An electrostatic actuator includes a diaphragm caused to vibrate by electrostatic force, an electrode substrate opposing the diaphragm, an electrode formed on the electrode substrate so as to oppose said diaphragm with a gap being formed between the electrode and the diaphragm, an anti-corrosive thin film formed on said diaphragm, and diaphragm deflection prevention means preventing the diaphragm from deflecting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrostatic actuator vibrating by electrostatic force, a method of producing such an electrostatic actuator, an electrostatic micropump including such an electrostatic actuator, an ink jet recording head including such an electrostatic actuator and ejecting an ink droplet by a pressure wave caused by electrostatic force, an ink jet recording apparatus including such an ink jet recording head, a liquid droplet ejecting head, an ink cartridge including such a liquid droplet ejecting head, an ink jet recording apparatus including such a liquid droplet ejecting head, and a method of producing such a liquid droplet ejecting head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Products to which an electrostatic actuator is applied include an electrostatic micropump and a drop-on-demand ink jet recording head.
As methods of driving a micropump for transporting liquid, there have been disclosed a piezoelectric method using piezoelectric effect, a thermal method utilizing liquid expansion caused by heat, and an electrostatic driving method employing electrostatic attraction. Among those methods, the electrostatic driving method have the advantage of low power consumption due to its use of electrostatic force, and a micropump using this method is easy to make fine in size by means of a processing technique using a silicon device processing technique.
However, since such a micropump employs silicon as a material of its components, the silicon may be eluted from the components depending on the nature of the transported liquid of alkalinity or acidity, thus causing damage to the micropump. Therefore, it is commonly practiced to form an anti-corrosive film on a surface of the silicon which surface contacts the liquid. A description will be given below of ink jet recording heads in which this anti-corrosive film is formed.
There have been proposed a variety of methods of driving an ink jet recording head for an ink jet recording apparatus which ink jet recording head uses an electrostatic actuator which performs recording by ejecting an ink droplet through a nozzle hole directly onto a recording medium.
WO98/42513 discloses an ink jet recording head for a print head employed in a drop-on-demand ink jet recording apparatus in which ink jet recording head an anti-corrosive thin film of Ti, a Ti compound, and Al2O3 having resistance to ink is formed on the surface of a diaphragm forming an ink pressure chamber for pressurizing and ejecting ink.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 10-291322 discloses a method of producing an ink jet head which method includes the steps of forming a silicon oxide film on the surface of a diaphragm forming an ink pressure chamber for pressurizing and ejecting ink, and thereafter forming in layers ink-resistant films of oxide, nitride, and a metal to close pinholes in the diaphragm.
Such a diaphragm of an electrostatic actuator which diaphragm is formed by a single or a plurality of layers of ink-resistant anti-corrosive thin films of Ti, a Ti compound, Al2O3, and a silicon oxide suffers a decrease in a yield due to corrosion, a malfunction caused by a deflection of the diaphragm generated by buckling, and a breakage caused by mishandling during the production thereof, thus resulting in an increase in the production costs of the electrostatic actuator.
When such an electrostatic actuator including a diaphragm formed by a single or a plurality of layers of ink-resistant anti-corrosive thin films of Ti, a Ti compound, Al2O3, and a silicon oxide is applied to an electrostatic micropump, an ink jet recording head, or an ink jet recording apparatus, the internal stress of the anti-corrosive thin films and a film thickness distribution on the diaphragm cause the diaphragm to buckle to have a deflection. The deflection of the diaphragm causes an increase in a driving voltage, which leads to an increase in the costs of a driving circuit and greater variations in the driving voltage, thus causing an increase in power consumption. Further, the deflection of the diaphragm causes differences in an ejection characteristic among bits at a time of ejecting liquid or ink, poor liquid or ink ejection, and certain corrosion depending on a type of liquid or ink.
Such a conventional method of producing, for instance, an electrostatic micropump, an ink jet recording head, or an ink jet recording apparatus separately produces a first silicon substrate of approximately 200 xcexcxcexcm in thickness having liquid or ink chambers and diaphragms of a few microns in thickness formed therein and a second silicon substrate having n+ or p+-type impurity diffusion driving electrodes formed therein, and bonds the first and second silicon substrates directly. In this process, the first silicon substrate may be damaged by mishandling, thus reducing a production yield.
Further, an ink jet recording apparatus employed as an image recording apparatus (an imaging apparatus) such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, or a plotter includes an ink jet head as a liquid droplet ejecting head including nozzles for ejecting ink droplets, ink channels (also referred to as ejection chambers, pressure chambers, liquid pressure chambers, or liquid chambers) with which the nozzles communicate, and driving means for pressurizing ink in the ink channels. The liquid droplet ejecting heads include, for instance, those for ejecting liquid resist or DNA specimens as liquid droplets, but a description given below will focus mainly on an ink jet head.
As an ink jet head, known is a piezoelectric ink jet head that ejects ink droplets by changing the capacities of ink channels by deforming diaphragms forming wall faces of the ink channels by using piezoelectric elements as energy generation means for generating energy for pressurizing ink in the ink channels. Further, a so-called bubble type ink jet head that ejects ink droplets by means of pressures produced by generating air bubbles by heating ink in ink channels using calorific resistances is also known. Moreover, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 6-71882 discloses an electrostatic ink jet head that ejects ink droplets by changing the volumes of ink channels by deforming diaphragms forming wall faces of the ink channels by means of electrostatic forces generated between the diaphragms and electrodes that are arranged to oppose each other.
In order for an ink jet recording apparatus to record, particularly, a color image with high quality at a high speed, in terms of achieving high quality, high-density processing using a micromachine technique is employed to produce the ink jet recording apparatus and a material for head components has shifted from a metal or plastic to silicon, glass, or ceramics with the silicon being particularly employed as a material preferable for fine processing.
Further, in terms of colorization, efforts have been made mainly to develop ink and recording media. The development of ink ingredients and components has been promoted to optimize permeability, coloring, and a color mixture prevention characteristic of ink when the ink adheres to a recording medium and to increase long-term preservability of a printed medium and preservability of the ink itself.
In this case, the ink may dissolves the head components depending on a combination of the ink and a material for the head components. Particularly, in the case of forming a channel formation member of silicon, the silicon is dissolved in the ink to be deposited on nozzle parts so that nozzles are clogged or coloring of the ink is deteriorated to degrade quality of image. Further, in the case of a head using diaphragms, if the diaphragms are formed of silicon thin films and silicon is dissolved in the ink, the vibration characteristic of the diaphragms is altered or the diaphragms are prevented from vibrating.
In this case, it often makes it difficult to perform high-density processing or decrease processing accuracy to cope with the above-described problems by changing the material for the head components. Further, the change of the material requires a great change in processing steps or an improvement in a fabrication process, thus causing a decrease in nozzle density and further, a decrease in print quality.
On the other hand, in the case of coping with the above-described problems by adjusting the component of the ink, the image quality may be deteriorated since the component or ingredients of the ink is originally adjusted, for increasing print quality, to optimize the permeability and coloring of the ink with respect to a recording medium or to increase the preservability of the ink and a printed medium.
Therefore, in a conventional ink jet head, an ink-resistant thin film is formed on the ink-contacting surface of a channel formation member which surface contacts ink as disclosed in the above-described WO/98/42513 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 10-291322. Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 5-229118 discloses an ink jet head in which an oxide film is formed on the ink-contacting surfaces of its components.
However, in the conventional ink jet head, an inorganic ink-resistant film includes an area that electrochemically easily dissolves depending on the pH of ink, therefore resulting in strict requirements for the ink. Specifically, a silicon oxide film, for instance, which easily dissolves in ink having a pH larger than nine, is required to have a considerable thickness to increase resistance to ink since ink of a good coloring characteristic is normally alkaline having a pH of approximately 10 to 11. The formation of a thick inorganic film often entails difficulties in its process and causes the problem of deformation of the channel formation member due to the generation of an internal stress.
Further, according to sputtering or evaporation employed in forming an ink-resistant film, particles for forming the thin film have their directions. Therefore, the thin film becomes partially thin or is totally prevented from being formed due to the shaded parts of channels resulting from their structures, thus making it difficult to coat the entire surface completely with the thin film.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an electrostatic actuator vibrating by electrostatic force, a method of producing such an electrostatic actuator, an electrostatic micropump including such an electrostatic actuator, an ink jet recording head including such an electrostatic actuator and ejecting an ink droplet by a pressure wave caused by electrostatic force, an ink jet recording apparatus including such an ink jet recording head, a liquid droplet ejecting head, an ink cartridge including such a liquid droplet ejecting head, an ink jet recording apparatus including such a liquid droplet ejecting head, and a method of producing such a liquid droplet ejecting head in which the above-described disadvantages are eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide: an electrostatic actuator that prevents a diaphragm on which an anti-corrosive thin film is formed from buckling, deflecting, and malfunctioning, has good protection against liquid or ink, has an increased yield, is producible at low costs and energy-saving with low power consumption, reduces differences in liquid or ink ejections, and records an ink image of high quality; a method of producing such an electrostatic actuator; an electrostatic micropump including such an electrostatic actuator; an ink jet recording head including such an electrostatic actuator; and an ink jet recording apparatus including such an ink jet recording head.
Yet another more specific object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable liquid droplet ejecting head and head-integrated ink cartridge producible at low costs and free of corrosion, a highly reliable ink jet recording apparatus including such a liquid droplet ejection head or ink cartridge, and a method of producing such a liquid droplet ejecting head on which a highly reliable liquid-resistant thin film is formed at low costs.
The above objects of the present invention are achieved by an electrostatic actuator including a diaphragm caused to vibrate by electrostatic force, an electrode substrate opposing the diaphragm, an electrode formed on the electrode substrate so as to oppose the diaphragm with a gap being formed between the electrode and the diaphragm, an anti-corrosive thin film formed on the diaphragm, and diaphragm deflection prevention means preventing the diaphragm from deflecting.
The above-described electrostatic actuator prevents the diaphragm on which the anti-corrosive thin film is formed from buckling, deflecting, and malfunctioning by the deflection prevention means, has good protection or anti-corrosiveness against liquid or ink, has an increased yield, and is producible at low costs.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by a method of producing an electrostatic actuator including a diaphragm caused to vibrate by electrostatic force, an electrode substrate opposing the diaphragm, an electrode formed on the electrode substrate so as to oppose the diaphragm with a gap being formed between the electrode and the diaphragm, an anti-corrosive thin film formed on the diaphragm, and diaphragm deflection prevention means preventing the diaphragm from deflecting, which method includes the steps of (a) joining a first substrate in which a diaphragm is formed and a second substrate on which an electrode is formed, and (b) forming an anti-corrosive thin film on the diaphragm after the step (a).
According to the above-described method, the electrostatic actuator preventing the diaphragm on which the anti-corrosive thin film is formed from buckling, deflecting, and malfunctioning by the deflection prevention means, having good protection or anti-corrosiveness against liquid or ink, and having an increased yield is producible at low costs.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by an electrostatic micropump including a nozzle hole for ejecting a liquid droplet, a liquid chamber that is a liquid channel communicating with the nozzle, and an electrostatic actuator forming wall faces of the liquid chamber, the electrostatic actuator including a diaphragm caused to vibrate by electrostatic force, an electrode substrate opposing the diaphragm, an electrode formed on the electrode substrate so as to oppose the diaphragm with a gap being formed between the electrode and the diaphragm, an anti-corrosive thin film formed on the diaphragm, and diaphragm deflection prevention means preventing the diaphragm from deflecting, wherein the liquid droplet is ejected by a pressure wave generated by the electrostatic force.
The above-described electrostatic micropump includes the electrostatic actuator that prevents the diaphragm on which the anti-corrosive thin film is formed from buckling, deflecting, and malfunctioning by the deflection prevention means, has good protection or anti-corrosiveness against liquid or ink, has an increased yield, is producible at low costs and energy-saving with low power consumption, and realizes a stable liquid ejection characteristic.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by an ink jet recording head including a nozzle hole for ejecting an ink droplet, an ink chamber that is an ink channel communicating with the nozzle, and an electrostatic actuator forming wall faces of the ink chamber, the electrostatic actuator including a diaphragm caused to vibrate by electrostatic force, an electrode substrate opposing the diaphragm, an electrode formed on the electrode substrate so as to oppose the diaphragm with a gap being formed between the electrode and the diaphragm, an anti-corrosive thin film formed on the diaphragm, and diaphragm deflection prevention means preventing the diaphragm from deflecting, wherein the ink droplet is ejected by a pressure wave generated by the electrostatic force.
The above-described ink jet head includes the electrostatic actuator that prevents the diaphragm on which the anti-corrosive thin film is formed from buckling, deflecting, and malfunctioning by the deflection prevention means, has good protection or anti-corrosiveness against liquid or ink, has an increased yield, is producible at low costs and energy-saving with low power consumption, and realizes a stable ink ejection characteristic.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by an ink jet recording apparatus including a conveying part for conveying a recording medium on which an ink image is recorded, and an ink jet recording head for recording the ink image on the recording medium by ejecting ink thereon, the ink jet recording head including a nozzle hole for ejecting ink, an ink chamber that is an ink channel communicating with the nozzle, and an electrostatic actuator forming wall faces of the ink chamber, the electrostatic actuator including a diaphragm caused to vibrate by electrostatic force, an electrode substrate opposing the diaphragm, an electrode formed on the electrode substrate so as to oppose the diaphragm with a gap being formed between the electrode and the diaphragm, an anti-corrosive thin film formed on the diaphragm, and diaphragm deflection prevention means preventing the diaphragm from deflecting, wherein the ink is ejected by a pressure wave generated by the electrostatic force.
The above-described ink jet recording apparatus includes the electrostatic actuator that prevents the diaphragm on which the anti-corrosive thin film is formed from buckling, deflecting, and malfunctioning by the deflection prevention means, has good protection or anti-corrosiveness against liquid or ink, has an increased yield, is producible at low costs and energy-saving with low power consumption, and realizes a stable liquid ejection characteristic. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus realizes high-quality image recording.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by a liquid droplet ejecting head including a channel formation member including liquid channels for containing liquid and partition walls separating the liquid channels, nozzles communicating with the liquid channels, and a liquid-resistant thin film formed on liquid-contacting surfaces of the liquid channels, the surfaces contacting the liquid, the liquid-resistant thin film having resistance to the liquid and including an organic resin film, wherein the liquid in the liquid channels is pressurized to be ejected from the nozzles as liquid droplets.
According to the above-described liquid droplet ejecting head, corrosion caused by liquid can be prevented at low costs, thus increasing reliability.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by an ink cartridge including an ink jet head, the ink jet head including a channel formation member including ink channels for containing ink, nozzles communicating with the ink channels, and an ink-resistant thin film formed on ink-contacting surfaces of the ink channels, the surfaces contacting the ink, the ink-resistant thin film having resistance to the ink and including an organic resin film, wherein the ink in the ink channels is pressurized to be ejected from the nozzles as ink droplets, and an ink tank for supplying the ink to the ink jet head, the ink tank being formed integrally with the ink jet head.
The above-described ink cartridge, which includes the above-described ink jet head, is free of nozzle clogging, thereby increasing reliability.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by an ink jet recording apparatus including an ink jet head, the ink jet head including a channel formation member including ink channels for containing ink, nozzles communicating with the ink channels, and an ink-resistant thin film formed on ink-contacting surfaces of the ink channels, the surfaces contacting the ink, the ink-resistant thin film having resistance to the ink and including an organic resin film, wherein the ink in the ink channels is pressurized to be ejected from the nozzles as ink droplets.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by an ink jet recording apparatus including an ink cartridge, the ink cartridge including an ink jet head, the ink jet head including a channel formation member including ink channels for containing ink, nozzles communicating with the ink channels, and an ink-resistant thin film formed on ink-contacting surfaces of the ink channels, the surfaces contacting the ink, the ink-resistant thin film having resistance to the ink and including an organic resin film, wherein the ink in the ink channels is pressurized to be ejected from the nozzles as ink droplets, and an ink tank for supplying the ink to the ink jet head, the ink tank being formed integrally with the ink jet head.
The above-described ink jet recording apparatuses include the ink jet head and the ink cartridge according to the present invention, thus realizing highly reliable and stable recording with increased image quality.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by a method of producing a liquid droplet ejecting head including a channel formation member including liquid channels for containing liquid, nozzles communicating with the liquid channels, and a liquid-resistant thin film formed on liquid-contacting surfaces of the liquid channels, the surfaces contacting the liquid, the liquid-resistant thin film having resistance to the liquid and including an organic resin film, the liquid in the liquid channels being pressurized to be ejected from the nozzles as liquid droplets, the method including the step of applying a liquid material for forming the organic resin film on the channel formation member by a spray method.
According the above-described method, the organic resin film serving as the liquid-resistant thin film is producible at low costs by a spray method.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by a method of producing a liquid droplet ejecting head including a channel formation member including liquid channels for containing liquid, nozzles communicating with the liquid channels, and a liquid-resistant thin film formed on liquid-contacting surfaces of the liquid channels, the surfaces contacting the liquid, the liquid-resistant thin film having resistance to the liquid and including an organic resin film, the liquid in the liquid channels being pressurized to be ejected from the nozzles as liquid droplets, the organic resin film being a polyimide-based film, the method including the step of (a) applying a solution of a polyamide acid of a viscosity of 20 cP or less on the channel formation member, the polyamide acid being a precursor of polyimide, and (b) forming the polyamide acid into a thin film in a process of heating and dehydrating the polyamide acid into an imide.
According to the above-described method, the organic resin film is producible without pinholes.
The above objects of the present invention are also achieved by a method of producing a liquid droplet ejecting head including a channel formation member including liquid channels for containing liquid, nozzles communicating with the liquid channels, and a liquid-resistant thin film formed on liquid-contacting surfaces of the liquid channels, the surfaces contacting the liquid, the liquid-resistant thin film having resistance to the liquid and including an organic resin film, the liquid in the liquid channels being pressurized to be ejected from the nozzles as liquid droplets, the organic resin film being a polyimide-based film, the method including the step of forming the polyimide thin film by performing heating and evaporation deposition under high vacuum.
According to the above-described method, the organic resin film is producible with uniform quality.

Electrostatic actuator, method of producing electrostatic actuator, micropump, recording head, ink jet recording apparatus, ink cartridge, and method of producing recording head


A computer system such as a debugging system for a microcomputer system includes a display unit and a supervisor for receiving at least one of the plurality of status data from the microcomputer system independently from the execution of a program in the microcomputer system and displaying the read status data on the display unit. The microcomputer system includes the plurality of peripheral circuits respectively having status flags, each of which stores the status data of the corresponding peripheral circuit, and a CPU executing the program. The status data are updated as the execution of the program and the CPU can read the status data of each of the status flags. An emulation control circuit generates a status clock signal independently from the execution of the program by the CPU and a selector sequentially and repeatedly selects one of the plurality of status data in response to the status clock signal to output the selected status data to the supervisor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an emulation device for a single chip microcomputer, and more particularly, to an emulation device for a single chip microcomputer capable of outputting internal status information of a peripheral circuit in a real time manner.
2. Description of Related Art
As an electronic apparatus containing a single chip microcomputer recently becomes more complicated, the amount of software to be executed by the microcomputer increases. On the other hand, the life cycle of such an electronic apparatus is relatively short. As a result, it is important to develop the software in a short time. Therefore, there is a demand for a single chip microcomputer having high level function and performance such that the software can be readily developed using the microcomputer.
In developing software, it is necessary to acquire status information of a peripheral circuit to be controlled by the single chip microcomputer. Specifically, in developing an application program for a real time control system, it is important to collect debugging information such as status information of a peripheral circuit which operates asynchronously with the execution of the program and to display the debugging information on a monitor to show the execution state of the program to a programmer for further increased development efficiency.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a conventional debugging system generally used to develop the software for the single chip microcomputer. The debugging system is composed of a personal computer 500 and an in-circuit emulator 700 having an in-circuit emulator and connected a target system 600, for emulating the target system 600 while outputting status information. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the conventional in-circuit emulator 700 for a single chip computer of the microcomputer system. Referring to FIG. 2, the in-circuit emulator 700 is composed of a supervisor CPU 1001 and an emulator chip device 1000. The emulator chip device 1000 emulates the actual operation of a system as a target of emulation. The supervisor CPU 1001 control the whole of emulation operation, monitors signals on an address bus 102 and data bus 103 to control of the emulation chip device 1000, and outputs debug information to the screen of a monitor 1009 via an external bus 1008. Also, the supervisor CPU 1001 sets a supervisor interrupt signal to an active state to temporarily stop the execution of the program by the emulator chip device 1000 and then executes a read instruction to read status data stored in registers in the emulator chip device 1000.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the internal structure of the emulator chip device 1000. Referring to FIG. 3, the read operation of status data from peripheral circuits built in the emulator chip device 1000 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the emulator chip device 1000 is composed of a central processing unit (CPU) 1020, memory 1010, peripheral circuits 1030 and 1040, and terminals 1022, 1023, 1024, 1025, 1026 and 1027 which are respectively connected to a clock signal 1011, a supervisor interrupt signal 1012, a read signal 1013, a write signal 1014, an address bus 1018 and a data bus 1019. The peripheral circuits 1030 and 1040 are composed of peripheral control circuits 1031 and 1041 for operating as peripheral functions and peripheral status flags 1032 and 1042 for storing the operation results of the peripheral control circuits 1031 and 1041. The peripheral status flags 1032 and 1042 are generally memory mapped. Accordingly, the CPU 1020 can read the state of each flag by use of the address bus 1018, the data bus 1019 and the read signal 1013.
The read signal is outputted from the CPU 1020 to the memory 1010, the peripheral circuits 1030 and 1040, and the external terminal 1025. The write signal 1014 is outputted from the CPU 1020 to the memory 1010, the peripheral circuits 1030 and 1040 and the external terminal 1024. The clock signal 1011 is supplied from the supervisor CPU 1001 to the CPU 1020, the peripheral circuits 1030 and 1040 via the external terminal 1022. The supervisor interrupt signal 1012 is supplied from the supervisor CPU 1001 to the CPU 1020 via the external terminal 1023.
Next, the operation will be described in a case where the program is temporally stopped during the emulation such that the supervisor CPU 1001 can read status data from the peripheral status flag 1042. The supervisor CPU 1001 set the supervisor interrupt signal 1007 to "1", i.e., an active state and transmits it to the emulator chip device 1000 as the supervisor interrupt signal 1012 via the external terminal 1023. The emulator chip device 1000 detects that the supervisor interrupt signal 1012 is "1" and stops the execution of the user program. Then, the supervisor CPU 1001 issues a read command to the emulation chip device 1000 via the data buses 1003 and 1019 via the external terminal 7. The CPU 1020 sets the read signal 1013 to "1" in response to the read command from the supervisor CPU 1001 to read data of the peripheral status flag 1042 by use of the address bus 1018 and the data bus 1019. The CPU 1020 supplies the read data to the supervisor CPU 1001 via the data buses 1019 and 1003 and the external terminal 1027. When receiving the data, the supervisor CPU 1001 outputs the data to a monitor 1009 via the external bus 1008 such that the status data is displayed.
As described above, in the conventional debugging system using a microcomputer system, in order to read the data of the peripheral status flag, the execution of the user program by the CPU 1020 is interrupted in response to the supervisor interrupting signal from the supervisor CPU 1001. For this reason, the data of the peripheral status flag which changes with time cannot be emulated in a real time manner without interrupting the execution of the user program. Alternatively, it could be considered that instructions for reading and outputting the data of the peripheral status flag to the supervisor CPU are incorporated in the user program in advance and the instructions are executed to output the data. In this case, however, the user program needs to be rewritten after debugging and it is complicated.

Computer system capable of outputting status data without interrupting execution of program


A NAPT apparatus and method implemented with hardware circuits inside a network switch controller is provided. The NAPT apparatus comprises: a translation table for storing related information of NAPT connections; an IP table for storing available translated IPs; a packet parser for receiving a packet to be performed NAPT, parsing related fields of the packet, and generating part of required indexes according to transmission direction of the packet; and a packet translation module for performing NAPT. For a forward packet, the NAPT method employs an indexing means of the translation table and IP table and a recording means to generate a translated IP and a translated port number of the forward packet. For a backward packet, a restoring action corresponding to the recording means is performed to restore required values, thereby checking validity of the backward packet and performing subsequent NAPT.

(a). Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of network address-port translation (NAPT), and more particularly to a NAPT apparatus and method that can employ a special recording and restoring way for related indexes, thereby examining validity of backward packets and performing NAPT.
(b). Description of the Prior Arts
In recent years, the Internet becomes more and more popular, and forms an overwhelming global trend. The Internet transceives data by using TCP/IP protocols that adopt IP addressing system, which renders a unique IP address to each network node on the Internet to facilitate the transmission of the data. The current IP version number is 4 (known as IPv4, cf. RFC 791). According to IPv4, an IP address comprises 32 bits that are grouped into four 8-bit sections. Since each section has 28=256 possible combinations, there are 2564 available IP addresses theoretically (in fact, usable IP addresses are less than that since part of IP addresses are reserved for other purposes).
However, as there are exponentially increasing computers that need to connect to the Internet, IP addresses may not be enough in some situations. A common case is that the number of IP addresses is less than that of network nodes in a local area network (LAN). Since an IP is necessary for each node to access the Internet, insufficient IP addresses would prevent some nodes in the LAN from connecting to the Internet. To solve this problem, Network Address Translation (NAT) and Network Address-Port Translation (NAPT) are developed.
Before making a description for NAT and NAPT, concepts of public IP and private IP are introduced here. A public IP is a normal IP used in various networks which employ TCP/IP protocols, while a private IP is only used in a local area network, such as the internal network of an institution or family. That is, the private IP cannot be used to connect directly to external networks (e.g. the Internet). The Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA) reserves three sections of IP addresses for internal networks:
10.0.0.0-10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0-172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0-192.168.255.255
The above private IP addresses are only used in internal networks, and there's no need to register them.
If a network node with a private IP wants to access external networks, a NAT/NAPT-enabled equipment, such as a router, is needed, as shown in FIG. 1. The operation of NAT can be described as follows: when a node with a private IP in an internal network is to transmit packets to external networks, the NAT equipment would first translate the source address (i.e. the private IP) of the packets into an available public IP and then transmit the packets. The NAT equipment would keep a record of the correspondence between the private IP and the public IP; when the external networks are to transmit a packet to the internal network, the NAT equipment would look up the record. If the NAT equipment finds that there is a public IP matching the destination address of the packet, then it translates the destination address into a private IP corresponding to the public IP and forwards the packet to a node with this private IP. Because of one-to-one correspondence between public IPs and private IPs, N public IPs can only serve for N private IPs.
Compared with NAT, NAPT further translates the port, which belongs to Layer 4 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, of a packet in addition to IP translation. When a packet is transmitted from an internal network to an external network, NAPT translates the source IP and the source port of the packet; when a packet is transmitted from an external network to an internal network, NAPT translates the destination IP and the destination port of the packet. The "port" can generally refer to the port number field defined in Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/User Datagram Protocol (UDP), or the identifier field defined in Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). In NAPT, correspondence between private IPs and public IPs is not one-to-one, and thus more computers can connect to the Internet simultaneously by using different combinations of public IPs and associated ports.
However, now NAT/NAPT is mostly implemented by software, and the operation speed is slow. If NAT/NAPT is implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), then the operation speed is much faster. A network switch controller with hardware-implemented NAT/NAPT is just an example of this kind. When a node with a private IP in an internal network is to connect to an external network, it would send out a packet to establish a network connection. A switch controller with NAT/NAPT enabled has a built-in translation table for storing information associated with the network connection, for example the source IP and source port of the packet transmitted from the internal network to the external network. The information is used in performing address (and port) translation for subsequent packets of the network connection. In the present specification, a NAPT connection is referred to a network connection whose packets need performing NAPT.
In sum, NAPT can serve more computers than NAT to connect to the Internet with a fixed number of public IPs. In view of this, the present invention provides an apparatus and method, which is implemented with hardware circuits, for network address-port translation used in a switch controller, thereby serving more computers to connect to the Internet simultaneously and efficiently.

Network address-port translation apparatus and method


The illuminating device of the invention comprises at least one lighting component, red lighting component, current limiting component and fluorescent body, wherein said red lighting component is first series connected with said current limiting component, and further parallel connected with said lighting component, so that input current to red lighting component is controlled by said current limiting component to be smaller than input current to lighting component, thereby said fluorescent body receiving and triggering the light emitted by said lighting component is mixed with the light emitted by said red lighting device to emit a white light with high lighting efficient and high color rendering white light.

(a) Field of the Invention
The invention is related to an illuminating device to disclose an illuminating device which is capable of promoting white light color rendering.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 is a cure diagram of natural sun light (natural white light), the light wavelength in said Fig. is between 360˜750 nm.
In order to manufacture a white light illuminating device with wavelength near natural sunlight (white light), the Taiwan patent no. 383508 "illuminating device and display device" disclosed that a blue light emitter diode is used as the blue light source to be triggered by a fluorescent body to emit a light of a wavelength different from blue light, and said light of different wavelength is mixed with the untriggered blue light to obtain the white light, whereby comparing the spectrum curve S1 (as shown in FIG. 2) of said white light with the curve of natural white light (sunlight) in FIG. 1, it is known that the deviation between said two curves is quite large which is mainly due to the white light defined by mixing the longer wavelength light from the fluorescent body triggered by blue light and the untriggered blue light obviously has a poor color rendering in comparison with natural sunlight, wherein said color rendering is between 40˜80.
Similarly, as white light emitter diode is not used, the embodiment by the red, green or blue light emitter diode, or by the combination of UV light emitter diode and fluorescent body is employed for resolution, such as that it is commonly seen on the street to add red fluorescent bodies for promoting the color renderingness, however most red florescent bodies contain sulfides which may corrode chips or sealing material after wetted by adsorption to cause fast decay of lightness and reliability problems for the whole light emitter diode. Further since human eyes have poorer sensitivity for red light wavelength region, the color renderness can be promoted by transforming more blue light energy of said light emitter diode to red light, however the lightness will go down by 30˜50% at present to have a poorer lighting efficiency.


A lock includes a cylinder, fixed to a door or door wing, with which a pivot is associated coaxially and rotatably, a lever for closing the door or door wing to a jamb being keyed to the end of the pivot; a separate body can be keyed detachably to the head of the pivot and is provided with magnetic elements for the temporary locking of the rotation of the body with respect to the cylinder.

The present invention relates to a lock.
Currently, locks, also termed cam locks, are known which are substantially constituted by a cam or plate made of metal, fixed to a pivot, which rotates together with the key; the metal plate usually moves by 90° or 180° and makes it possible to ensure the locking for example of a door; these locks can use cylindrical pin tumblers of different lengths arranged in a circle and moved into position by a tubular key, or are provided with a row of discs with different profiles, which must be aligned by the correct key in order to open the lock, and in this case the key used is of the flat type.
This known type of lock is structurally very simple and therefore is subject to break-ins.
As a partial solution to this drawback, for example, the "Series 35" lock by the British company CAMLOCK SYSTEM Ltd, headquartered in 3 Park View, Compton Industrial Estate, Eastbourne, East Sussex, is known which comprises a cylinder provided with an anti-drill center post to which said lever is keyed and which can be activated by means of an adapted key provided with radial elements that can be inserted in complementary shaped seats or slots provided in a cover that can be screwed onto said cylinder.
These known types of locks have another drawback, which is linked to the great diversity of dimensions of the cylinders that can be used, which makes it necessary to have many items in stock.


A method for artificially recharging a target reservoir in a geological formation using powered water injection from a local source aquifer in the geological formation. The method comprises detecting chemical properties of water in the source aquifer, determining whether the water in the source aquifer is compatible with water in the target reservoir based on the chemical properties, activating an electrical submersible pump (ESP) positioned between target reservoir and the source aquifer to inject water from the source aquifer into the target reservoir, detecting downhole pressure, temperature and water flow rate conditions at the ESP, and controlling a rate at which the ESP injects water using the downhole pressure, temperature and water flow rate conditions.

As oil and gas reservoir are depleted, the internal fluid pressure (reservoir pressure) required to force gas and liquids to the service typically falls. Some reservoirs have natural influx from water aquifers that help maintain the reservoir pressure during production and the associated pressure decline. For reservoirs that lack natural aquifer support, external water injection can be used to maintain the reservoir pressure. Reliance on external water injection is problematic in remote satellite fields (i.e., reservoirs remote from main production installations) as it can be challenging and costly to connect the remote fields to central water injection facilities. Additionally, external water injection typically requires additional installations in the main field facility as well as detailed field and lab studies.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a system and method of providing self-feeding water injection at remote satellite fields that does not rely upon external, remote water sources.

System and method for artifically recharging a target reservoir via water injection from a local source


Disclosed are a coffee drink order processing apparatus using an unmanned coffee drink making machine and an operating method thereof. The present invention may provide support so that, when an order request message for a coffee drink is received from a client terminal of a user, a making-reservation command for the coffee drink ordered by the user is transmitted to the unmanned coffee drink making machine installed in an unmanned coffee drink selling store in consideration of an expected arrival time of the user at the unmanned coffee drink selling store, and thus the user may immediately pick up the coffee drink that the user ordered without a waiting time when the user arrives at the unmanned coffee drink selling store.

Recently, as the demand for coffee increases, various coffee shops have emerged, and the trend of placing importance on the quality of coffee becomes clear, and coffee drink making machines for making coffee drinks are also developed and distributed in various forms.
In local coffee shops where many companies are located, many people gather at the coffee shop at the same time at the lunch time, so that there is a problem in that one person has to wait a long time to order a coffee drink.
In relation to this, in recent days, as a part of an effort to reduce the waiting time for ordering coffee drinks, technologies, in which a kiosk for processing orders of coffee drinks is installed in a store, and then when users order coffee drinks through the corresponding kiosk, corresponding order requests are received by a central order processing system in the store and the order receptions are processed, are emerged.
However, in the case of the order processing system using the kiosk, the user must go directly to the store and enter an order in the kiosk installed in the store, and wait for the coffee drink in the store until the coffee drink is completely made after entering the order, so that there is an unnecessary waiting time.
Further, recently, as the robot technology and the artificial intelligence technology are developed, mechanical devices that can similarly mimic human behavior are being developed. As an example of such mechanical devices, unmanned coffee drink making machines which discharge and mix materials according to predetermined ratios and make coffee drinks have emerged.
According to the development of the unmanned coffee drink making machine, in order to maximize the operating profit by minimizing the number of employees, such as management staffs and baristas, an unmanned coffee drink selling store, in which an unmanned coffee drink making machine that makes coffee on behalf of the barista is placed, has emerged.
Accordingly, there is a need for research on an order processing system, which, in order to reduce the waiting time for ordering coffee drinks and the waiting time for the coffee drink to be made and come out, and enable a user to rapidly pick up the coffee drink in an unmanned coffee drink selling store, receives an order request for a coffee drink from a client terminal, such as a smart phone, of a user and makes the coffee drink in time when the user arrives at the store by using unmanned coffee drink making machines to support the user to immediately pick up the coffee drink without incurring a waiting time when the user arrives at the store.

Coffee drink order processing apparatus using unmanned coffee drink making machine, and operating method therefor


A method of detecting an enzyme-mediated DNA cleavage reaction in a fluorometric assay is provided. The method can be used to detect DNA cleavage caused by restriction endonucleases, retroviral integrase enzymes, DNases, RNases, or enzymes utilized in other strand separating processes in molecular biology.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology. The invention relates to an assay for detecting nucleic acid cleavage reactions. More particularly, the invention relates to a continuous fluorometric assay for detecting nucleic acid cleavage reactions that are enzyme-mediated.
2. Description of the Related Art
Virtually all protocols in molecular biology require, at some point, cleavage of nucleic acids into smaller sized discrete fragments. In vitro cleavage of nucleic acids is typically accomplished with restriction endonucleases. Restriction endonucleases are commercially available enzymes, derived from bacteria, that recognize short DNA sequences and then cleave the double-stranded DNA at specific sites within, or adjacent to, the recognition sequence. These enzymes have been classified into three groups—Types I, II, and III. Type II restriction enzymes, which cleave a specific sequence of nucleotides and a separate methylase that modifies the same recognition sequence, are widely used in molecular cloning. A partial list of restriction enzymes and their recognition sequences is provided in Chapter 5 of Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, (1989).
Restriction endonuclease cleavage of DNA into discrete fragments is one of the most basic procedures in molecular biology. The cleavage sites provide specific landmarks for obtaining a physical map of DNA. Further, the ability to produce specific DNA fragments by cleavage with restriction enzymes makes it possible to purify these fragments by molecular cloning. In addition, restriction enzymes have been utilized extensively for finding restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) in allelic genomic regions. The use of RFLPs as genetic markers has been exploited in genetic linkage analysis, determination of patterns of inheritance for genetic disease, mapping of genes to specific chromosomal loci, and genetic fingerprinting.
Many enzymes other than restriction endonucleases are routinely used in molecular cloning. For example, DNases, RNases, exonucleases, and helicases are utilized in molecular biology to effect strand separation or denaturation of nucleic acids. These enzymes are discussed generally in Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, (1989). Such enzymes are utilized in numerous processes in molecular biology that serve to amplify and detect DNA, such as, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,194, 4,683,195 and 4,683,202), ligase chain reaction (LCR) (described in published PCT application WO 89/09835), and catalytic hybridization amplification (CHA) (described in published PCT application WO 89/09284, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,011,769 and 4,876,187).
Ascertaining that nucleic acid cleavage has occurred, and evaluating the efficiency of the cleavage process, have traditionally been done using a gel electrophoresis assay system (Sambrook et al., supra). Such a system, however, is not only time-consuming and laborious, but the assay is discontinuous, meaning that the process cannot be monitored throughout the cleavage process. This is clearly a disadvantage in certain situations, such as where partial cleavage is desired, or where one needs to establish precise enzyme kinetic information. Further, the conventional assays are often inhibited by high concentrations of salt that may be required owing to the purification and solubility of the proteins involved. Finally, radioactive labeling of the substrates is often required to achieve the necessary level of sensitivity.
More recently, a continuous spectroscopic assay for endonucleases has been reported (Waters and Connolly, Anal. Biochem 204:204–209 (1992)). This assay is based on the hyperchromic effect resulting from turnover of a duplex oligonucleotide substrate to single-stranded DNA products. Although this technique is continuous, its scope is limited by its narrow dynamic range and limited range of substrate concentrations.
A sensitive non-isotopic enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) for determining the DNA cleavage activity of restriction endonucleases was described by Jeltsch et al., Anal. Biochem. 213:234–240 (1993). This assay utilized DNA substrates that are labeled on both ends; one 5′ end is labeled with biotin, and the other 5′ end is labeled with fluorescein or digoxigenin. The use of biotin-labeled DNA in this assay renders the method discontinuous and necessitates extensive sample handling for the detection step.
Finally, endonuclease-catalyzed cleavage reactions of fluorophore-labeled oligonucleotides have been monitored by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) techniques (Ghosh et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 22:3155–3159 (1994)).
Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) (Forster, T., Ann. Phys. (Leipzig) 2:55–75 (1948); Stryer, L., Annu. Rev. Biochem. 47:819–846 (1978); Stryer, L., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 58:719–726 (1967); Conrad and Brand, Biochemistry 7:777–787 (1968); Chen and Scott, Anal. Lett. 18:393 (1985); Wu and Brand, Anal. Biochem. 218:1–13 (1994)) is the transfer of electronic excitation energy by the Förster mechanism, and measures the distance between a pair of fluorophores (donor and acceptor) in macromolecules, in the range of 10–80 Angstroms (Å). Cardullo et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:8790–8794 (1988), utilized FRET experiments to study the hybridization of complementary oligodeoxynucleotides. Upon hybridization, energy transfer was detected by both a decrease in fluorescein (donor) emission intensity and an enhancement of rhodamine (acceptor) emission. Cooper and Hagerman, Biochemistry 29:9261–9268 (1990), also utilized FRET to determine the interarm angles of a synthetic DNA four-way junction. However, these investigators reported that upon annealing of a fluorescent-modified strand and its unlabeled complementary strand, the probe fluorescence was quenched (Clegg et al, Biochemistry 31:4846–4856 (1992); Cooper and Hagerman, supra), and the wavelength of the emission spectrum was shifted upon the formation of duplex DNA. These results suggest that effects other than dipolar energy transfer mechanisms alter the donor fluorescence (in the presence or absence of acceptor at the ends of complementary strands), and that these effects must be examined in order to reliably measure distances in DNA molecules by FRET. Thus, the occurrence of nondipolar effects on fluorescently labeled DNA may distort the distances quantified by FRET in certain instances.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for a continuous, accurate, sensitive, and non-isotopic assay for detecting restriction enzyme mediated cleavage of nucleic acids.
Another class of enzymes that catalyze nucleic acid cleavage reactions are retroviral integrases. These enzymes are responsible for catalyzing the integration of viral DNA into the host organism's chromosomal DNA. Currently, the target of viral therapeutics is to screen compounds that inhibit these enzymes.
For example, one focus of AIDS research is to find specific inhibitors of each step in the replication cycle of the HIV retrovirus. Although progress has been made in targeting reverse transcription, parallel efforts in inhibiting other processes could lead to the development of new therapeutic agents. Retroviral integration is a particularly attractive target in the search for specific inhibitors due to the absence of any known cellular counterparts in the host. The combined use of antiviral drugs with different target specificities will facilitate the search for therapeutic intervention.
The currently established in vitro assay system for HIV DNA integration is based upon the detection of labeled 32P integrated products either by electrophoresis or by biotin-avidin interaction (the substrate DNA being radiolabeled with 32P at the 5′ end and biotin at the 3′ end). (Craigie et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 19:2729–2734(1991)). Unfortunately, these methods are time consuming and often do not yield precise kinetic information. A sensitive and more rapid assay is desired in order to screen vast numbers of potential drugs and natural products. A rapid, sensitive, and continuous in vitro assay for screening the vast number of potential enzyme inhibitors is clearly needed to provide precise kinetic information necessary to determine the relative effectiveness of any inhibitor. Also, an assay is needed that would not be affected by high salt concentrations.
Thus, in light of the foregoing, there exists a need in the art for a continuous assay for accurately and sensitively detecting enzyme-mediated nucleic acid cleavage in vitro.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Fluorometric assay for detecting nucleic acid cleavage


A cable modem of a CATV system includes a proxy requesting unit. The proxy requesting unit requests a set top box to send relevant information about the set top box when the cable modem is requested to send the relevant information from at least one management device connected to the cable modem via a CATV network.

In a conventional CATV (Cable Television) system, as disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-282210,various techniques are proposed to gather relevant information (including status information) about a set top box (a CATV transceiver) connected to a CATV network from the set top box.
Recently, a system that gathers relevant information about the set top box connected to the CATV network via a cable modem by a management device connected to the CATV network has been proposed.
In such a conventional system, in general, an IP address which is assigned to the cable modem is managed by the management device side, whereas an IP address which is assigned to the set top box connected to the cable modem is not managed by the management device side.
This is because the set top box differs from the cable modem in ways that the set top box is not always connected to the CATV network via the cable modem and is not always booted.
In other words, each time the set top box is booted while being connected to the CATV network, an IP address to be assigned to the set top box may be changed. Thereby, processing load for managing the IP address in the management device increases.

CATV system, management device, cable modem, set-top box and program


The manufacturing method of the present invention comprises steps (1) through (8) which are sequentially arranged, and the steps or equipment from the production of billets to end products are connected in the same single continuous manufacturing line:. (1) a step of producing a round billet by continuous casting, PA1 (2) a step of cooling the billet to a temperature not higher than an A.sub.r1 transformation temperature, PA1 (3) a step of heating the billet to a temperature which allows piercing of the billet, PA1 (4) a step of piercing, at a strain rate of not higher than 200/sec, the billet to obtain a hollow shell, PA1 (5) a step to form a steel pipe by elongating and finish rolling the hollow shell using a continuous elongating mill and a finish rolling mill which are directly connected to each other, at a predetermined average strain rate, a predetermined reduction ratio, and at a predetermined finishing temperature, PA1 (6) a step of recrystallizing the steel pipe at a temperature of not lower than an Ar.sub.r3 transformation temperature, PA1 (7) a step of quenching the steel pipe from a temperature not lower than an A.sub.r3 transformation temperature, and PA1 (8) a step of tempering the steel pipe.

Oil country tubular goods, line pipes, heat exchanger tubes, general pipes, and pipes for bearing rings, are usually made of seamless steel pipe. Seamless steel pipe used for such purposes is typically made of carbon steel, low alloy steels containing alloy components such as Cr and Mo, and high Cr stainless steels. Seamless steel pipe is usually manufactured by the Mannesman-mandrel mill method. However, this method is often very complicated because, for example, severe hot working is performed by a piercer and a high level of properties is required of the resulting products.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a manufacturing process employing a Mannesman-mandrel mill method. There are a number of steps in forming a starting steel ingot into a pipe product. The material being processed undergoes various types of working, heating, and cooling in a repeated manner. The broken line in FIG. 1 indicates changes of lines which entails transfer of materials between steps and processing such as temporary stocking. In a manufacturing process employing a Mannesman-mandrel mill method, a lot of process lines are employed, requiring many types of equipment having advanced functions and consuming a large amount of energy. This results in an unavoidable increase in costs.
In order to reduce manufacturing costs, it is necessary to enhance productivity, to cut equipment costs, and to reduce operating costs. More specifically, in the manufacture of seamless steel pipe, it is desired to simplify manufacturing steps and equipment and to obtain products having properties superior to conventional ones.
To this end, a variety of techniques have been developed for the manufacture of seamless steel pipe. Particularly, many proposals have been made concerning forming a billet from a steel ingot, hot piercing, elongating, finish rolling, and subsequent heat treatment for providing predetermined properties to the product after finish rolling.
With respect to the step of making a billet having a round cross section from a steel ingot, there is proposed an approach in which a round billet is produced by continuous casting so as to avoid blooming or forging. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (kokai) No. 63-157705 discloses a method for manufacturing a seamless steel pipe in which a billet having a round cross section is pierced and then elongated. In the method disclosed in this publication, however, technical problems with respect to heating conditions for billet piercing and piercing conditions of a piercer (i.e., a skew-roll piercing mill) are not sufficiently solved. Therefore, a material pierced according to this method tends to generate cracks during piercing.
Also, from the viewpoint of performing process steps in a continuous manner, "Iron and Steel" vol. 71 (1985) No. 8, pp.965-971 discloses a manufacturing facility in which a mandrel mill (which is a continuous elongating mill) and a sizer (which is a finish rolling mill) are directly connected. The reason for directly connecting a continuous elongating mill and a finish rolling mill as given in this publication is only to secure a quenching temperature. As a natural consequence, the material which has undergone finish rolling is subjected to quenching while it still is at a high temperature, resulting in coarsening of grains and a reduction in toughness of the resulting pipe product.
Many improvements have been proposed with respect to the heat treatment step for imparting to the material predetermined properties which must be possessed by final products. Seamless steel pipe is required to have highly reliable quality and excellent properties. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, heat treatment, including quenching and tempering which are critical to the product quality, is normally performed off-line because this enables strict line control. That is, a quenching apparatus and a tempering furnace are normally provided independently of the pipe-forming line. Such off-line processing hampers simplification of manufacturing facilities and reductions in energy consumption.
To solve this problem, there has been an attempt in recent manufacture of seamless steel pipe to perform on-line quenching by a so-called direct quenching method exploiting heat of a pipe which has undergone finish rolling. The direct quenching method is advantageous in that it renders off-line quenching equipment unnecessary and simplifies manufacturing steps, achieving a considerable reduction in costs.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (kokai) Nos. 56-166324, 58-120720, 58-224116, 56-020423, 60-033312, 60-075523, and 62-151523 disclose a method for manufacturing seamless steel pipe including direct quenching in which steel pipe is forcibly cooled immediately after it passes a finish rolling step. Unfortunately, products obtained through a process including direct quenching do not have as good quality as those obtained through a process in which off-line quenching is performed. In other words, grain in microstructure is coarser than those obtained through conventional processes, and therefore, toughness and corrosion resistance are inferior.
In order to refine grain, an on-line thermomechanical treatment has been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (kokai) No. 56-003626 discloses a method in which a cooling step and a reheating step are incorporated between elongating and finish rolling. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (kokai) Nos. 58-091123, 58-104120, 63-011621, and 04-358023 disclose a method in which a treatment combining cooling and reheating is performed after finish rolling. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (kokai) No. 58-117832 discloses a method in which cooling and reheating are performed twice, the first time being in the course of rolling (between elongation and finish rolling), and the second time being after finish rolling. Any of these methods employs an on-line combination of cooling and reheating and features a total of two or more iterations of transformation from austenite to ferrite and transformation from ferrite to austenite.
Any of the above methods requires that a pipe material to be processed be forcibly cooled to a temperature range in which transformation commences or is completed and be subsequently reheated to a temperature range in which austenitization is completed. Thus, these methods consume large amounts of energy, causing high energy costs. In addition, they require complicated manufacturing equipment, increasing construction costs for manufacturing facilities. Moreover, mechanical properties such as strength, etc. of seamless steel pipe manufactured by a direct quenching method greatly inconsistent. This is because the quenching temperature is not uniform in the longitudinal direction of a steel pipe or because the temperature differs between manufacture lots. Therefore, there are still problems to be solved in order to efficiently mass produce seamless steel pipe having a uniform quality. Thus, the above-mentioned methods require improvements in equipment costs and operating costs and also in properties of resultant products when compared with conventional methods involving off-line quenching.
In the manufacture of seamless steel pipe, if respective steps are arranged off-line in an independent manner, there arises a problem ;hat space is needed for storing billets and like materials to be processed because processing speed differs from step to step. For example, since a billet yard for storing billets to be pierced and a place for temporarily storing steel pipe before heat treatment are needed, a large area is required. Also, in order to convey materials from step to step, a number of conveyances including auxiliary means such as cranes, trucks, etc. are needed.
As described above, none of the above-described conventional methods were successful in manufacturing seamless steel pipe having excellent properties using simplified manufacturing steps and equipment with high productivity and reduced manufacturing costs.
The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing seamless steel pipe having properties superior to those of conventional products using simple manufacturing steps and equipment at reduced costs with good productivity, and a manufacturing facility for performing the method.

Method and facility for manufacturing seamless steel pipe


An energy return system to be positioned in the midsole region of an athletic shoe comprises a top member made of resilient material and including a base having a plurality of integrally formed, closely spaced, downwardly depending and downwardly tapering elements, a bottom member made of resilient material and including a base having a plurality of corresponding integrally formed, closely spaced, upwardly extending and upwardly tapering elements, and sandwiched between the tips of the two set of elements a thin stiff intermediate sheet, the tips of the two pluralities of elements being aligned face to face with the stiff sheet positioned between them.

This invention relates to footwear in general and in particular to shoes to be used for sporting activities such as running, jogging, walking or playing games. For convenience such shoes will be hereinafter called "athletic shoes".
The design of athletic shoes has improved dramatically in recent years. Originally such shoes had little or no cushioning in the soles and runners and other sportsmen began to find serious problems in joints and bones as a result of the pounding which occurs during the sporting activity. In recent times various degrees of cushioning have been built into athletic shoes to absorb shocks so as to lessen the negative skeletal impact and improve the perceived comfort to the user. This has helped to reduce the shock forces in the body. However, mere cushioning is not enough. Thus, if of one simply has a shoe which only absorbs all of such forces, this means that a great deal of energy is lost during each stride and so the athlete will tire more quickly.
Therefore it is desirable to design the soles of athletic shoes so that not only are the negative shock forces absorbed, but also the positive energy absorbed must as far as possible be returned to the athlete to enhance his performance and stamina. This is often termed "energy return".
The invention therefore is concerned with this aspect of athletic shoes and it is an object of the invention to provide a high energy return in athletic shoes whilst at the same time providing excellent cushioning.

Energy return system in an athletic shoe


In a method for monitoring layout changes for semiconductor chips, a first group of error data is generated by comparing a first layout with wiring and layout rules. A second group of error data is generated by comparing a second layout with the wiring and layout rules, the second layout being generated from layout changes of the first layout. The first group of error data is compared to the second group of error data and only error data that are different in the first and second groups is output for evaluation.

Chip development involves passing through a multiplicity of production stages until a functional semiconductor chip is present. Development is a lengthy process that is always beset by errors, in particular as a result of the incorrect, unforeseeable interaction of the components and thus necessitates renewed development cycles.
In general, a first development step involves mapping the functions in subcircuits, and this may be followed by simulation by means of suitable software. Even at this stage development errors can be identified and eliminated. The structures proceeding from the subcircuits are subsequently refined further and further, so that, according to the present theoretical model, the hardware architecture is implemented in a layout design.
This generated layout design is compared with the applicable wiring and layout rules (DRC=Design Rule Control) with deviations from the rules being output as error data. These deviations may be brought about by exceptions in the layout configuration, so-called "dummy errors", which are not implemented in the test algorithm, or by genuine errors. By virtue of these possibilities, the number of error messages is very high. For the further layout processing, however, it is essential to test all of the error data.
Proceeding from this first layout, a second layout design arises as a result of the elimination of the errors found or necessary alterations in the circuit arrangement, for example because predetermined parameters are not achieved. In those cases, such a redesign involves making only comparatively small changes at specific levels. The subsequent comparison of the second layout design, also referred to as redesign layout verification, is likewise effected according to the above-mentioned wiring and layout rules. In this comparison, too, all the "dummy errors" are once again concomitantly registered in the error data and subsequently have to be checked. Consequently, the outlay for the evaluation of the error data is very high even after a small layout change.
In practice, a plurality of redesigns are normally necessary in order to attain an error-free layout, which leads to an increase in costs, in particular due to redundant error checking steps.

Method for reducing the evaluation outlay in the monitoring of layout changes for semiconductor chips


Film applicator tools are provided which have at least two arcuate edges which are sufficiently flexible and resilient to permit application of adhesive films to smooth surfaces without leaving air bubbles, creases or other defects. The tools are molded of polymeric materials which have hardness values effective to permit the application of smooth and uniform pressure without tearing or abrading the films.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to tools for applying films to smooth surfaces, e.g. adhesive films to glass surfaces, in particular solar films for automotive windows.
2. Discussion of Relevant Art
Various types of films for covering or altering many types of surfaces have been used for many years. Wallpaper and other wallcovering materials such as self-adhesive films or films which adhere to surfaces through static electrical effects are one category. An increasing variety of films are being used to decorate or alter the light transmission properties of glass surfaces, flat and curved, residential/commercial through auto safety glazing. Some of these films are used to "darken" the glass by reducing light transmission; others affect work or living space environments by controlling heat gain and reducing solar radiation-caused fading, while other films may serve additional functions of enhancing safety and security, much as safety glass auto windshields prevent shattering. The application of any of these films can be difficult, and is a laborintensive, tedious process, which may explain why "paperhangers" are cited as ultimate examples of busy persons. Common problems include the formation of bubbles or folds in the films during application and ripping or otherwise damaging the films. The application of adhesive films poses the problem of applying them smoothly to the surface to be covered and trimming off any excess material before the adhesive sets. Application to auto glass surfaces, which can be curved convexly or concavely, even including compound curvatures, can be particularly difficult, requiring a significant amount of training for workers in this industry. When installing a film onto a concave surface, such as the inside surface of a car window, common problems reside in the fact that the technician is applying a flat film to a curved surface. The inherent tension on the film to conform to the curved surface of the glass promotes the formation of bubbles or fold-fingers in the films during application. Additionally, the technician must remain cognizant of the relative fragility of the medium and use care not to cause any ripping, creasing, scratching or other damage to the films. The application of adhesive films poses the problem of applying them smoothly to the surface to be covered and trimming off any excess material before the adhesive sets.
Squeegees, rollers and similar tools can be used in applying many of the films discussed above, but no ideal tool appears to be available. Problems persist in attaining the goal of smooth application of films to the surfaces requiring them, without involving the problems discussed above. A number of patents have been reviewed which are directed to squeegees, scrapers and the like.
Design Pat. No. 332,160 discloses a triangular squeegee with straight edges which is thicker in the middle and symmetric, the opposite sides being mirror images.
Design Pat. No. 364,719 discloses a roughly triangular cleaning tool with two rounded corners, a raised central portion and a generally flat bottom.
Other patents uncovered during the search which may also be of some interest, include the following:
Design Pat. No. 392,078 discloses an auto window scraper with a curved, narrow working edge and a symmetric profile.
Design Pat. No. 410,309 discloses a scraping tool having five edges, one of them "arcuate" (convexly curved), a raised central portion and a flat bottom.
Design Pat. No. 261,601 discloses a pan cleaner with both straight and curved edges, a raised central portion and a flat bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,388,282 discloses a generally triangular cooking vessel wipe having two straight edges and one rounded edge with a thickened central portion and a symmetric cross section. The article is molded of non-porous rubber, and the thickened center is designed to provide "the degree of stiffness necessary".
U.S. Pat. No. 2,262,316 discloses a culinary scraper with celluloid blades having curved or straight edges and a removable handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,828 discloses a putty application tool with a curved edge formed by intersecting chamfered surfaces. The material is unspecified.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,598 discloses a drywall tool with one curved edge and a handle on top. According to the final paragraphs of column 3, the tool is made of a resilient, flexible material selected for a particular hardness or stiffness. The operation of the tool with its tapered edge is shown in FIG. 7.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,604 discloses a finishing tool having an arcuate blade with a central spine and a handle. The blade has a tapered, deformable edge and is flat on the bottom. Its flex properties are described in column 3.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,199 discloses a heater for sealing thick plastic films, having a roughly triangular shape like a flatiron.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,261,063 discloses a conventional putty knife with a handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,046,599 discloses a scraper with both straight and curved edges, a symmetric cross section and an angled handle.
Although a variety of tools and devices are available for the application of films to various surfaces, in particular for the application of films to glass surfaces such as automotive windows, problems persist in successfully applying such films to curved auto windows without tearing or otherwise damaging the films or leaving bubbles, creases or other defects in the films once applied and adhered to the windows.


The invention provides a portable computer with shared hardware resources that can be used by other computers. The portable computer includes an interface converter, a control module, a power management module, and a power path switch. When the portable computer is powered off and connected with a computer host through a serial bus interface, the shared hardware resources of the portable computer obtain power from the computer host through the serial bus interface. The interface converter converts data between a shared hardware resource interface format and a serial bus interface format, and enables the shared hardware resources to communicate with the computer host and therefore are employed by the computer host. In one embodiment, the shared hardware resources include a keyboard. In another embodiment, the shared hardware resources include a keyboard and a display.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to portable computers, and particularly to a portable computer with shared hardware resources accessible when the portable computer is powered off.
2. General Background
Nowadays, portable computers have become more and more popular because it is convenient to carry and use. However, the hardware resources (e.g., keyboard, display) of the portable computer can only be exclusively used by the portable computer, which limits the usability of the portable computer and other computers that would otherwise be able to take advantage of the hardware of the potable computer.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide a portable computer having hardware resources shared by other computers.

Portable computer with shared hardware resources

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.