually or together with unsolidified powder material. Additionally, the powder material presents health and safety hazards attributable to the composition of the material and small size of the powder particles. Further, some components may have intricate features that call for careful handling, and some components and/or powder material may be sensitive to contaminants. Still further, some additive manufacturing systems or production processes may call for transporting at a time when the components and/or powder material are at a high temperature.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved apparatuses and related systems and methods for transporting additively manufactured components and powder materials, such as additively manufactured components that are surrounded by unsolidified powder material and/or that are fixed or secured to a carrying plate upon which the components were additively manufactured.

Apparatuses and related systems and methods for transporting carrying plates for an additive manufacturing machine or system


A system and method for operating a Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) system. The method includes receiving images from an infrared (IR) camera, determining whether a non-uniform noise exists within the received images, performing a calibration, upon determining that the non-uniform noise exists, performing a Non-Uniformity Correction (NUC) on the IR, upon determining that there is residual non-uniform noise, after performing the calibration, and determining that the IR camera has not detected a moving object that is approaching the IR camera, determining whether a Field of View (FOV) of the IR camera is occluded, after performing the NUC, and cleaning the IR camera, upon determining that the FOV of the infrared camera is occluded.

Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) is a communication model that allows vehicles to share information with the infrastructures and components that make up a road system. The components may include traffic lights, lane markers, streetlights, road signs, parking meters, building structures, or the like. Data may be gathered in real-time from sensors mounted on these components and sent to a vehicle over a network to deliver warnings on road conditions, traffic congestion, potential obstacles, and parking availability. Other systems may also use both infrastructure and vehicle data to optimize traffic flow and increase fuel economy of vehicles, while promoting safety to both the driver and the pedestrians on the road.
Typically, sensors used in V2I system include video cameras, Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR), ultrasonic sensors, and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), and other stationary sensors mounted at fixed locations with good visibility of traffic objects outside of moving vehicles. V2I systems may also add to information that cannot be adequately captured by sensors mounted on a vehicle. For example, a V2I system may include an RGB camera mounted on a pole at an intersection that is adapted to capture and analyze videos of vehicles and pedestrians approaching the intersection, and transmit the information to vehicles approaching from around the corner.
Since V2I systems are stationary and are not placed on vehicles, and cost of the systems may be shared by the members of the public that use these systems, rather than by individual vehicle owners, V2I systems may augment the analytical capabilities of sensors mounted on vehicles in Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) systems by having sensors mounted at view angles and positions, with increased sensor sensitivities, enhanced resolutions, increased detection ranges, and larger field of view, without limitations to size, position location, and cost restrictions that would apply to V2V systems that are installed on individual vehicles.
However, the various sensing modalities are limited in their field of view, and are unable to perform in all-weather conditions. The performance of these devices is particularly poor under foul weather or at night. For example, even during fair weather conditions under bright daylight, video cameras may be rendered useless by glare from sunlight and snow reflection. Also, at night, additional active lighting is necessary for the video camera to discern objects far away, which consume much electrical energy. Further, video cameras may not be useful under heavy rain or fog.
Radar, while being able to discern relative speed of objects, is unable to discern details of the objects. Further, ultrasonic sensors can only sense nearby object, and at low resolution. Additionally, while LIDAR may be able to create three dimensional images of objects and give depth perception, the range is still limited, and sensing may be obfuscated in rainy or foggy conditions.
Overall, the various systems described do not work well under compromised weather conditions or at night.
Additionally, when imagers of different modalities are fixed on an infrastructure for an extended period of time, as is the case in V2I applications, noise may build up in the image produced that degrade the quality of the image, making it difficult for the onboard processors to distinguish different objects that are detected over time.
In view of the above discussion, there is a need for a V2I system using a different modality that would overcome the deficiencies noted above.

Vehicle to infrastructure system and method with long wave infrared capability