A method for regulating the full-load injection quantity of a diesel internal combustion engine having a fixed steady state full-load injection quantity includes the following phases: a first transient phase, in which the full-load injection quantity is increased to a value which exceeds the steady state full-load injection quantity; a second time-limited phase, in which the full-load injection quantity is maintained at the excess level and, at the end of this phase, is reduced to the full-load injection quantity in the steady state; and a third phase, in which the full-load injection quantity in the steady state is supplied to the diesel internal combustion engine in a known way.

This application claims the priority of German patent document 196 45 389.5, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a method for regulating the full-load injection quantity of a diesel internal combustion engine.
German patent document DE-A-26 50 247 describes a method for limiting the maximum permissible fuel feel quantity of a diesel engine fuel pump equipped with a mechanical speed governor. In this case, for optimum utilization of engine power, a limited full-load feed quantity assigned to the respective engine speed is derived from a full-load feed quantity characteristic map. The air mass supplied to the engine serves as a second operating variable in addition to the engine speed. For supercharged diesel engines, the charge-air pressure is used as a second operating variable.
By virtue of the method described there, the engine is utilized up to the power limit even in the transient mode (which, in the case of internal combustion engines, represents the transition from a low load state to a higher load state), and the most favorable acceleration values can thereby be achieved.
This transient mode is subsequently followed by a uniform steady-state mode.
However, the measures taken in this method are highly complicated and, furthermore, cannot fully achieve their object of the optimum utilization of the diesel engine in the transient mode.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,186 discloses a method for controlling the injection quantity of an Otto internal combustion engine so as to avoid an excessively lean mixture under a high load. In Otto engines, the mixture becomes leaner as a physical consequence of the transient state which prevails during acceleration from a low load. When the mixture becomes leaner, the exhaust-gas temperature rises, which under some circumstances may damage the exhaust-gas catalyst.
According to the method described there, a larger quantity of fuel and therefore an over-enriched mixture is injected as a countermeasure to the mixture becoming leaner. The method can be used only in an Otto engine, since, in a diesel engine, different preconditions prevail with regard to thermodynamic equilibrium of the internal combustion engine. Furthermore, such method can be used only within very narrow limits, since ignitability is no longer ensured if the mixture is too highly enriched. Only a very slight power or torque increase (for better acceleration) can be achieved by means of the method described there.
German patent document DE 37 00 401 C2 describes a mixture-regulating device for the feedback regulation of the air/fuel ratio of an internal combustion engine which is normally operated with a lean mixture. In order to achieve a desired response behaviour, along with a low emission of No.sub.x, even in transient states of the internal combustion engine, a control is provided such that the change in the air/fuel ratio temporarily exceeds an amount necessitated by the change in a desired value. Complicated mechanical devices are required for this purpose, however; and, they do not allow accurate control. Furthermore, a torque increase or power increase cannot be achieved by means of the device described there.
The object of the invention is to provide a method which improves the driving dynamics of a diesel internal combustion engine by simple means, without the need for accessories.
This object is achieved by the method according to the invention, in which operation of the diesel internal combustion engine is divided into three phases. Gas acceptance as well as torque, and consequently also driving dynamics in the transient mode, are considerably improved by adding an extra fuel quantity, which is supplied to the diesel internal combustion engine during the latter portion of the first phase and in the second phase. In the third phase a steady state level is maintained. This improvement is expressed, in particular, in shorter acceleration times, even from low engine speeds.
It is advantageous, furthermore, that no accessories are required in order to carry out the method according to the invention and it can therefore be carried out in a simple way.
In diesel engines, the combustion-space temperature depends on the load state of the engine. Consequently, at low load, such as, for example, during idling, the combustion-space walls are relatively cold. The time-limited extra quantity is possible only because the combustion-space walls of the diesel internal combustion engine are cold under low load. If the combustion-space walls were warm or hot, as they are when the engine is in the highly loaded state, the extra quantity would cause the critical temperature of the combustion-space walls to be exceeded. The method according to the invention is therefore used solely for acceleration from a no-load or low-load state or in a transient mode.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method for regulating the full-load injection quantity of a diesel internal combustion engine


A system and method of collecting and disposing of fluid during a medical procedure. Fluid is drawn from a fluid source into a first reservoir in communication with a vacuum source. The fluid passes through an open fluid transfer valve into a second reservoir in communication with the vacuum source. While the fluid continues to be drawn into the first reservoir, the fluid transfer valve is closed after a predetermined volume of the fluid passes into the second reservoir. The fluid collected in the second reservoir is measured and evacuated from the second reservoir. The fluid transfer valve is opened and the steps are repeated until the medical procedure is completed while the first reservoir remains in uninterrupted communication with the vacuum source during the medical procedure such that fluid is capable of continuing to be drawn into the first reservoir without interruption.

Systems for collecting and disposing of bodily fluids and other fluids that are aspirated from a patient during surgical procedures are well known. Conventional fluid waste collection systems typically use some type of container or canister into which the aspirated fluids are collected. As the fluid collection canisters become filled during the course of a surgical procedure, the filled canisters are replaced with empty canisters. Depending on the volume of the canisters and the amount of fluid being collected, the surgical procedure may have to be interrupted to replace a filled canister with an empty canister.
It should be appreciated that the aspirated fluids may be contaminated with pathogens, such as HIV, HPV, Hepatitis, MRSA and other infectious agents. During the surgical procedure and/or after the surgical procedure is completed, the fluid filled canisters are typically carted from the operating room to a central collection location for disposal or, alternatively, the canisters may be emptied, cleaned, and re-used. Accordingly, handling of fluid collection canisters by hospital personnel creates a risk that the handlers may come into contact with the contaminated fluids contained in the canisters due to spillage, leaks or splashing while carrying, emptying or cleaning the canisters.
In an effort to minimize exposure to pathogens in the aspirated fluid, the canisters may be partially pre-filled with a disinfectant to destroy any pathogens as the fluid enters the canisters. Alternatively solidifying agents or coagulants may be added to the canisters to minimize the potential for spillage, splashing and leakage. However, such additives increase the disposal costs because the canisters must then be treated as hazardous waste and must be incinerated or delivered to a landfill. Furthermore, there is also the additional labor and associated costs with having to purchase, store, and handle the canisters themselves. In any event, whether disinfectants or solidifiers are added, there remains a risk that handlers of the canisters will still come into contact with the fluid waste.
In an attempt to overcome the risk of exposure to pathogens and the additional costs and labor associated with the use of canisters to collect fluid waste, systems have been developed to collect the fluid waste in reservoirs which can be drained directly into the facility's sewer system. However, such systems operate in a manner very similar to the canister systems (apart from having to handle the canisters). Specifically, such systems utilize redundant reservoirs and piping so that when the first reservoir is filled, the operator has to manually disconnect the suction hose from the first reservoir and re-connect the suction hoses to the second reservoir which presents the same undesirable interruption of the medical procedure as when using a canister-type collection system.
In an attempt to minimize the interruption of the medical procedure, others have attempted to automate the process using redundant systems, with each system having its own reservoir, vacuum line, drain pipe, fluid level sensor and associated valving. In use, the first reservoir is under negative pressure and collects the fluid. When the first reservoir reaches a predetermined fill level as detected by the first fluid level sensor, the system is programmed to switch the negative pressure from the first reservoir to the second reservoir, such that the second reservoir begins to collect the fluid while the fluid in the first reservoir is drained. This automatic switching between filling and draining the redundant systems is repeated until the medical procedure is completed. While the switching between reservoirs is much quicker using the automated process than doing so manually, and while the capacity to collect fluid is theoretically unlimited, such automatic switching systems nevertheless still cause an undesirable brief interruption of the suction while the system switches between the reservoirs.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an efficient system for collecting and disposing of aspirated fluid waste from medical procedures, which eliminates the need for handling of canisters to avoid the potential risk of exposure to pathogens, which has an unlimited capacity, and which avoids any interruption of suction during the medical procedure.

Fluid waste collection and disposal system and method


A toggle lever connection for connecting at least two toggle levers is disclosed. The toggle levers each include two grooves arranged opposite each other. The toggle lever connection includes a frame and a slider with one hook per toggle lever. The frame and the slider run into each other and can be displaced in relation to each other between a first, open position, in which the toggle lever connection can be placed onto the at least two toggle levers or removed therefrom, and a second, closed position, in which the hooks grip into the grooves of the at least two toggle levers, thereby locking the toggle lever connection to the toggle levers.

Electric switches, for example circuit breakers, can be switched via a toggle lever. The toggle levers can be actuated electromechanically, for example via a motor operator, or manually by an operator.
In a system including a plurality of electric switches, it may be necessary for the switches to be actuated simultaneously. It may also be desirable for the toggle levers of the plurality of electric switches to be designed to be blockable in order to prevent inadvertent switching. It is advantageous in this case if the connecting part for the toggle levers can be mounted and can be installed retrospectively on electric switches which have already been installed.
In previous solutions, a connecting part is placed onto a central electric switch and then the adjacent electric switches are connected to the connecting part. The ensemble of electric switches can then be fitted in the switchgear cabinet and hooked up. Such a solution is very awkward to assemble; the entire ensemble of electric switches always has to be removed from the switchgear cabinet in order to exchange a switch.
Another known solution uses a connecting part which can be plugged on, wherein the connection is undertaken via a continuous rivet which is deformed after the assembly. Disassembly of such a construction is no longer possible. If, instead of the rivet, use is made of a shaft or a screw, the latter can also be spatially difficult to disassemble.

Toggle lever connection for electric switches


A method and apparatus for tracking a pathological anatomy within a patient's body is described. A data model of a skin surface of the patient's body may be acquired using light reflected from the skin surface. The data model can be matched with skin surfaces reconstructed and/or interpolated from four-dimensional (4D) diagnostic imaging data, such as 4D CT data, to determine a temporal phase of the patient's respiratory motion. The identified temporal phase may then be used in conjunction with the diagnostic imaging data to identify a location of the pathological anatomy within the patient's body.

One challenge facing the delivery of radiation to treat pathological anatomies such as tumors or lesions is identifying the location of the target (i.e. tumor location within a patient). The most common technique currently used to identify and target a tumor location for treatment involves a diagnostic x-ray or fluoroscopy system to image the patient's body to detect the position of the tumor. This technique assumes that the tumor is stationary. Even if a patient is kept motionless, radiation treatment requires additional methods to account for movement due to respiration, in particular when treating a tumor located near the lungs. Breath hold and respiratory gating are two primary methods used to compensate for target movement during respiration while a patient is receiving conventional radiation treatments.
Breath hold requires the patient to hold his or her breath at the same point in the breathing cycle and only treats the tumor when the tumor is stationary. A respirometer is often used to measure the tidal volume and ensure the breath is being held at the same location in the breathing cycle during each irradiation. This method takes longer than a standard treatment and often requires training the patient to hold his or her breath in a repeatable manner.
Respiratory gating is the process of turning on the radiation beam as a function of a patient's breathing cycle. When using a respiratory gating technique, treatment is synchronized to the individual's breathing pattern, limiting the radiation beam delivery to only one specific part of the breathing cycle and targeting the tumor only when it is in the optimum range. This treatment method may be much quicker than the breath hold method but requires the patient to have many sessions of training to breathe in the same manner for long periods of time. This training requires many days of practice before treatment can begin. This system may also require healthy tissue to be irradiated before and after the tumor passes into view to ensure complete coverage of the tumor. This can add an additional margin of 5-10 mm on top of the margin normally used during treatment.
Attempts have been made to avoid the burdens placed on a patient from breath hold and respiratory gating techniques. In another method to track the movement of a tumor in real time during respiration, a combination of internal imaging markers and external position markers has been used to detect the movement of a tumor. In particular, fiducial markers are placed near a tumor to monitor the tumor location. The position of the fiducial markers is coordinated with the external position markers to track the movement of the tumor during respiration. External position markers are used because the fiducial markers are typically monitored with x-ray imaging. Because it may be unsafe to expose the patient continuously to x-rays to monitor the fiducials, the position of the markers can be used to predict the position of the fiducial markers between the longer periods of x-ray images. One type of external position markers integrates light emitting diodes (LEDs) into a vest that is worn by the patient. The flashing LEDs are then detected by a camera system to track movement.

Target tracking using surface scanner and four-dimensional diagnostic imaging data


Human Ckβ-9 polypeptides and DNA (RNA) encoding such chemokine polypeptides and a procedure for producing such polypeptides by recombinant techniques is disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for utilizing such Ckβ-9 polypeptides for the treatment of leukemia, tumors, chronic infections, autoimmune disease, fibrotic disorders, wound healing and psoriasis. Antagonists against such polypeptides and their use as a therapeutic to treat rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune and chronic inflammatory and infective diseases, allergic reactions, prostaglandin-independent fever and bone marrow failure are also disclosed. Diagnostic assays are also disclosed which detect the presence of mutations in the Ckβ-9 coding sequence and over-expression of the Ckβ-9 protein.

Chemokines, also referred to as intercrine cytokines, are a subfamily of structurally and functionally related cytokines. These molecules are 8–10 kd in size. In general, chemokines exhibit 20% to 75% homology at the amino acid level and are characterized by four conserved cysteine residues that form two disulfide bonds. Based on the arrangement of the first two cysteine residues, chemokines have been classified into two subfamilies, alpha and beta. In the alpha subfamily, the first two cysteines are separated by one amino acid and hence are referred to as the "C—X—C" subfamily. In the beta subfamily, the two cysteines are in an adjacent position and are, therefore, referred to as the "C—C" subfamily. Thus far, at least eight different members of this family have been identified in humans.
The intercrine cytokines exhibit a wide variety of functions. A hallmark feature is their ability to elicit chemotactic migration of distinct cell types, including monocytes, neutrophils, T lymphocytes, basophils and fibroblasts. Many chemokines have pro-inflammatory activity and are involved in multiple steps during an inflammatory reaction. These activities include stimulation of histamine release, lysosomal enzyme and leukotriene release, increased adherence of target immune cells to endothelial cells, enhanced binding of complement proteins, induced expression of granulocyte adhesion molecules and complement receptors, and respiratory burst. In addition to their involvement in inflammation, certain chemokines have been shown to exhibit other activities. For example, macrophage inflammatory protein 1 (MIP-1) is able to suppress hematopoietic stem cell proliferation, platelet factor-4 (PF-4) is a potent inhibitor of endothelial cell growth, Interleukin-3 (IL-8) promotes proliferation of keratinocytes, and GRO is an autocrine growth factor for melanoma cells.
In light of the diverse biological activities, it is not surprising that chemokines have been implicated in a number of physiological and disease conditions, including lymphocyte trafficking, wound healing, hematopoietic regulation and immunological disorders such as allergy, asthma and arthritis.
Members of the "C—C" branch exert there effects on the following cells: cosinophils which destroy parasites to lessen parasitic infection and cause chronic inflammation in the airways of the respiratory system; macrophages which suppress tumor formation in vertebrates; and basophils which release histamine which plays a role in allergic inflammation. However, members of one branch may exert an effect on cells which are normally responsive to the other branch of chemokines and, therefore, no precise role can be attached to the members of the branches.
While members of the C—C branch act predominantly on mononuclear cells and members of the C—X—C branch act predominantly on neutrophils a distinct chemoattractant property cannot be assigned to a chemokine based on this guideline. Some chemokines from one family show characteristics of the other.


Solutions for the propagation of a hydraulic fracture in a permeable elastic rock and driven by injection of a Newtonian fluid. Through scaling, the dependence of the solution on the problem parameters is reduced to a small number of dimensionless parameters.

A particular class of fractures in the Earth develops as a result of internal pressurization by a viscous fluid. These fractures are either man-made hydraulic fractures created by injecting a viscous fluid from a borehole, or natural fractures such as kilometers-long volcanic dikes driven by magma coming from the upper mantle beneath the Earth's crust. Man-made hydraulic fracturing "treatments" have been performed for many decades, and for many purposes, including the recovery of oil and gas from underground hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Despite the decades-long practice of hydraulic fracturing, many questions remain with respect to the dynamics of the process. Questions such as: how is the fracture evolving in shape and size; how is the fracturing pressure varying with time; what is the process dependence on the properties of the rock, on the in situ stresses, on the properties of both the fracturing fluid and the pore fluid, and on the boundary conditions? Some of the difficulties of answering these questions originate from the non-linear nature of the equation governing the flow of fluid in the fracture, the non-local character of the elastic response of the fracture, and the time-dependence of the equation governing the exchange of fluid between the fracture and the rock. Non-locality, non-linearity, and history-dependence conspire to yield a complex solution structure that involves coupled processes at multiple small scales near the tip of the fracture.
Early modeling efforts focused on analytical solutions for fluid-driven fractures of simple geometry, either straight in-plane strain or penny-shaped. They were mainly motivated by the problem of designing hydraulic fracturing treatments. These solutions were typically constructed, however, with strong ad hoc assumptions not clearly supported by relevant physical arguments. In recent years, the limitations of these solutions have shifted the focus of research in the petroleum industry towards the development of numerical algorithms to model the three-dimensional propagation of hydraulic fractures in layered strata characterized by different mechanical properties and/or in-situ stresses. Devising a method that can robustly and accurately solve the set of coupled non-linear history-dependent integro-differential equations governing this problem will advance the ability to predict and interactively control the dynamic behavior of hydraulic fracture propagation.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for alternate methods for modeling various behaviors of hydraulic fracturing operations.

Interpretation and design of hydraulic fracturing treatments


The present invention provides an epoxy resin including a reaction product of 1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene and an epihalohydrin, the epoxy resin containing a cyclic compound that has acyclic structure containing, as constitutional atoms, two adjacent oxygen atoms derived from 1,2,3-trihydroxybenzene, the cyclic compound being contained in an amount of 0.040 to 0.115 mol based on 100 g of the epoxy resin. The epoxy resin can be an alternative as a biobased polymer, is liquid, and is excellent in thermal resistance.

Epoxy resin is a curable resin that contains epoxy groups in its molecule and can be cured with a crosslinked network formed by the epoxy groups. Cured products of epoxy resins are excellent in mechanical strength, thermal resistance, water resistance, insulation properties, and the like, and thus are widely used in a matrix for a fiber-reinforced composite material, a heat dissipation member, an adhesive, a paint, a semiconductor, a printed circuit board, and other applications.
Thus, epoxy resin is one of the most important curable resins. Many of currently used epoxy resins are based on the diglycidyl ether form of bisphenol A and bisphenol A which is a raw material thereof is typically synthesized by reacting phenol and acetone in the presence of a catalyst.
Meanwhile, in the recent years, biobased polymers have attracted attentions from the viewpoints of the increased focus on the environment, the concern about depletion of petroleum resources, and the like. Also as for the epoxy resin, various studies have been made about an alternative to the diglycidyl ether form of bisphenol A.
For example, NPL 1 suggests use of a natural aromatic compound, in particular, a tannin as an alternative to the diglycidyl ether form of bisphenol A. For example, it is stated that an epoxy resin produced by reacting catechin or gallic acid with epichlorohydrin can be used as an alternative to the diglycidyl ether form of bisphenol A.
Note that NPL 1 states, for example, that there is recognized a difference in the reactivity between a reaction of catechin with epichlorohydrin and a reaction of gallic acid with epichlorohydrin, that an object is to study an action of phase transfer catalyst (PTC) used in a reaction and optimum conditions of a functionalizing reaction of a tannin, and that the mechanism of glycidylation is investigated in the above study by using 4-mechylcatechol, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, pyrogallol, and resorcinol.
For example, it is stated that when pyrogallol is reacted with epichlorohydrin, a mixture that contains two products difficult to separate is obtained, and that the two products here are the triglycidyl ether form of pyrogallol and a benzodioxane derivative, the ratio of the two products produced being 1:1.

Epoxy resin, epoxy resin composition including same, and cured product using said epoxy resin composition


A method of assessing a body part includes obtaining two or more types of data through a combination of two or more of the following four imaging modalities: (1) obtaining surface topography data of the body part, (2) obtaining thermographic data of the body part, (3) obtaining range of motion data for the body part, and (4) obtaining spectral data of light reflected from the body part. The two or more types of data are integrated to allow them to be interacted with simultaneously, and the body part is assessed based on the integrated data.

Physicians diagnosing and treating disease involving inflammation of the joints, such as arthritis, including osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) have experienced difficulty in quantifying the extent of inflammation or establishing the diagnosis. A typical arthritis patient may present with one or more various symptoms relating to synovitis, including swelling, heat, redness and reduced mobility in one or more joints. However, it has proven remarkably difficult to measure these signs in arthritis patients in a consistent manner, or even to get agreement between rheumatologists as to the presence or absence of the disease in a given joint. Physician global assessment and assessment of swollen and/or tender joints are standard tools used to measure disease activity and response to therapy in clinical studies. Various components of these algorithms call for the unbiased, precise estimations of inflammation, as manifested by swelling, heat, erythema, pain on motion, tenderness and/or limitations of motion in the joints. Unfortunately, these measures are cumbersome, time-consuming, and often unreliable. Carefully designed studies have repeatedly shown poor reproducibility of these manifestations of synovitis. Both intra- and inter-rater reliability estimates show high coefficients of variations, and low correlation coefficients and intra-class correlations. Unfortunately, training workshops designed for "joint assessors" and conducted by experienced pediatric rheumatologists have had little impact in addressing this problem.
Partly because of the difficulty in accurately measuring joint inflammation, surrogate markers of inflammation and outcome measures for arthritis have been developed. As an example, the FDA and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) have adopted the ACR 20/50/70 and the ACR Pediatric 30. These algorithms have gained widespread acceptance and are now used as the primary measure of response in both children and adults with inflammatory arthritis. The ACR algorithms include 6 core components: (1) physician global assessment of disease activity; (2) parent/patient assessment of overall well-being; (3) functional ability; (4) number of joints with active arthritis; (5) number of joints with limited range of motion; and (6) erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), which is also included in the ACR 20/50/70. While components 1-3 require subjective assessments, either on the part of the patient or the physician, components 4-6 should be measurable and quantifiable. Tools that would produce a set of reliable, reproducible and objective measures of the inflammatory state of the joint would have at least two important benefits. First, they would improve assessment of outcome in clinical studies of arthritis by providing a more reliable measure of changes in synovitis in response to therapy. Second, they would be useful to the rheumatologist in the clinic by allowing objective comparison of a given patient's joints from visit to visit.
Improved objective measures of joint inflammation are clearly needed. Tools which could quantify the major components of the joint count assessment to develop a quantitative, highly reliable, time- and cost-efficient method of determining the major physical examination parameters of the joints would be highly desirable. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to develop tools for the objective measurement of various symptoms presented by arthritis patients.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh-Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education


An optical waveguide film includes a film including a clad layer and a core layer covered by the clad layer; an adhesive layer formed on at least one surface of the film; and a plurality of projection portions formed on a surface of the adhesive layer and arranged at spaced intervals to one another.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical waveguide film and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, optical waveguide films used to optically connect between a plurality of optical elements provided on an optical substrate are known. Such optical waveguide film needs to be precisely positioned to the optical substrate when arranged thereon in order to secure an optical path.
As the optical waveguide film, for example, there has been proposed an optical wiring film made of a plurality of optical wiring layers and formed on a silicon substrate via a curable adhesive layer (cf. for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-116334). In this proposal, a liquid curable adhesive layer (not yet cured) is first coated onto an optical wiring film, the optical wiring film is then positioned to a silicon substrate via the liquid curable adhesive layer thus coated, and subsequently, a curable adhesive layer having a desired adhesive strength is formed by curing and the optical wiring film is fixed to the silicon substrate.

Optical waveguide film and manufacturing method thereof


An apparatus and method for mitigating the shock front of an aerospace plane flying at hypersonic speeds. The invention employs supercooling driven by the cryogenic power of liquid hydrogen, regenerative evaporation of liquid hydrogen or liquid nitrogen and consequential isothermal compression, to usurp the shock front in totality at Mach 1.

This invention relates to the nosecone design of a rocket or aerospace plane. More specifically, this invention relates to the mitigation of the shock front experienced at hypersonic speed through supercooling.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,761, owned by the applicant for the present invention, discloses an air breathing aerospace engine. That patent is incorporated by reference in its entirety. The engine includes a frontal core that houses an oxygen liquefaction system that captures ambient air, liquefies and separates the oxygen. The oxygen may then be used in the rocket engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,431, owned by the applicant of the present invention, discloses an aerospike engine. That patent is incorporated by reference in its entirety. An aerospike engine may have a tapered body with a slanted or curved reaction plane. A fuel injector directs fuel down the reaction plane. The combustion of the fuel on the reaction plane creates a propulsive force across the reaction plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,344,111 hence discloses a re-usable or reversible SSTO that may be expediently launched to service the rapidly expanding space enterprise. Merging patent '761 and patent '431 rendered a unique aerospace plane confirmation (the '111 patent) with a liquefaction or supercooling nosecone on the ascending or leading direction and an adaptive aerospike rocket engine on the tail end.
Oxygen constitutes 89% of the mass of the necessary propellant for such an engine. A substantial portion of the necessary liquid oxygen can be distilled out of the ambient atmosphere at hypersonic speeds by supercooling through turbo compression at the nosecone. Through this process, the merged aerospace plane would be capable of tanking the necessary hydrogen as well as carrying a substantially improved payload into orbit. However, a consequence of tanking all of the necessary liquid hydrogen propellant onboard would be to invariably result in bubbly contours.
A reversible ("Uturn") aerospace plane was rendered that can fly hypersonically without the impediment of shock waves, shock front, or superheated intake air (a node of optimality) in the ascending direction whilst reentering in the reversed (high drag) direction into the atmosphere with the benefit of cushioned heat dissipation in the higher/rarified atmospheric domain. The slated "turbocharged" aerospace plane may also be barrel-rolled through the initial reentry phase so as to dissipate the insipient heat into deep space. As a consequence of employing the cryogenic potential of the liquid oxygen/hydrogen propellants to supercool the nosecone in lieu of cooling the jacket of the rocket engine, it would be conversely be necessary to line the expansion ramp of the aerospike engine with ceramic tiles. Slated ceramic tiled would function both as a reentry shield as well as active ramp insulation. The Uturn would hence facilitate an aerospace plane with substantially lesser heat shield whilst limiting ceramic tiles to the aero spike engine expansion ramps.
Whereas the efficacy of the oxygen liquefaction would be substantially constrained by the extremely low pressure of the rarified atmospheric air at high altitudes with the "111" patent in its native form, the addition of a turbo compressor driven by either superheated nitrogen or superheated hydrogen in accordance with claims #1 and #13 of the "111" patent would substantially expand the operating envelope of the air breathing aerospace engine. The high compressed ambient air may hence be inter-cooled in accordance with the means provided via patent "111" and hence expanded/flashed into the cryogenic zone via an expansion motor/turbine that may either augment the compression process or drive the propellant pumps. Means of supercooling the nose cone at supersonic speeds is additionally being introduced to suppress the formation of the shock front in the abstract (eg lim dQ>>infinity, dL=0), "freezing" OR usurping the incipient shock at Mach 1 and rendering isothermal compression in lieu of adiabatic compression of the intake air into the liquefaction plant throughout the hypersonic regime.
A novel new approach with a rocket or aerospace plane flying hypersonically through the atmosphere entails morphing (cool) isothermal compression (in lieu of a blazing shock front) by orchestrating supercooling and superconductivity in coherence, usurping the insipient shock wave at formation (Prandt1 singularity, Mach1) and distilling both liquid oxygen as well as liquid nitrogen simultaneously out of the incident atmospheric air via regenerative chilling. The rational simply entails that in lieu of dissipating 99.99% of the incident kinetic energy in the shock front at hypersonic velocity (an irreversible adiabatic process), 99.99% of the kinetic energy is conversely converted into useful work via isothermal compression of the incident atmospheric air. By employing the cryogenic power of tanked hydrogen incident to a H2/O2 propulsive system coherently and morphing isothermal compression by means of the Prandt1 singularity "niche" via the force of supercooling AND superconductivity, compressed supercool/saturated/liquefacted ambient air may be rendered as a unique solution to a perplexing technological challenge.
The following definitions apply to terms used in this application:                Liquefaction: The condensation of a gaseous medium.        Supercooling: Rate of cooling orders of magnitude in excess of normal heat transfer rates.        Superconduction: Rate of conduction orders of magnitude in excess of normal conduction rates.        Superemissivity/absorptivity: Emissivity or absorptivity in excess of unity by means of negative refraction (or contact area morphing).        Supersonic: Flying 2-3 times the speed of sound.        Hypersonic: Flying 4-20 times the speed of sound.        Isothermal compression: Compression at constant temperature        Adiabatic compression: Compression without loss of heat (eg rapid compression via a shock wave).
Normally compression of air results in an increase in the temperature of the incident air. Air may be compressed either via a mechanical device (reciprocating or turbo compressor) OR via the ram force of a body traveling though the atmosphere. Compression of the air may be enhanced via a diffuser in the latter instance. At high speeds rapid compression of the air results in formation of a shock wave (adiabatic/trapped heat of compression). The speed of the body traveling through the atmosphere at formation of a shock wave is denoted Mach1. The energy content of the air at Mach1 is labeled "total" or "stagnation" temperature "Ts" in absolute terms. The pertinent relationships are as follows:Ts=To[1+(k−1)/2×M^2]  (1)where Ts is the stagnation temperature, To=ambient temperature in absolute terms, k=polytropic constant Cp/Cv=1.4 and M=Mach number;T2/T1=(p2/p1)^k−1/k  (2)Where T2/T1 is the adiabatic temperature ratio and p2/p1 is the compression ratio;wa=Cp·R·T1·(k/k−1)[(p2/p1)^k−1/k−1]  (3)where wa is the adiabatic work of compression, R is the ideal gas constant, T entering temperature;wi=Cp·R·T1·ln(p2/p1)  (4)where wi is the isothermal work of compression with a compression ratio of p2/p1 vis-à-vis; Atmospheric pressure model (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_pressure);
101/218,000ft1/327,480ft1/1052,926ft1/100101,381ft1/1,000159,013ft1/10,000227,899ft1/100,000283,076ft.                0/E^3=20; 50,000 ft/E^6=403; 95,000 ft/E^9=8,103; 150,000 ft/E^12=162,755The real time Mach number/stagnation temperature relationship in terms of altitude has been determined as follows (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/BGH/stagtmp.html);
M1 = 500 R@5000ftM2 = 700 R@30-90,000ftM3 = 1100 R@40-90,000ftM4 = 1600 R@40-90,000ftM5 = 2200 R@40-100,000ftM6 = 3200 R@40-100,000ftM7 = 4200 R@40-100,000ftM8 = 5300 R@40-100,000ft.The respective shock/gradient for a (real time) adiabatic shock front (plus associated frontal pressure) may hence be rendered via the polytropic relationship p2/p1=[T2/T1]^k/(k−1) as follows;
M1: p2/p1 = 2.2p2 = paxp2/p1 = 2 × 15/2.75 = 11 psi@20,000ftM2: p2/p1 = 3.2p2 = paxp2/p1 = 3.2 × 15/4 = 12 psi@30,000ftM3: p2/p1 = 16M4: p2/p1 = 59M5: p2/p1 = 179p2 = paxp2/p1 = 179 × 15/55 = 49@70,000ftpsiM6: p2/p1 = 663M7: p2/p1 = 1718M8: p2/p1 = 3878×15/1100 = 53 psi@100,000ftIn event of isothermal compression the Bernoulli's law will control with p=V^2/2vg/144 in psi. The respective frontal pressure in event of isothermal compression hence becomes:
M1: p1 =M2: p2 = 10.3 psi@27,480ft (1/2)M3: p3 =M4: p4 = 3.9 psi@52,926ft (1/3)M5: p5 =M6: p6 = 2.8 psi@101,381ft (1/100)M7: p7 =M8: p8 = 2.0 psi@120,000ft (1/245)M9: p9 =M10: p10 = 0.77 psi@159,013ft (1/1000)The work of compression for a (normalized) free-range adiabatic compression hypersonic shock ram versus isothermal compression (in the abstract) at Mach8 is as follows:wa=Cp·R·T1·(k/k−1)[(p2/p1)^k−1/k−1]=0.25×3.5×53.3×400/788×[(3878)^0.286−1]=226 Btu/lbwi=Cp·R·T1·ln(p2/p1)=0.25×53.3×400/788×ln(245)=37Btu/lb.
The impact of a sustainable isothermal (ram) compression system thru the hypersonic domain is threefold, eg 1) that the destructive thermal impact in the native/adiabatic mode is being contained 2) the work of compression is substantially mitigated to the extent that the latent heat of evaporation of hydrogen component alone of the LH2/LO2 propellant will suffice in dissipating the incident heat of compression within the realm of the supercool synthesis and 3) the drag force of a "superconductive hypersonic liquefaction nosecone" will be proximal 6× (eg 226/37) less in comparison to a native hypersonic aerospace plane flying trough the hypersonic zone.
The mass flow rate at Mach8 (8,000 ft/sec) conversely=8,000×1/14/245=2.33/lb/SF/sec. The heat of compression hence becomes:
Qa=226×2.33×3600=1,895,688 Btu/SF/h
Qi=37×2.33×3600=310,356 Btu/SF/h.
O2: Latent Heat of Vaporization: 2934 BTU/lb mole (92 Btu/lb)
http://www-safety.deas.harvard.edu/services/oxygen.html#physical
N2: Latent Heat of Vaporization: 2399 BTU/lb mole (86 Btu/lb)
http://www-safety.deas.harvard.edu/services/nitrogen.html#physical
H2: Latent Heat of Vaporization: 389 Btu/lb-Mole (195 Btu/lb)
http://www.ehs.ufl.edu/Lab/Cryogens/hydrogen.html
H2 has two different nuclear spin states: ortho-hydrogen (spin 1 state) and para-hydrogen (spin 0 state). Near room temperature, equilibrium hydrogen is 75% ortho and 25% para. However, at low temperatures, around the normal boiling point of 20.3 K, hydrogen is nearly all in the para-hydrogen state. The conversion process from ortho to para hydrogen is exothermic and generates about 700 KJoule/mole.

Superconductive hypersonic liquefaction nosecone


A guide loop for a safety belt on motor vehicles, including a guide element provided with a guide slit for the safety belt, which is fixed to a vehicle by means of a fixing screw, and an adapter with a displacement body for limiting the slit width of the guide slit. The adapter is coupled to the inside of the fixing hole of the guide element and includes an opening penetrated by the fixing screw inserted through the fixing hole. The fixing hole of is formed by a boring, with a cross-section slightly larger than the external diameter of the screw in order to maximize the overlap between a bearing surface of the guide element and a head of the fixing screw. In addition, a number of grooves are distributed around the boring's circumference. When the adapter is mounted, the grooves accept fixing arms of the adapter.

A guide loop for a safety belt in a motor vehicle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,327 B2. It includes a guide element having a guide slit, also designated as a belt eye, for the safety belt. The guide element is in the form of a one-piece metal body of steel plate manufactured by the cold forming process, which is fixed to the vehicle body by means of a fixing screw through a fixing hole in a mounting surface. A plastic adapter is connected to the guide element, and includes a cylindrical collar for fixing of the same which can be inserted in the fixing hole and also a fixable displacement body at the upper limit of the belt eye for limiting the width of the guide slit.
A disadvantage of this solution is that the screw head of the fixing screw is only supported on the guide element with an extremely small overlap due to the cylindrical collar of the adapter located inside the fixing hole. Because of this very slight overlap, there is significant risk that the fixing screw could pop out of the fixing hole of the guide elements in the presence of large loads, such as those occurring during a crash.
One solution is enlarging the overlap by means of correspondingly-sized washers or using fixing screws with special dimensions, in particular screws with large heads. However, this leads to increased costs and parts count. Therefore, an improved solution is required.
Starting from the guide loop described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,327, it is the objective of the present invention to create an improved device which effectively prevents the fixing screw head from popping out of the fixing hole, while attaching an adapter to the guide element with a simple and low-cost means.


An LED lamp includes a bracket, a heat sink assembly mounted on a top side of the bracket and a plurality of LED modules mounted on a bottom surface of the heat sink assembly. The heat sink assembly has a pair of bottom surfaces. The bottom surfaces form an alary configuration and the LED modules are mounted on the bottom surfaces.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an LED lamp, more particularly to an LED lamp having a large illumination angle.
2. Description of Related Art
The technology of light emitting diodes has rapidly developed in recent years from indicators to illumination applications. With the features of long-term reliability, environment friendliness and low power consumption, the LED is viewed as a promising alternative for future lighting products.
A conventional LED lamp comprises a heat sink and a plurality of LED modules having LEDs attached to an outer surface of a heat sink to dissipate heat generated thereof. The outer surface of the heat sink generally is a plane and the LEDs are arranged close to each other. When the LED lamp works, the LEDs mounted on the plane outer surface of the heat sink only form a plane light source.
What is needed, therefore, is an LED lamp having a large illumination angle.

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


A method for transmitting data to a traffic information server includes obtaining, at a mobile vehicle, data including at least one of a vehicle speed and a vehicle location at a then-current time, and determining whether the data is redundant. Determining whether the data is redundant may be accomplished by at least one of comparing the data with other data previously transmitted to the traffic information server from an other mobile vehicle or determining whether the data falls within an expected range for a predetermined time interval. The method further includes transmitting the data, via a wireless communication system, to the traffic information server from the mobile vehicle if the data is determined to be non-redundant. Also disclosed herein is a system to perform the method.

Mobile vehicles are, in some instances, used as probes for transmitting information from an on-board telematics unit to a traffic information server. The information may include, for example, the speed that the vehicle is traveling and/or the location of the vehicle at a particular time. Similar information may also be transmitted from several other vehicles. The information from all of the vehicles may be compiled and analyzed to determine traffic conditions and to create traffic flow maps and/or traffic information services.

Method and system for transmitting data to a traffic information server


An integrated circuit containing finFETs may be formed with fins extending above isolation oxide. A first finFET and a second finFET have exposed fin heights which are different by at least 25 percent. The exposed fin height is a vertical height of a sidewall of the fin above the isolation oxide. Gates are formed over the fins. In one version, a fin height of the first finFET is less than a fin height of the second finFET; a thickness of the isolation oxide adjacent to fins of the first finFET and the second finFET is substantially uniform. The fin height is the height of a top of the fin above the substrate. In another version, the isolation oxide is thinner at the first finFET than at the second finFET; the fin heights of the first finFET and the second finFET are substantially equal.

An integrated circuit may include finFETs in logic or memory circuits. FinFETs may desirably provide increased on-state currents compared to planar FETs having similar footprints. FinFETs may be formed with the fins having constant pitch and width, and the gates having constant width and pitch, so as to provide a desired circuit density. It may be desirable to have some instances of the finFETs with higher on-state currents than adjacent finFETs, for example in delay circuits or in drivers of static random access memory (SRAM) cells. Forming finFETs with varying on-state currents in constant width and pitch configurations may involve adding additional fins to the finFETs, undesirably increasing footprints of the finFETs. It may further be problematic to increase the on-state current by a fractional amount, such as 50 percent, by adding a fin, since fins are added in integral numbers.


A motor drive circuit is provided and includes: a PWM wave generation circuit for generating a PWM (pulse-width-modulated) wave having a high frequency, whose pulse width has been modulated, in response to a rotational frequency control signal used for driving a motor; a switching element (FET) that receives an input of a PWM wave output from the PWM wave generation circuit and performs switching operation; and a current resonance circuit including an inductance and a capacitor. Current resonance is induced in response to power of a battery cell imparted by means of operation of the switching element. A value falling within the range of 60 to 90 KHz, which is 1.1 to 1.7 times as large as a switching frequency 54 KHz of the switching element, may be selected and set for the resonance frequency.

For instance, a binocular (a stabiscope or the like) or a camera has a vibration-proof function. A prism of the binocular is driven and controlled by a direct motor; and an imaging element, or the like, of the camera is driven and controlled. Even in a situation where vibrations or hand movements arise, a stable state where vibrations are absorbed can be achieved. A pulse-width-modulation (PWM)-controlled circuit has hitherto been used as a drive circuit for such a motor.
FIG. 5 shows a configuration of a PWM-controlled motor drive circuit. As shown in FIG. 5, in the drive circuit, a Schottky diode 2 is connected in parallel to a driving motor 1 interposed between a source terminal Va and a ground, and a switching element 3, assuming the form of a field-effect transistor (FET) or the like, is connected in series with the driving motor 1. A PWM wave control circuit 4 is provided at a gate of the switching element 3. The PWM wave control circuit 4 generates a PWM wave having a frequency of, e.g., 54 KHz, in response to an input rotational frequency control signal, and sends the PWM wave to the switching element 3. By means of such a drive circuit, the switching element 3 performs switching operation at high speed and at a frequency of 54 KHz, and the rotation of the motor can be controlled by the drive power responsive to the pulse width.
By means of this PWM drive control operation, inductance existing in a coil of an armature of the motor 1 is effectively used. When the source current is not supplied, the stored power is supplied to the motor 1, so that high-speed switching operation is performed. Accordingly, a power loss, which would otherwise arise in an active range of a switching element—which is a drive transistor—another electronic element, is also diminished. Hence, an attempt can be made to achieve power savings.
However, the binocular, the camera, or the like employs a battery cell as the power source of a motor. Hence, PWM control is not enough to achieve sufficient driving efficiency, which raises a problem of the short life of the battery cell.
The function of the vibration-proof mechanism, or the like, of the binocular, the camera, and so on, entails performance of highly-responsive quick operation. Therefore, driving of the motor at a high rotational frequency is desired.


An engine analyzer having a dual-trace digital oscilloscope display provides a discrete waveform plot area for each trace and displays in each plot area a cursor array which may selectively include one or two vertical-line cursors which can be selectively moved one at a time horizontally along the plot area. The movements of the two cursor arrays can selectively be either synchronized or unsynchronized. The scope provides alphanumeric indications of the position of each cursor, the waveform value at the point where each cursor intersects the waveform. When two cursors are displayed on a trace the scope provides alphanumeric indications of the distance between the cursors and the difference between the waveform values at the points where the cursors intersect the waveform.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital oscilloscopes and to engine analyzers incorporating digital oscilloscope displays. The invention has particular application to cursor control on the display screen of such an oscilloscope.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to provide digital oscilloscopes with multiple display traces (e.g. two), so that a number of waveforms can be simultaneously displayed. A dual-trace scope can typically be operated in either single-trace or dual-trace mode. It is also known to provide engine analyzers with display screens which essentially constitute digital oscilloscopes. Such analyzers acquire analog waveforms from an associated engine by means of pickup leads and then digitize the data for storage in memory and display on the digital oscilloscope screen.
The horizontal scale (also called sweep) of an oscilloscope represents time. Broadly speaking, in a digital engine analyzer scope there are two types of sweeps: engine sweeps and fixed-time sweeps. Engine sweeps display a waveform for either a single cylinder ignition or for a complete engine cycle (the time between consecutive firings of the same cylinder), and are typically used to display waveforms related to cylinder ignition events. Engine sweeps may typically be of any of three different types: cylinder, parade and raster. Since engine sweeps begin and end with the firing of a cylinder, the time represented by an engine sweep varies with engine speed. Fixed-time sweeps, e.g., 10 ms, 100 ms, etc.) display a fixed period of time across the width of the display screen and are typically used to display waveforms other than primary and secondary ignition waveforms.
It is known to provide for each trace of the oscilloscope one or more cursors which are movable relative to the waveform to facilitate measurements with respect to the waveform. More particularly, each cursor can be arranged to intersect the waveform and there may be provided an indicator to denote the value of the waveform at the point of intersection with the cursor. The cursors can be moved relative to the waveform to effect different measurements.
In a dual-trace digital scope, the cursor movements for the two traces are synchronized. Thus, the cursors for one trace are, respectively, vertically aligned with the cursors for the other trace and, if a cursor in one trace is moved, the corresponding cursor in the other trace is moved in the same manner. This synchronization limits the utility of the cursors.

Independent cursor control in dual-trace engine analyzer scope


An active matrix drive type liquid crystal display element capable of preventing deterioration of display capability caused by a stripe domain, and a projection type display device using the liquid crystal display element, by which there is provided a projection type display device comprising a light source; a light convergence optical system for guiding a light emitted from said light source to a liquid crystal display element; and a projection optical system for enlarging and projecting a light subjected to light modulation by said liquid crystal display element; wherein the liquid crystal display element is configured by holding a liquid crystal layer between a pair of substrates arranged to face to each other, and a twisted nematic type liquid crystal material used in the liquid crystal layer satisfies dielectric constant anisotropy Δ∈ of 0<Δ∈<8 and twist elasticity modulus K22 of K22>6.0 pN when the refractive index anisotropy Δn is 0.16≦Δn≦0.18 and satisfies dielectric constant anisotropy Δ∈ of 0<Δ∈<13 and twist elasticity modulus K22 of K22>3.0 pN when the refractive index anisotropy Δn is 0.18≦Δn≦0.20.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display element and a projection type display device using the liquid crystal display element, and particularly relates to a liquid crystal display element using twisted nematic type liquid crystal used for a liquid crystal layer and a projection type display device using the liquid crystal display element.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a liquid crystal projector and other projection type display device, a light emitted from a light source is divided to red, green and blue, the respective color lights are modulated by three light valves composed of a liquid crystal display element (hereinafter, referred to as an LCD), color light fluxes after the modulation are again composed and projected by being enlarged on a projection surface. As a light valve for a liquid crystal projector, etc., an active matrix drive type LCD driven by a thin film transistor (hereinafter, referred to as TFT) is generally used.
A nematic liquid crystal is used in most of active matrix drive type LCDs and an optical rotatory mode LCD may be mentioned as the main display method. An optical rotatory mode LCD is a twisted nematic (TN type) liquid crystal having molecular arrangement twisted by 90 degrees, which is, in principle, black and white display and has a high contrast ratio and preferable gray scale display capability.
To attain uniform display of an active matrix drive type LCD, it is necessary that liquid crystal molecules are uniformly aligned all over a substrate surface.
In the substrate formed with two electrodes formed with an alignment film, the alignment films of each substrate are arranged to face to each other and put together with a seal on a seal region around a pixel display region on which an image is actually displayed. To control a space between the substrates, a globular spacer called a micropearl or a columnar spacer formed by a resist is used before putting together as explained above.
Vacant cells are formed through the process, then, liquid crystal is encapsulated in the vacant cells, so that liquid crystal cells are produced.
Note that the above liquid crystal is composed of several kinds of elemental materials of a liquid crystal and also is called a liquid crystal composition. A light refractive plate is attached to the produced liquid crystal cell and a liquid crystal display element is produced.
When applying a voltage to pixel electrodes arranged in matrix, a line inversion drive method for inverting the application voltage on every other line and a column inversion drive method for inverting the application voltage on every other column are widely used to improve display quality.
Since the application voltage is inverted between adjacent pixel electrodes in these driving methods, as shown in FIG. 14, it suffers from the disadvantage that a reverse tilt domain RTDM having an opposite tilt direction from a pre-tilt direction originally given by the liquid crystal is generated in a pixel portion corresponding to each pixel electrode PXLE (e.g. Japanese Patent No. 2934875).
Particularly, in a normally white mode liquid crystal display, void occurs on a disclination line DSCL on a boundary with a normal region and contrast declines. Therefore, a tilt angle is made large to make the reverse tilt domain RTDM small, but a disadvantage of deteriorating production yield is brought. Also, leaking of a light is reduced by providing a light block material in accordance with a position where the reverse tilt domain arises, but there is a disadvantage that the aperture ratio is reduced.
Thus, as one of methods to improve the contrast ratio in the TN type LCD, a method of heightening an effective voltage to be applied between a common electrode and pixel electrode facing to each other, that is, widening a dynamic range has attracted attention.
When heightening the effective voltage to be applied between the common electrode and pixel electrode facing to each other as above, not only that alignment of liquid crystal molecules becomes more vertical, but the position where the disclination line DSCL arises shifts to the peripheral direction (outer side) in the pixel portion, so that the contrast ratio can be improved.
Also, an active matrix drive type LCD used as a light valve of a projection type display device is made more compact as a liquid projector and other projection type display device gets more compact, while pixels are pursued to be finer and brighter. As the pixels become finer, pitch intervals of pixels of liquid crystal display element becomes narrower. For example, in the case of a type where a substrate size is 22.9 mm (0.9 inch) extended graphics array (XGA), the pixel number becomes 1024×768 and the pixel pitch becomes 18 μm.
However, as pixels get finer, spaces between transparent electrodes of each pixel (for example, ITO: indium tin oxide) become furthermore narrower and an electric field in the crossing direction is generated when a potential in each pixel is inverted. Due to the electric field in the crossing direction, disadvantages arise that an alignment of liquid crystal molecules on a transparent electrode boundary portion is distorted, a boundary between the distorted portion and normal portion (also referred to as a disclination line) arises as a display defect, and the contrast declines. Furthermore, as pixels get brighter, the display defect tends to be more notable.
To solve the disadvantage, a method of changing a position of the above boundary line in accordance with a position of a contact hole has been proposed (for example, refer to the Patent Article 2). Also, a method of controlling the electric field in the crossing direction by making a TFT to have different levels has been proposed (for example, refer to the Patent Article 3).
[Patent Article] The Patent Publication No. 2934875 paragraphs 0005 to 0006
[Patent Article] The Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-265255 (pp. 8 to 13, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3)
[Patent Article] The Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-265255 (p. 19, FIG. 17)
However, when the effective voltage is made higher as explained above, a reverse tilt domain disappears in a part of pixels and the disappearance state becomes a quasi-stable state. Thus, as shown in FIG. 15, hysteresis arises in V (voltage)—T (light transmittance intensity) characteristics, and when changing from black display to intermediate grade display, an image quality defect by an extinction point and, particularly, a serious image quality defect by an extinction line as a result that a display defect of the reverse tilt domain propagates to an adjacent reverse tilt domain are caused.
The above image defect will be referred to as a stripe domain.
As a result, it is impossible to apply a voltage (effective voltage) of a certain value or more to between the common electrode and pixel electrode facing to each other, and there is a disadvantage that a desired contrast ratio cannot be realized. This disadvantage notably arises when a distance between adjacent pixel electrodes is made short to realize a finer liquid crystal display element with a high aperture ratio.
Accordingly, in a matrix type liquid crystal display device comprising a switching element, such as a thin film transistor (TFT), it is difficult to strike a balance between the high aperture ratio and the high contrast ratio.
However, both of the inventions described in the Patent Articles 2 and 3 are a method of suppressing an electric field in the crossing direction by changing a shape to strengthen an electric field in the vertical direction.
Therefore, there are disadvantages that (1) due to the provision of different levels, there arises a region where rubbing cannot be sufficiently performed and a display defect is caused, and (2) due to the complex configuration, the yield declines and the production cost becomes high.
Also, as the most effective countermeasure, there is a method of preventing an affect by the electric field in the crossing direction by strengthening the electric field in the vertical direction of each substrate by making a cell gap thinner. In the case where two light refractive plates are orthogonally arranged and the display is normally a white display being white when not turned on, it is designed to be capable of obtaining the maximum transmissivity when a refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal material×cell gap=480 nm from the gooch-tarry formula. Namely, to obtain the maximum trasmissivity, the refractive index anisotropy Δn of the liquid crystal has to be high when applying the countermeasure of making the cell gap thin as explained above.
In the cell configuration of making the cell gap thin as above, space controlling by a columnar spacer having been applied in recent years is essential, but there is a disadvantage that distortion of a stripe domain arises around the spacer portion due to formation of the spacer. Also, as those applied with a liquid crystal material having a high Δn, in pixel pitch of 18 μm and a substrate size of 22.9 mm (0.9 inch) XGA, a liquid crystal material having a Δn of less than 0.16 is currently used and the cell gap is 3.0 μm. In the above cell design, a stripe domain arises at a voltage of 0.4 V or less, which is lower than a normal drive voltage of 5.0V, and ends up in a display defect.

Twisted nematic liquid crystal material with certain values for dielectric constant anisotropy, twisted elasticity modulus and refractive index anisotropy


An electron cyclotron resonance plasma generator is provided in a semiconductor wafer plasma processing apparatus and cluster tool module, particularly for use in soft etching. The generator generates a uniform plasma by rotating a plasma producing resonance supporting magnetic field about the axis of a resonance cavity within the vacuum chamber of a plasma processor. The rotated field preferably is a single-cusp or multicusp field. Gas uniformly flows into and through the cavity from a gas distribution shower. Microwave energy is evenly divided and coupled into the cavity in a TM.sub.01 mode by a plurality of axially and radially aligned loops.

In the production of semiconductor wafers, many coating and etching processes are commonly performed in a vacuum environment with the use of a plasma. Various methods of producing plasmas result in the production of ions and electrons at various energy levels, with varying degrees of efficiency and with varying degrees of spatial uniformity within a plasma processing chamber.
In processes such as sputter coating of wafers, plasmas are directed onto a target of sputtering material to eject material particles of the sputtered target material from the target for deposition onto a wafer substrate. In sputter etching, a plasma is directed onto the wafer substrate where the ions eject surface material from the wafer. In etching processes, plasmas may be used to selectively remove portions of hard layers of material from the substrate with high energy ion bombardment from plasmas, or may be used for light or "soft" etching to remove, without damaging the wafer surface, only a thin surface layer from the wafer to clean or condition the wafer surface for subsequent processing. Soft etching is better preformed with a lower energy plasma. Other reactive processes such as chemical vapor deposition processes (CVD) may employ plasmas in assisting the chemical process.
In sputter coating or hard sputter etching processes, the plasmas are generally produced locally with electrons emitted from a cathode by negatively charging the target of coating material, in sputter coating processes, or the substrate to be etched. Plasmas used for sputter coating processes are typically of relatively high energy, usually in the range of from 400 to 500 electron volts, while those used for hard sputter etching are typically in the range of from 200 to 300 electron volts. These plasmas tend to be of moderately low densities, usually of about five percent ionization.
In semiconductor wafer processing with plasmas, the distribution of the plasma over the surface of a wafer or target must conform to some desired profile. In soft etching, for example, it is usually preferred that a plasma be directed uniformly over the entire surface of the wafer. In addition, since in soft etching processes it is usually undesirable to remove substantial amounts of material from, or otherwise damage, the substrate, it is desirable that the plasma impinge upon the substrate with low energy, usually of less than 100 electron volts. As a result, the heating effects of the plasma striking the substrate are relatively low, allowing the use of plasmas of higher densities to produce a higher etching rate.
The production of plasmas by some processes, such as by high frequency RF excitation of the gas in the chamber, often results in a plasma in which the ions are at several hundred electron volts. Even when magnetron enhanced, the plasma production efficiency is usually not more than from five to ten percent ionization. On the other hand, production of plasmas with procedures such as electron cyclotron resonance may produce a plasma of from 15 to 35 electron volts and of from 25% to 30% ionization efficiency.
Commonly, ECR generation of plasmas is accomplished at a location remote from the surfaces being treated with the plasma, from which it is then transferred to the processing location, usually in a chamber or region adjacent the region of plasma generation. ECR generated plasmas are frequently produced with microwave energy, often at the available FCC assigned frequency of 2.54 GHz. The microwave energy is introduced into a vacuum cavity that is often cylindrical in shape, and to which a magnetic field is applied by permanent magnets or coils positioned outside of a cylindrical chamber wall. At the 2.54 GHz frequency, resonance of electrons can be achieved in a magnetic field of about 875 gauss.
In many ECR plasma generators, the magnetic fields are generated by electromagnet coils or solenoids wound around the outside of the cylindrical cavity wall to produce in a cavity a magnetic field with lines of force extending axially within the cavity, circling out of the ends of the cavity and around the windings on the outside of the cavity. Within the cavity, magnetic fields so produced are generally symmetrical about the center or axis of the cavity and produce a similarly symmetrical plasma around the axis of the cavity.
Magnetic fields of other shapes are more easily produced with permanent magnets positioned around the outside of the cavity. Examples of such fields are cusp fields, which have field lines extending through the side walls of the cavity. These cusp fields tend to have symmetries about one or more planes that pass through or contain the axis of the cavity and intersect the chamber wall.
With magnets having radially oriented polar axes positioned around a cylindrical cavity, each with the same polar orientation, a single-cusp field is produced. In this single-cusp field, the lines of force diverge from the cylinder wall proximate the centers of the magnet poles along a circle around the cylindrical chamber wall, forming two field portions that are symmetrical at a plane that contains this circle and bisects the axis of the cylinder. From this plane, the lines of magnetic force of the field extend axially out of the ends of the chamber and return to the opposite poles of the magnets outside of the chamber, with the stronger resonance supporting lines of force nearer the plane and the axis of the cavity, producing a pair of adjacent resonance regions on opposite sides of the plane and in which plasmas are generated. The shape of the plasma is generally defined by the cusp formed between the diverging field lines.
With similarly positioned magnets but alternately oriented in polarity, a multicusp field is produced in which the lines of force emerge from alternate and similarly oriented ones of the magnets along longitudinal lines on the cylinder wall proximate the magnet poles, loop in radial plane toward the adjacent and oppositely oriented magnets, and reenter the wall along lines longitudinal lines proximate the poles of these adjacent magnets. Such fields tend to be weak along the axis of the cavity and produce distinct plasmas, symmetric about the planes and concentrated in wedge shaped regions between the planes.
While the permanent magnets configured to produce these fields are simple and compact, the fields that they produce and the distributions of the plasmas generated in them are complex with many non-uniformities.
In magnet configurations suitable for use in plasma generators, the regions of electron cyclotron resonance, and consequently the areas at which the plasma is most abundantly produced, are not distributed within the resonance cavity with perfect uniformity. This is primarily due to practical limitations in the precision to which the magnets are made and mounted and to which the cavity is constructed, and to non-uniformities in the distribution and flow of gas within the chamber. As a result, the prior art has employed various methods to deal with the non-uniform plasma distribution to produce a useful plasma distribution at a space within a processing chamber where the process is to take place. Prior art efforts have been directed toward controlling the flow of the plasma, and its distribution, in the space between the plasma generation region and the processing location. These prior art efforts have resulted in approaches that are undesirable in many ways, being complex, expensive, or less than satisfactory in performance. In cluster tool configurations particularly, where each of the processing chambers is modular, complexity and excess size are disadvantageous.
Accordingly, their is a need for a method and apparatus for the more efficient and uniform production of a plasma for wafer processing, and particularly for a compact and simple plasma generator for such applications.

Cluster tool soft etch module and ECR plasma generator therefor


Wear of the surface of a heating roller caused by toner, paper powder and other like contaminants and a cleaning force are made uniform over a length of a heating roller by setting the press-contact force of a cleaning member with respect to each end portion of the heating roller smaller than the press-contact force at a portion other than the end portions on the basis of a tendency for the distribution of the toner, paper powder and the other like contaminants resulting from the rotation of the heating roller. Five attaching holes are formed at an upstream portion of a lower cover, defining the bottom of a fixing chamber in a fixing unit, lock members are not fitted into the two attaching holes corresponding to the end portions of the heating roller. Lock members are fitted into the other three attaching holes corresponding to the central portion of the heating roller in a state where a base end portion of the elastic spring member is inserted into the three attaching holes. Further, slits are formed at positions of the elastic spring member opposed to the end portions of the heating roller. Lastly, stopper projections are formed at the base end portion of the elastic spring member and the stopper grooves engaged with the stopper projections are formed at the lock members.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a fixing device in an image forming apparatus for fixing a toner image transcribed on paper by heating the paper transcribed with the image, which is formed by supplying a toner in accordance with an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum in a developing device, by a heating roller. Particularly, the invention relates to a fixing device in which in bringing a cleaning member used for cleaning the heating roller into press contact with the heating roller, by setting a press-contact force of the cleaning member in respect of both end portions of the heating roller smaller than a press-contact force in respect of portions of the heating roller other than the both end portions, wear of the surface of the heating roller caused by toner, paper powder or other like contaminants and the cleaning force can be made uniform over the entire length of the heating roller.
2. Description of Related Art
There have conventionally been proposed various image forming devices, such as a laser printer or the like, adopting a so-called electronic photographing system. For example, an image forming device having a paper feeding device, a laser scanning device, a toner supplying device, a developing device, a fixing device and the like in gross classification, is disclosed in the specification and the drawings of Japanese Published Document No. 9-319201. According to such an image forming device, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of a photosensitive drum in the developing device in accordance with image data presented using the laser scanning device, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum by supplying a toner, in accordance with the electrostatic latent image, from the toner supplying device, the toner image is transcribed by cooperation of a transcribing roller and the photosensitive drum onto a paper fed from the paper feeding device into the developing device and thereafter, the toner image is fixed by heating the paper by the fixing device.
In the fixing device, generally, a heating roller and a pressing roller, that is brought into press contact with the heating roller, are rotatably arranged. With respect to the surface of the heating roller, toner which is not fixed to the paper, paper powder generated from the paper and other like contaminants become adhered to the surface of the heating roller. A cleaning member composed of a felt member is brought into press contact with the surface of the heating roller to remove toner, paper powder and the other like contaminants adhered to the surface of the heating roller. The cleaning member is generally brought into press contact with the surface of the heating roller with a press-contact force which is uniform over the entire length of the heating roller.
In the meantime, generally, when toner, paper powder and the other like contaminants are adhered to various rollers, there is a tendency for the toner, paper powder and the other like contaminants to be aggregated at both end portions of the rollers in accordance with rotation of the rollers.
Under such conditions, when the cleaning member is brought into press contact with the heating roller with a press-contact force which is uniform over the entire length of the heating roller, as in the conventional fixing device, the toner, paper powder and the other like contaminants collected at the end portions of the heating roller operate as a polishing agent between the cleaning member and the heating roller whereby the end portions of the heating roller are polished. In this case, even at the central portion of the heating roller, the toner, paper powder and the other like contaminants operate as a polishing agent between the cleaning member and the heating roller and therefore, the central portion of the heating roller is also polished.
However, the amount of the toner, paper powder and the other like contaminants is larger at the end portions of the heating roller than at the central portion of the heating roller and accordingly, the amount of polishing of the heating roller caused by the toner, paper powder and the other like contaminants is larger at the end portions whereas it is smaller at the central portion. When the amount of polishing becomes nonuniform over the total length of the heating roller, there is the possibility of problems of an unequal fixing function caused by a nonuniformity of the fixing force in fixing the toner image formed on paper developing over time.

Cleaning assembly for a fixing device in image forming apparatus


This invention is directed to carboxamido opioid compounds pharmaceutically useful as agents for treating or modulating a central nervous system disorder and methods for treating or modulating a central nervous system disorder.

Tramadol hydrochloride, (1RS,2RS)-2-(dimethyl-amino)-methyl-1-(3-methoxyphenyl)-cyclohexanol HCl (tramadol), is a centrally-acting analgesic that has an unexpected distinction from morphine, the prototype pure opioid analgesic. Although tramadol was introduced into clinical practice in the 1970s without expectation of mechanistic differences from opiates, the data gathered to date in preclinical studies, clinical trials, epidemiological reports, and widespread use in patients indicate that a differentiation is appropriate.
Tramadol is an atypical centrally acting analgesic in that its efficacy appears to be attributable to multiple mechanisms of action. The compound and its enantiomers bind with weak affinity to rodent and human μ-opioid receptors and with less affinity for δ- or κ-opioid receptors. Tramadol's O-desmethyl metabolite binds with higher affinity than the parent compound, but still with much lower affinity than morphine. Thus, activation of β-opioid receptors appears to be one of the components of tramadol's mechanism of action, but insufficient on its own to explain tramadol's antinociceptive and analgesic potency and efficacy.
A second, non-opioid component is suggested by several observations that include the incomplete naloxone reversibility in most animal models and in human trials; and, the attenuation of its antinociceptive or analgesic effect by non-opioid antagonists. Hence, the results are consistent with dual contributions, opioid and non-opioid, with the predominant contribution perhaps being dependent upon the species, route of administration, or particular nature of the pain. The source of the dual mechanisms has been hypothesized to arise from the different pharmacologies of the two enantiomers of tramadol, one being more opioid-like than the other.
Analgesics that operate via the μ-opioid receptor are typically phenols and phenol ethers. They frequently suffer from the drawback that they are metabolically inactivated by conversion to glucuronides, which are rapidly excreted. The carboxamide group has been found to be an effective bioisosteric surrogate for the phenol group in certain benzomorphans and morphinans, which has led to a series of opioids with a superior biological lifetime (Wentland, M. P. et al. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2001, 11(5), 623-6; Wentland, M. P. et al. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2001, 11(13), 1717-1721; Bidlack, Jean M. et al. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 2002, 302(1), 374-380).
The preparation of certain 1-aryl-(2-dialkylaminomethyl)cycloclohexan-1-ols is disclosed in PCT application WO 03/080557 (CA2480038), issued Oct. 10, 2003 (Sundermann, B. et al, Grünenthal GMBH Assignee.). A genus of tramadol analogs is disclosed in PCT application WO 03/048113, issued Jun. 12, 2003 (Senanayake, C. H. et al., Seprecor Assignee).
Thus there is a need to address the metabolic inactivation of tramadol that occurs through the conversion of its hydroxy metabolite to the corresponding glucuronide. The present invention replaces the methoxy substituent of tramadol with a carboxamido group.


A dual-tank liquid storage tank system comprises a lined primary storage tank disposed within a lined secondary tank. Construction of the system involves rolling out a secondary tank liner over an engineered base course, and then laying out a primary tank liner over the secondary tank liner, with an outer portion of the primary tank liner rolled up to fit within the primary tank perimeter. The primary tank's perimeter wall is then assembled from wall panels resting on the secondary tank liner, and then the primary tank liner rolled out and deployed over the primary tank wall. An outer portion of the secondary tank liner is then rolled up toward the primary tank wall, and the secondary tank's perimeter wall is assembled from wall panels resting on the base course. The secondary tank liner is then rolled out and deployed over the secondary tank wall.

It is increasingly common in the oil and gas industry to use hydraulic fracturing (colloquially known as "fraccing" or "fracking") to aid in the recovery of hydrocarbon fluids such as crude oil and natural gas from subsurface formations. Hydraulic fracturing is a process involving the injection of a "fraccing fluid" (or "frac fluid") under pressure into spaces such as cracks and fissures within a subsurface petroleum-bearing formation, such that the fluid pressure forces the cracks and fissures to become larger, and/or induces new fractures in the formation materials, resulting in more and/or larger flow paths through which hydrocarbon fluids can flow out of the formation and into a well drilled into the formation. Fraccing fluids typically carry particulate materials called "proppants" that are intended to stay inside the enlarged or newly-created subterranean fissures after the fraccing fluid has been drained out of the formation and hydraulic pressure has been relieved.
There are various different types and formulations of fraccing fluids, but regardless of the type of fraccing fluid being used, one thing common to all fraccing operations is the need for temporary storage of very large volumes of fraccing fluid at the well site, both to provide a reservoir of frac fluid for injection into subsurface formations, and to store frac fluid circulated out of the well after completion of fraccing operations. Storage tanks having volumes of 250,000 to 2,500,000 U.S. gallons or more are commonly required for this purpose.
For practical and environmental reasons, such tanks are typically of modular design so that their components can be shipped by truck to remote well sites, where they can be erected on site and eventually disassembled and shipped off site after they are no longer needed. Open-top liquid storage tanks most commonly are circular, as this is the most stable and efficient structural configuration for a liquid storage tank. Modular circular tanks typically comprise multiple horizontally-curved steel wall panels having a radius corresponding to the radius of the finished tank. The vertical side edges of each curved wall panel abut and are fastened to the vertical side edges of adjacent wall panels by suitable structural connection means, such that when all of the wall panels have been erected and interconnected, they form a circular tank having a particular height, diameter, and liquid storage capacity. A suitable liquid-tight liner is then installed inside the tank, covering a prepared ground surface inside the tank perimeter and extending up and typically over the tank wall. The tank is then ready to receive a fraccing fluid or other liquid that needs to be stored.
Environmental regulations require storage tanks for many different types of liquids to be provided with secondary containment means to protect against environmental contamination in the event of a tank leak. For example, petroleum storage tanks are commonly constructed within a containment reservoir formed by earthen berms lined with synthetic liners or engineered clay liners installed or constructed below the ground surface. Such secondary containment means may be practical for "tank farm" installations where the primary liquid storage tanks are essentially permanent. However, they are not a practical or acceptable option on well sites requiring tanks for temporary storage of large volumes of liquid (such as fraccing fluid) and where such temporary tanks must be demountable so as to cause little or no permanent environmental disturbance in the area where the temporary tanks were constructed.
One known way of providing secondary containment is to build a primary storage tank within a secondary tank structure, such that if the primary tank should develop a leak, the secondary tank will provide a second line of defence against liquid leakage into the surrounding environment. The present disclosure teaches an innovative process for constructing a primary open-top storage tank within a secondary containment tank without significant disturbance to the environment.


A vapor-permeable waterproof sock includes a cylindrical main body including a cloth having vapor permeability and that is waterproof. The vapor-permeable waterproof sock covers a range from a foot tip portion to a crus portion. The cylindrical main body includes a plurality of cloth areas, each of which expands and contacts more easily in one direction as compared with other directions. The plurality of cloth areas are joined together, and include a crus cloth area expanding and contracting more easily in a circumferential direction of the crus portion as compared with in a longitudinal direction of the crus portion, the crus cloth area covering the crus portion; and a planta portion cloth area expanding and contacting more easily in a longitudinal direction of the planta portion as compared with a width direction of the planta portion.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vapor-permeable waterproof sock having vapor permeability and waterproofness.
Related Background Art
In the articles fitted on foot portions such as socks that are put on foot portions, the articles having vapor permeability and waterproofness are conventionally known (for example, Japanese Patent No. 2651256 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei-2-26885). Japanese Patent No. 2651256 discloses a waterproof sock type article including a non-elastic, non-expandable and non-contractible planta component and calf component having waterproofness. Further, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei-2-26885 discloses an article fitted on a foot portion which is constituted of a first cloth piece with which an upper portion from a heel portion is covered, and a second cloth piece with which a sole portion is covered, wherein the first and the second cloth pieces are formed by a material with a reinforcement piece attached to a porous stretched tetrafluoroethylene resin film.
In the waterproof sock described in Japanese Patent No. 2651256, the planta component and the calf component are non-elastic, non-expandable and non-contractible, and therefore, the problem arises, that the heel of a wearer is caught by the ankle portion which is the thinnest portion of the sock at the time of putting on the sock and it becomes difficult to put on and take off the sock. Further, the waterproof sock of Japanese Patent No. 2651256 is non-elastic, non-expandable and non-contractible, and therefore, the problem arises, that the sock does not fit to the foot of the wearer and makes it difficult for the wearer to walk in the worn state. Furthermore, the problems arise, that the clothing pressure given to the wearer is unsuitable, the wearer feels uncomfortable, and the like, which brings about the risk to inhibit blood circulation and cause swelling and fatigue easily. Further, in the article fitted on a foot portion described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei-2-26885, the reinforcement piece is attached to the porous stretched tetrafluoroethylene resin and inhibits expandability and contractibility. Therefore, it is difficult to put on and take off the article, only an insufficient fit is provided, and the same risk as in Japanese Patent No. 2651256 can be brought about.
The present invention is made to solve the problems as above, and has an object to provide a vapor-permeable waterproof sock capable of enhancing easiness in putting on and taking off the sock and enhancing a sense of good fit in the vapor-permeable waterproof sock having vapor-permeability and waterproofness.


A solid state circuit-breaker switch has a first solid state switch coupled to a positive terminal of a high voltage source, a second solid state switch coupled to a return terminal of the high voltage source, and a diode connected between the switches. A load is coupled between the switches and in parallel with the diode such that voltage transients across the load are limited during turn of conditions. Related methods of operating the switch during turn-on and turn-off events within rated current operation are described, as are turn-on and turn-off events in overload conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to solid state circuit-breaker switches, and more particularly to solid state circuit-breaker switch devices having a first switch arranged between a load and a positive terminal and second switch arranged between the load and a return terminal.
2. Description of Related Art
Hybrid electric vehicles utilize high voltage direct current power management and distribution. Solid state circuit-breaker (SSCB) switches are used in conventional power distribution systems to replace traditional electromechanical circuit-breakers. Their main functions are to distribute power to different loads. Compared to traditional electromechanical circuit-breakers, SSCB switches provide relatively fast response time, eliminate arcing during turn-off transients and bouncing during turn-on transients, and do not suffer performance degradation as a result of repeated fault isolation events. SSCB switches also have lower weight and size than traditional electromechanical circuit-breakers. SSCB switches are also capable of providing advanced protection and diagnostics, more efficient power architectures and packaging techniques.
In order for a SSCB switch to meet the requirements of hybrid vehicles, the SSCB switch needs to (a) have low conduction losses during steady-state operation, (b) have up to 1000% overload capability to meet current to time trip curve characteristics, and (c) be able to tolerate high operating voltages due to inductive spikes that can occur in the system.
Power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistors (MOSFETs) are a good choice for such applications due to their low conduction loss (low RDS-ON). Moreover, because of the positive thermal coefficient associated with their on-state resistance, MOSFETs may be easily paralleled to achieve a desired conduction loss during steady-state operation. However, during overload transient conditions MOSFETs may be subject to current unbalance that can cause the device to exceed its peak current and/or continuous thermal rating.
Silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs offer reduced conduction losses due to small RDS-ON. However, their relatively small size in comparison with silicon devices for the same rated power increases their heat flux and results in a higher thermal impedance of the packaged device. Moreover, during turn-off events SiC MOSFETs can experience large overvoltage spikes due to their very fast turn-off time and can require additional voltage clamping devices, e.g. snubbers and Zener diodes.
While suitable for their intended purpose, there is a need for improved SSCB switches. There also remains a continuing need for SSCB switches that are easy to make and use. The present invention provides a solution to these problems.

Solid state circuit-breaker switch devices


The present invention provides a battery including a case, a connector, the holding member, and a resilient conductive plate. In the case, two battery cells each in the form of a flattened rectangular plate are accommodated. The connector is exposed from the case. The holding member is for holding the two battery cells in the case. The holding member is made of a nonconductive resilient material and has a first battery accommodating section and a second battery accommodating section in which the battery cells each in the form of a flattened rectangular plate are accommodated in a juxtaposed relationship so as to form a rectangular shape as viewed in plan. The resilient conductive plate extends on the holding member for electrically connecting the two battery cells accommodated in the first and second battery accommodating sections and the connector to each other.

A battery includes a case in which a battery cell is accommodated, a connector exposed from the case, conductive plates for individually connecting the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the battery cell to the connector and so forth.
The battery cell includes a sheath can made of a conductive metal material and having a form of a flattened rectangular plate. The positive terminal of the battery cell is formed in an isolated condition from the sheath can on one of four side faces of the sheath can while the remaining location of the sheath can other than the location at which the positive terminal is provided is formed as the negative terminal of the battery cell. A battery cell of the type described is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-266826.
In recent years, a battery in which a plurality of battery cells of the type described are accommodated in a case has been and is being provided. In batteries in related art of the type described, the battery cells are juxtaposed while electric isolation between the battery cells is assured by interposing a double-sided adhesive tape and insulating paper between the sheath cans of the battery cells. Similarly, a double-sided adhesive tape and insulating paper are interposed also between the conductive plates and the battery cells to assure electric isolation between the battery cells and the conductive plates and simultaneously secure the battery cells and the conductive plates.