An apparatus for ventilating the passenger space of a rapidly moving elevator car generates an air flow through the car during the travel of the car in an elevator shaft. A plurality of ventilation slots are provided one above the other and open to the passenger space of the elevator car and to a ventilation channel extending vertically in one wall of the elevator car. The total cross-sectional area of the ventilation slots is approximately twice as great as the cross-sectional area of the ventilation channel. The ventilation slots are formed by carrier slots in a sheet metal carrier on which a plurality of strips of a laminated material plate are attached on a passenger space side thereof and on which a perforated metal reinforcing plate is spot-welded on a rear side thereof. The reinforcing plate has rows of apertures formed in generally V-shaped grooves aligned with the ventilation slots. The grooves space the apertures from the carrier. The cross-sectional area of the apertures in any groove is at least equal to the cross-sectional area of the associated ventilation slot.

The present invention relates generally to elevator cars and, in particular, to an apparatus for ventilating the passenger space of rapidly moving elevator cars.
Equipment for the ventilation of rapidly moving elevator cars is shown in the European patent document EP-A O 418 511 in which air, which is situated in the elevator shaft, is forced into the passenger space of an elevator car as the car travels in the shaft. The air flows into the car through slots and baffle plates located in the roof and in the floor of the car. For that purpose, at least one slot is located in the floor region, is formed by an outer car wall and an outer edge of the floor and is covered by internal cladding plates, through which the relieved air flows into the passenger space. Dirt and dust, which is carried from the outside into the car by passengers, deposits on the floor and at least a part thereof gets through the ventilation slot into the cut-out lying thereunder and can, in the course of time, clog the ventilation openings.
The present invention is therefore based on the task of providing a ventilating apparatus for an elevator car with adequate ventilation cross-sectional area and in which dirt, which is deposited on the floor of the car, does not get into the ventilating apparatus.

Apparatus for the ventilation of the passenger space of rapidly moving elevator cars


Methods and apparatus for etching substrates such as silicon wafers are provided. In one specific approach, a surface of the substrate assembly is covered with a resist that is patterned to define features to be etched. In this approach, the surface is then exposed to a plasma in a plasma etcher so that surface areas not covered with the resist are etched, while the thickness of the resist increases or etches at a rate that is at least ten times slower than that of the exposed areas of the surface. This etching process can be followed with a conventional plasma etch. By combining the etching that increases the resist thickness with the conventional etching of resist in which the resist thins during etching, features having high-aspect-ratios can be etched.

The fabrication of very large-scale integrated circuits requires processes that are compatible with small feature sizes (e.g., 0.25 μm). A particular problem is the etching of a silicon wafer or other substrate assembly to produce damascene layers, self-aligned contacts (SACs), or trench isolation. These features typically require etching relatively deeply into the wafer while maintaining a small footprint on the surface of the substrate assembly, i.e., these features have a high-aspect-ratio (HAR), with a depth-to-width (on the surface of the substrate assembly) ratio of 4:1 or larger.
Features to be etched into a substrate assembly are typically defined with a layer of photoresist that is spin-coated or otherwise applied onto a surface of the substrate assembly and then photolithographically patterned. After patterning, some areas of the substrate assembly surface remain covered by the photoresist layer while other areas are exposed. The covered substrate assembly is exposed to an etch, and the photoresist layer prevents etching except in the exposed areas.
Etching of HAR features requires anisotropic etches that etch more rapidly in one direction than another. Conventional wet etches include dilute solutions of acids such as hydrofluoric acid. While wet etching is simple and inexpensive, wet etching is generally inadequate to produce HAR features because wet etches tend to etch isotropically. In addition, it is difficult to etch deep HAR features into a substrate assembly because the etchant does not flow freely into and out of the feature. Therefore, even if a wet etch begins to etch properly, etchant is consumed within the feature being etched and is replenished slowly.
Dry etching with plasmas is also used for etching substrate assemblies. In plasma etching, a gas or gas mixture is fragmented and ionized and the ions produced are accelerated toward the substrate assembly. When the ions reach the substrate assembly, they combine chemically with the substrate assembly to form volatile compounds that are readily driven off of the substrate assembly. In some cases, the mechanical impact of the ions with the substrate assembly also serves to etch the substrate. Because of the acceleration of the ions toward the substrate assembly, etching is anisotropic and proceeds rapidly on surfaces that are perpendicular to the propagation direction of the ions.
Unfortunately, dry etching with a plasma has significant limitations. While plasmas etch anisotropically, a plasma etches both the substrate assembly and the photoresist that defines the features to be produced. As a result, the total etching time is limited by the time required for the plasma etch to penetrate the photoresist. When the photoresist is penetrated, further etching is no longer limited to the intended substrate locations, but occurs in all substrate areas that are not protected by the photoresist. Photoresists typically etch four to five times more slowly than typical substrate materials to be etched (such as silicon or silicon oxide). Etching processes in which a substrate material is etched at a rate of less than about eight times the rate at which a resist etches are referred to herein as "resist-consuming."
Etching deep HAR features requires thick layers of photoresist to permit long etch times, and such thick layers complicate the photolithographic patterning process. For example, to etch a HAR feature 3000 nm deep requires a photoresist thickness of as much 750 nm. Patterning a feature as small as about 250 nm is very difficult in such a thick layer of photoresist.
Other factors limiting plasma etching include the difficulty of providing a selected distribution of ions (charged particles) and neutral particles at the substrate surface and at the bottom of a feature being etched. Accordingly, improved etching methods are needed, especially for etching high-aspect-ratio features. A resist layer has a nominal thickness and a facet thickness, either or both of which are maintained, preserved, or increased in the disclosed methods and apparatus.

Etching methods and apparatus and substrate assemblies produced therewith


A method of producing a gas mixture, said method comprising the steps of: a) subjecting water to electrolysis to obtain a hydrogen gas stream and an oxygen gas stream; b) reacting the hydrogen gas stream with solid carbon to obtain a stream comprising hydrocarbon gas, such as methane gas; and c) mixing the oxygen gas stream with the stream comprising hydrocarbon gas.

On for example the subcontinent, old-fashioned stoves used in cooking often burn a mix of wood, hay, or cow dung. This fuel has typically been collected by the women of the household. During collecting, the women may need to move away from the safety provided by their homes. Moreover, the smoke from the fire produced by the stoves has proved to increase the risk of certain diseases such as pneumonia, chronic respiratory disease and heart disease.

Method and system for producing a gas mixture


Liquid handling apparatus includes a transfer vessel adapted to receive and retain a predetermined volume of liquid between an upper air-inlet and lower liquid inlet/outlet, the latter being an opening in the base connected to a liquid-flow delivery and suction pipe of desired length, the latter having an open terminal end downstream of a manually controllable on/off valve, the terminal end being adapted to be placed in liquid communication with a supply vessel or dispensing container.

There have always been many instances in which liquid chemicals need to be supplied in appropriate volumes to containers from which they are progressively dispensed, while retrieval of the remaining contents after a period of dispensing will in most cases be necessary or desirable. We have found this very pertinent in relation to liquid pre-mix weedicides to be applied by spraying via an agricultural machine, or applied by wick-rope wiping action as in our Australian Patent No. 529361. Whether the liquid chemicals be weedicide or extremely hazardous chemicals, it is obviously desirable that supply and/or retrieval be accomplished with a minimum of spillage since this is harmful to the environment as well as to the operators. Often after a period of use such as at the end of a day, it is necessary to clean pumps and/or other components associated with the distribution containers, thus increasing the risks of spillage. The large number of similar practical applications of this type will be known to users of such equipment or will be apparent from the discussions herein in relation to the present invention.

Methods and apparatus for transferring hazardous liquids


A sheet-like structure with surface protrusions for he provision of spacing elements, grip-enhancing elements, draining elements and the like, comprising an extruded sheet-like element which has, on at least one face, a plurality of peduncles which are formed monolithically with the sheet-like element during the extrusion thereof and have a solid transverse cross-section.

The present invention relates to a sheet-like structure with surface protrusions for providing spacing, grip-enhancing, draining elements and the like.
It is known that spacing or draining elements are already commercially available which are provided by means of continuous or perforated sheets, calendered or thermoformed so as to have protrusions or studs on their surface; reticular products with two or more sets of superimposed filaments are also used mostly for drainage purposes.
Both the sheets and the net-like products can be coupled to woven materials, non-woven fabrics or membranes.
Conventional solutions, however, entail several drawbacks: particularly, continuous or perforated sheets shaped by calendering or thermoforming have the drawback that they are fragile and furthermore difficult to compress, owing to the internal flimsiness of the protrusions; it is also necessary to perform significant modifications of the manufacturing equipment if the product is to be modified by changing the number or distribution of the protrusions.
Use of these products as drainage elements is furthermore not particularly favorable, since there is a considerable presence of spacing material because the studs cannot be obtained with a configuration having a very small base; moreover, the studs are subjected, under stress, to a gradual compression which ultimately drastically reduces the draining ability.
Another drawback is furthermore constituted by the fact that the studs molded on the sheet or net must be placed at a relatively significant distance, so that in case of coupling with fabrics said fabric can curve or form arcs in the regions where it is not supported by the studs.
Another problem is furthermore constituted by the fact that calendering of reticular or perforated material can be performed only starting from material with very small openings, in order to avoid compromising the strength of the structure and making production difficult.
It should also be noted that the perforation of a product which has already been calendered to obtain a reticular configuration is unfeasible, both because the method is uneconomical and because the resulting product would be extremely fragile.
The use of products produced with nets having two or more layers of filaments as draining elements is also not particularly advantageous, since the presence of the filaments transversely to the path along which the fluid passes entails a drastic reduction of its draining characteristics.
Moreover, these nets with multiple layers of filaments, when they are not coupled to membranes and/or fabrics, owing to their non-laminar structure, can damage or bite into delicate surfaces, such as sheaths and membranes which are superimposed on it.

Sheet-like structure with surface protrusions for providing spacing, grip-enhancing, draining elements and the like


An anodized metal substrate module superior in heat radiation properties and reduced in manufacturing costs. A metal plate is provided. An anodized film is formed on the metal plate. A heat generating device is mounted on the metal plate. Also, a conductive line is formed on the anodized film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate module mounted with a heat generating device such as a light emitting diode and a power chip, and more particularly, to an anodized metal substrate module superior in heat radiation properties, which can be applied to a backlight unit and a surface light source device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, researches have been under way to improve heat radiation properties of a circuit board. Conventionally, a heat generating device has been mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) having an insulating base substrate. However, a typical PCB, if mounted with a device such as a light emitting diode or a power chip which generates a considerable amount of heat, is degraded in reliability due to poor heat transfer properties thereof. The typical PCB with inferior heat radiation properties proves disadvantageous for a backlight unit of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a surface light source device.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional printed circuit board (PCB). Referring to FIG. 1, the PCB 10 includes an insulating base substrate 11 made of resin or plastic and upper and lower conductive lines 14 formed on and underneath the base substrate 11, respectively. The upper and lower conductive lines 14 can be electrically connected with each other by, for example, a conductive via. In addition to this function of electrical connection, the via 15 may serve as a heat transfer path. Components (e.g., an LED or power chip) are mounted on the base substrate 11 to be connected to the conductive lines 14.
This conventional PCB 10 is relatively inexpensive due to low-cost materials and easy processability. But the PCB 10 is poor in heat radiation properties due to its high heat resistance. In an effort to overcome this problem, a metal core PCB (MCPCB) adopting a metal member with superb heat transfer properties has been proposed. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the MCPCB. Referring to FIG. 2, the MCPCB 20 includes a metal core substrate 21 made of Al and a polymer insulating layer 23 formed thereon. Conductive lines 25 are formed on the polymer insulating layer 23 and necessary devices 27 and 28 are mounted on the polymer insulating layer 23. This MCPCB 20 exhibits superior heat radiation properties to the conventional PCB (see FIG. 1). Yet the MCPCB 20 adopts the high-cost polymer insulating layer 23 with relatively high thermal conductivity, thereby considerably increasing manufacturing costs thereof.


A programmable logic device includes a functional block, which does not form part of an embedded processor, which can perform a testing function on other functional blocks of the programmable logic device. Thus, the test block can read stored data values from registers in the other functional blocks of the programmable logic device, or can read signal values at points in the other functional blocks of the programmable logic device, or can insert specific data values in registers in the other functional blocks of the programmable logic device.

Programmable logic devices are in common use, in which an array of logic elements can be configured to perform a desired set of functions. Programmable logic devices have a number of inputs and outputs, and may also contain specialized memory blocks as well as other blocks having particular specialized functions, in addition to the array of logic elements. The connections between the logic elements of the array, and the connections between the logic elements and the other blocks of the programmable logic device, are then determined by configuration data.
That is, the configuration data may determine that certain specific logic elements of the array will operate together to perform a specific desired function.
Programmable logic devices are therefore widely used to implement complex electronic products. The designer of such a product needs to be able to test the effects of a set of configuration data during the design process. That is, the designer may produce a first set of configuration data, and will then need to test the functionality of the programmable logic device when configured by that set of configuration data. Depending on the results of the test, the designer will then be able either to modify or expand the set of configuration data, in order to modify or expand the resulting functionality.
It is becoming common to use a programmable logic device with an embedded processor. That is, some of the logic elements of the array are configured such that they form a microprocessor, which can then run software in a generally conventional way.
Thus, programmable logic devices available from Altera Corporation can be used to implement a microprocessor, which is available under the trademark Nios®.
It is also known that, in the case of a programmable logic device with an embedded processor, the processor can be used to debug the device during operation. That is, while a design implemented in the programmable logic device is in operation, the processor can stop the process and, for example, examine the contents of the registers which are in use. This information can then be used to test whether the device is operating as intended. If not, the configuration data can be modified, the design can be changed, and the test procedure can be carried out again.
However, implementing an embedded processor can use a significant proportion of the resources of the programmable logic device. Therefore, it can be disadvantageous to have to implement an embedded processor for testing and debugging purposes, when the design does not otherwise require that an embedded processor should be implemented.

Programmable logic device and method of testing a programmable logic device


A method for predicting total bump height reduction from volume wear rate data for a laser textured magnetic disk. In this method, a bump topography function, r(h), is first established by which the bump half-width, r, is expressed as a function of bump depth, h. Then the bump height depth after first revolution, h.sub.1, is calculated according to the following equation: ##EQU1## Based on the observation of constant wear volume per cycle, the bump height depth after each subsequent revolution, h.sub.i, i=2 . . . N, is calculated according to the following equation: ##EQU2## The so-calculated h.sub.N is the total bump height reduction after the Nth revolution.

Computer hard disks typically contain a protective, or overcoat, layer, above the magnetic layer. The overcoat layer is made of a highly wear-resistance material and is subject to direct wear resulting from frictional contact with the magnetic head so as to sacrificially protect the magnetic layer.
Recently, laser texturing techniques have been developed and utilized for high-performance, particularly low-flying-height, magnetic disks to form laser zone textures including the overcoat layer. Disks with laser zone texture often can offer the advantages of relatively low manufacturing costs as well as high precision control of disk surface topography and zone position.
Most of the published works on laser zone texture techniques have focused on optimizing the laser pulse width, spot size, pulse energy, and the effects the changes of these parameters on the formation of various bump shapes and bump heights. While these studies have provided very useful information regarding tribological performance in CSS testing and glide avalanche predictions and experiments, no study has been reported in the prior art which would deal with providing a tool for a quantitative description of wear characteristics for the laser zone textured bumps. A better understanding of the wear characteristic will aid the design of better laser textured bumps and improve the service of magnetic recording disks.

Method for predicting and improving wear characteristics of laser textured bumps formed on magnetic recording disk


A solar module is provided with improved photoelectric conversion efficiency. A first electrode and a second electrode (21, 22) each contain a plated film. Each plated film has a feed point (50). The feed points (50) are positioned in bus bar portions (21b, 22b). A wiring member (30) is connected electrically to the first electrode or the second electrode (21, 22) in the finger portions (21a, 22a).

Solar cells have attracted attention in recent years as an energy source with a low environmental impact. For example, a solar module is described in Patent Document 1 which includes a plurality of back contact solar cells connected electrically via a wiring member. The solar cells described in Patent Document 1 have a plurality of n-side electrodes and p-side electrodes arranged alternately and are electrically independent. In the first embodiment of Patent Document 1, the wiring members and solar cells are bonded using anisotropically conductive film whose base material is resin. In the second embodiment of Patent Document 1, a wiring member whose base material is a conductive material such as a thin copper plate is bonded to the central portion of a solar cell.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A slider, includes a slider base, a pull-tab, a connecting shaft and a spring; the slider base includes an upper blade, a lower blade, and a connecting pin connecting the upper blade and the lower blade; said pull-tab is integrated with the connecting shaft; the pull-tab includes a pull-tab body, with a spring mounting part and a locking part set at the anterior-end-face of the pull-tab body; the anterior-end-face of the pull-tab body is set as a locking vertical plane and the bottom of the pull-tab body is set as cambered surface; the connecting shaft is fixed to the anterior-end of the pull-tab body and the length of the connecting shaft is larger than the width of the anterior-end-face of the pull-tab body; the connecting shaft runs through the spring mounting part and the locking part and extends to both sides of the anterior-end of the pull-tab body.

Zipper is fastenings to combine or separate items with continuous teeth, now it is widely used in clothes, bags, tents and so on. Zipper comprises teeth, slider, top stopper, bottom stopper, and locking pieces and so on, wherein slider is moving parts that make the teeth engage with or separate from each other. Generally there are two tapes for the zipper with a sequence of teeth respectively, said sequence of teeth are alternatively staggered arranged; the slider clamps the teeth at both sides and slide with the aid of a pull-tab, thus making the teeth engage with or separate from each other.
Slider is the one of the slider fastener with automatically re-boundable function. Slider is widely used in jeans wear because of its anti-detergence and high machinability. The application CN105795617A discloses a slider comprises a slider base, the pull-tab, a connecting shaft and a spring; the slider base comprising an upper blade, a lower blade, and a connecting pin connecting the upper blade and the lower blade; wherein, upper blade lateral sides are formed on two sides of the upper blade, each of the upper blade lateral sides has two through-holes, comprising a first through-hole and a second through-hole, for mounting the connecting shaft; the upper blade further comprises a square-shaped notch for disposing the pull-tab; the square-shaped notch comprises an arc-shaped notch, an anterior-end-face of the arc-shaped notch connects to sidewalls of the square-shaped notch and a posterior-end-face of the arc-shaped notch connects to a bottom surface of the square-shaped notch; a locking through-hole is disposed at a joint portion between the square-shaped notch and the arc-shaped notch; the locking through-hole separates the arc-shaped notch into a first arc-shaped notch on a side of the first through-hole and a second arc-shaped notch on a side of the second through-hole; an anterior-end platform is disposed at a joint portion between the anterior-end-face of the first arc-shaped notch and the sidewalls of the square-shaped notch, and a posterior-end-face of the first arc-shaped notch connects to the bottom surface by a locking vertical plane; a posterior-end-face of the second arc-shaped notch connects to the bottom surface directly and an anterior-end-face of the second arc-shaped notch connects to the sidewalls of the square-shaped notch; the anterior-end-face platform has a lug boss at the second arc-shaped notch;
The pull-tab comprises a pull-tab body, a top-end-face of the pull-tab body has a spring mounting part and a locking part, wherein the spring mounting part and the locking part are adjacent to each other; the spring mounting part has a cambered surface and the locking part has a locking cambered surface that is lower than the spring mounting part; the top-end-face of the pull-tab body also has a connecting shaft through-hole for assembling the connecting shaft so as to fix the pull-tab to the slider base; the spring mounting part has a spring mounting hole coaxially provided with the connecting shaft through-hole, and a radius of the spring mounting hole is larger than a radius of the connecting shaft through-hole; a lateral side of the pull-tab body has a spring fixing hole communicating with the spring mounting hole;
Two ends of the spring has a first extending end and a second extending end, wherein the first extending end has a corner; when the slider is assembled, the spring is fit in the spring mounting hole; wherein the corner is disposed at a joint portion between the lug boss and the second arc-shaped notch; the second extending end inserts into the spring fixing hole; when the slider is assembled, the spring is in a compressed state.
The above mentioned slider have a very complex structure, inconvenient installation, high production cost and isn't beneficial to mass production.

IDEAL FASTENER (GUANGDONG) INDUSTRIES LTD.


A device and a method for automatically turning over a disc relate to a guide rod provided with a movable member. The movable member is assembled to a rotating member via a pivot member in such a manner that the movable member can axially move along and radially rotate around the guide rod. The pivot member is disposed between the movable member and the rotating member and powered to rotate. The rotating member is provided with a disc-carrying device in a direction of its rotation around the pivot member for taking the disc. The pivot member drives the disc to rotate via the rotating member, so as to turn over the disc, so that the rotating member makes the disc slide down into the tray in an inclined manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and a method for automatically turning over a disc, which is applied in a data-burning/printing process for automatically turning over a disc to burn or to print data in both sides of the disc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, the disc turn-over technology is applied in two kinds of disc-recording processes: one is the production of the double-sided discs, namely both sides of the disc can be stored with data, and the other is the production of the light-printing (Light Scribe/Label Flash) discs, namely one side of the disc is stored with data, and the other side of the disc is provided for laser etched labels with text or graphics.
However, a common automatic duplication system is only applicable in a single-sided burning/copying process and its robotic arm can move up and down along an axis. When reaching a specific height (normally above the tray of the duplication system), the robotic arm can horizontally rotate. The robotic arm performs the following operations during the duplication process:
1. The arm rotates to the zone A and then will vertically move to pick up a blank disc;
2. The arm will vertically move together with the blank disc to the height above the tray of the duplication system;
3. The arm will rotate together with the blank disc to the zone B above the tray;
4. The arm will vertically move within the zone B to load the blank disc on the tray for performing the burning operation;
5. After the burning of the blank disc, the disc will vertically move to pick up the burned disc; and
6. The arm will rotate to the zone C together with the burned disc, and then will unload the burned disc.
Subsequently, the steps 1-6 will be repeated over and over again, so that the automatic duplication of the single sided burning/printing can be performed continually.
Please refer to U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,298, entitled "PROGRAMMABLE SELF-OPERATING COMPACT DISC DUPLICATION SYSTEM", the system includes a pivotal transport tower 58 provided with a disk suction pickup unit 54, the disk suction pickup unit 54 can be ascended and descended to move the disc between the respective stacked disk drive receptacle members 82 and the respective disk-collecting pillars 50, 52a, 52b to perform the burning of the blank disk and then collecting the finished disk. Although such a structure can perform the disc-changing operation, it cannot perform the disc-turning operation, namely the discs are also manually or with an extra device turned over with a specific period. In addition, it is to be noted that there is no machine capable of performing both disc-turning and disc-changing operations in the present market.
Currently, there are mainly two conventional methods for turning a disc over:
1. The first method is to manually turn over the stacked discs of the zone C (one side of these stacked discs has been burned) wholly and then move them to the zone A for repeating the steps 1-6;
2. The second method is to add an extra turn-over mechanism in the zone C to turn over the discs one by one, and then make use of the robotic arm to pick up the turned discs on the zone C and repeat the steps 2-5 and finally rotate the arm to unload the both sides finished discs on the zone D.
The above conventional disc-recording processes require applying the turn-over technology and actually suffer from many disadvantages such as:
1. The robotic arm can only move up and down and rotate horizontally, and the conventional duplication system needs providing an extra turn-over mechanism to turn over the discs, thus causing high equipment cost;
2. The processes of taking out, turning over and taking back the disc takes lots of time, thus greatly increasing the working time of the duplication system;
3. The conventional duplication system must provide an extra zone D for the both sides finished discs, thus causing the vain space waste.

Device and method for automatically turning over a disc


An apparatus for lifting an object in a sealed chamber and transferring an object from a robot to an operating member has a pair of concentrically mounted support members. A lower support member positioned within the chamber extends through an opening in the chamber is adapted to lift a wafer from a robot. A motion actuator positioned outside the chamber and attached to the lower support member is adapted to move the lower support member axially. An upper support member positioned within the chamber above the lower support member extends through an axial passageway in the lower support member to a position external the chamber and below the lower support member. A separate motion actuator positioned outside the chamber and attached to the upper support member is adapted to move the upper support member axially. A flexible vacuum bellows positioned in the chamber and between the upper support member, the lower support member, and the chamber provides a seal therebetween.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the processing of substrates to form integrated circuit wafers and equipment useful for such processing. More particularly, the invention relates to processes and equipment for moving a lifting member within a sealed vacuum chamber.
2. Background of the Related Art
In the fabrication of integrated circuits, the processes are often carried out in a vacuum environment to, among other things, reduce the particulate level to which the wafers are exposed. Robots within the vacuum processing systems move the wafers horizontally through the system and position the wafers in a series of processing stations in which a series of processing steps are carried out.
Within each of the processing stations, or chambers, the wafer is transferred from the robot onto a pedestal. To complete the transfer, the robot, which supports the wafer from the bottom, positions the wafer over the pedestal. A receiver apparatus, typically in the form of a plurality of vertically extending fingers connected at their lower ends on a lifting hoop (although other embodiments are known), moves upward through slots in the pedestal to lift the wafer from the robot. The receiver apparatus has a shaft extending out of the bottom of the chamber where it is connected to a positioning device. With the wafer supported by the receiver apparatus, the robot retracts from the chamber. The processing pedestal then moves upward beyond the receiving apparatus lifting the wafer from the receiver apparatus and into an upper position where the process step is performed. Like the receiving apparatus, the processing pedestal has a shaft extending through the bottom of the chamber where it is driven by a separate positioning device.
In prior art devices, the pedestal shaft is generally concentric with the platform. The lifting hoop of the receiving apparatus is also generally concentric with the platform so that the fingers are equally spaced about the platform to provide sufficient and balanced support for the wafer. However, in the prior art devices, the shaft of the receiving apparatus is offset from the axis of the lifting hoop and is parallel to the processing platform shaft. An extension arm connects the lifting hoop to the receiving apparatus shaft.
Accordingly, the prior art devices have two parallel shafts extending through the bottom of the chamber and require two openings in the bottom of the chamber. Each of these openings must be sealed in order to maintain the required vacuum within the chamber. To seal the chamber around the openings, a collapsible bellows extends between the platform and the chamber bottom and a separate collapsible bellows extends between the upper end of the receiving apparatus shaft and the chamber bottom. The collapsible bellows is required due to the relative movement of the shafts in the chamber. However, each of the vacuum to atmosphere interfaces, the bellows seals, are a source for leaks which result in system inefficiency and downtime.
Also, the prior art designs necessitate the use of a relatively larger chamber because of the offset receiver shaft. This larger chamber takes additional space, a precious commodity in manufacturing clean rooms, and requires additional material to manufacture and additional energy to maintain the required vacuum within the chamber. Having the offset shaft also restricts the use of a circular chamber and increases inefficiency and manufacturing costs.


The invention relates to a device for adjusting inclination having a freely pivoting device for the back part of a motor vehicle seat, which has at least:                an inclination adjuster (2) with a lower part (3) and an upper part (4) that can be pivoted and locked in opposite to the lower part (3),        a pivot bearing (5) for fastening to the back part of the seat, which has an engaging means (26) for removable rotationally rigid engagement in the upper part (4) and after releasing the engagement can be folded vis-à-vis the inclination adjuster (2) within the folding range,        an adapter (6) connected rotationally rigidly to the lower part (3) of the inclination adjuster (2) for fasting to a seat frame of the motor vehicle seat, and        a bearing part (7) connected rotationally rigidly to the pivot bearing (5), wherein the upper part (4) is axially clamped between the pivot bearing (5) and the bearing part (7) and the pivot bearing (5) is axially clamped between the adapter (6) and the lower part (3).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an inclination adjustment device with a freely pivoting device for the back part of a motor vehicle seat.
2. Description of Related Art
This type of inclination adjustment device is known from DE 102 32 030 A1. A device part affixed to the seat part and a device part affixed to the back part are each fixedly connected to adapters, which partially fit around the other device part and consequently make possible an axial locking. A swash mechanism is provided for adjusting the inclination of the back part, said swash mechanism pivoting two parts of the inclination adjustment device steplessly against each other. When this is done, the adapter affixed to the back part support latches with one of the parts; after unlocking the latching a free folding of the device part affixed to the back part is possible vis-à-vis the device part affixed to the seat.
In contrast with a simple inclination adjustment, the folding movement of the back part is accordingly made possible by the further coaxial functional level of the adapter affixed to the back part; to achieve this, the axially added adapter affixed to the back part is axially secured to the inclination adjustment device. Axial retention means such as arcurate bearing points, for example, leave sufficient space for the pivot movements; that is, the inclination adjustment and the folding movement after loosening of the latching means. In virtue of this free space, however, there is the risk that in the event of overload due to the transverse forces generated in the gearing of the swash mechanism, the device parts are spread apart and the device part consequently opens.
DE 197 15 764 C2 discloses a device for adjusting inclination having a freely pivoting device, wherein an axial retaining device of the device parts affixed to the back part and to the seat frame is obtained by a covering hood and a stud. DE 43 24 734 C2 discloses a device for adjusting the inclination of a back part of seats having a hinge part affixed to the seat.

Inclination adjustment device with freely pivoting device for the back part of a motor vehicle seat

Abstract: According to the invention, an additional axial locking is obtained by a bayonet retaining device (36, 37, 38) formed between the pivot bearing (5) and the upper part (4).


An arrangement is provided in a fuel cell power plant (10) for dispensing (58 74, 60, 64) a liquid medium, such as water (66), into a process oxidant (air) stream (53) that flows through one gas channel (42) in an energy recovery device (ERD) (32). An exhaust gas stream (48) containing heat and moisture from the fuel cell (12) flows through another channel (44) in the ERD. An enthalpy exchange barrier (46) separates the one and the other gas channels, but allows mass and/or heat transfer therebetween. The water is injected into the air stream (53) in a controlled (70, 74) amount, and perhaps temperature (78), in response to sensed parameters (80, 84, 90) of the power plant, including the process air stream, to adjust one or more conditions in the power plant. Controlling ERD dryness, providing a defrost capability for the ERD, and/or preventing excessive water accumulation in the system are several of the conditions controlled.

Fuel cell power plants are commonly used to produce electrical energy from reducing and oxidizing fluids to power electrical apparatus. In such power plants, one or typically a plurality, of planar fuel cells are arranged in a fuel cell stack. Each cell generally includes an anode electrode and a cathode electrode separated by an electrolyte. A reducing fluid such as hydrogen is supplied to the anode electrode, and an oxidant such as oxygen or air is supplied to the cathode electrode. The reducing fluid and the oxidant are typically delivered to and removed from the cell stack via respective manifolds. In a cell using a proton exchange membrane (PEM) as the electrolyte, the hydrogen electrochemically reacts at a catalyst surface of the anode electrode to produce hydrogen ions and electrons. The electrons are conducted to an external load circuit and then returned to the cathode electrode, while the hydrogen ions transfer through the electrolyte to the cathode electrode, where they react with the oxidant and electrons to produce water and release thermal energy.
The anode and cathode electrodes of such fuel cells are separated by different types of electrolytes, depending on operating requirements and limitations of the working environment of the fuel cell. One such electrolyte is a PEM electrolyte, which consists of a solid polymer well-known in the art. Other common electrolytes used in fuel cells include phosphoric acid or potassium hydroxide held within a porous, non-conductive matrix between the anode and cathode electrodes. It has been found that PEM cells have substantial advantages over cells with liquid acid or alkaline electrolytes in satisfying specific operating parameters because the membrane of the PEM provides a barrier between the reducing fluid and oxidant that is more tolerant to pressure differentials, is fixed and cannot be leached from the cell, and has a relatively stable capacity for water retention.
In operation of PEM fuel cells, it is critical that a proper water balance be maintained between a rate at which water is produced at the cathode electrode including water resulting from proton drag through the PEM electrolyte and rates at which water is removed from the cathode and at which water is supplied to the anode electrode. An operational limit on performance of a fuel cell is defined by an ability of the cell to maintain the water balance as electrical current drawn from the cell into an external circuit varies and as an operating environment of the cell varies. For PEM cells, if insufficient water is returned to the anode electrode, adjacent portions of the PEM electrolyte dry out, thereby decreasing the rate at which hydrogen ions may be transferred through the PEM and also resulting in cross-over of the reducing fluid leading to local over heating. Similarly, if insufficient water is removed from the cathode, the cathode electrode may become flooded, thereby effectively limiting oxidant supply to the cathode and hence decreasing current flow. Additionally, if too much water is removed from the cathode, the PEM may dry out, limiting ability of hydrogen ions to pass through the PEM, thus decreasing cell performance.
As fuel cells have been integrated into power plants for powering vehicles, maintaining a water balance within the power plant has become a greater challenge because of a variety of factors. To minimize weight and space requirements on a vehicle, the plant must be self-sufficient in water to be viable. That means that enough water must be retained within the plant to offset water losses from gaseous streams of reactant fluids passing through the plant. For example, any water exiting the plant through a cathode exhaust stream of gaseous oxidant or through an anode exhaust stream of gaseous reducing fluid must be balanced by water produced electrochemically at the cathode and retained within the plant. Otherwise, one incurs the cost and size/weight penalty of various water recovery components if it is necessary to make water.
An additional requirement for maintaining water self-sufficiency in fuel cell power plants is associated with components necessary to convert hydrocarbon fuel to a stream of hydrogen-rich reducing fluid for the anode. Those components may include a reformer that relies on steam to convert the hydrocarbon to the desired reducing fluid. The fuel processing components or system water and energy requirements are part of an overall water balance and energy requirement of the fuel cell power plant. Water made into steam in a boiler must be replaced by water recovered from the plant such as by condensing heat exchangers in the cathode exhaust stream and associated piping.
A common approach to enhancing water recovery and retention is use of condensing heat exchangers in exhaust streams of the power plant wherein the exhaust streams are cooled to a temperature at or below their dew points to precipitate liquid water, which is then returned to the power plant. Typically, such a condensing heat exchanger is used to cool a cathode exhaust stream, which upon leaving a cathode chamber includes evaporated product water. The condensing heat exchanger passes the cathode exhaust stream in heat exchange relationship with a stream of cooling ambient air, and then directs condensed water indirectly through piping back to water storage.
While condensing heat exchangers have enhanced the water recovery and energy efficiency of fuel cell power plants, the heat exchangers encounter decreasing water recovery efficiency as ambient temperature increases. Where the power plant is to power a vehicle, such as an automobile, the plant will be exposed to an extremely wide range of ambient temperatures. For example, where an ambient air coolant stream passes through a heat exchanger, performance of the exchanger will vary as a direct function (inversely) of the temperature of the ambient air because decreasing amounts of liquid precipitate out of power plant exhaust streams as the ambient air temperature increases.
An additional requirement of using such condensing heat exchangers in fuel cell power plants powering vehicles is related to operation of the vehicles in temperatures below the freezing temperature of water. Because water from such exchangers is often re-introduced into the PEM fuel cells of the plant, the water may not be mixed with conventional antifreeze to lower its freezing temperature because such antifreeze would be absorbed by the catalysts in the cells and thereby decrease cell efficiency.
To overcome some of the aforementioned limitations which exist if the power plant were to use a condensing heat exchanger, a recent development instead uses an energy recovery device (ERD) that employs a fine pore enthalpy exchange barrier for effective transfer of energy and/or water from one gas stream to another over a broader range of ambient air temperatures and conditions. An example of such an ERD having a fine pore enthalpy exchange barrier between the inlet oxidant gas flow path and the fuel cell exhaust gas flow path is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,274,259 that issued on Aug. 14, 2001 to Grasso, et al, and is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and which patent is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The fine pore enthalpy exchange barrier may be viewed as comprising one or more plates that include a support matrix of porous material such as fiber and/or particulate material, with porous graphite layers perhaps being preferred. The support matrix defines pores, which pores are then filled with a liquid transfer medium such as an aqueous solution or the like, to create a gas barrier. The pores of the support matrix have a size range of about 0.1–100 microns and the matrix is hydrophilic so as to be wetted by the liquid transfer medium and result in a bubble pressure typically greater than 0.2 p.s.i. An inlet surface of the fine pore enthalpy exchange barrier is positioned in contact with a process oxidant inlet stream entering a fuel cell power plant, and an opposed exhaust surface of the barrier is positioned in contact with an exhaust stream exiting the plant so water and heat exchange from the exhaust stream directly into the process oxidant inlet stream. The liquid transfer medium, which may be a low volatility, aqueous solution having a low freezing temperature, may simply be trapped in the fine pore enthalpy exchange barrier in an adequate amount or, if necessary, may be re-supplied from a supply reservoir. This assures a gas barrier between the two gas flow streams and allows some humidification of the process oxidant inlet stream as its ambient temperature rises.
While affording significant benefit over the condensing heat exchangers of the prior art, the ERD described in the aforementioned U. S. Pat. No. 6,274,259 may be too responsive to changes in the ambient humidity and/or temperature levels of the process oxidant inlet stream. Very hot, dry, i.e., "arid" inlet air may cause the evaporation of humidifying water to occur at a higher rate than can provided by the condensing exhaust gas stream; possibly exceeding the total level of fuel cell-generated recoverable exhaust water. This situation is unacceptable because it can result in dry-out of the ERD plates, particularly along the inlet air leading edge of the plates.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved arrangement for control of humidification in, and of, an energy recovery device in a fuel cell power plant, particularly with respect to the process oxidant inlet stream flowing therethrough.
Further desirable is an arrangement for controlling performance of an energy recovery device in a fuel cell power plant to regulate water balance in the power plant.
Still further desirable is the ability to rapidly and simply control humidity and/or temperature conditions associated with a fine pore enthalpy exchange barrier in an energy recovery device of a fuel cell power plant.

Method and apparatus for humidification control of an energy recovery device in a fuel cell power plant


A connector includes a housing body having terminals arranged thereon, a retaining portion formed at a front side of the housing body, a cover member attachable to the housing body, and an engagement portion formed at a wall of the cover member. In the connector, when the cover member is attached to the housing body, the retaining portion is engaged with the engagement portion, thereby aligning center axes of the housing body and the cover member with each other. The engagement portion of the cover member is an engagement hole of a circular shape, and the retaining portion of the housing body is a semi-spherical projection.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a connector suitably used, for example, in a wire harness in an automobile.
2. Background
Recently, the number of electric parts, mounted on an automobile, has markedly increased. In this connection, the number of connectors accommodating terminals which are connected to wire harnesses, has much increased. Therefore it has been proposed to arrange the connectors intensively in a stacked manner.
For example, a connector assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,225, is shown in FIG. 5. The connector assembly includes connectors 1 and 2. The connectors 1 and 2 are first stacked together vertically. Then, a pawl 3a of a cover 3 is fitted relative to the lower connector 2, thereby assembling the combined-type connector.
However, in the above conventional connector assembly, because of the relation between a height (vertical dimension) a of the cover 3 and combined heights (b+c) of the upper and lower connectors 1 and 2, there is provided a play which allows the upper and lower connectors 1 and 2 to move upwardly and downwardly when the cover 3 is fitted on the connectors 1 and 2. Accordingly, when the connector is to be fitted relative to a mating connector, there is a possibility that distal ends of tabs of the terminals strike against terminals or other portions of the mating connector.


A backlight module and a driving circuit are provided. The driving circuit includes a plurality of current sources and a current switching unit. The current sources provide a plurality of driving currents. The current switching unit is coupled between a plurality of light emitting element strings and the current sources for transmitting the driving currents to the light emitting element strings, and switching the driving currents received by the light emitting element strings by timing. Therefore, the brightness of the light emitting element strings can be equalized.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a backlight module and a driving circuit. Particularly, the invention relates to a light emitting diode backlight module and a driving circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
Since a light emitting diode (LED) has features of small size, low power consumption and long service life, etc., it is widely applied in various information products such as mobile phones, cameras and liquid crystal displays (LCDs), etc.
Taking the LCD as an example, the LEDs can be used as backlight sources of the LCD. When the LCD uses the LEDs as the backlight sources, a large amount of LEDs is required, so that a brightness of a displayed image may comply with user's requirement. Moreover, since the LCD uses a large amount of the LEDs, driving currents of the LEDs are increased and a number of driving circuits thereof is increased. Therefore, according to a design of the LED backlight source, a plurality of light emitting modules are coupled in parallel, and each of the light emitting modules includes a plurality of the LEDs. In this way, the driving currents of the LEDs can be reduced and the number of the driving circuits of the LEDs can be reduced.
Accordingly, when a backlight module using the LEDs as the backlight sources is driven, a plurality of the driving currents is provided to simultaneously drive a plurality of the light emitting modules. However, since electrical characteristics of each device are slightly different, magnitudes of the driving currents are different. Although the difference of the driving current can be mitigate through a feedback method, the driving currents are still slightly different, so that brightness of the light emitting modules cannot be totally the same.


This invention pertains to a system for thermally treating a photosensitive element to form a relief structure suitable for flexographic printing. The system of the invention comprises a plurality of consecutively arranged blotting stations for removing uncured photopolymer from the imaged surface of the photosensitive printing element. The flexographic plates produced in the apparatus of the invention are especially suited for use in printing newspapers and other publications.

Flexography is a method of printing that is commonly used for high-volume runs. Flexography is employed for printing on a variety of substrates such as paper, paperboard stock, corrugated board, films, foils and laminates. Newspapers and grocery bags are prominent examples. Flexographic printing plates are relief plates with image elements raised above open areas. Such plates offer a number of advantages to the printer, based chiefly on their durability and the ease with which they can be made.
Essentially all flexographic newspaper producers today use high-pressure water spray to process their printing plates. Examples of these systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,018 to Inoko et al. and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,815 to Horner. While this approach is fast, it has a number of deficiencies. First, this approach requires plumbing to transport the water to the process and energy to heat the water used in the process. Also, the process generates aqueous effluent, which must then be disposed. Often, treatment is needed before the effluent is disposed of, adding to the expense. Finally, the special polymer chemistry needed to obtain water dispersibility may limit the durability and resolution of the photopolymer resin of the printing plate. Thus, it is highly desirable in the flexographic prepress printing industry to eliminate the need for chemical processing of printing elements in developing relief images, in order to go from plate to press more quickly and to avoid the deficiencies of the solvent-based processes of the prior art.
Thermal blotting is a process that has been gaining popularity for the production of flexographic plates. It is a user-friendly process that produces a high quality plate. However, in its current implementation, it is very slow—too slow for processing newspapers and other publications. In the thermal blotting process, photopolymer printing plates are prepared using heat and the differential melting temperature between cured and uncured photopolymer is used to develop the latent image. The basic parameters of this process are known, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,697 to Peterson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,072 to Martens, U.S. patent publication No. U.S. 2003/0180655 to Fan et al., and in U.S. patent publication No. 2003/0211423 to Mengel et al. These processes allow for the elimination of development solvents and the lengthy plate drying times needed to remove the solvent. However, additional modifications are needed to the speed and efficiency of the process to allow for its use of the process in the manufacture of flexographic plates for printing newspapers and other publications where quick turnaround times and high productivity are important.
The thermal plate processors currently in use for packaging flexographic plates are not appropriate for flexographic newspaper plates. The main problem is that they are too slow, by at least about an order of magnitude because only one blotting station is used. In the current process, the flexographic plate is affixed to a drum or belt and passed multiple times through the blotter station until the uncured resin is removed. Preferably, the radiation curable layer is contacted with a preheated web of absorbent material. The heat in the absorbent web is transferred to the radiation curable layer upon contact, and the temperature of the radiation curable layer is raised to a temperature sufficient to enable the uncured portions of the radiation curable layer to soften or liquefy and be absorbed into the absorbent web. While still in the heated condition, the absorbent sheet material is separated from the cured radiation curable layer in contact with the support layer to reveal the relief structure. The printing plate is then manually removed from the apparatus and placed into a separate machine for post curing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,697 to Peterson et al. depicts a typical thermal development device using a hot roller and an absorbent material that is contacted with the heated printing plate. This device requires that the printing element be passed multiple times through the hot rollers to remove all of the molten polymer from the surface of the printing element. U.S. Pat. No. 6,551,759 to Daems et al. suggests the use of a laminator for thermal development, whereby the printing plate is contacted with a cleaning cloth and passed through lamination rollers. Again, multiple passes of the printing plate through the device are required to remove all of the uncured photopolymer.
The present invention provides a novel system for the rapid thermal development of flexographic newspaper plates that overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art.
The present invention is directed to a novel system for thermally developing flexographic printing plates comprising a plurality of consecutively arranged blotting stations, each of said blotting stations comprising a pair of rolls forming a nip gap between which the imaged and exposed flexographic printing plate is passed along with means for heating at least one of the rolls in each of the plurality of blotting stations and means for conveying the flexographic printing plate through each of the plurality of consecutively arranged blotting stations. Unlike thermal development systems of the prior art, the system of the present invention achieves complete removal of resin from the printing element in only one pass.
The thermal development system of the present invention also provides numerous advantages over high pressure water spray developing systems of the prior art.
The novel system of the invention does not use water. Thus, no water hook-ups are required and there is no aqueous waste that needs to be treated and disposed. The lack of solvent (i.e., water) also means that no drying step is required, shortening the plate making process. Finally, with no requirement for water dispersibility, the chemical formulation of the printing plates is greatly expanded. A wider range of monomers, polymers, and additive can be used to achieve the desired performance characteristics of the flexographic printing plate, resulting in higher performance (e.g., on-press lifetime and resolution) and a lower resin cost.
The system of the instant invention is very fast and is set up as a single-pass design, intended for high volume users. Productivities of greater than 150 ft2/hour are possible, and single plates can be ready in as little as five minutes. Each blotting station of the present invention can be individually optimized for temperature, nip gap, and compliant roll durometer/thickness, enabling greater flexibility in processing. Finally, post-curing is built into the process. After bending and punching, if needed, the printing plate is ready for press.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus for the rapid development of photosensitive printing elements


In one embodiment the present invention includes a method of fabricating a quad flat no-lead (QFN) chip package. The method includes forming a stamped lead frame; forming a die pad and a lead shrink on one side of the stamped lead frame; mounting a die on the die pad; performing wire bonding; encapsulating the die and the wire bond with a molding compound; removing the stamped lead frame after encapsulating; and sawing the molding compound after the stamped lead frame has been removed. Such method results in improved quality of wire leads, improved lifespan of cutting blades, and reduction of burrs as compared to many existing methods of fabricating QFN chip packages.

The present invention relates to quad flat no-lead (QFN) microchip package fabrication processes, and in particular, to extending the life of cutting blades used in QFN package fabrication processes.
Existing QFN packages are often made using the following procedure. A lead frame is provided. Often the lead frame has a special tape on one side. The tape is used for wire bond vacuum and to provide support for the lead frame. Next, the dies are placed on the lead frame, and wire bonding is performed. Then, a molding compound is applied to encapsulate the lead frame, the dies, and the wire leads. Finally, the encapsulated dies are sawed apart into individual QFN package units.
The thickness of current lead frames may vary; common thicknesses include 0.127 um, 0.152 um, and 0.203 um. The lead frame material may be a copper alloy material such as Olin C7025. The special tape used may vary as well. Common types of tape include Nitto tape and Hitachi tape.
A number of problems arise from the above-described fabrication process. First, problems arise relating to the special tape. If the lead frame includes one type of special tape, the tape often outgases due to the temperatures involved in the wire bonding process, and the outgas negatively affects the wire bonding quality. If the lead frame includes another type of special tape, warpage issues arise during lead frame production.
Second, since the lead frame is encapsulated within the molding compound, during the sawing process the saw must also cut the lead frame. The metal structure of the lead frame reduces the lifespan of the saw blade.
Third, sawing the metal lead frame often results in burrs. Burrs are undesirable because they may cause quality and reliability issues when the device is used on the circuit board. Specifically, the burrs may contribute to short circuits during device testing.
Thus, there is a need for an improved QFN package fabrication processes. The present invention solves these and other problems by using a different type of lead frame.

Quad flat no-lead (QFN) chip package assembly apparatus and method


A slip for an expanding hanger or patch is disclosed. The slip is mounted over the hanger body and has an internal profile that nests within a mating profile on the exterior of the hanger. When a compressive force is applied to the hanger, it shrinks longitudinally and as a result the slip is cammed radially to the extent the inside diameter of the surrounding tubing permits. When the swage is advanced, the diameter of the hanger increases forcing the slip into preferably penetrating contact with the inside wall of the surrounding tubular.

When downhole tubulars crack or otherwise need repair, patches or cladding are inserted to the proper depth and expanded into contact over the damaged area. As a result of expansion, the cladding assumes a sealed relation with the surrounding tubular. In other applications a hanger attached to a tubular string is inserted into a larger tubular. Expansion is used to anchor and seal the newly inserted string to the existing string.
Expansion is accomplished by driving a swage through the hanger or cladding. Applied hydraulic pressure from the surface is used to stroke a piston, which, in turn, drives the swage. An anchor assembly initially is energized to hold the hanger in response to applied pressure. Initially, the running tool that delivered the hanger is released when the anchor grabs the hanger to provide support for the hanger as the piston strokes the swage to obtain initial support. Once initial support is accomplished the anchor is released and the stroker for the swage is re-cocked for a repetition of the process until the swage passes through the hanger.
The specification for the tubular being repaired or the tubular in which the hanger is to be attached can vary widely. The condition of that tubular can also affect its internal diameter.
When using a swage that has a fixed dimension care must be taken to properly size it for the anticipated inside diameter where the patch or hanger is to be attached. The problem is that there is uncertainty as to the actual inside diameter after years of service. Additionally, a given swage size may be used for a variety of casing weights of a given size. If the actual diameter is smaller than anticipated, there may not be enough available force in the stroking mechanism for the swage to drive it through. In this case the swage will stall and the expansion cannot be properly completed without time-consuming trips out of the hole and replacement swages. Even worse, the swage could hang up in the hanger if it can't be driven all the way through.
One expensive way around this is to use a variable diameter swage that has the ability to change dimension in response to unexpected inside diameter dimension in the tubular in which the patch or hanger is to be attached. Fixed diameter swages are more economical and, in the past, some efforts have been made when using a fixed swage to compensate for unexpected variation from the planned inside diameter. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a prior technique for compensating for dimensional variations in the casing
Referring to FIG. 1, a fixed diameter swage 10 is disposed inside the hanger or cladding 12 and the entire assembly is in position for expansion inside casing 14. When hanger is mentioned it will be considered to also encompass other downhole structures such as patches or cladding. Hanger 12 has an exterior serrated surface 16 built into it for eventual engagement with the casing 14, as shown in FIG. 2. An inner sleeve 18 made of soft material underlays the serrations 16. The intent is for the swage 10 to go inside sleeve 18. If the inside diameter turns out to be smaller than anticipated, then the swage 10 will deform sleeve 18 by design. This can happen because sleeve 18 is made deliberately soft. The objective is to prevent the swage from stalling when the inside diameter of the casing turns out to be smaller than expected. Using sleeve 18 also helps to give the swage 10 an opportunity to provide sufficient contact force against casing 14 by the serrations 16 when the actual inside diameter turns out to be somewhat larger than expected. Yet the ability to provide flexibility and latitude for the actual inside diameter being smaller or larger than anticipated is limited in this design. The apparatus of the present invention seeks to provide greater latitude for diameter variations in both directions that may be incurred in the field. Additionally, the present invention seeks to improve the grip and provide resistance against release from net forces in opposed directions. One way this is accomplished is to take advantage of the phenomenon of longitudinal dimension change of the hanger under compressive or tensile stress that occurs as force is applied to drive the swage. The slip is articulated for radial extension from longitudinal shrinkage to allow a greater variation of inside diameters in which a proper grip can be maintained and the swage driven through without stalling. These and other advantages of the present invention will be more readily appreciated by those skilled in the art from a review of the description of the preferred embodiment and the claims, which appear below.

Slip energized by longitudinal shrinkage


A front mounted rake includes a primary support, a first arm and a second arm. Tine wheels are mounted each of the arms. The first end of each arm is secured for pivotal movement about both a substantially vertical axis and about a substantially horizontal axis to the primary support. The second end of each arm is supported by ground engaging wheels. A brace maintains the relative lateral spacing of the arms. The pivotal movement of the second arm about the substantially horizontal axis is independent of the pivotal movement of the first arm about the substantially horizontal axis thereby permitting the first arm and the second arm to independently raise and lower as the ground engaging wheels travel over ground contours.

German Patent 4,142,496 which was published in 1993 discloses a rake that mounts on the front of a tractor. The rake consists of a frame that supports two raking assemblies which rotate about a substantially vertical axis. Each raking assembly has a plurality of radially extending arms that have depending tines.
Canadian Patent 1,066,068 which issued to Hering in 1979 discloses a rake that mounts toward the front of a tractor. The Hering rake consists of a frame that supports two raking assemblies in a "V" shaped configuration with the front of the tractor positioned in the middle of the "V". The raking assemblies rotate about a substantially horizontal axis. Each raking assembly has a plurality of parallel extending arms that have depending tines.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,428 which issued to Caraway in 1980 discloses a rake that mounts to the front of a tractor. The frame supports six tine wheels facing outwardly for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis. The tine wheels form a generally "V" shaped configuration in front of the tractor.


A battery includes a stacked electrode body including a plurality of single plate cells and having a positive electrode lead-stacked part and a negative electrode lead-stacked part, the single plate cells each being formed by stacking a positive electrode and a negative electrode with a separator interposed therebetween, the positive electrode lead-stacked part being formed by stacking positive electrode leads of the positive electrodes on top of each other in stacking order of the single plate cells, the negative electrode lead-stacked part being formed by stacking negative electrode leads of the negative electrodes on top of each other in stacking order of the single plate cells; a positive electrode terminal; and a negative electrode terminal.

In the related art, there is known a battery having a stacked electrode body including a plurality of single plate cells each formed by stacking a positive electrode and a negative electrode with a separator interposed therebetween (hereinafter, this battery may be referred to as a "stacked battery"). In a stacked battery known in the art, a pair of lead stacked bodies including pairs of electrode plate leads stacked on top of each other in stacking order of the single plate cells are simply connected to the corresponding electrode terminals while the stacking order of the electrode plate leads is maintained (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). Here, the term "single plate cell" refers to a battery unit including one positive electrode and one negative electrode. In other words, the stacked electrode body has a connection structure in which a plurality of single plate cells is connected to electrode terminals in parallel.


A combined electrochemical system for scale treatment and eradicating bacteria in water supply systems having: (a) a first electro-chemical cell including: (i) a first metallic tank for receiving a water supply and forming a cathode of the first electro-chemical cell, and (ii) a first anode, disposed within the first tank; (b) a second electro-chemical cell including: (i) a second metallic tank for receiving an effluent from the first tank and forming a cathode of the second electro-chemical cell, and (ii) a second anode, disposed within the second tank; and (c) a DC electrical supply source operatively connected to the first and the second cells, wherein the first electro-chemical cell is operative for trapping bacteria in a colloid-like structure, and the second electro-chemical cell is operative for producing a pH above 12 near the walls of the second tank, so as to form a bacteria-containing precipitate on the walls of the second tank, thereby removing the bacteria from the water supply.

The present invention relates to scale treatment and eradicating bacteria in water supply systems, and, in particular, to an efficient treatment of scale and eradicating bacteria in water systems, in general, and Legionella pneumophila, in particular.
Various systems for preventing scale crystallization and precipitation in cooling towers and in hot and cold water systems have been installed in or outside the systems. Substantially, these systems prevent the crystallization and precipitation of scale by leaving the scale substances as suspended colloids.
For generations, many scale systems and devices have been invented and used by those skilled in the art. Among these systems are the modern and efficient systems based on the "Guldager" electrolytic method.
In these systems, aluminum (or magnesium) anodes, connected to an external electrical supply source, are immersed in metallic water tanks. The water becomes alkaline with high pH values close to the wall of the tank. As a result, calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitates and the aluminum anodes dissolve in the water as aluminum hydroxide—Al(OH)3.
These prior art systems prevent, to some extent, the formation of scale, leaving the precipitate as suspended colloids and coagulants without disposing of these colloids.
A more advanced prior art system, described in Israeli Patent No. 120003 to Elgressy, is a modified "Gulager" system but with non dissolving electrodes made of, or coated with, TiNiO. This system, which will be further described hereinbelow, disposes of the scale colloids.
It is also known that water may contain many kinds of bacteria that can be dangerous to animals and human beings. Especially dangerous is Legionella pneumophila, which can be fatal and cause painful death, particularly to smokers and alcoholics, and to patients suffering from problems in the immune system, such as patients having steroids prescriptions, patients after transplanting of organs, AIDS patients, etc.
Hence, drinking water must be disinfected against harmful bacteria, in general, and Legionella pneumophila, in particular.
Water disinfection, according to the teaching of the prior art, includes treatment of the water with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO). Since sodium hypochlorite above the concentration of 0.5 ppm is toxic and harmful to human beings, water disinfection with this substance is prohibited in systems of drinking water. Occasional warming of water to 70° C. is also regarded as an alternative treatment against the Legionella pneumophila bacteria. However, the Legionella pneumophila bacteria undergo various mutations at high temperatures, making the bacteria substantially immune to high temperatures. Additionally, various metal systems, particularly galvanized systems, suffer from increased corrosion at such elevated temperatures.
To date, there is no known treatment system that combines scale removal and water disinfection.
There is therefore a recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a method of, and a system for treating water electrochemically, and disinfecting it from bacteria, and more particularly, from Legionella pneumophila.

Combined electrochemical system for scale treatment and eradicating


An apparatus for securing multiple cards on a chassis includes a securing member, a support bracket, and at least one hinge. The at least one hinge is configured to hold the securing member to the support bracket such that the securing member has an axis of rotation about the support bracket. The spacing between the securing member and the support bracket is configured to hold a section of the multiple cards.

Servers are employed in large numbers for high demand applications such as network based systems or data centers. Servers can include multiple components that can be swapped out. For example, when upgrading hardware components of a server, a hard-drive of the server can be removed and replaced with another hard-drive. Dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) of the server can be removed and replaced with DIMMs of higher capacity or higher speed. Various cards of the server can be replaced with various other cards, etc. The server can have a motherboard that supports one or more bus standards including PCI, PCI Express (PCIe), accelerated graphics port (AGP), etc.
A computing system like a server can support the hot-swapping of components using one or more of the aforementioned one or more bus standards. For ease in hot-swapping, there is a need for a computing system that is amenable to accepting and releasing cards on demand. For example, when installing PCIe cards on a conventional server, the PCIe cards are installed one at a time. Each card is mechanically secured to a chassis of the server (e.g., mechanically secured with a screw). The process of installing PCIe cards can become time consuming for a technician, especially when many such cards need to be installed on multiple servers. Thus, the present disclosure is directed to reducing time required in installing cards in computing systems, and removing cards from computing systems.

Tool-less mechanism for fixing multiple add-on cards


Methods for improving the net remnant polarization of a polymer memory cell are disclosed. In one embodiment, the polymer material is heated above the Curie temperature of the polymer material, and the domains of the polymer material are aligned with an externally applied electric field.

There are many materials that have ferroelectric properties, which are indicated by the ability of a material to achieve and maintain a high degree of polarization (e.g., alignment of the atomic or molecular dipoles that comprise the material) even in the absence of an external electric field. In some materials, groups of dipoles can be similarly aligned in regions known as "domains" within the material. When a significant number of the domains of a material are aligned in the same direction, the material becomes highly polarized and can maintain a specific orientation, which can be useful for many applications.
For example, highly polarized material can be used in computer memory cells. In such an application, it is important to have a highly polarized material to prevent stray electrical voltages from reversing a value written to a memory cell by the computer system. Various methods have been used to improve the disturb resistance (e.g., ability to resist inadvertent value reversal) of the material used within the memory cell.
For example, one conventional method includes formation of the memory cell material (e.g., a polymer) on a substrate followed by formation of an electrode on top of the memory cell material. The memory cell material is then heated so that the dipoles within the domains of the material can overcome the steric hindrances and internal electrostatic forces of the material (e.g., are free to be re-aligned). During the heating process (e.g., annealing), the electrode formed on top of the memory cell material can be used to apply an electric field to the memory cell material to align the dipoles, and hence, the domains, of the memory cell material in a common direction. However, use of the electrode to apply the electric field typically results in degradation of the interface between the electrode and the memory cell material. It is believed that the degradation of the interface results from a reaction between the memory cell material and the metal of the electrode.

Method for increasing ferroelectric characteristics of polymer memory cells


An access requesting remote control device (10) includes an agile radio frequency transmitter (13) that will accommodate a variety of communication channels and modulation types. Programmable logic (11) controls the operation of the transmitter depending upon its programming. Such programming can be selectively varied as desired. In one embodiment, any of a plurality of pre-existing application programs can be selected in response to reception of a corresponding selection command via an external communication interface (14). In another embodiment, a relevant application program can be downloaded to the programmable logic via the external communication interface. In yet another embodiment, both options are available.

Various remotely controllable access control mechanisms are known, including movable barrier operators for movable barriers including, but not limited to, single and segmented garage doors, pivoting and sliding doors and cross-arms, rolling shutters, and the like. In general, each such system includes a primary barrier control mechanism. The latter couples in an appropriate way to a corresponding barrier and causes the barrier to move (typically between closed and opened positions).
In many cases, the primary barrier control mechanism will respond to appropriate access requesting signals from a wireless remote control device. At a minimum, these devices must interact compatibly using a common signal-bearing channel and modulation type, as well as a shared communication protocol. In addition, for many systems, the remote control device must further be able to provide (either automatically or upon request) identifying or other proof-of-authorization information to the primary barrier control mechanism.
Remote control devices as provided by the original manufacturer of the corresponding primary barrier control mechanism, of course, typically present no great issues in this regard. A consumer can be reasonably assured that, with little or no effort, the remote control device and/or the primary barrier control mechanism can be readily configured to co-operate successfully with one another.
With increasing frequency, however, such circumstances are not always present. For example, many automobiles are sold with a so-called universal integrated wireless remote control device (often mounted, for example, on the sun visor near the driver). Such devices typically include a variety of application programs and other data, parameters, and information that relate to compatible interoperability with a corresponding variety of makes of access control mechanisms. In such a case, the consumer who acquires the supplemental remote control device must take whatever steps are necessary to enable compatible operation via the universal integrated wireless remote control device.
Unfortunately, not all potential operators of such devices have the time, interest, patience, or other required wherewithal to assure appropriate configuration of such remote control devices. The training mechanism can differ with the make (or even model) of the access control device itself, thereby forcing the operator to need to ascertain which training mechanism to utilize to effect the desired configuration. Such problems are acerbated by the fact that such remote control devices typically have very minimal user interfaces (often only one or two push buttons, for example) and little or nothing in the way of visual or auditory feedback to the user (often only one or two small signal lights, for example).
Unfortunately, the growing ubiquity of such devices does not seem to urge any improvement in this situation. Just as, for so long, many people were reputed to own and use video cassette recorders that were never successfully programmed by their operator to display the correct time, so now there arguably appear to be many remote control devices that are either incorrectly programmed or not programmed at all.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are typically not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.


A method of treating photographic processing wastes is disclosed. The method comprises (1) mixing a silver-recovery system waste and a development system waste from photographic processing to produce a waste mixture, (2) adding to said waste mixture phosphorus as a nutritive substrate in an amount corresponding to at least 2% based on the COD value of the waste mixture, and (3) subjecting the resulting waste mixture to a bio-oxidation treatment using microflora containing sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. The method enables a continuously treatment of high concentration photographic processing wastes with high efficiency over a long period of time.

Photographic processing wastes arising from the processing of black-and-white and color photographic materials are usually divided into two classes-those containing silver ion eluted from the photographic materials in an appreciable concentration (silver-present class) and others (silver-absent class), for the purpose of recovery of silver as a valuable metal. Silver is recovered from the silver-containing class by the trade concerned in the disposal of waste liquid. In general the exhausted processing solutions issuing as wastes from the fixation step, and the bleaching and the combined bleaching and fixing steps for processing color photographic materials are grouped into the silver-present class, and the exhausted processing solutions issuing as wastes from the development step are grouped into the silver-absent class. On the other hand, the exhausted processing solutions issuing as wastes from the washing and the stabilization steps are grouped into either silver-present or silver-absent class depending upon their respective silver ion concentrations.
Since photographic processing wastes contain high concentrations of various kinds of inorganic and organic compounds, they cannot be discharged into a sewer or a river as they are. Accordingly, it is necessary for them to be treated to some extent.
Under these circumstances, a number of treatment methods have been studied to make feasible the discharge of such wastes into a sewer or a river. Specifically, known treatment methods for reducing the pollution loads of photographic processing wastes include activated sludge methods [as disclosed, e.g., in JP-B-55-49559 (The term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication"), JP-B-51-12943, JP-A-48-13265 (The term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application") and JP-A-50-2353], evaporation methods (as disclosed, e.g., in JP-A-49-89347 and JP-B-56-33996), electrolytic oxidation methods (as disclosed, e.g., in JP-A-48-84462, JP-A-49-119458 and JP-B-53-43478), ion exchange methods (as disclosed, e.g., in JP-B-51-37704, JP-B-53-383 and JP-B-53-43271), reverse osmosis methods (as disclosed, e.g., in JP-A-50-22463) and chemical treatment methods (as disclosed, e.g., in JP-A-53-12152, JP-B-57-37396 and JP-A-61-241746). However, each of these methods have their individual defects as described below.
As for the activated sludge methods, for example, there is difficulty in employing the method disclosed in JP-B-55-49559, wherein the treatment of wastes is carried out under aeration using concentrated oxygen gas (O.sub.2 >20.9%), to the treatment of wastes with high concentrations corresponding to biological oxygen demand (abbreviated as "BOD" hereinafter) of 3,000 ppm or more, because it is impossible to finish efficiently the decomposition of BOD and the chemical oxygen demand ("COD") components within an appropriate time by subjecting the wastes to subsequent secondary treatment unless the initial BOD of the wastes is controlled to 3,000 ppm at the most. JP-A-50-2353, on the other hand, discloses an oxidation treatment for thiosulfate-containing wastes, wherein the aeration is carried out under the condition that the thiosulfate-containing wastes are mixed with a sulfur oxidizing bacteria containing solution and the pH adjusted to 4-9 and, what is more, the concentration of nitrogenous compounds is controlled to 0.1% or lower, as based on nitrous acid. This treatment, however, has a problem when it is applied to a photographic fixation waste, which is a type of photographic processing waste, because disorganization of the sludge occurs or the treatment efficiency is insufficient. Moreover, although activated sludge methods have low operation cost, they have little effect upon ingredients which are not biodegradable. In particular, activated sludge methods essentially fail in disposal of chelating agents, such as ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and the like, present in quantity in photographic processing wastes.
As for chemical treatment methods, the treatment of wastes is known to be carried out by the addition of hydrogen peroxide, persulfates, perhalogenates, halous acids or hypohalous acids. However, all of these methods have very low efficiency in treating photographic processing wastes with high COD values, so that these reagents are always used in large excess resulting in an increase in operational cost.
As for the ion exchange methods and the reverse osmosis methods wherein resins or membranes are used, frequent renewal of the resins or the membranes is required since they become adsorbed or contaminated with ingredients which tend to polymerize, such as developing agents. In these methods also, the operational cost tends to increase. Moreover, in treating concentrated wastes from photographic processing solutions, the resins and the membranes become greatly fatigued, so that it becomes impossible to use them in a short period of time.
As for the electrolytic oxidation methods, they have the following problems in spite of their strong oxidizing power: (1) in the oxidative decomposition of wastes with high COD, an increase in equipment cost and an increase in treatment time occur because a large quantity of electric current is required; (2) pollution of electrodes due to high molecular weight compounds occur because organic compounds present in the wastes, such as a developing agent, tend to polymerize; (3) evolution of poisonous gases such as hydrogen sulfide occurs upon decomposition of lower sulfur compounds such as thiosulfates; (4) insufficient reduction of BOD occurs because the decomposition of organic compounds stops at a level of lower fatty acids with a BOD load, such as acetic acid, propionic acid and the like; and so on.
In order to provide simple and technically easy treatment of photographic processing wastes, the number of steps must be reduced to a minimum and to the addition of special chemicals is to be avoided. In addition, desirably the wastes produced in separate steps should be treated collectively, because photographic processing consists of several steps and the separate treatments of the wastes produced in the respective steps creates difficulties. In particular, collective treatment is desirable for small-scale photofinishing laboratories.

Method of treating photographic processing wastes