In an electronic fuel injection apparatus which controls a fuel injection timing of a fuel injection pump for a diesel engine through a timing control valve, when the time during which a present final feedback correction quantity obtained by adding, to the last final feedback correction quantity, the present feedback correction quantity which is computed according to a difference between an actual fuel injection timing and a target fuel injection timing, reaches a lower limit or an upper limit and also the difference is outside a predetermined range, lasts for a predetermined time, controlling a timing control valve is stopped.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic fuel injection apparatus, and in particular to an electronic fuel injection apparatus which controls a fuel injection timing of a fuel injection pump for a diesel engine through a timing control valve.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of an electronic fuel injection apparatus according to the present invention, which is schematically composed of an injection pump 1, an engine control computer (hereinafter abbreviated as ECC) 2, and an electromagnetic spill valve control circuit (EDU) 3.
The ECC 2 inputs an engine revolution signal from a revolution sensor 11 provided in the injection pump 1, a fuel temperature signal from a fuel temperature sensor 12, an accelerator opening signal, an intake pressure signal, a coolant temperature signal, a car speed signal, an intake temperature signal, and a crank angle signal respectively outputted from an accelerator opening sensor, a pressure sensor, a water temperature sensor, a speed sensor, an intake temperature sensor, and a crank position sensor (none of which are shown). Then, the ECC 2 performs a predetermined computation for providing a command signal CMD to the control circuit 3 of the electromagnetic spill valve and for providing a control signal to a timing control valve (hereinafter abbreviated as TCV) 24.
In addition, receiving such a command signal CMD, the control circuit 3 sends a driving signal to a solenoid 14 in an electromagnetic spill valve 13 provided in the injection pump 1.
Hereinafter, the operation of the injection pump 1, which is well known though, in such an electronic fuel injection apparatus will be briefly described.
When a drive shaft 15 rotates which is made to rotate in synchronization with the crank shaft (not shown) of the engine, a pulsar 16 rotates, so that the engine revolution speed signal is provided from the sensor 11 which detects the rotating state to the ECC 2.
A plunger 17 rotates as the drive shaft 15 rotates. When a cam plate 18 united with the plunger 17 simultaneously rotates, a cam provided in the cam plate 18 rides on an opposite and fixed roller ring 19 whereby the plunger 17 reciprocates as shown by the arrow of FIG. 6.
When the plunger 17 shifts to the right direction in FIG. 6, a fuel in a pressure chamber 20 is compressed. At this time, if the solenoid 14 of the electromagnetic spill valve 13 is made ON and an on-off valve 21 which also serves as an armature is controlled to be in the closed state as shown in FIG. 6, the fuel of the pressure chamber 20 is to be compressedly forwarded from a distribution port 22 to an injection nozzle (not shown).
In addition, since the on-off valve 21 is opened when the plunger 17 shifts to the left direction in FIG. 6 and the solenoid 14 is made OFF, the fuel of the pressure chamber 20 is pushed back to the pump chamber, so that compressedly forwarding the fuel is finished, and the fuel is again sucked from an intake port 23 to the pressure chamber 20.
Thus, controlling the OFF timing of the electromagnetic spill valve 13 determines the fuel injection quantity of the injection pump 1.
On the other hand, for a control mechanism of a fuel injection timing, are provided a timer piston 27 which moves according to an oil pressure, a slide pin 26 which connects the roller ring 19, modifying the reciprocation timing of the plunger 17 by being rotated around the plunger 17, to the timer piston 27, and the TCV 24 which adjusts the oil pressure applied to the timer piston 27. It is to be noted that FIG. 6 is shown turned by 90 degrees.
The ECC 2 controls the duty ratio of the TCV 24 whereby the timer piston 27 is moved through a pressure chamber 25 where the fuel is enclosed, the position of the timer piston 27 is determined, the position of the roller ring 19 is rotated through the slide pin 26, and the lift starting point of the cam plate 18 is controlled. Thus, an injection starting time is controlled.
For the above-mentioned control of the fuel injection timing, a so-called feedback control is performed such that a target fuel injection timing is determined from the driving state of the engine and the timing control valve 24 is controlled so that an actual fuel injection timing may approach the target fuel injection timing. As means for detecting the actual fuel injection timing, the ECC 2 computes the actual fuel injection timing from the phase difference between the crank angle signal detected from the crank position sensor provided within a crank case (not shown) and a cam angle signal detected at the revolution sensor 11 of the fuel injection pump 1.
When parts (or a mechanism) for controlling the fuel injection timing such as a TCV 24 and a revolution sensor have a fault for some cause in such an electronic fuel injection apparatus, the fuel injection timing can not be normally controlled. Therefore, the ECC 2 performs a so-called fail-safe control such as determining whether or not an abnormality occurs to perform a backup control in case of the abnormal state.
As such a control method, the methods indicated in the Japanese Patent Publication Laid-open No. 9-317542 and the Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-18023 can be cited. Those prior art methods are arranged such that the case where the difference between the target fuel injection timing and the actual fuel injection timing exceeds a predetermined value is determined abnormal.
However, in such prior art, it is possible that a fault can not be detected when fuel injection timing controlling parts have a fault in a state where the difference between the target fuel injection timing and the actual fuel injection timing does not exceed a predetermined value.
Also, when the fuel injection timing controlling parts are determined abnormal in the former Japanese Patent Publication Laid-open No. 9-317542, for the fail-safe control upon the abnormality determined, measures are considered of holding the actual fuel injection timing to a fixed value on a lag angle side or providing a limit (guard) to the target fuel injection timing so as to prevent the actual injection timing from becoming extremely large or small.
Such measures can be taken when the fuel injection timing controlling parts operate normally. However, when the controlling parts fail to operate due to the abnormality, it becomes impossible to perform a fuel injection, resulting in a problem that the fuel injection timing can not be controlled.
Furthermore, whether on the lead angle side or the lag angle side the actual fuel injection timing becomes abnormal is not clear. If the actual fuel injection timing becomes abnormal on the lead angle side, nevertheless the fuel injection similar to that on the lag angle side is performed, there has been a problem that a cylinder pressure increases and parts around a combustion chamber are damaged.


A lid member with a waterproof function opening and closing an opening portion formed in a housing is structured by a rubber-like elastic material seal portion provided with a projection portion which is integrally formed in one surface of a resin main body of the lid member and is stored within the opening portion, an annular projection portion which is integrally formed in an outer peripheral surface of the projection portion and comes into close contact with a peripheral surface of the opening portion, and a reinforcing portion which extends from the annular projection portion to the vicinity of a junction portion of the outer peripheral surface with the main body, and a thermoplastic elastomer retention portion which exists so as to come into close contact with an outer peripheral surface of the reinforcing portion, and is integrally formed in a side of the main body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lid member with a waterproof function of an electronic equipment and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a seal structure such as to prevent a water drop from entering into an inner portion of an electronic equipment such as a cell phone terminal or the like.
Accordingly, the lid member with the waterproof function in accordance with the present invention is preferably used as a seal structure of a connector portion of a waterproof electronic equipment.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
Conventionally, in a portable terminal, a connector lid which opens and closes the connector is provided.
In other words, the connector lid which opens and closes a communication port for the connector is fixed and retained to a side of a housing (a case) by a band-like flexible band portion.
Further, a small rib-shaped seal ring portion is formed around a whole periphery in a peripheral side surface of the connector lid which occludes the connector.
In accordance with the above-mentioned structure, the connector lid seals the communication port for the connector in a watertight manner.
This kind of connector lid is specifically structured such that a waterproof plug, in which a rubber packing formed by a silicone rubber is insert molded around a plug member which is formed in an inner side of a lid member formed by, for example a polycarbonate, is integrated with the connector lid by means of a ultrasonic deposition (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-84438).
However, since the waterproof plug exists in the inner side of the connector lid, there has been brought about a problem that both a thickness of a whole of the connector lid and a manufacturing cost are increased.
Accordingly, there has been made a proposal of integrating the waterproof member with the connector lid so as to achieve a thinning of the waterproof structure of the connector lid (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-186562).
However, there has been brought about a problem that the connector lid is damaged at a time of integrating the waterproof member, which is made of the rubber-like elastic material, with the connector lid which is made of the resin material such as the polycarbonate or the like.
In other words, since an electronic equipment such as a cell phone or the like gives importance to an outer appearance beauty very much, it is necessary to avoid a matter that a part of the rubber-like elastic material constructing the waterproof member generates a burr leakage protruding to an unnecessary position.
In order to achieve this purpose, it is necessary to raise a mold clamping pressure to a fixed value or more, at a time of molding the waterproof member which is made of the rubber-like elastic material.
As a result, there has existed unavoidably a problem that a coated surface of the connector lid made of the resin material such as the polycarbonate or the like is damaged. Particularly, in the case that a thin extension portion is provided for preventing the waterproof member, which is made of the rubber-like elastic material, from peeling off from the connector lid which is made of the resin material, the problem mentioned above has appeared remarkably.

Lid member with waterproof function, and method of manufacturing thereof


Disclosed herein is a customized ossicular prosthesis suitable for treatment of conductive hearing loss due to ossicular chain defects, and a method and system for manufacturing the same. Medical imaging equipment can detect specifically designated landmarks in normal human middle ear ossicles, including significant anatomic differences in those structures. Those anatomic features are used to generate a customized ossicular prosthesis specifically configured for a particular patient's anatomy using 3D printing techniques and devices.

Conductive hearing loss due to ossicular abnormalities occurs commonly due to trauma, infection, cholesteatoma, surgery to treat these diseases, and congenital anomalies, amongst other causes. Surgical reconstruction of the ossicular chain is a well-established procedure for repair of ossicular defects, but is still plagued by high failure rates, with success rates in closing the air-bone gap to less than 20 dB ranging generally only from 55%-75%. Poor hearing results in many cases can be attributed to anatomical factors and persistence or recurrence of an underlying disease process, such as tympanic membrane retraction, middle ear atelectasis, fibrosis or mucosal pathology. However, none of these fully accounts for persisting air-bone gaps following ossiculoplasty. That these factors do not fully account for the failure rates is also implied by the fact that similar results are obtained with ossicular chain reconstruction following middle ear trauma, a situation in which most of those factors are not an issue. Some degree of hearing loss can be attributable to the design of current prostheses, which do not capture all of the mechanical advantages of the normal ossicular chain. Nevertheless, it is still likely that improper fit, due to both inaccurate size, angulation, and position of the prosthesis, plays a significant role. In one series with long-term follow-up, more than 40% of failures were attributed to prosthesis size or surgeon related errors. Proper intraoperative sizing of a prosthesis is challenging, and can be affected by limited exposure and variability in the anatomic relationships of the ossicular remnants to each other or to the tympanic membrane, as well as by post-operative changes during the healing process. In particular, the medial-lateral distances between ossicular remnants, the anterior-posterior offsets, and the position of and their relationship to the tympanic membrane or neo-tympanic membrane vary widely from patient to patient in the pathologic setting, and are not always readily amenable to reconstruction with off-the-shelf prostheses.
Further, persisting conductive hearing loss following ossicular chain reconstruction is multifactorial. A significant variable in many cases is likely the underlying disease process, which may render the ear unsuitable for reconstruction over the long term. Chronic infections and associated chronic Eustachian tube dysfunction can result in stiffness of the ossicular remnants, middle ear fibrosis, middle ear atelectasis, recurrent otitis media and other factors that decrease the chances of a satisfactory hearing result, either due to intrinsic limitations to adequate sound conduction, or from displacement and/or extrusion of the prosthesis. Nevertheless, technical factors such as imprecise sizing and placement of a prosthesis also play a significant role. These data are supported by the observation that outcomes are not significantly better, if at all, for reconstruction following traumatic ossicular discontinuity, a situation in which chronic infection and Eustachian tube dysfunction are not usually a factor.
3D printed solutions have been shown to be successful adjuncts to surgical techniques. Accurately reproducing a patient's specific pathologic anatomy for preoperative planning is a common thread. Patient specific custom made anatomic models used in preoperative planning have been shown to decrease operative time and in one report to also decrease intraoperative blood loss. Additionally, models allowing for accurate surgical simulation in orthopedics and cardiovascular procedures have enhanced preoperative decision-making, improved precision and increased work efficiency. Prosthesis fabrication using 3D printed techniques is another developing field.
More particularly, three-dimensional (3D) printing has been used for a wide variety of medical applications. Custom 3D printing of an individualized ossicular prosthesis would be a potential solution for the range of anatomic variation encountered in the pathological middle ear. Custom designed prostheses could decrease the rate of post-operative prosthesis displacement, and improve the hearing outcomes, by increasing the likelihood of a proper fit. Custom printed prostheses would minimize the need for intraoperative estimates of size, and would therefore also decrease surgical time, with resultant cost savings. However, current technologies have not yet proven themselves suitable for application to the small anatomic variations found in the middle ear. Specifically, the small size of the middle ear and its ossicles present challenges both for reliable image acquisition to provide accurate data for prosthesis design, and for printing of prostheses that faithfully reproduce the measured differences.

Ossicular prosthesis and method and system for manufacturing same


An optical pickup includes a variable iris having a numerical aperture is adjusted according to wavelength of light and can be compatibly used for discs having respectively different specifications. The optical pickup includes a plurality of laser sources respectively emitting light of different wavelengths, an objective lens for focusing the light emitted from the laser sources into an optical spot optimized to each information recording surface of the plurality of discs, at least one photo detector for detecting the light reflected from the information recording surfaces of the corresponding discs where the optical spot is focused and passed through the objective lens, an optical element for adjusting an optical path so that the light emitted from the laser sources is directed toward the objective lens and the light emitted from the objective lens is directed toward the at least one photo detector, and a variable iris coupled between the laser sources and the objective lens, selectively operating according to the wavelength. The optical pickup can be compatibly used for discs having respectively different specifications irrespective of the thicknesses of the discs. The variable iris selectively operates in the case that light of two or more wavelengths is used, to thereby provide an effect of accomplishing an optimal optical spot on the discs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup compatible with optical recording media having respectively different specifications.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are discs, cards or tapes, etc., used as recording media for recording and reproducing information such as video, audio or data at high density. Among them, discs are widely being used. In the structure of one type of disc, a plastic or glass medium having a certain thickness exists along an axial direction through which light is incident, and an information recording surface exists on the medium. Recently, the optical disc field has been developed from a laser disc (LD) and a compact disc (CD) to a digital video disc (DVD).
At present, a high density optical disc system uses an objective lens having a large numerical aperture (NA) and a light source of short wavelength light of 635 nm or 650 nm, in order to enhance a recording density. The use of the short wavelength light source enables reproduction of data from a CD having a different thickness from that of a DVD, as well as recording and reproduction of information on/from the DVD. However, the system should use light of 780 nm wavelength in order to be compatible with a writable compact disc (CD-R) which is a recent type of CD. This is due to a recording characteristic of the CD-R recording medium. Thus, it has been crucial to develop an optical pickup which can use light of both 780 nm and 650 nm wavelengths, in order to compatibly use both a DVD and a CD-R. As a disc specification changes, an optical aberration occurs due to a change in disc thickness, a change of wavelength and a change of a numerical aperture. Accordingly, a search for an optical pickup compatible with different specifications while removing the optical aberration is actively being pursued. As a result of the search, optical pickups compatible with different specifications are being manufactured. An existing optical pickup compatible with a DVD and a CD-R will be described below with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 shows an existing optical pickup using a conventional variable iris. The optical pickup of FIG. 1 uses laser light of 635 nm wavelength during reproduction of a DVD and uses laser light of 780 nm wavelength during recording and reproduction of a CD-R. The light of 635 nm wavelength emitted from a light source 1 which is a laser diode is incident to a collimating lens 2. The light beams of 635 nm wavelength are shown as solid lines. The collimating lens 2 converts the incident light into parallel light. The light having passed through the collimating lens 2 is reflected by a polarizing beam splitter 3 and then proceeds to an interference filter prism 4.
Meanwhile, the light of 780 nm wavelength emitted from a light source 11 being a laser diode passes through a collimating lens 12, a beam splitter 13, and a focusing lens 14 and then proceeds to the interference filter prism 4. The light beams of 780 nm wavelength are shown as dotted lines. The interference filter prism 4 totally transmits the light of 635 nm wavelength reflected from the polarizing beam splitter 3 and totally reflects the light of 780 nm wavelength focused by the focusing lens 14. As a result, the light emitted from the light source 1 is incident to a wavelength plate 5 in the form of the parallel light made by the collimating lens 2. The light emitted from the light source 11 is incident to the wavelength plate 5 in the form of diverging light. The light transmitting through the wavelength plate 5 passes through a thin-film type variable iris 6 and then is incident to an objective lens 7.
The objective lens 7 is designed to focus the light of 635 nm wavelength on an information recording surface of a DVD 8 having a thickness of 0.6 mm. The light of 635 nm wavelength having passed through the variable iris 6 is focused on the information recording surface of the DVD 8. As a result, the light reflected from the information recording surface of the DVD 8 contains the information recorded on the information recording surface. The reflected light is transmitted back through the objective lens 7, the thin-film type variable iris 6, the wavelength plate 5, the interference filter prism 4 and the polarizing beam splitter 3 and is detected by a photo detector 10.
Also, the objective lens 7 focuses the light of 780 nm wavelength having passed through the variable iris 6 on the information recording surface of the CD-R 9 having a thickness of 1.2 mm. In this case, a spherical aberration occurs due to the difference of thickness between the DVD 8 and the CD-R 9. The spherical aberration is due to the fact that the information recording surface of the CD-R 9 is located at a farther place from the objective lens 7 along its optical axis than that of the DVD 8. When the variable iris 6 to be described later referring to FIG. 2 is used, the light of 780 nm wavelength forms an optical spot of a size optimized to the CD-R 9 on the information recording surface of the CD-R 9. The light of 780 nm wavelength reflected from the CD-R 9 is transmitted back through the objective lens 7, the thin-film type variable iris 6 and the wavelength plate 5, is reflected by the interference filter prism, transmitted through the focusing lens 14, reflected by the beam splitter 13 and detected by a photo detector 15.
As shown in FIG. 2, the variable iris 6 of FIG. 1 has a thin film type structure which can selectively transmit the light incident to the area of not more than NA 0.6 corresponding to the diameter of the objective lens 7. That is, the variable iris 6 includes a first area where the light of both 635 nm and 780 nm wavelengths are transmitted and a second area where the light of 635 nm wavelength is totally transmitted and the light of 780 nm wavelength is totally reflected. The first area is an area having a numerical aperture not more than 0.45 and the second area is an outer area of the first area. Also, the first area is formed of a quartz (SiO.sub.2) thin film in order to remove the optical aberration due to the second area formed of a dielectric thin film. By using the variable iris 6, the light of 780 nm wavelength passing through the first area of not more than NA 0.45 forms the optical spot appropriate for the CD-R 9 on the information recording surface thereof. As a result, the optical pickup of FIG. 1 is compatibly used with the optimized optical spot even when the optical recording medium is changed from the DVD 8 to the CD-R 9.
However, the optical pickup of FIG. 1 forms a finite optical system with respect to the light of 780 nm wavelength in order to remove the spherical aberration occurring when exchanging the DVD with the CD-R. For this reason, the structure of the optical system is complicated and the assembly of the optical components is difficult. In addition, since an optical path difference occurs between the light passing through the first area of not more than NA 0.45 and the second area of not less than NA 0.45, due to the dielectric thin film formed in the second area of not less than NA 0.45 of the variable iris 6, the first area needs to be formed of a special optical thin film (SiO.sub.2 thin film). Accordingly, the first area has been formed of an SiO.sub.2 thin film and the second area has been formed of a multi-layer thin film. However, since the manufacturing process is complicated and the adjustment of the thin film thickness should be done at high precision in units of ".mu.m", it is not ideal for mass production. Also, although some techniques, in which the wavelengths of the light to be used are varied and a single lens is used, have been known in the direct overwrite technique for performing recording and reproduction operations simultaneously, such techniques cannot perform recording and reproduction operations with respect to different discs having different specifications.

Optical pickup using optically variable iris


An output buffer (30) is connected to an output signal line and receives an internal power supply voltage, for example 3.3 volts, which is lower than a voltage, for example 5 volts, that other devices which may be connected to the output signal line are able to drive. To protect an output transistor (71) from the harmful effects of the higher voltages on the output signal line, the output buffer (30) includes a special bulk biasing circuit (80). The bulk biasing circuit (80) biases the bulk of the output transistor (71) at an internal power supply voltage when the output buffer is driving and when not driving to a voltage determined by the output signal. To prevent overlap currents, the output buffer (30) includes a special gate biasing circuit (100), which momentarily drives the gate of the output transistor (71) to a voltage equal to the internal power supply voltage when the output buffer (30) stops driving.

Many integrated circuits today are manufactured using metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor technology. CMOS circuits allow the integration of many transistors into a small area, and offer relatively low power consumption. These features make CMOS technology the technology of choice for such products as microprocessors, microcontrollers, memories, telecommunication circuits, and analog and digital audio circuits.
For quite some time, CMOS circuits have operated using a single five-volt power supply. The five-volt supply has been more than adequate to ensure enough headroom for signal amplifiers, sense amplifiers, and digital logic. Due to the trend toward higher-density logic circuits which are subject to voltage scaling because of transistor geometry changes, such as reduced gate oxide thickness, there is a trend toward lower supply voltages. For CMOS circuits, the lower power supply voltage may be only, for example, 3.3 volts. While some integrated circuits have been designed to operate with this reduced power supply voltage, other circuits continue to require the conventional 5-volt supply. This creates compatibility problems. For example, a microcontroller designed to operate with a 3.3-volt supply may be connected to a bus which also is capable of conducting signals from 5-volt devices. Thus, output buffer circuits designed for operation at a reduced power supply voltage need to be able to interface with devices at the higher power supply voltage.
Exposure to these higher power supply voltages can cause several compatibility problems for the reduced voltage output buffer. FIG. 1 illustrates in partial block diagram and partial schematic form an output buffer circuit 20 according to the prior art, which attempts to solve these problems. Output buffer circuit 20 includes a P-channel MOS transistor 21, N-channel MOS transistors 22-24, P-channel transistors 25-27, and a bonding pad 28. Transistor 21 has a source connected to a power supply voltage terminal labelled "V.sub.DD ", a gate, a drain connected to bonding pad 28, and a bulk electrode. V.sub.DD is a more-positive power supply voltage terminal which has a nominal value of approximately 3.3 volts. Transistor 22 has a drain connected to the drain of transistor 21, a gate connected to V.sub.DD, and a source. Transistor 23 has a drain connected to the source of transistor 22, a gate for receiving a signal labelled "NGATE", and a source connected to a power supply voltage terminal labelled "VSS". V.sub.SS is a more-negative power supply voltage terminal which functions as the common or ground power supply voltage terminal and has a nominal value of 0 volts. Transistor 24 has a first current electrode for receiving a signal labelled "PGATE", a gate connected to V.sub.DD, and a second current electrode connected to the gate of transistor 21. Transistor 25 has a first current electrode connected to the drain of transistor 21, a gate connected to V.sub.DD, and a second current electrode connected to the gate of transistor 21. Transistor 26 has a source connected to the drain of transistor 21, a gate connected to V.sub.DD, and a drain connected to the bulk electrode of transistor 21. Transistor 27 has a source connected to V.sub.DD, a gate connected to bonding pad 28, and a drain connected to the bulk electrode of transistor 21.
Transistor 21 forms the pullup side and transistor 23 forms the pulldown side of output buffer 20. Output buffer 20 includes several features which allow it to operate reliably in systems in which another device is capable of driving the signal on bonding pad 28 to a voltage higher than V.sub.DD, such as 5 volts when V.sub.DD is 3.3 volts. First cascode transistor 22 protects transistor 23 from the high voltages on bonding pad 28, which prevents a full 5 volts from appearing between the drain and gate. Second, transistor 25 prevents a high voltage on bonding pad 28 from causing transistor 21 to conduct to discharge the voltage on bonding pad 28 into V.sub.DD. Transistor 25 becomes conductive when the voltage on bonding pad 28 exceeds V.sub.DD by more than the threshold voltage of transistor 25, designated generally as "V.sub.TP ". Third, since the gate of transistor 21 may become biased above V.sub.DD, transistor 24 serves as a pass transistor to isolate the internal circuitry driving signal PGATE from the excessive voltage. Fourth, the bulk of transistor 21 is biased using a "switched well" technique. When the voltage on bonding pad 28 is at 5 volts, transistor 26 becomes conductive and biases the well to approximately 5 volts. Otherwise when the voltage on bonding pad 28 is a logic low, transistor 27 becomes conductive to bias the bulk of transistor 21 to V.sub.DD.
Despite these protections, however, output buffer 20 creates two new problems which need to be addressed. First, there is a "deadband" of voltage of bonding pad 28, around which the bulk of transistor 21 becomes "floating" (unbiased). This deadband occurs in the range of V.sub.DD .+-.V.sub.TP, or more precisely, between V.sub.DD -V.sub.TP27 and V.sub.DD +V.sub.TP26, where V.sub.TP27 is the V.sub.TP of transistor 27 and V.sub.TP26 is the V.sub.TP of transistor 26. It is generally desirable to prevent any node from floating, or from having excessive voltage across the gate dielectric. This electrical overstress (EOS) causes Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, which over time reduces the threshold of transistor 21 and eventually results in circuit failure when transistor 21 is no longer capable of being fully conductive.
Second, when output buffer 20 is driving, signal PGATE causes transistor 21 to be conductive or not, depending on the data value to be driven. If signal PGATE is at a logic low, then the voltage on the gate of transistor 21 is at a logic low and is at approximately the same voltage as signal PGATE. However, if signal PGATE is at a logic high, then the voltage on transistor 21 is at V.sub.DD -V.sub.TN, where V.sub.TN represents in general the threshold of an N-channel transistor. If output buffer 20 stops driving when the voltage on the gate of transistor 21 is at V.sub.DD -V.sub.TN and an external device connected to bonding pad 28 drives a logic high of 5 volts, then there is no problem. Transistor 25 becomes conductive and drives 5 volts onto the gate of transistor 21. However, a problem occurs if output buffer 20 stops driving when the voltage on the gate of transistor 21 is at V.sub.DD -V.sub.TN and an external device connected to bonding pad 28 drives a logic low. In this case transistor 25 does not become conductive, and the voltage of V.sub.DD -V.sub.TN remains on the gate of transistor 21. This causes transistor 21 to operate near its threshold, and to be somewhat conductive. Transistor 21 then "leaks" and fights the logic low driven by the external device. This leakage can cause radiated interference, increase power consumption, and affect signal timing by slowing the fall time of the signal on bonding pad 28.
These problems can be better understood with reference to FIG. 7, which illustrates a timing diagram useful in understanding the operation of output buffer 20 of FIG. 1. For all signals, the horizontal axis represents time, and approximate time points of interest are designated along the horizontal axis. For all but one signal, the vertical axis represents voltage. For the one additional signal, the vertical axis represents current. Since output buffer 20 is a CMOS output buffer, a logic high voltage is approximately equal to V.sub.DD and a logic low voltage is approximately V.sub.SS. FIG. 7 labels these voltages where useful in understanding the operation of output buffer 20.
FIG. 7 illustrates two relevant time periods. During a first time period which represents the period on the time axis up to time point t5, signal OUTPUT is driven by output buffer 20 which is in an enabled condition, as indicated by a signal labelled "OE" being active at a logic low. After time point t5, signal OE transitions to a logic high, thereby causing output buffer 20 to enter a three-state condition, whereupon external circuitry may drive signal OUTPUT.
At time point t1, signal DATA transitions from a logic high to a logic low. This transition causes both signals NGATE and PGATE' to transition to a logic high. Note however that the logic high level of signal PGATE' is not a full CMOS logic level, and is at substantially (V.sub.DD -V.sub.TN). Note that signal PBULK was floating prior to time t1, and is driven to substantially V.sub.DD at time t2 by transistor 27. Signal OUTPUT transitions to a logic low by the activation of signal NGATE at time t2. Note the significant V.sub.DD -to-V.sub.SS current pulse which is caused by overlap current in transistors 21 and 23.
At time point t3, signal DATA transitions to a logic high. This transition causes both signals NGATE and PGATE' to transition to a logic low. Signal PGATE' returns to a full CMOS logic low level, and signal PBULK again is floating. Signal OUTPUT transitions to a logic high by the activation of signal PGATE' at time t4. Again there is a significant V.sub.DD -to-V.sub.SS current pulse caused by the overlap current in transistors 21 and 23.
At time point t5, signal OE transitions to a logic high, which causes signal NGATE to be inactive at a logic low and signal PGATE' to be inactive at a logic high regardless of the state of DATA, which causes output buffer 20 to be in a three-state condition. Again signal PGATE' is at substantially (V.sub.DD -V.sub.TN), thereby causing transistor 21 to remain partially conductive. Thus, if an external circuit causes signal OUTPUT to transition to a logic low, there is a further V.sub.DD -to-V.sub.SS current pulse when output buffer 20 enters three-state. Furthermore, there is constant leakage through transistor 21 between the current pulses. Signal PBULK is driven to a voltage of V.sub.DD by transistor 27.
At time point t6, signal OUTPUT transitions to a voltage above V.sub.DD, such as 5 volts in the illustrated example. This high voltage level is coupled to signal PGATE' by transistor 25. Once the gate of transistor 21 reaches this voltage, transistor 21 is no longer conductive, eliminating the V.sub.DD -to-V.sub.SS leakage current. Signal PBULK is likewise coupled to signal OUTPUT by transistor 26.

High reliability output buffer for multiple voltage system


A fire fighting trainer for use in training fire fighters to extinguish jet crash fuel fires and the like, the trainer includes a supply pipe and control valve, a distribution pipe with holes, an open tank with a diffuser being a mixture of water and gravel within which the distribution pipe is disposed, so that liquid propane jets out from the holes, then passes as vapor bubbles to the diffuser surface, then collects as propane vapor on the surface, and a gas pilot flame device for lighting the propane vapor to form flames on the diffuser surface. The simulated flames look very similar to jet crash liquid fuel flames.

The prior art fire fighting trainer is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,055,050, issued Oct. 8, 1991, and 4,861,270, issued Aug. 29, 1989, assigned to the same assignee as this application.
The prior art fire fighting trainer has a burner system and a support for the burner system, the burner system includes a delivery pipe having holes for ejecting propane to form a flame, a control connected to the delivery pipe, a pilot unit for lighting the ejected propane to form a flame, a control connected to the delivery pipe, and a pilot unit for lighting the ejected propane. The prior art system uses pressurized propane liquid which passes as vapor bubbles through a layer of gravel or water and then collects as propane vapor on the surface where it can be ignited to simulate an aircraft crash liquid fuel flames.
Such trainers are utilized outside exposed to normal climate conditions. When water is utilized in such a system it has certain disadvantages. One disadvantage is that there is excessive bubbling on the surface and applying sensors to determine the extinguishing of the flame is more difficult caused by the agitated water. It also has a relatively high noise level. Water also requires the use of expensive grating over the water to allowing the fire fighting trainers to walk over the surface. Aggregates such as gravel have the advantage of good vapor dispersion while also providing a firm surface on which the fire fighter trainess can walk. One disadvantage of the aggregate is that it does not protect the underlying surfaces or equipment from radiant heat as well as water.

Aircraft fire fighting trainer having a mixture of liquid and aggregate particles as a fuel diffuser


The present invention provides a thermoplastic resin structure which has a three-layer structure of flexible skin layer/flexible foamed material layer/hard substrate layer wherein each of the layers comprises a thermoplastic resin capable of melt-adhesion with each other, and the flexible foamed material layer is formed by the injection foam molding method. The resin structure exhibits the capability of being easily recycled and, at the same time, can be produced at a low cost, which has not been achieved by a conventional structure using a cross-linked foamed sheet or a urethane foam, while maintaining the performance in appearance, cushioning, rigidity and the like, and thus markedly useful for application fields requiring high performance in cushioning, sound absorption, heat insulation and the like in automobiles, household electrical appliances, general industrial parts and the like.

This application is a 371 application of PCT/JP99/06974 filed Dec. 13, 1999.
The present invention relates to a structure comprising a thermoplastic resin. More specifically, it relates to a thermoplastic resin structure having a three-layer structure of flexible skin layer/flexible foamed material layer/hard substrate layer, which is excellent in cushioning and strength, and makes it possible to effectively reuse, i.e., recycle the used articles and to reduce costs.
Known three-layer structures of flexible skin layer/flexible foamed material layer/hard substrate layer are shown as follows.
Conventional technique 1: a structure which comprises a slash molded product of polyvinyl chloride (hereinafter abbreviated as PVC) or a polyolefin thermoplastic elastomer (hereinafter abbreviated as TPO) as a flexible skin layer (hereinafter referred to as a skin layer), a polyurethane-foamed product as a flexible foamed material layer (hereinafter referred to as a foamed layer), and a polypropylene composite material or an injection-molded product of an ABS resin as a hard substrate layer (hereinafter referred to as a substrate layer).
Conventional technique 2: a structure which comprises a polypropylene composite material or an injection-molded product of an ABS resin as a substrate layer, and a sheet of a two-layer structure obtained by laminating a cross-linked foamed sheet of polypropylene or high density polyethylene as a foamed layer on a skin layer of PVC or TPO.
These structures have been used for automobile interior materials and have contributed greatly to the industrial fields as having excellent appearance, cushioning it, and rigidity.
In the conventional technique 1, however, foamed polyurethane, i.e., a thermosetting resin is used for the foamed layer, so that the skin layer, the foamed layer and the substrate layer should be separated when the structure is reused, i.e., recycled. Further, it is difficult to reuse foamed polyurethane, and therefore, the structure is not suitable for recycling which has been required worldwide in recent years.
The conventional technique 1 also has a disadvantage of high production cost, caused by quite different facilities required in the respective steps of a slash molding step of a skin layer, an injection or injection press molding step of a substrate layer and a urethane discharge-foaming step of a foamed layer.
In the conventional technique 2, a cross-linked foamed material is used for the foamed layer. When the three layers are recycled at the same time, the cross-linked foamed sheet is not homogeneously molten with materials constituting the skin layer and the substrate layer. The performance of the structure is therefore reduced when used as a recycled material. That is, the structure has a difficulty in recycling.
The conventional technique 2 also has a disadvantage of high production cost, caused by a long series of molding steps comprising a foamed sheet-molding step of a foamed layer, a step of laminating a skin layer on the foamed sheet, a step of pre-molding the resulting composite sheet by a vacuum molding method or a compress molding method, and a step of combining the resulting pre-molded product with a substrate layer to mold in a die by an injection or injection press molding method, and by the poor yield in pre-molding of the expensive composite sheet.
Further, both conventional techniques 1 and 2 described above use an adhesive or a pressure-sensitive adhesive so that at least a part of the respective layers adhere to each other, which may also cause difficulty in recycling of the structures and high costs.
The problems of difficulty in recycling and a high production cost in these conventional techniques are caused by that the layers, respectively having a good appearance, cushioning and rigidity, are produced from quite different materials or by quite different processing methods and combined. Such a structure may be superior in quality, but the above problems cannot be solved.
An object of the present invention is to provide a thermoplastic resin structure capable of being surely recycled and reducing costs while maintaining high performance in appearance, cushioning and rigidity, which has not been achieved by conventional techniques.
The present inventors have made intensive researches in order to obtain a thermoplastic resin structure capable of being surely recycled and reducing costs while maintaining high performance in appearance, cushioning and rigidity, which has not been achieved by conventional techniques. As a result, the inventors have found that a structure having a three-layer structure of a flexible skin layer, a flexible foamed material layer and a hard substrate layer, the respective layers comprising related thermoplastic resins capable of melt adhesion with each other, the flexible foamed material layer comprising an injection foam molded product, can be surely recycled and reduce costs, wherein the skin layer and the substrate layer can be combined at the same time of molding the foamed material layer, and this three-layer structure can easily be molten and reused only by pulverizing without separating the respective layers, whereby the present invention has been completed.
The constitution of the present invention is as follows.
(1) A thermoplastic resin structure having a three-layer structure of flexible skin layer/flexible foamed material layer/hard substrate layer, wherein the respective layers comprise thermoplastic resins capable of melt adhesion with each other and the flexible foamed material layer is formed by an injection foam molding method.
(2) The thermoplastic resin structure as described in the item (1), wherein the flexible skin layer and the hard substrate layer in the three-layer structure comprising the flexible skin layer, the flexible foamed material layer and the hard substrate layer are each thermally welded or thermally fused with the thermoplastic resin constituting the flexible foamed material layer by heat and pressure in injection foam molding of the flexible foamed material layer.
(3) The thermoplastic resin structure as described in the item (1) or (2), wherein the flexible skin layer, the flexible foamed material layer and the hard substrate layer in the three-layer structure each comprise polyolefin thermoplastic resins.
(4) The thermoplastic resin structure as described in any one of the items (1) to (3), wherein the flexible foamed material layer has an average expansion coefficient of 1.2 to 10.


A motor control center (MCC) unit includes a drawer having a space for accommodating a circuit breaker, a hinge bracket installed on one of left and right sides of the drawer, a base connected to the hinge bracket by a hinge shaft, and a display mechanism installation plate fastened to the base by a fastening member. Although a display mechanism or a display mechanism installation plates are different according to sizes or models of the MCC unit, a base and a hinge bracket may be commonly used.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a motor control center unit, and particularly, to a motor control center unit having a display mechanism.
2. Background of the Invention
A motor control center (MCC) is a system for safely protecting a load device related to a motor installed in various industrial facilities.
The motor control center has a function of distributing low voltage electricity supplied from a transformer to a motor, and monitoring and preventing flowing of an overcurrent.
The motor control center may receive a plurality of motor control center (MCC) units in a cabinet (e.g., an iron enclosure), and the MCC units may be detachably installed in the cabinet.
The motor control center may have a bus (bus bar) for supplying electricity to the interior, and the MCC unit may be moved as a drawer so as to be connected to the bus.
The MCC unit may be an electric control device for controlling a motor. The MCC unit may control rotation of the motor by selectively supplying power required for the motor, changing a direction in which power is supplied, and the like.
The MCC unit may include a display mechanism providing alarm to the outside, and the display mechanism may be installed in a display mechanism installation plate of the MCC unit.


A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes: a multilayer structure in which each of a plurality of ceramic dielectric layers and each of a plurality of internal electrode layers including a co-material are alternately stacked, wherein a Mo concentration in the co-material is smaller than that in a ceramic grain in the ceramic dielectric layer.

Recently, electronic devices such as smart phones or mobile phones are being downsized. Thereby, electronic components mounted on the electronic devices are rapidly being downsized. For example, in a field of multilayer ceramic electronic components of chip type represented by a multilayer ceramic capacitor, although property is secured, thicknesses of ceramic layers and internal electrodes are reduced in order to reduce a chip size.
Generally, a composition of a ceramic grain used as a co-material is the same as that of a dielectric layer (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publications No. 2010-103198, No. 2014-067775 and No. 2014-236214.

Multilayer ceramic capacitor and manufacturing method of multilayer ceramic capacitor


A system and method for updating a software acceptance testing database via a communications network is disclosed. A database maintained at a server is accessed by remote users via a restricted communications network. Mobile personnel log trouble tickets, the software vendor assigns the trouble ticket to a resolution entity, the software purchaser is notified when the problem is to be fixed, the problem is retested and the results of the retest are logged. For future releases of the software, a field is included in the database for trouble items that will be included in future regression testing procedures.

Companies such as telecommunications companies frequently purchase software, including custom software, from software development companies and other vendors. Furthermore, vendors typically release new versions of software periodically. Whenever a company considers adopting a new package or version, naturally, the company wants to be reasonably certain that the software is stable and performs the tasks that the software is supposed to perform. Hence, pre-acceptance testing is a critical part of the process of acquiring new software and new versions of software.
Typically, especially for large, custom software systems, a development version of the software will be loaded on the client system in order for the client to test the software in the environment in which the software will be used. Keeping track of identifying functions to test, assigning the testing of the functions to suitable personnel, recording the results of testing, notifying the vendor of continuing malfunctions in the software, notifying the vendor of new malfunctions in the software, receiving notification from the vendor that a malfunction has been fixed, re-testing the function, and finally closing out a function test after successful testing, can be a daunting task. When the players involved in the process are geographically separate, the task can approach gargantuan.
A database such as a MICROSOFT ACCESS database could be built to track these and other data categories and each member of the testing team could be provided with a copy of the tracking database. However, when anyone involved in the testing process updates the tracking database, a new copy of the database would have to be provided to each member of the testing team. Problems are likely to arise with keeping all the different copies of the database in sync.
For example, suppose that all the members of a testing team have the same version of a tracking database, version A. Imagine now that a client technician (tester) enters a new trouble ticket to database A, creating version A′ and e-mails the new database A′ to all the members of the testing team. Suppose that, at about the same time, a software developer fixes a software bug and enters a notation of the fix in database A, creating version A″, and sends all the members of the testing team his new A″ database. Now the members of the testing team will have two updated versions of the A database. Selection of the A′ database as the "new" database will result in the loss of the software bug fix notation while selection of the A″ database as the "new" database will result in the loss of the new trouble ticket.
It is clear that keeping multiple copies of a shared database consistent between geographically diverse users is problematic. Hence, a need exists in the art to have a single shared database accessible by multiple geographically diverse users.

System and method for an interactive web-based data catalog for tracking software bugs

BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation


A digital circuit for detecting changes in the gray scale of scanned images is disclosed. Each line of video information produced by scanning the image is digitized. Each digital sample is compared to digital samples delayed a predetermined amount to generate a difference signal which is indicative of a change in the gray scale having a component perpendicular to the direction of scan. The digitized samples of the video signal are also stored in a memory having a capacity sufficient to store data representing a plurality of scan lines with a typical memory having a capacity for storing digital information representing eight scan lines. Selected digital samples from the stored data are compared to samples of the line being scanned to detect changes in the gray scale having a component parallel to the direction of scan. These changes in the gray scale are combined to generate a signal indicative of the central portion of the change in the gray scale of the image being scanned to drive a printer to generate a line drawing with the position of the lines corresponding to the central portion of the changes in gray scale of the scanned image.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to scanners and more particularly to digital scanners for detecting changes in the gray scale of a scanned image to generate a line drawing with the position of the lines corresponding to the central portion of the changes in the gray scale of the scanned image.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical prior art systems for scanning an image to generate a line drawing with the position of the lines corresponding to the changes in the gray scale of a scanned image have relied on analog techniques. Changes in the gray scale were generally detected by taking either the first or second derivative of the video signal from the scanner used to scan the image, or some combination of these, to generate signals indicative of the changes in gray scale of the scanned image. A typical example of such a system is disclosed in Ser. No. 585,641 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,218 assigned to the same assignee as this application. These systems had limited capability of detecting changes in the gray scale which were parallel to the direction of scan. Additionally the line width of the line drawing generated by these systems tended to vary depending on the direction of the line with respect to the direction of scanning. The true edges of out-of-focus objects were usually displaced because of the gradual changes in the gray scale resulting from such edges.

Digital circuit for accurately detecting changes in the gray scale of a scanned image


A composition comprising heme iron and/or heme iron polypeptide in combination with ionic iron(s) and/or chelated iron(s). Administration of effective dosages of the present composition provides a method for treating and/or preventing iron deficiency anemia, and the physiological, biochemical, morphological, and behavioral manifestations symptomatic of same.

In the human body, iron is essential for the implementation and maintenance of several vital cellular functions and biosynthetic processes, including oxygen transport capabilities, aerobic cellular activity, intracellular electron transport, and integral enzymatic reactions within body tissue. Unfortunately, as a combined result of various socioeconomic conditions, environmental factors, genetic predispositions, and the collective dietary habits amongst the general populace, iron deficiency is the most common known form of nutritional deficiency amongst humans.
Of significant prevalence, especially amongst children and women (i.e., particularly pregnant women and/or women of childbearing age), is iron deficiency anemia, a condition defined by a gross reduction in overall iron levels in the red blood cells and, thus, a decline in hemoglobin synthesis, the molecule ultimately responsible for the transport and distribution of oxygen from the lungs to tissues of the body. Indeed, in pregnant women, iron deficiency increases both the risk of pre-term delivery and/or delivery of a low-birthweight baby, whereas with children, iron deficiency anemia may cause developmental delays, behavioral disturbances, altered growth patterns, and increased infections. Still other manifestations symptomatic of iron deficiency anemia may include pale skin tone or color, headaches, extreme fatigue, light-headedness, glossitis (swelling of the tongue), koilonychias (spoon nails), and other overt, albeit extreme, behavioral disturbances, such as the consumption of dirt or clay (pica or geophagia), or the abnormal consumption of ice (pagophagia).
Accordingly, the maintenance, or bioavailability, of nutritionally adequate iron levels is largely a collective function of the composition of food consumed, the quantity and chemical form of iron contained therein, and the presence of food items that either promote or inhibit iron absorption. Specifically, iron is absorbed as either a heme iron (an intact metalloporphyrin ring), or nonheme iron (ionic iron). Heme iron, however, which is principally found in meat as hemoglobin or myoglobin, is more readily and effectively absorbed than nonheme iron and, thus, provides a significantly greater dietary source of iron than nonheme iron. Additionally, food items such as bran, wheat, soy and other cellulosic products, which seemingly have no influence on heme iron absorption, tend to appreciably inhibit nonheme iron absorption; thus, exposing vegetarians to a relatively greater risk of developing an iron deficiency.
In fact, as professed by the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, approximately 5%-35% of heme iron is absorbed from a single meal, whereas nonheme iron absorption from a single meal can range from approximately 2% to 20%, depending on the iron status of the individual and the ratio of enhancers and promoters in the diet. Accordingly, although heme iron constitutes only approximately 10% of dietary iron intake, heme iron may provide up to one-third of overall absorbed dietary iron. Consequently, inadequate consumption of foods high in heme iron content, especially during periods of increased iron demand (i.e., gestational and/or lactational periods), deprives the body of a considerable percentage of necessary dietary iron. Unfortunately, whether due to staunch dietary habits or beliefs, or the unavailability of certain foods due to prevailing socioeconomic and/or geographic conditions, the consumption of foods low or deficient in heme iron content, or the strict consumption of nonheme iron foods, will likely result in iron deficiency anemia.
Accordingly, as an alternative to radical dietary adjustment, iron supplements have traditionally offered a more subtle, therapeutic approach to the treatment of iron deficiency. However, the efficacy of supplement intervention (i.e., total effective iron absorption) is dependent upon a number of factors, the most of germane of which is the composition of the supplement and the total iron dosage.
That is, various iron supplements are typically prescribed in doses containing between 40 mg and 150 mg of elemental iron per day, wherein a higher dosage of iron results in greater overall absorption. However, a high dose of iron as a dietary supplement (or fortificant) is not without consequence. Indeed, many existing iron supplements cause distressing side effects, such as nausea, diarrhea, constipation and/or cramping; thus, resulting in patient non-compliance with the prescribed supplement regimen. Further, it has been strongly suggested that high single doses of iron may contribute to the elevated formation of highly reactive oxygen radicals and, thus, promote various pathogenic processes, such as cardiovascular disease.
Still other clinically-administered iron supplement preparations that contain iron salts, such as ferrous sulfate, (hydrated) ferrous gluconate, or ferrous fumarate, as the primary iron source, may actually provide less iron than otherwise expected. Specifically, although inconsequential to heme iron absorption, dietary supplementation with such ferrous salts effectively reduces nonheme iron absorption and, thus, offers a counter-intuitive approach to individuals whose already limited iron intakes are dependent upon a diet high in nonheme iron content (i.e., vegetarians, indigents, etc.).
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a need for a composition and method for treating iron deficiency anemia, wherein the composition accounts for dietary inconsistencies across the broad spectrum of patient demographic, and further reduces, if not eliminates, the side effects associated with traditional iron supplements; thereby, increasing overall patient compliance. Accordingly, the composition of the present invention proffers such results through the combination of heme iron and/or heme iron polypeptide with ionic irons (i.e., iron salts) and/or chelated irons, wherein the combination provides a synergistic effect that substantially reduces the prescribed iron dosage, yet significantly increases overall iron absorption. There is a further need for such a composition that offers additional vitamins and minerals in conjunction with the prescribed iron content.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Composition and method for treating iron deficiency anemia


A computer-implemented method includes writing, by a producer, data to one or more buffers. The one or more buffers include a plurality of cells and together form a circular buffer, and an input cursor indicates which cell of the plurality of cells the producer writes to. The method further includes reading, by a consumer, data from the one or more buffers, where an output cursor indicates which cell of the plurality of cells the consumer reads from. It is detected that the consumer is overrun by the producer. A throughput of the consumer is compared to a throughput of the producer, responsive to detecting that the consumer is overrun by the producer. The output cursor is synchronized to a new position, by a computer processor, where the new position is selected based on comparing the throughput of the consumer to the throughput of the producer.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to data production and consumption and, more specifically, to synchronizing a cursor based on consumer and producer throughputs.
In a data streaming environment, each producer acts as a source of data to be processed, while each consumer processes the data provided by producers. In some cases, there may be multiple producers and multiple consumers. Each producer or consumer can have a unique data input or output rate, and there will be instances where a consumer becomes overrun with data due to differences among these rates.
In this case, a decision must be made. The consumer will restart processing data either with the oldest available data or with the newest available data. With the first option, the system of production and consumption is placing a premium on the oldest data, risking that the consumer may again become overrun with input. With the second option, the system is placing a premium on the newest data, dropping all historical information in the window between when the consumer was overrun and the current time.

Synchronizing a cursor based on consumer and producer throughputs

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


An illumination system including a first laser light source, a diffusion sheet and a light integration rod is provided. The first laser light source is configured to generate a first laser beam. The diffusion sheet is located on a transmission path of the first laser beam. The light integration rod has a light entering surface and a light exiting surface. The diffusion sheet is located between the first laser light source and the light integration rod. The first laser beam from the diffusion sheet enters the light integration rod through the light entering surface and exits the light integration rod through the light exiting surface. The light integration rod is adapted to convert the first laser beam to an illumination beam. The area of the light entering surface is larger than the area of the light exiting surface. A projection apparatus is also provided.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an optical system and a display apparatus, and particularly relates to an illumination system and a projection apparatus.
Description of Related Art
In recent years, projection apparatuses using solid state light sources such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes are more and more popular on the market. Since laser diodes have a high light emitting efficiency, to break through the limitation of LED light sources, pure color light sources generated by exciting fluorescence and designed form projectors are developed. Besides, in addition to emitting light by exciting fluorescence using laser light sources, laser light may also be directly used as the illuminating light source of a projector in laser projection apparatuses. As laser light has the advantage of being able to adjust the number of light sources based on the brightness requirement, the brightness requirements of various projectors can thus be met. Therefore, the projector structure adopting a light source system using the laser light source has a high potential of replacing the conventional ultra high pressure mercury lamp and becoming the light source of the next-generation projectors.
The conventional laser projectors use a laser light source and make the laser light focus on a fluorescence layer to output fluorescent light with enough intensity. However, the light spot formed by using semiconductor laser is has a shape similar to an ellipse, and the light intensity distribution thereof is similar to a Gaussian distribution. On the other hand, the light spot of the light beam emitted by exciting the fluorescence using laser light is similar to a circular shape and the light intensity distribution thereof is similar to a Lambertian distribution. When the laser beam and the light beam generated by exciting the fluorescence are combined, the illumination is not uniform due to differences in the shapes of light spots and the light intensity distributions. Therefore, the color in an image frame projected by the laser projection apparatus is not uniform, either.
To solve this issue, it is common to dispose a Lambertian diffuser on the path of the laser beam and make the light beam converge on the Lambertian diffuser based on the requirement of a general optical structure. The Lambertian diffuser diffuses the laser beam, such that the shape and size of the light spot and the light intensity distribution of the laser beam become similar to those of the light beam emitted by exciting the fluorescence, so as to make the color of the image frame of the projection apparatus uniform. However, the Lambertian diffuser is very costly. Besides, since the light intensity per unit area at the center of the light spot formed by the laser beam having a light intensity distribution similar to the Gaussian distribution is higher, the energy density is high when the light beam directly converges on the Lambertian diffuser. Thus, there is a risk that the Lambertian diffuser may be burnt.
The information disclosed in the "Description of Related Art" section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Further, the information disclosed in the "Description of Related Art" section does not mean that one or more problems to be resolved by one or more embodiments of the invention were acknowledged by a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Illumination system and projection apparatus


An amplification device (100) comprises an amplifier circuit (110) and a limiter (120). The amplifier circuit (110) comprises a signal input (111) for an input signal to be amplified and a first signal output (112) for a first output signal. The limiter (120) comprises a differential amplifier (125) comprising a first differential amplifier input (129) for a threshold control signal, a second differential amplifier input (113) for a feedback signal, and a differential amplifier output (124) for a threshold signal indicative of a difference between the threshold control signal and the feedback signal. The limiter (120) also comprises a first diode (121) having a first anode (122) coupled to the first signal output (112) and a first cathode (123) coupled to the differential amplifier output (124), and a feedback stage (128) coupled between the differential amplifier output (124) and the second differential amplifier input (113). The feedback stage (128) is arranged to generate the feedback signal dependent on the threshold signal.

Radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) include increasing amounts of digital processing which, because radio frequency (RF) spectrum is a scarce resource, are required to operate in higher and higher frequency bands. For example, recently, frequency bands in the range 3 to 6 GHz are being deployed for the third generation partnership project (3GPP). In addition, target power consumption is continually being reduced. In response to these factors, RFICs are being implemented in deep complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) nodes using, for example, 28 nm technology.
Using deep CMOS nodes for RF design generates some problems due to the limited voltage handling of the transistors. One particular difficulty is low noise amplifier (LNA) design. Fast transistors are required in order to obtain low noise and high bandwidth in the LNA, and a high gain is required to suppress the noise of circuits following the LNA. Commonly, a resonator load is used at the LNA output, to enable high voltage gain and high output signal swing.
An increasing requirement is for multi-standard RFICs, particularly for mobile phones that support dual-call and/or WiFi. A User Equipment (UE) supporting multiple simultaneous 3GPP systems and/or WiFi might generate significant interference to its own receivers due to crosstalk between antennas. To reduce cost, it is desirable to minimise the filtering of signals at the input of a receiver, but this can lead to crosstalk that may cause high signal levels inside LNAs and damage them.
A particularly challenging scenario is a small cell base station deployed indoors. In this scenario, some UEs may be connected to an indoor system while other UEs are connected to an outdoor system, for example using an operator not available indoors, with all UEs potentially operating in the same frequency band. A UE connected to the outdoor system will transmit at a much higher output power than those connected to the indoor system, in order to be able to reach the outdoor base stations. This could cause high levels of interference in the LNAs of the indoor base station, sufficient to damage them. A UE connected to the outdoor system may act as a blocker to the indoor system and degrade all communication in that frequency band.
Another challenging scenario relates to beam forming radios, where preferably no filters are used before the LNA as a high number of antennas may be employed, for example in the order of a hundred. In this case high power out-of-band signals may enter the LNA and damage it.
There is a requirement for improvements in amplification.

Amplification device incorporating limiting


Method and apparatus for determining the colloid size of particles in a colloidal solution include the use of a wedge-shaped container for a sample of the colloidal solution. The container is moved in the direction of the wedge shape perpendicular to the path of a light beam to produce a measured sample thickness of the colloidal solution. Due to the Tyndall effect, the measured sample thickness is a function of the scattering of the light beam. A lens arranged between the sample holder and a dispersion prism directs the beam of light emerging from the sample holder to the prism for dispersion and impingement upon an image screen. The sample holder is moved until only red light appears on the image screen. The thickness of the light path through the sample is measured and the particle size is computed according to an equation.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for optical determination of the particle size of a colloidal solution, especially dispersions of synthetic resins, wherein the invention utilizes the scattering of a light beam by the Tyndall effect upon passing through a sample of the colloidal solution.
Various methods are known in the art for determining the size of the particles in a synthetic resin dispersion. One known method is based on a statistical evaluation of photographs produced by the use of an electron microscope. In other known methods, the size of particles in a colloidal dispersion is determined from the dependent angle and/or the wavelength of the scattered light within the collidal dispersion. It is also known in the art to evaluate the radius of a particle in a colloidal dispersion by the statistical evaluation of the Brownian movement of molecules as a function of the radius of the particle. It is a further known practice to use turbidity measurements for determining the particle size in the colloidal dispersion. The results obtainable from turbidity measurements are too inaccurate. Other known measurement procedures have the disadvantage that disproportionately large amounts of equipment and operating time are required to carry out the measurements.
In general, dispersions occur in polydispersed form and the mean particle size is of primary interest. In addition, the particle size distribution is, in many cases, of interest. In recent years, manufacturers and particularly processors, have shown great interest in a rapid determination of the particle sizes of synthetic resin dispersion. That is because knowledge of the particle size provides a basis for conclusions as to the properties of the end product, e.g., a resulting layer of paint. On the other hand, manufacturers of dispersions of plastics have an immediate capability, through suitable procedures and additions, for obtaining desired particle sizes and particle size distributions in a dispersion. In this way, during the production of such dispersions, it is possible to meet the necessary stipulations for obtaining the desired properties in the end product. In the past, a measuring process used for these and other purposes lacked the ability to determine the particle size of synthetic resin dispersion with sufficient speed and accuracy. The present invention is addressed to providing a solution to the shortcomings of known measuring processes and apparatus.

Optical process and apparatus for determining particle size of colloidal solution


A hack sawing machine is disclosed, which comprises a base, a case, a shaft rotated by a motor, a saw blade bow guided in a sliding movement in the case, a drum cam which causes the blade to have an active forward stroke and a passive return stroke, a two-armed lever (bracket), eleastic means which, rotating the case, bring the blade back into the cut after the passive stroke and a hydraulic system. This system comprises a hydraulic cylinder, a hydraulic circuit having a hydraulic pump to pump oil to the cylinder. The hydraulic circuit acts to maintain a predetermined pressure of the saw blade bow on the workpiece during the active stroke and camming means cause the bow to be raised during the passive stroke.

This invention relates to a hack sawing machine, particularly for cross cutting cylindrical metal stock.
Known are currently several types of hack sawing machines for cutting metal stock. Such sawing machines comprise in general a base or stand, which is provided with means for clamping the material to be cut thereon, to said base or stand there being hinged a saw blade bow which is reciprocated by an electric motor through a connecting rod drive. At its cutting stroke limit, the saw blade is automatically raised and caused to complete its return stroke. The pressure of the blade on the material being cut comes generally from the weight of the saw bow itself.
Such known types of hack sawing machines generally operate at low speeds, due to the time lost to the passive return stroke of the saw bow. Moreover, owing to the connecting rod drive system, the saw blade speed varies sinusoidally, thus producing an uneven cutting action.
Another drawback, frequently encountered with such conventional hack sawing machines is that it is impossible to adjust the cutting pressure in accordance with the material to be sawn.


A wall first portion of an article is provided with reduced tensile stress, of an amount less than that which can result in cracking of the wall, with an elongated opening through the wall first portion. The opening separates areas of a wall first portion and extends generally toward a wall second portion under a lower or different stress.

This invention relates to an article including a member that, during operation, includes a portion subject to tensile stress of an amount that can result in cracking of the member. More particularly, the invention relates to a turbine engine component including a wall having a portion subject to low cycle fatigue (LCF) cracking from tensile stress during operation.
Gas turbine engines generally include nozzles, for example turbine nozzles, including a plurality of spaced-apart stationary airfoil shaped vanes supported between generally circumferentially disposed band type members, sometimes referred to as shrouds or shroud segments. One example of such a structure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,694--Toborg et al. (patented Sep. 6, 1994). An inner surface of such a band or shroud segment is exposed to the flow of fluid under pressure, for example pressurized gas including air and products of combustion. Efficiency of the engine is based, in part, on the avoidance of leakage of such pressurized fluid out of the fluid stream.
In some gas turbine engine designs, it has been observed that certain portions of such a band, particularly on the flowpath side of a turbine nozzle vane or vane segment, during operation are under a relatively high amount of tensile type of stress. During cyclic operation of the engine, such tensile stress results from a cyclic type of bending of the band, sometimes referred to as chording. For example, such high tensile stress portions have been observed in the band in the vicinity of vane leading edges, trailing edges, or both. The relatively high amount of tensile stress can be sufficiently high to result, during operation, in the formation of a LCF crack in the band. At the same time, other, adjacent portions of the same band are in compression or under a tensile stress in an amount less than that which would result in LCF cracking. The LCF crack in the band extends from the high tensile stress portion of the band generally toward, and stops at, the band portion under compressive stress or lower tensile stress.
It has been a practice to repair such cracks by methods including one or a combination of welding, diffusion bonding (some forms of which are referred to as Activated Diffusion Healing), brazing, etc. However, such repair methods can be relatively temporary as well as time consuming and expensive. Sometimes attempts to repair such a crack in a component are unsuccessful, resulting in scrapping of the component. Preparation of new components to avoid such cracking as well as a crack repair of operated components, resulting in a restructured article and that extends the operating life of an article requiring less frequent repair, is highly desirable.

Method for making an article portion subject to tensile stress and stress relieved article


A new interferometry configuration combines the strengths of two existing interferometry methods, improving the quality and extending the dynamic range of both. On the same patterned mask, placed near the image-plane of an optical system under test, patterns for phase-shifting point diffraction interferometry and lateral shearing interferometry coexist. The former giving verifiable high accuracy for the measurement of nearly diffraction-limited optical systems. The latter enabling the measurement of optical systems with more than one wave of aberration in the system wavefront. The interferometry configuration is a hybrid shearing and point diffraction interferometer system for testing an optical element that is positioned along an optical path including: a source of electromagnetic energy in the optical path; a first beam splitter that is secured to a device that includes means for maneuvering the first beam splitter in a first position wherein the first beam splitter is in the optical path dividing light from the source into a reference beam and a test beam and in a second position wherein the first beam splitter is outside the optical path: a hybrid mask which includes a first section that defines a test window and at least one reference pinhole and a second section that defines a second beam splitter wherein the hybrid mask is secured to a device that includes means for maneuvering either the first section or the second section into the optical path positioned in an image plane that is created by the optical element, with the proviso that the first section of the hybrid mask is positioned in the optical path when first beam splitter is positioned in the optical path; and a detector positioned after the hybrid mask along the optical path.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for measuring optical systems offering both high dynamic range and verifiable high-accuracy.
2. State of the Art
Optical metrology is the study of optical measurements. An area of optical metrology relevant to the present invention is the use of an interferometer to measure the quality of an optical system, such as a mirror or a lens.
One important recent application of optical metrology is the testing of projection optics for photolithography systems. Modern photolithography systems used to fabricate integrated circuits must continually image smaller features. To do so, systems are confronted with the diffraction limit of the light employed to image a pattern provided in a reticle. To meet this challenge, photolithographic systems must employ successively shorter wavelengths. Over the history of integrated circuit fabrication technology, photolithography systems have moved from visible to ultraviolet and may eventually move to x-ray radiation.
Because of the increasing difficulties posed by directly imaging a reticle pattern onto a wafer, it is desirable to use projection optics in lithography systems. Such systems include lenses or other optical elements that reduce the reticle images and project them onto the wafer surface. This allows reticles to retain larger feature sizes, thus reducing the expense of generating the reticle itself.
As with all optical imaging systems, various aberrations such as spherical aberration, astigmatism, and coma may be present. These aberrations must be identified during the fabrication and/or testing of the projection optics, or the projection optics would introduce substantial blurring in the image projected onto the wafer.
In order to test the projection optics for various aberrations, interferometers may be employed. Conventional interferometers, based upon the Michelson design for example, employ a single coherent light source (at an object plane) which is split into a test wave and a reference wave. The test wave passes through the optic under test and the reference wave avoids that optic. The test and reference waves are recombined to generate an interference pattern or interferogram. Analysis of the interferogram and the resultant wavefront can reveal the presence of aberrations.
The reference wave of the interferometer should be xe2x80x9cperfectxe2x80x9d; that is, it should be simple and well characterized, such as a plane or spherical wave. Unfortunately, beam splitters and other optics through which the reference beam passes introduce some deviations from perfection. Thus, the interferogram never solely represents the condition of the test optic. It always contains some artifacts from the optical system through which the reference wave passes. While these artifacts, in theory, can be separated from the measured aberrations, it is usually impossible to know that a subtraction produces a truly clean result.
To address this problem, xe2x80x9cpoint diffraction interferometersxe2x80x9d have been developed. An example of a point diffraction interferometer is the phase-shifting point diffraction interferometer (PS/PDI) described in the article H. Medecki et al., xe2x80x9cPhase-Shifting Point Diffraction Interferometerxe2x80x9d, Optics Letters, 21(19), 1526-28 (1996), and in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,217 xe2x80x9cPhase-Shifting Point Diffraction Interferometerxe2x80x9d, Inventor Hector Medecki, which are both incorporated herein by reference. Referring to FIG. 3, in this prior art phase-shifting point diffraction interferometer 2 a focused illumination source 4 is spatially filtered using a pinhole 6 placed in the object plane of the optical system 8 (hereafter called optic) under test. The pinhole diffracts a spherical illuminating wavefront that is focused in the image-plane of the test optic. A coarse grating beamsplitter 10 (e.g. a transmission grating) placed either before or following the test optic divides the beam into multiple overlapping diffraction orders. The series of diffracted orders each containing the aberrations of the optical system, are focused in the vicinity of the image-plane with a small lateral separation. The separation is determined by the wavelength, and the grating""s pitch and position. A patterned opaque and transparent mask, called the PS/PDI mask 12, is placed in the image-plane where it allows only two of the orders to be transmitted. One of those beams, called the test beam, is selected to pass through a relatively large window and propagate on to reach a detector 14 placed significantly beyond the image plane. A second beam, called the reference beam, is spatially filtered by a pinhole, called the reference pinhole, in the PS/PDI mask. Via pinhole diffraction, the spatially filtered reference beam, becomes a spherical reference. The reference beam combines with the unfiltered test beam creating a pattern of light and dark fringes (an interferogram) that reveals the aberrations in the test optic. Although the PS/PDI has been proven to have high-accuracy, broad applicability of the device is severely limited by its small dynamic range.
In contrast to the PS/PDI, lateral shearing interferometry (LSI) is a well-known and reliable method of optics testing that is characterized by a larger dynamic range. The LSI 20 shown in FIG. 4 requires one less optical component than the PS/PDI but operates in nearly the same geometry. An incident focused beam 24 is spatially filtered in the object plane by a pinhole in object mask 26, thus illuminating the test optic 28 with a spherical wave. A grating beamsplitter 30 is placed near the image-plane, where the illuminating beam is focused. The diffracted orders propagate unfiltered to the detector where they overlap. While the central zeroth-order propagates to the detector in the same manner as it would if the grating were not present, the diffracted orders propagate with an angular shear, leading to a (typically) small lateral displacement at the detector 34. In this way, the test beam is compared with multiple sheared copies of itself. Analysis of the resultant interference pattern reveals an approximation to the gradient of the test wavefront, or the derivative in the direction of the shear. The original wavefront can be recovered by combining gradients from two (or more) directions. While the LSI has simplified geometry and operation relative to the PS/PDI, analysis of the PS/PDI data is more straightforward.
One primary difficulty encountered in the operation of the PS/PDI is alignment. For EUV optical systems with resolution on the order of 100 nm, the alignment of the focused beam onto the similarly sized reference pinhole poses a significant challenge. The alignment can be judged based on the visibility or contrast of the observed interference pattern: peak contrast indicates optimal alignment and will yield maximum signal-to-noise ratio in the measurement. With the test beam passing through a relatively large window (compared to the size of the focused beam), the fine alignment mainly affects the reference beam; its intensity rises and falls as its position on the reference pinhole changes.
For a similar reason, the quality (aberration magnitude) of the test optic also affects the achievable fringe contrast. When aberrations limit an optics ability to form a small focused beam, the light intensity transmitted through the reference pinhole suffers. With only about one-wave of rms aberration magnitude (wavefront error), the focused intensity can drop low enough to make interferogram analysis very difficult if not impossible. Furthermore, the alignment becomes significantly more difficult to perform. In this way, we say the dynamic range of the PS/PDI is limited. Its useful measurement range includes only optical systems in nearly perfect alignment.
In contrast to the PS/PDI, operation of the LSI has more relaxed alignment and dynamic range requirements. A large transmission grating is placed near the image plane of the test optic. In typical operation the grating is placed far enough from focus that many (10 to 100) grating lines are illuminated. In this configuration, there is no critical lateral alignment. Nor does the measurement suffer if the test optic has more than one wave of rms aberration magnitude.
In the LSI, the lateral alignment is not critical because the grating can be very large and because it is a periodic structure. Therefore, moving it laterally by one period has no effect on the recorded image. However, there is a restriction on the longitudinal position: this restriction is dictated by what are known as the Talbot planes of the grating. The source must be placed close to or in a Talbot plane of the grating. These planes are evenly spaced and are separated by a distance d2/xcex where d is the grating pitch (or period) and xcex is the wavelength of the light. The dynamic range of the LSI is significantly larger than that of the PS/PDI. The factors that most significantly limit the dynamic range of the shearing interferometer are a restriction on the wavefront curvature, which is similar to the Talbot condition, and a restriction on the maximum fringe density (and with it a restriction on the maximum wavefront departure from sphericity) that the CCD detector can resolve. (If there are too many fringes, or the fringe density is too high, the limited number of pixels available will not be able to resolve them.)
Data analysis in lateral shearing interferometry requires that the original wavefront be reconstructed from more than one sheared wavefront measurement. Because the shearing measurement, using a conventional one-dimensional grating, yields the slope of the wavefront in only one direction, more than one slope measurement (recorded with more than one grating orientation) is required to unambiguously reconstruct the original wavefront. Using a two-dimensional grating pattern enables two directions of wavefront shear to be recorded at once. Use of a two-dimensional grating also reduces measurement uncertainties caused by unknown longitudinal position changes between measurements performed with different gratings. For these reasons the two-dimensional grating is advantageous for LSI measurements. Phase-shifting is provided by moving the grating at an angle relative to the rulings of the grating. Phase-shifting improves the efficiency and accuracy of the system.
The difficult and unavoidable task of optical system alignment involves reducing the aberrations in an assembled optical system by adjusting the free mechanical parameters. Feedback is usually provided by some means of wavefront-measuring interferometry. In such circumstances, an essential requirement of the interferometry method or tool is that it have both high dynamic range (the ability to measure the system during early or initial phase of alignment when the aberrations are large) and high accuracy, which ensures meaningful results. At present, there is no single technique that offers both high dynamic range and verifiable high-accuracy for the measurement of EUV optical systems.
The present invention is based in part on the recognition that lateral shearing interferometry can be incorporated in conjunction with the PD/PDI to achieve both large dynamic range and high-accuracy. The accuracy of the PS/PDI can be measured in situ, and systematic errors can be identified. This improves the accuracy of concomitant shearing measurements. This combination of the strengths of two methods is well-suited, but not limited, to the measurement of optical systems designed for the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral regions (near 13-nm wavelength), where high-accuracy measurement tools with large dynamic range do not yet exist.
In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a hybrid shearing and point diffraction interferometer system for testing an optical element that is positioned along an optical path which includes:
a source of electromagnetic energy in the optical path;
a first beam splitter that is secured to a device that includes means for maneuvering the first beam splitter in a first position wherein the first beam splitter is in the optical path for dividing light from the source into a reference beam and a test beam and in a second position wherein the first beam splitter is outside the optical path;
a hybrid mask which includes a first section that defines a test window and at least one reference pinhole and a second section that defines a second beam splitter wherein the hybrid mask is secured to a device that includes means for maneuvering either the first section or the second section into the optical path positioned in an image plane that is created by the optical element; and
a detector positioned after the hybrid mask along the optical path. The system is preferably configured so that the first section of the hybrid mask is positioned in the optical path when the first beam splitter is positioned in the optical path.
In operation, before or after an optical element to be tested is positioned in place in the hybrid device, the hybrid device is configured to perform lateral shearing interferometry by maneuvering the first beam splitter out of the optical path and maneuvering the first section of the hybrid mask into the optical path. Following lateral shearing interferometry, the hybrid device is reconfigured by maneuvering the first beam splitter into the optical path and maneuvering the second section of the hybrid mask comprising the second beam splitter into the optical path. Thereafter, phase-shifting point diffraction interferometry is performed.

Hybrid shearing and phase-shifting point diffraction interferometer