An active matrix type liquid crystal display device has a plurality of data lines and a plurality of gate lines formed on a substrate in matrix fashion, TFTs and pixel electrodes being provided at both sides of the data lines so as to correspond with each of the plurality of gate lines, and the plurality of gate lines are positioned such that the pixel electrodes at both sides of the data lines are controlled by signals from one of the two gate lines sandwiching the pixel electrodes, i.e., either the first or second gate line. Also, the gate electrodes comprising TFTs are comprised of gate lines themselves, so that the drain electrodes electrically connected to the pixel electrodes traverse the gate electrodes. Thus, the pixels can be driven with fewer data lines than with known arrangements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an active matrix type liquid crystal display device, and a matrix substrate used for this liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that an active matrix type liquid crystal display device is formed by facing two glass substrates against each other and fixing these, with liquid crystal being sealed in the gap therebetween. A transparent common electrode is formed on one glass substrate, and a great many transparent pixel electrodes are formed in matrix fashion on the other glass substrate, with circuitry also being formed for applying voltage individually to each of the electrodes.
FIG. 22 illustrates a common configuration of such an active matrix type liquid crystal display device, and more specifically is a plan view of the side of the device on which the pixel electrodes have been formed.
This active matrix type liquid crystal display device has a pixel matrix PX (i, j) of m rows and n columns (wherein i=1 to m and j=1 to n), a portion thereof being shown in FIG. 22. In the Figure, rectangles arrayed vertically and horizontally are represented by broken lines, each representing a pixel.
As shown in the Figure, the pixels are arrayed horizontally (in the column direction) and vertically (in the row direction), with an n number of data lines Dj (j=1 to n) corresponding with each column of these pixels being formed, and further, an m number of gate lines Gi (i=1 to m) corresponding with each column of these pixels are formed. Now, each of the data lines Dj (j=1 to n) are lines for supplying signal voltage to each pixel PX (i, j) (i=1 to m, j=1 to n). Also, each of the gate lines Gi (i=1 to m) are lines for supplying gate voltage to each pixel PX (i, j) (i=1 to m, j=1 to n), for writing the signal voltage to the pixels.
In addition to the above pixel electrode, each pixel PX (i, j) has a TFT (Thin-Film Transistor) 1. This TFT 1 has the source electrode thereof connected to the data line Dj, the gate electrode connected to the gate line Gi, and the drain electrode connected to the pixel electrode. Now, liquid crystal is sandwiched between the pixel electrode and the above-mentioned common electrode. The capacity 2 shown in FIG. 22 represents the liquid crystal capacity sandwiched between the pixel electrode and the common electrode. The TFT 1 serves as a switching device for switching between whether or not to write to the pixel, i.e., whether or not to apply the signal voltage supplied via the data line Dj to this liquid crystal capacity 2.
Next, description will be made regarding the operation of this active matrix type liquid crystal display device. With this active matrix type liquid crystal display device, an m number of gate lines Gi (i=1 to m) are sequentially scanned, and one screen image is displayed for each field cycle. Now, there are two types of methods for scanning gate lines, i.e., interlaced and non-interlaced. FIG. 23 is an example wherein m=480, and illustrates the scanning order of date lines in the two methods.
With the non-interlaced method, one field cycle is used to sequentially apply gate voltage to the 480 gate lines G1 through G480 at a certain time each, following which the same operation is performed each time the field cycle is renewed, as shown in FIG. 23. Such applying of gate voltage to the gates is performed by an unshown gate driver.
In each field cycle, gate voltage is applied to each gate line G1 though G480 once. Now, let us say that gate voltage has been applied to a gate line Gi. The gate voltage is applied to the gate of each TFT 1 of the n number of pixels PX (i, j) (j=1 to n) comprising the No. i row of the pixel matrix, so these TFTs 1 are conducting. Also, during the period wherein gate voltage is being applied to this gate line Gi, n pixels worth of signal voltage is output from unshown data drivers to each of an n number of data lines Dj (j=1 to n). The n pixels worth of signal voltage is applied to each of the liquid crystal capacities 2 of each of the pixels PX (i, j) (j=1 to n) by means of passing though the above conducting TFTs 1. Consequently, one horizontal scanning line of the image is displayed by the n number of pixels PX (i, j) (j=1 to n). Such applying of date voltage and signal voltage is performed for the first row of the pixel matrix to the 480th thereof, thereby displaying the image for one screen.
Conversely, with the interlaced method, as shown to the right in FIG. 23, in a field sequence, gate voltage is applied to the odd-numbered gate lines G1, G3, G5, and so forth through G 479, for example, following which in the next field sequence, gate voltage is applied to the even-numbered gate lines G2, G4, G6, and so forth through G 480, i.e., different gate lines are scanned in the field cycles, so the operation of displaying the image for one screen with two field cycles is repeated.
With the interlaced method, each gate line Gi is applied with date voltage only once every two field cycles, and thus is advantageous in that electrical power consumption can be conserved.
Now, the above-described known active matrix type liquid crystal display device has data lines for each column comprising the pixel matrix, so in the event that there is a great number of pixels per row, a great many number of data drivers need to be used, accordingly. However, data drivers are relatively expensive parts, and using a great number of these would make the entire device expensive. For example, a VGA liquid display panel with 1920 pixels in the column direction and 480 pixels in the row direction has 1920 data lines and 480 gate lines. In the event that data drivers and gate drivers having 240 output terminals were used to construct this liquid crystal panel according to the above-described known technique, there is the need to provide eight data drivers in the column direction and two gate drivers in the row direction. Using eight data drivers would make the liquid crystal panel expensive.
Also, the above-described known technique has been problematic in that it has been difficult to construct a liquid crystal display panel with a small display area. That is, a great number of terminals for supplying signal voltage to the above data lines are provided at the data line terminal portion which is the edge portion of the liquid crystal display panel, and this data line terminal portion needs to be reduced in size for a liquid crystal display panel with a small display area. In order for this data line terminal portion to be reduced in size, the pitch of the terminals corresponding to the above data lines must be narrowed, but the liquid crystal panel according to the known technique uses a great number of data lines, so the requirement to narrow this pitch is severely demanding. Accordingly, manufacturing of the data wiring terminal portion is more difficult, which in turn causes problems such as decrease in yield.
The present invention has been made in light of the above-described problems, and accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an active matrix type liquid crystal display device which can drive each pixel with a fewer number of data lines as compared to the known art, and to provide a substrate used for the same.
The active matrix type liquid crystal display device substrate according to the present invention is arranged such that a plurality of data lines and a plurality of gate lines are provided on a substrate in a matrix form, and that on either side of each of the data lines are provided TFTs and pixel electrodes connecting to the TFTs, corresponding with each of the plurality of gate lines, wherein the plurality of data lines are provided so as to control the pixel electrodes on either side of the data lines, by signals from the corresponding one of the two gate lines on either side of each of the pixel electrodes.
With active matrix type liquid crystal display device substrate according to the present invention, one data line supplies signal voltage to the pixel electrodes positioned on either side thereof. Also, signal voltage is written to half of the pixel electrodes arrayed along the gate line by applying gate voltage to one of the two gate lines positioned on either side of pixel electrodes on either side of the data line, and signal voltage is written to the other half of the pixels by applying gate voltage to the other gate line. Thus, with the substrate according to the present invention, the number of data lines is reduced to half of that of known arrangements, thereby facilitating reduction of the expensive data drivers to half.
Also, it is preferable that the gate electrodes forming the TFTs are comprised of the gate lines themselves, and the drain electrodes which comprise the TFTs and are electrically connected to the pixel electrodes traverse the gate electrodes.
With such an arrangement, even in the event that there is shifting of the photo mask between the gate electrode forming step and drain electrode forming step in the process of manufacturing the active matrix type liquid crystal display device substrate, the parasitic capacity Cgd between the gate and drain of the two TFTS sandwiched between neighboring data lines is equal as in a normal case, and the field-through voltage xcex94Vp is also equal, thereby facilitating prevention of flickering and irregularities in brightness.
Also, the active matrix type liquid crystal display device substrate according to the present invention may be arranged such that storing capacity is provided corresponding to each of the pixel electrodes, and storing capacity lines are provided parallel to the data lines, between neighboring pixel electrodes between neighboring data lines, and that one of the electrodes of the storing capacity is connected to a pixel electrode corresponding thereto, and the other electrode is connected to the storing capacity line.
According to the present invention, storing capacity is connected to each pixel electrode, so the capability for each pixel to hold signal voltage can be improved. Also, two pixels worth of writing current flow to each storing capacity line from each storing capacity on either side. Accordingly, outputting signal voltage to each data line so that signal voltage of reverse polarity is applied to neighboring data lines causes cancellation of writing current flowing through each of the storing capacity lines, thereby preventing insufficient writing from occurring.
The active matrix type liquid crystal display device according to the present invention comprises a pair of opposedly positioned substrates whereby liquid crystal is held therebetween, wherein one of the substrates is the above-described substrate.
Also, the active matrix type liquid crystal display device according to the present invention comprises scanning means wherein an action of sequentially supplying gate voltage to one of the two gate lines provided on either side of the pixel, and an action of sequentially supplying gate voltage to the other of the two gate lines provided on either side of the pixel, are alternately performed each time a field cycle switches.
According to the present invention, signal voltage is written to all pixels in the pixel matrix over a period of two field cycles. Accordingly, consumption of electricity at the time of writing signal voltage can be reduced.
Also, the active matrix type liquid crystal display device according to the present invention comprises: gate drivers for sequentially outputting gate voltage from output terminals in each field cycle; and demultiplexers wherein an action of sequentially supplying gate voltage to one of the two gate lines provided on either side of the pixel, and an action of sequentially supplying gate voltage to the other of the two gate lines provided on either side of the pixel, are alternately performed each time a field cycle switches, the gate voltage being sequentially output from the output terminals of the gate drivers; wherein the demultiplexer and the pixel are manufactured by the same manufacturing process.
According to the present invention, advantages similar to those of the above device can be obtained. Also, the number of gate drivers can be reduced, by providing the demultiplexer. Further, the demultiplexer and the pixels are manufactured by the same manufacturing process, so manufacturing can be carried out without increasing costs.
Further, the active matrix type liquid crystal display device according to the present invention comprises: a first shift register which sequentially shifts first start pulses and supplies output signals from each stage as gate voltage to one of the two gate lines provided on either side each of the pixel electrodes; and a second shift register which sequentially shifts second start pulses and supplies output signals from each stage as gate voltage to the other of the two gate lines provided on either side each of the pixel electrodes; wherein the first and second shift registers, and the pixel are manufactured by the same manufacturing process.
According to the present invention, advantages similar to those of the above device can be obtained. Also, providing the first and second shift registers does away with the need for external attachment of gate drivers. Further, the shift registers and the pixels are manufactured by the same manufacturing process, so manufacturing can be carried out without increasing costs.
Also, the active matrix type liquid crystal display device substrate according to the present invention comprises: a plurality of data lines and a plurality of gate lines provided on a substrate in a matrix form; and TFTs and pixel electrodes connecting to the TFTs provided on one side of each of the data lines, corresponding with each of the plurality of gate lines; wherein drain electrodes comprising the TFTs connecting to the pixel electrodes are provided on the same side as gate electrodes extending from the gate lines and comprising the TFTs, with a certain number of the data lines being electrically connected; and wherein the plurality of gate lines are provided so as to control the thin film transistors connected to each of the certain number of data lines, each by a different gate line.
Several types of configurations can be conceived for an active matrix type liquid crystal display device substrate whereby dots can be driven with fewer data lines than known arrangements, but the present invention further aims to provide a active matrix type liquid crystal display device with reduced flickering. This will be described next.
FIG. 24 is an example of a active matrix type liquid crystal display device substrate wherein the number of data lines has been reduced to half of that of known arrangements. This is an arrangement wherein dots from two columns PX (i, j) and PX (i, j+1) (wherein i=1 to m for both) are positioned on either side of a data line Dj+1 and both share the same data line Dj+1, whereby the number of data lines is reduced and the number of data drivers can be accordingly reduced. Also, in each row, the two dots which are on both sides of the data line Dj+1, e.g., dot PX (i, j) and PX (i, j+1) are driven by different gate lines GAi and GBi. As a result of such a configuration, the TFTs 121a and 121b for these two dots PX (i, j) and PX (i, j+1) are positioned in point symmetry with the center point of the two dots as the center thereof, and the positions of the drain and source of the TFTs 121a and 121b are reversed as to the gate (in the horizontal direction in the Figure).
FIG. 25A and FIG. 25B are diagrams illustrating the portion of the TFTs 121a and 121b of the above two dots PX (i, j) and PX (i, j+1). For the sake of simplicity in the description, the dot PX (i, j) to the left of the data line will be referred to as dot xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d, and the dot PX (i, j+1) to the right of the data line will be referred to as dot xe2x80x9cbxe2x80x9d.
Generally, there is gate-drain parasitic capacity Cgd at the overlapping portion of the gate electrode and drain electrode of the TFT (in reality, the overlapping portion of the island and gate electrode also affects Cgd), but the area of this overlapping portion differs one from another due to the process precision (specifically, the alignment precision of the exposing apparatus) in the process of manufacturing, so there are irregularities in the gate-drain parasitic capacity Cgd.
In the event that the TFTS 121a and 121b of dot a and dot b are mutually positioned in point symmetry, and if the position of the drain layer to the gate layer is as designed as shown in FIG. 25A, the dimensions La and Lb of the overlapping portions of the gate electrodes 122a and 122b of the TFTs 121a and 121b of dot a and dot b and the drain electrodes 123a and 123b thereof are of equal dimension (including the dimensions from the island center to the drain electrode tip), and with the gate-drain parasitic capacity of dot a as Cgda, and the gate-drain parasitic capacity of dot b as Cgdb, Cgda=Cgdb holds. However, as shown in FIG. 25B, in the event that the drain layer shifts to the left direction in comparison with the gate layer for example, the dimensions Lxe2x80x2b of the overlapping portion of the gate electrode 122b and drain electrode 123b of the TFTs 121b of dot b becomes greater than the dimensions Lxe2x80x2a of the overlapping portion of the gate electrode 122a and drain electrode 123a of the TFTS 121a of dot a. Consequently, the relation in the gate-drain parasitic capacity of dot a and dot b is Cxe2x80x2gda less than Cxe2x80x2gdb (to be more precise, the overlapping portion of the island and gate electrode is also included in the parasitic capacity). That is to say, in the event that the TFTs are at positions of point symmetry in the substrate, the gate-drain parasitic capacity varies within the same substrate depending on the alignment precision of the exposing apparatus.
Now, in the event that gate voltage Vg is applied to a TFT, the field-through voltage xcex94Vp is expressed as follows:
xcex94Vp={(Cgd)/(Clc+Cs+Cgd)}xc2x7Vg
wherein Clc represents liquid crystal capacity, and Cs represents storing capacity.
Accordingly, in the event that the gate-drain parasitic capacity Cgd differs, the field-through voltage xcex94Vp changes. Also, based on the relation between the field-through voltage and the offset voltage, change in the field-through voltage means that the offset voltage also changes, so differences in the gate-drain parasitic capacity changes the offset voltage. Accordingly, in the case of a TFT substrate of the above configuration, the offset voltage differs within the same substrate from dot to dot, so offset adjusting cannot be performed for all dots. This is what causes flickering.
The active matrix type liquid crystal display device substrate according to the present invention aims to maintain the idea of sharing a data line with a plurality of dots on the same row, while at the same time suppressing flickering owing to the process precision. To this end, as described above, the TFTs are provided on the same side of each of the data lines, and the drain electrodes of each of the TFTs are provided on the same side as the gate electrodes. That is, instead of positioning the TFTs in point symmetry, the positional relation of the source electrode and drain electrode of each TFT is the same for all of the TFTs on the substrate. Accordingly, even in the event that the alignment of the drain layer to the gate layer shifts, all of the TFTs on the substrate shift in the same direction, so the gate-drain parasitic capacity is equal for all TFTs, and consequently the offset voltage is uniform throughout the substrate. Hence, flickering can be suppressed.
Also, even in the event that data lines are provided for each column, the number of data lines can be reduced at the connection portion with the data driver by a certain number of data lines being electrically connected, so the number of data drivers can be reduced. Accordingly, the same data signals are supplied to the above certain number of data lines, but driving can be performed without obstruction by controlling each of the TFTs connected to each of the data lines of the electrically connected data lines with differing gate lines.
Also, it is preferable that the certain number of electrically connected data lines be mutually connected at both sides of the data lines, at least.
In the case of electrically connecting a certain number of data lines, mutual connection at only the one place on the side to be connected to the data driver is sufficient from a functional perspective, but an arrangement wherein the data lines are mutually connected at both sides can prevent line dropout, since even in the event that one place in a data line is broken, supply of the signals is not stopped. That is, this arrangement serves as a redundant structure regarding line dropout, thus improving yield.
Also, it is preferable that the configuration be an arrangement wherein the plurality of data lines are electrically connected at intervals of odd numbers, in increments of the certain number.
In order to improve display quality, and reduce cross-talk in particular, the so-called data line inversion driving method is generally used, wherein data signals of differing polarity are supplied to the even-numbered data lines and the odd-numbered data lines. However, with the present invention, in the event that neighboring data lines are electrically connected, dots corresponding with the electrically connected data lines may be of the same polarity, and the pixel potential be affected by coupling owing to parasitic capacity, so that data line inversion driving doers not effectively function.
Conversely, in the event that data lines are electrically connected at intervals of odd numbers, supplying signals of inverse polarity for each set of connected data lines ensures that the polarity will always be reverse between two neighboring data lines, so data line inversion driving effectively functions regarding an arbitrary dot. Consequently, cross-talk is reduced, and display quality is improved.
It is also preferable that the configuration be an arrangement wherein one or more but the certain number or less of gate lines are layered upon the pixel electrodes so as to traverse the pixel electrodes. In such an arrangement, the one or more but the certain number or less of gate lines, and the pixel electrodes cooperate to form storing capacity.
That is, with the present invention, the TFTS of each of the data lines of the electrically connected data lines are each controlled by different gate lines, so observation of one dot reveals a gate line for controlling another TFT traversing the dot. However, the area wherein the gate line traverses the dot can be used as storing capacity, so the arrangement wherein the gate lines traverse the dots does not lead to deterioration in aperture ratio.
Thus, the active matrix type liquid crystal display device according to the present invention can be constructed by holding liquid crystal between the above active matrix type liquid crystal display substrate and a substrate upon which a common electrode is provided.
With the active matrix type liquid crystal display device according to the present invention, the number of data drivers can be reduced as compared with known arrangements, which reduces the cost, and a liquid crystal device with high display quality can be provided, with reduced flickering.

Active matrix type liquid crystal display device, and substrate for the same


A method for operating a sensor device for detecting an object, having a first surroundings sensor and a second surroundings sensor for detecting a surroundings of the sensor device, including detecting a surroundings of the sensor device using the first surroundings sensor to ascertain first surroundings data, the second surroundings sensor being deactivated; ascertaining whether the first surroundings data are sufficient to be able to conclude with a predetermined probability whether an object is located in the surroundings; if the first surroundings data are sufficient, ascertaining whether an object is located in the surroundings, based on the first surroundings data; if the first surroundings data are not sufficient, activating the deactivated second surroundings sensor; detecting the surroundings of the sensor device using the second surroundings sensor to ascertain second surroundings data; ascertaining whether an object is located in the surroundings, based on the second surroundings data.

The determination of the capacity of parking garages and parking facilities is of great importance in terms of their operation and in terms of traffic regulation in cities. For this reason, sensors are used for monitoring parking facilities, which transmit the state of the parking facility to a control station. The detection of the state usually takes place either via magnetic field sensors, cameras or by emitting sensors, such as ultrasonic sensors or radar sensors.
Depending on the system, the sensors are either permanently connected to a power grid or to a data network, which means high installation outlay. Or they are battery-powered and communicate wirelessly via radio with the control station. The challenge of wireless systems is, in particular, to maximize the service life, which is limited by the battery capacity.

Method for operating a sensor device, and sensor device


An assay test strip includes a flow path, a sample receiving zone, a label, a detection zone that includes a region of interest, and at least one position marker. The at least one position marker is aligned with respect to the region of interest such that location of the at least one position marker indicates a position of the region of interest. A diagnostic test system includes a reader that obtains light intensity measurement from exposed regions of the test strip, and a data analyzer that performs at least one of (a) identifying ones of the light intensity measurements obtained from the test region based on at least one measurement obtained from the at least one reference feature, and (b) generating a control signal modifying at least one operational parameter of the reader based on at least one measurement obtained from the at least one reference feature.

Assay test kits are currently available for testing for a wide variety of medical and environmental conditions or compounds, such as a hormone, a metabolite, a toxin, or a pathogen-derived antigen. FIG. 1 shows a typical lateral flow test strip 10 that includes a sample receiving zone 12, a labeling zone 14, a detection zone 15, and an absorbent zone 20 on a common substrate 22. These zones 12-20 typically are made of a material (e.g., chemically-treated nitrocellulose) that allows fluid to flow from the sample receiving zone 12 to the absorbent zone 22 by capillary action. The detection zone 15 includes a test region 16 for detecting the presence of a target analyte in a fluid sample and a control region 18 for indicating the completion of an assay test.
FIGS. 2A and 2B show an assay performed by an exemplary implementation of the test strip 10. A fluid sample 24 (e.g., blood, urine, or saliva) is applied to the sample receiving zone 12. In the example shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the fluid sample 24 includes a target analyte 26 (i.e., a molecule or compound that can be assayed by the test strip 10). Capillary action draws the liquid sample 24 downstream into the labeling zone 14, which contains a substance 28 for indirect labeling of the target analyte 26. In the illustrated example, the labeling substance 28 consists of an immunoglobulin 30 with a detectable particle 32 (e.g., a reflective colloidal gold or silver particle). The immunoglobulin 30 specifically binds the target analyte 26 to form a labeled target analyte complex. In some other implementations, the labeling substance 28 is a non-immunoglobulin labeled compound that specifically binds the target analyte 26 to form a labeled target analyte complex.
The labeled target analyte complexes, along with excess quantities of the labeling substance, are carried along the lateral flow path into the test region 16, which contains immobilized compounds 34 that are capable of specifically binding the target analyte 26. In the illustrated example, the immobilized compounds 34 are immunoglobulins that specifically bind the labeled target analyte complexes and thereby retain the labeled target analyte complexes in the test region 16. The presence of the labeled analyte in the sample typically is evidenced by a visually detectable coloring of the test region 16 that appears as a result of the accumulation of the labeling substance in the test region 16.
The control region 18 typically is designed to indicate that an assay has been performed to completion. Compounds 35 in the control region 18 bind and retain the labeling substance 28. The labeling substance 28 typically becomes visible in the control region 18 after a sufficient quantity of the labeling substance 28 has accumulated. When the target analyte 26 is not present in the sample, the test region 16 will not be colored, whereas the control region 18 will be colored to indicate that assay has been performed. The absorbent zone 20 captures excess quantities of the fluid sample 24.
In the non-competitive-type of lateral flow assay test strip designs shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, an increase in the concentration of the analyte in the sample results in an increase in the concentration of labels in the test region. Conversely, in competitive-type of lateral flow assay test strip designs, an increase in the concentration of the analyte in the fluid sample results in a decrease in the concentration of labels in the test region.
Although visual inspection of lateral flow assay devices of the type described above are able to provide qualitative assay results, such a method of reading these types of devices is unable to provide quantitative assay measurements and therefore is prone to interpretation errors. Automated and semi-automated lateral flow assay readers have been developed in an effort to overcome this deficiency.
In one approach, a portable lateral flow assay reader performs assays on bodily fluids to detect the presence of certain hormones, glucose, or other bodily fluids of interest. Membrane test strips containing a fluid sample are inserted directly into a receiving port of a reader. The receiving port is shielded to improve sensitivity and reduce the entry of stray or ambient light into the reader. The reader includes a light source and one or more sensors that detect the intensity of light reflected from the detection zones of the test strips that are inserted into the receiving port.
In another approach, a reader detects an intensity of a detection signal arising in one or more measurement zones in a detection zone of a lateral flow assay test strip as a result of the presence of an immobilized labeled target analyte complex. The reader generates a baseline of signal intensity from the measurement zones by interpolating between values of the detection signal outside of the measurement zones and inside of the detection zone. The reader quantifies a value of signal intensity representative of the immobilized labeled target analyte complex with respect to the baseline. In this process, the reader locates a beginning boundary and an ending boundary for the one or more measurement zones on the test strip, allowing an automatic or semi-automatic analytical instrument, or a human reader, to determine certain results of the lateral flow assay. The signals from the measurement zones are quantified or compared with respect to the baseline. Quantified values corresponding to the respective concentration of compounds in different measurement zones may then be compared with one another to detect the presence of antigens in the sample.
The measurements that are made by the above-described lateral flow assay readers are based on signals from regions of the test strips that typically are significantly larger than the regions of interest. As a result, these measurements tend to have high noise levels and, consequently, these measurements may yield inaccurate or incorrect results when low concentrations of analytes are involved.

Methods and systems for calibrating illumination source of diagnostic test system


A device for controlling an actuator includes a controller mounted within a housing having an outer surface. The controller is adapted for controlling outputs connected to the actuator for controlling an operation of the actuator. A data input interface receives data from the actuator and/or from other equipment being acted on by the actuator. A memory stores expected parameters of the actuator. An operator interface provided on the housing's outer surface accepts operator commands and/or settings for input to the controller. A display and/or indicator on the housing's outer surface displays an output of the controller. The controller compares the data, and/or derived parameters of the data, with the expected parameters, to monitor a health and status of one or both of the actuator and the other equipment. The controller indicates the health and the status to the operator utilizing the display and/or indicator.

The present invention relates to valve controllers, and more particularly to digital valve controllers for controlling valves and/or valve actuators.
Conventional approaches for controlling valves typically involve analog valve controllers. Such controllers do not typically provide event logging, are not configurable, are not programmable, and are not scalable.
Furthermore, current valve controllers do not typically provide remote monitoring and control capability, don not properly support customer troubleshooting and training, don't adequately support automated health monitoring, diagnostics, and testing, and don't provide predictive maintenance. Current controllers aren't adequately customizable by either the customer or the vendor, and they do not adequately support easy setup.
It would be useful to provide a controller solution that mitigates one or more of the above shortcomings. Furthermore, a controller that supports redundant controllers and/or power supplies to increase controller reliability would also be useful.

Actuator controller for monitoring health and status of the actuator and/or other equipment


A mechanical seal assembly includes a leak detector mounted thereon for detecting low rates of liquid leakage across the seal rings of the mechanical seal. The leakage detector collects the liquid leakage and includes a fiber optic sensor for detecting the leakage once the flow rate of the leakage becomes excessive.

The invention relates to a mechanical seal for sealing a rotating shaft and more particularly, to a mechanical seal having a leak detector for detecting leakage of process fluid from between a pair of relatively rotatable seal rings.
Mechanical face seals are used on various types of fluid handling devices or equipment, such as pumps and mixers. Such equipment has a rotating shaft and a process fluid chamber adjacent the shaft wherein the mechanical seal prevents leakage of fluid from the fluid chamber. Typically, such mechanical seals include a pair of adjacent seal rings which have opposing seal faces that define a sealing region radially therebetween to sealingly separate the fluid chamber from an exterior region. One of the seal rings is mounted on the shaft so as to rotate therewith while the other seal ring is non-rotatably mounted on a seal housing.
The seal rings may be provided in different combinations to define a single seal, double seal or tandem seal wherein in the double seals and tandem seals, multiple pairs of seal rings are provided. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,173 discloses double and tandem seals and U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,007 discloses a double seal. The disclosures of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
In centrifugal pumps, mechanical seal failure is the most prevalent type of failure. In many services, a seal failure can even have catastrophic results. For example, flammable liquids are sealed in refinery applications and leakage of such process fluid can lead to fires that may cause significant loss of production and equipment as well as personal injuries.
In an effort to reduce the risk of failures, such as for light-hydrocarbon services, tandem mechanical seals may be provided wherein process fluid that leaks past a primary seal defined by a first pair of seal rings adjacent the process fluid chamber is contained by a secondary seal defined by a second pair of relatively rotatable seal rings. This leakage is then removed from a chamber defined between the primary and secondary seals before such leakage is able to migrate across the secondary seal and leak to the ambient environment.
However, end-users continue to use single mechanical seals, such as users in heavy-hydrocarbon services, since single mechanical seals are significantly less expensive. However, if leakage occurs in a single mechanical seal, such leakage is exposed to the ambient environment.
In an effort to identify leakage in single mechanical seals, end-users typically perform visual inspections whether through video cameras, which monitor pump installations, or through manual visual inspections of the seal. Further, pressure switches have been used to detect pressure increases in the gland of the mechanical seal although large leakage rates are required to produce detectable pressure increases. By the time a large amount of leakage is detected, the leakage still may have caused the failure of a shaft bearing associated with the mechanical seal which bearing failure can cause ignition of the fluid leakage.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the invention is to provide a mechanical seal having a leak detector arrangement, particularly in a single mechanical seal, which overcomes the disadvantages associated with known mechanical seals and procedures for detecting leakage therein.
In accord therewith, the invention relates to a mechanical seal having a leak detector associated therewith which readily detects leakage regardless of whether the mechanical seal is a single, double or tandem mechanical seal. In particular, the mechanical seal of the invention preferably relates to a single mechanical seal and the leak detector arrangement associated therewith.
In the seal arrangement of the invention, the mechanical seal includes a seal gland or housing in which the stationary seal ring is seated. A rotatable seal ring is mounted to a rotatable shaft so as to rotate therewith relative to the stationary seal ring. The gland surrounds the seal rings and also defines a chamber on the outboard side of the seal rings. The chamber in a single mechanical seal communicates with the ambient environment and in a double or tandem seal is disposed axially between a secondary set of seal rings. The gland further includes a conventional drain port wherein the leak detector assembly is connected to the drain port and thereby receives process fluid leaking past the seal rings.
The leak detector includes a detector housing having a collection chamber or reservoir, a drain orifice which allows a restricted flow of leakage out of the collection reservoir, and a fiber optic sensor which projects into the reservoir and detects the presence of liquid leakage.
In a first embodiment, the sensor detects a build-up of liquid in the leakage reservoir. In particular, the detector housing includes an inlet port in the side wall thereof wherein leakage flows into the reservoir sidewardly and then falls to the bottom of the reservoir at the restrictor orifice. If the flow rate of leakage into the reservoir is greater than the rate of outflow through the orifice, the leakage collects or builds up within the reservoir and eventually reaches the sensor that is located vertically above the orifice. The detection of fluid by the sensor indicates that the leakage has exceeded an acceptable flow rate, i.e. the outflow rate, thereby indicating impending or actual failure of the mechanical seal.
In a second embodiment, the inlet port of the detector housing is located at the top thereof while the tip of the sensor is located within the reservoir directly below the inlet port. The leakage flows into the reservoir through the inlet and drips onto the sensor tip whereby the sensor tip is able to count the drops striking the tip.
In a third embodiment, the sensor may be provided at the bottom of the reservoir housing directly adjacent to an outlet port that extends sidewardly through the housing side wall. This sensor operates similar to the second embodiment in that the sensor tip thereof is contacted by drops of leakage and thereby is used to count the rate of the drops which provides an indication of the leakage rate.
With these leakage detector arrangements, the flow rate of leakage can be detected. These leakage detectors are particularly suited for detecting low leakage rates so that leakage can be identified before a catastrophic failure condition is reached.
Other objects and purposes of the invention, and variations thereof, will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.


A transducer assembly, suitable for medical examinations, for generating an apodized sector shaped beam of energy. A transducer in the form of a crystal, has a ring-like structure on its face which apodizes the signal produced by the transducer by providing a greater amount of attenuation at the transducer's periphery than at the transducer's center.

Ultrasound scanning is finding increased usage in the examination of the peripheral vascular (PV) structure of the human body. Both sector and linear scanning may be used, and each form of scanning may be generated by mechanical or electronic scanners. The PV target area may be illuminated by bursts, or continuous waves of ultrasound energy, depending on the parameters to be measured. In either case, a beam plot of the transmitted wave would show a beam, generally centered at the middle of the transducer, having a region of high energy or high sensitivity at its center. Moving off of the center of this beam, the plot would show regions of lower energy or sensitivity. Such lower sensitivity portions of the transmitted beam might include sidelobes. A similar beam plot could be constructed for received energy.
The vessels to be examined as part of a PV scan are often near the surface of the subject's body. When sector scanning is used for such an examination, it is necessary to have the transducer be some distance from the skin surface of the subject. This is due to the "fan-shaped" nature of the sector scan. If the sector scanner were held against the subject's skin, only a small portion of the beam would intersect the PV region of interest. Holding the sector scanning transducer off the skin affects the beam in two ways. First, the beam becomes wider at the intersection of the region of interest. In addition, the effects of ring down noise caused by the generation of the transmitted pulse are reduced.
If the sector scanning transducer were simply held off the subject's skin, with nothing but air between the transducer and the subject, there would be an inefficient coupling of ultrasonic energy into the region of interest. To prevent this inefficient energy transfer, stand-off devices are commonly used to place the sector scanning transducer at the right position and efficiently couple energy to the region of interest. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,123, assigned to the assignee of the present application. Stand-off devices may be separate structures, to which a transducer is mechanically or acoustically coupled, or the device may be an integral part of the transducer structure.


A motor vehicle with a passenger compartment heating system that allows the interior of the compartment to be heated in substantially noiseless fashion, without a disturbing draft and with a reduction of power consumption. The heating system includes a heat exchanger connectable to the engine cooling circuit and a heater that is operable independent of the engine and a separately disposed heating element that is traversable by a liquid heat conductor. The separately disposed heating element is alternately connectable with the engine cooling circuit, the independently operable heater, and both the cooling circuit and independently operable heater.

The invention relates to a motor vehicle with a compartment intended for prolonged occupation by persons, said compartment having a heating system, which can be operated either by connection to the cooling-water circuit of the engine by means of the heat given off by the engine, or by connection to a separate heater independent of engine operation.
In motor vehicles in which persons must remain for a long period of time while the vehicle is parked, for example, trucks with sleeping cabs, road service vehicles, mail trucks and the like, the separate heater must be used to heat the vehicle in winter if the vehicle is occupied by persons. This separate heater is usually connected to the cooling-water circuit of the engine, said circuit in turn containing a heat exchanger, through which hot air, supplied by a blower, is blown into the interior of the motor vehicle. The noise generated by the blower as well as the air flow are extremely disturbing, especially at night. Moreover, the blower drive necessitates a relatively high energy consumption, which limits the operation of the separate heater when the vehicle is parked because of the limited capacity of the motor vehicle battery.
Thus, objects of the invention are to avoid these disadvantages and to allow the interior of a parked motor vehicle to be heated in a largely noiseless fashion, without a disturbing draft, and with a reduction of power consumption.
These goals are achieved according to a preferred embodiment of the invention by virtue of the fact that a heating element traversable by a liquid heat conductor is disposed in the passenger compartment, said heating element being connectable alternatively with the cooling-water circuit, with the separate heater, and with both.
While the vehicle is in operation, the flow of heated heat conductor can be fed through the heating element, so that it is already warm when the motor vehicle is parked. If the temperature in the compartment falls below a certain level, a thermostat turns on the separate heater, which heats up the heat conductor and therefore the heating element as well until the desired temperature is reached in the compartment. Since the separate heater is usually located outside the passenger compartment and a continuously operating hot air blower is not used, in contrast to conventional heating systems, heater operation is largely silent and draft-free.
Preferably, the heating element has a certain heat storage capacity. This results in a power saving since the heating element, as mentioned earlier, can be heated by the vehicle's own heater while the vehicle is operating, so that the heat is provided by the separate heater only after a considerable time has elapsed after the vehicle has been parked.
Preferably, the heating element is disposed in a duct which has a fresh air intake at the bottom and a hot air outlet at the top. To reduce the amount of space the system takes up, the heating element is advantageously made in the form of a plate heater. The duct can be delimited by an outside wall of the passenger compartment and a partition parallel thereto. In a motor vehicle with a driver's cab, including a sleeping compartment with a bunk, the plate heater and the partition are preferably disposed parallel to the rear wall of the cab. Combined with the back rest of the driver's seat, located in front of the bunk, a circular air flow can be created around the bunk, and this locally concentrated heating arrangement results in less power being used for heating.
In order to ensure forced hot air circulation in contact with the heating element, a hot air blower, which can be switched off, can be provided, said blower having a much lower power and lower rpm than the hot air blower used for vehicle heating, and therefore so quiet that it causes no disturbance. Thus, for example, an axial-flow fan can be used, characterized by especially low noise levels.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a single embodiment in accordance with the present invention.


A voltage booting circuit for boosting a supply voltage VCC supplied from a system to a desired boosting voltage VPP level. The voltage boosting circuit includes a transmission transistor formed by a triple-well process. The transmission transistor has bipolar characteristics and operates as a bipolar diode.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a voltage boosting circuit (the term referred to herein as a "voltage boosting circuit" has the same meaning in this field as a boosting circuit, a boosting voltage generating circuit, a bootstrap circuit, etc.) for boosting a supply voltage supplied from a system to a desired boosting voltage level.
In a semiconductor memory device such as a dynamic RAM (random access memory) etc., the transmission of data can cause a shift of an effective voltage potential of the memory. In a dynamic RAM consisting of CMOS transistors, there occurs a voltage drop by the threshold voltage of the MOS transistor while the potential is transmitted through the channel region of the MOS transistor. This inevitable voltage drop becomes an obstacle to the accurate reading or writing of data as well as potentially causing the loss of data. To solve such a problem, a voltage boosting circuit for raising a voltage level has come to be used. As techniques for such a voltage boosting circuit, there are Korean patent No. 91-19740, filed Nov. 7, 1991, assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. of Kyungki-do, Rep. of Korea, entitled "A VOLTAGE BOOSTING CIRCUIT"; a paper entitled "A 35 ns 64 Mb DRAM Using On-Chip Boosted Power Supply", 1992 Symposium on VLSI Circuits Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 64-65; U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,706 granted to Japan Fujitsu Co.; and the like.
FIG. 1 schematically shows a characteristic portion of a voltage boosting circuit which is generally well known in the art and described in the aforementioned techniques. An input node 2 receives an oscillating signal .O slashed.OSC generated from an oscillator (not shown). A pumping capacitor 4 has one terminal of the electrode coupled to the input node 2 and the other terminal of the electrode coupled to a pumping node 8. A pumping capacitor 6 has one terminal of the electrode coupled to the input node 2 and the other terminal of the electrode coupled to a pumping node 10. A transmission transistor 12 with the gate and drain connected to the pumping node 8 and 10 respectively generates a boosting voltage VPP. Although not shown in FIG. 1, there is further provided a precharge circuit for precharging the pumping nodes 8 and 10 to a supply voltage VCC level. The construction of FIG. 1 is known in the art as a charge pump circuit. The oscillator operates when the boosting voltage VPP is lowered to a level lower than a normal level by an internal circuit during power-up of a chip and during the active cycle. If the oscillating signal .O slashed.OSC is supplied to the input node 2, the pumping capacitors 4 and 6 boost the pumping nodes 8 and 10 to about twice the supply voltage VCC. A voltage charged to the pumping node 10 is generated through the channel of the transmission transistor 12 as the boosting voltage VPP. The circuit of FIG. 1 is driven by the oscillator using as source voltage the supply voltage VCC, so that the boosting voltage VPP level of 2 VCC-VT (where VT is the threshold voltage of the transmission transistor 12) can be obtained. The pumping nodes 8 and 10 are initially precharged to the supply voltage VCC level.
The voltage boosting circuit of FIG. 1 is formed by a typical CMOS manufacturing process. The circuit of FIG. 1 has the problem of pumping efficiency in that the transmission transistor 12 is an NMOS transistor formed by the CMOS manufacturing process. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the MOS transistor has device characteristics that a body effect increases with the increase in a voltage level across its source and drain. It is apparent that the body effect further increases since the size of each device is shortened and space thereof becomes narrower with increasing integration of a semiconductor memory device. The boosting voltage circuit of FIG. 1 has a fundamental problem that the pumping efficiency is lowered by the device characteristics of the MOS transistor, i.e. of the transmission transistor, rather than by circuit design.

Voltage boosting circuit of a semiconductor memory circuit


In a pulsed gas laser, pulses of electrical or other energy are desirably converted in part into pulses of quantum mechanical pumping of the lasable gas, and unavoidably converted in part into pulses of heating of the lasable gas. According to this invention, efficiency and economy of operation are enhanced by exploiting the pulses of heating to propel and recirculate the gas through cooling means to freshen it thermally for further cycles of lasing, utilizing a structure comprising an acoustically tuned duct and an acoustic diode to establish proper phasing and direction of the pulsed and recirculating operation. The invention, although applicable to other gas lasers, is particularly applicable to electron beam ionized, electrical current sustained lasers. The invention reduces if not eliminates the cost, bulk and other disadvantages of a mechanical pump or other conventional recirculation equipment. Cooling of the recirculating gas is accomplished, at least in part and preferably in large measure, by injection of make-up gas of the lasable gas composition under cooling conditions.

The present invention relates to high power gas lasers and more particularly to gas lasers of the type which are electron beam pumped and subjected to sustaining pulsing currents of the type described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,973.
High power laser structures of this general class have been built and operated in closed circuit (substantially closed circuit with some gas loss or deliberate bleed off and consequent need for limited make-up gas supply) modes as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,098. The circulation of large amounts of gas under varying pressure and temperature conditions has been adapted to a substantial extent from closed circuit gas recirculation technology of wind tunnels and the like. The principal means for gas recirculation in the art are mechanical pumps such as fans or compressors which involves substantial weight, bulk and cost to the system and require energy.
It is an important object of the invention to enhance the economy and efficiency of gas laser apparatus.

Laser operation with closed gas and tuned duct pulsing


A strand guide roller (100) of a strand guide device for guiding a cast strand (200) includes at least one first and one second sectional rollers arranged next to each other, includes a middle bearing (120-1, 120-2) located between both sectional rollers (110-1, 110-2) for receiving and supporting the roller journal (112-1) of the first sectional roller (110-1) formed on an end surface of the first sectional roller (110-1) adjacent to the second sectional roller (110-2), with the first and second sectional rollers being connected with each other outside of the middle bearing by a plug-in connection.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to strand guide rollers of a strand guide device for guiding a cast strand e.g., a slab after it leaves a strand casting mold.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Publications WO 2004/094087 and WO 2005/016578 describe the state of the art with respect to strand guide devices with strand guide rollers. In all of the strand guide rollers, which are disclosed in these publications, all of the separate components, such as roller bodies or rotation-preventing elements in form, e.g., of plain keys, should be stringed on a common central shaft; therefore, the assembly and an eventual disassembly of such strand guide roller are very expensive and require use of special tools. In addition, it is very difficult to realize an inner cooling of the rollers.
State-of-the art with regard to strand guide rollers which are divided once or multiple times, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,535. Such strand guide roller includes several sectional rollers arranged axially next to each other, with each sectional roller having two roller journals at its both ends, respectively. The two roller journals, of two arranged next to each other sectional rollers, which extend in opposite directions, are received in their respective axial bearings that typically are combined in a split middle bearing.
Optionally, though this is not shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,535, such a middle bearing can have, between the oppositely extending roller journals, additionally, a curved-tooth gear coupling for transmission of a torque between both adjacent sectional rollers.
Such split middle bearings in form of two separate, arranged next to each other, bearings with an optional curved-tooth gear coupling therebetween, are disadvantageously rather wide and, therefore, form a particular wide bearing window in which a to-be-guided and to-be-supported strand is not supported by the sectional rollers. Moreover, such middle bearings, because they are formed of a plurality of separate parts, are rather expensive.
Proceeding from this state-of-the art, the object of the invention is to provide a strand guide roller that can be at least simply split and provide an improved strand guidance.


Halo-borate luminescent materials and preparation methods thereof are provided. The said luminescent materials are represented by the following general formula: Ca2-xBO3Cl1-yFy:xEu2+, with zM0, wherein M0 is selected from one of Ag, Au, Pt, Pd or Cu metal nano-particles; 0.001≦x≦0.1, 0≦y≦0.2, 0<z≦0.01. The said luminescent materials have excellent chemical stability and high luminous intensity. The said preparation methods have simple technique, no pollution, manageable process conditions and low equipment requirement, and are beneficial to industry production.

White LED (Light Emitting Diode) has some advantages such as small power consumption, long usage life, environment protection and so on. With the improvement of the luminous efficiency and lowering of the production costs, the white LED is expected to become a new generation of lighting source following the incandescent, the fluorescent lamps, and the high-strength gas discharge lamp. The replacement of white LED solid-state light sources to traditional vacuum light is a breakthrough technology innovation as the replacement of the transistors to the traditional vacuum tube, which may lead to a revolution of the lighting field.
Nowadays, the most commonly method to implement white LED is to combine blue LED chip and blu-ray effectively stimulated yellow phosphor. YAG type phosphors is the most mature yellow phosphor, which is an yttrium aluminum garnet (Y3Al5O12:Ce) activated by trivalent cerium ions and can be combined with blue LED chip to form the white LED. Although a relative high luminous efficiency may be achieved, white LED with warm white and high color rendering properties is hardly obtained, due to the lack of red in its emission wavelength. Besides, during the preparation of the YAG type phosphor, a high temperature requires, thus increasing the cost and lowing the luminous intensity. However, as for the non-YAG type phosphor, the biggest problem is the low luminous efficiency.

Ocean's King Lighting Science & Technology Co., Ltd.


A pixel cell array architecture having a dual conversion gain. A dual conversion gain element is coupled between a floating diffusion region and a respective storage capacitor. The dual conversion gain element having a control gate switches in the capacitance of the capacitor to change the conversion gain of the floating diffusion region from a first conversion gain to a second conversion gain. In order to increase the efficient use of space, the dual conversion gain element gate also functions as the bottom plate of the capacitor. In one particular embodiment of the invention, a high dynamic range transistor is used in conjunction with a pixel cell having a capacitor-DCG gate combination; in another embodiment, adjacent pixels share pixel components, including the capacitor-DCG combination.

Imaging devices, including charge coupled devices (CCD) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imagers, are commonly used in photo-imaging applications.
Typically, a digital imager array includes a focal plane array of pixel cells, each one of the cells including a photosensor, e.g., a photogate, photoconductor, or a photodiode. In a CMOS imager a readout circuit is connected to each pixel cell which typically includes a source follower output transistor. The photosensor converts photons to electrons which are typically transferred to a storage node, e.g., a floating diffusion region connected to the gate of the source follower output transistor. A charge transfer device (e.g., transistor) can be included for transferring charge from the photosensor to the floating diffusion region. In addition, such imager cells typically have a transistor for resetting the storage node to a predetermined charge level prior to charge transference. The output of the source follower transistor is gated as a pixel output signal by a row select transistor.
Exemplary CMOS imaging circuits, processing steps thereof, and detailed descriptions of the functions of various CMOS elements of an imaging circuit are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,630, U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,868, U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,366, U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,652, U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,524, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,205, each of which are assigned to Micron Technology, Inc. The disclosures of each of the forgoing are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, which respectively illustrate a top-down and a cross-sectional view of a conventional CMOS pixel cell 100, when incident light 187 strikes the surface of a photodiode photosensor 120, electron/hole pairs are generated in the p-n junction of the photodiode photosensor 120 (represented at the boundary of n-accumulation region 122 and p+ surface layer 123). The generated electrons (photo-charges) are collected in the n-type accumulation region 122 of the photosensor 120. The photo-charges move from the initial charge accumulation region 122 to a floating diffusion region 110 via a transfer transistor 106. The charge at the floating diffusion region 110 is typically converted to a pixel output voltage by a source follower transistor 108 and subsequently output on a column output line 111 via a row select transistor 109.
Conventional CMOS imager designs, such as the one shown in FIG. 1 for pixel cell 100, provide approximately a fifty percent fill factor, meaning only half of the cell 100 is dedicated to converting light to charge carriers. As shown, only a small portion of the cell 100 comprises a photosensor 120 (e.g., photodiode). The remainder of the pixel cell 100 includes isolation regions 102, shown as STI regions in a substrate 101, the floating diffusion region 110 coupled to a transfer gate 106′ of the transfer transistor 106, and source/drain regions 115 for reset 107, source follower 108, and row select 109 transistors having respective gates 107′, 108′, and 109′. In the conventional pixel cell 100 layout, each of the reset, source follower and row select transistor gates 107′, 108′ and 109′ are aligned consecutively, sharing source/drain regions 115 and requiring significant surface area for each pixel cell 100. As scaling of pixels continues to decrease the pixel's 100 total area, it becomes increasingly important to create high sensitivity photosensors that utilize a minimum amount of surface area, or to find more efficient pixel cell layouts to minimize the area required by non-photosensitive components of the pixel cell in order to maintain relatively large areas for the photosensors.
In addition, conventional storage nodes, such as floating diffusion region 110, have a limited amount of charge storage capacity. Once this capacity is reached, a pixel cell becomes less efficient. Specifically, the full dynamic range available for the pixel cell cannot be utilized. Once the charge storage capacity is exceeded, an undesirable phenomenon, known as "blooming" occurs, whereby the "over-capacity" charges escape to undesirable parts of the pixel cell 100 or to adjacent pixel cells. One suggested solution for dealing with this limited charge storage capacity is to add a capacitor which is connected to the floating diffusion region 110. The capacitor is used to store the additional over-capacity charges so the charges do not flow to other areas of the cell or adjacent cells. The problem with this solution, however, is that the additional capacitor takes up space in the cell that could otherwise be used to increase the size of the cell's photosensor, thereby decreasing the potential fill factor for the pixel cells and overall array.)
Accordingly, there is a need and desire to increase the fill factor and storage capacity of imager pixel cells. Thereby, the dual conversion gain gates of the invention provide good sensitivity at low and high light conditions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dual conversion gain gate and capacitor combination


A compartmented container for returnable beverage cans made from plastic sheet is disclosed. The container of the present invention comprises a plurality of spaced apart parallel upright walls including a pair of opposed side walls joining the spaced apart upright walls at an outside edge thereof. A bottom wall extends along the bottom of the container and joins the bottom edges of the upright walls, side edges of the bottom wall spaced in a distance from the opposed side walls. Fold lines are formed transversely along the bottom wall between upright walls, and upright fold lines are formed along the side wall between upright walls. The container is foldable along the fold lines collapsing to a thin planar configuration with the upright walls abutting.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of containers for returnable beverage containers. More specifically the present invention relates to the field of containers for returnable beverage containers made from plastic. Even more specifically the present invention relates to the field of containers for returnable beverage containers made from plastic sheet. Even more particularly the present invention relates to the field of containers made from plastic sheet for returnable metal beverage cans that is collapsible or foldable to a planar form.
II. Cross Reference to Related Applications
This application is related to the applicant's copending application Ser. No. 080,237 filed Oct. 1, 1979 entitled "Wire Container for Returnable Beverage Cans."
III. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years there has been a deep concern by the public for reducing litter in our public parks and along roadways. In addition, the public concern for reducing energy consumption together with reducing unsightly litter has led to mandatory returnable beverage container laws in many states. The present invention is directed toward fulfilling this public need by providing a convenient and inexpensive container for collecting returnable beverage cans for their return for recycling purposes. Typical containers for returnable beverage containers in the prior art are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,484,019; 3,565,278; 3,584,758; and 3,998,328. These patents are relevant in that they disclose containers for returnable beverage containers such as bottles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,484,019 discloses a collapsible bottle carrying container made from cardboard which carries the bottles in an upright position.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,565,278; 3,584,758; and 3,998,328 disclose plastic containers made from molded plastic for carrying bottles in an upright position with the containers having compartments to separate individual bottles.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,723 discloses a sectional receptacle made from molded plastic that is employed for carrying fragile articles such as cigars. None of the above listed U.S. patents disclose the present invention of a disposable folding beverage can container made from plastic sheet for returnable beverage cans.
IV. Prior Art Statement
The aforementioned prior art, including the applicant's copending application, in the opinion of the applicant and the applicant's attorney, represents the closest prior art of which the applicant and the applicant's attorney are aware.


A water purifier includes an outer housing, an inner housing disposed in the outer housing, and a filter element disposed in the inner housing. The outer and inner housings have top openings, respectively, each closed by a lid. The inner housing and filter element can be removed as a unit from the outer housing when the lid of the outer housing is removed. The outer and inner housings include interconnected water inlets for admitting unfiltered water, interconnected filtered-water outlets for discharging filtered water, and interconnected unfiltered-water outlets for discharging unfiltered water when the filter element is to be replaced. The filtered-water outlets and unfiltered-water outlets are disposed adjacent the bottom of said outer housing. Valves can be provided in the water inlets, the filtered-water outlets and the unfiltered-water outlets, which valves are biased closed when the inner housing is removed from the outer housing, and which are opened in response to the inner housing being installed in the outer housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water purifier for eliminating various harmful substances contained in original water such as faucet water or the like to thereby make the water potable, and more particularly to a filtering apparatus of a water purifier, by which the installation and removal of a filter can be simplified and filtering ability can be remarkably increased.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a purifier serves to perform a water purifying operation by passing the original water or faucet water (hereinafter referred to as water) supplied from a faucet through a separate filter, to thereby remove foreign objects or harmful substances contained therein.
The water purifier thus constructed can be roughly classified, according to purifying method, into a natural purifying method, a directly-connected purifying method, an ion exchange resin method, a reverse osmotic pressure method and the like. Among these methods, a water purifier by way of the reverse osmotic pressure method is operated to perform the water purifying by applying a predetermined pressure to the water to thereby cause the water to pass through an artificial osmotic membrane, whereby heavy metal, bacteria, cancer-causing materials and the like are separately removed, and at the same time, only the pure water and dissolved oxygen are passed, enabling the same to be used for scientific industries, cleaning of hyper precision electronic parts and for medical use.
The water purifier having the above-mentioned construction is widely used as one for supplying purified water to private households and business sectors because of serious environmental pollution.
The water purifier thus described, as illustrated in FIG. 1, includes a water purifying tank 2 releasably disposed at an upper side of a pad 1 for storing the water, a receptacle unit 3 disposed at a rear side of the water purifying tank 2, a filtering apparatus 6 disposed within the receptacle unit 3 to eliminate various harmful substances included in the water supplied through a water supply tube 5 connected to a faucet 4, a purified water tube 7 connected to at the filtering apparatus 6 to supply into the water purifying tank 2 the purified water, and a disposer 9 arranged on the water purifying tank 2 for disposing the purified water stored in the water purifier tank 2 according to manipulation of a lever 9, so that purified water disposal can be possible.
Meanwhile, the filtering apparatus 6 for removing and purifying the harmful substances contained in the water includes, as illustrated in FIG. 2, an upper body 10 having an entrance 10a and an exit 10b connected to the water supply tube 5 and the water purifying tube 7, and a lower body 12 releasably disposed at a lower side of the upper body 10 by a fastening member 11. The lower body 12 is provided therein with a filtering member 13 for eliminating various harmful materials contained in the water, and the lower body 12 and the filtering member 13 form a water passage 14 for guiding the water. The filtering is formed with a central water passage 15 for circulating the purified water which has passed the filtering member 13.
Accordingly, when the water under a predetermined pressure is supplied into the filtering apparatus 6 from the faucet 4, the filtering apparatus 6 serves to eliminate various harmfull substances contained in the water.
In other words, the water infused into the upper body 10 through entrance 10a connected to the water supply means 5 passes through the filtering member 13 through water passage 14 to thereafter be turned into purified water, whereby the purified water is in return infused into the upper body 10 through a purified water passage 15 formed in the filtering member 13 to thereby be conducted to the purified water tank 2 through outlet 10b and the purified water tube 7.
The purified water stored in the purified water tank 2 is discharged through the faucet 9 according to opening of lever 8, so that disposal of the purified water can be possible.
Meanwhile, the filtering member absorbed with various harmful substances should be replaced after a predetermined period. At this time, when the lower body 12 is supposed to be removed, the fastening member 11 is pushed upwards and the lower body 12 is separated from the upper body 10 or assembled.
However, according to the conventional filtering apparatus thus constructed, there are problem in that draining of the water and the purified water is profuse from the upper body when the lower body is separated, and the fastening member is complicated in construction.
There are other problems in the conventional filtering apparatus in that replacement procedures of the filtering member are very inconvenient, and purifying capability of the filtering member is therefore decreased to shorten the life of the filtering member markedly.


A protective carrier for holding a loaded spare magazine in a position of readiness for immediate insertion into operative engagement with a firearm. A latch mechanism in the carrier is operable simultaneously with and in response to release of the magazine retaining catch mechanism of the firearm, permitting an empty magazine and a loaded spare magazine to be released together, the empty magazine being allowed to fall clear of the firearm while the loaded spare magazine is grasped and inserted into the firearm for use in a minimum amount of time. The spare magazine carrier of the invention protectively surrounds the open upper end of the spare magazine to shield cartridges held therein against contamination by dirt, mud, and the elements, in order to help avoid malfunction or damage of the firearm. A control device extender is provided to operate a bolt catch lever of a rifle which may be covered by the spare magazine carrier.

The present invention relates to repeating firearms, and particularly to an accessory for a repeating firearm using a replaceable magazine.
In land warfare the individual infantry soldier is still an important part of military operations. The effectiveness of the individual soldier depends to a large extent on the accuracy, rate of fire, and number of rounds of ammunition which each individual soldier is capable of providing. For that reason, modern infantry firearms are capable of high cyclic rates of fire and are usually equipped with magazines capable of holding dozens of cartridges. Such magazines must usually be manually released from the firearm when they have become empty, at which time a full magazine must be inserted into the firearm before firing may be continued. In order to be capable of sustained firing an infantry soldier carries loaded spare magazines, typically held in protective pouches attached to ammunition belts. When actually engaged in combat it is common for soldiers to carry spare magazines ready for more immediate use, since removal of a loaded magazine from a cartridge belt may take an undesirably long time.
It is clumsy, however, to carry a loaded spare magazine in one's hand, since it detracts from the ability to hold the firearm securely and aim it accurately.
While a longer period of sustained fire might be provided by simply using a larger magazine with the firearm, this solution is workable only so long as the increased size of the magazine does not interfere with convenient carrying or aiming of the firearm. Additionally, reliable cartridge feeding mechanisms for extremely large magazines may be somewhat complex and therefore undesirable.
In order to provide an ability to fire more rounds quickly, a spare magazine carrier as disclosed in Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,404, of which the disclosure is hereby incorporated herein by reference, allows a spare magazine to be carried alongside the receiver of a rifle, ready for immediate use. With certain automatic and semi-automatic rifles, however, the device disclosed in the mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,404 may partially obstruct access to a functional operating lever or button located on the receiver of such a rifle. In particular, the spare magazine carrier shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,404 limits access to one part of a bolt catch operating lever on certain auto-loading rifles such as M-16 military rifles and Colt.RTM. AR15 rifles, making it more difficult to latch open the bolt of such a rifle, especially when the user is wearing gloves. It is therefore desired to provide an improved spare magazine carrier whose presence does not impede operation of the firearm with which it is associated.


An elastic strapping band is essentially made of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer containing vinyl acetate in the range of 3 to 20 wt %. The band has molecular orientation in the lengthwise direction thereof with a double refraction rate (.DELTA.n) being in the range of 24.times.10.sup.-3 to 38.times.10.sup.-3. The band has a tensile strength higher than 3.3 kg/mm.sup.2, a stress residual rate higher than 15% after elongating the band under an initial load of 3.3 kg/mm.sup.2, and an elasticity recovering rate higher than 70%.

This invention relates to a strapping band and method for producing same, which can maintain elastic binding force for a long period of time after it has been wound around an article or articles under stretched condition.
In many cases for binding articles by a strapping band, it is desired that the band has a relatively high elasticity and elongation rather than a high tensile strength. Because, an elastic binding force of the band is maintained for a long period of time by the residual stress thereof so that a constant contractive force is applied to the articles wound by the band.
In the event that a plurality of rigid articles such as glass bottles, pipes, tiles, bricks or the like are bound together by a strapping band which has no substantial elasticity, the binding force cannot be maintained since the contractive binding force cannot be applied to the articles by the band.
Further, in the practical binding operation, after winding the band around the article under tension, a heat plate is inserted into a space between the article and the band to join the band together by fusion thereof. Then, the heat plate is removed after fusion of the band. Accordingly, if the band has no substantial elasticity, the tension having been applied to the band at the time of winding will be lost due to the space for the heat plate.
In addition, when a plurality of articles are bound together by a strapping band, the articles tend to become more closely associated with each other by vibration applied thereto. Accordingly, when a strapping band not having a substantial elasticity is used for binding rigid articles, the band will be slackened after the articles have been subjected to vibration. Thus, the binding force having been applied to the articles will be lost.
Conventional plastic strapping bands are made of polypropylene, nylon or other thermoplastic high polymeric material having high crystallinity. Such a high polymeric material is highly elongated in the production process to orient the molecules in the lengthwise direction. The plastic strapping band of this kind has a high tensile strength in the range of about 20-40 kg/mm.sup.2 and high Young's modulus in the range of about 200-700 kg/mm.sup.2 but low elongation percentage of less than about 25%. Accordingly to such a known strapping band, even when the band is stretched under high tension around rigid articles and joined with each other at both ends thereof, the elongation of the band is very small and the residual stress in the band will be eliminated after a slight amount of contraction of the band.
In a practical example of a known polypropylene strapping band having a width of about 15.5 mm (40,000 denier), the band elongates only few percent when wound around articles at a binding force of 50 kg. After binding the articles, if the band contracts for about 2-3% in length from the elongated state, the residual stress in the band is almost eliminated.
As a material having a comparatively small Young's modulus and high elongation as well as high elasticity, rubber is duly considered. However, the rubber material requires vulcanization during formation into a strapping band, thus exhibiting poor productivity in a continuous production process of the strapping band.

Elastic strapping band and method for producing same


An intraocular lens assembly for increased depth of focus has a frame configurated to vault posteriorly in an eye and an optic attached thereto. Pressure from ciliary muscle contraction moves the optic anteriorly to focus the eye for near vision.

The present invention provides increased depth of focus by positioning an optic posteriorly in the eye by disposing it on a substantially rigid frame which is configurated to vault posteriorly, thus enabling accurate viewing over a. wider range of distances with greater distance between the cornea and the optic, and the further posteriorly the positioning of the optic, the higher the power of the optic, and the less the lens movement required for a given power change.
The frame may preferably have plate haptics with transversely extending loops at the outer ends of the haptics to engage peripheral portions of the capsular bag of the eye and center the lens. The haptics may preferably be such as that shown and described in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,024, "Intraocular Lenses with Fixated Haptics".
The optic utilized with the invention is substantially smaller than the natural human lens. Whereas the natural human lens is about 5.0 mm in thickness, an optic utilized with the invention may typically be 1.0 mm, and may range between 0.5 mm and 1.5 mm. The optic may preferably be similar to that shown and described in Applicant's application Ser. No. 09/370,235, "Lens For Increased Depth of Focus."


A media validation system including a plurality of media storage devices which contain a quantity of content thereon, a user computer processor assembly structured to operatively access a select media storage device, a verification module, and a communicative link between the verification module and the user computer processor assembly. Each of the media storage devices includes a unique unit identifier, the verification module identifying the unique unit identifier of the select media storage device and receiving user information associated therewith. The verification module is also structured to apply a reward credit in association with only a first user whose user information is associated with the unique unit identifier for the select media storage device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a media validation system which can be utilized in association with any of a variety of types of media storage devices including DVD's and CD's, the validation system associating a user reward aspect in a manner which will require validation of an appropriate media storage device in order to obtain the reward, and in a manner which provides a disincentive to an original purchasing user to make or allow unauthorized copies and/or duplication of their media storage device, as that will jeopardize their reward benefit on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, the present validation system provides access to supplemental content, which may comprise the reward, thereby providing a further incentive to consumers to purchase authorized media storage devices in order to gain access to the rewards, including possibly the access to the supplemental content.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the software and entertainment industry, a substantial source of revenues comes from the actual sale of media content to consumers. This content may include audio only content, such as in the form of music, readings, games, etc., visual only content, such as including textual matters, or, as is becoming more common given the advances in technology, a combination of audio and video content. In order to effectively deliver the media content to consumers, media storage devices are typically employed to contain at least a substantial portion of the content. Furthermore, as technology advances, new and increasing types of media storage devices are being made available so as to enhance either storage capacity and/or quality of the delivery of the media content. Moreover, the media storage devices are often provided in a substantially compact and interchangeable fashion such that consumers may access the media content in any of a variety of locations, such as in an office computer, in a home computer, in a car, in a home entertainment system, etc.
Unfortunately, along with the advances that result in the field of storage devices, many advances have also come about with regard to means for copying the content from one media storage device to another. For example, most computers now commonly include CD copying hardware (CD burners), which in addition to the legitimate purpose of permitting consumers to make back-up copies of their data and media content for personal use, is also permitting users to make copies of various different types of media storage devices, including for example music CD's and/or CD-ROMS and/or games and game cartridges, etc., and providing them to other users, thereby avoiding the need for the other users to buy their own legitimate copy of the media content. Furthermore, in addition to CD's and CD-ROMs, many of which contain audio and video content, DVDs are becoming a very popular and very profitable type of media storage device utilized to provide high quality media content to users. Also, as can be appreciated, DVD copying devices and/or DVD copying software which copies a DVD's content to a CD-ROM or other device are becoming increasingly prevalent, and despite attempts at encryption of the DVD's and/or other encoding, the copying of DVD's, either onto another DVD or onto a CD-Rom is becoming increasingly facilitated thus, providing another source to circumvent the need to purchase the media content, while still obtaining substantially the same high quality as the original media storage device. Also, as such copying devices generally make substantially complete duplication of the content of a media storage device, even supplemental content and information which are now being provided on a variety of media storage devices so as to provide consumer incentives for purchase of the media storage device, are also being copied. Accordingly, this additional content provides an incentive for an initial purchaser of the media storage device, however, copyists who may have an increased desirability for the media storage device because of the additional content are not required to purchase an original based on the ability of the copying facilities.
As a result, it would be substantially beneficial to provide a media verification system which can provide consumers with substantial incentives to purchase their own media storage device containing the originally purchased media content, but which will also provide a strong disincentive to the original purchaser to make or allow others to copy the content of their media storage devices. Furthermore, such a system should help promote the sales of the media storage device, enhancing its attractiveness to consumers, and providing an additional marketing tool by which producers or distributors of the media storage devices, and especially the content thereon, can identify consumers and target them with advertising and further promotions.