Methanol is produced by reacting a CO-rich synthesis gas in the presence of a powdered methanol synthesis catalyst suspended in an inert liquid in a liquid phase reactor system. Unreacted CO-rich synthesis gas is recycled to the reactor, thus increasing methanol production and reducing specific power compared with once-through operation without recycle or compared with recycle of hydrogen-rich gas recovered from unreacted synthesis gas. The process preferably is integrated with a coal gasification electric power generation system in which a portion of the unreacted synthesis gas is used as power generation fuel and a portion of the methanol product is used as additional power generation fuel during periods of peak power demand.

Methanol is produced commercially from hydrogen-rich synthesis gas in a packed bed catalytic reactor operated in the gas phase with means for removing heat from the highly exothermic methanol synthesis reaction. Synthesis gas is shifted when necessary so that the reactor feed is hydrogen-rich and dilute in carbon oxides, typically containing carbon monoxide concentrations no greater than 6 to 9 vol%. Hydrogen-rich unreacted synthesis gas is recycled back to the reactor in order to moderate the reactor temperatures and increase the overall conversion to methanol. Unreacted synthesis gas is enriched in hydrogen prior to recycle in certain cases when more unreacted synthesis gas is produced than is needed for the plant fuel system.
Methanol synthesis alternately can be accomplished in a liquid phase reactor system in which synthesis gas is reacted in the presence of a powdered catalyst suspended in an inert liquid, which allows much higher per pass conversion and more effective removal of reaction heat and control of catalyst temperature compared with a gas-phase reactor system. The liquid phase methanol process is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,123 and 4,567,204, the specifications of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The liquid phase methanol (LPMEOH) process can be operated in different modes depending on specific applications. An article by G. W. Roberts et al entitled "The Liquid Phase Methanol Process--an Efficient Route to Methanol from Coal" presented at the Conference on Coal Gasification and Synthetic Fuels for Power Generation, San Francisco, 14-18 April 1985, describes the operation of the LPMEOH process on a once-through basis using unshifted, CO-rich synthesis gas in which the process is integrated with a coal gasifier in a coal gasification combined cycle (CGCC) power generation system. Unconverted synthesis gas is utilized as gas turbine fuel and methanol is stored for use as gas turbine fuel during peak power demand. The LPMEOH process also can be operated in a standalone mode to maximize methanol production. In this case, if CO-rich synthesis gas feed is utilized, the gas must be shifted prior to the reactor to yield the required 2:1 stoichiometric H.sub.2 /CO molar ratio for methanol synthesis, and unconverted gas is recycled directly to the reactor to increase overall methanol yield. Further descriptions of once-through LPMEOH systems are given by Studer et al in a paper entitled "Status Report on the Liquid Phase Methanol Project" published in the Proceedings of the 14th Annual EPRI Conference on Fuel Science, GS-6827, May, 1990, p. 16-1 et seq. and in a report by Chem Systems, Inc. entitled "Optimization of Electricity-Methanol Production", Final Report, GS-6869, prepared for the Electric Power Research Institute, June, 1990.
The operation of a LPMEOH reactor system with recycle of unreacted gas to achieve high conversion requires a stoichiometric feed, as pointed out in a report by the Bechtel Group entitled "Slurry Reactor Design Studies: Slurry vs Fixed-Bed Reactors for Fischer-Tropsch and Methanol", Final Report to the U. S. Department of Energy, DOE/PC/89867-T2, June 1990 at p. 24; the unreacted synthesis gas is recycled directly to the reactor as shown in FIG. E-1 at p. 188. This requirement for stoichiometric or shifted feed gas for the operation of LPMEOH reactors in the recycle mode is also described in a report by A. B. Walters and S. S. Tam entitled "Methanol Coproduction with a Baseload IGCC Plant", 9th EPRI Conference on Coal Gasification Power Plants, Palo Alto, Calif., October 1990, at pp. 3-4 and Slide #8. Further discussion of this requirement is given by M. Sherwin and D. Blum in their report entitled "Liquid Phase Methanol", AF-1291, Final Report to the Electric Power Research Institute, December 1979, at p. 3-7. Koppers-Totzek synthesis gas is CO-rich as shown in Table 3--3 at p. 3-5.
An alternate method for the operation of a LPMEOH reactor with recycle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,477 in which the reactor is fed with CO-rich synthesis gas, the unreacted synthesis gas is separated into a hydrogen-rich stream and a CO-rich stream, and the hydrogen-rich stream is recycled to the reactor feed (FIG. 7). Alternately, water can be added to the synthesis gas feed to promote CO shift within the LPMEOH reactor (FIG. 8). Addition of water to a CO-rich synthesis gas feed is also discussed by M. Sherwin and D. Blum in a report entitled "Liquid Phase Methanol", AF-693, Interim Report to the Electric Power Research Institute, May 1978, at p. 2--2. It is stated that a hydrogen-rich unconverted reactor effluent gas can be obtained by water addition to a CO-rich synthesis gas feed, and that water co-feeding may be of interest where total conversion to methanol is required and the reactor effluent gas is recycled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,154 discloses a two-stage LPMEOH reactor system operated in series using hydrogen-rich synthesis gas feed. Unreacted synthesis gas from the first stage passes to the second stage reactor, and unreacted synthesis gas from the second stage reactor is recycled to the second stage reactor feed. The synthesis gas feed, unreacted synthesis gas from the first stage reactor, and unreacted synthesis gas from the second stage reactor are all hydrogen-rich streams as given in Table I.
The operation of a LPMEOH reactor using stoichiometric or hydrogen-rich synthesis gas feed yields a stoichiometric or hydrogen-rich reactor effluent stream as is known in the art. When such a LPMEOH reactor is operated in the recycle mode, the recycle stream is thus hydrogen-rich. As noted above, a LPMEOH reactor operating with a CO-rich synthesis gas feed with water addition can produce a hydrogen-rich effluent gas, which is favored for recycle operation when total syngas conversion to methanol is desired. The operation of LPMEOH reactors in the recycle mode as disclosed in the prior art described above thus involves exclusively the recycle of stoichiometric or hydrogen-rich streams to the reactor feed.

Liquid phase methanol process with co-rich recycle


Apparatus for generating the family of PSK (phase shift keyed) modulations, which include BPSK (binary PSK), QPSK (quaternary PSK), MSK (minimum shift keying) and the like. The carrier is generated with the desired digital information already phase-modulated onto it by directly introducing a phase shift or delay onto the error path of a phase-locked loop. causing the phase-locked loop to create the phase modulation. The [proposed scheme differs from common practice approaches, which are usually implemented by linear synthesis (an AM technique); rather, it] invention employs direct nonlinear synthesis (an FM technique). The invention [yields good phase precision with arbitrary spectral shaping under the constraint of constant envelope signaling. It] permits the connection of the output of a simple, inexpensive VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) directly to a system's antenna without the need for intervening circuit elements such as phase splitters, mixers, and the like which is applicable to [. The resulting minimal implementation will lend itself well to] the power, size and cost constraints of a microminiature radio transmitter as might be required, for example, for the up-link of a wrist-phone style communicator.

In an application such as a wrist telephone, where space and available power are severely limited, one is compelled to minimize the amount of circuitry used to perform the intended function. One must attempt to get as much functionality as possible from that circuitry that is included. This design philosophy was practiced in the early days of electronics--although at that time for economic reasons, where active devices, namely vacuum tubes, were at a premium. Though this philosophy is, to a large extent, incommensurate with robustness of design, it appears in this instance to be a necessary evil. In conceding, howeaer, one must be judicious in making design choices to arrive at an optimal compromise.
A microwave radio transmitter that will operate from coin or button cells will be necessarily limited to developing signal strengths in the order of only a milliwatt. Since it takes at least this much signal power to drive a microwave modulator or mixer, most local oscillators are designed to develop this much power.
For these reasons, plus to keep component count and power consumption small, and to avoid conversion loss and the need for subsequent amplification, there is strong impetus in the present application to avoid the use of such modulators. It is preferable to drive the antenna directly by the oscillator with no intervening circuitry. Even the output filter can be avoided provided the oscillator can be designed to exhibit adequate spectral purity to keep harmonics at or below an acceptable level.
To transmit at the correct frequency the oscillator, typically a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), must be locked to a stable frequency reference. This is for removing frequency drift or uncertainty due to variations in circuit parasitics, or changes in temperature, etc. A phase locked loop (PLL), usually employed for this purpose, is essential. The PLL will also prevent the VCO frequency from de-tuning due to unavoidable changes in antenna loading that are likely to occur with a portable device.
The question arises: How do we modulate the carrier?
A. Selecting a Modulation Format
A.1 On/Off Keying: The VCO could be keyed on and off--an amplitude modulation (AM) scheme--however two problems would arise from this. First, on/off keying (OOK) leaves half of the RF (radio frequency) power in the unmodulated carrier. With such minuscule transmitted power in our application, the signal received at the base station will be extremely weak. There is great concern for the ability to detect this signal in the presence of noise therefore, we don't want to waste any. Second, each time the VCO is turned off then back on again, the PLL will need to re-acquire phase lock. This can cause the system to produce energy at undefined frequencies outside the assigned channel during re-acquisition and, depending upon how long re-acquisition takes, can severely limit the keying rate achievable.
A.2 Frequency Modulation: A VCO may easily be frequency modulated simply by applying the modulating signal to its control port. Frequency modulation (FM) and phase modulation (PM) are essentially very similar and typically yield waveforms of constant amplitude as do their digital counterparts, frequency shift keying (FSK) and phase shift keying (PSK). Unfortunately, with currently available discriminators, wideband FM results in a significantly higher symbol detection threshold than does AM--typically between 10 and 20 dB, depending upon modulation index. For a given transmitted power, this impairment translates immediately into one of reduced signaling range.
A.3 Phase Shift Keying: The most efficient modulation schemes, in terms of symbol detection threshold and bandwidth utilization are the phase shift keying (PSK) schemes. These include binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quaternary phase shift keying (QPSK), staggered or offset quaternary phase shift keying (OQPSK), minimum shift keying (MSK), and sinusoidal frequency shift keying (SFSK)--the latter four having at least a 2:1 signaling-rate-to-bandwidth advantage over BPSK. Intrinsically, they are all constant envelope modulations.
When BPSK and QPSK signals are band limited at the transmitter to reduce their excess sideband energy, their envelopes acquire amplitude variations. There is the concern that nonlinearities in the amplifiers at the receiver or limiters at repeaters can restore the constant amplitude and, along with it, the undesirable excess sideband energy that can interfere with adjacent channels. OQPSK limits inter-symbol phase transitions to .+-.90.degree., reducing the above tendency somewhat. MSK and SFSK inherently reduce the occupied spectral bandwidth by making these phase transitions continuous.
MSK and SFSK are very similar to OQPSK. They all share having their inter-symbol phase transitions limited to .+-.90.degree.. They differ from OQPSK primarily in the shaping of the applied modulation signaling bits to yield differing spectral roll-off rates. OQPSK, MSK and SFSK all exhibit the same E.sub.b /N.sub.o (energy per symbol to noise energy ratio) thresholds for a given bit error rate (BER) as BPSK and QPSK do. I shall refer to OQPSK, MSK and SFSK, as well as the remainder of the general class simply as the SQPSKs (staggered quadrature phase shift keyed).
B. Selecting a Modulation Technique
B.1 Linear Synthesis: PSK may be implemented by either linear or nonlinear modulation techniques. Most implementations that appear in the literature are synthesized as linear modulation--an AM technique. FIG. 1 indicates the construction of MSK waveforms by linear synthesis, for the bit sequence (b.sub.ev, b.sub.od) indicated and as described in the following equation: ##EQU1## where: t is time;
.omega..sub.c is the carrier frequency;
T is the input signaling bit interval;
b.sub.ev and b.sub.od are the Boolean signaling bits to be transmitted, taking on the values 0 or 1;
d.sub.1 =2b.sub.ev -1 and d.sub.Q =2b.sub.od -1, each valid for 2T seconds with the d.sub.Q transitions offset from those of d, by T seconds, are antipodal signals taking the values .+-.1; and
S.sub.am (t) is the modulated carrier.
Linear synthesized PSK as suggested by Sam(t) above would require a phase splitter to generate in-phase and quadrature (I and Q) carrier signals, followed by modulator elements (mixers), a combiner, plus an amplifier to regenerate the signal, all between the oscillator and the antenna. It is these excess elements we are seeking to avoid.
B.2 Nonlinear Synthesis: FIG. 2 indicates the construction of MSK-like waveforms by nonlinear synthesis as described in the following equation for the same data as used to generate FIG. 1. ##EQU2## where:
b.sub.1 and b.sub.2 are modulator control bits (all data is in b.sub.1 :b.sub.2 simply toggles the phase between I and Q), each valid for T seconds, derived from the signaling bit sequence listed earlier to yield the same modulated carrier phase sequence that S.sub.am (t) does in FIG. 1;
g(t) is the impulse response of the pulse shaping function--usually a lowpass filter, (note that the asterisk preceding g(t) is intended to indicate convolution); and
S.sub.pm (t) is the modulated carrier.
The waveform .PHI. (t) shown in the figure is the modulation phase resulting from the bit pair sequence {b.sub.1,b.sub.2 }, after being smoothed by the band limited response of the phase locked loop, g(t). Note the similarity of the modulated carrier waveforms S.sub.am (t) and S.sub.pm (t) in FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively.
The generation of the modulator control bits b.sub.1 and b.sub.2 is indicated in FIG. 3. For comparison, offset signaling bits d.sub.I and d.sub.Q from the previous example are shown here also.
This latter function S.sub.pm (t), implies nonlinear synthesis--an FM or PM technique--and is amenable to implementation with a direct connected VCO.

Phase-shift modulation of a direct antenna-driving VCO


The present invention relates to a compound having the structure of formula (I), wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, and R7 are as described herein. The present invention also relates to a process for the preparation of a compound of formula (I) and to a process for the synthesis of a polymer using the compound of formula (I) through controlled free radical polymerization.

Reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer, or RAFT, is a type of controlled free radical polymerization that has seen remarkable growth in research (Moad et al., "Living Radical Polymerization by the RAFT Process," Aust. J. Chem. 58:379-410 (2005)), due to its compatibility with various different monomer types (Moad et al., "Living Radical Polymerization by the RAFT Process," Aust. J. Chem. 58:379-410 (2005)), its ability to be carried out in various different solvents (Moad et al., "Living Radical Polymerization by the RAFT Process," Aust. J. Chem. 58:379-410 (2005))—including water (Derry et al., "Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly of Block Copolymer Nanoparticles via RAFT Non-Aqueous Dispersion Polymerization," Progress in Polymer Science 52:1-18 (2016)), its ability to make block copolymers (Moad et al., "Living Radical Polymerization by the RAFT Process—A Third Update," Aust. J. Chem. 65:985-1076 (2012)), and the relatively low temperatures and pressures used (Hill et al., "Expanding the Scope of RAFT Polymerization: Recent Advances and New Horizons," Macromolecules 48(16):5459-5469 (2015)). Despite the interest in the academic world, RAFT has yet to take off in industry-most probably and significantly due to the high cost of the production or purchase of chain transfer agents, or CTAs.
CTAs are chemicals that function to control the polymerization of monomers to give a specific molecular weight as well as a low polydispersity index (PDI), due to the CTA limiting the concentration of free radicals available (Hill et al., "Expanding the Scope of RAFT Polymerization: Recent Advances and New Horizons," Macromolecules 48(16):5459-5469 (2015)). There are multiple types of CTA's (Moad et al., "Advances in Switchable RAFT Polymerization," Macromolecular Symposia 350(1):34-42 (2015); Moad et al., "Living Radical Polymerization by the RAFT Process—A First Update," Aust. J. Chem. 59:669-692. (2006); Moad et al., "Living Radical Polymerization by the RAFT Process—A Second Update," Aust. J. Chem. 62:1402-1472 (2009); Moad et al., "Living Radical Polymerization by the RAFT Process—A Third Update," Aust. J. Chem. 65:985-1076 (2012); Faber et al., "Highly Ordered Structure Formation in RAFT-Synthesized PtBOS-b-P4VP Diblock Copolymers," Macromol. Rapid Commun. 37(11):911-919 (2016); Foster et al., "Norbornene-Containing Dithiocarbamates for Use in Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) Polymerization and Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP)," Polymer 79:205-211 (2015)). In general, they follow the chemical structure shown in FIG. 1. The most commonly published Z group is phenyl dithioesters where a phenyl ring is the Z group. One of the challenging things about these types of CTAs is that they are typically based on Grignard reagents which have a number of side reactions and impurities that are present, making purification time consuming and expensive (Xu et al., "Aminolysis of Polymers with Thiocarbonylthio Termini Prepared by RAFT Polymerization: The Difference Between Polystyrene and Polymethacrylates," Macromolecules 39(25):8616-8624 (2006)). For example, the synthesis of cumyl benzodithioate, a very commonly used CTA for acrylates, styrenics, and methacrylates, typically gets less than 50% yield and requires use of column chromatography to purify the product to 95%+ purity (Jia et al., "Preparation and Characterization of Novel Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Nanoparticles Containing an Organotin Core and a Polystyrene Shell," J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 126(1):56-65 (2012)). This makes it a very difficult molecule to scale to industrial quantities. In addition to this purity issue, RAFT suffers from being rather slow in the polymerization of styrenics (Jia et al., "Preparation and Characterization of Novel Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Nanoparticles Containing an Organotin Core and a Polystyrene Shell," J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 126(1):56-65 (2012)).
The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other deficiencies in the art.

Thiocarbonylthio compounds as chain transfer agents suitable for raft polymerization

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.


A lens adapted to image a first image plane at a reduced side onto a magnified side is provided. The lens has an optical axis. The lens includes a lens group and a concave reflective mirror. The lens group is disposed in the light path between the reduced side and the magnified side. The concave reflective mirror is disposed in the light path between the lens group and the magnified side. The offset of the first image plane with respect to the optical axis is greater than 100%. The throw ratio of the lens is less than 0.3.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a lens and more particularly, the invention relates to a projection lens.
2. Description of Related Art
Due to advancements in display technologies, a new generation of displays such as the liquid crystal display (LCD), the plasma display panel (PDP), and the projection apparatus have gradually replaced the traditional cathode ray tube (CRT). Among these, the LCD, the PDP and other panel displays have shared a large percentage in residential market because of their lower thickness. On the other hand, the projection apparatus has maintained a stable market share because of its ability to provide a very large image (i.e. over 52 inches) at a comparatively low cost. Furthermore, the expansive display provided by the projection apparatus makes group viewings enjoyable, and therefore a major reason why the projection apparatus has been irreplaceable is its applications in conference meetings, report presentations, and lectures. In recent years, the projection apparatus has also become an indispensable part of the home theater.
In the projection apparatus, images presented on the light valve are small, defined images. Some examples of the light valve include the liquid-crystal-on-silicon panel (LCOS panel) or the digital micro-mirror device (DMD). A projection lens is used to project small images on the light valve onto the viewing screen to form magnified images. Additionally, in order to project larger images within a shorter distance, some conventional techniques use lenses having curved reflective mirrors in front.
Curved reflective mirrors may be categorized into convex reflective mirrors and concave reflective mirrors, wherein convex reflective mirrors usually have a larger size so that dust protecting is difficult to design for the lenses. Lenses having concave reflective mirrors in front have been disclosed in disclosures such as U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 20070184368 (also Taiwan Patent No. 1289210), 20080079915, and 20080192208, as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,048,388, 7,441,908, and 7,123,420. Among these disclosures, U.S. Application Publication Nos. 20070184368 and 20080192208, along with U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,048,388 and 7,441,908 have suggested forming intermediate images between the lens groups and the concave projection lenses.


In an article sales system, a POS terminal 100 is connected to a depositing/withdrawing apparatus 200. Purchased articles may be paid for by inserting a credit or cash card into slot 102, or a prepaid card into slot 122. Banknotes and coins are inserted into the depositing/withdrawing apparatus 209, 210. The customer selects whether excess cash inserted into the depositing/withdrawing apparatus is to be paid to the customer in cash, or in the form of a prepaid card, or deposited in the account read from the credit or cash card.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal apparatus, e.g., a point of sales (POS) terminal apparatus, in an article sales system, which is installed in a convenience store or the like.
2. Description of the Art
Conventional POS systems are installed in places where consumers and retailers are in contact with each other, e.g., department stores, supermarkets, gas stations, and convenience stores. The main function of a POS is cash management in sales transactions. In addition, a POS system has a sales data collecting function, a customer information collecting function, a credit function, and the like. With these functions, a POS system has been used for the automation of a sales counter and is labor saving in business back-up operations. Furthermore, in such a system, pieces of information are processed to perform automatic replenishment/ordering operations or to establish a business policy.
Regarding a cash register as a POS terminal used in a POS system, an operator clerk must store cash (bills and coins) in units of denominations and pick up small change. Hence, the operation load of the operator is large. For this reason, a strong demand has arisen for the automation of such cumbersome operations.
In order to satisfy this demand, for example, Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 64-36394 discloses a POS terminal apparatus for storing cash upon sorting and counting and for dispensing change.
Although this POS terminal apparatus can greatly reduce the load of an operator, the mental load of the operator is still large because he/she still deals with cash. In addition, since a cash counting/storing unit is expensive, the POS terminal apparatus cannot be easily introduced.
Furthermore, since a payment by a credit card accompanies cumbersome requirements like signatures, most customers pay in cash for articles of low prices. Accordingly, an operator must always have cash in hand, and change is undesirably increased in amount.
The mental load of the operator is inevitably increased, and hence an improvement in service with respect to customers cannot be expected.

Point of sale apparatus including a depositing/withdrawing apparatus


A docking target (10) includes three concentric circles (C1, C2, C3) each comprising a plurality of different color light emitting diodes (D1, D2, D3) spaced about the circumference of each circle (C1, C2, C3). During vehicle approach, each circle appears initially as a light spot, then a continuous ring of light and finally a plurality of independent light points at defined distances of the vehicle (14) from the station (12) so that the operator can determine distance of the vehicle (14) to the target (10). The light emitting diodes (D1, D2, D3) on each circle, when visible, provide attitude information of the vehicle (14) with respect to the station (12) by the intensities of the light emitting diodes (D1, D2, D3) and the geometric shape produced thereby so that the operator can adjust the attitude of the vehicle (14) with respect to the station (12).

The approach of a vehicle to a station for docking requires the provision of information on distance and attitude relative to the station to facilitate docking. Instances where such information is required include backing trailer trucks to a loading dock, aircraft docking at airports, and space shuttle docking at a space station.
It is necessary to indicate both distance and attitude of a vehicle, such as a space shuttle, relative to the station during the approach. Microwave radar is useful for measuring distance at very close range but is not suitable for additionally measuring direction and relative attitude. A detection system for docking should be capable of indicating distance, azimuth and elevation. Of these components, distance can be readily measured by the use of microwave radar, but radar is not adapted for sensing the elevation and attitude of the vehicle.
Assembling a space station in sections and provisioning it prior to manning it necessitates many repeated dockings of a space vehicle with the station. The space station and vehicle are generally powered and in orbit. It is necessary to maneuver the powered vehicle to correct errors in course and range so that a soft docking of the vehicle at the space station can be made promptly. To conserve fuel, it is desirable to avoid the necessity of making difficult and prolonged computations before docking.
A lighted docking target has been utilized by the Skylab, comprising a single circular ring of lights composed of strips of the electroluminescent type. However, indication of on-axis and off-axis orientation or attitude was not provided by the target. Distance determination over a large range of distances was not provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,309 issued Oct. 23, 1973 to Brown et al discloses a guidance apparatus providing lateral and longitudinal visual guidance to the operator of the vehicle. A light projection apparatus and filter emits several multi-color, laterally disposed beam segments to provide a course guidance to the vehicle. However, no range information is provided. U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,533 issued Oct. 7, 1975 to Cheathem et al discloses a spacecraft docking and alignment system wherein a three dimensional target screen is mounted along the axis of one spacecraft and a television camera is installed along the axis of another spacecraft. The television displays the relative alignment of the two spacecrafts to the operator for docking maneuvering.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,270 issued Feb. 26, 1974 to Wilkens describes an apparatus for determining the relative attitude of two vehicles by using magnetic members in synchronization with each other. The attitude of a vehicle relative to an imaginary axis connecting the members is determined by sensing the orientation of a moveable magnet member relative to the vehicle in which it is mounted. The attitude and range of the vehicle cannot be determined visually, but must be obtained from a computer.
None of the above patents describe a system which visually indicates to an operator of the vehicle the range and attitude of the vehicle to assist in docking the vehicle with a station.


Disclosed is an endoscope device. An endoscope device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a heating source that heats a diagnosis target tissue; a cooling source that cools the diagnosis target tissue; a sensing unit that measures temperature of the diagnosis target tissue; and an image processing unit that obtains a first value meaning a temperature change for a predetermined time of the diagnosis target tissue heated by the heating source on the basis of the temperature obtained by the sensing unit, obtains a second value meaning time until the heated diagnosis target tissue is stabilized by being cooled by the cooling source after obtaining the first value, and produces an image for diagnose a tumor in the diagnosis target tissue on the basis of the first value and the second value.

The present invention relates to an endoscope device. In detail, the present invention relates to an endoscope device that can diagnose a tumor in an early stage.
An endoscope, which is a device for visually examining the inside of a body, is necessary equipment under the modern medical environment because it can observe the inside with minimum invasiveness close to a non-invasive type. Such an endoscope allows for visually examining the inside of a body from the outside of the body, using a light source, optical fibers, and a camera that are generally used in the art.
Various studies for diagnosing and treating cancer that is at the top of causes of death in Korean in an early stage have been conducted. Imaging examination of the methods for diagnosing cancer in an early stage has a problem in that there is a possibility of radioactive exposure (CT, PET) and it takes a relatively long time to obtain images (for example, MRI). Further, the molecular imaging method that has been spotlighted needs to inject a fluorescence dye or a targeting probe into a human body, but probes that are available for a human body are limited. Further, the molecular imaging method gives mental stress to a patient and requires additional medical manpower and a reaction test from a patient.
Further, there is a thermal imaging method using body heat as a label-free diagnosis method. This method obtains images using the phenomenon that a fine difference is generated in heat of a human body between a neighboring tissue and a cancer tissue, but it simply images only the temperature difference, so the contrast of images is low.

Endoscope device for detecting disease based on thermal images


An abrasive sanding disk and sanding pad combination for use in sanding drywall surfaces with a motorized drywall sander with a sanding head, the abrasive sanding disk and sanding pad combination comprising an abrasive sanding disk comprising a flat, circular substrate panel wherein the substrate panel is devoid of a central aperture, wherein the substrate panel has a first face comprising a sanding head engaging face for facing a sanding head of a drywall sander and a second face comprising an abrasive face for abrading a given surface; and a sanding pad for being interposed between the abrasive sanding disk and a sanding head of a drywall sander wherein the sanding pad comprises a round disk of resiliently compressible material with a concentric central aperture, an abrasive disk engaging face for engaging the abrasive sanding disk, and a sanding head engaging face for engaging a sanding head of a drywall sander. A layer of pressure sensitive adhesive, which can be shielded by a removably layer of protective film, can be disposed over substantially the entire sanding head engaging face of the substrate panel whereby the abrasive sanding disk can be affixed to a sanding head of a drywall sander. The sanding pad can have an abrasive disk engaging face that comprises a smooth surface and a sanding head engaging face that is textured.

The present invention relates generally to abrasive devices. Stated more particularly, the present patent discloses and protects a removably attachable abrasive disk, which may be used in combination with a particularly designed sanding pad, that is particularly designed for use relative to motorized rotary drywall sanding tools.
One knowledgeable in the art of drywall installation will be well aware that, after the joints between adjacent panels have been filled and taped, the proper installation of drywall requires that the installer sand each joint to reduce it to the level of each adjacent drywall panel thereby smoothing it over such that all evidence of the joint is eliminated after painting.
In the past, and still to a lesser extent today, this necessary sanding has been performed manually, typically with a sheet of sandpaper wrapped around a sanding block. To improve reach, sanding blocks have been hingedly coupled to an end of an elongate pole. As any person who has engaged in either method of sanding will attest, manual sanding by either method quickly proves to be laborious and tiresome.
Advantageously, a number of prior art inventors have developed motorized sanders that retain a typically round or rectangular article of abrasive material, such as sandpaper, and rotate or reciprocate the abrasive sanding article rapidly. With this, the abrasive sanding article can be applied to a drywall panel to be sanded thereby improving a worker""s speed and efficiency. Indeed, a number of motorized sanders have been disclosed that are directed particularly to the art of drywall sanding. By way of example, a motorized drywall sander and improvements thereto are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,782,632 and 5,239,783, both to Matechuk and both entitled xe2x80x9cDrywall Sander.xe2x80x9d
Typically, the abrasive sanding article employed relative to motorized drywall sanders comprises an annular abrasive sanding disk with a concentric annular cutout in the center thereof. When the abrasive sanding article comprises a disk, a back-up pad is normally used to mount or attach the abrasive sanding disk to the drywall sander. Certain prior art back-up pads have a first side to which the abrasive sanding disc is attached and a second side from which a bolt or screw extends to couple to the sanding head of the drywall sander. In other cases, the sanding head has an abrasive sanding disc adhered to a sanding pad, and the two are mounted concentrically on a sanding drive plate such that the abrasive sanding disk can be driven rotatably by a flexible drive shaft. The sanding pad and abrasive sanding disk can be mounted in contact with a sanding drive plate in a shroud by a washer and nut that threadedly engage a retaining spindle that extends from the sanding head. Alternatively, the sanding pad and abrasive sanding disk can be fixed in place by a retaining bolt and washer that pass through the central aperture in the pad and disk and into engagement with the sanding drive plate.
Unfortunately, a number of problems derive from these prior art constructions. Indeed, since the initial introduction of motorized drywall sanders, practitioners in the art have been confronted with issues relating to the attachment, wear, and removal and replacement of the abrasive sanding panels that are coupled to the sanding head of motorized drywall sanders. For example, removing and replacing the sanding pad and abrasive sanding disk on prior art drywall sanders typically requires a user to employ a tool, such as a screwdriver or wrench. This inevitably results in inconvenience and work stoppage for the user.
Furthermore, the central apertures in the sanding pad and the abrasive sanding disk commonly increase the vulnerability of the abrasive sanding disk, and possibly the sanding pad, to tearing when the drywall sander encounters a significant irregularity, such as an electrical outlet or the like, in the surface to be sanded. Not only is a tear in the abrasive sanding disk detrimental because it compels early replacement of the disk, but it is also problematic because the material used to cover drywall tape and to fill the joints between adjacent panels and in screw indentations is easily abraded. Also, the paper surface of the drywall panels can be damaged easily when sanding. A torn or otherwise damaged abrasive sanding disk can quickly result in scoring or other damage to the surface. Absent time consuming repair, such damage mars the appearance of the finished work.
A number of solutions to the problem of providing a readily removable and replaceable abrasive sanding disk have been attempted. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,783 discloses attaching the abrasive sanding disk to a drive plate by a twist-lock, bayonet-type fastener that takes the place of the retaining bolt of earlier devices. However useful, such a fastener nonetheless leaves uncured the problems that derive from having a central aperture in the abrasive sanding disk and the expense resulting from having to replace the abrasive sanding disk and sanding pad unitarily.
Other prior art inventors have developed systems for removably coupling the abrasive sanding disk to the sanding pad by means of hook and loop fasteners. Under these systems, hook fasteners are disposed on a facing surface of either the abrasive sanding disk or the sanding pad while loop fasteners are disposed on a facing surface of the other of the abrasive sanding disk and sanding pad. With this, the abrasive sanding disk can be removed and replaced relative to the sanding pad by pulling the hook fasteners out of engagement with the loop fasteners. Unfortunately, such devices exhibit a number of problems. For example, the hooks and loops in such devices commonly become clogged with sanding debris and the like.
Yet another flawed practice that has been used in the past is to bond the sanding disk to the sanding pad by use of what is termed a feathering adhesive. Such a practice is described particularly in U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,542 to Marton for a xe2x80x9cStick-On Abrasive Disc.xe2x80x9d Unfortunately, this practice is disadvantageous for a number of reasons. For example, a user must apply the adhesive or glue both to the disk and to the backup pad by applying it to each individually or by applying the glue to the abrasive sanding disk and then rubbing the disk against the sanding pad to spread the adhesive evenly.
By doing so, adhesive can get onto the abrasive side of the disk whereupon it can get onto and mar or damage the surface to be sanded. The adhesive also can plug up the sanding disk. Still further, the sandpaper in many cases tears up in use and also when the operator tries to remove it from the backup pad thereby leaving small pieces or chunks of the abrasive sanding disk. Consequently, completely removing the sanding disk from the sanding pad is nearly impossible whereby a user must glue a new disk over the remaining portions of previous disks. With this, the new disk does not lie flatly and presents an uneven and unbalanced operative surface that can lead to a marking of the surface to be sanded, uneven wear on the abrasive sanding disk, and a tearing of the disk during use.
A still further deficiency exhibited by prior art abrasive sanding disks for drywall derives from their overall configuration. As was noted above, drywall abrasive sanding disks are manufactured as round disks with a concentric, round aperture formed therein. That round aperture is necessary to allow access to the fastener arrangement that fixes the sanding pad in place. Disadvantageously, the central aperture presents an additional edge on the abrasive sanding disk that can, and often does, catch on anomalies, such as an open utility box in a sheet of drywall, in a surface to be sanded. With this, the disks often tear apart thereby leading to added expense and loss of active work time.
In light of the foregoing, one will appreciate that, notwithstanding the plurality of abrasive structures that have been disclosed by the prior art, there remains a need for an abrasive sanding disk and sanding pad particularly designed for drywall sanding that are durable, effective, and easily removable and replaceable.
Advantageously, the present invention is founded on the basic object of providing an abrasive sanding disk and sanding pad that are particularly crafted for sanding drywall and that meet the needs as of yet left unmet by the prior art.
A more particular object of the invention is to provide an abrasive sanding disk for drywall sanding that can be removed and replaced quickly and easily relative to a sanding head of a drywall sander.
A further object of the invention is to provide an abrasive sanding disk particularly designed for drywall sanding that demonstrates added durability over prior art abrasive sanding disks.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an abrasive sanding disk that demonstrates improved drywall sanding results as compared to prior art abrasive sanding disks.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an abrasive sanding disk that resists causing damage to a drywall surface to be sanded.
An even further object of the invention is to provide an abrasive sanding disk and sanding pad combination that allows a plurality of abrasive sanding disks to be used relative to a particularly crafted sanding pad without requiring replacement of the sanding pad.
Of course, these and further objects and advantages of the invention would be readily obvious not only to one skilled in the art who reviews the present disclosure and the accompanying drawing figures but also to one who has an opportunity to take advantage of an embodiment of the present invention.
In accomplishing the aforementioned objects, a most basic embodiment of the invention comprises an abrasive sanding disk and sanding pad combination for use in sanding drywall surfaces by use of a motorized drywall sander with a sanding head. The abrasive sanding disk is founded on a flat, circular substrate panel that, in a marked deviation from prior art abrasive sanding disks for drywall sanders, is devoid of a central aperture. The substrate panel has a first face comprising a sanding head facing face for facing a sanding head of a drywall sander and a second face comprising an abrasive face for abrading a given surface. The sanding pad, which is designed to be interposed between the abrasive sanding disk and a sanding head of a drywall sander, comprises a round disk of resiliently compressible material with a concentric central aperture. The sanding pad has an abrasive disk engaging face for engaging the abrasive sanding disk and a sanding head engaging face for engaging the sanding head of the drywall sander.
A layer of adhesive, ideally pressure sensitive adhesive, is preferably disposed over substantially the entire sanding head engaging face of the substrate panel. With this, the abrasive sanding disk can be affixed to a sanding head of a drywall sander by applying the sanding head engaging face of the substrate panel to the sanding head. Even more preferably, a flexible protective film can overly the layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on the sanding head engaging face to cover and protect the layer of pressure sensitive adhesive. Advantageously, the layer of pressure sensitive adhesive can be exposed by a peeling of the protective film away from the layer of pressure sensitive adhesive. Most preferably, the abrasive sanding disk will have a diameter of about nine inches, which will ensure its proper coupling to a standard drywall sander.
In certain preferred embodiments, the abrasive disk engaging face of the sanding pad will comprise a smooth surface. With this, the layer of pressure sensitive adhesive of the sanding head facing face of the abrasive sanding disk can be applied to the abrasive disk engaging face of the sanding pad and peeled therefrom without damage to the abrasive sanding disk or the sanding pad. Ideally, the sanding head engaging face of the sanding pad will be textured to improve frictional contact between the sanding head engaging face of the sanding pad and the sanding head.
With certain embodiments of the present invention for an abrasive sanding disk and sanding pad combination generally described, one will appreciate that the foregoing discussion broadly outlines the more important features of the invention merely to enable a better understanding of the detailed description that follows and to instill a better appreciation of the inventor""s contribution to the art. Before any particular embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it must be made clear that the following details of construction, descriptions of geometry, and illustrations of inventive concepts are mere examples of the many possible manifestations of the invention.

Drywall abrasive sanding disk, sanding pad, and method


A pop-up display comprises a generally box like hollow member having an open end at the top thereof and a pivotal flap or flaps for opening and closing the open end thereof. A spring biased pop-up display includes a first coil spring which is disposed on a first axis and held in a compressed position by at least one of the flaps when the flap or flaps are in a closed position. A strap or thread is stretched across the flaps to hold the flaps in a closed position. The spring biased pop-up display includes a pleated paper banner having opposite ends with a second coil spring disposed between the opposite ends and with its axis essentially perpendicular to the axis of the first spring. A candle or sparkler engages the flap or thread and upon ignition burns through the strap or thread. When the strap or thread is broken the first spring pushes the display upwardly to thereby allow the second spring to expand the pleated paper banner outwardly beyond the confines of the hollow chamber.

Pop-up decorations for pastries have been known for many years. For example, a U.S. Pat. No. 2,233,119 of M. Anderson discloses a pop-up decoration which provides a surprise for festive occasions. The decoration disclosed therein includes a short candle which when lit will burn for a short time and then permit a furled banner to be projected out of the top of a tube which carries the candle.
A more recent pop-up candle device is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,320 of John Mason. That device includes inner and outer spring biased telescoping sections. The inner section carries a candle mounted thereon and a pivotal arm carrying a furled banner which is concealed within the telescoping sections when the sections are compressed or telescoped. Then the pivotal arm is free to swing downward when the sections are extended and the banner unfurls.
It is presently believed that there may be a significant commercial market for an improved pop-up decoration which is relatively simple in design and which can be sold for a nominal price. It is also believed that a pop-up candle decoration according to the present invention can be made of relatively inexpensive materials, made at a modest cost and at the same time provide a festive pop-up surprise for festive occasions. The flame or heat actuated pop-up decorations in accordance with the present invention are also adaptable for different occasions and readily customized for an individual event. In addition, the decorations can be manufactured in very small sizes and are relatively lite in weight so that they can be used as decorations for birthday cakes or the like and readily removed therefrom before cutting the cake. The decorations are also readily disposable and in this sense are environmentally friendly.


Edges in cytological image data are identified by obtaining a digital image of a specimen and computing a gradient image from the obtained digital image. A scaling function is applied to the grayscale image to identify regions of interest (e.g., edges of cell nuclei) in the digital image. Edges of the regions of interest are then identified based on the product of the computed gradient image and the scaling image. The scaling function may be applied to each image frame and one or more scaling thresholds are established for each frame to selectively pass, suppress, or scale pixels based on their measured intensity values. The scaled image resulting from application of the scaling function is multiplied with the gradient image to produce a targeted gradient image that identifies the edges of the region of interest. The targeted gradient image isolates edges corresponding to particular cellular structures, while rejecting other edges within the image.

In the medical industry, there is often a need for a laboratory technician, e.g., a cytotechnologist, to review a cytological specimen for the presence of specified cell types. For example, there is presently a need to review a cervico-vaginal Papanicolaou (Pap) smear slides for the presence of malignant or pre-malignant cells. Since its introduction over fifty years ago, Pap smears have been a powerful tool for detecting cancerous and precancerous cervical lesions. During that time, the Pap smear has been credited with reducing mortality from cervical cancer by as much as 70%. This once precipitous drop in the death rate has slowed however, and the mortality rate in the United States for this preventable disease has remained virtually constant, at about 5,000 per year since the mid-eighties. Therefore, about one-third of the 15,000 women diagnosed with cervical cancer annually still die, because the cancer was detected too late. A further cause for concern is National Cancer Institute data that shows an annual 3% increase in the incidence of invasive cervical cancer in white women under 50 years of age since 1986.
A number of factors may be contributing to this current threshold, not the least of which is the fact that many women, particularly in high risk populations, are still not participating in routine cervical cancer screening. Another contributing factor that has received much attention is the limitation of the traditional Pap smear method itself. The reliability and efficacy of a cervical screening method is measured by its ability to diagnose precancerous lesions (sensitivity) while at the same time avoiding false positive diagnosis (specificity). In turn, these criteria are dependent on the accuracy of the cytological interpretation. The conventional Pap smear has false negative rates ranging from 10-50%. This is due in large part to the vast number of cells and objects (typically as many as 100,000 to 200,000) that must be reviewed by a technician to determine the possible existence of a small number of malignant or pre-malignant cells. Thus, Pap smear tests, as well as other tests requiring detailed review of biological material, have suffered from a high false negative rate due to fatigue imposed on the technician.
To facilitate this review process, automated systems have been developed by various companies to focus the technician's attention on the most pertinent cells, with a potential to discard the remaining cells from further review. A typical automated system includes an imager and an automated optical microscope. Briefly, the imager can be operated to provide a series of numerous images of a cytological specimen slide, referred to as image frames, each depicting a different portion of the slide. The imager then processes these image frames to determine the most pertinent biological objects or regions of interest for review on the slide, and their locations (x-y coordinates) on the slide. For example, a region of interest may include a cellular organelle or cell structure such as a stained cell nucleus. This information is then passed on to the microscope, which, based on the x-y coordinates received from the imager, automatically or semi-automatically displays the biological objects for review by the technician.
In the process of determining the most pertinent biological objects, the automated system must perform segmentation and feature extraction on all cells present within each frame. Image segmentation involves a process of creating a digital representation of all the pixels in an image that represent a particular structure, such as, for instance, a cell nucleus. In order to perform image segmentation, there is a need to identify the boundaries or edges between various organelles or structures located within the cytological image data. For instance, image segmentation of the nucleus first requires the identification of the edges or boundary between the nucleus and the cell cytoplasm. Similarly, image segmentation of the whole cells requires establishing the edge or boundary between the cell cytoplasm and the background. Feature extraction involves the measurement of one or more parameters about a particular organelle or cellular structure. Certain classes of image features require that one identify the edges or boundaries between the various cellular components (e.g., cytoplasm, nucleus, nucleoli, etc.). In the case of applications to Pap smear images, the optical density of the cell nucleus or the nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio may be used to identify potential diseased states of the tissue.
The spatial gradient is a useful measure of edges in image data, and within the field of cytological image processing, the spatial gradient can be used for both segmentation and feature extraction. However, in the case of segmentation, the spatial gradient is of limited use because the gradient captures edges corresponding to borders or edges between the nuclear material and the cytoplasm as well as the border formed between the cytoplasm and the background. Because cytoplasm edges may be present, the gradient information must be used cautiously, if at all, by segmentation algorithms because the cytoplasm edge is often much stronger or more dominant than nuclear edges, and thus can lead to over-segmentation of the cell nucleus.

Targeted edge detection method and apparatus for cytological image processing applications


Systems and methods of evaluating content in a computer networked environment are provided. The data processing system can provide a first link to content for display on a first web page and a second link to the content for display on a second web page. The first and second links have first and second snippets associated with the content, respectively. The system determines at least one of a first number of views and a first number of conversions of the first link and at least one of a second number of views and a second number of conversions of the second link. The system determines a quality metric of the first snippet and a quality metric of the second snippet. The system selects one of the first snippet and the second snippet based on the quality metric of the first snippet and the quality metric of the second snippet.

In a networked environment such as the Internet, web sites can provide a link to content, such as a news article, video, or blog post. By clicking on the link, a user can access the content and the content can be displayed on a user device. Many different web pages can provide links to the same content, allowing the content to proliferate through a computer network for viewing by a large number of users.

Evaluating content in a computer networked environment


A lens assembly includes plural lens components. A first lens element of the first lens component is aspherical and plastic, disposed on a side of a screen surface, for adjusting focus in image projection to the screen surface. A first lens barrel holds the first lens component. A second lens barrel holds a second lens component. A stationary barrel movably contains the second lens barrel. The second lens barrel is rotated helically relative to the stationary barrel, to adjust the focus for the plural lens components. Thereafter the first lens barrel is rotated helically relative to the second lens barrel, to correct image distortion for the plural lens components, and also to adjust a rotational position of the first lens element. So a gate mark on an edge portion of the first lens element is offset from an effective projecting region of the image projection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens assembly for projecting an image. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lens assembly for projecting an image, in which positions of lens elements can be adjusted finely without lowering image quality of image projection.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
A rear projection apparatus has been recently known as a display apparatus or TV set of a large display area. The rear projection apparatus includes a screen, a mirror, and an optical engine. The screen is supported on a casing. The mirror is disposed behind the screen. The optical engine is a projector component which projects projecting light toward the mirror. The optical engine includes illumination optics, a light valve, and projection optics. The illumination optics receive light from a high brightness light source to output uniform illuminating light. The light valve is an image forming device, and modulates the illuminating light to produce an original image electronically. The projection optics enlarge and project the projecting light in a manner having image information formed by the light valve.
An aspherical lens element can be included in a lens assembly for the projection optics. To produce the aspherical lens element, raw material is molded by injection molding into the product, examples of raw materials being a plastic material, glass or the like. However, a mold for the injection molding has a gate, which causes a gate mark to remain on the product of the aspherical lens element being plastic typically. Also, weld lines may remain on the injection molding as a flow of the molten plastic material. When one wishes to use of the aspherical lens element as a part of the projection optics, the aspherical lens element should be installed to offset positions of gate marks or weld lines from an effective projecting region of image projection. See JP-A 2004-361620. This is for preventing image quality from being lowered.
There has been a conception of a common use of the optical engine for a plurality of types of the rear projection apparatus different in the screen size, for the purpose of economizing production of the rear projection apparatus by considering the optical engine. The screen size can be changed by changing a distance from the projection optics to the screen. However, initial positioning of the optical engine is determined suitably for a specific size. If a user wishes to install the optical engine in a type of the rear projection apparatus different in the screen size, the focus must be adjusted. To this end, the projection optics are moved in the optical axis direction for the adjustment. To move the projection optics in the optical axis direction, the use of helical threads is effective. However, the gate marks or weld lines on the edge of the aspherical lens element of a plastic material are likely to exist within the effective projecting region for image projection. Also, offsetting of the aspherical lens element changes the degree of image surface distortion of projected images, to lower image quality of the projection.


A support tube for use with a support tube surface area assembly such as a shelf, a portion of a furniture article, or other structure, comprises a first end, a body section, and a second end. The first end and second end of the support tube are outwardly flared to provide a tapered interior area into which a first and a second accessory element, such as a nut and bolt, may be inserted. The accessory elements are enclosed in the tapered interior area by a crimping and flattening of the lips of the first and second end such that they form an interiorly extending flange partially encapturing the accessory elements. A method for making the support tube is disclosed as well a shelf structure or furniture article assembled with the support tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to support rods or tubes, particularly to a support tube for a surface area such as a shelf assembly or a portion of a furniture, and provides a method for the manufacture of the support tube and the assembly of the same with a surface area such as a shelving or furniture structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditionally, surface areas such as a shelving unit have a variety of vertical wall supports, side walls, cantilever brackets, column, wall, or other means for supporting the same. Likewise articles of furniture have a variety of leg, side wall, wall, column, and support components to aid in the support of a surface area. Often such means require fixed support walls and independent screws, nuts, bolts, or other independent attachment pieces, and associated tools of assembly, to accomplish the support of a surface area.
Although some bracket/wall standard systems, shelving units, and articles of furniture are designed to be permanent installations, the changing commercial, merchandising display, or home or office decor needs of users make it desirable that the support members for surface areas of shelving units or load bearing portion of articles of furniture be able to be changed and rearranged between multiple positions or in a modular manner with relative ease and economy and without damage. Accordingly, ease of installation, flexibility of support member settings, portability, modular capability, secure engagement of the support member, ease in disengagement, as well as the cost and ornamental or sightliness appearance of the support member are important factors in modern integrated merchandising, storage, commercial, office, or home surface area structures.

Support tube, support tube surface area assembly, and method for manufacture of the support tube


A wavelength tuning apparatus and method that maintain highest efficiency with a single angle manipulation without changing a position of input/output light. For this, the wavelength tuning apparatus and method include a transmission-type diffraction grating and a mirror that are constructed in one-body type so that a light path that enables an optimal efficiency diffraction angle of the diffraction grating can be formed, and rotates the one-body construction to obtain a desired wavelength. Accordingly, efficiency and precision of manipulation and control can be increased, and costs can be reduced.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a wavelength tuning apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a wavelength tuning apparatus and method which can maintain highest efficiency with a single angle manipulation without changing a position of input/output light.
2. Background Art
The development of optics influences various industry fields and a wide range of next generation technologies from micromachining to high-speed communications are based on the optics. Particularly, optics applied to industrial and medical technologies such as a technique for reforming or micromachining a surface using a laser light having high straightness, a technique for separating a particular cell or a medical mass, a technique for reproducing data using optical media, high speed communications using total reflection of optical fibers, a microscope technology for recognizing a construction of a nano-size three-dimensional sample, and the like has become more important.
General laser optics mostly uses a single wavelength. However, as the demand for applications using various wavelengths increases, wavelength tuning laser optical devices that can tune wavelengths have been introduced to significantly increase a band of communications, analyze various samples, or select such a wavelength to provide optimal characteristics from among a wide range of wavelengths.
A wavelength tuning laser applying a technique for tuning a wavelength of a laser beam has a different construction according to purposes. However, a wavelength tuning laser generally applicable to various optical applications selects and outputs a desired wavelength by controlling a diffraction angle of a laser light source having a predetermined wavelength band.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a construction of a wavelength tuning apparatus applying a Littrow cavity that is well known. Here, the cavity represents a construction used for optical resonance including a diffraction grating, a mirror, a lens, etc., and is generally called an optical cavity.
As shown in FIG. 1, a laser light generated through a laser diode 1 becomes a parallel light through a collimator lens 2 and is incident on a reflective diffraction grating 3. The incident light is diffracted at a specific angle according to a construction of the reflective diffraction gratings 3 to be reflected from the mirror 4.
In this construction, a wavelength can be selected by controlling an angle of the diffraction grating 3, and a light path is changed according to the selected wavelength. Therefore, in order to fix the light path, complex operations such as controlling a position of the incident light or the mirror 4 are needed. In addition, an effective profile according to the diffraction angle of the incident light is different according to wavelengths, so that maintaining highest efficiency at all wavelengths is difficult. In addition, a reflective diffraction grating has absolutely low diffraction efficiency. Accordingly, diffraction efficiency of this construction is absolutely low since the reflective diffraction grating 3 is used in this construction. Therefore, when the wavelength tuning laser apparatus is implemented, a size of the apparatus is large, and maintaining the position and the path of the light is difficult. Therefore, there are problems in that high costs and a large size are needed and precision is low.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a construction of a wavelength tuning apparatus applying a Littman cavity. Referring to FIG. 2, a laser light generated through a laser diode 11 becomes a parallel light through a collimator lens 12 and is diffracted at a diffraction angle by a reflective diffraction grating 13. The diffracted light is reflected from a mirror 14 and incident on the reflective diffraction grating 13 again to be diffracted at a specific angle.
In this construction, a wavelength can be selected by controlling an angle of the mirror 14. Since a position of the diffraction grating 13 for reflection is fixed, there are advantages in that a position of the incident light and a path of an output light are not changed. However, this construction has a very low efficiency since not only it reflects a plurality of beams using the diffraction grating 13 which cannot reflect 100% of input light but also reflection efficiency that is changed according to wavelengths cannot be compensated. Accordingly, a range of wavelengths that can be selected is decreased. Specifically, a large number of laser diodes of which wavelength regions may overlap are needed to provide a wide range of wavelengths, so that costs are increased. In addition, a period for replacing a laser diode to select a wavelength is decreased, so that an operation time is increased. In addition, a light path is limited by the reflective diffraction grating 13 whose position is fixed, so that the selection of light path is limited. Therefore, in order to solve the limitation, additional mirror structures are needed, and a size thereof increases.
Therefore, there is a rapidly increasing need for a wavelength tuning apparatus and method in which a light path can be freely designed, the light path is not changed according to the selected wavelength, output efficiency and precision of wavelength selection are high, control needed for wavelength selection is simple, and a size thereof is small.

Wavelength tuning apparatus and method thereof


A fabric with moisture management properties has a pattern of hydrophobic areas comprising at least one hydrophobic agent provided at least on the first side of the fabric and at least one hydrophilic agent which is provided in a pattern on at least some regions of said first side of the fabric, whereby said first side has a pattern of hydrophobic areas and a pattern of hydrophilic areas to transfer the moisture from the first side to the second side.

The management of the moisture deriving from the wearer's body is a crucial aspect in the production of fabrics, especially in the production of fabrics for sport garments.
In particular, fabrics should be designed and structured in order to promote the absorption of moisture and sweat from the skin of the user (at the level of the inner surface of the fabric), and to allow the evaporation of the absorbed moisture at the level of the outer surface of the fabric.
Both natural (e.g. cotton) and synthetic materials, however, show some problems and limitation in managing the moisture from the body of the user. For example, cotton fabrics present a variety of problems in the managing of the moisture, due to the high absorbency of the cotton.
In fact, cotton fabrics efficiently absorb the moisture and the sweat from the skin of the users, but the evaporation of the absorbed moisture is difficult. A cotton garment, when used for example during sport activities, quickly absorbs the sweat, rapidly drenching, and thus becomes heavy and sticks to the skin. Additionally, wet cotton fabrics and garments take long time to dry. As an alternative to cotton, synthetic fibers can be used in fabrics and garments, in particular for sporting apparel.
Hydrophobic synthetic fibers are chemically treated to produce wicking of liquid moisture in hydrophobic thermoplastic synthetic fabrics and garments. In this way, absorption of moisture is allowed in per se non-absorbing fabrics. However, these fabrics are generally less comfortable with respect to cotton fabrics.
WO 02/27088 discloses a fabric which is treated only with a hydrophobic agent to provide a hydrophobic pattern. The wicking effect is due to the hydrophilic nature of the fibers used, namely cotton fibers, that absorb moisture in the areas free from hydrophobic agent.
WO 2007/059590 discloses a fabric which is treated with hydrophobic and/or hydrophilic agents. In particular, WO 2007/059590 discloses that the entire inner face of the fabric is treated with a hydrophobic agent. The hydrophobic agent is confined to the inner face, or can penetrate the inner face, such that the hydrophobic agent can extend from the inner face toward the outer face, without forming part of the outer face. Moreover, WO 2007/059590 discloses that the hydrophilic agent is confined to the outer face, or can penetrate the outer face, such that the hydrophilic agent can extend from the outer face toward the inner face, without forming part of the inner face.
However, the fabrics known in the art present several problems.
In general, the so-called wicking effect, i.e. the transfer of moisture from the inner side of the fabric (the side of the fabric which is in contact with the user's body) to the outer environment is not efficient enough.
Another problem, common to all known treated fabrics, is that the effect of moisture management is greatly reduced, or almost lost, in fabrics that are elastic, or stretchable, fabrics.
Therefore, there is a need for fabrics, in particular elastic fabrics, having improved moisture management features.

Fabric having moisture management features

Sanko Tekstil Isletmeleri San. Ve Tic. A.S.


An outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus includes a fan chamber, a machine chamber, a partition plate, and an electrical component unit. The partition plate is provided, in its upper part, with a planar receiving surface portion for receiving a holder. The holder is provided with a positioning protrusion protruding downward. A cutout portion into which the positioning protrusion is inserted is formed in the receiving surface portion. At least one inclined surface portion that is inclined downward from the receiving surface portion and guides the positioning protrusion to the cutout portion is provided at an end portion of the receiving surface portion that leads to the cutout portion.

In a conventional outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus, when mounting an electrical component unit, the electrical component unit is positioned by inserting a protruding portion of a cover of the electrical component unit into an insertion hole provided in a partition plate. Then, the electrical component unit is screw-fixed from the upper part of the outdoor unit of an air-conditioning apparatus (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).

Outdoor unit of air-conditioning apparatus


Compositions comprising at least two of a corticosteroid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), and an antibiotic find use in treating or preventing eye conditions in subjects in need thereof. Methods of treatment or prevention of eye conditions comprise administering an effective amount of the disclosed compositions to the affected eye(s). Methods of preparing a composition comprising an NSAID, a corticosteroid, and an antibiotic comprise separately complexing the NSAID and antibiotic with cyclodextrin.

Inflammatory reactions can cause tissue damage, promoting scar formation. In the eye and its appendages, this condition can lead to undesired functional impairments. For this reason, after cataract and other eye surgeries, medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs are often administered to aid in the healing process. The anti-inflammatory drugs are typically delivered to the ocular surface and the front of the eye in the form of eye drops.
The separate application of two or more different active ingredients is not ideal for both compliance and pharmacokinetic reasons. Many patients undergoing ocular surgery, particularly cataract surgery, are of an advanced age with impaired vision, making it difficult to handle the administration of multiple formulations. Further, contact time and absorption of the applied active ingredients are difficult to calculate due to their reciprocal displacement from the tear film. In order to avoid mistakes when administering multiple preparations, the patient must strictly adhere to application intervals. In contrast, if a combination product is used, i.e., a product comprising at least two active agents, each of the active ingredients are applied to the conjunctival sac in a defined proportion, so that reciprocal displacement can be ruled out.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a combination product that comprises at least two therapeutically active agents useful for treating or preventing ophthalmic conditions and is characterized by improved compliance, improved efficacy, and reduction of side effects associated with topical administration of medications.

Methods and compositions for the treatment of ophthalmic conditions


An F-theta scan lens for a dual beam, dual wavelength raster output scanning system (ROS) has four lens elements with the third and fourth lenses forming a doublet having a negative refractive power. This four-element F-theta scan lens corrects for axial chromatic aberration and lateral chromatic aberration for both wavelengths and provides scan linearity.

This invention relates to a f-theta scan lens for an optical scanning system and, more particularly, a f-theta scan lens for a dual wavelength raster output scanning system (ROS).
Raster output scanners conventionally have a reflective multifaceted polygon mirror that is rotated about its central axis to repeatedly sweep an intensity modulated beam across a photosensitive medium in a line scanning direction (also know as the scan direction) while the recording medium is being advanced in an orthogonal or "process" direction (also known as the slow scan direction) such that the beam scans the recording medium in accordance with a raster scanning pattern.
The raster output scanners in general have F-theta lenses in the optical path between the rotating polygon mirror and the scanning surface of the photosensitive medium. The light beam will be deflected at a constant angular velocity from the rotating mirror which the F-theta lens optically modifies to scan the surface at a constant velocity. These ROS systems in the past have employed F-theta scan lenses designed for use with monochromatic light sources and, therefore, were not designed to compensate for the effects of chromatic aberration.
A multiple beam, multiple wavelength ROS 10 of the prior art is shown in FIG. 1. The multiple beam laser 12 consisting of a pair of laser diodes (not shown) emits two beam 14 and 16, each having a different wavelength. The beams 14 and 16 are collimated by collimator 18. The light beams then continue through a single element cross-scan cylinder lens 20 which focuses them in the cross-scan direction onto the reflective facet 22 of the rotating polygon mirror 24. After reflection and scanning from the facet 22, the two beams 14 and 16 pass through the F-theta scan lens 26. The F-theta scan lens is shown as a three-element lens 28, 30 and 32.
Subsequently, the wobble correction optical elements 34 reimage the focused beams 14 and 16 reflected from polygon facet 22 onto the photoreceptor plane 36 at predetermined positions, independently of the polygon angle error or tilt of the facet 22. The wobble correction optics 34 can consist of a pair of fold mirrors 38 and 40 and a cylindrical mirror 42 to image the focused beams 14 and 16 on the plane 6. Such compensation is possible because the focused beams are stationary "objects" for the F-theta scan lens 26 and the wobble correction optics 34. Although, due to polygon tilt, or wobble, the beams 14 and 16 are reflected to different positions of the post-polygon optics aperture for each different facet of the rotating polygon, the beams 14 and 16 are imaged to the same positions on the PR plane 36.
"Bow" is a measure of distortion in the cross-scan direction of the scan line from one end of the scan to the other. Bow may be calculated by taking the average of the cross-scan heights at the extreme ends of the scanline then subtracting the cross-scan height at the center of scan. In a multiple beam system, each light source emitting a beam has its own bow curve. It is the maximum difference in the bow curves between the multiple light sources in a given system that defines the "differential bow".
The optical design must achieve F-theta correction in the optics to ensure the "scan linearity." Scan linearity is the measure of how equally spaced the spots are written in the scan direction across the entire scanline. Typical scan linearity curves start at zero position error at one end of a scan having a positive lobe of position error, cross the center of scan with zero position error and then have a negative lobe of position error toward the other end of the scan. Scan linearity curves may have image placement errors of zero at several locations across the scanline. Ideally, the curve would be at zero across the entire scanline.
There are two color aberrations in the lens of a multiple beam, multiple wavelength ROS that must be corrected or compensated for: (1) longitudinal or axial chromatic aberration and (2) tangential or lateral chromatic aberration. Axial chromatic aberration causes light of different wavelengths to come to a focus at different distances back from the lens. Lateral chromatic aberration is the variation in image height of focused spots of light having different wavelengths, taken at a specified focal plane.
With the advent of multiple wavelength laser diodes as light sources, multiple beam ROS optical systems that use these light sources must have scan lenses that enable precise and accurate scanning with beams of different wavelengths. In these lenses, both axial chromatic aberration and lateral chromatic aberration must be corrected to a high degree. Lateral chromatic aberration, also known as chromatic aberration of magnification, must be corrected to within a small fraction of a pixel throughout the entire scan to be effective.
Accordingly, there is a need for a diffraction limited F-theta scan lens for a multiple beam, multiple wavelength ROS that exhibits very little lateral chromatic aberration and very little field curvature along the main scanning direction and that has a longitudinal chromatic aberration that is smaller than the depth of focus of the beam at the image plane.


Disclosed are the use of fluorine substituted olefins, including tetra- and penta-fluoropropenes, in a variety of applications, including in methods of depositing catalyst on a solid support, methods of sterilizing articles, cleaning methods and compositions, methods of applying medicaments, fire extinguishing/suppression compositions and methods, flavor formulations, fragrance formulations and inflating agents.

Fluorocarbon based fluids have found widespread use in many commercial and industrial applications. For example, fluorocarbon based fluids are frequently used as a working fluid in systems such as air conditioning, heat pump and refrigeration applications. The vapor compression cycle is one of the most commonly used type methods to accomplish cooling or heating in a refrigeration system. The vapor compression cycle usually involves the phase change of the refrigerant from the liquid to the vapor phase through heat absorption at a relatively low pressure and then from the vapor to the liquid phase through heat removal at a relatively low pressure and temperature, compressing the vapor to a relatively elevated pressure, condensing the vapor to the liquid phase through heat removal at this relatively elevated pressure and temperature, and then reducing the pressure to start the cycle over again.
While the primary purpose of refrigeration is to remove heat from an object or other fluid at a relatively low temperature, the primary purpose of a heat pump is to add heat at a higher temperature relative to the environment.
Certain fluorocarbons have been a preferred component in many heat exchange fluids, such as refrigerants, for many years in many applications. For, example, fluoroalkanes, such as chlorofluoromethane and chlorofluoroethane derivatives, have gained widespread use as refrigerants in applications including air conditioning and heat pump applications owing to their unique combination of chemical and physical properties. Many of the refrigerants commonly utilized in vapor compression systems are either single components fluids or azeotropic mixtures.
Concern has increased in recent years about potential damage to the earth's atmosphere and climate, and certain chlorine-based compounds have been identified as particularly problematic in this regard. The use of chlorine-containing compositions (such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and the like) as refrigerants in air-conditioning and refrigeration systems has become disfavored because of the ozone-depleting properties associated with many of such compounds. There has thus been an increasing need for new fluorocarbon and hydrofluorocarbon compounds and compositions that offer alternatives for refrigeration and heat pump applications. For example, it has become desirable to retrofit chlorine-containing refrigeration systems by replacing chlorine-containing refrigerants with non-chlorine-containing refrigerant compounds that will not deplete the ozone layer, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
It is generally considered important, however, that any potential substitute refrigerant must also possess those properties present in many of the most widely used fluids, such as excellent heat transfer properties, chemical stability, low- or no-toxicity, non-flammability and lubricant compatibility, among others.
Applicants have come to appreciate that lubricant compatibility is of particular importance in many of applications. More particularly, it is highly desirably for refrigeration fluids to be compatible with the lubricant utilized in the compressor unit, used in most refrigeration systems. Unfortunately, many non-chlorine-containing refrigeration fluids, including HFCs, are relatively insoluble and/or immiscible in the types of lubricants used traditionally with CFC's and HFCs, including, for example, mineral oils, alkylbenzenes or poly(alpha-olefins). In order for a refrigeration fluid-lubricant combination to work at a desirable level of efficiently within a compression refrigeration, air-conditioning and/or heat pump system, the lubricant should be sufficiently soluble in the refrigeration liquid over a wide range of operating temperatures. Such solubility lowers the viscosity of the lubricant and allows it to flow more easily throughout the system. In the absence of such solubility, lubricants tend to become lodged in the coils of the evaporator of the refrigeration, air-conditioning or heat pump system, as well as other parts of the system, and thus reduce the system efficiency.
With regard to efficiency in use, it is important to note that a loss in refrigerant thermodynamic performance or energy efficiency may have secondary environmental impacts through increased fossil fuel usage arising from an increased demand for electrical energy.
Furthermore, it is generally considered desirably for CFC refrigerant substitutes to be effective without major engineering changes to conventional vapor compression technology currently used with CFC refrigerants.
Flammability is another important property for many applications. That is, it is considered either important or essential in many applications, including particularly in heat transfer applications, to use compositions, which are non-flammable. Thus, it is frequently beneficial to use in such compositions compounds, which are nonflammable. As used herein, the term "nonflammable" refers to compounds or compositions, which are determined to be nonflammable as determined in accordance with ASTM standard E-681, dated 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference. Unfortunately, many HFCs, which might otherwise be desirable for used in refrigerant compositions are not nonflammable. For example, the fluoroalkane difluoroethane (HFC-152a) and the fluoroalkene 1,1,1-trifluoropropene (HFO-1243zf) are each flammable and therefore not viable for use in many applications.
Higher fluoroalkenes, that is fluorine-substituted alkenes having at least five carbon atoms, have been suggested for use as refrigerants. U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,352—Smutny is directed to production of fluorinated C5 to C8 compounds having at least some degree of unsaturation. The Smutny patent identifies such higher olefins as being known to have utility as refrigerants, pesticides, dielectric fluids, heat transfer fluids, solvents, and intermediates in various chemical reactions. (See column 1, lines 11-22).
While the fluorinated olefins described in Smutny may have some level of effectiveness in heat transfer applications, it is believed that such compounds may also have certain disadvantages. For example, some of these compounds may tend to attack substrates, particularly general-purpose plastics such as acrylic resins and ABS resins. Furthermore, the higher olefinic compounds described in Smutny may also be undesirable in certain applications because of the potential level of toxicity of such compounds which may arise as a result of pesticide activity noted in Smutny. Also, such compounds may have a boiling point, which is too high to make them useful as a refrigerant in certain applications.
Bromofluoromethane and bromochlorofluoromethane derivatives, particularly bromotrifluoromethane (Halon 1301) and bromochlorodifluoromethane (Halon 1211) have gained widespread use as fire extinguishing agents in enclosed areas such as airplane cabins and computer rooms. However, the use of various halons is being phased out due to their high ozone depletion. Moreover, as halons are frequently used in areas where humans are present, suitable replacements must also be safe to humans at concentrations necessary to suppress or extinguish fire.
Applicants have thus come to appreciate a need for compositions, and particularly heat transfer compositions, fire extinguishing/suppression compositions, blowing agents, solvent compositions, and compatabilizing agents, that are potentially useful in numerous applications, including vapor compression heating and cooling systems and methods, while avoiding one or more of the disadvantages noted above.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Compositions containing fluorine substituted olefins and methods and systems using same


Provided is an inverter-integrated electric compressor in which the layout of a wiring path connected to an IPM is optimized, the wiring path is simplified, and the noise interference due to disturbance is suppressed, thereby improving the controllability. In an inverter-integrated electric compressor in which an inverter box is provided on the outer periphery of a housing accommodating a compressor and a motor, the inverter box integrally accommodating an inverter device, the inverter device includes an IPM constituting an inverter circuit, and UVW output terminals arranged on one side of the IPM are disposed, in the inverter box, so as to face a glass-sealed terminal that applies power from the inverter device to the motor.

An inverter-integrated electric compressor is used as a compressor for an air conditioner installed in an electric car or a hybrid car. The inverter-integrated electric compressor has a configuration in which an inverter box, in which an inverter device that converts direct-current power from a power source into alternating-current power and applies it to the motor is mounted, is provided on an outer periphery of a housing accommodating a compressor and a motor. The rotational speed is variably controlled according to control signals transmitted from a vehicle-side control device (ECU).
The inverter device is formed of an inverter circuit, which is composed of power devices, such as power semiconductor devices (for example, IGBTs), that convert direct-current power into alternating-current power and apply it to a motor, and a control board, on which is mounted a control circuit including a microcomputer that controls alternating-current power to be applied to the motor according to the control signals from the ECU; and a noise-removing filter circuit, which is provided in a wiring path for supplying direct-current power to the power device. This noise-removing filter circuit is typically composed of high-voltage components, such as a head capacitor (smoothing capacitor), an inductor coil, a common mode coil, and the like.
Furthermore, there is a known inverter-integrated electric compressor in which an intelligent power module (Intelligent Power Module; IPM), in which a driving circuit (gate driver) and a self-protection function are integrally mounted, is used as a power-controlling power device constituting an inverter circuit (for example, see PTLs 1 and 2).


An electronic control device includes a substrate, component-mounted wires disposed on the substrate, electronic components mounted on the respective component-mounted wires, a common wire disposed on the substrate and coupled with each of the electronic components, and an interrupt wire coupled between one of the component-mounted wires and the common wire. The interrupt wire melts in accordance with heat generated by an overcurrent. The interrupt wire includes a first wire section and a second wire section shorter than the first wire section. The first wire section and the second wire section is coupled with each other at a predetermined angle that is determined so that one of the wire sections is coupled with the common wire and the other is coupled with the one of the component-mounted wires.

Conventionally, an electronic control device includes a fuse in case of a fault in the electronic control device. In an electronic control device in which small components are densely arranged, because a short-circuit current generated at a short-circuit fault in the small components does not reach a high current, it takes a long time to interrupt by the fuse. Especially when a large fuse is used for protecting a plurality of electronic control devices so as to reduce the number of fuses and a cost, it takes a longer time. Thus, temperatures of the components may be increased at an interruption and a voltage drop in a power supply wire and the like may be caused for a long time. In contrast, in a common wire, such as a power supply wire (e.g., a battery path and a ground path), that supplies electric power required for operating many circuits and many components mounted in accordance with advancement and diversification of electronic control, a relatively high current flows. Thus, an interrupting current of a large fuse disposed in a common wire path is further increased, and the electronic control device does not secure a sufficient interruption performance at a short-circuit fault in each circuit or each component. The above-described issue becomes noticeable, for example, in an electronic control device for a vehicle used at a higher temperature and including many mounted devices.
JP-A-2007-311467 discloses a printed circuit board control device in which an interrupt wire is disposed in a power supply wire in each substrate. If an overcurrent flows, the interrupt wire melts and the power supply wire is interrupted in each substrate or each device.
The interrupt wire has properties, such as a resistance value, depending on a length. Thus, the length of the interrupt wire is determined based on a melting time and interrupt conditions. On a substrate in which components are densely mounted, a component-mounted wire, such as a land, on which an electronic component is mounted, and a common wire shared by a plurality of electronic components including the electronic component are disposed adjacent to each other. Thus, it is difficult to dispose an interrupt wire having a required length, in particular, an interrupt wire having a long length so as to be melted by a low current between the common wire and the component-mounted wire, and a mounting area may be increased by disposing the interrupt wire.

Electronic control device including interrupt wire