The present invention provides a novel thin film transistor device having the advantages of both conventional thin and thick film devices. The channel region of the device is elevated with respect to the source and drain regions by being made as a thin film while the source and drain regions are relatively thick. Such an arrangement provides high drive current characteristics of a thin film device, whilst mitigating the disadvantageous kink effect in the IV curve and the off-state leakage current known in conventional thin film devices. The invention also provides a fabrication method, and this method may also be employed to manufacture other novel semiconductor devices including EEPROM devices, large double layer storage capacitors and a novel conductivity modulated thin film transistor.

Thin film transistors (TFTs) fabricated on polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) have gained much attention in flat panel displays such as active matrix LCDs and in static random access memory units. In the future it can be expected that the degree of circuit integration will continue to increase as device characteristics improve further, so that an entire system will be formed on a single panel. In addition, in flat panel displays polysilicon thin film transistor technology enables the integration of row and column drive circuitry, and also additional functionality such as image reversal, aspect ratio control and level shifting among others. In addition to display elements and circuitry (both analog and digital), memories, solar cells, touch sensors and other sensors may all be integrated on the panel. For example, electrically erasable and programmable read only memories (EEPROMS) have been fabricated using a polysilicon TFT process.
In comparison with thick film devices TFT devices made with a thin film have the advantages of lower grain boundary trap density, higher mobility, and higher on-state current. It is desirable to make the thin film transistor as thin as possible in order to provide a high supply current in the on-state.
However, thin film devices experience a higher lateral electric field, in particular at the junction between the channel and drain which arises from the reduced junction depth. This increase in lateral electric field is known to be a major cause of impact ionisation in the channel/drain region which results in the accumulation of holes. These holes are known to be the cause of a pronounced "kink" effect in the IV characteristics of a TFT device which in turn degrades the output characteristics of the device, and in particular reduces output resistance at high drain voltages and its gain, see for example M. Valdinoci. L. Colalongo, G. Baccarani. G. Fortunato, A. Pecora and I. Policicchio, "Investigations on the Kink Effect in Poly-TFTs", Proceediings of the ESSDERC, pp. 1055-1058, 1996 and A. G. Lewis, T. Y. Huang, R. H. Bruce, M. Koyangi, A. Chiang and I. W. Wu, "Polysilicon Thin Film Transistor for Analogue Circuit Applications", IEDM Tech. Digest, pp. 264-267, 1988. In addition the kink effect also causes avalanche induced short channel effects.
Furthermore the high lateral electric field causes anomalous leakage current in the off state that counteracts the benefit provided by a thin film in which the lower trapped charge content would otherwise tend to reduce leakage current. This anomalous leakage current is a serious problem in poly-Si TFTs.

Polysilicon devices and a method for fabrication thereof

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology


A set of components is provided for assembly as a dispensing package for a fluid product. A collapsible bag is provided for holding the fluid product. The collapsible bag is attached to a support which in turn is mounted within a hollow body. A retention member holds a finger-operable pump to the support for communication with the interior of the bag.

Manufacturers of various fluid products have found that in some cases it is desirable to provide such products to a user in a package that readily accommodates dispensing of the product and yet protects the product from oxidation or other external contaminants during storage. It may also be desirable to provide such a product in a package that can be operated in any orientation to dispense the product.
A type of package that has been employed to accommodate these requirements includes a flexible, collapsible bag filled with the product under vacuum and attached to a finger-operable pump. The bag is disposed in a protective, but vented, housing which admits atmospheric pressure air into the housing so as to surround the exterior of the bag. The pump has an actuator projecting from one end of the housing where the pump can be operated by the user pressing down on the pump actuator.
Various designs for such collapsible bag packages are disclosed in the patent literature. While such designs may function generally satisfactorily, it would be desirable to provide an improved design for a package that could be more readily manufactured.
In particular, it would be advantageous to provide an improved design which could incorporate a conventional finger-operable pump. Such an improved design should also preferably facilitate the filling of the collapsible bag with the fluid product, attachment of the pump, and assembly of the other package components with a minimum number of manufacturing steps or special manufacturing operations.
In addition, it would be beneficial to provide such an improved dispensing package design that does not require an excessive number of components, that can be assembled relatively rapidly at low cost and without requiring excessively small manufacturing tolerances and assembly tolerances.
It would also be advantageous if various portions of the package components could be relatively easily modified so as to provide various external configurations which may be desired for utilitarian or aesthetic purposes.
The present invention provides an improved set of components for assembly as a dispensing package which can accommodate designs having the above-discussed benefits and features.

Set of components for assembly as a dispensing package of the non-vented type having an internal, collapsible bag


A vertical guide unit is built in modular construction in which a wedge guideway member has raceway grooves cut directly in guideway member while a slider fits over the guideway member for relative movement in a sliding manner. The guideway member has an upper surface extending slantwise with respect to a horizontal lower surface and the raceway grooves are cut slantwise on at least widthwise opposing sides near the upper surface of the guideway member. The slider is recessed at the middle thereof to have widthwise opposing wings to fit over the guideway member for sliding movement. The vertical guide unit is built in between a bed and a table to provide a stage system in which the table is allowed to go up and down as the slider moves in and out relatively to the guideway member.

Modern advanced machines such as semiconductor manufacturing machines are becoming more reliant on a multi-stage system in which an X-Y stage is allowed to move in both an X-direction and a Y-direction in a horizontal plane also has aboard a Z stage that can go up and down in a Z-direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane. Correspondingly, the Z stages of the sort recited just above are seeing growing demands for high precision travel, with even made slim or compact in construction and tough in stiffness. Besides being used for a work table of a machine tool to make vertical position-control of any workpiece carried on the work table, the Z stage unit like this one stated earlier is now built in a diverse machines including semiconductor manufacturing machines, assembly machines, inspection instruments, conveyor systems, and so on. The Z stages are now finding increased applications as the technology advances. Moreover, the Z stages are used in a way mounted on the X-Y stage systems to provide three-dimensional position-control stage systems.
A prior vertical position-control like the Z stage stated earlier is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 48064/1999 in which a slantwise platform is mounted on top of the horizontal table and there are provided a linear motion guide unit having a first guide rail to move the horizontal table relatively to a machine base and another linear motion guide unit having a second guide rail lying on a inclined surface of the slantwise platform to get the Z stage to go up and down as the horizontal table moves.
The prior vertical position control as recited above, however, needs many parts or components, plenty of time to assemble every part into a stage unit, and also not only increases in stage dimensions but is not quite good enough to comply with the demand for highly precise position-control in years.
Another prior art of the vertical position-controls is disclosed in, for example Japanese Utility Model laid-Open No. 53042/1994, in which a ball screw- and lead nut arrangement is employed to get a table system going up and down. The system table can move in a vertical direction with the help of a slantwise surface. The table system is composed of a machine base, a first table mounted on top of the machine base for movement in a horizontal plane and made inclined on a top face thereof, a motor to drive the first table, a second table installed for movement along the inclined face of the first table, another motor to force the second table, a lead nut mating with a first ball screw, the lead nut being secured to a bottom of the first table having the inclined surface on the top thereof, and a second ball screw mounted on the inclined surface to move up and down the second table.
With the prior table system constructed as recited earlier, the lead screws are provided for tables, one to each table, to get the tables moving back and forth with carrying the loads thereon. This prior art, because of needing two driving mechanisms to be built therein, results in increasing overall height of the table system. Moreover, it would be tough to ensure the lead screws enough in stiffness to carry whole load with making certain of steady position-control and travel of the tables. This means that the prior table system as recited above would be unsuited for the worktable in the machine tools, which need precise position-control in machining operations. Thus, such table systems, although less in number of parts or components and ready for carrying some relatively lightweight instruments, could not be expected to make certain of precise position-control when carrying any heavy instruments because the lead screws are exposed to directly stand up to the heavy load, and therefore would be limited in their use.
Disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,349 teaches an adjustable base assembly in which an upper wedge plate assembly is raised or lowered with using a vertical adjustment screw including left and right threaded portions, like a turnbuckle. With the prior base assembly recited above, a pair of wedge blocks is flanked by the upper and lower wedge plates, with their upper wedge faces coming into sliding engagement with the downwardly converging faces of the upper wedge plate while their lower wedge faces coming into sliding engagement with the upwardly converging faces of the lower wedge plate. Turning the screw moves the wedge blocks towards or away from each other to raise or lower the upper wedge plate relative to the lower wedge plate.
The base assembly so constructed as to rely on surface-to-surface sliding engagement stated earlier is not ready for demands on highly precise position-control and also fails to manage delicate operations.
A double linear guide system is known as disclosed in, for example Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2505894, in which the guide rail is provided with four raceway grooves extending lengthwise in parallel with one another. With the double linear guide system cited above, first and second sliders fit over the guide rail, which has on widthwise opposing sides thereof four raceway grooves extending lengthwise in parallel with one another. The double linear guide system can not find its way in the vertical position-control because the sliders are allowed to move only in parallel with one another. Other Z stage system is known, in which there is provided a slantwise base with V-shaped raceway grooves on sides thereof, which is pinched by a pair of track pieces to undergo prestress to be guided. However, the Z stage of the sort stated earlier, because of needing to prepare a pair of track pieces separately, is large in number of the required parts or components and correspondingly harder to assemble them, having to go through troublesome process of attempting to get alignment to make sure of precision on assembly.

Vertical guide unit and stage system with the same unit


A charger integrated circuit for charging a battery device including a first battery and a second battery includes; a first charger configured to generate a first charging current from an input voltage when the input voltage is received from an input voltage terminal, and a battery switch configured to provide the first charging current to the battery device, the battery switch comprising a plurality of transistors for connecting the first battery and the second battery in series or in parallel based on the input voltage, a first both-end voltage of the first battery and a second both-end voltage of the second battery.

The inventive concept relates to charger integrated circuits, and more particularly, to charger integrated circuits capable of charging a battery device including multiple batteries using a battery switch. The inventive concept also relates to electronic devices including this type of charger integrated circuit.
Portable electronic devices such as mobile phones include batteries. The power demands placed upon mobile phone batteries has gradually increased over time, and now faces further increase with the advent of 5G technology and applications. And it is possible that current battery technology, battery power storing capacity and battery charging approaches may unduly limit the operating performance of emerging mobile phones. Accordingly, improved battery technology, improved battery charging efficiency, increased battery power storage capacities, as well as longer, useful battery lives are subjects of ongoing research and developmental.

Charger integrated circuit for charging battery device and electronic device including same


A blow molding apparatus for a chip carrier maker is adapted to form a longitudinal row of spaced-apart recesses in a flat thermoplastic strip and includes a stationary machine frame, a heating device mounted on the frame for heating the strip, a lower mold disposed on the frame and having a mold cavity unit therein, and an upper mold which is disposed on the frame. One of the upper and lower molds can be moved toward the other one so as to clamp the strip between the upper and lower molds, thereby establishing an air-tight seal between the strip and the upper mold. The upper mold has a bottom surface formed with an air chamber, and an air passage unit which is formed therethrough and which is in fluid communication with the air chamber so that compressed air can be introduced into the air chamber via the air passage unit, thereby pressing the strip into the mold cavity unit after the strip is heated and softened by the heating device and subsequently forming the recesses in the strip. The heating device includes a heating member fixed in the air chamber to heat air in the air chamber to a temperature at which the strip is softened. The upper mold includes an upper cooling unit located around the air chamber to cool the upper mold after the recesses are formed in the strip.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a chip carrier maker, more particularly to a blow molding apparatus for a chip carrier maker, whereby a longitudinal row of spaced-apart recesses is formed in a thermoplastic strip by the pressure of compressed hot-air.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, a thermoplastic narrow strip 1 or wide strip 2 is formed by a conventional chip carrier maker 3. The narrow strip 1 has a longitudinal row of spaced-apart rectangular recesses 11 formed in an upper surface thereof, and a plurality of holes 12 formed therethrough. The wide strip 2 has two longitudinal rows of spaced-apart rectangular recesses 21 and a plurality of holes 22. The maker 3 includes a strip feeding device 31 for supplying a flat thermoplastic strip 30, a blow molding apparatus which includes a heating device 32 for heating and softening the punched strip 30, and a compression mold device 33 for forming the rectangular recesses 11, 21 in the softened strip 30, a punching device 34 for forming the holes 12, 22 in the strip 30, and a strip activating device 35 for moving the strip 30 from the feeding device 31 to a strip winding device 36. When moved from the heating device 33 to the compression molding device 34, the softened strip 30 will slightly deform prior to the blow molding process due to the pull of the strip activating device 35. As a result, the rectangular recesses 11, 21 cannot be formed accurately at predetermined positions in the strip 30.

Blow molding apparatus for a chip carrier maker


Embodiments include providing a gas lift system comprising production tubing disposed within a wellbore, the production tubing capable of allowing fluid flow in a first direction from outside the production tubing through a wall of the production tubing to inside the production tubing to introduce a gas into the bore of the production tubing, while preventing fluid flow in a second direction from inside the production tubing through the wall of the production tubing to outside the production tubing. In one aspect, fluid flow in the second direction is prevented by operation of at least two valve members disposed within a side pocket of a side pocket mandrel in the production tubing. At least one of the valve members is capable of preventing fluid flow in the second direction even when the other valve member is removed from the wellbore or is at least partially inoperative.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to artificially lifting fluid from a wellbore. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to artificially lifting fluid from a wellbore using a gas lift system.
2. Description of the Related Art
To obtain hydrocarbon fluids from an earth formation, a wellbore is drilled into the earth to intersect an area of interest within a formation. The wellbore may then be "completed" by inserting casing within the wellbore and setting the casing therein using cement. In the alternative, the wellbore may remain uncased (an "open hole wellbore"), or may become only partially cased. Regardless of the form of the wellbore, production tubing is typically run into the wellbore primarily to convey production fluid (e.g., hydrocarbon fluid, which may also include water) from the area of interest within the wellbore to the surface of the wellbore.
Often, pressure within the wellbore is insufficient to cause the production fluid to naturally rise through the production tubing to the surface of the wellbore. Thus, to carry the production fluid from the area of interest within the wellbore to the surface of the wellbore, artificial lift means is sometimes necessary.
Some artificially-lifted wells are equipped with sucker rod lifting systems. Sucker rod lifting systems generally include a surface drive mechanism, a sucker rod string, and a downhole positive displacement pump. Fluid is brought to the surface of the wellbore by pumping action of the downhole pump, as dictated by the drive mechanism attached to the rod string.
One type of sucker rod lifting system is a rotary positive displacement pump, typically termed a progressive cavity pump ("PCP"). The progressive cavity pump lifts production fluid by a rotor disposed within a stator. The rotor rotates relative to the stator by use of a sucker rod string.
An additional type of sucker rod lifting system is a rod lift system, with which fluid is brought to the surface of the wellbore by reciprocating pumping action of the drive mechanism attached to the rod string. Reciprocating pumping action moves a traveling valve on the positive displacement pump, loading it on the down-stroke of the rod string and lifting fluid to the surface on the up-stroke of the rod string.
Sucker rod lifting systems include several moving mechanical components. Specifically, the rod strings of sucker rod lifting systems must be reciprocated or rotated to operate the lifting systems. In some applications, the moving parts are disadvantageous. When a subsurface safety valve is employed within the wellbore, such as within an offshore well, a sucker rod string cannot be placed through the subsurface safety valve. Additionally, moving parts are susceptible to failure or damage, potentially causing the sucker rod lifting systems to become inoperable.
An alternative lift system is a gas lift system. Gas lift systems are often the preferred artificial lifting systems because fewer moving parts exist during the operation of the gas lift systems than during the operation of sucker rod lift systems. Moreover, gas lift systems are sometimes preferred over sucker rod lift systems because no sucker rod is required in the operation of gas lift systems. Because a sucker rod is not used in operating the gas lift system, the gas lift system is usable in offshore wells having subsurface safety valves.
Two primary types of gas lift systems exist: tubing-retrievable gas lift systems and wireline-retrievable gas lift systems. Each type of gas lift system includes several gas lift valves, which are typically internal one-way valves spaced along the inner diameter of the production tubular. The gas lift valves allow fluid flow from an annulus between the casing and the production tubing to lift production fluid flowing through the production tubing, yet the gas lift valves prevent fluid flow from the longitudinal bore running through the production tubing into the annulus.
During the course of a gas lift operation, access to the gas lift valves by the operator is often necessary for several reasons. First, the gas lift valves typically require maintenance, repair, or replacement, for example if the valve is leaking fluid flow into the annulus from the production tubing bore. In fact, normal operations require repair or replacement of the gas lift valves every six months to one year of operation of the gas lift system. Second, altering the pressure settings of the gas lift valves, which is often required during a gas lift operation, requires access to the gas lift valves by the operator.
When tubing-retrievable gas lift systems are utilized, the entire production tubing string must be retrieved from the wellbore to allow access to the gas lift valves for repair, maintenance, replacement, or changing of the pressure settings of the gas lift valves, because the production tubing and gas lift valves are integral to one another. In contrast, wireline-retrievable gas lift systems permit retrieving of the gas lift valves from the wellbore using wireline without necessitating the removal of the production tubing from the wellbore. Removing the entire production tubing from the wellbore is costly and inefficient; therefore, wireline-retrievable gas lift systems are often the preferred type of gas lift system, especially when the gas lift system is used offshore or in remote locations where rig interventions are expensive.
A typical wireline-retrievable gas lift system 10 is shown in FIG. 1. Generally, compressed gas G is injected into an annulus 15 between an outer diameter of a production tubing string 20 and the inner diameter of casing 25 within the wellbore 30. A valve system 35 supplies injection gas G and allows produced fluid to exit the gas lift system 10.
Spaced within the production tubing string 20 are side pocket mandrels 40 having gas lift valves 45 within side pockets 90 thereof, the side pockets 90 of the side pocket mandrels 40 being offset from the centerline of the production tubing string 20. The gas lift valves 45 are one-way valves used to allow gas flow from the annulus 15 into the production tubing string 20 and to disallow gas flow from the production tubing string 20 into the annulus 15.
A production packer 50 located at a lower end of the production tubing string 20 forces the flow of production fluid P from a reservoir or zone of interest in a formation 55 up through the production tubing string 20 instead of up through the annulus 15. Additionally, the production packer 50 forces the gas flow from the annulus 15 into the production tubing string 20 through the gas lift valves 45, as gas G is not allowed to flow further down into the annulus 15 past the production packer 50.
In operation, production fluid P flows from the formation 55 into the wellbore 30 through perforations 60 through the casing 25 and the formation 55. The production fluid P flows into the production tubing string 20. When it is desired to lift the production fluid P with gas G, compressed gas G is introduced into the annulus 15. The gas lift valves 45 allow the gas G to flow into the production tubing string 20 while preventing the flow of the production fluid P into the annulus 15 through the gas lift valves 45.
FIG. 1A shows a section of a typical wireline-retrievable production tubing string 20 having a side pocket mandrel 40 therein. The gas lift valve within the side pocket 90 of the side pocket mandrel 40 is not shown in FIG. 1A. A first slot 67 through a wall of the side pocket mandrel 40 exists below the gas lift valve on one side of the wall of the side pocket 90 of the side pocket mandrel 40, and a second slot 69 through a wall of the production tubing 20 exists above the gas lift valve on the opposite side of the wall of the side pocket 90.
Referring to both FIGS. 1 and 1A, compressed gas G introduced into the annulus 15 flows through each first slot 67 into each side pocket 90, through each gas lift valve 45, and then out each side pocket 90 through each second slot 69 into the bore of the production tubing string 20. The gas flow into the bore of the production tubing string 20 helps lift the production fluid P to the surface of the wellbore 30 by lowering the density of the production fluid P. Also, the injected gas G lowers the hydrostatic pressure in the production tubing 20 to re-establish the required pressure differential between the reservoir and the wellbore 30, thereby causing the production fluid P to flow to the surface of the wellbore 30. At the same time, the gas lift valves 45 prevent fluid flow through the side pockets 90 in the direction from the production tubing string 20 bore into the annulus 15.
At various times during the gas lift operation, the gas lift valve must be removed for repair, maintenance, and/or changing of pressure settings of the gas lift valve. Moreover, the gas lift valve may fail or leak during the gas lift operation. Removal of the gas lift valve from the production tubing and/or failing or leaking of the gas lift valve are problematic because the gas lift valve is no longer present within the side pocket mandrel or is no longer effective to prevent fluid flow from the production tubing into the annulus. Therefore, production fluid flowing up from the reservoir through the production tubing string is allowed to flow into the annulus unhindered through the side pockets of the side pocket mandrels.
The presence of production fluid in the annulus is problematic for several reasons. First, the production fluid is corrosive to the casing surrounding the production tubing string and may therefore cause corrosion damage to the casing. Second, the production fluid existing within the annulus increases the fluid pressure present within the annulus, possibly increasing to sufficient pressure levels to cause damage to the casing surrounding the production tubing string. Damaging the casing could cause the production fluid to leak back into the formation through holes in the casing, resulting in loss of valuable production fluid as well as becoming an environmental hazard. Repairing this damage to the casing is very expensive, especially in the form of loss of production during the repair time, as the production tubing string and other gas lift equipment must be removed from the wellbore and a casing section or casing patch must be re-installed within the wellbore over the damaged portion of the casing.
Additionally, the presence of production fluid in annulus is problematic because, even without resulting damage to the casing, time-consuming preparatory activities must be carried out before the gas lift operation may resume after re-installing the gas lift valves within the side pockets of the side pocket mandrels. One especially time-consuming operation which must be accomplished prior to resuming the gas lift operation involves unloading the production fluid present within the annulus from the wellbore. Unloading the well, if production fluid is present within the production tubing as well as within the annulus, often takes twelve hours or more every time the gas lift valves must be removed from the production tubing. Unloading the production fluid from the annulus typically consumes 8–9 hours of that unloading time. This time required to unload the annulus prior to any further gas lift operation wastes valuable production time, decreasing the profitability of the well.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a gas lift system which reduces damage to the surrounding casing when the gas lift valve is ineffective and/or is removed from the production tubing. It would be further advantageous to provide a gas lift system which decreases the time necessary to unload the well prior to resuming a gas lift operation when the gas lift valve is ineffective and/or is removed from the production tubing. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to provide a gas lift system and operation capable of preventing flow of production fluid into the annulus when the gas lift valve is ineffective and/or is removed from the production tubing.

One-way valve for a side pocket mandrel of a gas lift system


A laser diode array device (1, 11) according to a first aspect of the invention comprises a plurality of laser diode elements, some of which are formed as monitor laser diode elements for controlling the optical output of the remaining laser diode elements so that the device can operate at a power consumption rate by far lower than that of a conventional laser diode array device where the component laser diode elements needs to be individually controlled, while it can be assembled to an enhanced density. A laser diode array device (21) according to a second aspect of the invention comprises laser diode elements for signal transmission and monitor laser diode elements realized in the form of resonant cavities having a same length and sharing a common reflecting surface of a high-reflection film disposed at an end thereof so that the laser diode elements for signal transmission and the monitor laser diode elements show substantially identical light emitting characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a laser diode array device capable of controlling the optical output at a low power consumption rate and, more particularly, it relates to a laser diode array device to be suitably used for large capacity optical signal transmission applications such as an optical parallel transmission system.
2. Prior Art
In computer system networks comprising a number of computers connected by optical transmission lines, there has arisen a demand for high quality transmission lines for connecting electronic apparatuses and devices that can meet the requirements of, among others, eliminating troubles such as induction and cross talk, allowing a high density assembly of components and having long distance optical signal transmission capabilities.
The technique of optical serial signal transmission for multiplexed signal transmission and that of optical parallel transmission capable of transmitting signals at an enhanced rate are two remarkable improvements achieved in recent years in the technology of optical signal transmission, of which the latter is attracting attention as a promising technique that can be adapted for large capacity computers.
An optical parallel signal transmission system comprises transmission routes, each of which typically has a plurality of optical fibers that are used as optical transmission lines. A light emitting device and a light receiving device are disposed at each of the opposite terminals of the optical fibers for "electric-optical" and "optical-electric" switching.
An array device is preferably used for such a light emitting device because it is a high density device that accommodates a plurality of elements (4 to 50 channels) within a single chip.
More specifically, a laser diode array device is most preferably used as a light emitting device because of its high capacity for optical signal transmission.
It is known that existing laser diode array devices can undesirably change their optical output level in operation as the threshold current level, light emitting efficiency and other characteristics are often affected by ambient temperature and other environmental factors while emitting light.
In order to avoid fluctuations in the optical output level, there have been proposed devices that are externally provided with a feedback circuit for automatic power control (APC), automatic temperature control (ATC) and/or other additional functional features.
Known laser diode array devices are also accompanied by a problem of a relatively high power consumption rate and therefore there has been a demand for laser diode array device having a low threshold current level and an improved light emitting efficiency.
The above identified demand can be met to a certain extent by reducing the cavity of a laser diode array device and coating it with a dielectric film (high reflection film) having a reflectivity equal to or greater than 80%. With such arrangements, laser emitted from the light emitting terminal surface of the device can be oscillated with an improved efficiency.
Proposed means for feeding back the optical output of a laser diode array device include the following.
Current injection method--This is a method of picking up part of light being emitted by a laser diode array device and monitoring the optical output of the device by a photo-detector so that any fluctuations in the level of optical output of the device can be compensated by injecting an electric current into the device.
Separation method--This is a method of dividing part of the stripe-shaped oscillator of a laser diode array device into two section by etching; one for oscillation in the direction of the stripe and the other for oscillation in a direction perpendicular to that of the stripe so that the former may be used as an oscillating section and the other as a light reception monitor section for observing the optical output of the device.


Disclosed is a process for the preparation of alkylene glycols from the corresponding alkylene oxide, such as ethylene glycol from ethylene oxide, in the presence of water, a catalyst and, optionally, carbon dioxide. The catalyst is a SALEN-type compound which contains an amino group and an oxy or hydroxy group connected by a hydrocarbon, such as an alkyl or an alkylaryl. The SALEN-type compounds may be Schiff bases, i.e., a condensate product of a primary amine with an aldehyde, ketone or an alcohol.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for the preparation of alkylene glycols from the corresponding alkylene oxide in the presence of water and a SALEN-type catalyst. A specific example of the process is in the preparation of ethylene glycol from ethylene oxide.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The production of alkylene glycols from alkylene oxides is known and is practiced commercially. Of particular interest is the production of ethylene glycol from ethylene oxide. The thermal hydration of ethylene oxide in water produces monoethylene glycol (MEG), a major active component in antifreeze. MEG can also be used as a base material in the production of polyester fibers, resins, films and bottles.
Hydration of ethylene oxide can be through catalytic and non-catalytic means. Non-catalytic hydration of ethylene oxide to MEG requires a large excess of water to inhibit the formation of diethylene glycol (DEG) and other higher glycols. Even with a large excess of water the molar selectivity to MEG is only about 90%. In addition, the water must be distilled from the glycol to obtain a high purity product.
Catalytic hydration of ethylene oxide may use smaller amounts of water and is carried out at lower temperatures. There are numerous examples of catalysts for hydration of an alkylene oxide to alkylene glycol.
N,N′-bis(salicylidene)ethylenediamino(SALEN)-type compounds are known. A metal may be associated with the SALEN-type compound to form a metallosalenate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,890 discloses a process for producing a stereoselectively or regioselectively enriched product by reacting a nucleophile and a chiral or prochiral cyclic substrate in the presence of a non-racemic chiral catalyst. Examples of nucleophiles are amines, mercaptans and alcohols. Epoxides, aziridines, episulfides and certain other cyclic compounds are examples of the substrate. The catalyst may be a metallosalenate catalyst. One reaction disclosed is the asymmetric ring-opening of symmetrical epoxides to resolve a racemic mixture. Hydrolytic kinetic resolution of racemic mixtures having terminal epoxide groups is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,448,414.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,835 discloses a method of preparing polyurethane foam by reacting an organic polyisocyanate with a polyol in the presence of water and a combination of a gelling catalyst and a blowing catalyst. The blowing catalyst may be titanium isopropoxy-SALEN.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,745 discloses a method for the combinatorial synthesis, screening and characterization of supported and unsupported organometallic compounds as catalysts, additives and therapeutic agents. SALEN compounds were included as a base scaffold to prepare ligand libraries.

Process for the preparation of alkylene glycols

Abstract: The SALEN-type compound may be a mono or bis compound and may be complexed with a Group 4-14 metal, such as aluminum, tin, vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt or platinum.


A method for controlling an impeller clutch of a torque converter includes determining a function relating a K-factor of the torque, determining a current engine torque, determining a desired impeller clutch slip, using the function determine the actual impeller speed and thus actual clutch slip, and adjusting the operating state of the impeller clutch to produce the desired impeller clutch slip.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a torque converter for an automatic transmission, and, in particular, to determining the rotating speed of a torque converter impeller without a speed sensor for this purpose.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A torque converter is a modified form of a hydrodynamic fluid coupling, and like a fluid coupling, is used to transfer rotating power from a prime mover, such as an internal combustion engine or electric motor, to a rotating driven load. A torque converter is able to multiply torque when there is a substantial difference between input and output rotational speed, thus providing the equivalent of a reduction gear.
In a torque converter there are at least three rotating elements: the impeller, which is mechanically driven by the prime mover; the turbine, which drives the load; and the stator, which is interposed between the impeller and turbine so that it can alter oil flow returning from the turbine to the impeller. The classic torque converter design dictates that the stator be prevented from rotating under any condition, hence the term stator. In practice, however, the stator is mounted on an overrunning clutch, which prevents the stator from counter-rotating the prime mover but allows for forward rotation.
In a torque converter there are at least three rotating elements: the impeller, which is mechanically driven by the prime mover; the turbine, which drives the load; and the stator, which is interposed between the impeller and turbine so that it can alter oil flow returning from the turbine to the impeller. The classic torque converter design dictates that the stator be prevented from rotating under any condition, hence the term stator. In practice, however, the stator is mounted on an overrunning clutch, which prevents the stator from counter-rotating the prime mover but allows for forward rotation.
Losses within the torque converter reduce efficiency and generate waste heat. In modern automotive applications, this problem is commonly avoided by use of a lock-up clutch, which that physically links the impeller and turbine, effectively changing the converter into a purely mechanical coupling. The result is no slippage, and therefore virtually no power loss and improved fuel economy.
The next generation of torque converter technology enables the decoupling of the impeller from the engine during idle, better known as idle disconnect. The decoupling of the impeller reduces engine load and thereby fuel consumption during drive and reverse idle. This decoupling is accomplished with an impeller clutch between the impeller and engine. The impeller clutch is controlled by a pressure differential between converter charge and discharge circuits.
To control accurately engagement, disengagement and slip of the impeller clutch, it is necessary to know the rotating speed of the impeller.
When the impeller clutch is slipping, impeller speed is less than engine speed. In order to control the slip across the impeller clutch real time impeller speed is required. Impeller speed can be determined from a signal representing impeller speed produced by sensor located in the torque converter. This requires a high powered sensor in the bell housing and forming the converter housing of a nonmagnetic material such as aluminum or stamping the housing from a sheet of low-carbon stainless steel. Low-carbon stainless steel, if heat treated properly, does not have magnetic properties and is transparent to a conventional sensor. This method requires a large air gap between the sensor and magnetic pick up on the impeller, causes the converter housing to be brittle, and adds complexity and cost to the components and assembly.
There is a need in the industry for a more cost efficient technique to determine the impeller speed continuously in real time.

Using inferred torque converter impeller speed to control an impeller clutch


A radial flow filtration system includes a housing and one or more generally cylindrical filter cartridges including a filter cartridge shell and a filter section. The filter cartridge is removable with respect to the housing and the filter section in removable with respect to the filter cartridge shell.

Air handling systems are commonly fitted with filters that remove chemical and particulate hazards from the air supply. Such systems can be used in a variety of situations including protection within buildings and on mobile locations such as ships. Filters commonly used for collective protection air handling systems are often cylindrically shaped and have an inlet at the inner surface of the filter housing. The outlet of such filters is typically located at the outermost periphery of the filter. Such filters typically have a pleated particulate filter section intended to target particulate contaminants that is disposed near the inlet of the filter. They also often have a chemical filter bed that targets gases. Known filter beds include packed filter beds, and bonded particle masses. Filter beds may include multiple layers. The chemical and particulate filter elements within the filter system may be contained as layers in a single filter element or deployed as separate filter elements.
Many filters are disposable. When known filters require replacement, either the entire unit including the housing is discarded and replaced or the individual cartridge is removed from the housing and then discarded and replaced. There exists a need for improved filter systems that are less expensive and create less waste.


Tert-alkyl sulfonamides chloramine salts are used as nitrogen sources in the catalytic aminohydroxylation and/or aziridination of olefins. The tert-alkyl sulfonamides chloramine salts are close to Chloramine T with respect to their reactivity as nitrogen sources with olefins. However, unlike the tosyl sulfonyl amine group of Chloramine T, the resulting t-alkyl sulfonylamino functionalities can be easily converted to an unprotected amine under mild acidic conditions making the method a simple and cost efficient approach for producing unsubstituted hydroxy amine and/or aziridine products.

Chlorosulfonamide salts, such as Chloramines T and M, have been extensively used as nitrogen sources in both asymmetric and racemic aminohydroxylations, aziridinations and allylic aminations (Bruncko et al. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 1996, 35, 454; Li et al. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 1996, 35, 451; Rubin et al. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 1997, 36, 2637). However, despite their effectiveness in those reactions, they have one common substantial drawback. The removal of the alkyl- or arylsulfonyl group from the introduced sulfonylamino group is often very problematic and requires extremely harsh conditions.
Recently, Weinreb and co-workers published a communication of a new protective group for amine: t-butylsulfonyl substituted amines were found to be stable under a variety of conditions, however the t-BuSO.sub.2 -group could be easily removed under relatively mild acidic conditions (sun et al. J. Org. Chem. 1997, 62, 8604). However, Weinreb did not prepare the chloramine salt of t-butylsulfonamide or demonstrate that it could be employed t as a nitrogen source in aminohydroxylation and aziridination of olefins.
What is needed is a readily accessable and effective nitrogen source of the type R--N.sup.(-) --Hal with an easily cleavable R--N bond which can be used in both catalytic aminohydroxylation and aziridination of olefins. Furthermore, what is needed is a simple and cost efficient method for producing such a nitrogen source.

Aminohydroxylation of olefins with tert-alkyl sulfonamides


A technique provides a modular sensing device having multiple separable modules attached end to end. The modules are selectable based on mission requirements, with different modules and combinations thereof selected for different mission types and/or requirements.

Hurricanes in the United States cause damages of $1 to $3 billion annually with an average death rate of nearly 20 persons. In a typical year having three hurricanes, the total cost of warning and emergency response is nearly $800 million, which is approximately $0.5 to $1.0 million per mile of coast line. Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005, caused an estimated $100 billion in damage and economic losses as high as $250 billion.
Accurate measurements in and around hurricanes are critical for predicting hurricane intensity, and thus the severity of risks posed to human life and property. Current approaches to measuring hurricane-related factors employ buoys, sondes, and dropsondes. Buoys are floating devices that make measurements near the surface of a body of water and store collected data, which may be retrieved directly by visiting the buoys or by receiving the data over a wireless link. Sondes are devices that operate within a body of water and collect data as they descend. Relevant data may include conductivity, temperature, and depth, for example. Dropsondes are sondes adapted for deployment from an aircraft. A dropsonde can measure atmospheric conditions while falling through the air. After splashdown, a dropsonde can measure water conditions as it sinks through the water. Sondes and dropsondes may log their data while operating under water and transmit the logged data upon resurfacing. Some sondes and dropsondes may perform "profiling," i.e., controllably rising and sinking to various depths and measuring water columns at different locations.

Modular sensing device, system, and method


A solid polymer electrolyte membrane comprising a base film and a moisture-proof layer. The moisture-proof layer may be disposed on an outer edge portion of the base film. The solid polymer electrolyte membrane according to an embodiment of the present invention is for use in a fuel cell, and comprises the base film having an electricity-generating region and a non-electricity-generating region, and the moisture-proof layer disposed on at least a part of the non-electricity-generating region. A fuel cell using the solid polymer electrolyte membrane is also provided.

The present invention relates to a solid polymer electrolyte membrane usable for a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), particularly to a solid polymer electrolyte membrane that is excellent in sealing properties to be capable of preventing leakage of a fuel gas (hydrogen gas), an oxidant gas (air), a humidification water and a coolant in a fuel cell. The present invention also relates to a fuel cell comprising the solid polymer electrolyte membrane.
In general, a fuel cell is provided by stacking a plurality of fuel cell units, a separator being disposed between the fuel cell units. Each of the fuel cell units comprises a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, an anode disposed on one surface of the membrane, and a cathode disposed on another surface of the membrane. More specifically, such a stacked-type fuel cell comprises: a carbon separator with electron-transporting properties having passages for independently introducing a fuel gas, an oxidant gas and a coolant to each fuel cell unit; a carbon fiber diffusion layer that diffuses the fuel gas or the oxidant gas and comes into contact with a convex part of the carbon separator to transfer electrons between an electrode and the carbon separator; an anode where the fuel gas is subjected to a chemical reaction to provide protons and electrons; a cathode where water is generated from oxygen, protons and electrons; and an electrolyte membrane in a wet state for transporting protons.
The fuel gas and the oxidant gas are used for the fuel cell as reaction gases, the fuel gas is supplied through an anode side passage of the separator, and the oxidant gas Is supplied through a cathode side passage of the separator. When each fuel cell unit is supplied with the reaction gases, the electrochemical reaction proceeds to generate electrons and the electrons are utilized in an external circuit as an electric energy.
The fuel gas, the oxidant gas and the coolant should be independently supplied to the fuel cell unit through different passages, therefore, it is important to seal the passages. Sealing method can be selected from various methods depending on the structure of the stacked fuel cell units. For example, a sealant may be disposed: around a communicating aperture going through the fuel cell stack for supplying the fuel gas, the oxidant gas, the humidification water and the coolant to each fuel cell unit; on the periphery of MEA (the electrolyte membrane+the electrodes+the diffusion layer); on the periphery of the passage where the coolant is supplied along surfaces of the separator to cool the separator; on the periphery of the separator; etc.
Known as the sealing method are: (i) methods where the fuel cell units and a frame having a sheet-shape, an O-shape, etc. are stacked while pressing, the frame being made of an elastic material such as an organic rubber (a fluoro-rubber, a silicone rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, etc.) and an adhesive If hardening type-liquid material, thereby utilizing repulsive force of the elastic material to seal the fuel cell; (ii) methods where the fuel cell is compressed and sealed by an inorganic sheet such as a fiber sheet of graphite, ceramic, etc.; (iii) methods using a caulking or a mechanical sealant; etc.
Though a material for the sealant and a shape of the sealant should be selected in accordance with strength, surface state, etc. of the separator or MEA, the sealant is preferably miniaturized in the case of equipping an automobile with the fuel cell. In particular, each fuel cell unit of the fuel cell has to be thinned, thus, MEA and the separator have to be thinned. The separator, with which the sealant directly comes into contact, is generally made of a brittle material such as carbon, etc., so that the thinned separator is often broken when it is stacked with the fuel cell units. Thus, among the above methods of (i), (ii) and (iii), preferred are the methods of (i) using the sealant having proper elasticity and repellency.
However, when the fuel cell units and the separator are sufficiently sealed while pressing such that the separator is not broken, surface states such as a crease, a swell, a fold, a bend, a roughness, etc. of the MEA, particularly the electrolyte membrane coming into contact with the sealant, is remarkably affecting the sealing properties.
The electrolyte membrane in MEA is disadvantageous in that it abruptly expands or shrinks correspondingly to moisture content of air. The portion of MEA that comes in contact with the sealant is composed of only the electrolyte membrane without the electrodes and the diffusion layer, and the electrolyte membrane is often creased by the sealant. Thus, it is difficult to secure sufficient sealing properties even if the material and structure of the sealant are properly selected. Further, strict humidity control is required to assemble the MEA into the fuel cell without creasing the electrolyte membrane, thus, the conventional sealed fuel cells are poor in productivity.

Solid polymer electrolyte membrane and fuel cell comprising same


A method of fabricating an organic optoelectronic device having a bulk heterojunction comprises the steps of: depositing a first layer over a first electrode by organic vapor phase deposition, wherein the first layer comprises a first organic small molecule material; depositing a second layer on the first layer such that the second layer is in physical contact with the first layer, wherein the interface of the second layer on the first layer forms a bulk heterojunction; and depositing a second electrode over the second layer to form the optoelectronic device. In another embodiment, a first layer having protrusions is deposited over the first electrode, wherein the first layer comprises a first organic small molecule material. For example, when the first layer is an electron donor layer, the first electrode is an anode, the second layer is an electron acceptor layer, and the second electrode is a cathode. As a further example, when the first layer is an electron acceptor layer, the first electrode is a cathode, the second layer is an electron donor layer, and the second electrode is an anode.

Optoelectronic devices rely on the optical and electronic properties of materials to either produce or detect electromagnetic radiation electronically or to generate electricity from ambient electromagnetic radiation. Photosensitive optoelectronic devices convert electromagnetic radiation into electricity. Photovoltaic (PV) devices or solar cells, which are a type of photosensitive optoelectronic device, are specifically used to generate electrical power. PV devices, which may generate electrical power from light sources other than sunlight, are used to drive power consuming loads to provide, for example, lighting, heating, or to operate electronic equipment such as computers or remote monitoring or communications equipment. These power generation applications also often involve the charging of batteries or other energy storage devices so that equipment operation may continue when direct illumination from the sun or other ambient light sources is not available. As used herein the term "resistive load" refers to any power consuming or storing device, equipment or system. Another type of photosensitive optoelectronic device is a photoconductor cell. In this function, signal detection circuitry monitors the resistance of the device to detect changes due to the absorption of light. Another type of photosensitive optoelectronic device is a photodetector. In operation a photodetector has a voltage applied and a current detecting circuit measures the current generated when the photodetector is exposed to electromagnetic radiation. A detecting circuit as described herein is capable of providing a bias voltage to a photodetector and measuring the electronic response of the photodetector to ambient electromagnetic radiation. These three classes of photosensitive optoelectronic devices may be characterized according to whether a rectifying junction as defined below is present and also according to whether the device is operated with an external applied voltage, also known as a bias or bias voltage. A photoconductor cell does not have a rectifying junction and is normally operated with a bias. A PV device has at least one rectifying junction and is operated with no bias. A photodetector has at least one rectifying junction and is usually but not always operated with a bias.
Traditionally, photosensitive optoelectronic devices have been constructed of a number of inorganic semiconductors, e.g., crystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous silicon, gallium arsenide, cadmium telluride and others. Herein the term "semiconductor" denotes materials which can conduct electricity when charge carriers are induced by thermal or electromagnetic excitation. The term "photoconductive" generally relates to the process in which electromagnetic radiant energy is absorbed and thereby converted to excitation energy of electric charge carriers so that the carriers can conduct, i.e., transport, electric charge in a material. The terms "photoconductor" and "photoconductive material" are used herein to refer to semiconductor materials which are chosen for their property of absorbing electromagnetic radiation to generate electric charge carriers.
More recently, optoelectronic devices that make use of organic materials have become increasingly desirable for a number of reasons. Many of the materials used to make such devices are relatively inexpensive, so organic optoelectronic devices have the potential for cost advantages over inorganic devices. In addition, the inherent properties of organic materials, such as their flexibility, may make them well suited for particular applications such as fabrication on a flexible substrate. Organic materials have manufacturing process advantages relative to inorganic thin-film technologies enabling the ability to apply organic material layers to plastic substrates. Examples of organic optoelectronic devices include organic light emitting devices (OLEDs), organic phototransistors, organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs), and organic photodetectors. As used herein, the term "organic" includes polymeric materials as well as small molecule organic materials that may be used to fabricate organic optoelectronic devices. "Small molecule" refers to any organic material that is not a polymer, and "small molecules" may actually be quite large. Small molecules may include repeat units in some circumstances. For example, using a long chain alkyl group as a substituent does not remove a molecule from the "small molecule" class. Small molecules may also be incorporated into polymers, for example as a pendent group on a polymer backbone or as a part of the backbone. Small molecules may also serve as the core moiety of a dendrimer, which consists of a series of chemical shells built on the core moiety.
OLEDs make use of thin organic films that emit light when voltage is applied across the device. OLEDs are becoming an increasingly interesting technology for use in applications such as flat panel displays, illumination, and backlighting. For OLEDs, the organic materials therein may have performance advantages over conventional materials. For example, the wavelength at which an organic emissive layer emits light may generally be readily tuned with appropriate dopants. Several OLED materials and configurations are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,844,363, 6,303,238, and 5,707,745, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
OLED devices are generally (but not always) intended to emit light through at least one of the electrodes, and one or more transparent electrodes may be useful in an organic optoelectronic device. For example, a transparent electrode material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), may be used as the bottom electrode. A transparent top electrode, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,703,436 and 5,707,745, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, may also be used. For a device intended to emit light only through the bottom electrode, the top electrode does not need to be transparent, and may be comprised of a thick and reflective metal layer having a high electrical conductivity. Similarly, for a device intended to emit light only through the top electrode, the bottom electrode may be opaque and/or reflective. Where an electrode does not need to be transparent, using a thicker layer may provide better conductivity, and using a reflective electrode may increase the amount of light emitted through the other electrode, by reflecting light back towards the transparent electrode. Fully transparent devices may also be fabricated, where both electrodes are transparent. Side emitting OLEDs may also be fabricated, and one or both electrodes may be opaque or reflective in such devices.
As used herein, "top" means furthest away from the substrate, while "bottom" means closest to the substrate. For example, for a device having two electrodes, the bottom electrode is the electrode closest to the substrate, and is generally the first electrode fabricated. The bottom electrode has two surfaces, a bottom surface closest to the substrate, and a top surface further away from the substrate. Where a first layer is described as "disposed over" or "deposited over" a second layer, the first layer is disposed or deposited further away from the substrate. There may be other layers between the first and second layer, unless it is specified that the first layer is "in physical contact with" the second layer. For example, a cathode may be described as "disposed over" an anode, even though there are various organic layers in between.
As used herein, "solution processible" means capable of being dissolved, dispersed, or transported in and/or deposited from a liquid medium, either in solution or suspension form.
Solar cells can be characterized by the efficiency with which they can convert incident solar power to useful electric power. Devices utilizing crystalline or amorphous silicon dominate commercial applications, and some have achieved efficiencies of 23% or greater under solar illumination. However, efficient crystalline-based devices, especially of large surface area, are difficult and expensive to produce due to the problems inherent in producing large crystals without significant efficiency-degrading defects. On the other hand, high efficiency amorphous silicon devices still suffer from problems with stability. Present commercially available amorphous silicon cells have stabilized efficiencies between 4 and 8%. Due to the manufacturing and stability issues associated with crystalline or amorphous silicon devices, the cost of the electrical power produced per unit area has been high. The use of current inorganic solar cells is currently limited by their high manufacturing costs relative to the electrical power produced per unit area, as well as their high installation costs resulting from the cumbersome nature of the cell frames, the remainder of system equipment, and the panels themselves. Thus, a need exists for a more economical method of manufacturing PV cells having an acceptable quantum yield and therefore, power conversion efficiency.
More recent efforts have focused on the use of organic photovoltaic cells to achieve acceptable photovoltaic conversion efficiencies with economical production costs. In organic materials, light absorption leads to the formation of excitons, or bound electron-hole pairs, rather than the free electron-hole pairs produced in inorganic semiconductors. Efficient dissociation of excitons in organic materials occurs under strong electric fields, or at a donor-acceptor (DA) heterointerface where the differences in the electron affinities and the ionization potentials between the contacting organic materials are sufficiently large to overcome the exciton binding energy. The later mechanism has been employed to form an organic DA planar heterojunction (HJ) photovoltaic cell with a power conversion efficiency ηP˜1%, which was limited by exciton diffusion lengths (LD≦100 Angstroms) being much shorter than the optical absorption length (LA˜1000 Angstroms). Employing C60 (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,580,027) as the acceptor material, which has LD˜400 Angstroms, a power conversion efficiency ηP˜3.6% has been demonstrated. Because excitons generated within an exciton diffusion length of the DA heterojunction are subject to the electric field of the junction, they generally have a higher probability of dissociating efficiently. Conversely, excitons generated more than an exciton diffusion length from the DA heterojunction generally have a smaller probability of dissociating efficiently and contributing to device current. Bulk heterojunctions seek to create a highly interfolded or interpercolating network of the donor and acceptor materials such that an exciton generated by the absorption of incident radiation is likely close to a heterojunction and is likely to disassociate efficiently contributing to device current.

Method of fabricating an optoelectronic device having a bulk heterojunction


An excavating tooth point is captively retained externally on an adapter nose with a specially designed lock structure removably received in a side wall opening of the tooth point and an underlying opening in the adapter nose. The rotary lock structure includes a cylindrical body having a side portion from which a resiliently biased force exerting member and a spring-loaded detent pin outwardly project. With the adapter nose received in the tooth pocket the lock structure body is axially inserted into the tooth and adapter openings in a first rotational orientation and then forcibly rotated to a second rotational orientation. The surfaces of the tooth and nose openings are configured to radially inwardly displace the radially outwardly biased force exerting member in response to such rotation, in a manner causing the force exerting member and the lock structure body to exert on the adapter nose and tooth point a continuous resilient force tending to tighten the tooth point onto the adapter nose. As the lock structure is rotated during its installation, a ramped surface on the adapter nose cams the detent pin inwardly and then permits it to snap into a retaining pocket on the nose to thereby releasably prevent further rotation of the lock structure. The inserted lock structure may subsequently be removed by axially or rotationally driving it to shear the detent pin or using a sloping face of the retaining pocket to cam the detent pin into the lock structure body.

The present invention generally relates to material displacement apparatus and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly relates to a specially designed rotary lock structure for releasably holding a replaceable earth excavating tooth point on a nose portion of an associated adapter structure.
A variety of types of material displacement apparatus, such as earth working structures, are typically provided with replaceable portions that are removably carried by larger base structures and come into abrasive wearing contact with the material being displaced. For example, excavating tooth assemblies provided on digging such as excavating buckets or the like typically comprise a relatively massive adapter portion which is suitably anchored to the forward bucket lip and has a reduced cross-section, forwardly projecting nose portion, and a replaceable tooth point having formed through a rear end thereof a pocket opening that releasably receives the adapter nose. The removability of the tooth point advantageously permits the more massive adapter to have a substantially longer operating life than if the point was an integral portion thereof.
To captively retain the tooth point on the adapter nose, aligned transverse openings are formed through these interengageable elements adjacent the rear end of the point, and a suitable connector structure is forcibly driven into and retained within the openings to releasably anchor the replaceable tooth point on its associated adapter nose portion. These connector structures adapted to be driven into the aligned tooth point and adapter nose openings typically come in two primary forms--(1) wedge and spool connector sets, and (2) flex pin connectors.
A wedge and spool connector set comprises a tapered spool portion which is initially placed in the aligned tooth and adapter openings, and a tapered wedge portion which is subsequently driven into the openings, against he spool portion, to jam the structure in place within the openings in a manner exerting high rigid retention forces on he interior opening surfaces and press the nose portion into a tight fitting engagement with the interior surface of the tooth socket.
Very high drive-in and knock-out forces are required to insert and later remove the steel wedge and typically require a two man effort to pound the wedge in and out--one man holding a removal tool against an end of the wedge, and the other man pounding on the removal tool with a sledge hammer. The drive-in and knock-out forces, of course, increase with the size of the tooth/adapter nose assembly involved. This creates a safety hazard due to the possibility of flying metal slivers and/or the second man hitting the first man instead of the removal tool with the sledge hammer. Additionally, wear between the tooth/adapter nose assembly surface interface during excavation use of the tooth tends to loosen the original tight fit of the wedge/spool structure within the tooth and adapter nose openings, thereby permitting the wedge/spool structure to fall out of the openings and thus permitting the tooth to fall off the adapter nose.
Flex pin connector structures, on the other hand, typically comprise two elongated metal members held in a spaced apart, side-by-side orientation by an elastomeric material bonded therebetween. The flex pin structure must be longitudinally driven into the tooth and adapter nose openings to cause the elastomeric material to be compressed and resiliently force the metal members against the nose and tooth opening surfaces to retain the connector structure in place within the openings and resiliently press the adapter nose portion into tight fitting engagement with the interior surface of the tooth socket. This creates essentially the same potential safety hazards as arise when a metal wedge member is being driven into the tooth and adapter nose openings as previously described herein. Subsequently, of course, the flex pin structure must be pounded out of the tooth and adapter openings.
Conventionally constructed flex pin structures also have other disadvantages and limitations. For example, compared to wedge/spool structures they have a substantially lower in-place retention force. This is due to the fact that the elastomeric flex pin portion, as the flex pin is being driven into place within the tooth/adapter nose assembly, must be compressed more than when it reaches its installed position within the assembly. Thus, the elastomeric element partially "relaxes" when it reaches its installed position and cannot exert its full available resilient retention force on the tooth and adapter nose surfaces.
Moreover, in conventionally configured flex pin structures, the retention of the flex pin structure within the tooth/adapter nose assembly is dependent upon maintaining a certain minimum resilient force by the elastomeric element on an interior surface portion of the tooth/adapter nose assembly. When internal assembly surface wear progresses to a certain point the connector can fall out because this resilient force is no longer large enough. It can be seen from the foregoing that it would be desirable to provide improved excavating tooth connector apparatus that eliminates or at least substantially reduces the above-mentioned problems, limitations and disadvantages commonly associated with conventional excavating tooth and other material displacement equipment connector apparatus of the general type described above. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide such improved connector apparatus.

Rotary lock system for excavating tooth/adapter assembly


A display configuration associated with displaying information from at least one source is determined using a cost metric. The cost metric is associated with a cost of displaying information from the source.

Computer systems are increasingly being designed in the context of a world where computing is ubiquitous. Computer systems are becoming smaller, cheaper, and more powerful. In an effort to reduce costs and reduce size of computer systems, displays provided with these computer systems may not completely satisfy a user. For example, the displays may be too small to efficiently perform word processing on a document or read a stored document.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A compound of Formula 1Rf-A-OP(O)(O−M+)(OROH)  Formula 1wherein                Rf is a C2 to C6 linear or branched perfluoroalkyl optionally interrupted by one, two or three ether oxygen atoms;        A is (CH2CF2)m(CH2)n—, (CH2)oSO2N(CH3)(CH2)p—, O(CF2)q(CH2)r—, or OCHFCF2OE-;        m is 0 to 4; n, o, p, and r are each independently 2 to 20; q is 2;        E is a C2 to C20 linear or branched alkyl group optionally interrupted by oxygen, sulfur, or nitrogen atoms; a cyclic alkyl group, or a C6 to C10 aryl group;        M is H or a Group I metal or an ammonium cation (NHxR2y)+ wherein R2 is a C1 to C4 alkyl, x is 0 to 4, y is 0 to 4 and x+y is 4; and        R is a C2 to C60 linear or branched alkyl group optionally interrupted by hetero atoms selected from the group consisting of an oxygen, sulfur, or nitrogen atom; a cyclic alkyl; or a C6 to C10 aryl; provided that when R is greater than 8 carbons, the ratio of hetero atoms to carbon atoms is at least 1:2.

For surfactants and surface treatment agents with fluorochemical chains, longer perfluoroalkyl chains contain a higher percentage of fluorine at a given concentration and typically provide better performance. However, the fluorinated materials derived from longer perfluoroalkyl chains are more expensive. Reduction of the fluorine content with delivery of the same or higher performance is therefore desirable. Reducing the fluorine content would reduce the cost, but it is necessary to maintain product performance.
U.S. Ser. No. 11/890,414 filed Aug. 8, 2007, discloses fluoroalkyl-alkyl twin tailed phosphate surfactants which have two dissimilar terminal hydrophobic groups attached to a single connecting group. U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,864 discloses anionic surfactants having at least two hydrophobic chains and at least two hydrophilic groups per molecule useful as emulsifiers, detergents, dispersant and solubilizing agents.
It is desirable to improve surfactant performance, in particular lowering of surface tension in aqueous systems, and to increase the fluorine efficiency, i.e., boost the efficiency or performance of the surfactants so a lower proportion of the expensive fluorine component is required to achieve the same level of performance, or to have better performance using the same level of fluorine. Especially desirable would be surfactants having both a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic group in the same compound which are fluorine efficient. It is also desirable to have surfactants that are stable in brine and aggressive media (acid and base) while still maintaining improved performance. The present invention provides such surfactants.


An apparatus and method for sensing body temperature and wirelessly communicating measured data to at least one electronic device. The device includes a sensor device having a housing base, a housing cover releasably mountable on the housing base, and components for sensing body temperature and wirelessly communicating the measured temperature, including a temperature sensor, a power supply, a microprocessor, and a transmitter and receiver. The electronic device can include an application that communicates with the sensor device and provides a user interface.

In general, devices used to measure temperature, such as body temperature, are known. If it is determined that one's body temperature is not within the normal body temperature range, it can indicate an illness or other health condition, e.g., hypothermia. It is desirable if not necessary to continue to monitor one's temperature to determine the individual's state of health, to determine what further treatment or action to take, or whether the individual is improving or responding to treatment. In a hospital or other medical facility setting, medical personnel will typically check a patient's temperature on a pre-determined schedule In addition to consuming personnel resources, this can be disrupting to the patient, especially if the patient needs to be awaken. Even outside a medical facility setting, for young children who regularly sleep for many hours of the day and night, for example, especially when ill, measuring and monitoring their body temperature can become a great source of agitation to both the child and parents as parents, using known thermometers, must regularly disturb or wake up their child to measure the child's temperature causing both the child and parents to lose sleep.

Wireless thermometer and method of use thereof


A liquid crystal composition including a polymerizable compound, and an AM device including the liquid crystal composition are described. The liquid crystal composition includes the compound (1) and the compound (2):

For liquid crystal display devices, the classification based on the operating mode for liquid crystal molecules includes modes such as phase change (PC), twisted nematic (TN), super twisted nematic (STN), electrically controlled birefringence (ECB), optically compensated bend (OCB), in-plane switching (IPS), fringe field switching (FFS), vertical alignment (VA) and polymer sustained alignment (PSA). The classification based on the driving mode of the device includes passive matrix (PM) and active matrix (AM) types. The PM type is further classified into static type, multiplex type and so on, and the AM type classified into thin film transistor (TFT) type, metal-insulator-metal (MIM) type and so on. The TFT type is further classified into amorphous silicon and polysilicon types, wherein the latter is classified into high-temperature type and low-temperature type according to the production process. The classification based on the light source includes the reflection type utilizing natural light, the transmission type utilizing a backlight, and the semi-transmission type utilizing both kinds of light.
These devices contain a liquid crystal composition having suitable characteristics. The liquid crystal composition has a nematic phase. The general characteristics of the composition should be improved to give an AM device having good general characteristics. Table 1 below summarizes the relationship between these two groups of general characteristics. The general characteristics of the composition will be further explained on the basis of a commercially available AM device. The temperature range of a nematic phase relates to the temperature range in which the device can be used. A desirable maximum temperature of the nematic phase is approximately 70° C. or higher and a desirable minimum temperature of the nematic phase approximately is −10° C. or lower. The viscosity of the composition relates to the response time of the device. A short response time is desirable for displaying moving images on the device. Accordingly, a small viscosity of the composition is desirable. A small viscosity at a low temperature is more desirable.
TABLE 1General Characteristics of Composition and AM DeviceGeneral CharacteristicsGeneral CharacteristicsNo.of Compositionof AM Device1wide temperature range ofwide temperature range innematic phasewhich device can be used2small viscosity1)short response time3Suitable optical anisotropylarge contrast ratio4positively or negatively largelow threshold voltage anddielectric anisotropysmall electric power consumptionlarge contrast ratio5large specific resistancelarge voltage holding ratio andlarge contrast ratio6high stability to ultravioletlong service lifelight and heat1)A liquid crystal composition can he injected into a liquid crystal display device in a shorter period of time
The optical anisotropy of the composition relates to the contrast ratio of the device. The product (Δn×d) of the optical anisotropy (Δn) of the composition and the cell gap (d) of the device is designed so as to maximize the contrast ratio. A suitable value of the product depends on the kind of operating mode. In a device having a VA mode or a PSA mode, a suitable value is in the range of approximately 0.30 micrometer to approximately 0.40 micrometer, and in a device having an IPS mode, a suitable value is in the range of approximately 0.20 micrometer to approximately 0.30 micrometer. In these cases, a composition having a large optical anisotropy is desirable for a device having a small cell gap. A large absolute value of the dielectric anisotropy in the composition contributes to a low threshold voltage, small electric power consumption and a large contrast ratio of the device. Accordingly, a large absolute value of the dielectric anisotropy is desirable. A large specific resistance of the composition contributes to a large voltage holding ratio and a large contrast ratio of the device. Accordingly, it is desirable that a composition should have a large specific resistance at room temperature and also at a high temperature in the initial stage. It is desirable that a composition should have a large specific resistance at room temperature and also at a high temperature after it has been used for a long time. The stability of the composition to ultraviolet light and heat relates to the service life of the liquid crystal display device. In the case where the stability is high, the device has a long service life. Such characteristics are desirable for an AM device used in a liquid crystal projector, a liquid crystal television and so forth.
A composition having positive dielectric anisotropy is used for an AM device having a TN mode. On the other hand, a composition having negative dielectric anisotropy is used for an AM device having a VA mode. A composition having positive or negative dielectric anisotropy is used for an AM device having an IPS mode or an FFS mode. A composition having positive or negative dielectric anisotropy is used for an AM device having a PSA mode. Regarding the AM device having a PSA mode, examples of a liquid crystal composition having negative dielectric anisotropy are disclosed in Patent Documents No. 1 to 6.

Liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal display device

Abstract: wherein P1 and P2 are polymerizable groups; the rings A, B, C and E are 1,4-cyclohexylene or 1,4-phenylene, etc.; the ring D is 2,3-difluoro-1,4-phenylene, etc.; Z1 and Z2 are alkylene, etc.; L1, Z3 and Z4 are a single bond, etc.; R1 and R2 are alkyl, etc.; and q, r and s are 1, etc.


The present invention provides electrophotographic printing-use toner capable of producing a quality image, without depending on excessive addition of a fluidizing agent, even after maintained at high temperature which causes toner to aggregate. The electrophotographic printing-use toner constituting two-component developer with magnetic powder carrier, made of a toner mother particle including binding agent synthetic resin and a coloring agent, whose surface is added with a fluidizing agent is manufactured so that a ratio of .DELTA.Q.sub.h /.DELTA.Q.sub.s is not less than 0.37, more preferably not less than 0.45, where .DELTA.Q.sub.s is a charging rate of the toner mother particle, at a start of mixing with respect to the magnetic powder carrier, maintained at normal temperature, and .DELTA.Q.sub.h is a charging rate of the toner mother particle, at the start of mixing, maintained under a condition of temperature and time which causes the electrophotographic printing-use toner to aggregate.

A developing method wherein friction charging is generated by mixing and stirring electrophotographic printing-use toner (referred to as toner hereinafter) with magnetic powder carrier (referred to as carrier hereinafter) such as ferrite carrier, and the mixture of toner and carrier is held on a magnetic roller in a brush-shape so as to transfer the toner onto an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoreceptor by an electrostatic force, namely, the magnetic brush method has been widely known as one of the methods for developing an electrostatic image by toner.
Developer which is adopted in the magnetic brush method such as above is two-component developer composed of toner and carrier, wherein toner has a function of making an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor into a visible image, and carrier has a function of supplying charge to the toner by friction charging and transferring the toner onto a development region.
Toner is mostly made of binding agent synthetic resin (binding resin), and a charge control agent, coloring agent, a parting agent, and other agents are dispersed in the binding agent synthetic resin so as to form a toner mother particle, and a fluidizing agent is added onto the surface of the toner mother particle.
To explain briefly the function of the above materials constituting toner, (1) the binding agent synthetic resin gives binding, stability, and friction charging characteristics, (2) the coloring agent gives color and a friction charging characteristic, (3) the charge control agent gives a friction charging characteristic, (4) the parting agent gives a cleaning characteristic and prevents fixing offset, and (5) the fluidizing agent gives fluidity, friction charging, and cleaning characteristics.
Incidentally, in the magnetic brush method, a problem of so-called fogging in which toner is spread to a non-image region is one of the most important problems to be solved in order to realize a quality image. In particular, recently, in response to a long distance shipping of toner, for example, in exporting, a problem of fogging caused by exposure to high temperature during shipment has been increasing.
It is speculated that the fogging is generated in toner which is exposed to high temperature as a result of aggregation of toner which occurs at high temperature.
Namely, when a toner particle adheres to another toner particle by aggregation, each toner contacting with another toner particle lose a surface area for contacting with carrier by the area making a contact with another toner, and the charging ability of the toner by friction charging is deteriorated by the amount of the lost surface area. When toner whose charging ability is deteriorated by the aggregation is replenished into the developer tank, the toner is released out of the developer tank without being sufficiently charged by the friction with the carrier. The toner released out of the developer tank with insufficient charging is not properly guided to the image region on the photoreceptor since the electrostatic force, generated by the development electric field, acting on such toner is small. As a result, the toner adheres to the non-image region and causes the fog to generate.
Thus, it can be said that preventing the deterioration of charging ability caused by the aggregation of toner at high temperature is important in finding means to solve the problem of the fog phenomenon.
Conventionally, as such means for solving the fog phenomenon, a method for adding the fluidizing agent onto the surface of the toner mother particle in excess which is more than the amount added to obtain sufficient fluidity at normal temperature has been widely adopted. Specifically, a large amount of fluidizing agent exceeding 0.40 part by weight is added with respect to 100 parts by weight of toner mother particles.
However, in the above conventional method for preventing deterioration of charging ability caused by aggregation of toner at high temperature, by adding a large amount of fluidizing agent, the charging ability of the toner mother particles is greatly changed, and the following problem is presented.
That is, in the case of adding a large amount of fluidizing agent whose polarity is opposite to that of the toner mother particle, a large amount of fluidizing agent having the opposite polarity is included in the toner. The fluidizing agent having the opposite polarity lowers the charging ability of the toner, and causes fog or scattering of toner to generate regardless of the presence or absence of high temperature.
On the other hand, in the case of adding a large amount of fluidizing agent having the same polarity as that of the toner mother particle, the charging ability of the toner is increased too much, and lowering of image density is induced during running.


In order to improve efficiency of data transmission in a wireless transmission band under a condition in which both adaptive modulation scheme and FDD scheme are employed, and fixed rate signals and a variable rate signal are multiplex-transmitted, one wireless transmission device (2_1) multiplexes a plurality of fixed rate signals (FS1_1 to n) and a variable rate signal (VS2) to generate a frame (FR1), and sends the frame (FR1) to another wireless transmission device (2_2) through a wireless transmission path (CH1). At this time, the device (2_1) includes, in the frame (FR1), information (MN) relating to a number of multiplexed fixed rate signals. The device (2_2) multiplexes a plurality of fixed rate signals (FS3_1 to n) and a variable rate signal (VS3) to generate a frame (FR2), and sends the frame (FR2) to the device (2_1) through a wireless transmission path (CH2) having a different frequency. At this time, the device (2_2) determines a number of multiplexed fixed rate signals in the frame (FR2) according to the information (MN).

FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) system is well known as a wireless transmission system employing the above transmission technique. The FWA system is generally composed of two opposing wireless transmission devices and capable of providing a communication service between two distant points (e.g., between a subscriber located at an isolated island and a subscriber located at a mountainous area) without laying cables and the like.
To each wireless transmission device, fixed rate data signals (hereinafter may be referred to as fixed rate signals) as the one specified in ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector) G.703, for example, are input in parallel, and a variable rate data signal (hereinafter may be referred to as a variable rate signal) as in Ethernet (registered trademark) is also input. Each wireless transmission device multiplexes a variable rate signal and a plurality of fixed rate signals, and transmits the multiplexed signal to an opposing device through one wireless transmission path.
Incidentally, in recent years, the adaptive modulation scheme is often employed by wireless transmission devices. This is because that the adaptive modulation scheme enables both maximization of transmission capacity and securing of minimum transmission capacity according to a state of a wireless transmission path.
Moreover, in many cases, the FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) scheme is used together by wireless transmission devices. In the FDD scheme, different frequencies are used for an uplink wireless transmission path and a downlink wireless transmission path, and it is common that wireless transmission path characteristics are different in the uplink wireless transmission path and the downlink wireless transmission path.
For this reason, a wireless transmission device employing both of the adaptive modulation scheme and the FDD scheme may select different modulation schemes for an uplink wireless transmission path and a downlink wireless transmission path. In such a case, there has been a problem that, in a symmetric transmission path, symmetric property between the uplink wireless transmission path and the downlink wireless transmission path cannot be retained, and in an asymmetric transmission path, a desired transmission ratio cannot be maintained.
As a technique to address this problem, Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses a method capable of using the same modulation scheme in the opposing wireless transmission devices at all times. To be more specific, in Patent Literature 1, when modulation scheme differs between wireless transmission devices due to a difference in characteristics of an uplink wireless transmission path and a downlink wireless transmission path, control is performed such that the modulation scheme is changed to a direction with a lower multiple value.

Wireless transmission device, wireless transmission system, and method for controlling wireless transmission device


A permanent magnet electric machine (i.e.: motor/generator) having a magnetic flux circuit including a stator and a permanent magnet rotor mounted for rotation about an axis relative to the stator. The stator has an electric circuit with windings electro-magnetically coupled to the magnetic circuit. The stator is of material having a Curie temperature, wherein magnetic flux circulation through the stator material is impeded when the stator material acquires a temperature above the Curie temperature. The stator includes heat conducting layers and magnetic flux conducting layers, where the thermal conductivity of the heat conducting layers is greater than the thermal conductivity of the magnetic flux conducting layers. By this means the overall thermal conductivity of the stacked stator assembly is improved and means for quickly effecting shutdown of the electric machine are provided with a heat exchanger thermally coupled to the stator, thereby regulating magnetic flux circulation through the stator material. Preferably the magnetic flux conducting layers are manganese zinc ferrite, and the heat conducting layers are: insulated copper sheets; insulated aluminum sheets; thermally conductive polymer sheets; sheet metal; or plated metal layers deposited on associated magnetic flux conducting layers.

Electric machines, motors and generators require some means to control the output current, speed of rotation, excess heat generation and accommodate failure modes, such as those due to short circuit conditions and the like.
For example the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,560 relates to electric machines that are thermally protected from damage resulting from internal faults, such as high short circuit currents, using the Curie point properties of low Curie point materials, such as ferrite in constructing the machine. Heat generated by an internal fault, such as a short circuit, heats the material above its Curie point, i.e.: where magnetic flux circulation is impeded and the machine is shut down. Careful selection of a material having a Curie point below the maximum permissible operating temperature for the machine thus permits the low Curie point material to act as a sort of thermal fuse for the device.
Permanent magnet electric motors and generators usually include a rotor of magnetic material such as Samarium-Cobalt. In close proximity to the rotor, electric windings on a stator carry current that generates a magnetic field, in a motor, or that carry current induced by a rotating magnetic field generated by the rotor, in a generator.
As is well known, the motor/generator arrangement can be reversed such that an internal stator is housed inside an external rotor. It will be understood therefore that the present invention and description of prior art equally applies to both common electrical machine configurations with internal and external rotors.
In aircraft engine starter-generator applications, an electric machine (generally preferably connected directly to a main spool of the gas turbine) replaces a conventional auxiliary gearbox. Disadvantageously, however, electric machines coupled to aircraft turbine engines can potentially generate extreme power limited only by the power of the turbine engine driving the rotor of the machine. Unabated, generation of such electric power can result in extreme heat, particularly in the stator windings, that may cause the motor to melt and potentially burn. This is clearly undesirable, especially in aircraft.
Current provided by the machine to external electrical equipment may be limited by fusing arrangements, but such fusing arrangements provide no protection to the machine itself. The device described in the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 6,313,560, thermally protects the motor/generator itself from damage resulting from internal faults.
When a low Curie point material, such as ferrite is incorporated into a machine, the time required for the ferrite in the low Curie point material in the machine to reach the Curie temperature during the internal fault event, is related to the ratio of thermal capacity to thermal conductivity and the temperature differences between the stator material and the surroundings. This has implications for response times, especially in larger machines. Accordingly, opportunities for improvements in design are available.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the reaction time of a low Curie point internal fault protection system.
Further objects of the invention will be apparent from review of the disclosure, drawings and description of the invention below.

Enhanced thermal conductivity ferrite stator