The present invention provides the identification and use of EGTom1 and/or EGTom2, homologs of EGTom1 and/or EGTom2, orthologs of EGTom1 and/or EGTom2, paralogs of EGTom1 and/or EGTom2, and fragments and variations thereof for altering salt tolerance, drought tolerance and/or sugar content of fruit (sweetness) in plants. The invention relates to the identification and use of nucleic acid sequences for salt/drought tolerance and fruit sweetness in plants.

A major problem of the 21st century will be sufficient food and feed for a growing global population. At the current world population growth rate of about 80 million people per year, food production must increase 20% in developed countries and 60% in developing countries to just keep pace with current food consumption. The rapidly increasing GDPs of China and India are raising the standard of living such that current food consumption levels will become unacceptable to more people and food production will have to be further increased.
Some estimate that 90% of the world's arable land is already cultivated (not counting forests and unsuitable areas), although food yields from agriculture in Africa are far below European, U.S. and even Chinese yields and some arable African land is under exploited. However, about 24 million acres of arable land are abandoned each year due to salinization and other physical/chemical degradations. Food production could be increased if crop productivities can be maintained in spite of land salinization and aridity.
The identification and use of salt/drought tolerance and fruit sweetness are important to plant husbandry and crop production, particularly for commercial crop production in agronomy and horticulture.
Past researchers have used salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive plant models in attempts to find salt and drought tolerance genes. For example, expression profiling studies have identified hundreds of genes that are regulated differently in salt-tolerant vs. salt-sensitive plant species and almost 100 of these genes have been cloned into salt-sensitive model plants and shown to increase salt tolerance. However, to date, none of these efforts have led to the ability to develop salt-tolerant cultivated plant species.
Fruit sugar content is a trait of interest to tomato breeders. Fruit sugar contributes to flavor, so is commercially valuable. Fruit sugar content is three times higher in the Galapagos tomato than the cultivated tomato (Balibrea et al., 2006). This trait has been shown to vary in other wild tomato species as well (Fridman el al., 2000). A single QTL accounts for most of the variation in this trait between cultivated tomato and S. pennellii (Fridman et al., 2000), suggesting that a single gene may explain a substantial part of differences in fruit sugar content.
The present invention provides for the identification, characterization and use of tomato genes that control salinity tolerance, drought tolerance and fruit sugar content (i.e., fruit sweetness).

Identification and use of tomato genes controlling salt/drought tolerance and fruit sweetness


A method of making a slitted or particulate absorbent material for an absorbent article such as sanitary napkins, diapers, incontinence devices, and the like. The method can be carried out in situ on another component of the absorbent article in a manufacturing process without cutting the other component. In one embodiment, the absorbent material is placed between two canier webs, and a force is applied to the composite of the absorbent material and the carrier webs. The force breaks the absorbent material, but only deforms the carrier webs to provide a self-contained web of particulate material between two carrier webs.

Absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, pantiliners, disposable diapers, incontinence products, and bandages are designed to absorb and retain liquid and other discharges from the human body and to prevent body and clothing soiling. Absorbent articles typically comprise a liquid pervious topsheet, a liquid impervious backsheet, and an absorbent core positioned between the topsheet and backsheet. The absorbent core of absorbent articles currently in use can comprise a variety of different types of absorbent materials, including comminuted wood pulp, commonly known as airfelt, creped cellulose wadding; meltblown polymers including conform; chemically stiffened, modified or cross-linked cellulosic fibers; synthetic fibers such as crimped polyester fibers; peat moss; tissue including tissue wraps and tissue laminates; absorbent foams; absorbent sponges; super absorbent polymers; absorbent gelling materials; or any equivalent material or combinations of materials, or mixtures of these.
In some cases, it has been proposed to slit absorbent material for various purposes. Various methods of slitting materials for different purposes and slit articles are described in the patent literature. European Patent Application 0 234 194 published on Sep. 2, 1987, discloses a method and apparatus for providing sanitary goods with attachment means for attaching to under-clothing which involves slitting a soft and elastic plastic foam sheet. European Patent Specification 0 293 208 B1 discloses forming fluid absorptive material for a catamenial napkin or disposable diaper from a laminate of compressed cellulose-based sponge sheets that have slits provided therein. U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,316 issued to LaVon, et al. discloses absorbent members made of absorbent foam materials that remain relatively thin until wetted which are provided with slitted regions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,790 issued to Osborn, et al. discloses extensible absorbent articles which can have an absorbent core that is provided with slits therein.
Known methods of slitting, however, are typically impression related. In such methods, the slitting is done by placing the material to be slit between a sharp cutting blade and a hard backing surface, and cutting the material against the backing surface by applying pressure against the backing surface.
Impression related slitting methods suffer from several drawbacks. The cutting blade will have a high tendency to wear out, particularly if there is metal-to metal contact between the cutting blade and the backing surface. In addition, with impression related slitting, it is difficult to create narrow strips of slit material (for example, less than 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) wide strips of material) due to the difficulty in arranging the cutting blades sufficiently close together to create such narrow strips. Another disadvantage is that there are limitations to the location of the slitting operation in the process of making an absorbent article. It is generally difficult to slit a web of material after it is combined with another web of material without slitting both materials. While it is possible to slit only one web of such a combined web, great care has to be taken in setting the distance between the cutting blade and the backing surface so that only one of the webs is slit.
It has also been proposed to use particulate absorbent material in absorbent articles. However, the only known methods for providing a particulate absorbent material for an absorbent core involve a step of chopping the absorbent material to form particulate absorbent material, then transferring the chopped absorbent material to a delivery system for delivering the absorbent material to the absorbent core, providing a suitable receptacle to contain the particulate absorbent material, and delivering the chopped absorbent material to the receptacle.
Often, the delivery system for providing particulate absorbent material will involve mixing the particulate material in a stream of air and using the air to blow the particulate material into the receptacle for the absorbent material. This will generally require that the receptacle be closed on all sides to prevent the particles from being blown outside the receptacle. It will also require that the quantity of the absorbent material particles delivered to the absorbent article be controlled (or "metered").
These known methods for providing particulate absorbent material suffer from numerous drawbacks. They involve a substantial number of steps. They require the use of a delivery system, which typically must be a closed system so that the particles can be mixed in a stream of air. They require a supply of compressed air, and a closed receptacle to receive the particulate material.
Thus, a need exists for an improved method of making and providing a slitted or particulate absorbent material for absorbent articles.

Method of making a slitted or particulate absorbent material


Biphase or FM encoding is combined with Flash modulation in infrared (IR) communication. By shrinking the coded pulse width in the modulation process, power dissipation is effectively reduced to the point where FM encoding can be advantageously adapted to IR communication in a synchronous communication system. Noise filtering is also described.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to modulating digital communications and more particularly to using Biphase or FM encoding to modulate infrared communications.
2. Problem to be Solved
An important consideration in infrared (IR) communication is that the Infrared Data Access (IRDA) standard modulation scheme is heavily dependent on the data pattern being modulated. It is therefore not suitable for synchronous communication which requires that the received signal always include enough information to derive the bit rate clock and which benefits from a fairly constant DC signal level. In comparison to the IRDA standard, pulse position modulation (PPM) is quite adequate for infrared communication with respect to the power dissipation and data independent DC level shift. Hence, quite often the technique of pulse position modulation, e.g., four position PPM, is adopted for infrared communication because it requires few pulses to send a given amount of data while it maintains a constant DC level, independent of the data pattern being sent.
Offsetting these advantages, is the fact that PPM suffers a number of disadvantages as a larger number of positions are used. One disadvantage is that an analog phase lock loop becomes a mandatory requirement to track the incoming data. Consequently, the cost of the whole system is increased. A second disadvantage is that the DC level of a PPM signal with a large number of bit positions may not be as constant as desired. On the other hand, PPM also suffers a number of disadvantages as fewer bit positions are used. One such disadvantage is that the power dissipation increases with fewer bit positions. Further, PPM may not keep as constant a DC level as Biphase or FM coding schemes, even when only a few bit positions are used. Therefore, PPM encoding can be problematical with regard to synchronous communication in view of its DC level instability.
Biphase or FM encoding, involving biphase mark (FM1) and biphase space (FM0) encoding, and including a Manchester version, is a common modulation scheme in digital communication. The benefits of this encoding include the fact that the bit rate clock is carried as a part of the modulation and that it has a constant DC level which provides a balanced analog signal making it suitable for synchronous communication. However, in adapting it to infrared communication, this type of modulation is quite expensive in power dissipation in transmitting the signal. Nevertheless, it does have several attractive features. In addition to maintaining a constant DC level independent of the data pattern being transmitted, it also maintains the carrier frequency in a tight bandwidth. In comparison to PPM, the Biphase encoding scheme maintains a better constant DC level than four position PPM and it carries the bitrate clock as part of the encoded data while maintaining similar average power dissipation as four position PPM. Still, it is a drawback that Biphase or FM encoding typically consumes more power during transmission of an IR signal as compared to the IRDA and PPM modulation schemes. This excessive power consumption requirement during transmission of FM coding patterns via IR signal is the biggest concern regarding FM coding of infrared communications.
It accordingly is a problem in the art to find an infrared encoding or modulation system that is optimum in terms of power efficency while it maintains the constant DC level and clock information carrying traits of Biphase encoding.
Objects
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an efficient system and encoding method for use in infrared communication that also offers versatility.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an efficient system and encoding method using Biphase encoding in infrared communication.
It is another object of the invention to resolve the problems of the prior art by combining Biphase encoding with flash modulation in infrared communication.

International Business Machines Corporation


A rear structure of a car body includes: a rear pillar extending vertically at the rear part of the car body; a member extending from a vertically middle position of the rear pillar to the front side of the car body; a rear wheel housing disposed at a lower side of the member; and a stiffener having a lower end coupled to the rear wheel housing and an upper end coupled to the member. At least in a rear part of the member to which the upper end of the stiffener is coupled, a rear lower end of the rear part is sloped so that the rear lower end can be higher than a front lower end of the rear part.

As a rear structure of a vehicle body of this kind, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses, as shown in FIG. 8, a rear structure of a vehicle body wherein the front end portion 1a of a retractor attaching reinforce 1 extending along the front/rear direction of a vehicle is joined with a C pillar reinforce 2, and the rear end portion 1b of the retractor attaching reinforce 1 is arranged on the upper side of the rear portion of a wheel house extension 3.
Regarding this rear structure of a vehicle body disclosed by Patent Document 1, it is described that the rear end portion 1c of the retractor attaching reinforce 1 is arranged on an extension line L from the linear portion of the rear end edge portion 3a of the wheel house extension 3 so as to increase the support stiffness of the retractor attaching portion, and the stiffness of the entire rear portion of the vehicle body can thereby be improved.


The present invention relates to a high pressure cleaning device having suds cleaning efficacy comprising a control body, containing a Venturi tube seat at the interior thereof, connected to the output of a pump, one side of the body being an inlet for the feeding of detergent and the other side being connected to a high pressurized air output pipe such that the water stream and the detergent are mixed and formed into suds flowing out from an water outlet of the body to the outside for cleaning purpose, characterized in that a bending opening is provided to the middle section of the of the body connected to the inlet and outlet water passage, and the opening edge of the bending opening, corresponding to the lateral side of the body, a pressure-adjusting device is provided and a plug shaft is inserted at the bending opening and in combination with the conic shape end of the shaft body and a press board mounted at the bottom end of the plug shaft to resist the pressure change of the pressure within the interior of the body, such that the press board is slidably moved within the air chamber of the body, the board moved to one lateral side will simultaneously pull the plug shaft to close the opening edge of the bending opening, thereby the water inlet or outlet is automatically closed at an appropriate time so as to ensure the stability of pressure within the body.

a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high pressure cleaning device with suds cleaning efficacy, and in particular, a cleaning device having a body provided with a bending water passage and with a pressure balancing design so as to stabilize the pressure at the interior of the body.
b) Description of the Prior Art
FIGS. 5 and 6 show a conventional cleaning device with a control body comprising two connection pipes 31 in combination with a Venturi tube seat 32 forming into a control body 30. One end of the body 30 is an inlet for water stream, and the other end is a water outlet connection for the output of cleaning water stream after mixing. The entire mixing of detergent is that the increasing pressure of the Venturi tube seat 32 to suck out the detergent together with the water stream from the pump, after that, via the storage tank 33 to reduce the speed of flow so that sufficient mixing with water is achieved. The mixed fluid passes to the pipe connector 34, connected to high pressurized air, located at one side of the storage tank 33 so as to produce suds for cleaning requirements. There is no control device to assist the opening and closing of the cleaning operation, and for a safety precaution, a low pressure pump of below 40 kg/cm is used. However, if the water outlet is closed or interrupted, water recycling will cause a pressure increase at the interior of the body 30. Thus, there are problems such as the safety of the output pipe, and the water will reverse flow to the detergent or the air pipe, which causes the detergent to deform or to block the air pipe. As a result, in operation, the pump can only be used at a low pressure and the procedures of pump operation have to be in standard sequences. That is, the output of the pump has to be closed first, then the opening at the end of the cleaning pipe is closed. This causes a waste of water stream, detergent and the high pressurized air so as to maintain the safe utilization of pipes.
Thus, it is a main object of the present invention to mitigate the drawbacks of the conventional design.

High pressure cleaning device having suds cleaning efficacy


An image forming apparatus includes a process unit configured to form a toner image on a sheet, a fuser configured to heat the sheet passed through the process unit thereby fixing the toner image onto the sheet, a re-conveyor configured to convey the sheet passed through the fuser to the process unit, and a controller configured to perform particular duplex printing including controlling, when a temperature of the fuser is a first temperature, the re-conveyor to convey the sheet passed through the fuser to the process unit in a first period of time, and controlling, when the temperature of the fuser is a second temperature higher than the first temperature, the re-conveyor to convey the sheet passed through the fuser to the process unit in a second period of time longer than the first period of time.

Technical Field
The following description relates to aspects of an image forming apparatus, and a method and a computer-readable medium for controlling the image forming apparatus.
Related Art
An image forming apparatus has been known that includes a process unit, a fuser, and a re-conveyor and is configured to perform duplex printing. In the image forming apparatus, the process unit forms a toner image on a first side of a sheet being conveyed, and the fuser thermally fixes the toner image onto the first side of the sheet. The re-conveyor again conveys the sheet passed through the fuser to the process unit, with the sheet being turned upside down. The process unit forms a toner image on a second side of the sheet re-conveyed, and the fuser thermally fixes the toner image onto the second side of the sheet. Thus, an image is formed on each side of the sheet.
In the known image forming apparatus, the sheet heated by the fuser is re-conveyed to the process unit by the re-conveyor. Therefore, for instance, when an ambient temperature of the process unit rises, it might result in a lower quality of image. In order to solve the problem, an image forming apparatus has been proposed that is configured to cool a sheet being re-conveyed by a re-conveyor with an air current flowing through an air guide formed at the re-conveyor.

Image forming apparatus, and method and computer-readable medium for the same


Provided is a semiconductor device which increases a concentration around an emitter by arranging a lightly doped region (HNMLDD). When the semiconductor device is operated in a forward bias, a maximum common-emitter current gain is obtained in a forward-active region, such that signals are amplified and an unnecessary noise is decreased at the same time. Further, the semiconductor device of the invention further includes a field plate disposed on a substrate between the emitter and a base or/and the collector and the base, and configured to change a potential distribution of junctions between each of doped regions and raise a breakdown voltage of the junctions.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a semiconductor and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A transistor is a solid state semiconductor device advantageous in small size, high efficiency, long lifetime and high speed. In recent years, with advancement in technologies, the transistor is now capable of enduring high voltage and high power, and becoming an important role in a high power device.
A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) refers to a transistor composed of two PN junctions formed by utilizing three different doped regions. The BJT is a device having three terminals including an emitter (E), a base (B) and a collector (C). The BJT is capable of amplifying signals, and providing more preferable power control, high speed operation and endurance capacity. Thus, the BJT is widely used by circuits with current control requirements in fields including a switch device controlling a DC power load, an analog signal amplifier, a 3D bipolar simulation, a NPN element, and an AC frequency response. The BJT is also an important device in an ultra high speed discrete logic circuit including applications such as an emitter coupled logic (ECL), a power switching device, and a microwave power amplifier. How to amplify the signal, reduce noises while maintaining a high breakdown voltage is one of the issues to be solved in applications of amplifiers.

Semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same


An amorphous partially crystallizable alkaline earth zinc silicate glass containing ZrO.sub.2 and optionally small amounts of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, HfO.sub.2, P.sub.2 O.sub.5 and TiO.sub.2.

Dielectric materials have traditionally been used for insulating conductor patterns on ceramic substrates. The principal properties required for many such applications have been the electrical properties such as insulation resistance and dissipation factor of the dielectric, as measured with the conductor of choice. Many dielectric materials in use for many years have been non-hermetic type dielectrics; that is, they may contain a significant micro-porosity while meeting all other needs for making crossover and low-layer count multilayers. Typically the choice of thick film conductor (Ag, Cu, Ni or Au) dictated the level of reliability that the circuit may possess due to the tendency of the conductor to migrate and short circuit when exposed to humidity and electric field in use. Noble metals like gold are the most reliable, while base metals like silver are the least reliable. The cost was approximately proportional to the need for reliability.
The trend of the electronic industry has been toward higher circuit (closer conductor lines) and higher reliability requirements, while at the same time intense pressure for lower costs of manufacture has driven the circuit manufacturer to consider the use of less costly metals such as silver and copper. The industry has been moving toward the use of multilayer circuits. The use of double sided boards with crossovers and finer conductor line geometries, however, has been the first stage in this trend.
To permit the manufacture of reliable circuits, utilizing base metal conductors, dielectric materials which resist migration of conductive materials on the surface or through the bulk of the dielectric are necessary. Since moisture plays a large role in the migration of conductive phases, hermetic dielectric materials are essential. Once the conductor line is sealed between layers of hermetic dielectric, conductor migration ceases to be a serious reliability risk.
In addition, however, to the requirements for sealed conductor structures, the thermal expansion of the dielectric must be carefully matched to the substrate material. The dielectric must also be capable of undergoing multiple reheat cycles to the firing temperature (usually 850.degree. C.) without continued migration of the conductive flux through the dielectric. In complex circuits, a large number of refires are frequently necessary. Large numbers of refires and the necessity to reduce cost have made the possiblity of co-firing pairs of layers in a multilayer circuit quite desirable.
Most multilayer dielectrics are mixtures of glass and refractory ceramic oxides. They tend to be porous because they are normally formulated with organic binder materials which evolve decomposition gases during thermal processing of applied layers of dielectric, thus leaving open passages in the formed dielectric layers through which these gases have escaped. For this reason multiple print and firing of dielectric layers is commonly performed to close connected porosity.
Many available dielectric materials, after repeated firing of circuits, develop leaky, soft shorts or some hard shorted paths when the dielectric layers are degraded by flux penetration from the base metal conductor. These flux materials after repeated firing chemically reduce to their respective metals/alloys yielding a variety of electrical failure possibilities. The flux materials can become conductive by reduction reactions triggered by binder exhaust gases and residual carbon in the materials.

Partially crystallizable glass compositions


In a timepiece with a striking mechanism, for example a minute repeater watch, in order to prevent the control stem (9) inadvertently setting the time during operation of the striking work and causing damage, an uncoupling device is inserted in the time-setting train (17), and is controlled via a mobile part of the striking mechanism. The uncoupling device includes an intermediate motion wheel (19) that can be moved, for example axially, from a rest position in which it is meshed with the castle wheel (16). Said mobile part of the striking mechanism is preferably the strike barrel arbour (46), carrying a rotating cam (56) with a spiral profile. At the start of actuation of the striking mechanism, the cam pushes a lifting lever (60), which raises a strip (25) controlling the vertical movement of the intermediate motion wheel (19). This interrupts the kinematic connection in the motion work train, such that the stem (9) can rotate the castle wheel (16) without producing any effect and without encountering any resistance.

The present invention concerns a timepiece, in particular a watch, including a striking mechanism, a time display device, driven by a timepiece movement, and a time-setting mechanism including, in particular, a time-setting gear train connected to the display device, a manual control stem and a castle wheel, driven in rotation by said stem and able to slide thereon to mesh with a first intermediate wheel of the time-setting train so as to transmit the rotation of the castle wheel to the time display device.
EP Patent Application No. 1429214, which discloses a timepiece of this type, explains that a time-setting operation that occurs while the striking mechanism is working can cause significant damage and should thus be avoided. The solution proposed uses a locking mechanism, which is controlled by said moving part of the striking mechanism and which locks the conventional rocking bar of the time-setting mechanism, such that the castle wheel controlled by said lever can no longer move to mesh with the time-setting train.
This lock is efficient, but there is still a risk of damage if the user, who is used to feeling resistance each time that he pulls on the control stem crown, exerts traction that is too strong. This could damage the time-setting mechanism or the locking mechanism or even the striking mechanism if the lock is overcome.

Timepiece including a striking mechanism


A gas laser having a housing including a discharge region that contains a lasing gas medium, a pair of DC electrodes having primary surfaces facing toward the discharge region, the primary surfaces being arranged in substantially parallel planes, and a pair of RF electrodes having secondary surfaces facing toward the discharge region, the secondary surfaces being in substantially parallel planes with the secondary surfaces being arranged substantially orthogonal to the primary surfaces. The gas laser also has an RF power source connected between said pair of RF electrodes and selectively generating an RF discharge in the discharge region, and a DC power source connected between said pair of DC electrodes and selectively generating a DC discharge in the discharge region.

Gaseous lasers have a number of useful industrial and medical applications. In particular, the carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) laser is exceptionally useful in medical applications. The wavelengths emitted from a CO.sub.2 laser, between 9-11 .mu.m, are highly absorbed by water and provide the laser with the ability to vaporize the water in tissue.
It is often desirable in medical or industrial applications to have a laser capable of emitting a continuous wave (CW) low power output that is also capable of emitting a pulsed high power output. For example, a CO.sub.2 laser that emits a low power CW output is capable of such medical applications as hemostasis; however, the low power CW output cannot be used to cut away hard tissue without causing significant damage to surrounding soft tissue. On the other hand, a CO.sub.2 laser that is capable of emitting a pulse having a high peak power can be used for the abalation of hard tissue. Accordingly, a laser's versatility is increased as a medical tool if it is capable of emitting a low power CW output and a high power pulsed output.
Traditionally, most gaseous lasers, including CO.sub.2 lasers, utilize a laser exciting discharge that is transverse to the laser's longitudinal axis. The discharge is often excited by a pulsed "DC" power supply. However, when using a transverse discharge geometry the cathode of the electrodes inducing the discharge is such a poor electron emitter that a positive ion current dominates in a region immediately adjacent to it, known as the cathode fall region. As a result, a positive space charge is formed in the cathode fall region. The electric fields resulting from this positive space charge cause electrons emitted from the cathode to be accelerated sufficiently so that an avalanche ionization effect occurs in the cathode fall region. Further, the outer extremity of the cathode fall region has an electron density that is so large that an electron dominated current occurs throughout the remainder of the discharge.
For the reasons given above, it is difficult to obtain a uniform discharge throughout the discharge region, and there is a tendency for an arc to form between the electrodes carrying the charge. Further, it has been found that the occurrences of a non-uniform discharge increase as lasers utilize longer pulses or higher specific energy inputs. The high electrical fields in the cathode fall region as well as the occurrence of arcing will tend to disassociate the laser gas thereby reducing the laser's life. In CO.sub.2 lasers, oxygen is freed from some of the carbon dioxide gas within the discharge region causing corrosion.
Attempts have been made to prevent non-uniform discharge and arcing by preionizing the discharge. Other attempted solutions include manipulating the voltage pulse, tailoring the shape of the electrodes, or replacing the DC power supply with a radio frequency (RF) power supply.
Forms of preionization include the use of an electron beam, flashlamp, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, or a localized radio frequency (RF) discharge. The use of an electron beam for preionization has been found to be effective; however, it is usually far too expensive to implement on a commercial level.
Attempts at preionization using UV radiation or an RF discharge have only been marginally successful. A majority of UV and RF preionization techniques provide preionization in only a small localized region within the discharge region. Thus, no uniformity through out the discharge region is possible and often some form of gas flow is required.
The tailoring of electrode and/or pulse shapes has been successful and is widely used for transverse excitation atmospheric pressure lasers (TEA lasers), as well as commercial and military lasers. Unfortunately, this method of providing a uniform discharge only works if the input pulse is kept short, typically less than several microseconds for a CO.sub.2 laser.
By using a laser with a transverse RF discharge, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,251, instead of a transverse DC discharge, a more uniform discharge is produced. The utilization of the transverse RF discharge minimizes the tendency for arc formation as long as the frequency of the RF field is high enough to ensure a negligible interaction of the discharge electrons with the electrodes. This occurs when the polarity of the alternating electric field between the electrodes is reversed with sufficient rapidity so that electrons in the discharge region have insufficient time to travel between the electrodes. The electrodes function only to control the electron and ion movement in the discharge using the alternating electric field and they do not provide any part of the discharge current. This eliminates the cathode fall region and the high electric fields therein. Further, this form of laser exciting discharge tends to exhibit a positive impedance characteristic that increases discharge stability and uniformity. Continuous wave (CW) operation using a transverse RF discharge is easy to achieve unless the specific energy inputs become exceedingly high. Indeed, the vast majority of gaseous lasers sold today with average powers less than 200 watts are excited using a transverse RF discharge.
Unfortunately, transverse RF discharge excitation becomes very expensive to implement if high peak powers are required. Unlike the components required for high power DC operation, which are relatively efficient and inexpensive, high power RF operation requires more exotic components, such as vacuum tube switching, etc. For example, to obtain a peak laser energy of one joule with a pulse width of 100 microseconds and an average power of only 10 watts, an RF input power of roughly 60 kilowatt peak and 60 watt average would be required. Although the cost of producing a continuous wave 60 watt laser using an RF discharge would be no more than a few hundred dollars, the cost of producing a laser power supply having the required peak power would be approximately $10,000 or more if it has the preferred solid-state design. Thus, RF transverse excitation is prohibitively expensive in many applications requiring high peak powers.
CW operation using transverse RF discharge excitation produces a stable uniform discharge. However, the components necessary for an RF excited laser are determined by the peak power requirement, and the high power components required for RF discharge excitation are extremely expensive. The prior art, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,472, in an attempt to overcome this problem, substitutes a high power transverse RF discharge with a high power DC discharge preceded by an RF preionization pulse. The technique makes possible the use of an inherently unstable high power DC discharge by providing a uniform preionization to the entire discharge region. Further, the substitution of the high power transverse RF discharge with the pulsed DC discharge and RF preionization allows a substantial reduction in the cost of components and operation.
As shown in FIG. 1, the prior art device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,472 has a laser vacuum envelope 110 that contains a grounded electrode 122, a shaped second electrode 124, dielectric spacers 126 and a further dielectric spacer 128. The dielectric spacers 126 set the spacing between the second electrode 124, to which a potential is applied, and the grounded electrode 122. Electrodes 122 and 124 cooperate to produce an internal capacitance C100 in the region where a transverse discharge will be established. This abovedescribed circuit also includes a second, external capacitor C102, which has a first plate connected to electrode 122. An inductor L 101 is connected between the second electrode 124 and the other plate of capacitor C102. Capacitor C102, inductor L101 and internal capacitance C100 cooperate to define an impedance matching network. A low energy RF source 134 is coupled to the network formed by capacitor C102, inductor L101, and internal capacitance C100 via a capacitor C103.
Pulse DC energy is supplied to the laser by means of discharging a capacitor C106, which is bridged by and charged from a high energy DC current source 136. A filter represented by inductance L 104 and capacitor C107, which are in parallel resonance for the frequency of the RF source 134, is connected between the DC source 136 and the RF source 134 and acts as an RF trap to prevent the transmission of RF energy to the DC source 136. In turn, the RF source 134 is protected against the DC source 136 by the capacitor C103.
The laser includes a discharge chamber 130 defined in part by a pair of spaced-apart oppositely facing mirrors (not shown). The gas discharge occurs in the discharge region between these minxors and between electrodes 122 and 124.
In operation, energy from the RF source 134 is applied between electrodes 122 and 124 in order to preionize a laser medium. Power from the RF source 134 must be applied across electrodes 122 and 124 such that a voltage in excess of that needed to establish a weak gas discharge will be present. When a discharge is established by the low energy RF source 134, a path for the discharge of a capacitor C106, or a path for a lower frequency unrectified alternating current from the DC source 136, will be created between the electrodes 122 and 124 and energy will flow from the capacitor C106 and/or the high energy DC source 136.
Although this prior art laser design solved many of the disadvantages found in transverse excited gas lasers, there are still a number of notable disadvantages that remain. Foremost is that the prior art laser cannot independently optimize the electrode shaping and spacing for both the RF and DC discharges since both must use the same electrodes 122 and 124. Also, extreme care must be taken to ensure that the RF and DC sources 134 and 136 are appropriately isolated from one another. Another disadvantage is that any attempt to minimize the cathode fall region by changing the area of the electrodes 122 and 124 will directly influence the effectiveness of the RF source 134, since the RF source uses the same electrodes. Further, the prior art laser suffers from having a discharge region that is made from disparate materials, leading to thermally induced geometric distortion of the discharge region during the laser's use. Finally, the prior art laser uses costly machined ceramic components.

Orthogonal RFDC transverse excited gas laser


First, second, and third bottom stepped portions 18, 20, 22 are formed stepwise at a lead end portion of a casing 10 of a liquid applicator. First, second, third, and fourth lead stepped portions 32, 34, 36, 38 are formed stepwise at a bottom end portion of a lead portion 12 of the liquid applicator. Lead end faces 24, 26 of the second and third bottom stepped portions 20, 22 are adhered with bottom end faces 40, 42 of the second and third lead stepped portions 34, 36 by means of an ultrasonic adhesion in a state where the respective bottom stepped portions are brought into contact with the corresponding lead stepped portions. Accordingly, the adhered faces are prevented from coming apart at each adhered portion in the liquid applicator including lead and bottom side shafts which are coupled with each other by means of ultrasonic adhesion.

This invention relates to liquid applicators including paint markers and ball-point pens particularly to those obtained by coupling a lead side shaft with a bottom side shaft by means of ultrasonic adhesion.
Conventionally, there has been sometimes used an ultrasonic adhesion method in fabricating a liquid applicator as a means for coupling a lead side shaft with a bottom side shaft, for example, for coupling a lead portion with a casing or coupling the casing with a bottom cap.
FIG. 11A shows an example of structure in which casing 80 is coupled with a lead portion 82 in a liquid applicator as described above. In this figure, the hollow cylindrical casing 80 has an outer stepped portion 84 and an inner stepped portion 86 formed radially side by side. A lead end face 85 of the outer stepped portion 84 is located more toward a lead end of the liquid applicator (toward the left side in FIG. 11A) than a lead end face 87 of the inner stepped portion 86. On the other hand, the hollow cylindrical lead portion 82 has first, second, and third stepped portions 88. 90. 92 in this order from a radially outermost one. A bottom end face 95 of the second stepped portion 90 is located more toward a bottom end of the liquid applicator (toward the right side in FIG. 11A) than a bottom end face 94 of the first stepped portion 88. A bottom end face 96 of the third stepped portion 92 is located more toward the bottom end of the liquid applicator than the bottom end face 95 of the second stepped portion 90.
In a state where the bottom end face 94 of the first stepped portion 88 is substantially in contact with the lead end face 85 of the outer stepped portion 84 or the faces 85, 94 are slightly spaced apart, the lead end face 87 of the inner stepped portion 86 is coupled with the bottom end face 95 of the second stepped portion 90 by means of ultrasonic adhesion. The first stepped portion 88 and the outer stepped portion 84 are formed so as to prevent resin or the like melted by the ultrasonic waves from pouring out.
In the case where an excessive bending load F, for example, as shown in FIG. 11B acts on the liquid applicator main body in the above structure, the casing 80 is lifted from the lead portion 82 about an inner corner 98 of the outer stepped portion 84 which serves as a fulcrum of a lever. Thus, the lead end face 87 of the outer stepped portion 86 and the bottom end face 95 of the second stepped portion 90 coupled by the ultrasonic adhesion are liable to come apart. This leads to a loss of airtightness in the liquid applicator (particularly those of the core type or the free ink type). Accordingly, it has become critical to prevent the loss of airtightness in the interior of the liquid applicator.
In view of the problems residing in the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid applicator having lead and bottom side shafts coupled with each other by means of ultrasonic adhesion which is capable of preventing adhered faces from being separated at an adhered portion, and a fabricating method thereof.
Accordingly, the invention is directed to a liquid applicator consisting essentially of a hollow lead side shaft and a hollow bottom side shaft coupled with the lead side shaft in an axial direction of the liquid applicator. The lead side shaft includes a plurality of lead stepped portions arranged side by side radially of the liquid applicator such that bottom end faces thereof are located at positions different from one another in the axial direction. The bottom side shaft includes a plurality of bottom stepped portions arranged side by side radially of the liquid applicator such that lead end faces thereof are located at positions different from one another in the axial direction and are opposed to the bottom end faces of the corresponding lead stepped portions. At least two of the bottom end faces of the lead stepped portions are adhered with the corresponding lead end faces of the bottom stepped portions by means of ultrasonic adhesion.
With the liquid applicator thus constructed the ultrasonic adhesion is carried out between the plurality of lead and bottom stepped portions which are located at radially and axially different portions on the lead and bottom side shafts. Accordingly, the case where a bending load F as shown in FIG. 11B acts on the liquid applicator, a fulcrum does not concentrate on a single point. Rather, fulcrums exist at a plurality of points. Thus, the burden at the adhered portion accompanied by the action of the bending load is reduced in terms of the strength, preventing the adhered faces from coming apart. If an exceedingly large bending load should act on the liquid applicator to cause the adhered faces to come apart at one adhered portion, the energy of this bending load is absorbed by the above separation and the adhered faces are prevented from coming apart at the other adhered portions. Therefore, the remaining adhered portions are allowed to maintain the coupling of the lead and bottom side shafts and airtightness in the liquid applicator. Of course, the axial adhesion strength can be enhanced by increasing the number of adhered portions.
A method of fabricating the above liquid applicator is preferably such that a projected portion is formed on at least either one of the bottom end face of the lead stepped portion and the lead end face of the bottom stepped portion to be adhered with each other so as to project toward the other end face, and ultrasonic waves are supplied in a state where the projected portion is in contact with the other end face.
According to this fabricating method, the projected portion formed on at least either one of the end faces to be adhered with each other is brought into contact with the other end face. Thus, a contact area when the ultrasonic waves are supplied is reduced compared to a case where flat end faces are directly brought into contact with each other without providing the projected portion. The energy of the supplied ultrasonic waves are concentrated on a contact portion between the projected portion and the corresponding end face. This provides a larger ultrasonic melting effect, with the result that a greater adhesion strength against a bending force is obtainable.
It is further preferable to differ a bending adhesion strength (i.e., a minimum bending load which causes the separation of the adhered faces when the bending load acts on the liquid applicator) between the bottom end face of the lead stepped portion and the lead end face of the bottom stepped portion at the respective adhered portions.
In this arrangement, the bending adhesion strength between the bottom end face of the lead stepped portion and the lead end face of the bottom stepped portion differs at the respective adhered portions, which increases the probability of separating the adhered faces at the adhered portion having a low bending adhesion strength. This in return prevents the separation of the adhered faces at the adhered portion having a high bending adhesion strength. In other words, the simultaneous separation of the adhered faces at both the adhered portions is prevented actively, thereby protecting the adhered portion having the high bending adhesion strength. As a result, the coupling of the lead and bottom side shafts and the airtightness in the liquid applicator can be maintained satisfactorily with the protected adhered portion.
As a means for differing the bending adhesion strength at the respective adhered portions, the following three arrangements can be considered. According to the first arrangement, two pairs of the lead and bottom stepped portions to be adhered with each other are formed such that the pair whose shortest distance between the adhered faces thereof and a lead end face of the lead side shaft or bottom end face of the bottom side shaft (i.e. a distance to an ultrasonic horn to be placed at an end of the liquid applicator) is shorter than that of the other pair has a larger radial thickness than the other pair. With this arrangement, the pair closer to the ultrasonic horn to be placed has a larger radial thickness. In other words, the pair at which a greater bending adhesion strength is obtainable due to an improved ultrasonic melting effect has a larger radial thickness. Accordingly, a difference in the bending adhesion strength between the pair closer to the ultrasonic horn and the other pair is widened further. Thus, when a large bending load acts on the liquid applicator, the adhered faces are liable to come apart only at the other pair distant from the ultrasonic horn.
According to the second arrangement, a loosely fitting portion to which the projected portion is fitted is formed on the face opposed to the projected portion at the pair of stepped portions having a shorter shortest distance i.e., closer to the ultrasonic horn to be placed, and the ultrasonic waves are supplied in a state where the projected portion is loosely fitted in the loosely fitting portion. With this arrangement, the loosely fitting portion is formed at the end face opposed to the projected portion at the pair of stepped portions which is allowed to obtain a greater bending adhesion strength due to an improved ultrasonic melting effect, and the ultrasonic waves are supplied while the projected portion is loosely fitted in the loosely fitting portion. Accordingly, the bending adhesion strength of the pair closer to the ultrasonic horn becomes further greater than that of the other pair. Thus, when a large bending load acts on the liquid applicator, the adhered faces are liable to come apart only at the other pair distant from the ultrasonic horn.
According to the third arrangement, the two pairs of lead and bottom stepped portions to be adhered are positioned relative to each other such that the opposing end faces of the pair more distant from the ultrasonic horn to be placed than the other pair are spaced apart by a specified distance when the faces of the other pair are in contact with each other. With this arrangement, the opposing end faces are spaced apart at the pair distant from the ultrasonic horn when those are in contact with each other at the pair closer to the ultrasonic horn placed at the end of the liquid applicator. By supplying the ultrasonic waves in this state, an amount of material melted by the ultrasonic wave is greater at the pair closer to the ultrasonic horn than at the pair distant therefrom. Accordingly, a difference in the bending adhesion strength between the pair closer to the ultrasonic horn to be placed and the other pair is widened further. Thus, when a large bending load acts on the liquid applicator the adhered faces are liable to come apart only at the other pair distant from the ultrasonic horn.
Further, either one of the lead side shaft or bottom side shaft may advantageously include outer, intermediate, and inner stepped portions arranged radially from an outermost side while the other shaft may include an auxiliary stepped portion opposed to at least one of the outer and inner stepped portions, and a fit-in stepped portion opposed to the intermediate stepped portion. The intermediate stepped portion is indented from the outer and inner stepped portions to thereby form a recessed portion between the outer and inner stepped portions. The fit-in stepped portion is formed so as to project from the auxiliary stepped portion. At least two pairs of stepped portions are adhered by means of ultrasonic adhesion in a state where the fit-in stepped portion is fitted in the recessed portion.
The above liquid applicator is fabricated by carrying out the ultrasonic adhesion in a state where the fit-in stepped portion is fitted in the recessed portion between the outer and inner stepped portions. This fit-in structure prevents the lead and bottom side shafts from being bent and deformed, thereby reducing the burden on the adhered portions in terms of the strength and preventing the separation of the adhered faces more reliably.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Liquid applicator with axially spaced joints


An electronic device has a base plate and a connector. Multiple terminals are supported by a connector housing, wherein each front-side end of the terminals outwardly extends from a front-side surface and each back-side end of the terminals outwardly extends from a back-side surface of the connector housing and connected to a corresponding land formed in the base plate. The multiple terminals are arranged in a width direction and divided into at least a first and a second terminal group in a height direction of the connector housing. The connector housing has a first and a second step surface on its back side. The terminal of the first terminal group outwardly extends from the first step surface and the terminal of the second terminal group outwardly extends from the second step surface. The first step surface is located at a position closer to the base plate in the height direction than the second step surface. A projecting terminal length of the terminal of the second terminal group in a depth direction of the connector housing is made to be equal to or smaller than that of the terminal of the first terminal group.

An electronic device having a printed, circuit board (a base plate) and a connector is known in the art, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-117675. The printed circuit board has multiple lands. The connector has a connector housing and multiple terminals supported by the connector housing. Each of the terminals is outwardly projected from a same terminal projecting surface of the connector housing and respectively connected to a corresponding land of the printed circuit board. The multiple terminals are arranged not only in a width direction of the connector housing but also in a height direction of the connector housing in a multiple-step form.
Each of the terminals is formed in an L-letter shape, which has a first terminal portion, a bent portion and a second terminal portion. The first terminal portion extends in a depth direction of the connector housing and a part of the first terminal portion is supported by the connector housing. The bent portion is connected to a back-side end of the first terminal portion. The second terminal portion extends from the bent portion in a direction to the printed circuit board and is electrically connected to the land.
As one of examples, two groups of the multiple terminals will be further explained, wherein each of first-group terminals and each of second-group terminals are arranged at a same position in the width direction of the connector housing but at different positions in the height direction of the connector housing. In such an example, the bent portion of the second-group terminal is located at a position, which is more separated from the printed circuit board in the height direction than that of the first-group terminal. In addition, the bent portion of the second-group terminal is located at a position of the depth direction of the connector housing, which is perpendicular to the width direction and the height direction, wherein the position of the bent portion of the second-group terminal is more separated in the depth direction away from the connector housing than that of the bent portion of the first-group terminal.
It is further known in the art that the above terminals may resonate with outside vibrations, for example, vibration of an internal combustion engine, vibration of a transmission apparatus of a vehicle and so on. Whether the terminal easily and/or strongly resonates with such outside vibration or not depends on an exposed length of the terminal, which is exposed to an outside of the connector housing. The exposed length of the terminal corresponds to a distance from a terminal projecting surface (a back-side surface) of the connector housing to the land of the printed circuit board. More exactly, the exposed length of the terminal is a sum of a projecting length and a connecting length of the terminal. The projecting length corresponds to a length of the first terminal portion between the terminal projecting surface of the connector housing and the bent portion of the terminal, while the connecting length corresponds to a length of the second terminal portion between the bent portion and the land of the printed circuit board.
In the above structure, the exposed length of the first-group terminal is smaller than that of the second-group terminal. More exactly, not only the projecting length of the first-group terminal is smaller than that of the second-group terminal, but also the connecting length of the first-group terminal is smaller than that of the second-group terminal.
As a result, even in a case that the exposed length of one of the first-group and the second-group terminals is designed so as not to resonate with the outside vibrations, the exposed length of the other terminal may have such a value that the terminal may resonate with the outside vibrations. Accordingly, it is difficult to design the exposed length of the first-group and the second-group terminals in such a way that neither the first-group terminal nor the second-group terminal may resonate with the outside vibrations.
The second-group terminal can be so modified that the exposed length of the second-group terminal becomes almost equal to that of the first-group terminal. For example, in the above case, the bent portion of the second-group terminal is located at a position, which is closer to the terminal projecting surface of the connector housing in its depth direction than that of the first-group terminal. Then, the projecting length of the second-group terminal can be made smaller than that of the first-group terminal, and thereby the exposed length of the second-group terminal becomes almost equal to that of the first-group terminal. However, according to such a modification, it is not possible to arrange the first-group and the second-group terminals at the same position in the width direction of the connector housing. In other words, the connector housing inevitably becomes larger in the width direction. Namely, a connector size is increased.


A spin stabilized projectile is arranged to have variable flight stability. he projectile has a casing with a cavity that contains a given mass of fluid. The cavity is shaped to provide a balanced flow of fluid with respect to the axis of spin as the projectile is trajected. This balanced flow alters the flight stability of the projectile.

The present invention relates to projectiles and in particular to a projectile having a cavity containing a fluid.
To obtain a satisfactory range from a projectile it is necessary to stabilize its orientation to prevent excessive yaw or pitch. While judicious design of the center of gravity or the inclusion of fins may provide an aerodynamic moment which assures stability, a large class of projectiles rely on spin stabilization. Through the use of rifling, a launched projectile is spun about its longitudinal axis so that it exhibits the well-known gyroscopic effect. To ensure that a projectile is gyroscopically stabilized its spin rate must exceed a minimum which is determined by factors such as its mass distribution.
A specific cannon or gun having standard rifling does not have the ability to adjust the spin rate or the stability of various projectiles. In order to vary the spin rate a known barrel employed two interlaced riflings having differing twist rates. A projectile having engravings matching the appropriate one of the riflings is manually inserted therein. This approach however, does not allow continuous adjustment of spin rate and does not affect projectile stabilizing characteristics such as its mass distribution. In a known projectile, a slipping obturator is used to reduce the spin rate. This apparatus is exposed to high stress and does not provide for adjustment of stabilizing factors such as the mass distribution of the projectile. In a known launcher, its barrel is spun at a rate appropriate for the projectile being fired. While the spin rate can be adjusted in this apparatus, the highest rate attainable is limited and wear is a problem.
The present invention provides a projectile whose flight stability is controlled by a fluid disposed in a cavity of the projectile. The cavity is arranged to allow shifting of the fluid. The resulting mass redistribution can affect flight stability by altering the moment of inertia or the center of gravity as the projectile is trajected. Such mass redistribution can be utilized to increase or decrease the flight stability, in various embodiments. Also, prior to launch the flight stability can be set by the simple expedient of selecting a specific volume or density of fluid. The setting of stability in this fashion may be performed in the factory or in the field. This latter feature is also useful where a standard shell is to be fitted with any one of variously shaped explosives of differing densities.
In addition, for some embodiments the fluid employed may be a liquid explosive so that dead weight is avoided.
Moreover this shifting of fluid may be arranged to facilitate high angular acceleration during launch, thereby ensuring rapid attainment of the rated spin rate. In some embodiments the fluid shift may occur over a predetermined interval so that the projectile stability varies throughout its trajectory. This feature may be important where it is desired to destabilize the projectile and cause it to fall when it reaches a target.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


An imaging device, including: a semiconductor substrate; a first pixel including a first photoelectric converter that converts incident light into first charges, a first charge detection circuit on the semiconductor substrate, the first charge detection circuit electrically connected to the first photoelectric converter and detecting the first charges, and a first capacitive element electrically connected to the first photoelectric converter, the first capacitive element storing at least a part of the first charges; and a second pixel comprising a second photoelectric converter that converts incident light into second charges, and a second charge detection circuit on the semiconductor substrate, the second charge detection circuit electrically connected to the second photoelectric converter and detecting the second charges, wherein the first capacitive element is at least partially located between the first photoelectric converter and the second photoelectric converter when viewed from a normal direction of the semiconductor substrate.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an imaging device including a photoelectric conversion film.
Description of the Related Art
Subjects present in the natural world have a high dynamic range. For example, in the case of an in-car imaging device, the brightness of a subject changes from moment to moment, and the in-car imaging device is required to simultaneously pick up images of a bright subject and a dark subject (have a high dynamic range). To achieve a high dynamic range, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications Nos. 62-108678 and 2008-99073 propose the methods below.
The imaging devices disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications Nos. 62-108678 and 2008-99073 use a silicon photodiode. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 62-108678, images different in exposure time (which may also be referred to as "storage time" hereinafter) are synthesized, which allows achievement of a high dynamic range. The approach has already been put to practical use. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-99073, a dynamic range is extended by synthesizing images obtained from a plurality of image pickup cells different in sensitivity which are arranged within one pixel.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-59465 proposes a laminated sensor including a photoelectric conversion film instead of a silicon photodiode which may become an obstacle to a high dynamic range.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


A transmit/receive switching circuit implementation reduces transmitting/receiving switching losses in a transceiver during different modes of operation. The implementation includes connecting a low noise amplifier and a power amplifier in accordance with a shunt configuration in the transceiver. The implementation also includes disabling the power amplifier to achieve a high impedance state by grounding an output stage bias and enabling the low noise amplifier and disabling one or more transistors connected to a path between the low noise amplifier and the power amplifier during a receive mode.

Mobile radio frequency (RF) chip designs (e.g., mobile RF transceivers) have migrated to deep sub-micron process nodes due to cost and power consumption considerations. The design complexity of mobile RF transceivers is further complicated by added circuit function and devices to support communication enhancements.
A mobile RF transceiver includes a transmitter and a receiver, which are capable of transmitting and receiving communication signals, respectively. Conventionally, the transmitter's analog front end contains a power amplifier (PA) that provides the last stage of amplification of the signal to be transmitted, while the receiver's analog front end contains a low noise amplifier (LNA) that provides the initial stage of amplification of the signal to be received. In a wireless communication system, the transmit PA and receive LNA may each couple to a shared antenna through separate impedance matching networks and a common transmit/receive (T/R) switch through which both the high power transmit signal and the low power receive signal pass.


A liquid crystal display in which the construction of an inverter is not complex and which can change the luminance wider than the changeable range of regulating light of the inverter is provided. An image is formed at a display control circuit and the gradations of the image is converted at a luminance regulating circuit and the converted image is inputted to a liquid crystal display section. The liquid crystal display section displays the image on a panel controlling by image data inputted a backlight which is controlled by changing an effective value of a tube current in an inverter. The luminance regulating circuit controls display gradations responding to a user setting value.

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display which in particular regulates the light of a backlight of a personal computer using a regulating current type inverter.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional liquid crystal display is constituted of a display control circuit 1, a liquid crystal display section 3, a backlight 4 and an inverter 5.
At the above mentioned construction, the display control circuit 1 displays the display contents which the personal computer (the personal computer is not described in FIG. 1) indicates to display on the liquid crystal display section 3. In this case, the liquid crystal display section 3 makes the adjustment of the display luminance possible by regulating the backlight by the inverter 5.
The Japanese Patents Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 6-34946 and HEI 8-179276 disclose the method which controls the backlight using a regulating current type inverter.
In the above mentioned conventional type liquid crystal display, at the case that the backlight of the liquid crystal display is turned on by the regulating current type inverter, the stability of fluorescent lamp is required while the light is on and the current must not be decreased below a certain level. Therefore, there is a problem that a user can not make the display luminance dark being below a certain level, even the user wants to have such a dark display luminance.
In this case, it is possible that a PWM (pulse width modulation) type inverter makes the display luminance darker, however the inverter circuit becomes complex.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a liquid crystal display which solves the above mentioned problem and makes not the construction of the inverter complex and makes the change of the display luminance being wider than the regulating light range of the inverter possible.
The liquid crystal display of the present invention provides a luminance regulating means which regulates the light of the backlight disposed at the back of the liquid crystal display section using a regulating current type inverter and controls the display luminance of display data of the liquid crystal display section by changing the gradations of display data to be displayed on the liquid crystal section low responding to an external instruction.
That is, the liquid crystal display of the present invention makes the regulation of display brightness possible by not changing the brightness of the backlight in the liquid crystal display and by implementing the operation for the image signal data.
Concretely, the display luminance is regulated by the backlight whose regulating light is controlled by an inverter for the liquid crystal display section. The liquid crystal display section displays the image signals formed at a display control circuit and made the display gradations low at the luminance regulating circuit. With this, it is possible that the display luminance is controlled wider than the possible range of the regulating light by the backlight of the liquid crystal display.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, for achieving the above mentioned objects, at a liquid crystal display which regulates the light of a backlight disposed at the back of a liquid crystal display section using a regulating current type inverter, there is provided a luminance regulating means for controlling a display luminance of display data at said liquid crystal display section, by changing gradations of the display data displaying on said liquid crystal display section to low values responding to an external instruction.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, at the liquid crystal display, said luminance regulating means provides a shift means for shifting said display data and a switching means which selects either an output of said shift means or said display data responding to said external instruction and outputs the selected one on said liquid crystal display section.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, at the liquid crystal display, said luminance regulating means is constructed to implement the control of said regulating current type inverter working together with the control of said display luminance.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, at the liquid crystal display, said luminance regulating means provides a luminance setting means which outputs the switching instruction for said switching means and the regulating light instruction for said regulating current type inverter responding to said external instruction.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, at the liquid crystal display, said luminance regulating means provides an arithmetic calculation means which operates said display data with a setting value responding to said external instruction.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, at the liquid crystal display, said luminance regulating means is constructed to implement the control of said regulating current type inverter working together with the control of said display luminance.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, at the liquid crystal display, said luminance regulating means provides a control means for controlling said arithmetic calculation means and said regulating current type inverter respectively responding to said external setting value.


A multi-function wallet comprising a leather cover, at least two strips, a sub-wallet, a plurality of notebook papers, a string, a bead chain, a hook and a fastening hook; the string is to pass through holes on the leather cover, the strips, and the sub-wallet so as to fasten all the aforesaid part into one piece; both ends of the string are fastened the hook and the bead chain together. The fastening hooks are fixedly connected with the bead chain. The strips mounted on the leather cover and the sub-wallet are used for clamping banknotes and notebook papers respectively. The inner side of the leather cover has a large bag for storing ID card or the like; the inner side of the inner leather sheet of the sub-wallet has a partition flap and a lid flap; the partition flap can be opened partially, and used for storing ID card or the like. The inner side of another inner leather sheet has several coin bags for storing different coins. The fastening hook is used to attach the wallet on user's waist belt; the hook is to be hooked on waist belt for showing the bead chain as a decorative article.

Most conventional wallets are not suitable for storing coins, and have no notebook function; they can only carry a limited number of banknotes; further, it is difficult to count the banknotes in such wallets. Such a wallet can only be carried by inserting it in a pocket, or a handbag, or by hand. To carry a wallet in a person's hand would cause one's hand to feel uncomfortable or painful. Another type of wallet as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4913326 has a strip plate and a string for holding banknotes; it can carry a plurality of banknotes without being discovered by other persons; however, the banknotes therein are susceptible to being viewed by other persons upon the wallet being pulling out of a pocket or a garment; moreover, such a wallet is not suitable for carrying coins, ID cards or the like.


An optical reflection panel made of thermosetting plastic material as a substrate is disclosed. One surface of the substrate is coated with an adherent layer and then an optical reflecting layer is formed on the adherent layer as a reflecting surface for reflecting a light beam. The other surface of the substrate is formed with a reinforcing structure. The reinforcing structure serves to increase the mechanical strength of the optical reflection panel and control the deformation amount. The reinforcing structure includes a number of reinforcing ribs extending along the longitudinal axis of the optical reflection panel and a number of reinforcing ribs perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the optical reflection panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical reflection panel, and more particularly to an optical reflection panel with a substrate made of thermosetting plastic material. The optical reflection panel additionally includes a reinforcing structure for increasing the mechanical strength of the optical reflection panel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many kinds of optical devices, such as image scanner, copier, are widely used nowadays. All these optical devices are equipped with an optical reflection module for reflecting the light beam during image scanning. The conventional optical reflection module used in a commercial optical image scanner generally includes three or four reflection mirrors made of glass therein. FIG. 1 shows the arrangement of the components of a conventional image scanner and the optical path thereof.
The image scanner includes several glass reflection mirrors 11, 12, 13, 14, an optical lens 3 and an image sensing element 4 (such as a conventional Charge Coupling Device, CCD). The four glass reflection mirrors 11, 12, 13, 14 are arranged in an interior space of a conventional optical reflection module 5 as shown in FIG. 2 for reflecting and refracting the light beam 2 during image scanning. The light beam refracted by the glass reflection mirrors 11, 12, 13, and 14 finally will pass through a light passage 52 formed on rear side of the optical reflection module 5 and project onto the optical lens 3 of the image scanner (referring to FIG. 1).
In order to reduce manufacturing cost and material cost of the scanner, the manufacturers always try to research the way to save cost of respective components or the entire frame of the module. However, the conventional optical reflection modules all employ reflection mirrors made of glass material which itself is made at considerably high cost. Therefore, with such conventional glass reflection mirrors, the cost can be reduced only to a quite limited extent.
Furthermore, it is impossible to drill a through hole onto the glass reflection mirror. Therefore, when mounting the glass reflection mirror, such as the mirrors 11, in the optical reflection module 5, it is necessary to form a U-shaped cavity 51 a predetermined position of the module 5 and then insert each end of the glass reflection mirror 11 into the cavity 51 and finally fixedly clamp the glass reflection mirror 11 with a clip 6. Such conventional structure leads to increment of cost for a number of clips and assembling steps.
In addition, when assembling the glass reflection mirror 11 in the housing of the module, the glass reflection mirror is positioned by an inclination angle for optical refraction. It is very difficult to clamp and hold the glass reflection mirror 11 with the clip 6 in a narrow space so that the working efficiency can be hardly promoted.


A bandgap reference voltage circuit can advantageously maximize performance, i.e. provide a stable output voltage as a function of input supply voltage and/or temperature. The bandgap reference voltage circuit can include a modified Brokaw cell and a cascode amplifier. The modified Brokaw cell can include two transistors, each transistor including a base, an emitter, and a collector. The collectors of the transistors can be folded into input terminals of the cascode amplifier, thereby providing an extremely compact circuit implementation. In one embodiment, the Brokaw cell can include two lateral PNP (LPNP) transistors, thereby allowing manufacturing of the bandgap reference voltage circuit with standard CMOS technology. Of importance, an output of the bandgap reference voltage circuit can provide a source voltage to the cascode amplifier, thereby ensuring a stable voltage source to the circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a bandgap reference voltage circuit and in particular to a bandgap reference voltage circuit having a modified Brokaw cell configuration with a folded cascode operational amplifier. This circuit, which can be advantageously implemented in CMOS technology, can provide optimal voltage regulation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a reference voltage is provided to maintain a baseline voltage level for an electronic circuit. Of importance, other voltages, power levels, and/or signals within the electronic circuit rely upon this baseline voltage level. Therefore, this reference voltage must be as consistent and as precise as possible, even when exposed to varying conditions (e.g. temperature).
One type of reference voltage circuit is a bandgap reference voltage circuit. A bandgap reference voltage circuit is typically preferred over other reference voltage circuits because of its relative simplicity and elimination of zener diodes, which can generate undesirable noise. Of importance, a bandgap reference voltage circuit can generate a reference voltage commensurate with ever-decreasing system voltages. For example, a bandgap-reference voltage circuit can produce an output voltage that is approximately equal to the silicon bandgap voltage of 1.206 V with a zero temperature coefficient (TC).
FIG. 1 illustrates a basic bandgap reference voltage-circuit 100 that can generate differing current densities between matched transistors 102 and 104, thereby producing a ΔVBE across resistor 105. In one embodiment, resistors 101, 103, and 105 can have resistances of 600 Ohms, 6 k Ohms, and 600 Ohms, respectively. Bandgap reference voltage circuit 100 sums the VBE of transistor 106 with the amplified ΔVBE of transistors 102 and 104 to generate VR. The components have opposite polarity TCs, i.e. ΔVBE is proportional-to-absolute-temperature (PTAT), whereas VBE is complementary-to-absolute (CTAT). In this manner, the summed output VR, when it is equal to 1.205 V (i.e. the silicon bandgap voltage), the TC is effectively minimized.
Unfortunately, bandgap reference voltage circuit 100 suffers from load and current drive sensitivity. Moreover, reference voltage VR needs accurate scaling to provide useful voltage levels (e.g. 2.5 V, 5.0 V, etc.)
FIG. 2 illustrates a type of bandgap reference voltage circuit 200, which is commonly called a "Brokaw cell". Brokaw cell 200 improves on bandgap reference voltage circuit 100 by including an operational amplifier 207, which provides additional drive capability as well as convenient voltage scaling.
In this embodiment, Brokaw cell 200 includes two emitter-scaled transistors 202 and 206 (which form the bandgap core) that operate at identical collector currents due to equal load resistors 201 and 205 and a closed loop associated with operational amplifier 207. Assuming a smaller VBE of transistor 202 (e.g. transistor 202 can have 8× area of transistor 206), resistor 203 in series with transistor 202 drops the VBE voltage. Resistor 204, in turn, drops a PTAT voltage V1 according to the following equation, wherein R204 and R203 refer to the resistances of resistors 204 and 203, respectively.V1=2×(R204/R203)×ΔVBE
Resistors 208 and 209 (e.g. laser-trimmed resistors) in combination with operational amplifier 207 can be used to scale voltage VOUT The bandgap reference voltage VZ is generated at the base of transistor 206 by summing VBE and V1.
FIG. 3 illustrates a shunt mode reference voltage circuit 310, which functions similarly to bandgap reference voltage circuit 100. In circuit 310, like transistors 314 and 321 can be operated at a current ratio of 5×, as determined by the ratio of resistances of resistor 320 to resistor 312. An operational amplifier can be formed by the differential pair (i.e. transistors) 317 and 318, current mirror 316, resistors 315 and 322, and drivers (i.e. transistors) 323 and 324. In closed loop equilibrium, this operational amplifier maintains the bottom ends of resistors 312 and 320 at the same potential. In the configuration of circuit 310, ΔVBE is generated across resistor 313, VBE is formed across transistor 314, and V1 is provided across transistors 311 and 312. The nominal bandgap reference voltage can be computed by summing VBE and V1.
Unfortunately, implementing bandgap reference voltage circuits 100 and 310 using bipolar technology may significantly decrease the amount of digital circuits that can be placed on the same integrated circuit (IC). Specifically, a bipolar transistor has a parasitic collector to the substrate, which would otherwise interfere with CMOS device operation. Therefore, bipolar and CMOS devices must be isolated, if provided on the same IC, to ensure functionality. In another embodiment, separate ICs can be provided for bipolar and CMOS devices, thereby also undesirably increasing wafer production cost.
In yet another embodiment, bandgap reference voltage circuits 100 and 310 can be manufactured using biCMOS technology. Unfortunately, using this technology can also effectively double the cost of producing a wafer. Specifically, biCMOS technology requires the use of several additional layers in the IC, thereby increasing production costs and also reducing yield.
Brokaw cell 200 (FIG. 2) can be implemented in CMOS technology. Unfortunately, operational amplifier 207 derives its source voltage from the input voltage VIN. In this configuration, i.e. with its control terminal coupled to VIN, any variation in input voltage can also affect amplifier 207, thereby adversely affecting the stability of the bandgap reference voltage VZ. Specifically, even a few millivolts of offset introduced in operational amplifier 207 can result in an inability to accurately detect the voltage differential between its positive and negative input terminals. This detection problem, called power supply rejection (PSR), can render Brokaw cell 200 inapplicable for any system in which the input voltage may vary. Unfortunately, most systems have some variation in input voltage, either intentionally or unintentionally.
Therefore, a need arises for a bandgap reference voltage circuit that can be manufactured in CMOS technology while preserving the accuracy of the bandgap reference voltage irrespective of input voltage variations.

Folded cascode bandgap reference voltage circuit


A lighting system for providing aesthetic and energy efficient lighting, for building interiors and exterior lighting, includes lighting fixtures including a high intensity discharge lamp and a novel lens. The lens is formed as a dropped square pyramid with four triangular lower panels and four generally vertical side walls. Prisms on the inner and outer faces of the lens produce a higher luminous intensity at an angle of about 30.degree. to 50.degree. than at nadir and project light at higher angles toward the corners of the lens than perpendicular to the sides of the lens, thereby producing a generally square, widespread light distribution pattern. The lens cuts off high angle light (with respect to nadir), thereby reducing glare.

This invention relates to a lighting system, and to lighting fixtures incorporating novel lenses for use in the lighting system. The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with a dropped pyramidal lens used with a high intensity light source such as a high intensity discharge (HID) lamp for providing improved illumination of building interiors. The invention is also usable with other light sources and may also be used for lighting outdoor areas.
In lighting interior areas, a major consideration is the producing of required lighting levels using as little energy as possible and as little lighting equipment as possible. Thus, the use of light sources having a high efficacy, in terms of lumens per watt, is very desirable. For this reason, fluorescent lamps have become widely used in place of incandescent lamps. Fluorescent lamps, however, have two disadvantages as compared with HID lamps. First, while their efficiency is high, it is not so high as many available HID lamps. Second, fluorescent lighting fixtures are bulky and because of the low lumen output of the lamps, many fixtures are required to light an area to commonly required illumination levels.
The use of HID lamps, therefore, is to be preferred, but two disadvantages of these lamps must be overcome before their widespread use becomes adopted. The first problem is that of glare. Because of the very large amount of light emitted from a relatively small area, the amount of glare can be extremely high if not controlled by proper optical means. The second problem is that because of the very high output, only a small number of luminaires are required in order to produce normal footcandle levels, and thus these luminaires will be spread far apart. Wide spacing of luminaires tends to produce large areas of darkness between the luminaires, with very high footcandle levels beneath them. The light emitted must therefore be spread to give a broad coverage on the working surface, and yet not be so broad that concentrated light is emitted close to the horizontal, causing glare. Presently known HID lighting fixtures do not adequately resolve these problems and do not provide acceptable indoor lighting.


Methods, systems and data structure are described for implementing local isolated DLL and/or COM components. A version of a shared component is stored in a local directory with an application that uses that particular version. Another version of the shared component exists on the system and is useable by any number of other computer programs. A local file is created in the local directory that indicates the presence of an isolated version of the shared component. When the application calls the shared component, the system uses the isolated version of the shared component stored locally with the application program. Thus, specific versions of components may be provided to a calling application without making any code changes to the calling application or to the Component to which the calling application is bound.

Modern operating systems and applications are built from many components. A component is a self-contained software entity, offering a set of functions that can be used broadly by a variety of applications. A component is typically code, but it may also include the registry state, support files, etc. Component sharing enables efficiencies since individual components are used by more than one application. This enables efficiencies attributable to not having to re-write and test redundant code. This allows a developer to distribute a product to market more quickly and provides more stable code (when done properly).
Successful global component sharing requires that any shared component function exactly like previous versions of that component. In practice, however, 100 percent backward compatibility is difficult if not impossible to achieve because of the difficulty in testing all configurations. in which the shared component may be used. Both newer and older applications end up using the same component, and over time, fixing and improving the component becomes increasingly difficult.
As well, the practical functionality of a component is not easily defined. Applications may become dependent on unintended side effects that are not considered part of the core function of the component. For example, an application may become dependent on a bug in the component, and when the component developer chooses to fix that bug, the application fails. The sheer volume of applications that use each component only deepens the problem.
This lack of backwards compatibility can result in the inability to deploy a new application without breaking applications already deployed or compromising the functionality of the new application. Any new application requires a version of a shared component that is different from the version already deployed.
Component Sharing
Most, if not all, operating systems have long embraced the concept of sharing. All operating systems balance the need to provide a robust, full set of services against the resource constraints of the hardware for which the operating system was designed. Until recently, CPU usage and disk space were very tight resources on the PC platform. An obvious way to fit operating system and application code into a small space has been to share code as much as possible. Among many other benefits, code sharing improves the leverage of hardware resources and reduces the amount of code that must be tested.
Sharing is not always restricted to code. In WINDOWS operating systems by MICROSOFT CORPORATION, application and component state can be found throughout the operating system in the form of Registry state, application-specific data storage in the file system, and WINDOWS application program interfaces (API) that expose global namespaces. Such sharing provides for a high level of interoperability between applications produced by multiple software vendors, bringing cost reduction and heightened software efficiency.
However, there are costs to sharing. Sharing means that applications become interdependent upon one other, introducing an element of fragility. Changes to one component may produce unintended effects in other components. Typically. an application may become dependent on a particular version of a shared component. Another application may be installed with an upgraded (or downgraded) version of that shared component, and the first application may suffer from that change. In the extreme, applications that once worked well mysteriously start to function oddly, or even fail. This condition is often referred to by developers as "DLL Hell."
Isolation
The opposite of sharing in a system is isolation. Applications can be isolated by statically binding all resources and code into the application. However, complete isolation is not feasible today for applications that rely on COM components or any other globally stored system resources.
One solution discussed herein for reducing application fragility is to selectively isolate applications and components. Under this scenario, applications may all have access to the same component, but multiple versions of that component now become available. Component producers have the freedom to produce new versions of old components, making improvements and fixing bugs. Customers, on the other hand, can choose the version that fits with a particular application.
With components, the key is to provide the version that is appropriate to each application and isolate the different versions from each other. Further, with redirection, applications can be configured to use the component version that fits with that particular application, regardless of what other versions are currently deployed or will be deployed in the future. In addition, a developer may apply a bug fix to a component in the context of a single application without having to be concerned with the effect of the bug fix on other applications.

Method and systems for DLL/COM redirection


A system and method for mixing particulate cement with mineral aggregate(s) so as to minimize the formation and escape of dust. The system involves dispensing aggregate(s) downwardly from a hopper and simultaneously dispensing the cement particles from a tube within the aggregate hopper above the hopper opening. The cement particles adhere to moisture on the surface of the aggregate(s).

In the formulation of concrete it is necessary to admix particulate cement, water and one or more mineral aggregates in specific proportions. Normally, the water, cement and aggregates and other additives are added to a rotating mixing drum (either on a truck or at a fixed location) at generally the same time and then mixed for a specified period of time.
Unfortunately, particulate cement is of very fine particle size (like powder) which forms dust and escapes into the atmosphere. There has not heretofore been provided a simple and effective system for mixing particulate cement and aggregate to avoid or minimize the formation of dust and escape of cement into the atmosphere.


A utility cover identification system including a cover, a tray having a recess and being embedded within the cover, and an identification plate insertable into the tray to engage the tray recess to retain the identification plate within the tray. A method of forming the cover identification system includes the steps of coupling the cover and a tray together, curing the cover to secure the tray to the cover, and inserting an identification plate into the tray and retaining the identification plate in the tray.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to utility covers, and more particularly, to utility cover identification systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Identification indicia, such as company and other organization logos, trademarks, service marks, product names, and product or utility classifications have heretofore been applied to products in a variety of manners. Effective methods for applying such identification indicia to utility covers include painting, silk-screening, molding, embossing, and engraving. While these methods may be potentially cost-efficient for large production runs, cost efficiency decreases as size of the production run decreases. Correspondingly, the cost and storage space for maintaining inventory increases with the variety of identification indicia and the variety of sizes of utility covers.
Accordingly, plates bearing identification indicia (hereinafter identification plates) that attach to objects have been developed. One way to attach an identification plate to a cover is to use an adhesive and press the identification plate either onto the surface of the cover or into a recess on the surface of the cover. But if the surface or recess are not clean and dry, the adhesive may not hold. Additionally, if the adhesive and identification plate are applied further down the supply chain, for example, at a distributor, and the distributor does a sloppy glue job, such actions may reflect on and cause problems for the manufacturer. Further, such glued-on identification plates may come off and/or crack from thermal expansion and contraction.
Other methods for attaching identification plates to covers include fasteners, such as rivets, bolts, and other through-fasteners, but such methods increase the time and labor required, and thus the cost of producing such covers. Moreover, material choices for such covers may provide additional difficulties. For example, devices and methods in which appendages of the identification plate are inserted into apertures of the cover depend upon the dimensional accuracy of such apertures, both at the time of manufacture and throughout the life of the cover. Obtaining sufficient dimensional accuracy to ensure retention of such identification plates may be difficult in materials that are suitable for the exposed-environment lifecycle of such utility covers.
Examples of known apparatus and methods for securing identification indicia are disclosed in the following U.S. patent publications and patents, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety: U.S. Pat. No. 7,377,603 to Quijano, U.S. Pub. 2003/0000863 to Lee, U.S. Pub. 2005/0109650 to Huang, U.S. Pub. 2005/0189005 to Smith et al, U.S. Pub. 2006/0006240 to Singleton, and U.S. Pub. 2008/0263920 to Trigg et al.