Charging device for the automatic establishment and disconnection of a charging connection for a plug-in vehicle, whereby the charging device of the plug-in vehicle includes a charging electrical unit, a charging station with a charging cable to charge an energy storage unit of the vehicle through a cable-based charging connection. The charging electrical unit comprises a socket and the charging cable a plug. The charging device is designed such that that the socket has one or more insertion funnels, the plug has one or more guide pins, wherein each guide pin is allocated to a specific funnel. Information is exchangeable between the charging station and the charging electrical unit once the charging connection is established. Information between the charging station and the vehicle is exchangeable if the charging connection is not established. The plug and a reinforced section on the charging cable connected to the plug are movable via a guide mechanism in a predefined spatial direction in the form of a coupling movement over maximum predefined coupling length. The plug and reinforced section are also movable opposite the predefined spatial direction in a decoupling movement over the coupling length.

The invention relates to a charging device comprised of a plug-in vehicle a charging electrical unit, a charging station and a charging cable to charge an energy storage unit of the vehicle through the wired charging connection, whereby the charging electrical unit includes a socket and the charging cable includes a plug to establish and disconnect the charging connection.
Hybrid or electric vehicles have an electrical powertrain with an electrical energy storage unit. The electric energy storage unit, which is usually designed as a high-voltage battery, is typically discharged during the driving operation of the electrical vehicle in motor operation and charged in generator operation. In addition, there is often an option to charge the battery by way of an external charging source. In conductive, i.e. cable-based charging, the vehicle is connected with a charging source through a charging cable. The charging connection is mainly established through a plug-socket contact, whereby the socket is comprised of the charging electrical unit of the vehicle. The plug forms part of the charging cable, which in turn is connected or can be connected with the charging station. The operation by the user of the vehicle is similar to the procedure at a gas station, i.e. to initiate the charging process the user applies the plug in the same manner as the user would put a fuel nozzle into the tank opening. Therefore, disadvantages restricting the comfort for the user are connected therewith. There is the risk of soiling one's clothing on the charging cable when operating the cable. In addition, the establishment and disconnection of the charging connection takes time. Because in the current state of the art, a plug-in vehicle must be far more frequently charged after it reaches its range than a vehicle with a combustion motor has to be refueled, the repetitive similar action of establishing a charge connection is associated with inconvenience and a loss of comfort, which is not acceptable or reasonable for a plug-in vehicle or user interested in a premium class vehicle. The same process applies analogous to the disconnection of the charging connection.
In the current state of the art, the response to these disadvantages is, for example, to provide docking systems to make the establishment and disconnection of a charging connection more comfortable for the user through automation. For this purpose, e.g. according to DE 10 2009 023 409 A1, the movement of the vehicle is used to establish a connection between a docking module mounted on the vehicle and a charging module on the charging station. The user perceives that the charging connection is established automatically during parking at a certain parking position. This has the disadvantage that it requires a complex construction of the charging station because of the necessary charging module. By utilizing the movement of the vehicle, the docking module can be placed only at the rear or front of the vehicle. Any potential mounting spaces on the sides of the vehicle, in the underside, or in the roof can hardly be considered. In addition, the vehicle must be steered with "utmost precision" to the charging module.
It is the purpose of the invention to provide an improved device to establish and to disconnect a charging connection automatically in a plug-in vehicle.
This objective is solved by providing a charging device according to the invention. The charging device, which for a plug-in-vehicle is comprised of a charging electrical unit and a charging cable to charge an energy storage unit of the vehicle through a cable-based charging connection, whereby the charging electrical unit has a socket and the charging cable has a plug, is characterized in that it has among others one or more insertion funnels at the socket. Furthermore, the plug has one or more insertion pins, whereby each insertion pin is allocated to a specific insertion funnel. In addition, if the charging connection is established, information can be exchanged between the charging station and the charging electrical unit and, if the connection is not established, information can be exchanged between the charging station and the vehicle. Furthermore, the plug and a reinforcement or stiffened section of the charging cable connected to the plug through a guiding mechanism, of which the charging station is comprised, moves in a predefined spatial direction in the form of a coupling movement through a maximum predefined coupling length and in the opposite direction of the predefined spatial direction in the form of a decoupling movement over the same coupling length.
The user has thereby the special advantage that the coupling movement and decoupling movement can replace using the plug manually.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the guiding mechanism is designed as guide arm that can be operated by an electric motor. This guide arm guides the plug together with the reinforced section.
Alternatively, the guiding mechanism is designed as cable roll operated by an electric motor so that the plug with the reinforced section can be guided tangentially to the cable roll while the cable roll is rotating.
The guide arm or the cable roll achieves the technical effect that the plug is movable while executing the coupling movement or decoupling movement. This can be used to move the plug toward the vehicle or away from the vehicle.
In addition, it is advantageous if the information exchanged between the vehicle and the charging station to establish a charging connection includes information as to the position of the vehicle and the vehicle takes a charging position to establish the charging connection. This charging position is relative to the charging station within a predefined charging position range. Once the vehicle enters this charging position range and takes the charging position, this embodiment will indicate it to the driver and it initiates a coupling movement upon taking the charging position.
This means that a charging connection can be established if the vehicle is in the charging position.
In the charging position, the spatial distance between plug and socket is less than the coupling length. In addition, the charging position range that represents all charging positions available is defined by the opening surface of the insertion funnel or in several insertion funnels by the opening surface of the insertion funnel with the smallest opening surface.
In other words, the insertion funnel on the vehicle is within reach of the coupling movement of the plug once the charging position has been taken.
The charging position range is characterized in that once a charging position has been taken and the coupling movement has been realized, each of the pins penetrates the opening surface of the insertion funnel allocated to this pin and it enters the insertion funnel.
In addition, the reinforced section can be embodied as mechanical stiffening of the charging cable; this stiffening can be calculated so that the charging cable is, in the stiffened section, able to withstand any bending due to the earth's gravity of the plug and charging cable but bendable when the force, which exceeds the gravity of the plug and charging cable, is applied.
This specific form of the charging cable's flexibility in the reinforced section provides the option of a controlled deflection or curvature in this area of the charging cable.
According to a further embodiment, the socket may include several insertion funnels. The charging connection is established once the charging position is taken and every pin engages through the coupling movement in a respective insertion funnel allocated to that pin. If the coupling movement is carried out, every insertion funnel moves the entering pin in a guiding motion, which includes a spatial direction complementary to the spatial direction of the coupling movement and that bends the charging cable in the reinforced section. The coupling movement and the guiding motion move the plug into the socket and therefore make contact between plug and socket. Once the plug-socket contact has been established, the coupling movement stops.
In other words, the coupling movement in connection with the wall of the insertion funnel exerts a bending moment onto the cable in the reinforced section so that the plug is specifically guided into the socket.
Alternatively, the reinforced section can be stiffened to a mechanically rigid charging rod and the socket can be rigidly connected to each insertion funnel. In this case, the socket is controllable in two spatial directions, whereby these two spatial directions are complementary to the spatial directions, which describes the movement caused by the guiding mechanism of the charging station.
If the charging cable is reinforced so as to be a charging rod and the socket comprises several insertion funnels, then every pin engages through coupling movement in the insertion funnel allocated to that pin to establish the charging connection once the charging position is assumed. In the embodiment of the coupling movement, each pin that has entered the insertion funnel exerts a guiding motion onto the insertion funnel, which steers the controllable socket in the direction of the plug. The coupling movement and the guiding motion move the plug into the socket and therefore make contact between plug and socket. Once the plug-socket contact has been established, the coupling movement stops.
The special advantage of this embodiment is that the socket is controlled during the coupling movement from the guiding rod in a manner so that the plug is moved specifically into the direction of the plug.
Alternatively, the socket can have an insertion funnel that is designed rotationally symmetrical and positioned at neck of the funnel. Furthermore, the plug can have a pin and can be designed rotationally symmetrical. The plug can have a conical latch-like part, which works as pin.
The rotationally symmetric embodiment of the socket and plug ensures that only one funnel is sufficient to establish a dependable plug-socket connection.
In combination with the flexible charging cable in the reinforced section, to establish a charging connection, the plug latch enters into the funnel through coupling motion once the charging position is assumed. If the coupling movement is carried out, the insertion funnel moves the entering plug latch in a guiding motion, which includes a spatial direction complementary to the spatial direction of the coupling movement and that bends the charging cable in the reinforced section. The coupling movement and the guiding motion move the plug into the socket and therefore make contact between plug and socket. Once the plug-socket contact has been established, the coupling movement stops.
If a charging rod with a rotationally symmetrical plug, and a rotationally symmetric socket, are used, to establish the connection the plug latch enters the funnel through coupling motion once the charging position has been assumed. In the embodiment of the coupling movement, each plug latch that has entered the insertion funnel exerts a guiding motion onto the funnel, which steers the controllable socket in the direction of the plug. The coupling movement and the guiding motion move the plug into the socket and therefore make contact between plug and socket. Once the plug-socket contact has been established, the coupling movement stops.
Due to the rotational symmetry of the socket and plug, one insertion funnel and pin pair are sufficient to establish the intended contact. With regard to the joint rotational axis of the plug and socket, the plug and socket can assume any angular position. Since a non-rotationally symmetric socket and plug have to assume a specific angular position to establish contact, as described above, several insertion funnels and pins are used in this case so that the respective angular position is defined.
Once the plug and socket make contact, the charging connection is established and the energy storage unit is rechargeable. The information exchanged between the charging station and the vehicle, once the charging connection has been established, includes information about the electrical status of the energy storage unit, so that the decoupling motion can be initialized once the charging connection has been established and/or once the energy storage unit is fully recharged. When the decoupling motion is carried out, the plug-socket connection is disconnected.
This embodiment offers the advantage that the vehicle can be automatically disconnected from the external charging source regardless of the status of the recharging process or it is disconnected automatically once the energy storage unit is full. The user of the vehicle does not have to operate the charging device manually.
In addition, each insertion funnel has a cover, which can be opened to establish a charging connection and which can be closed, if the charging connection is not established. This ensures that the socket is secure particularly while driving.
The invention is based on the following considerations. For electric vehicles, the conductive, i.e. cable-based, charging process with a manually pluggable charging connection has been established as the state of the art. At the same time, many manufacturers are researching automatic inductive procedures. Automatic and partially automatic procedures for conductive systems are known from other technical fields. In this context, docking stations for laptops or charging devices for electric lawnmowers, are known.
However, plugging in a charging cable manually to a vehicle can be rather uncomfortable. For example, the user can get dirty from the cable. Inductive procedures require complex technology and therefore they are rather expensive and require a larger installation space and have an increased weight. Moreover, the inductive charging technology through magnetic fields is associated with high transfer losses. Automatic coupling systems from alternative applications such as railway technology and automation technology do not satisfy the demanding and safety-relevant requirements for use in automotive applications. For example, this concerns high-voltage safety and the robustness in view of numerous environmental influences. Specific requirements are created due to the necessity of excluding any risks to persons that may be caused by mishandling by untrained persons during operation.
As an improved measure, a device and procedure to connect the vehicle automatically to a charging device are provided. For this purpose, the vehicle is initially roughly positioned, whereby the rough positioning is given by the position of the underside of the vehicle compared to the components of the charging device. The bendable charging cable is moved toward the charging socket of the vehicle through linear motion. The end of the charging cable that points toward the vehicle has a charging plug and a defined flexural rigidity, for which reason it is also called an insertion rod. The charging socket of the vehicle has an insertion funnel. Alternatively, the insertion funnel and the charging plug are flexible or the charging cable is flexible after the insertion rod, so that the precise position of the charging plug at the target location, i.e. the charging socket, is enabled. The three spatial directions are covered through the linear motion and through the flexible position or flexibility of the cable. In addition, the plug and the socket are designed to be rotationally symmetrical, so that it even covers the degree of rotation freedom of the plug with regard to the socket. These procedures can be modified through numerous embodiments.
The advantage of the measure is that conventional components can be used. In particular with regard to the vehicle, this solution is not extensive and is of low weight, requires little space and is inexpensive. The electrical connection is based on the interface specified in the standards. If it is installed on the ground, it is beneficial that it offers protection from vandalism and weather in a connected condition.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Same reference numbers are used the drawings to describe identical characteristics or parts.

Device for establishing and disconnecting a charging connection for a plug-in vehicle in an automated manner

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


Security-enhanced documents and methods of forming security-enhanced documents having indicia under a Scratch-Off Coating (SOC), and more particularly including digitally imaging video frames onto the display area and/or back of the documents. In certain embodiments, portions of digitally imaged video frames are also utilized as game play variable indicia.

The present disclosure relates generally to documents, such as scratch off instant lottery tickets, having variable indicia under a Scratch-Off Coating ("SOC"), and more particularly to systems and methods for enhancing aesthetics of such documents by digitally imaging a plurality of video frames onto such documents such as in the front display area and/or the back area of the document. In various embodiments, portions of digitally imaged video frames are also utilized as variable indicia thereby imparting value or game outcomes via the selected portions of digitally imaged video frames.
Lottery games have become a time-honored method of raising revenue for state and federal governments the world over. Traditional scratch-off instant lottery tickets have evolved over decades. Certain known instant lottery tickets have printed images from a video such as a television show or movie. However, due to the inherent limitations of using a static plate printing process (such as flexographic and offset), the quantity of images that can be placed on the lottery tickets is limited by the size (such as the circumference) of the printing plates. Thus, the images from videos for instant lottery tickets have been limited.


A semiconductor light emitting device includes a substrate; a base layer made of a first conductivity-type semiconductor and disposed on the substrate; a plurality of nanoscale light emitting units disposed in a region of an upper surface of the base layer and including a first conductivity-type nano-semiconductor layer protruding from the upper surface of the base layer, a nano-active layer disposed on the first conductivity-type nano-semiconductor layer, and a second conductivity-type nano-semiconductor layer disposed on the nano-active layer; and a light emitting laminate disposed in a different region of the upper surface of the base layer and having a laminated active layer.

Light emitting diodes (LED) have a relatively long lifespan, consume relatively small amounts of power, have a fast response speed, and are environmentally friendly. As a result, they are known as next-generation light sources, and have come to prominence as important light sources in various products such as lighting devices, backlights in display devices, and the like.
In particular, demand for white light emitting diodes is on the rise. In order to provide white light, phosphors may be used with LEDs. For example, in a light emitting device that emits UV light, red, green, and blue phosphors may be used. The phosphors are excited by the UV light to emit red light, green light, and blue light, respectively, to obtain white light. Alternatively, a blue light emitting device may be used to excite a yellow phosphor (a color complementary to blue) to emit yellow light, and to thereby obtain white light. In addition, without phosphors, white color may be obtained by combining separate light emitting devices that emit red, green, and blue visible light, respectively.
In this manner, a desired color of light may be obtained by combining light having various wavelengths generated by a light emitting device, and thus, a method for implementing various colors, other than white, is required.

Semiconductor light emitting device and manufacturing method of the same


A fabrication process and apparatus for producing three-dimensional objects (36) by depositing a first polymer layer, printing a first ink layer on to the first polymer layer (34), depositing a second polymer layer on to the first ink layer, and printing a second ink layer on to the second polymer layer. The deposition and printing steps may be repeated until a three-dimensional object (36) is formed. The inks used to form at least one of the first and second ink layers may include dyes or pigments so that the three-dimensional object may be a colored three-dimensional object.

With the increased use of Computer Aided Design (CAD) solid modeling systems a new frontier of manufacturing technology has emerged that enables translation of the CAD output data into a three-dimensional physical object. This technology is commonly referred to as solid freeform fabrication or layer manufacturing, which entails building an object on a layer-by-layer and point-by-point basis. Examples of commercially available solid freeform fabrication systems include stereo lithography, selective laser sintering, laminated object manufacturing, and fused deposition modeling. Other examples of solid freeform fabrication systems are known to those of skill in the art.
Forming objects automatically in three dimensions is useful in verifying CAD databases, assessing aesthetics, checking ergonomics of design, aiding in tool and fixture design, creating conceptual models and sales/marketing tools, generating patterns for investment casting, reducing or eliminating engineering changes in production, and providing small production runs.

Process for fabrication of three-dimensional objects


The present invention is directed to providing thin-film-coated substrate manufacturing methods and apparatus that make it possible to manufacture large thin-film-coated substrates such as anti-reflection filters using relatively small production facilities. The thin-film-coated substrate manufacturing methods pertaining to the present invention area capable of producing thin films on substrates to be coated as large as the film formation area by using a film formation monitor or monitors placed outside of the film formation area or displaceably mobile therein, measuring the thickness of the monitor thin film or films formed on the film formation monitor or monitors, and controlling the film coating process based on the measured thickness of the monitor thin film or films. It is also capable of increasing the productivity of the manufacturing process through increased flexibility in the arrangement of substrate or substrates to be coated inside the film formation area.

There are two conventional methods of manufacturing optical filters and other thin-film-coated substrates based on techniques such as vacuum evaporation and sputtering. One comprises the measurement of the thickness of the thin film produced and control of the film coating process based on the results of such measurement, while the other provides no such control, and both are widely used.
The method that does not incorporate thin film thickness measurement aims to achieve the desired thickness by, for example, controlling the film formation time while keeping the conditions of the film formation atmosphere and speed constant. In the case of producing a thin film while moving the substrates to be coated, the desired film thickness may be obtained by controlling their moving speed.
With such a thin-film-coated substrate manufacturing method, it is not possible to check whether the thin film being produced would satisfy the required specification until the film coating process is completed, as the film thickness is not measured during the process. A thin film production apparatus normally operates in a vacuum so that it is not desirable to frequently take out the substrate on which a thin film is being produced to measure its thickness. Therefore, where more than one thin film is generated, measurement is not carried out until the production of all thin films is complete.
However, operating conditions of thin film production apparatus, such as film formation speed, are generally susceptible to fluctuations, and these have quite frequently caused the film thickness to fluctuate, resulting in the production of coatings that do not meet the specifications. Therefore, with thin film production methods in which film thickness measurement was not used, it was difficult to sustain the yield above a certain level.
As a result, the control of the film coating process through the measurement of film thickness began to be practiced. Taking the production of anti-reflection coatings and other optical coatings over plane substrates, such as glass plates, as an example, conventional methods of manufacturing thin-film-coated substrates in which the film thickness is measured and the film coating process is controlled based on the results of such measurements are explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram which shows the thin-film-coated substrate manufacturing process as viewed in a direction parallel to the substrate surface and perpendicular to the direction of the movement of the substrates. Inside a vacuum vessel 16, a thin film material 3 is placed, with the film-forming particle flux generating element 2 pointing upwards in the diagram. Electrons are ejected from an electron gun 6, and travel to the film-forming particle flux generating element 2 due to the effect of a magnetic field, not shown on the diagram. On collision with the element, they heat it, thereby generating a film-forming particle flux 5. The film-forming particle flux axis 9, i.e. the axis of the film-forming particle flux 5 (representing the direction in which film-forming particles are generated in the highest density), points upwards in the diagram. A film formation monitoring plate 8 is placed on the film-forming particle flux axis 9 or in its vicinity, and a film thickness measuring device 7, which optically measures the thickness of the thin film formed on the film formation monitoring plate 8, is located above it. An arrangement is made so that a thin film is formed on the underside of each of the group of substrates to be coated 1 through exposure to the film-forming particle flux 5 in the vicinity of the film-forming particle flux axis 9, as they move along a path set between the film-forming particle flux generating element 2 and the film formation monitoring plate 8 in a direction perpendicular to the film-forming particle flux axis 9 (from left to right on the diagram). Also, to limit the range of the group of substrates to be coated 1 exposed to the film-forming particle flux 5 along their movement path, corrector plates 4 are placed between the film-forming particle flux generating element 2 and the group of substrates to be coated 1. A shutter 11 that shuts off the film-forming particle flux 5 as necessary is also provided.
FIG. 8 views this set-up from the location of the film-forming particle beam generating element 2 along the film-forming particle beam axis 9. The group of substrates to be coated 1 is arranged in, for example, two columns as shown in the diagram, ensuring that a gap is created so that the film-forming particle beam 5 is not blocked along the film-forming particle beam axis 9 and in its vicinity. The film formation monitoring plate 8 is placed in such a way that film-forming particles reach it through this gap.
When producing a thin film on each of the group of substrates to be coated 1, the film-forming particle beam generating element 2 of the thin film material 3 is continuously heated with the electron beam generated by the electron gun 6, causing it to emit film-forming particles. Initially, the shutter 11 is closed, and film-forming particles cannot reach the substrates to be coated. When the temperature of the film-forming particle beam generating element 2 reaches a steady state, the rate of film-forming particle generation also reaches a steady state. Upon confirming this, the shutter 11 is opened and at the same time the group of substrates to be coated 1 is made to move at a constant speed from left to right on FIG. 7. The film-forming particles generated by the film-forming particle beam generating element 2 travel along the film-forming particle beam axis 9, spreading outwards as the traveling distance increases, and reach the group of substrates to be coated 1. Of the space occupied by film-forming particles, the region in which film-forming particles are in sufficiently high concentration is defined as the film-forming particle beam 5. Some film-forming particles, traveling along the film-forming particle beam axis 9 or in its vicinity, reach the film formation monitoring plate 8 through the gap created between substrates.
The thickness of the thin film on each of the group of substrates to be coated 1 is measured indirectly by measuring the thickness of the monitor thin film formed on the film formation monitoring plate 8 using the film thickness measuring device 7. The formation of a thin film on the film formation monitoring plate 8 occurs under similar conditions to those for each substrate in the group of substrates to be coated 1. Therefore, the thickness of the monitor thin film has a certain relationship with that of the thin film formed on each substrate in the group of substrates to be coated 1. Ideally, when thin films are formed on 10 groups of substrates to be coated 1, the thickness of the monitor thin film formed on the film formation monitoring plate 8 becomes approximately 10 times that of the thin film formed on one group of substrates to be coated 1. In practice, such a correspondence is accurately determined through experiments. From this result, the correspondence between the time rate of change in the thickness of the monitor thin film formed on the film formation monitoring plate 8 and the time rate of change in the thin film formed on the groups of substrates to be coated 1 can also be obtained.
Based on these thin film thickness measurement results, the film coating process is controlled, involving, for example, the adjustment of the film formation speed or physical properties of the thin film, such as refractive index, and the closing of the shutter 11 as soon as the desired film thickness is obtained.
Methods of controlling the film coating process through the measurement of the thickness of a thin film obtained along the film-forming particle beam axis or in its vicinity through the use of a film formation monitor as shown above have been disclosed, for example, in JP-A-01-306560.
However, the inventors of the present invention discovered that such conventional thin-film-coated substrate manufacturing methods had problems as shown below.
Namely, to have a monitor thin film formed on the film formation monitor by placing it on the film-forming particle beam axis or in its vicinity for the purpose of thin film thickness measurement, it was necessary to arrange or move the substrates to be coated so as to prevent them from blocking film-forming particles and create a gap around the center of the film-forming particle beam. Nevertheless, this hardly became an issue, as far as small substrates to be coated, such as optical lenses, were involved, as they were placed in a large number of columns.
However, the inventors of the present invention found that placing a film formation monitor on the film-forming particle beam axis or in its vicinity for thin film thickness measurement led to an undesirable over-sizing of the production facility or a sharp fall in productivity, when producing a thin film on a large substrate such as the surface anti-reflection filter of a display device with a diagonal size of 14 in. (35 cm) or more. Namely, to prevent substrates to be coated from blocking the film-forming particles around the center of the film-forming particle beam, the group of substrates to be coated 1 had to be arranged in at least two columns as shown in FIG. 8 to ensure that a gap was always created between substrates to be coated. Therefore, the area in which the group of substrates to be coated 1 were exposed to the film-forming particle beam 5 (film formation area 20 as shown with a two-dot chain line in FIG. 8) needed to be more than twice the width of the substrate to be coated.
Furthermore, when fixed film formation monitors were placed in the vicinity of the film-forming particle beam axis, it was sometimes impossible to control the film coating process by means of a film formation monitor, as the substrates to be coated or their supports came in the way, lying between the film formation monitor and film-forming particle beam generating element, as the dimensions of the substrate to be coated changed due to a change in the type of substrate to be coated to be manufactured. In other words, controlling a film coating process using fixed film formation monitors required severe restrictions to be placed on the dimensions or shapes of substrates to be coated.
Moreover, as far as the inventors of the present invention know, there are cases where the thickness of the monitor thin film formed on the film formation monitor becomes far thinner than that of the thin film formed on the film formation monitor, if a fairly large gap between substrate columns is not secured. The inventors of the present invention have discovered that this is mainly due to the fact that some of the traveling film-forming particles become deflected due to collision with the remaining gas molecules in the vacuum vessel and caught by the substrates to be coated or substrate holders that support them. FIG. 9 shows this mechanism. If there were no gas molecules inside the vacuum vessel, such film-forming particles would travel from the film-forming particle beam generating element to the film formation monitor through the gap between substrate columns without any interference. In such a case, therefore, the thickness of the monitor thin film formed on the film formation monitor would become almost the same as that of the thin film formed on substrates to be coated. In reality, however, some gas molecules always remain in the vacuum vessel due to a limitation in the performance of the vacuum pump or the necessity of the film coating process. As a result, film-forming particles reach the substrates to be coated or film formation monitor after colliding with these gas molecules. Since there is no obstacle between the film-forming particle beam generating element and substrates to be coated, those film-forming particles having collided with gas molecules can still reach substrates to be coated, although their traveling paths are zigzagged. In the case of the film formation monitor, however, the film-forming particles having collided with gas molecules become blocked by substrates to be coated etc., unless the gap between substrate columns is made quite large, as the substrates to be coated are placed before it with respect to the film-forming particle beam generating element. Also, the distance from the film-forming particle beam generating element is generally greater for the film formation monitor than substrates to be coated, when it is placed in the vicinity of the film-forming particle beam axis. Therefore, an increasing proportion of the film-forming particles fail to reach the film formation monitor due to collision with gas molecules though they are roughly in the direction towards the film formation monitor. As a result, the thickness of the thin film formed on the film formation monitor becomes, for example, less than half that of the thin film formed on the substrates to be coated. Therefore, it was necessary that the width of the film formation area be set considerably greater than twice the width of the substrate to be coated.
For example, to form a thin film on the surface anti-reflection filter (shorter side 31 cm.times.longer side 38 cm) of a display device with a diagonal size of 17 in. (43 cm), the width of the film formation area was required to be considerably greater than 62 cm, which was twice the length of the shorter side, (e.g. 70 cm or more). The seriousness of this problem increases as the size of the substrate to be coated increases.
Even when the width of the film formation area is quite large, severe restrictions are unavoidably placed on the dimensions or arrangement of substrates to be coated that form a substrate group (e.g. whether to set the moving direction of the substrates along its longer side or perpendicular to it), to ensure that a gap is created in the middle of the film formation area. Therefore, even where there was no obstacle to obtaining a wide film formation area from the production facility point of view, in many cases it was not possible to take full advantage of it due to restrictions in terms of sizes and arrangements of substrates to be coated, leading to a severe loss in productivity. For example, when a thin film is produced on the surface anti-reflection filter (shorter side 31 cm) of a display device with a diagonal size of 17 in. (43 cm) using a production facility with a 1 m-wide film formation area, it is physically possible to place such substrates to be coated in three columns. Nevertheless, it was necessary to limit the number of columns to two due to the need to arrange the substrates to be coated in such a way that they would not block the film formation monitor placed in the vicinity of the film-forming particle beam axis (i.e. around the center of the film formation area). Namely, it was only possible to manufacture the above type of filters at 2/3 of the potential productivity.
Also, since it is common to produce various types of thin-film-coated substrates using the same production facility, placing the film formation monitor on the basis of a particular type of substrate to be coated and its specific arrangement pattern unavoidably gives rise to the same productivity problem as the one above, when making other types of products.
Moreover, when the substrate to be coated is a tape-like material made of a plastic etc., thin film production is sometimes carried out continuously, as the substrate to be coated is unwound from the substrate roll. In such cases, it was necessary to, for example, limit the width of each of the parallel tape-like substrates to less than 1/2 that of the film formation area and unwind it after winding it onto a pair of substrate rolls. In such cases, an undesirable over-sizing of the production facility or reduction in productivity due to constraints on the width of the tape-like substrate was unavoidable for the same reason.
The following seem to be the reasons why thin film thickness measurement is carried out by placing a film formation monitor on the film-forming particle beam axis or in its vicinity, despite the accompanying undesirable increase in the size of the production facility or sharp drop in productivity:
Firstly, the production of a thin film on large substrates to be coated was not undertaken until recently, and problems such as restrictions on the arrangement of the substrates during film production etc., as mentioned above did not come to the fore. Secondly, a thin film formed by film-forming particles traveling along the film-forming particle beam axis or in its vicinity is believed to be most suitable for the monitoring of the film coating process as its characteristics are superior to those of a thin film formed by film-forming particles moving away from the film-forming particle beam axis. This is because film-forming particles traveling along the film-forming particle beam axis or in its vicinity are more numerous and generally have greater kinetic energy, so that they can form homogenous thin films with greater refractive index. In contrast, film-forming particles moving away from the film-forming particle beam axis are relatively few and have lower energy, so that thin films formed of them are low in refractive index and thinner.
Therefore, the placement of the film formation monitor in the vicinity of the film-forming particle beam axis has been treated as a foregone conclusion and other methods have not been considered.
The object of the present invention, therefore, is to offer a thin-film-coated substrate manufacturing method and apparatus that makes it possible to produce multi-type (size) products without the undesirable over-sizing of the production facility or productivity setbacks associated with increases in substrate size and adoption of continuous (tape-like) substrate production.

Thin-film-coated substrate manufacturing methods having improved film formation monitoring and manufacturing apparatus


The invention relates to a device and a method for stabilizing a powder bed by means of low pressure for an additive manufacturing method, wherein the device comprises: a container open at least on one side, comprising a bottom, at least one side wall and a container opening; a filter in or above the bottom and/or in the at least one side wall, wherein an area occupied by the filter corresponds to the area of the bottom or the area of the side wall and wherein the filter is substantially impermeable to a powder comprising the powder bed; and a connection at the bottom and/or at the side wall of the container or on a side of the filter facing away from the container opening, wherein the connection is suitable for connection to a suction pump, such that a powder bed arranged in the container is pressed against the filter and stabilized by means of a vacuum produced by the suction pump.

The invention relates to the field of additive manufacturing methods and prototyping or rapid prototyping.
Methods for additive manufacturing differ from subtractive methods such as milling, drilling and erosion in that material is combined into a component. To this end, the material has to be in a state in which it does not in itself define a shape, but rather can be brought into a shape. Starting materials such as workable masses, pastes, powders, liquids etc. meet this requirement. While it is intuitively understood that workable masses and pastes can be shaped into a structure, with powders and liquids this is not directly the case. Normally, the particles of a powder are linked together using an auxiliary substance, for example a binder. Fluids, such as flowable particle suspensions, for example, can be formed into a structure by drying or by a phase transition from liquid to solid. One class of earlier methods for additive manufacturing is constituted by powder-based methods, in which particles of powder are built up in layers, typically 50 to 200 μm thick, and are connected together in each of these layers by the local application of a binder or by local melting with a laser beam. The binder-based powder methods were developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, USA, and the laser-based methods were developed at the University of Texas in Austin, USA in the early 1980s/early 1990s and are known as 3 D printing or selective laser sintering. Both methods are now well established among the (now many) additive manufacturing methods, and with regard to the number of manufactured components, they clearly count among the leading current methods. In addition to a continual optimization of the technologies underlying these two methods, in the 30 years since their invention, there have substantially been no further developments in 3 D printing or selective laser sintering.
In additive manufacturing methods, which are based on building up powdered starting material layer-by-layer, stabilization of the structures (components) embedded in the powder bed is problematic. A fundamental problem in powder-based methods is and always has been the fact that the powder bed, i.e. all of the powdered material which is piled up when building up the layers but which has not been bound into the component, does not support the embedded structure (component) sufficiently during the construction process. When applying a new layer of powder, the already consolidated structure in the powder bed can be displaced, which results in defects in the structure or even in complete loss of structure. For this reason, in powder-based manufacturing technologies, in addition to the component to be manufactured using the appropriate manufacturing technology, additional so-called support structures are also constructed. These support structures anchor the component to be constructed with the working platform and thus fix it into the coordinate system of the building-up chamber of the facility.
Furthermore, support structures are needed when particularly complex geometries are to be produced. Removing the support structures after the actual additive manufacturing process requires an additional process step which is time-consuming and does not lend itself to automation, and thus runs counter to the remit of autonomous manufacturing which can be carried out by additive manufacturing. Thus, there is a need for stabilizing the powder bed in a manner such that support structures can be completely dispensed with, which does not affect the manufacturing process itself and, more importantly, which does not hinder removal of the component from the powder bed. A powder bed with aggregated particles would, for example, hinder ready removal of the component from the powder bed. In particular, removal of the powder which did not belong to the component at locations on the component which were difficult to access would be problematic. The final point is also highly problematic when removing the support structures and constitutes distinct constraints when designing components for powder-based additive manufacturing.
After the building-up process, the support structure has to be separated from the actual component. This process is time-consuming and very difficult to automate.

Method for stabilizing a powder bed by means of vacuum for additive manufacturing

Bundesrepublik Deutschland, vertreten durch das Bundesministerium fuer Wirtschaft und Technologie, dieses vertreten durch den Praesidenten der BAM, Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und-pruefung


A system and method for intelligent decoded picture buffering is described. In one embodiment, a video bitstream buffer receives and temporarily holds an encoded compressed bitstream containing portions of a video. Then, a look ahead parser scans ahead in the video to analyze portions of the encoded video bitstream in the video bitstream buffer to predict the value of the video. Based on this prediction, an intelligent memory manager prioritizes the video portions, and then sends the high valued video portions to a first buffer and sends the low valued video portions to a second buffer.

Video technology is very popular for showing moving images to consumers. Video is a sequence of still images representing scenes of a motion picture that can be electronically captured, recorded, processed, stored, transmitted, and reconstructed. Video can be stored in digital and analog storage formats. Digital storage formats include DVDs, QuickTime, and MPEG-4. Analog storage formats include VHS and Betamax videotapes.
Video compression refers to a data compression process of encoding and reducing the quantity of data used to represent video images. Video compression is typically performed prior to sending and the later decoding of video data to a destination. Video compression standards include MPEG-2, H263, MPEG-4 Part 2, and H264/AVC. The H264 standard provides high quality video at low bit rates compared to previous standards.
Video compression can be accomplished because video data contains spatial and temporal redundancies. These redundancies make uncompressed video streams inefficient. In one technique, video compression reduces spatial redundancies through intraframe compression by registering differences between parts of a single frame. Likewise, video compression reduces the temporal redundancies through interframe compression by registering differences between frames.
Video resolutions include standard definition and High Definition (HD) video. HD video generally refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video. HD video resolutions include 1280×720 (720p) or 1920×1080 (1080i or 1080p). HD video results in better visual clarity, but occupies more memory storage space.
In video encoding, a system's maximum rate of data transfer is its digital bandwidth. In other words, bandwidth is the amount of data a computer can transfer data over a data channel. Bandwidth can be measured as a bit rate, expressed in bits per second, denoting the maximum bit rate that data can be transferred through a connection. In computer networking, bandwidth management is a process of measuring and controlling the amount of data communicated across a network channel, to avoid filling the channel to its capacity, which would result in network congestion and poor performance. As such, bandwidth savings help prevent poor video performance.
In a conventional video decoder, an encoded bitstream is input into the system. In one technique, the encoded bitstream can be entropy decoded to form a residual. The residual can then be inverse-scanned, inverse-quantized, and inverse-transformed. Then, a motion compensation module uses previous or future frames to generate an inter macroblock predictor, or a spatial compensation module uses neighboring macroblocks to generate an intra macroblock predictor. The MPEG4/H263 standard only supports inter predictors, whereas the H264 standard supports both inter and intra predictors. The predictor macroblock can be added to the scanned, quantized, and transformed residual. This result can be filtered and then outputted as a reconstructed and decoded macroblock.
The inter macroblock predictor can be formed from different sized blocks, including integer multiples of variable sized non-overlapping blocks called partitions and sub-partitions. MPEG4/H263 supports either one 16×16 macroblock or four 8×8 blocks or partitions. H264 supports one 16×16 macroblock, two 16×8, two 8×16, or four 8×8 blocks or partitions. H264 further supports each 8×8 partition to be sub-divided into one 8×8 partition, two 8×4 sub-partitions, two 4×8 or four 4×4 sub-partitions. Each partition or sub-partition can have a separate motion vector that describes which reference frame to use, and the location in the reference frame to gather the predictor partition or sub-partition. These reference frames can be temporarily stored and organized in a decoded picture buffer in a memory. The decoded picture buffer can provide pictures or frames to a decoding pixel processor (i.e., a decoder). A video decoder maintains several buffers in memory that the decoder reads from and writes to during the course of decoding a video bitstream. These reads and writes include video bitstream read/write, a system bitstream read/write, a command buffer read/write, and motion vectors read/write. The sending and receiving of referenced decoded portions of video between the decoded picture buffer and the decoding pixel processor is often the largest consumer of bandwidth.
The decoded portion of video can be referenced by the decoder once, or referenced multiple times. The more often a portion of video is referenced, the more bandwidth it takes up. If the portion of video is referenced frequently, more bandwidth is consumed than if the decoded video portion is not referenced frequently. This is because the decoded video portion is transmitted from the decoded picture buffer to the decoder each time the decoded video portion is referenced, consuming bandwidth during each transmission.


An embodiment of a system and method that uses inline measurements to probe available bandwidth for a transmission control protocol, and adaptively sets a slow-start threshold according to the available bandwidth. The method includes initializing a congestion window “cwnd,” sending cwnd packets, estimating an available bandwidth for the cwnd packets. The congestion window cwnd is set to a higher number, and the higher number of further packets is sent if the available bandwidth is greater than a first threshold level. The available bandwidth is re-estimated for the higher number of the further packets, and a soft start threshold “ssthresh” is set to the re-estimated available bandwidth. A statistical measure is calculated for the re-estimated available bandwidth, and the congestion window cwnd is set equal to ssthresh if a ratio of the statistical measure to the re-estimated available bandwidth is less than a second threshold level.

Information technology ("IT") organizations often employ a Wide Area Network ("WAN") to, inter alia, deploy their processing infrastructures over a broad geographical area to increase productivity, support global collaboration, and minimize costs. Traditional local area network ("LAN")-oriented infrastructures are generally insufficient to support global collaboration with high application performance and low costs. Deploying applications over WANs inevitably incurs performance degradation owing to the intrinsic nature of WANs, including such issues as operation over long distances, high latency, and high packet loss rate.
Transmission Control Protocol ("TCP") is the software process that provides a communication service between an application program and the IP. Although TCP is the de facto standard for Internet-based commercial communication networks, it performs poorly under conditions of moderate to high packet loss and end-to-end latency. For instance, TCP generally exhibits substantial transmission inefficiencies during the "slow-start" phase.
More specifically, slow-start is used in conjunction with other algorithms to avoid sending more data than the network is capable of transmitting, that is, to avoid causing network congestion. It is also known as the exponential growth phase. During the exponential growth phase, slow-start works by increasing the TCP congestion window each time the acknowledgment is received, i.e., it increases the window size by the number of segments acknowledged. This happens until either an acknowledgment is not received for some segment or a predetermined threshold value is reached. If a loss event occurs, TCP assumes that it is due to network congestion and takes steps to reduce the offered load on the network. Once a loss event has occurred or the threshold has been reached, TCP enters the linear growth (congestion avoidance) phase. At this point, the window is increased by 1 segment for each RTT. This also happens until a loss event occurs.
Although the strategy is referred to as "slow-start", its congestion window growth is quite aggressive. Nevertheless, the performance of the TCP slow-start phase generally degrades under conditions of long communication distances and high end-to-end latency, which generally are inherent characteristics of WANs. Accordingly, there exists a need to provide more efficient operation of TCP, especially during the slow-start phase.

System and method for transmission control protocol slow-start


Apparatus and methods for providing a banking service are provided. The method may use an electronic information processing platform. The method may include storing, in a computer memory, information relating to a current balance in a first customer account. The method may also include storing information relating to a retirement balance. The retirement balance may be a projected balance that will be present in the first customer account upon the customer's retirement. The method may further include storing information relating to a period of time. The period of time may relate to a time span that spans from a predetermined pre-retirement date to a customer's projected retirement date. The systems and methods of the invention may also include activating a series of withdrawals. The series of withdrawals may withdraw funds from the first customer account and deposit the withdrawn funds in a second customer account. The amount of funds withdrawn from the first customer account may increase at least once during the duration of the series of withdrawals. The funds withdrawn from the first customer account may modify the current balance to be similar to the retirement balance at least once during the duration of the series of withdrawals. The amount of funds withdrawn by each withdrawal may be based at least in part on the stored information relating to the current balance, the retirement balance, and the period of time.

A customer's retirement income is typically smaller than his income during his working years. For example, a customer's sources of income in retirement may provide for only 70% as much money in retirement compared to pre-retirement. Thus, a customer must modify his retirement budget to be a smaller fraction of his working budget.
Yet, no systems and methods are provided to help a customer adjust to his retirement budget before he retires. This is not desirable at least because it is difficult to adjust to a significantly reduced budget in a relatively short period of time.
It would therefore be desirable to provide systems and methods for helping a customer adjust to his retirement budget before he retires.


A traction control system for a motor vehicle having driving wheels and driven wheels. The traction control system comprises sensors for detecting a speed of each of the driving wheels of the vehicle; sensors for detecting a speed of each of the driven wheels of the vehicle; and a mechanism for calculating a slip value of the driving wheels based on the detected speeds of the driving and driven wheels. The traction control system also includes an engine output control mechanism for controlling each of the driving wheels so that the slip value of each of the driving wheels is controlled to become equal to a predetermined first desired slip value when the slip value of each driving wheel is greater than the predetermined first desired slip value; and a brake force control mechanism for controlling each of the driving wheels so that the slip value of each of the driving wheels is controlled to become equal to a predetermined second desired slip value when the slip value of each driving wheel is greater than the predetermined second desired slip value. The control system also includes an engine control restriction mechanism for restricting the engine output control mechanism while the braking control is carried out.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a traction control system for a motor vehicle, and in particular to a traction control system in which a slip value of a driving wheel is controlled by employing an estimated friction coefficient of a road surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
One type of traction control system for a motor vehicle detects a slip value of a driving wheel and controls an output of an engine and braking force so that the slip value of the driving wheel is equal to a predetermined desired slip value. The traction control system is used to prevent a decrease in acceleration of the vehicle caused by the slip which is caused by an excessive driving torque of the driving wheels in an accelerating operation and the like.
The conventional traction control system as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 63-263243 controls the output of the engine by using a combination of leaning the air-fuel ratio, retarding the ignition timing and controlling the number of operating cylinders.
In the conventional traction control system, it is difficult to utilize the engine output control for the traction control for the purpose of reducing the work load of the braking system. The reason is that while the driving torque can be reduced rapidly when the braking force is controlled, the driving torque can not be reduced rapidly when the engine output is controlled. Namely, the actual reduction of the output torque of the engine is followed by a certain delay time after the start of the control. Even if the traction control system detects a slip value of the driving wheels and controls the output of the engine, for example, by retarding ignition timing, at the time the actual engine control starts, the slip value of driving wheel already has become close to the predetermined desired slip value by the operation of the braking force. Further, at the time the actual engine control starts, the traction control system detects the current slip value of the driving wheels for a determination of the next engine control. In this condition, the retarding value of the ignition timing is controlled to reduce the value, namely the engine control is controlled toward advancing the timing. Accordingly, hunting of the engine output is caused and the engine output control is not properly operated.

Traction control system for motor vehicle


A receiving unit receives input speech data on a frame-by-frame basis. An error detection unit checks whether errors exist in each frame, and outputs a signal indicative thereof to a first switch circuit. The first switch circuit outputs the input speech data to a second switch circuit if an error is detected, while it outputs the input speech data to a speech decoder unit if no error is detected. A data memory stores the input speech data after delaying the data by one frame, and outputs the delayed data to a bad frame masking unit for voiced frame, and a bad frame masking unit for unvoiced frame. The speech decoder unit decodes the input speech data by using spectral parameter data, delay of an adaptive codebook, an index of an excitation codebook, gains of the adaptive and excitation codebooks, and the amplitude of the input speech signal. The speech decoder unit outputs a decoding result to a voiced/unvoiced frame judging unit, as well as to an output terminal. The voiced/unvoiced frame judging unit determines whether a current frame is a voiced frame or an unvoiced frame, and outputs the result of the check to a second switch circuit. The second switch circuit outputs the input data to the bad frame masking unit for voiced frame if it is determined that the current frame is a voiced frame, and it outputs the input data to the bad frame masking unit for unvoiced frame if it is determined that the current frame is an unvoiced frame.

This invention relates to a speech decoder for high quality decoding a speech signal which has been transmitted at a low bit rate, particularly at 8 kb/sec or below.
A well-known speech decoder concerning frames with errors, is disclosed in a treatise entitled "Channel Coding for Digital Speech Transmission in the Japanese Digital Cellular System" by Michael J. McLaughlin (Radio Communication System Research Association, RC590-27, p-p 41-45). In this system, in a frame with errors, the spectral parameter data and delay of an adaptive codebook having an excitation signal determined in the past are replaced with previous frame data. In addition, the amplitude in a past frame without errors is reduced in a predetermined ratio to use the reduced amplitude as the amplitude for the current frame. In this way, a speech signal is reproduced. Further, if more errors than the predetermined number of frames are detected continuously, the current frame is muted.
In this prior art system, however, the spectral parameter data in the previous frame, the delay and the amplitude as noted above are used repeatedly irrespective of whether the frame with errors is a voiced or an unvoiced one. Therefore, in the reproduction of the speech signal the current frame is processed as a voiced one if the previous frame is a voiced one, while it is processed as an unvoiced one if the previous frame is an unvoiced one. This means that if the current frame is a transition frame from a voiced to an unvoiced one, it is impossible to reproduce a speech signal having unvoiced features.

Speech decoder for decoding a speech signal using a bad frame masking unit for voiced frame and a bad frame masking unit for unvoiced frame


A gearbox includes a transmission mechanism and a clutch system including plural clutches. The gearbox has a gear change mechanism that is interlocked with a change pedal shaft to which rotational force by operation of a shift pedal is transmitted and arbitrarily selects a transmission gear of the transmission mechanism to perform gear shift. An ECU can electronically control connection/disconnection of the clutch system according to a shift position of the gear change mechanism.

1. Field
The present invention relates to a gearbox of a saddle-ridden vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a gearbox of a saddle-ridden vehicle, there is a gearbox in which a control measure that has detected an indication of intention of gear shift from a gear selector operation based on manual operation by a driver causes electromagnetic actuation of a clutch actuator to disconnect a clutch and electrically drives a motor that shifts a change drum to perform gear shift to the selected shift stage, such a configuration is shown, for example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-157163).
However, in such an electrically-driven gearbox, the clutch actuation time and the gear shift operation time depend greatly on the performance of the actuator and the motor. Therefore, depending on the performance of them, when shift operation is carried out in vehicle driving, the clutch connection/disconnection time is long and the time until the completion of gear shift actuation is long, so that interruption of the driving force occurs. In addition, the driver is often made to feel that the time until gear shift completion is longer compared with a manual operation vehicle.
In particular, for the saddle-ridden vehicle for sports driving, a light-weight, small-size gearbox capable of rapid gear shift operation without such driving force interruption is desired.


The current-voltage converting circuit converts an input current signal into a voltage signal, and the single-differential converting circuit converts the voltage signal into differential signals so as to output the differential signals. The first and second low-pass filters input outputs from the single-differential converting circuit, respectively, and the voltage-current converting circuit converts a difference between the output voltages from the first and second low-pass filters into a current signal. The current-voltage converting circuit inputs a voltage held in the hold capacitor as a control signal and converts the input current signal into a voltage signal using a current-voltage converting gain according to the control signal.

The present invention relates to an optical receiving circuit for converting an input current signal into a voltage signal in an optical communication system.
In recent years, in order to realize future FTTF (Fiber to The Home), researches in an optical subscriber network system are conducted enthusiastically. In the optical subscriber network system, transmission distance differs according to a difference in distances from each home to each station. For this reason, since attenuation of lights in optical fibers also differs, a current signal output from a photodiode becomes a current signal having various amplitudes including an infinitesimal amplitude signal through a large amplitude signal. Therefore, the optical receiving circuit requires a wide dynamic range characteristic which makes it possible to receive the infinitesimal amplitude signal through the large amplitude signal. In order to receive a signal having more infinitesimal amplitude, it is necessary to set a current-voltage converting gain for converting a current signal into a voltage signal to higher value in the optical receiving circuit. However, when the current-voltage converting gain is set to be higher, if a signal having large amplitude is input, an output voltage is saturated, thereby making normal reception difficult.
From such a background, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-85556 (1994) suggests an optical receiving circuit for changing a current splitting amount according to amplitude of an input signal so as to suppress saturation of an output voltage. Namely, in this optical receiving circuit, as the output voltage becomes larger, the current splitting amount is controlled so as to be larger, thereby suppressing the saturation of the output voltage.
As mentioned above, in the system for controlling the current splitting amount according to the output voltage, since the current splitting amount becomes excessive or insufficient because of characteristic fluctuation due to process scattering of a threshold voltage or temperature change in a transistor for current splitting, pulse width distortion, namely, duty deterioration occurs in the output signal. As a result, a clock extracting circuit connected with a later stage malfunctions, and it is difficult to decode received data normally.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention provides an organic electroluminescent display device and a method of repairing a defective pixel of an organic electroluminescent display device which can realize the repairing a defective pixel to a light emitting pixel by electrically separating a leak portion which generates a defective pixel. To be more specific, a peeling suppression layer is formed between an anode and an organic light emitting layer formed on a main substrate, and a cavity is formed between the main substrate and the peeling suppression layer due to the evaporation generated by an absorption of laser beams thus electrically separating a defective portion so as to repair a black-dot defective pixel to form a light emitting pixel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescent display device which forms an organic light emitting layer between a pair of electrodes and emits light by applying an electric field to the organic light emitting layer by the pair of electrodes, and more particularly to an organic electroluminescent display device which can repair a black-dot defective pixel or a bright-failure defective pixel formed in the inside of a display region to form an light emitting pixel and a method for repairing such a defective pixel.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, as a flat panel type display device, a liquid crystal display device (LCD), a plasma display device (PDP), a field emission type display device (FED), an organic electroluminescent display device (OLED) or the like has been commercialized and has been studied for commercialization. Among these display devices, the organic electroluminescent display device is an extremely prospective display device as a display device for future generation as a typical example of a thin and light-weighted emissive display device. The organic electroluminescent display device is classified into a so-called bottom-emission-type display device and a top-emission-type display device.
The bottom-emission-type organic electroluminescent display device constitutes an organic light emitting element by a light emitting mechanism which is constructed by sequentially stacking a transparent conductive thin film made of ITO (In—Ti—O) or IZO (In—Zn—O) which constitutes a first electrode or one electrode, an organic multi-layered film which emits light when an electric field is applied thereto (also referred to as organic light emitting layer), and a reflective metal electrode which constitutes a second electrode or another electrode on an insulating substrate which is preferably formed of a glass substrate. A large number of these organic light emitting elements are arranged in a matrix array, another substrate which is also referred to as a sealing can is provided in a state that another substrate covers the stacked structure, and the above-mentioned light emitting structure is insulated from an external atmosphere.
Further, by applying an electric field between both electrodes in a state that the transparent electrode is used as an anode and the metal electrode is used as a cathode, for example, careers (electrons and holes) are injected into the organic multi-layered film and this organic multi-layered film emits light. The emitted light is radiated to the outside from a glass substrate side.
On the other hand, in the top emission-type organic electroluminescent display device, in a state that the above-mentioned one electrode is formed of a metal electrode having the reflectance and another electrode is formed of a transparent electrode such as an ITO film, by applying an electric field between both electrodes, the organic multi-layered film emits light and the emitted light is radiated from the above-mentioned another electrode side. In the top emission type display device, a transparent plate which is preferably formed of a glass plate is used as a sealing can in the bottom-emission-type display device.
The organic light emitting phenomenon is a phenomenon which is generated by sandwiching an organic light emitting layer between a lower electrode and an upper electrode and by allowing the organic light emitting layer to emit light with an electric current supplied from upper and lower electrodes. The organic electroluminescent display device which makes use of such a light emitting phenomenon displays a two-dimensional image by arranging a large number of pixels in a matrix array, wherein the organic electroluminescent display device is classified into a passive-matrix-type display device and an active-matrix-type display device depending on a driving method. The passive-matrix-type organic electroluminescent display device is a display device which forms pixels by interposing organic light emitting layers at respective intersecting portion of a large number of scanning lines which extend in one direction and are arranged substantially in parallel to each other on a main surface of an insulating substrate and a large number of signal lines which extend in another direction which crosses one direction and are arranged substantially in parallel to each other on the main surface of the insulating substrate.
On the other hand, the active-matrix-type organic electroluminescent display device includes a large number of scanning lines which extend in one direction and are arranged in parallel to each other on a main surface of an insulating substrate, a large number of signal lines which extend in another direction which crosses one direction and are arranged in parallel to each other, and power source lines. The active-matrix-type organic electroluminescent display device further includes active elements such as thin film transistors (switching elements, hereinafter referred to as thin film transistors) at respective intersecting portions of the scanning lines and the signal lines. Further, an organic light emitting layer (hereinafter also referred to as OLED) is interposed between a lower electrode (pixel electrode) which is driven by the thin film transistor and an upper electrode which is connected to the power source line which supplies an electric current in response to a display signal supplied from the signal line. The active-matrix-type organic electroluminescent display device can eliminate a crosstalk between the pixels thus enabling a multi-gray-scale display with high definition.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for schematically explaining a constitutional example of the vicinity of one pixel of the organic electroluminescent display device. The organic electroluminescent display device shown in FIG. 8 is the active-matrix-type display device and is constituted such that a thin film transistor TFT is formed on a main surface (inner surface) of a transparent main substrate SUB1 which is preferably made of glass, and an organic light emitting layer OLE is sandwiched between one electrode (anode here) AD which is driven by the thin film transistor TFT and another electrode (here cathode) CD thus constituting a light emitting portion. Here, the thin film transistor TFT is constituted by a poly-silicon semiconductor layer PSI, a gate insulation layer IS1, a gate line (gate electrode) GL, a source-drain electrode SD, an interlayer insulation layer IS2, and an interlayer insulation layer IS3.
The anode AD which constitutes the pixel electrode is formed of a transparent conductive layer ITO which is formed over a passivation layer PSV, and the anode AD is electrically connected with a source-drain electrode SD via a contact hole which is formed between the passivation layer PSV and an interlayer insulation layer IS3. Further, the organic light emitting layer OLE is formed in a recessed portion surrounded by a bank BNK which is formed of an insulation layer applied to the anode AD by applying means such as a vapor deposition method or an ink jet method. Further, using a conductive matted film made of an aluminum thin film, a chromium thin film or the like, a cathode CD is formed in a state that the cathode CD covers the organic light emitting layer OLE and the bank BNK.
This organic electroluminescent display device is referred to as a so-called bottom-emission-type display device, wherein an emitted light L from the light emitting layer is radiated to the outside from a surface of the main substrate SUB1 as indicated by an arrow. Accordingly, the cathode CD is formed of a material which possesses a light reflecting function. To a main surface side of the main substrate SUB1, a sealing glass substrate SUB2 which is also referred to as a sealing can is adhered, and in the inside of a seal which surrounds a peripheral portion not shown in the drawing, nitrogen is filled and sealed.
In the organic electroluminescent display device having such a constitution, as shown in FIG. 9 which is a plan view of an essential part in which a display region is viewed from a first electrode (transparent electrode; anode) side, in a process for forming a large number of pixels PX (organic light emitting elements EL) on the main substrate SUB1, a leak portion LK exists within a pixel opening portion PAP due to a certain reason, and an electric current which contributes to the emission of light flows in the leak portion LK and hence, the organic light emitting element is short-circuited thus giving rise to a case in which a black-dot defective pixel BPX which generates a non-light-emitting region which does not emit light at the time of turning on the panel is generated.
Here, the black-dot defective pixel BPX means a pixel which does not emit light at all times compared to the light emitting element PX which always emits light and constitutes a light emitting region at the time of turning on the panel. Here, in the drawing, symbol PC indicates a pixel circuit, symbol PL indicates a power source line, and symbol GL indicates a gate line.
In the organic electroluminescent display device having such a constitution, as a method of repairing the black-dot defective pixel BPX which is generated within the display region, the laser repair method has been proposed. As a means which repairs the black-dot defective pixel BPX using this laser repair method, U.S. Pat. No. 6,590,335(patent document 1) discloses a means in which a portion of the metal electrode (cathode) corresponding to the defect is erased by the irradiation of laser beams, and an electric current is allowed to flow in a remaining portion of the defective pixel except for the defective portion thus repairing the defective pixel. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-open 2000-331782 (patent document 2) discloses a means in which a layer which is brought into contact with the transparent substrate among the organic material layer is formed into a leak preventing functional layer which is evaporated due to the absorption of the laser beams, and the metal electrode and the transparent electrode (anode) are separated from each other thus eliminating the occurrence of the leak. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,605,372 (patent document 3) discloses a manufacturing method and device in which the whole surfaces of an organic light emitting element in an dark-failure defective pixel or a brightness point defective pixel is irradiated with laser beams and hence, the pixel is insulated whereby the dark-failure defective pixel or the bright-failure defective pixel can be repaired.

Organic electroluminescent display device and method of repairing a defective pixel of the device


A joined article includes a ceramic member, another member, and a joining layer which is formed between the ceramic member and another member and joins both the members together, wherein the joining layer is composed mainly of nickel, and the joining layer contains beryllium as an activating component.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a joined article, a process for producing said joined article, and a brazing agent for use in producing such a joined article.
(2) Related Art of the Invention
Since aluminum nitride has high heat conductivity, high electric insulation property, low thermal expansion, a low dielectric constant, etc., aluminum nitride has been widely used in various ways, for example, as a substrate material for high output semiconductor elements. In particular, various constructions of joined articles composed of aluminum nitride members and ceramic members and joined articles composed of aluminum nitride members and metallic members have been used in various ways. For example, as to ceramic heaters, electrostatic chucks, high frequency electrodes, etc. to be used in the semiconductor producing apparatuses, joining needs to be effected between aluminum nitride members and various ceramic members, between aluminum nitride members and tools for setting thermocouples, between aluminum nitride members and electrodes.
In order to join a ceramic member to a metallic member, it has been heretofore known that a brazing material is interposed between the ceramic member and the metallic member, and both the members are joined together by melting the brazing material under heating. However, although a number of brazing materials are known for metals, any of those brazing materials has poor wetting upon type ceramic members, particularly made of non-oxide type ceramic materials. Among them, it was difficult to firmly join the aluminum nitride member to the metallic member by brazing.
Under the circumstances, as a brazing material for joining a non-oxide type ceramic member to a metallic member or the like is used a brazing material containing an active metal such as titanium or zirconium for improving wettability of the brazing material. For example, according to "Joining between aluminum nitride and metals" (Yoshikuni NAKAO, "Light metal welding" vol. 31, 1993, No. 8, pp 359-365), it is known that various alloys including Ag--Cu based alloys and Ag--Cu--Ti based alloys have been tested as brazing materials for joining aluminum nitride to copper, and that titanium, zirconium, niobium, hafnium or vanadium is incorporated into the brazing materials made of the above alloys. Each of these active metals locally exists near the surfaces of the aluminum nitride members in such a manner that a reactive layer is formed in a thickness of a few to several .mu.m.
However, the reaction layer composed of such an active metal may be converted to a brittle intermetallic compound with the result that joining strength decreases. In particular, the present inventors found out that the above active metals have not necessary sufficient corrosion resistance.
Specifically, a halogen based corrosive gas is used as an etching gas, a cleaning gas or the like in a semiconductor producing apparatus. The present inventors found out that when joined articles were produced by joining aluminum nitride members to metallic members by using various metallic brazing materials mentioned above, and the resulting joined articles were subjected to a test for exposing them to such a halogen based corrosive gas, the joined articles were rapidly corroded with the halogen based corrosive gas. As a result, since the gas is likely to leak from the joined interface of the joined article, such a joined article cannot be used in a situation in which gas tightness is is required. Further, joining strength of some joined articles remarkably dropped. Therefore, a brazing material is demanded, which can be favorably used as a brazing material for ceramic members and has improved wettability upon ceramics, particularly, non-oxide type ceramic materials, and possesses especially high corrosion resistance.

Joined article, a process for producing said joined article, and a brazing agent for use in producing such a joined article


An apparatus and method for precisely controlling the playback operations of a VCR for transcription purposes by means of a foot-operated remote control containing electronics with timing and delay circuits and programmable read-only memory to generate special sequences and combinations of control signals to the VCR, including a user-controllable variable delay interval function for varying the execution of two or more sequential VCR operations.

This invention relates to an apparatus and method for remotely controlling the operation of a video cassette recorder ("VCR") by means of electronics and imbedded software that generate multiple control signals separated by variable delay periods. More particularly, the present invention relates to a variable delay remote control means for precisely playing back audio-video tapes for the purpose of preparing a written transcription thereof. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a foot-operated pedal for controlling VCR review and playback operations with a sufficient degree of accuracy for making a written transcription from an audio-video tape recording of court proceedings.
In recent years, a number of state and federal courts have begun making audio-video tape recordings of judicial proceedings, such as, for example, trials, hearings, or depositions, by means of multiple sound-activated cameras located strategically throughout the courtroom. In addition, depositions and witness statements are sometimes taken by using a video tape recorder. An audio-video tape recording eliminates the need for a court reporter to be physically present at the time of the proceeding to take shorthand or use a transcriptor machine to make an official record.
Many courts rely upon the audio-video tape recording as the official court record, so in the event of an appeal or other post-trial activity, lawyers find it useful to have a written transcription prepared from the audio portion of the tape. Thus, a court reporter or other skilled person listens to and watches the tape to transcribe the spoken words into a written document. Typically, the court reporter is operating a transcriptor machine with both hands while watching and listening to the tape. If something is missed or the speaker is talking too fast, the court reporter must stop transcribing in order to manually stop, rewind, search and replay portions of the tape.
Initial efforts to attach a simple foot-operated or hand-operated remote switch to a VCR, such as the device taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,117 ("Freedman"), were not satisfactory because they were cumbersome and inaccurate. The Freedman device merely teaches having a viewer remotely operate certain standard VCR functions, such as fast forward, slow motion, freeze frame, and rewind. While the degree of precision taught by the Freedman device might be adequate for athletic instructional purposes, it does not provide the precision required for transcription purposes, where a reporter must often review the enunciation of a single word, phrase, or sentence multiple times before it is understood. Thus, a more precise means of reviewing VCR tapes was needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,387 ("Jeppesen") teaches a method of concurrently preparing a video and written record of court proceedings. However, Jeppesen merely teaches the electronic synchronization of the audio-video record of the proceedings with a written record which is manually transcribed in real time during court, whereas the present invention provides a means to assist a court reporter or stenographer in preparing the transcription of the video record after the actual proceedings have occurred.
The shortcoming of the prior art is that a court reporter who is preparing a transcription from a previously recorded tape is not able to accurately and predictably stop and start the VCR at precise points on the tape. For example, when it becomes necessary to pause the tape to "catch up" with the conversation or the court reporter needs to review a word or phrase which was missed, a high degree of precision together with foot-operated control is needed. Further, VCR controls, whether operated on the front panel of the machine or remotely by hand or foot controls, typically cause clipped words and phrases when paused and replayed. Thus, standard remote VCR controls do not meet the special requirements of court reporters for transcription purposes.

Variable delay remote VCR playback controller