A twist mechanism for twisting a rotary-wing blade (2). A twist member (8) is movable by an actuator (11) of the centrifugal force type, which twist member has at least one flyweight (14) for driving a rotary member (13) about a pivot axis (A). The flyweight (14) is radially movable on the rotary member (13) by movement means. The centrifugal force FC to which the flyweight (14) is subjected as a result of the blade (2) being caused to rotate induces drive torque CM for causing the rotary member (13) to pivot, thereby causing the twist member (8) to be moved. The twist member (8) is in engagement with the blade (2) at its free end and is connected to the rotary member (13) via remote mechanical transmission means (12).

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of rotary-wing aircraft, such as rotorcraft equipped with at least one blade-carrying rotor, and it relates more specifically to mechanisms that equip such rotors in order to put the blades under stress by twisting them in their general plane of extension. The present invention relates to such a twist mechanism that is incorporable into a blade and that uses an actuator for actuating a twist member that is in engagement with the blade, in particular at the free end thereof. The present invention also relates to the associated blade.
(2) Background Art
Rotary-wing aircraft use a rotor to procure at least lift if not also propulsion. The rotary wing is made up of a plurality of blades that are distributed radially and that are carried individually by the hub of the rotor for being driven in rotation. A blade of the main rotor of a rotorcraft exerts lift when it is driven in rotation in order to procure lift for the rotorcraft. Flight controls are used to issue commands for changing the aerodynamic characteristics of the blades in order to act on the behavior of the rotorcraft as it is flying, by causing the angle of inclination of their surfaces of extension to vary relatively to the relative wind.
A blade is an airfoil that is highly elongate. A blade root end for anchoring the blade is assigned to engaging it with the hub of the rotor, its opposite end being considered to be a free end. The blade extends along its span over its surface of extension in a longitudinal dimension considered along a longitudinal axis between its anchor end and its free end, and in a transverse dimension considered between a leading edge and a trailing edge, which edges are opposite from each other. In the transverse dimension of the blade, which dimension is, in general, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, there is defined a chord relative to which a camber line is formed and there are defined relationships of thickness on either side of said camber line so as to form, respectively, the suction-side surface and the pressure-side surface of each profile of the blade. Using various flight controls of the rotorcraft, the aerodynamic characteristics of the blades are modified by varying their pitch angle about the longitudinal axis that is referred to as the "pitch axis" and that extends in their longitudinal dimension. A cyclic flight control serves to modify the angle of incidence of the blades cyclically so as to influence the aerodynamic incidence of the blades and therefore so as to influence the progress of the rotorcraft, according to roll movements and pitching movements. A flight control modifying the collective pitch of the blades makes it possible to vary the altitude at which the rotorcraft is progressing.
The speed at which the rotorcraft progresses depends on the dissymmetry of the speeds between respectively an advancing blade that progresses from the rear towards the front of the rotorcraft, and a retreating blade that progresses in the opposite direction from the front towards the rear of the rotorcraft. The flow of air along the profile of the blades is determined by the shapes of their profiles, and varies depending on the situations in which the blades are placed during their rotation as advancing blade or as retreating blade. Such a variation in speed of air flow is commonly compensated by means of varying the angle of incidence of the blades, but it is observed that, as from a given angle of incidence, the retreating blade is placed in a stall situation. The speed of air flow over the retreating blade can be very low or indeed negative in a zone close to the hub of the rotor. Airstream separation is induced at the leading edge or at the trailing edge, resulting in a sudden drop in the lift procured by the blade if such separation propagates over a zone of longitudinal extension of the blade that is significant relative to its length. In addition, the airstream separation generates a vortex that is a source of vibrations and of an increase in the drag coefficient of the profile of the blade.
In order to avoid such a blade stall phenomenon, it is known that it is possible to twist the surface of extension of the blade in its longitudinal dimension. The twist of the blade may be permanent by being designed into it. However, it has become apparent that actively twisting the blade while the aircraft is in flight improves the performance of the rotary wing. The active twisting of the blades may be adapted according to rotary wing drive conditions and of the progress conditions of the rotorcraft.
Causing the blade to twist induces a progressive variation of incidence of profiles of the blade, between its free end and its anchor end, thereby making it possible to adapt each profile of the blade locally to suit the air flow speed between its leading edge and its trailing edge. In one general organization of a twist mechanism for twisting the blade, a twist member is put into engagement with the blade between its ends, and more particularly at its free end. Moving the twist member causes the blade to be put under torsion stress from one of its ends to the other end, thereby causing it to twist. In order to actuate the twist member, the rotor is equipped with means for moving the twist member, which means include a power source for powering an actuator of the twist member. Control means regulate activation of the actuator, in particular according to flight parameters, by being used in compliance with predefined flight commands and/or selectively by the pilot by means of manual control members.
For example, in Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,589 (BERGEY KARL H), the twist member is arranged as a ballast that is carried by the blade at its leading edge. The ballast is mounted to move in translation along the blade between the ends thereof, the ballast being moved by the actuator thereby locally generating torsion stress on the blade, thereby causing it to twist. The magnitude of the twisting of the blade varies depending on the position of the ballast between its ends, which ballast is moved by the actuator according to the flight conditions and/or of flight procedures. The actuator is an electrically driven member that is connected to the ballast via a mechanical transmission mechanism, such as of the type having a wheel and a worm screw. The actuator and the transmission mechanism are housed inside the blade, the actuator being electrically powered from the on-board power supply network of the rotorcraft.
Other ways of actively twisting the blade are known, such as using a shape-deforming element that is in engagement with and/or that is incorporated in the skin of the blade that forms its outside wall and that defines its suction-side and pressure-side surfaces. For example, the actuator may be of the piezoelectric type for urging the element to deform, and it may be powered from the on-board network of the rotorcraft. The magnitude of the twisting of the blade varies depending on the stress applied to urge the element to deform, while being caused by the piezoelectric means being activated by the control means according to the flight conditions and/or of the flight procedures. For example, reference can be made to Document US 2007/205332 (ONERA) that describes a blade twist mechanism of that type.
It is also known that it is possible to mount a flap hinged to the free end of a blade, and to move it so as to tilt it in flight using control means that are activated by the pilot. For example, in EP 0 734 947 (INST ADV TECH HELICOPTER LTD), such a flap is used to procure incidence for a blade. The flap is movable by an actuator that is housed inside the blade and that is in communication with the flap via a transmission mechanism having hinged links. The actuator is an electric motor member that is powered from an on-board network of the rotorcraft.
A problem that arises lies in the ways of mounting, inside a blade, an active twist mechanism of the type suitable for putting the blade under torsion stress according to flight commands issued by the pilot. Account needs to be taken of the facts that the space available inside the blade is small and that incorporating the twist mechanism for twisting the blade should not give rise to imbalance or disturb the behavior of the blade when it is driven in rotation. In addition, the twist mechanism must be compact but nevertheless robust and reliable, and incorporating it into the internal volume of the blade must be made safe in view of the hostile environment in which it is placed. The twist mechanism is subjected to large amounts of vibration and of mechanical stress due to the rotary wing rotating, and the way it is mounted inside the blade must be adapted accordingly.
The actuators used to twist the blades are piezoelectric or electromechanical power members, use of which involves grouping together structural means that are complex and costly. Such structural means must procure reliable and safe operation of the actuators with regard to the electrical nature of their energy source and to the hostile environment in which they are mounted. The actuators are movement-producing means having developed power that must be adapted to suit moving the twist members, while being sufficient to deform the surface of extension of the blade, and finally the blade as a whole. The structure of the actuators is complex, it being made up of numerous heavy and/or voluminous members, such as coils, magnets, and pins. The electrical power supply for powering the actuators from the on-board network of the rotorcraft must be safe and reliable, and must deliver power adapted to use of the actuators. The electrical power is brought from the on-board network to the free end of the blade by means of voluminous cables of large section that extend inside the blade. Passing the cables between the axis of rotation of the rotor and the internal space in the blades involves installing rotary electrical connections that offer good performance and that are safe, which connections are costly. An actuator of the piezoelectric type is less demanding in terms of power to be delivered, but it involves using high-voltages which must be conveyed safely. The hostile environment of a moving blade is not favorable to the use of power cables carrying high voltages, and is a source of major difficulties and of considerable costs for organizing, making safe, and maintaining an electricity network that is suitable for powering the actuator and that is received inside the blade.
In a technique remote from twisting the blades of a rotary wing, it is also known that it is possible to use a flyweight to move flaps placed at the end of a blade. For example, Document GB 627 117 describes a device for managing a flow rate of air expelled at the end of a blade equipping a rotary wing of a rotorcraft. That device has nozzles that are equipped with closure flaps for regulating the flow rate of air that they expel. Those flaps are movable by a lever arm that is mounted to pivot at the end of the blade, and that carries a counterweight causing the lever arm to pivot in opposition to a return spring.
Documents DE 198 59 041 and EP 1 083 123 are also known.

Twist mechanism for twisting a rotor blade for a rotorcraft, and a blade


A composite article comprising of a non-metallic composite core, a fluoroelastomer adhesive layer which has a curing temperature substantially similar to the composite core, and a metallic structure which overlays the fluoroelastomer adhesive layer, wherein the composite article can be formed by co-curing the core and the fluoroelastomer adhesive layer.

The present invention relates to a method for providing a composite structure having improved protection against erosion and foreign object damage and the composite article formed thereby. The method of the present invention has particular utility in the manufacture and refurbishment of airfoil structures.
Composite airfoil structures such as the fan exit guide vane on a jet engine are subject to erosion from atmospheric effects as well as from damage resulting from the impingement of foreign objects on the leading edge of the vane. Efforts have been made to find suitable techniques for repairing these airfoil structures. There remains a need however for a method of refurbishment which yields a well bonded structure having the desired protection against erosion and foreign object damage.


A heat receiver includes a casing defining a flow passage on a thermal conductive plate. The thermal conductive plate is received on an electronic component. An outflow nozzle has an inflow opening at the downstream end of the flow passage at a position outside the thermal conductive plate. Since the thermal conductive plate is received on the electronic component, the outflow nozzle is connected to the flow passage at a position outside the electronic component. This results in avoidance of increase in the thickness of the casing as compared with the case where the outflow nozzle directly extends into the flow passage on the thermal conductive plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid cooling unit incorporated in an electronic apparatus such as a notebook personal computer, for example.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A liquid cooling unit includes a heat receiver such as a liquid cooling jacket as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-229033, for example. The heat receiver includes a casing defining a flow passage on a flat thermal conductive plate. A single inflow nozzle is coupled to the upstream end of the flow passage. A single outflow nozzle is also coupled to the downstream end of the flow passage. Coolant thus flows through the flow passage from the inflow nozzle to the outflow nozzle.
The thermal conductive plate defines the upper surface having a uniform level in a range from the inflow nozzle to the outflow nozzle. The inflow and outflow nozzles are defined in the casing at a level higher than the thermal conductive plate. This results in an increase in the thickness of the casing. When the heat receiver is incorporated in a thin electronic apparatus such as a notebook personal computer, for example, the casing of the heat receiver is desired to have the minimized thickness.

Liquid cooling unit and heat receiver therefor


A transition duct for routing a gas flow from a combustor to the first stage of a turbine section in a combustion turbine engine has an internal passage from an inlet to an outlet that is offset from the inlet in the longitudinal, radial and tangential directions. The offset outlet and the curved internal passage discharge the gas flow toward the first stage blade array at an angle in the tangential direction relative to the longitudinal direction. This angled discharge can be presented directly to the blades, thus avoiding the need for first stage vanes and the associated costs and complexity.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a cross-section through a portion of a combustion turbine 10. The major components of the turbine are a compressor section 12, a combustion section 14 and a turbine section 16. A rotor assembly 18 is centrally located and extends through the three sections. The compressor section 12 can include cylinders 20, 22 that enclose alternating rows of stationary vanes 24 and rotating blades 26. The stationary vanes 24 can be affixed to the cylinder 20 while the rotating blades 26 can be mounted to the rotor assembly 18 for rotation with the rotor assembly 18.
The combustion section 14 can include a shell 28 that forms a chamber 30. Multiple combustors, for example, sixteen combustors (only one combustor 32 of which is shown) can be contained within the combustion section chamber 30 and distributed around a circle in an annular pattern. Fuel 34, which may be in liquid or gaseous form—such as oil or gas—can enter each combustor 32 and be combined with compressed air introduced into the combustor 32 from the chamber 30, as indicated by the unnumbered arrows surrounding the combustor 32. The combined fuel/air mixture can be burned in the combustor 32 and the resulting hot, compressed gas flow 36 can be exhausted to a transition duct 38 attached to the combustor 32 for routing to the turbine section 16.
The turbine section 16 can include a cylindrical housing 40, including an inner cylinder 42, can enclose rows of stationary vanes and rotating blades, including vanes 44 and blades 46. The stationary vanes 44 can be affixed to the inner cylinder 42 and the rotating blades 46 can be affixed to discs that form parts of the rotor assembly 18 in the region of the turbine section 16. The first row of vanes 44 and the first row of blades 46 near the entry of the turbine section 16 are generally referred to as the first stage vanes and the first stage blades, respectively.
Encircling the rotor assembly 18 in the turbine section 16 can be a series of vane platforms 48, which together with rotor discs 50, collectively define an inner boundary for a gas flow path 52 through the first stage of the turbine section 16. Each transition duct 38 in the combustion section 14 can be mounted to the turbine section housing 40 and the vane platforms 48 to discharge the gas flow 30 towards the first stage vanes 44 and first stage blades 46.
In operation, the compressor section 12 receives air through an intake (not shown) and compresses it. The compressed air enters the chamber 30 in the combustion section 14 and is distributed to each of the combustors 32. In each combustor 32, the fuel 34 and compressed air are mixed and burned. The hot, compressed gas flow 30 is then routed through the transition duct 38 to the turbine section 16. In the turbine section 16, the hot, compressed gas flow is turned by the vanes, such as the first stage vane 44, and rotates the blades, such as the first stage blade 52, which in turn drive the rotor assembly 18. The gas flow is then exhausted from the turbine section 16. The turbine system 10 can include additional exhaust structure (not shown) downstream of the turbine section 16. The power thus imparted to the rotor assembly 18 can be used not only to rotate the compressor section blades 26 but also to additionally rotate other machinery, such as an external electric generator or a fan for aircraft propulsion (not shown).
For a better understanding of the invention, a coordinate system can be applied to such a turbine system to assist in the description of the relative location of components in the system and movement within the system. The axis of rotation of the rotor assembly 18 extends longitudinally through the compressor section 12, the combustion section 14 and the turbine section 16 and defines a longitudinal direction. Viewed from the perspective of the general operational flow pattern through the various sections, the turbine components can be described as being located longitudinally upstream or downstream relative to each other. For example, the compressor section 12 is longitudinally upstream of the combustion section 14 and the turbine section 16 is longitudinally downstream of the combustion section 14.
The location of the various components away from the central rotor axis or other longitudinal axis can be described in a radial direction. Thus, for example, the blade 46 extends in a radial direction, or radially, from the rotor disc 50. Locations further away from a longitudinal axis, such as the central rotor axis, can be described as radially outward or outboard compared to closer locations that are radially inward or inboard.
The third coordinate direction—a circumferential direction—can describe the location of a particular component with reference to an imaginary circle around a longitudinal axis, such as the central axis of the rotor assembly 18. For example, looking longitudinally downstream at an array of turbine blades in a turbine engine, one would see each of the blades extending radially outwardly in several radial directions like hands on a clock. The "clock" position—also referred to as the angular position—of each blade describes its location in the circumferential direction. Thus, a blade in this example extending vertically from the rotor disc can be described as being located at the "12 o'clock" position in the circumferential direction while a blade extending to the right from the rotor disc can be described as being located at the "3 o'clock" position in the circumferential direction, and these two blades can be described as being spaced apart in the circumferential direction. Thus, the radial direction can describe the size of the reference circle and the circumferential direction can describe the angular location on the reference circle.
Generally, the longitudinal direction, the radial direction and the circumferential direction are orthogonal to each other. Also, direction does not necessarily connote positive or negative. For example, the longitudinal direction can be both upstream and downstream and need not coincide with the central axis of the rotor. The radial direction can be inward and outward, and is not limited to describing circular objects or arrays. The circumferential direction can be clockwise and counter-clockwise, and, like the radial direction, need not be limited to describing circular objects or arrays.
Further, depending on the context, the relevant position of two components relative to each other can be described with reference to just one of the coordinate directions. For example, the combustor 32 can be described as radially outboard of the blade 46 because the combustor 32 is located radially further away from the central axis of the rotor assembly 18 than the blade 46 is—even though the combustor 32 is not in the same longitudinal plane of the blade 44, and in fact, is longitudinally upstream of the blade 44 and may not be circumferentially aligned with a particular blade.
The coordinate system can also be referenced to describe movement. For example, gas flow 36 in the transition 38 is shown to flow in the direction of arrow 36. This gas flow 36 travels both longitudinally downstream from the combustor 32 to the turbine section 16 and radially inward from the combustor 32 to the first stage vanes 44 and blades 46.
In the context of describing movement, such as the flow of a gas, the circumferential direction can also be referred to as the tangential direction. When gas flows in the circumferential direction, a component of the flow direction is tangential to a point on the circular path. At any given point on the circle path, the circumferential flow can have a relatively larger tangential component and a relatively smaller radial component. Since the tangential component predominates, particularly for larger diameter paths, such as around vane and blade arrays in a turbine engine, a circumferential direction and tangential direction can be regarded as substantially the same.
Bearing this coordinate system in mind and referring to FIG. 2, a transition duct 54 is shown alone as it would be seen when viewed from longitudinally downstream. This particular transition duct 54 is oriented in the 12 o'clock circumferential position and it should be understood that a turbine engine would have additional transition ducts, for example, a total of sixteen, spaced in an annular array.
The transition duct 54 can include a transition duct body 56 having an inlet 58 for receiving a gas flow exhausted by an associated combustor (not shown, but see FIG. 1). The transition duct body 56 can include an internal passage 60 from the inlet 58 to an outlet 62 from which the gas flow is discharged towards the turbine section (not shown). Because the combustor is radially outboard of the first stage of the turbine section (see FIG. 1), the transition duct 54 extends radially inwardly from its inlet 58 to its outlet 62. In FIG. 2, this radial direction is depicted by the axis 64. The transition duct 54 includes a longitudinal bend 66 near the outlet 62 to discharge the gas flow predominantly longitudinally. Because the gas flow in the transition duct 54 is redirected radially inwardly and then longitudinally, the transition duct 54 experiences substantial bending thrust in the radial direction 64. This radial thrust pushes the outlet region of the transition duct 54 radially outwardly (up in the plane of the page of the figure). To support the transition duct 54 against this bending thrust, the transition duct 54 can be radially supported by various braces (not shown) at its ends, as it well known in the art.
It can be seen that the outlet 62 and the inlet 58 are aligned along the circumferential or tangential direction, which is depicted by the axis 68. Thus, while the transition duct 54 routes the gas flow longitudinally downstream and radially inwardly, there is essentially no flow routing in the circumferential or tangential direction.
Reference is now made to FIG. 3, focusing on a turbine subsection 70 that includes a combustor 72, a transition duct 74 and first stage vanes 76 and blades 78. FIG. 3 shows a view from above of the combustor 72, the transition duct 74, a few first stage vanes 76 and a few first stage blades 78, illustrated schematically. It should be understood that in a turbine, there would be additional first stage vanes spaced apart circumferentially to form an annular array. Similarly, there would be additional first stage blades spaced apart circumferentially to form an annular array. These additional vanes and blades are not shown in FIG. 3 to facilitate illustration. This schematic illustration is also not intended to be to scale. A turbine system would typically also include additional combustors and transitions, but a single combustor 72 and transition 74 are shown schematically for purposes of illustration.
From this top view, the longitudinal direction can be noted by reference to the axis 80. The circumferential or tangential direction can be noted by reference to the axis 82. The radial direction is not illustrated because the radial direction lies into and out of the page of the figure, but would be generally orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the radial direction.
Gas flow, such as hot, compressed gas with perhaps some limited liquid content, is exhausted from the combustor 72 and routed by the transition duct 74 to the first stage vanes 76 and blades 78. The gas flow as discharged from the exit or outlet 86 of the transition duct 74 generally travels downstream in the longitudinal direction, as indicated by the arrow 84. There may be some incidental, small-scale radial and circumferential flow components to the discharged gas flow due to edge conditions 86 at the outlet and other factors. However, such side flow should be regarded as relatively de minimis compared to the overall flow direction, which is predominantly longitudinal, particularly in the central region of the flow away from the edges.
As this longitudinal gas flow 84 discharges from the outlet 86 of the transition duct 74, the flow passes the first stage vanes 76. The function of the first stage vanes 76 is to accelerate and turn the predominantly longitudinal flow in the circumferential direction 82 so that the predominant flow direction of the gas flow leaving the trailing edges of vanes 76 is angled in the circumferential or tangential direction relative to the longitudinal direction as shown, for example, by the arrow 88. This turned flow 88 thus has a longitudinal component and a circumferential component. The flow angle can be substantial, in the range of 40 degrees to 85 degrees measured from the longitudinal axis 80. By accelerating and angling the gas flow in the circumferential direction 82 relative to the longitudinal direction 80, the resulting gas flow 88 more effectively imparts its energy to the first row blades 78, which in turn rotate the associated rotor assembly (not shown).
The use of first stage vanes to accelerate and turn the longitudinal gas flow in the circumferential direction present several challenges. The vanes and the associated vane support structure (see FIG. 1) must have high strength characteristics to withstand the forces generated in changing the direction of a extremely hot, high pressure gas flow over a substantial angle in a relatively short distance. The temperature of the gas flow and the heat generated by this turning process also require a vane cooling system. The forces and heat involved can crack and otherwise damage the vanes and associated support structure. To address these various requirements and operating conditions, the first stage vanes and the associated support structure and cooling systems have developed into a complex system that can be expensive to manufacture, install, and, in the event of damage, repair and replace.
Thus, there is a need to accelerate and tangentially turn a gas flow for presentation to a first stage blade array without the complications and related costs and damage risks associated with first stage vanes.

Combustion transition duct providing stage 1 tangential turning for turbine engines


An exemplary housing of a foldable device includes a first cover, a second cover, a knob, a latching member, and an elastic member. The first cover includes a first latching portion. The second cover includes a fixing portion. The latching member includes a second latching portion configured for engaging with the first latching portion. The knob is rotatably positioned on the second cover. At least a portion of the knob is exposed out of the second cover. The knob connects with the latching member. The elastic member connects to the latching member. The knob is able to drive the latching member to rotate relative to the fixing portion along a first circular direction and the elastic member is able to drive the latching member to rotate relative to the fixing portion along a second circular direction opposite to the first circular direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to housings of foldable devices, and particularly, to a housing typically used for a notebook.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a typical housing 10 of a foldable electronic device is shown. The housing 10 includes a bottom cover 11, a top cover 12, a sliding member 13, a hook 14, and a spring 15. The bottom cover 11 defines a latching groove 111 adjacent to an edge of the bottom cover 11. The top cover 12 defines a rectangular mounting groove 121 on an edge of the top cover 12 and forms a resisting member 123 adjacent to the mounting groove 121. The sliding member 13 is a rectangular block in shape. The sliding member 13 is slidably disposed in the mounting groove 121. The latching groove 111 is configured to receive the hook 14. The hook 14 includes an end fixed to the sliding member 13 so that the hook 14 is able to slide together with the sliding member 13. One end of the spring 15 abuts the resisting member 123 and the other end of the spring 15 abuts the sliding member 13 so that the hook 14 and the sliding member 13 are kept at one end of the mounting groove 121.
In use, if an user wants to open the top cover 12, the user has to pry the sliding member 13 and drive the sliding member 13 to move towards the other end of the rectangular groove 121 with a finger. However, the mounting groove 121 is filled with dust easily, result that the sliding member 13 is hard to move in the mounting groove 121. As a result, it is difficult to open the top cover 12.
Therefore, a new housing of a foldable device is desired in order to overcome the above-described shortcoming.

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.


An improved hydraulic circuit for a two-post lift having a master cylinder hydraulically connected to a slave cylinder. The master cylinder and slave cylinder are sized so fluid volume displaced at the rod end of the master cylinder is equal to the volume displaced at the piston side of the slave cylinder. The hydraulic circuit employs an automatic leveling valve assembly disposed to open when the lift reaches a fully lowered position to automatically equalize the displaced fluid volume of the master and slave cylinders so as to relevel the lift each time the lift is fully lowered. A sequence valve is positioned to pre-pressurize the slave cylinder before raising to compensate for any air in the circuit and fluid compressibility. A pilot operated check valve is designed to close and stop the descent of the lift in a level position if an obstruction is encountered under a side of the lift. Velocity sensor fuses connected to cylinder ports and actuated by a drop in pressure or rapid descent of the cylinders lock the cylinders in aligned positions in the event of a hydraulic leak.

This invention relates to a fluid driven, two-post lift, more specifically, to an improved hydraulic circuit for operating a fluid driven two-post lift.
Two-post lifts employing cylinders operated by hydraulic fluid under pressure are well known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,071 to Bagwell et al. provides a vehicle lifting apparatus employing a load bearing means operatively connected to a pair of lifting units. The lifting units employ a master cylinder and slave cylinder arranged to effect simultaneous movement of the cylinders.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,455 to Beatty also provides a hydraulically operated double-post lift assembly. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,028 to Stivers discloses a fluid operated circuit for controlling a dual-post hydraulic lift assembly.
There are at least three major problems associated with prior art two-post hydraulic lift systems. First, if there is an obstruction under one side of the lift, during downward movement of the lift the unobstructed side can continue in its downward movement causing the load bearing member to tilt to one side. This could result in a catastrophic dumping of the load.
Second, coordination of the master and slave cylinders is based on an optimum fluid displacement ratio and hydraulic pressure. Although theoretically sound, the units do not always operate in this manner. The system, due to wear, may develop fluid leaks or air may accumulate in hydraulic lines. Furthermore, wear on the cylinder may change the fluid displacement ratios between the master and slave cylinders In any event, the master and slave cylinders may not operate in a coordinated manner. The master cylinder may rise or descend more quickly than the slave cylinder causing the load bearing member to rise or descend unevenly Often, this phenomenon is more pronounced if the unit sits idle for awhile, for example, overnight. Air in the hydraulic lines, which is ordinarily dispersed as small bubbles throughout the fluid, tends to accumulate in one large bubble when the unit sets idle. Although hydraulic fluid is minimally compressible, on the order of 0.5% per 1000 psi, a large air bubble is quite compressible and can disrupt coordinated operation of the master and slave cylinders.
A third major problem associated with the prior art two-post lifts is lift failure, or rapid descent of the lift due to a drop in fluid pressure. This phenomenon is caused when, for example, the hydraulic lines spring a leak with a load in the elevated position.
There have been a number of attempts made to remedy the major problems associated with prior art two-post lifts For example, in the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,455 to Beatty, the inventors provided a safety latch means to lock the moveable elements in place to block accidental descent of the load bearing unit upon sudden loss of fluid from the cylinders. This safety latch feature remedies only one of the triumvirate of major problems associates with prior art lifts. Moreover, it does not solve the problem of rapid descent if the latches are disengaged and the cylinders are in some stage of downward or upward movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,028 to Stivers attempts to remedy the problems associated with both an obstruction under one side of the unit as well as the major problem associated with the lack of coordination between the cylinders. Stivers employs a system of pulleys and chains with an integrated hydraulic system. The hydraulic system employs a plurality of pilot valves designed to halt the downward movement of one side of the lift device if the other side is obstructed. This system is complex, having a plurality of parts including the chain and pulley system, as well as the associated hydraulic circuitry. Moreover, if the hydraulic circuit fails, the chains may slacken on one side or the other causing a tilting of the load bearing member and dumping of the load.
Stivers employs a means for re-leveling the lift, side-to-side, should the load bearing member become out of level due to leaking fittings or seals. Stivers employs slots at the fully lowered and fully raised positions of the master cylinder in order to allow fluid to flow around the piston to the slave cylinder to equalize hydraulic pressure and level the lift when the lift is either fully raised or lowered. This automatic leveling feature introduces an inherent out-of-level condition by allowing fluid to flow around the master cylinder piston for a short period of time as the master cylinder piston is moving past the slot location. The lower slot can, in fact, add to the out-of-level condition of the lift during raising operation.


An image forming apparatus includes a control section for automatically ejecting recording medium temporarily stacked in a stacking portion of the apparatus to an output tray when a double-sided mode is cancelled or changed, thereby conveniently removing the recording medium stacked in the stacking portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as an electrophotographic copying machine, which can perform a double-sided copying operation, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus which conveniently removes recording medium from the image forming apparatus when a double-sided copying operation is cancelled.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, image forming devices such as electric copying machines which can perform a double-sided copying operation are generally known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,555 discloses a copying machine which can perform a double-sided copying operation. This copying machine includes a double-sided copying unit for reconveying a paper sheet to an image transfer position to perform the double-sided copying operation. The double-sided copying unit includes a stacking portion for temporarily stacking paper sheets having an image formed on one side before completing the double-sided copying operation.
In conventional copying machines, for example, if the double-sided copying mode is changed or cancelled while paper sheets are stacked in the stacking portion of the double-sided copying unit, the paper sheets remain in the stacking portion of the double-sided copying machine. It is then a necessary inconvenience for a user to open a front cover, or perform a blank copying operation, to remove the paper sheets from the stacking portion.
In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Disclosure (Kokai) No. 58-57143 discloses a copying machine having an ejecting device for ejecting paper sheets stacked in the stacking portion and an output tray for receiving the paper sheets ejected by the ejecting device. It is not necessary in this copying machine to open a front cover or perform a blank copying operation to remove paper sheets from the stacking portion. However, the ejecting device and the output tray increases the size and cost of the copying machine when there is presently a need to reduce the size and costs of copying machines. Moreover, this prior art reference does not describe the operation for ejecting paper sheets from the stacking portion.

Image forming apparatus for performing a double-sided copying operation


A thin film transistor array panel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a gate line; a data line intersecting the gate line; a thin film transistor connected to the gate line and the data line; a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor; and a shielding electrode electrically isolated from the data line, covering the data line at least in part, and having an aperture exposing the data line.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display and a panel therefor.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) is one of the most widely used flat panel displays. An LCD includes two panels provided with field-generating electrodes such as pixel electrodes and a common electrode and a liquid crystal (LC) layer interposed therebetween. The LCD displays images by applying voltages to the field-generating electrodes to generate an electric field in the LC layer, which determines orientations of LC molecules in the LC layer to adjust polarization of incident light.
Among the LCDs, a vertical alignment (VA) mode LCD, which aligns LC molecules such that the long axes of the LC molecules are perpendicular to the panels in the absence of electric field, is popular because of its high contrast ratio and wide reference viewing angle.
The wide viewing angle of the VA mode LCD can be realized by cutouts in the field-generating electrodes and protrusions on the field-generating electrodes. Since the cutouts and the protrusions can determine the tilt directions of the LC molecules, the tilt directions can be distributed into several directions by using the cutouts and the protrusions such that the reference viewing angle is widened.
A panel for an LCD includes several signal lines such as gate lines for transmitting gate signals and data lines for transmitting data signals. The signal lines form coupling capacitances along with other signal lines and field generating electrodes, which distort the signals carried by the data lines along with their own resistances.

Liquid crystal display and panel therefor


In an integrated circuit combining a gate array with memory on a single semiconductor substrate, the interconnecting lines are routed in multiple metalization layers. In each layer having both memory and gate-array interconnecting lines, the memory interconnecting lines are routed over the memory area, and the gate-array interconnecting lines are routed in a different direction over the gate-array area. In layers having only gate-array interconnecting lines, some of these lines pass over the memory area, being routed directly above power-supply lines or shield lines provided in the layer just below.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated circuit in which a gate array and memory are combined on the same semiconductor substrate, more particularly to the metalized interconnection pattern of such an integrated circuit.
2. Background Information
Integrating a gate array with memory is a known technology. The memory, which may be a read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), or other type of memory, is typically surrounded by a sea of gates, which is a type of channelless gate array. The gates can be interconnected according to the customer's specifications to provide specialized logic functions together with memory in a single device.
The gates are interconnected by patterning multiple metal layers to form interconnection lines. At least three layers of metal interconnecting lines are normally used for the gate interconnections. The first two of these layers are also normally used for interconnections within the memory part of the device.
In conventional devices of this type, the metal interconnecting lines in each layer are all routed in the same direction, typically at right angles to the interconnecting lines in the next layer, and the metal interconnecting lines of the gate array are routed so as not to pass over the memory area. One reason why gate-array interconnections are not routed over memory circuits is to avoid memory malfunctions that might be caused by crosstalk from gate-array signal lines. Another reason is to avoid having the operating speed of the memory reduced by the increased capacitance that memory signal lines would acquire if they were to be paralleled by overlying gate-array interconnecting lines.
However, the conventional practice greatly constrains the routing of interconnecting lines in the gate array since all gate interconnections must avoid the forbidden zone above the memory. One undesirable result is that the routing process becomes difficult, requiring extra time and resources (human resources and computer resources), hence increasing the cost of designing the device. Another undesirable result is that the percentage of gates that can be utilized is reduced. This may force the customer either to curtail the logic functions implemented in the device, or to select a larger and more expensive device with more gates.

Integrated circuit with gate-array interconnections routed over memory area


A spinal fusion implant of non-bone construction to be introduced into any variety of spinal target sites. The spinal fusion implant of the present invention includes a top surface, a bottom surface, first and second lateral sides, a proximal (posterior) end and a distal (anterior) end. The spinal fusion implant of the present invention may be used to provide temporary or permanent fixation within an orthopedic target site. To do so, the spinal fusion implant may be introduced into a disc space while locked to a surgical insertion instrument and thereafter employed in the proper orientation and released. Once deposited in the disc space, the spinal fusion implant of the present invention effects spinal fusion over time as the natural healing process integrates and binds the implant.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to spinal surgery and, more particularly, to a device for spinal fusion comprising a spinal fusion implant of non-bone construction to be introduced into any variety of spinal target sites.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
Currently there are nearly 500,000 lumbar and cervical spinal fusion procedures performed each year in the United States. One of the causes of back pain and disability derives from the rupture or degeneration of one or more intervertebral discs in the spine. Surgical procedures are commonly performed to correct problems with displaced, damaged, or degenerated intervertebral discs due to trauma, disease, or aging. Generally, spinal fusion procedures involve removing some or the all of the diseased or damaged disc, and inserting one or more intervertebral implants into the resulting disc space.
Minimally invasive methods of performing spinal fusion have gained popularity in recent years due to the many benefits of the procedure which include diminished dissection of body tissue and lower blood loss during surgery resulting in reduced surgery time, lower post-operative pain and a quicker recovery for patients. Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) procedures provide unilateral access to a desired target site. The TLIF technique involves approaching the spine in a similar manner as a posterior approach but more from the left or right of the spine through a midline incision in a patient's back. This procedure requires only one incision in the back of a patient and involves placing a fusion device into the intervertebral disc space. Introducing the intervertebral implant serves to restore the height between adjacent vertebrae ("disc height"), which reduces if not eliminates neural impingement commonly associated with a damaged or diseased disc. Distraction of the disc space with subsequent decompression of nerve roots can be accomplished by rotating a device between the adjacent vertebrae.
Current spinal fusion implants utilize either bone grafts or artificial implants to fill the intervertebral disc space. Artificial implants may be made of metal, plastic composites, ceramics, bone, or any combination thereof. Natural bone grafts have also been developed including autologous and allograft bone. Other bone grafts may include certain man-made substances including binder joining bone chips and composite bone structures.
While generally effective, the use of bone grafts presents several disadvantages. Autologous bone grafts are obtained from bone material surgically removed from the iliac crest of a patient. This method can be detrimental because it may not yield a sufficient quantity of graft material, requires additional surgery, and increases the risk of infection and blood loss. Moreover, the structural integrity at the donor site can be reduced and significant morbidity associated with harvesting the autologous bone graft may occur.
Allograft bone is obtained from cadaveric specimens, machined, and sterilized for implantation. Production of allograft bone implants may be difficult because of the inherent challenges in forecasting the receipt of cadavers. Furthermore, allograft may only provide temporary support as it is difficult to manufacture the allograft with consistent shape and strength given the differing characteristics of cadavers. Graft material usually has a smooth surface which does not provide good friction between the adjacent vertebrae and slippage of the graft may occur which can cause neural and vascular injury as well as collapse of the disc space.
A need remains for fusion implants that preserve the intradiscal space and support the vertebral column until the adjacent vertebrae are fused and still encourage bone ingrowth to achieve a solid fusion. A need also remains for implants which maximize cortical ring contact (both anteriorly and posteriorly), better facilitate self distraction of the vertebrae during insertion, avoid dural impingement and provide a better fit between anterior edge portions of vertebral endplates.
The present invention is directed at overcoming, or at least minimizing, the disadvantages of the prior art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Spinal fusion implant and related methods


In a gas ring laser gyroscope characterized by a gain medium for producing at least one monochromatic narrow electromagnetic beam reflected to form a loop about the gain medium, the improvement wherein bypass channels are provided, displaced from the beam path, for reducing gas flow in the beam path. The bypass channels may extend about the gain medium and across the beam loop and may include controllable restrictions therein for selecting the flow rates therethrough.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ring laser gyroscopes, and more particularly, to improvements in the structure of gas laser gyroscopes reducing gas flows therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of ring laser gyroscopes as guidance instruments has been known in the past. Typically, such lasers take the form of a closed resonator loop in which oppositely injected laser beams are bent into closed paths by various turning mirrors. Any rotation about an axis orthogonal to the plane of the loop then results in opposite frequency shifts of the two beams and the resulting beat frequency then provides a quantitative measure of the turning rate.
In this general arrangement the laser beams are typically turned by mirrors at the end of straight segments, one or more of which providing the location for the laser gain tube or the gain medium. Thus, the geometry of the ring laser gyroscope typically includes straight line segments of a resonator tube through which the beams are passed.
While the recent past has seen suggestions of solid state lasers for ring gyroscope use, the practicalities still dictate the use of gas lasers with substantial preference still remaining for the He-Ne (helium/neon) laser. Gas lasers, however, exhibit induced flows generally described by the work of I. Langmuir (1923) J. Franklin Institute 196,751 which are partly explained in terms of light velocity changes in a moving refractive medium, i.e., the Fresnel-Fizeau drag effect. Additionally, Doppler shifts are associated with the flow which, again, affect the frequency of the laser. This induced velocity change, therefore, inserts substantial null errors into the ring laser which, heretofore, has been carried as a readout bias. Any drifts, however, in this Langmuir flow present large potential for gyroscope errors and substantial research has been expended at reducing this induced flow.
Typical of these efforts are the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,329 to Smith et al in which a partial restriction is inserted into the flow path. Alternatively, an opposite, compensating discharge path is provided, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,027 to Zampiello et al. Each of these solutions, while suitable for their purposes, depend on cancellation or restriction of substantial gas flows and thus entail manipulations of large volumes which, in themselves, are prone to generate large errors. Thus, the prevailing practices in the past require close control at restricting or compensating large effects and consequently demand extreme accuracy in the implementation thereof.
Accordingly, techniques which directly address the phenomenon of gas flow are desired and it is one such technique that is disclosed herein.


Methods and apparatus for supporting dual casting of inbound system memory writes from PCIe devices to memory and a peer PCIe device. An inbound system memory write request from a first PCIe device is received at a PCIe root complex and the memory address is inspected to determine whether it falls within an address window defined for dual casting operations. If it does, an IO write request is generated from the inbound system memory write request and sent to a second PCIe device associated with the address window. During a parallel operation, the original inbound system memory write request is forwarded to a system agent configured to receive such write requests.

Computer systems typically employ one or more interconnects to facilitate communication between system components, such as between processors and memory. Interconnects and/or expansion interfaces may also be used to support built-in and add on devices, such as IO (input/output) devices and expansion cards and the like. For many years after the personal computer was introduced, the primary form of interconnect was a parallel bus. Parallel bus structures were used for both internal data transfers and expansion buses, such as ISA (Industry Standard Architecture), MCA (Micro Channel Architecture), EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) and VESA Local Bus. In the early 1990's Intel Corporation introduced the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) computer bus. PCI improved on earlier bus technologies by not only increasing the bus speed, but also introducing automatic configuration and transaction-based data transfers using shared address and data lines.
As time progressed, computer processor clock rates where increasing at a faster pace than parallel bus clock rates. As a result, computer workloads were often limited by interconnect bottlenecks rather than processor speed. Although parallel buses support the transfer of a large amount of data (e.g., 32 or even 64 bits under PCI-X) with each cycle, their clock rates are limited by timing skew considerations, leading to a practical limit to maximum bus speed. To overcome this problem, high-speed serial interconnects were developed. Examples of early serial interconnects include Serial ATA, USB (Universal Serial Bus), FireWire, and RapidIO.
Another standard serial interconnect that is widely used is PCI Express, also called PCIe, which was introduced in 2004 under the PCIe 1.0 standard. PCIe was designed to replace older PCI and PCI-X standards, while providing legacy support. PCIe employs point-to-point serial links rather than a shared parallel bus architecture. Each link supports a point-to-point communication channel between two PCIe ports using one or more lanes, with each lane comprising a bi-directional serial link. The lanes are physically routed using a crossbar switch architecture, which supports communication between multiple devices at the same time. As a result of its inherent advantages, PCIe has replaced PCI as the most prevalent interconnect in today's personal computers. PCIe is an industry standard managed by the PCI-SIG (Special Interest Group).
Recently, the PCI-SIG added a standard specification for PCIe multicasting. Under PCIe multicasting specification defined in section 6.14 of PCI Express® Base Specification Revision 3.0 Version 1.0, a PCIe initiator device can write to multiple PCIe targets using a single write transaction. However, the PCIe multicasting specification does not define how to concurrently implement writes from PCIe initiator device to system memory and to peer PCIe device using a single write transaction. In addition, the PCIe multicasting specification adds complexities to various PCIe devices that must be configured to support this additional functionality. In contrast, it would be advantageous to be able to perform dual casting to system memory and a peer PCI device in a manner that has minimal impact on the entities involved in such transactions.

Dual casting PCIE inbound writes to memory and peer devices


An antenna including a number of antenna units, each having a lens and an array of beam ports. The antenna units are arranged in a stack, and are configured to transmit or receive signals from the same field-of-view. Each unit is configured to operate in a different frequency band, with the lenses being configured such that an approximately constant beam shape is maintained across the entire operating bandwidth of the antenna.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an antenna, and more particularly to an antenna operable to transmit and receive signals across a range of frequencies whilst maintaining a uniform beam shape.
2. Description of the Related Art
There exist a number of applications in which it is desirable for an antenna to be able to scan across a broad range of frequencies. In some cases, it is further desirable for such antennas to provide broad spatial coverage. In order to be able to scan across a spatially large area, and provide consistency throughout the relevant frequency band, it is necessary for the beamwidth to remain constant throughout the relevant frequency range. This can be difficult, because the electrical size of any antenna aperture changes with frequency, normally resulting in a change of beam shape with frequency: as the frequency increases, the beam becomes narrower. A number of apodising technologies exist that can overcome these problems—for example, the effective aperture of an antenna comprising a number of antenna elements can be controlled by adjusting the signal amplitude at each element with frequency. However, these technologies are complex and expensive.
There thus exists a need for an antenna that, is both inexpensive and simple to fabricate whilst still achieving the functionality described above.

Antenna operable across multiple frequencies while maintaining substantially uniform beam shape


An optical system including integrated illumination and imaging optical systems, and a 3-dimensional (3D) image acquisition apparatus including the optical system. In the optical system of the 3D image acquisition apparatus, the illumination optical system and the imaging optical system are integrated to have a coaxial optical path. Accordingly, there is no parallax between the illumination optical system and the imaging optical system, so that depth information about an object acquired using illumination light may reflect actual distances between the object and the 3D image acquisition apparatus. Consequently, the depth information about the object may be more precise. The zero parallax between the illumination optical system and the imaging optical system may improve utilization efficiency of the illumination light. As a result, a greater amount of light may be incident on the 3D image acquisition apparatus, which ensures to acquire further precise depth information about the object.

1. Field
Apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments related to an optical system in which an illumination optical system and an imaging optical system are integrated to have a coaxial optical axis in order to obtain more precise depth information, and a three-dimensional (3D) image acquisition apparatus including the optical system.
2. Description of the Related Art
With recent advances in 3D display apparatuses and increasing demand therefor, the significance of 3D content in which depth can be perceived is becoming important. Accordingly, research into 3D image acquisition apparatuses such as 3D cameras that enable users to create 3D content on their own is increasing. 3D cameras need to have a function through which depth information along with common 2D color image information are acquired through one photographing operation.
Depth information indicating distances between the 3D camera and surfaces of an object may be acquired using stereo vision methods that use two cameras, or using triangulation methods that use structured light and a camera. However, according to these methods, the greater the camera-to-object distance, the more imprecise the obtained depth information becomes, and these methods are highly dependent on the surface states of objects. Thus, acquiring precise depth information with these methods is difficult.
To address these problems, Time-of-Flight (TOF) techniques have been introduced. TOF techniques measure a travel time of illumination light reflecting off an object after having been irradiated thereon to a light receiving unit for receiving the illumination light. TOF technology involves irradiating light having a specific wavelength (for example, near infrared rays having a wavelength of 850 nm) onto an object by using an illumination optical system that includes a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode (LD), receiving the light with a light receiving unit after the light is reflected off the object, and a series of process for extracting depth information, for example, by modulating the received light using a modulator with a known gain wavelength. Various TOF technologies for the series of processes are available.
In measuring distance using light reflected off an object after having been projected from an illumination optical system, the greater an amount of the reflected light that is incident on a 3D camera, the more precise obtained depth information becomes. This is because in signal processing for extracting depth information using a 3D camera, a signal-to-noise ratio is proportional to an amount of incident light, and the greater the signal-to-noise ratio, the more precise obtained depth information becomes. Therefore, an optical system needs to be designed to provide a 3D camera which receives as much incident light as possible.
A 3D camera adopting TOF technology includes, in general, an illumination optical system that emits illumination light for acquiring depth information, and an imaging optical system for acquiring an image of an object. However, since the illumination optical system and the imaging optical system are separate systems, they have optical axes that do not match. Accordingly, parallax occurs between the illumination optical system and the imaging optical system. This may cause obtained depth information about an object to be imprecise, lowering utilization efficiency of illumination light.

Optical system having integrated illumination and imaging optical systems, and 3D image acquisition apparatus including the optical system


To provide a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a transfer step that is capable of controlling the adhesiveness of a substrate and an element-formed layer in the case of separating the element-formed layer including a semiconductor element or an integrated circuit formed over the substrate from the substrate and bonding it to another substrate. An adhesive agent made of a good adhesiveness material is formed between the semiconductor element or the integrated circuit comprising plural semiconductor elements formed over the substrate (a first substrate) and the substrate, and thus it is possible to prevent a semiconductor element from peeling off a substrate in manufacturing the semiconductor element, and further, to make it easier to separate the semiconductor element from the substrate by removing the adhesive agent after forming the semiconductor element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a transfer step of a semiconductor element such as a thin film transistor (TFT) formed over a substrate, to another substrate.
In addition, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a transfer step of an integrated circuit comprising a plurality of semiconductor elements (including a thin film transistor (TFT)) formed over a substrate, to another substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various technical developments have been made about a semiconductor element represented by a thin film transistor (TFT) that is formed by using a semiconductor thin film (about from several nm to several hundred nm in thickness) formed over the same substrate.
To secure characteristics of a semiconductor element, a certain level of high temperature is required in the manufacture process. At present, a significant decrease of the step temperature is realized by introducing laser crystallization into a part of the manufacture process. As a result, it becomes possible to manufacture a semiconductor element over a glass substrate, which has been impossible in the high temperature process.
However, it is extremely difficult to manufacture a semiconductor element over a flexible substrate such as plastic from a viewpoint of heat-resistance of a substrate, because much lower-temperature is necessary.
On the contrary, a method for transferring a semiconductor element over a flexible substrate such as plastic after forming the semiconductor element over a glass substrate is known as an effective method, because the method substantially can remove thermal disincentive to a substrate.
There are several proposed methods for separating a semiconductor element formed over a substrate from the substrate. For example, (1) a method that a semiconductor element is formed over a glass substrate, then the glass substrate is dissolved by etching to separate the semiconductor element alone, and then, the semiconductor element is bonded to a plastic substrate (Reference: Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2002-184959). (2) a method that a semiconductor element formed over a substrate is separated from the substrate, and then, is bonded to a flexible substrate such as plastic (Reference: Japanese Patent Laid Open No. H10-125931).
In the case of the method (1), there is a problem of a longer process time or high material cost of an etching material or a glass substrate, although a substrate is completely separated from a semiconductor element after forming the semiconductor element over the substrate.
In the case of the method (2), it is very important to control adhesiveness and film stress. Namely, there is a problem of peeling off while manufacturing a semiconductor element, although it is easier to perform separation with lower adhesiveness and higher film stress. There is also difficulty in performing separation of a semiconductor element from a substrate after the semiconductor element is formed, although peeling-off of the semiconductor element does not occur in the middle of manufacturing the semiconductor element, if the adhesiveness is enhanced.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


An optical element and a display device incorporating the optical element are provided. The optical element comprises a panel member having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, and a jetted pattern of light extracting dots applied to the first surface. Each light extracting dot has a part-spherical surface intersecting the first surface and a transition between the part-spherical surface and the first surface. The transition includes substantially continuous angular configuration from the part-spherical surface angular orientation to the first surface angular orientation.

The present invention relates generally to optical elements, and liquid crystal display (LCD) devices using same.
LCD devices are widely used in personal communications equipment including, for example, mobile phone, personal computer and electric home appliance. In order to light a LCD, a back lighting and a front lighting are known. The back lighting surpasses the front lighting in providing good outward appearance at the display. A need remains for advanced technology toward enhanced brightness of back lighting. In order to enhance the brightness, there are several proposals. First, it is proposed to use light sources of increased brightness. Second, it is proposed to use optical films or the like. Third, it is proposed to use a light guide of increased brightness. Some of these proposals are as follows:
JP02-241590A discloses a light emitting panel assembly including a light guide. The light guide has a first surface, a second surface opposite to the first surface and a print pattern of white shapes formed on the first surface. The white shapes may be varied in the percentage and/or size in different areas of the light guide in order to provide a uniform light output distribution. Ordinarily, the amount of light traveling through the light guide is greater in areas closer to a light source than in other areas further remote from the light source. The pattern is used to adjust for the light variance by providing a denser concentration of white shapes with increased distance from the light source thereby resulting in a more uniform light output distribution from the light guide.
JP06-265731A discloses a light emitting panel assembly including a light guide. The light guide has a first surface, a second surface opposite to the first surface and a pattern of shallow circular depressions. The shallow circular depressions may be varied in diameter and/or depth in different areas of the light guide. The pattern is used to adjust for the variance of amount of light traveling through the light guide in different areas by providing a greater volume of shallow circular depressions with increased distance from a light source thereby resulting in a more uniform light output distribution from the light guide.
JP10-268138A discloses a light emitting panel assembly including a light guide. The light guide has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. A film including an array of prisms is attached to the first surface and another array of prisms is formed in the second surface.
Light extracting deformities, for example, dots, prisms, part-spheres, columns, square pillars, cones, or pyramids are produced by providing a molded pattern on the back surfaces of the light guides. Providing the molded pattern will require a permanent modification of a metal mold during adjustment for reducing or eliminating light output non-uniformity. Thus, the molded pattern cannot reinstate the previous pattern. For example, dots may be patterned onto a metal mold directly or they may be patterned onto a metal mold by etching.
FIG. 10 is an illustration of dots 103 produced by providing a molded pattern, using a metal mold with dots patterned directly, on a back surface 102 opposite to a light output surface 101 of an optical element in the form of a light guide 100. Each dot 103 has a spherical shaped lens surface 103a intersecting the back surface 102 and a transition 104 between the spherical shaped lens surface 103a and the back surface 102. Due to warp during fabrication of the metal mold, the transition 104 inevitably includes discontinuous and irregular angular configuration from the spherical shaped lens surface angular orientation to the back surface angular orientation. As indicated by arrows in FIG. 10, the transition 104 scatters a portion of light rays impinging on the transition 104 from a desired viewing axis and therefore reduces on-axis brightness.
FIG. 11 is an illustration of dots 103 produced by providing a molded pattern, using a metal mold with dots patterned by etching, on a back surface 102 opposite to a light output surface 101 of an optical element in the form of a light guide 100. Each dot 103 has a spherical shaped lens surface intersecting the back surface 102 and a transition 104 between the spherical shaped lens surface 103a and the back surface 102. As etching cannot produce the surface of metal mold to a desired level of smoothness, the spherical shaped lens surface 103a and the transition 104 inevitably have discontinuous and irregular angular configuration entirely. As indicated by arrows in FIG. 11, the spherical shaped lens surface 103a and transition 104 scatter light rays impinging on the spherical shaped lens surface 103a and transition 104 from a desired viewing axis and therefore reduce on-axis brightness.
FIG. 12 is an illustration of dots 103 produced by providing an inked pattern, using a screen printing, on a back surface 102 opposite to a light output surface 101 of an optical element in the form of a light guide 100. Ink 105 for screen printing contains beads 106. As indicated by arrows in FIG. 12, the beads 106 scatter input light rays from a desired viewing axis and therefore reduce on-axis brightness.
Attempts to increase on-axis brightness by efficient utilization of light include molded and/or printed patterns of dots. However, these attempts have not proven entirely satisfactory.

Optical element with light extracting dots and display device using same


A method for increasing the stability and uniformity of a PEGylated G-CSF polypeptide having at least one PEG moiety attached to the epsilon amino group of a lysine residue or the N-terminal amino group and at least one PEG moiety attached to a hydroxyl group, comprising subjecting the polypeptide to an elevated pH of above 8.0 for a period of time suitable to remove PEG moieties attached to a hydroxyl group, and reducing the pH to about 8.0 or lower; as well as PEGylated G-CSF polypeptides and compositions produced according to the method and methods for increasing neutrophil levels in a patient using the PEGylated G-CSF polypeptides and compositions.

The covalent attachment of polyethylene glycol (PEG) moieties to proteins or polypeptides ("PEGylation") is a well-known technique for improving the properties of such proteins or polypeptides, in particular pharmaceutical proteins, e.g. in order to improve circulation half-life and/or to shield potential epitopes and thus reduce the potential for an undesired immunogenic response. Numerous technologies based on activated PEG are available to provide attachment of the PEG moiety to one or more groups on the protein. For example, mPEG-succinimidyl propionate (mPEG-SPA, available from Nektar Therapeutics) is generally regarded as being selective for attachment to the N-terminus and epsilon-amino groups of lysine residues via an amide bond. However, in practice mPEG-SPA does not always attach exclusively to these groups, but may also attach to the hydroxyl group of a serine, tyrosine or threonine residue via an ester bond. As a result, PEGylated proteins prepared using this technology may not have a sufficient degree of uniformity and may contain a number of different PEG isomers other than those that were intended. This is undesired for various reasons, including the fact that it makes characterization of such proteins more complicated. Further, PEG moieties bound to groups other than those intended may be relatively unstable. For example, PEG moieties bound to a hydroxyl group via an ester bond in the case of an amine-specific PEG such as mPEG-SPA tend to be relatively unstable compared to those moieties that are bound via an amide bond to the N-terminal or a lysine residue. Depending on the formulation and storage conditions, this may lead to an undesired loss of these labile PEG groups and thus potentially to a change in the properties of the PEGylated protein over time. Further, there may be potential regulatory or safety issues for a PEGylated protein pharmaceutical in which there is a risk that one or more of the PEG moieties may detach from the protein in the body after it is administered to a patient.
The present invention addresses these problems by providing a method by which such labile PEG groups may be easily removed, thereby resulting in a more uniform and stable PEGylated protein product.

Compositions comprising positional isomers of PEGylated G-CSF


Embodiments of the present invention include a laser catheter that includes a catheter body, a light guide, and a distal tip that extends beyond the exit aperture of the light guide. In some embodiments, an imaging device is disposed on the distal tip such that the imaging device is distal relative to the exit aperture of the light guide. In some embodiments, the imaging device can be gated to record images during and or slightly beyond periods when the laser catheter is not activated.

Arteries are the primary blood vessels that are responsible for providing blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. Arterial disease occurs when arteries become narrowed or blocked by a buildup of plaque (as some examples, atherosclerotic plaque or other deposits). When the blockage is severe, the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart muscle is reduced, causing chest pain. Arterial blockage by clots formed in a human body may be relieved in a number of traditional ways. Drug therapy, including nitrates, beta-blockers, and peripheral vasodilatator drugs to dilate the arteries of thrombolytic drugs to dissolve the clot, can be effective. If drug treatment fails, angioplasty may be used to reform or remove the atherosclerotic plaque or other deposits in the artery.
Traditional balloon angioplasty is sometimes used to address the blockage by inserting a narrow, flexible tube having a balloon into an artery in the arm or leg. The blocked area in the artery can be stretched apart by passing the balloon to the desired treatment site and gently inflating it a certain degree. In the event drug therapy is ineffective or angioplasty is ineffective or too risky (often introduction of a balloon in an occluded artery can cause portions of the atherosclerotic material to become dislodged, which may cause a total blockage at a point downstream of the subject occlusion, thereby requiring emergency procedures), the procedure known as excimer laser angioplasty may be indicated.
Excimer laser angioplasty procedure is similar in some respects to conventional coronary balloon angioplasty. A narrow, flexible tube, the laser catheter, is inserted into an artery in the arm or leg. The laser catheter contains one or more optical fibers, which can transmit laser energy. The laser catheter is then advanced inside the artery to the targeted obstruction at the desired treatment site. After the laser catheter has been positioned, the laser is energized to "remove" the obstruction.
In many procedures, the lesion is often engaged similar to conventional balloon angioplasty by crossing the blockage with a guidewire. The laser catheter's thin, flexible optical fibers facilitate the desired positioning and alignment of the catheter. Using the excimer laser, the clinician performs a controlled blockage removal by sending bursts of ultraviolet light through the catheter and against the blockage, a process called "ablation." The catheter is then slowly advanced through the blockage reopening the artery. If there are multiple blockages, the catheter is advanced to the next blockage site and the above step is repeated. When the indicated blockages appear to be cleared, the catheter is withdrawn.
Due to the configuration of the optical fibers in most prior art laser catheters, the clinician is able to ablate only material that is typically directly in front of the distal end of the catheter. Thus, the debulked tissue area is limited to an area approximately the size of the optical fiber area at the distal end of the catheter. Typically, follow-up balloon angioplasty is recommended.
Imaging during atherectomy or angioplasty procedures often uses fluoroscopy imaging techniques for targeting and ablation of blockages. Fluoroscopy, however, has limitations. For example, does not allow a doctor or technician to visualize plaque or vessel walls.


A multi-position apparatus for use with a system operated in at least three distinct positions. The apparatus comprises (i) a position-selection mechanism, (ii) a first link mechanism and a second link mechanism, each link mechanism being operably coupled with the position-selection mechanism, (iii) a first weight-actuated spring mechanism operably coupled with the first link mechanism, (iv) a second weight-actuated spring mechanism operably coupled with the second link mechanism, (vi) a first output-actuating member operably coupled with the first weight-actuated spring mechanism, the first output-actuating member being arranged to operably communicate with the system, and (vii) a second output-actuating member operably coupled with the second weight-actuated spring mechanism. In one example, the system may be an electrical transfer switch having two separate set of electrical contacts.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to system transfer switches and, more particularly, to manually-operated electrical transfer switches.
2. Background of the Invention
Continuous, uninterrupted electrical power is often needed for the proper operation of electrically-powered equipment. This is especially true where the electrically-powered equipment, such as water pumps, fans, elevators, refrigeration and cooling systems (among others), is being used for a critical application. For instance, electrically-driven water pumps may need electrical power to supply water for fire fighting, cooling, sanitary use, or production processes. Refrigeration and cooling systems may need electrical power to maintain a temperature-controlled environment in order to operate temperature-sensitive equipment, keep food from spoiling, or even keep blood banks at a proper temperature. Similarly, elevators rely on electrical power to insure personal safety and provide proper operation during emergency situations.
Unfortunately, due to adverse weather conditions and/or other conditions, power failures may often occur. In the event of a power failure, an electrical load that is connected to a first power source (e.g., a utility power source) may need to be quickly transferred to another, alternate power source (e.g., a generator) to keep the load functional. For this purpose, the power industry has adopted the use of so-called "electrical transfer switches" that are often key components of emergency and standby systems. An electrical transfer switch is generally a device that transfers an electrical load from a "normal" power source to an "emergency" power source. During a load transfer from power source to another power source, electrical contacts of the switch are sequentially opened and closed to couple the load to a desired power source. In an open configuration, for example, the switch contacts may be positioned to disconnect the load from all power sources. In a closed configuration, the switch contacts may be positioned to connect the load to a given power source. For example, in a first closed configuration, the switch contacts may be positioned to connect the load to a normal power source. In a second closed configuration, the switch contacts may be positioned to connect the load to an emergency power source.
To control opening and closing of switch contacts, an electrical transfer switch will typically include an apparatus that is used to place the electrical transfer switch in a desired configuration. In one example, this apparatus may be automatically-actuated (e.g. electrically-actuated during a power failure). In another example, the apparatus may be manually-actuated, allowing a switch operator to manually toggle switch contacts so as to transfer an electrical load from one power source to another power source. In the case of a manually-operated electrical transfer switch, it is thus desirable to provide a manually-actuated apparatus that can efficiently transfer an electrical load from a one power source to another in order to prevent damage that may result from the load being without power.
Further, some electrical transfer switches come equipped with two separate sets of electrical contacts that each individually control a connection to a given power source. In this type of switch, one set of electrical contacts may be dedicated to selectively connecting the load to a first power source (e.g., a "normal" power source). Another set of electrical contacts may be then dedicated to making or breaking a connection with a second power source (e.g., an "emergency" power source). For instance, a so-called "dual-shaft" electrical transfer switch may have two separate moveable contact assemblies, typically in the form of two moveable shaft assemblies carrying a respective set of electrical contacts that can be open or closed as needed.
Certain manually-actuated mechanisms may only be capable of opening and closing a single set of switch contacts at a time. As a result, for the purpose of positioning a dual-shaft transfer switch for instance, a user may subsequently have to operate two separate mechanisms that each individually control a single set of switch contacts. Thus, a common manually-actuated apparatus capable of opening/closing two separate sets of contacts is needed for use with an electrical transfer switch, such as a dual-shaft electrical transfer switch.
In addition, unlike electrically-actuated switching mechanisms, current manually-actuated mechanisms having complex designs generally perform switching between sources in a manner that could create substantial periods where the load is disconnected from a power source. This detrimental behavior may result in part from the inability of a human user to quickly and accurately engage the switching mechanism so as to avoid delays in opening and closing electrical contact assemblies. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a less complex manually-actuated mechanism that is capable of switching at an equivalent to that of an electrically actuated apparatus.

Three-position apparatus capable of positioning an electrical transfer switch


A data compression system and method for achieving enhanced compression performance in a plurality of encoder-decoder pairs communicatively coupled in a concatenated chain is disclosed. The plurality of encoder-decoder pairs receive input data and transform the input data into compressed output data. The data compression system includes at least one quality estimator communicatively coupled to the concatenated chain to determine a plurality of quality metrics corresponding to an output from each of the plurality of encoder-decoder pairs. Further, the data compression system also includes a processing subsystem configured to optimize the operation of each of the plurality of encoder-decoder pairs based upon the plurality of quality metrics to achieve a desired level of optimization for the concatenated chain.

Embodiments of the present technique relate generally to data compression devices, and more particularly to video compression devices employing dynamic learning and control.
Digital broadcast networks that transport and deliver image sequences in near real-time, such as movies and live interviews, face a series of challenges. The first of these challenges is the digitization and transmission of enormously large digital streams of symbols over a limited bandwidth. A present day high definition television camera, for example, produces a digital stream of over two hundred million bytes per second. Data transport network costs for accommodating such high data rates are prohibitive, even if the requisite channels are available. The next challenge, therefore, faced by the transport network, is to compress these extremely high data rates into lower data rate streams for transmission over the available channels.
Further, transcontinental and intercontinental broadcast of video content, such as a sports event, requires several intermediate communication links coupled to one another for ensuring complete end-to-end delivery. This coupling is referred to as a "concatenation" and is an area of significant attention for maintaining video and audio quality and integrity. Concatenation involves multiple encode-decode processes associated with digital turn-around over satellite, wireless, and terrestrial links. Further, concatenations result in accumulation of distortions introduced during the multiple encode-decode processes, thereby reducing video quality at successive delivery feeds. Considerable efforts have been made to develop efficient data compression algorithms and standards suitable for video compression such as MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and H.264. Each of these techniques employs different parameter settings, such as a desired sample depth, a macroblock size, and a chroma format for encoding and decoding data. The compression, however, is usually lossy, and includes visible, and often, distracting artifacts in the decompressed image sequence displayed to a human user. This loss of fidelity is a result of different encoders and decoders performing rate control optimizations independent of the other elements of the concatenation. An MPEG-2 encoder, for example, employs a relatively larger macroblock for encoding, and therefore, may introduce artifacts in an image sequence traversing a concatenated chain of compressive devices. As a result, an H.264 encoder positioned further down the concatenated chain and employing a much smaller macroblock, incurs wasted computation and bandwidth to reproduce, with high fidelity, the artifacts and errors introduced by the MPEG-2 encoder.
Further, as the number of encoders and decoders in the concatenation grows, the large number of video compression parameters and the types of scenes to be analyzed result in a combinatorial explosion in the growth of the search space for determining optimal encoder and decoder parameter settings. A technique that improves this search in near real-time and optimizes performance along an entire chain of encoding and decoding devices would be of significant benefit in terms of reducing the cost of video transport while maintaining video quality.
It may therefore be desirable to develop an adaptive data compression system optimized for repeated encoding and decoding of different types of data sequences along a concatenated chain of compressive devices. Additionally, there is a need for a system configured to allow a large number of channels to be carried within a limited bandwidth with acceptable video quality.

System and method for enhancing data compression using dynamic learning and control


A method of energy efficient wireless communication, including obtaining a signal pattern defining resources for use in transmitting or receiving signals with variable signal density over time, the signals including a plurality of signals defining a signal burst, configuring the resources based on the signal pattern, including aligning a discontinuous reception (DRX) period with the signal burst, and transmitting or receiving the signals, including the signal burst aligned with the DRX period, according to the signal pattern to achieve variable density signal transmission or reception over time. Additionally, a method may include obtaining a signal pattern that defines a first set of signals with a first density and a first periodicity and a second set of signals with a second density different than the first density and a second periodicity different than the first periodicity, and communicating reference signals among the plurality of communications devices based on the signal pattern.

1. Field
Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to supporting energy efficient signaling in a network device and/or a user equipment.
2. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.
A wireless communication network may include a number of base stations, also referred to as nodeBs or eNodeBs (eNBs), which can support communication for a number of user equipments (UEs). A UE may communicate with a base station via a downlink and an uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to a communication link from the base station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to a communication link from the UE to the base station. In an example, a base station can assign a number of downlink and/or uplink resources to a UE. Moreover, the base station can allow the UE to establish multiple carriers for communicating with the base station over the downlink or uplink using multiple physical or virtual antennas or other radio resources to improve communication throughput.
Due to the ever increasing popularity of wireless communications, efficiently utilizing the limited resources of both the base stations and UEs has become a concern.
One manner in which this concern is addressed in 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) Release 11 (Rel-11) through the definition of a new carrier type, also referred to as an extension carrier, which may provide enhanced spectral efficiency by removing unneeded synchronization signals, and which also may provide enhanced energy efficiency.
Moreover, current agreements or operating assumptions include the base station transmitting certain synchronization signals with increased periodicity. The proposed increase in separation of the synchronization signals may not provide sufficient energy savings, however, and further separation of the signals may lead to possible delays in communications as well as possible user congestion.
Accordingly, improved mechanisms or techniques for more energy efficient signaling are desired.

Apparatus and methods of energy efficient communication


This application relates to a laminate comprising: a first half wave plate; a second half wave plate; and a positive C plate provided between the first half wave plate and the second half wave plate and a liquid crystal display comprising the same.

In recent years, as there has been a growing interest in information display and a demand for a portable information medium to be used has increased, research and commercialization of a lightweight thin film flat panel display (FPD), which replaces a cathode ray tube (CRT) which is the existing display device, have been mainly carried out. In particular, among such flat panel display devices, a liquid crystal display (LCD) as a device for displaying an image using optical anisotropy of a liquid crystal is excellent in resolution, color display, and image quality, and is actively applied to a notebook or a desktop monitor.
In such a liquid crystal display, liquid crystal molecules of a liquid crystal layer are driven by a difference in voltage applied to a common electrode and a pixel electrode.
Liquid crystals have features such as dielectric anisotropy and refractive anisotropy. Dielectric anisotropy means that the degree of polarization induced by an electric field varies depending on long axis and short axis directions of the liquid crystal, and refractive anisotropy means that a refractive index varies depending on the long axis and short axis directions of the liquid crystal, which causes a polarization state to be changed because the refractive index perceived varies according to a direction when light passes through the liquid crystal molecules.
As a result, the liquid crystal display has a liquid crystal panel constituted by a pair of transparent insulating substrates formed by planes facing each other with the liquid crystal layer interposed therebetween as a required component and arbitrarily controls the polarization of the liquid crystal molecules through a change in electric field between respective electric field generating electrodes and displays various images by using transmittance of light which is changed at this time.
In this case, a polarizer is located at each of upper and lower portions of the liquid crystal panel. The polarizer transmits the light of a polarization component, which coincides with a transmission axis to determine a transmission degree of light by arrangement of transmission axes of two polarizers and arrangement characteristics of the liquid crystals.
The polarizer used in the liquid crystal display in the related art is mainly a PVA elongated type in which iodine ions are aligned through stretching by using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) having good adsorption ability with iodine.

Laminate and liquid crystal display device comprising same