A double-tuned circuit of a tuner that can be switched for tuning to a plurality of frequency bands by turning a switching diode ON or OFF restrains degradation of a selectivity caused by an undesirable additional tuning circuit or parasitic tuning circuit formed by a capacitance generated when the switching diode is OFF and inter-terminal capacitance of a resistor. A double-tuned circuit of a tuner is also provided that exhibits good selectivity with reduced damping to a tuning circuit in a low-band receiving mode, and also exhibits a wider tuning range. A feed resistor for high-band receiving is directly connected to a switching diode in a primary tuning circuit, and the feed resistor for high-band receiving is connected to a switching diode via a coil in a secondary tuning circuit. Hence, the tuning frequency of a parasitic tuning circuit in the primary tuning circuit is lower than the tuning frequency of a parasitic tuning circuit in the secondary tuning circuit, so that the peak of a frequency characteristic generated by the parasitic tuning circuit can be reduced. As a result, the interference with intermediate frequency signals can be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high-frequency tuning circuit and, more particularly, to a double-tuned circuit of a television tuner that can be switched so as to permit tuning to multiple frequency bands.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional double-tuned circuit of a tuner will be described with reference to FIG. 10 through FIG. 12 and FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 10, the double-tuned circuit is constructed by a primary tuning circuit 51 and a secondary tuning circuit 52. The primary tuning circuit 51 is constructed by a dc-blocking capacitor 53 and a varactor diode 54 connected in series, which are connected in parallel with a high-band receiving tuning coil 55, a low-band receiving tuning coil 56, a resistor 57, a coupling coil 58, and a dc-blocking capacitor 59 connected in series in the order shown in the drawing. The anode of the varactor diode 54 is grounded, and the cathode thereof is connected to the dc-blocking capacitor 53. The other end of the dc-blocking capacitor 59 is also grounded. The connection point of the dc-blocking capacitor 53 and the tuning coil 55 provides an input end of the double-tuned circuit 51, and is connected to a high-frequency amplifier 60 in the preceding stage.
Furthermore, a dc-blocking capacitor 61, a switching diode 62, and a dc-blocking capacitor 63 that are connected in series are provided between the connection point of the tuning coil 55 and the tuning coil 56, and the ground. The anode of the switching diode 62 is connected to the dc-blocking capacitor 61 and the cathode thereof is connected to the dc-blocking capacitor 63.
The connection point of the dc-blocking capacitor 61 and the switching diode 62 is connected to a high-band receiving changeover terminal 65 via a feed resistor 64.
The connection point of the switching diode 62 and the dc-blocking capacitor 63 is connected to a low-band receiving changeover terminal 67 via a feed resistor 66.
A bias resistor 68 is provided between the connection point of the switching diode 62 and the dc-blocking capacitor 63, and the ground.
The connection point of the dc-blocking capacitor 53 and the varactor diode 54 is connected to a tuning voltage terminal 70 via a feed resistor 69.
Furthermore, the secondary tuning circuit 52 is constructed by a varactor diode 71 connected in parallel to a high-band receiving tuning coil 72, a low-band receiving tuning coil 73, a resistor 74, a dc-blocking capacitor 75, the coupling ciol 58, and the dc-blocking capacitor 59 that are connected in series in the order shown in the diagram. The anode of the varactor diode 71 is grounded, and the cathode thereof is connected to the tuning coil 72. A varactor diode 76 and a dc-blocking capacitor 77 connected in series are connected to the connection point of the varactor diode 71 and the tuning coil 72. The anode of the varactor diode 76 is connected to the dc-blocking capacitor 77, and the cathode thereof is connected to the tuning coil 72. The other end of the dc-blocking capacitor 77 provides an output end of the double-tuned circuit, and is connected to a mixer 78 in the succeeding stage. The mixer 78 receives an oscillation signal from an oscillator (not shown), and outputs an intermediate frequency signal.
A dc-blocking capacitor 79 and a switching diode 80 connected in series are provided between the connection point of the tuning coil 72 and the tuning coil 73 and the connection point of the switching diode 62 and the dc-blocking capacitor 63. The anode of the switching diode 80 is connected to the dc-blocking capacitor 79, and the cathode thereof is connected to the dc-blocking capacitor 63.
The connection point of the dc-blocking capacitor 79 and the switching diode 80 is connected to the high-band receiving changeover terminal 65 via a feed resistor 81.
The connection point of the switching diode 80 and the dc-blocking capacitor 63 is connected to the low-band receiving changeover terminal 67 via the feed resistor 66.
The connection point of the varactor diode 71 and the tuning coil 72 is connected to the tuning voltage terminal 70 via a feed resistor 82.
In the configuration set forth above, a voltage is applied to the high-band receiving changeover terminal 65 or the low-band receiving changeover terminal 67 to cause the switching diode 62 and the switching diode 80 to turn ON or OFF thereby to switch the double-tuned circuit between a high-band receiving mode and a low-band receiving mode.
To switch the double-tuned circuit of the tuner shown in FIG. 10 to the mode for receiving a high-band television signal (e.g. 170 MHz to 222 MHz), a voltage of 5V, for example, is applied to the high-band receiving changeover terminal 65, while no voltage is applied to the low-band receiving changeover terminal 67. This causes a forward voltage to be applied to the switching diode 62 and the switching diode 80, and both switching diodes 62 and 80 turn ON. This in turn causes the connection point of the high-band receiving tuning coil 55 and the low-band receiving tuning coil 56 to be grounded, and also causes the connection point of the high-hand receiving tuning coil 72 and the low-band receiving tuning coil 73 to be grounded. As a result, the varactor diode 54 and the high-band receiving tuning coil 55 are interconnected in parallel in the primary tuning circuit 51, and the varactor diode 71 and the high-band receiving tuning coil 72 are interconnected in parallel in the secondary tuning circuit 52. A high-frequency equivalent circuit at that time will be the double-tuned circuit shown in FIG. 11 when the dc-blocking capacitor and the resistor are ignored, thus allowing a desired tuning frequency to be obtained by regulating the voltage applied to the varactor diodes 54 and 71.
To switch the double-tuned circuit of the tuner shown in FIG. 10 to the mode for receiving a low-band television signal (e.g. 90 MHz to 108 MHz), a voltage of 5V, for example, is applied to the low-band receiving changeover terminal 67, while no voltage is applied to the high-band receiving changeover terminal 65. This causes a reverse voltage to be applied to the switching diode 62 and the switching diode 80, and both switching diodes 62 and 80 turn OFF. As a result, the primary tuning circuit 51 turns into a parallel tuning circuit (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cthe main tuning circuitxe2x80x9d) composed of the high-band receiving tuning coil 55, the low-band receiving tuning coil 56, the coupling coil 58, and the varactor diode 54. The secondary tuning circuit 52 turns into a parallel tuning circuit composed of the high-band receiving tuning coil 72, the low-band receiving tuning coil 73, the coupling coil 58, and the varactor diode 71. Thus, a desired tuning frequency can be obtained by regulating the voltage applied to the varactor diodes 54 and 71.
In the double-tuned circuit switched to the low-band receiving mode, a reverse voltage is being applied to the switching diodes 62 and 80. In general, when a reverse voltage is applied to a diode, an inter-terminal capacitance of, for example, approximately 0.2 pF is generated. The resistors 64 and 81 also have some inter-terminal capacitance. If the inter-terminal capacitance of the switching diodes 62 and 80 under the reverse voltage and the inter-terminal capacitance of the resistors 64 and 81 become no longer negligible, then the high-frequency equivalent circuit in the double-tuned circuit in the low-band receiving mode will be the double-tuned circuit shown in FIG. 12.
In the example described above, the capacitors 83, 84, 85, and 86 are respectively equivalent to the inter-terminal capacitance of the switching diode 62, the switching diode 80, the resistor 64, and the resistor 81.
Referring to FIG. 12, in the primary tuning circuit 51, the varactor diode 54, the tuning coil 55, and the capacitors 83 and 85 make up an additional tuning circuit 87 (hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9cparasitic tuning circuitxe2x80x9d) separately from the main tuning circuit. Likewise, in the secondary tuning circuit 52, the varactor diode 71, the tuning coil 72, and the capacitors 84 and 86 make up a parasitic tuning circuit 88. The primary parasitic tuning circuit 87 and the secondary parasitic tuning circuit 88 share virtually the same tuning frequency. When, for example, the desired tuning frequency in the main tuning circuit is 127 MHz, the tuning frequency in the parasitic tuning circuits 87 and 88 appears in a UHF band in the range of 600 to 700 MHz.
Thus, the double-tuned circuit in the low-band receiving mode will have, for example, a frequency selectivity indicated by the solid line in FIG. 4. The frequency selectivity shows a peak owing to the tuning frequency (indicated by B in FIG. 4) of the parasitic tuning circuits 87 and 88, appearing separately from the tuning frequency (indicated by A in FIG. 4) of the main tuning circuit. The prior art has been presenting the following problem. If a signal in the tuning frequency range of the parasitic tuning circuits 87 and 88 is applied to the mixer 78 connected to the output end of the double-tuned circuit and mixed with an oscillation signal by the mixer 78, then the signal generated based on a sum of or a difference between an N-multiple of the frequency of an oscillation signal and the frequency of a signal at a tuning frequency of the parasitic tuning circuits 87 and 88 interferes with an intermediate frequency signal (54 MHz to 60 MHz), which is output from the mixer 78.
To be more specific, if, for example, the tuning frequency of the main tuning circuit is 127 MHz, then the frequency of an oscillation signal will be 184 MHz, which is higher than the tuning frequency of the main tuning circuit by 57 MHz. Hence, the frequency 57 MHz is output from the mixer 78, the frequency 57 MHz representing the difference between 552 MHz, which is the frequency that is three times the frequency 184 MHz, and 609 MHz, which is the tuning frequency of the parasitic tuning circuits.
Referring back to FIG. 10, in order for the primary tuning circuit 51 and the secondary tuning circuit 52 to share the same magnitude of Q in the high-band receiving mode, equivalent current must be supplied to the switching diode 62 and the switching diode 80. This requires that the resistance values of the resistor 64 and the resistor 81 be the same. Furthermore, the DC resistance values of the switching diodes 62 and 80 must be reduced by passing current of 0.5 to 1.0 mA through the switching diodes 62 and 80. For this reason, the resistance values of the resistors 64 and 81 will be, for example, approximately 1 Kxcexa9, and it has been impossible to set any larger resistance values.
Referring now to FIG. 12 illustrating the low-band receiving mode, the resistors 64 and 81 that function to ground the cathodes of the switching diodes DC-wise when the diodes turn OFF are connected in parallel to the low-band receiving coils 56 and 73. As previously mentioned, small inter-terminal capacitance is present between the electrodes of the resistors 64 and 81, and the capacitance is connected in parallel to the varactor diodes 54 and 71, resulting in a reduced variable range of tuning frequency. Furthermore, the resistance values of the resistors 64 and 81 could not be increased more than, for example, approximately 1 Kxcexa9. Hence, the resistors 64 and 81 serve as parallel dampers for the tuning circuits 51 and 52, resulting in a lower gain.
FIG. 9 is a graph demonstrating the gain characteristics of a tuner employing a high-frequency tuning circuit in accordance with the present invention and a tuner employing a conventional high-frequency tuning circuit. Solid line A indicates the characteristic of a conventional example observed when the resistance values of both the resistors 64 and 81 are set to 1 Kxcexa9. As can be seen from solid line A of FIG. 9, the general gain drops, the gain of channel B of the maximum frequency in the low-band range showing a significant drop.
The present invention has been made with a view toward solving the problems described above, and it is a first object of the present invention to provide a double-tuned circuit of a tuner that exhibits a good selectivity that reduces the influences of parasitic tuning circuits 87 and 88 additionally constructed by inter-terminal capacitors 83 and 84 when the switching diodes 62 and 80 are OFF in the low-band receiving mode and the inter-terminal capacitors 85 and 86 of the resistors 64 and 81.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a double-tuned circuit that exhibits a good selectivity in which damping relative to a tuning circuit in the low-band receiving mode is lessened, and to provide a double-tuned circuit that has a wider tuning range.
To these ends, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a double-tuned circuit of a tuner, including: a primary tuning circuit; a secondary tuning circuit; and first and second band selecting terminals for applying a changeover voltage for switching the primary tuning circuit and the secondary tuning circuit to a low-band television signal receiving mode or a high-band television signal receiving mode, wherein each of the primary tuning circuit and the secondary tuning circuit has a varactor diode, a high-band receiving coil and a low-band receiving coil connected in series at each end thereof, and a switching diode connected high-frequency-wise between the connection point of the high-band receiving coil and the low-band receiving coil and ground; the varactor diode is connected in parallel to the high-band receiving coil and the low-band receiving coil connected in series, and the other end of the low-band receiving coil is grounded high-frequency-wise; one end of each switching diode grounded high-frequency-wise is connected to the first band selecting terminal DC-wise; the other end of the switching diode of one of the primary tuning circuit or the secondary tuning circuit is connected to the second band selecting terminal via a first resistor; and the other end of the switching diode of the other tuning circuit is connected to the second band selecting terminal DC-wise via the low-band receiving coil.
In a preferred form of the double-tuned circuit of a tuner in accordance with the present invention, the other end of the switching diode of the other tuning circuit is connected to the second band selecting terminal via the low-band receiving coil and the first resistor in series.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a double-tuned circuit of a tuner, including: a primary tuning circuit; a secondary tuning circuit; and first and second band selecting terminals, wherein each of the primary tuning circuit and the secondary tuning circuit has a varactor diode, a high-band receiving coil and a low-band receiving coil connected in series at their one end, and a switching diode that is provided between the connection point of the high-band receiving coil and the low-band receiving coil and the ground and has one end thereof grounded high-frequency-wise; the varactor diode is connected in parallel to the high-band receiving coil and the low-band receiving coil connected in series in each of the primary tuning circuit and the secondary tuning circuit, and the other end of the low-band receiving coil is grounded high-frequency-wise; one of each of the switching diodes is connected DC-wise to the first band selecting terminal and grounded via a second resistor, and the other end thereof is connected the second band selecting terminal via the low-band receiving coil and a third resistor in series; and the second band selecting terminal is grounded via a fourth resistor.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a double-tuned circuit of a tuner, including: a primary tuning circuit; a secondary tuning circuit; and first and second band selecting terminals, wherein each of the primary tuning circuit and the secondary tuning circuit has a varactor diode, a high-band receiving coil and a low-band receiving coil connected in series at their one end, and a switching diode that is provided between the connection point of the high-band receiving coil and the low-band receiving coil and the ground and has one end thereof grounded high-frequency-wise; the varactor diode is connected in parallel to the high-band receiving coil and the low-band receiving coil connected in series in each of the primary tuning circuit and the secondary tuning circuit, and the other end of the low-band receiving coil is grounded high-frequency-wise; the other end of each low-band receiving coil is isolated DC-wise; one of each of the switching diodes is connected to the first band selecting terminal DC-wise and grounded via a fifth resistor, and the other end thereof is connected the second band selecting terminal via a sixth resistor; and the other end of the switching diode of either the primary tuning circuit or the secondary tuning circuit is connected DC-wise to the second band selecting terminal via the low-band receiving coil and a seventh resistor.

Double-tuned circuit of tuner featuring restrained degradation of selectivity


A game device wherein the player drops a coin through a clear liquid contained in a vessel and attempts to capture the coin on the surface of one of a plurality of pads disposed within the liquid. The vessel is preferably formed from a clear material such as plexiglas, and disposed at least partially therein is an actuating means for manipulating a plurality of upwardly facing pads such that the actuating means can be used to manipulate the relative positions of the pads to capture the coin dropped into the vessel, as the coin descends through the liquid.

The present invention is directed to a game or novelty device into which a player inserts a coin and subsequently manipulates a portion of the device in an attempt to achieve a desired goal or result. More specifically, the device defines an enlarged vessel which is filled with a fluid, such as water or mineral oil, into which a coin is dropped and a player then attempts to catch the coin on the surface of one or more pads. The position of the pads can be manipulated by the player.
In various types of commercial establishments, it is common to find a donation box soliciting charitable contributions for any number of worthy causes. Generally, these comprise a simple receptacle having a coin entry slot, and a representation of the particular charity involved. A person wishing to make a contribution simply deposits a coin into the receptacle.
It has been found that in order to increase the amount of contributions, it is desirable to convert the donation box into a game of chance or skill, offering the donor the opportunity to win some type of prize. A number of different devices incorporate this concept. Alternatively, these types of devices can also be used as a gaming device wherein the player attempts to perform some task in order to win a prize in excess of the value of the coin which he uses to play the game.
While there are various types of devices incorporating these concepts, it is beneficial for charitable causes and the gaming industry to develop new and different types of games, to continually interest the donor or player, and to challenge them to donate or play the game more often. Accordingly, there is a continual need for new types of devices which incorporate various games of skill.


Methods, systems, and compositions for the solution-phase deposition of thin films comprising one or more artificial solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers. The thin films can be coated onto the surface of porous components of electrochemical devices, such as solid-state electrolytes employed in rechargeable batteries. The methods and systems provided herein involve exposing the component to be coated to different liquid reagents in sequential processing steps, with optional intervening rinsing and drying steps. Processing may occur in a single reaction chamber or multiple reaction chambers.

Solid ceramic, solid inorganic or solid polymer electrolytes, when employed as ion-transfer media in rechargeable batteries, provide a number of advantages over their liquid-phase counterparts. For example, substantially reduced (or eliminated) flammability of solid-state electrolytes provides greatly improved safety of resulting batteries relative to the state-of-the-art. Solid-state electrolytes typically display enhanced electrochemical stability as compared to liquid-phase electrolytes, thereby enabling batteries fabricated with solid-state electrolytes to be operated at wider voltage ranges.
However, solid-state electrolytes present a number of interfacial issues when used in conjunction with standard rechargeable battery electrodes. For example, when paired with Lithium-Ion battery electrodes, interfaces between the solid-electrolyte and adjacent electrodes typically add ionic impedance, thereby reducing battery power density. These interfaces can also inhibit adequate wetting between electrode and electrolyte, and can also result in the formation of undesirable secondary phases due to thermodynamic instability.
Therefore, a need exists to modify the electrode/electrolyte interface in rechargeable batteries fabricated with solid-electrolytes in such a way so as to mitigate these aforementioned issues.
Recent research has attempted to improve the solid-electrolyte/electrode interface through the application of thin-film coatings deposited by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). Coatings applied via ALD have demonstrated improvements in electrode material wetting, reduced impedance and reduced deleterious side reactions typically associated with capacity fade.
Traditional vapor-phase atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques rely on the evaporation of metalorganic precursors in an evacuated chamber; substrates placed within this chamber are exposed to an impinging flux of metalorganic vapor. Substrate surfaces react with impinging vapor to produce precisely one self-limiting, surface-saturating monolayer of adsorbed metalorganic. In one instance, metalorganic adsorption, followed by purge of excess metalorganic using vacuum and inert gas, followed by exposure of substrate surface to an oxidizer (such as H2O, O2 or O3) results in the formation of precisely one monolayer of metal oxide.
ALD is particularly well-suited for generating conformal coatings with precise thicknesses on substrates possessing a porous microstructure, such as a solid-electrolyte matrix. Substrates possessing this kind of morphology often cannot be adequately coated by other physical vapor deposition (PVD) processes (such as sputtering) because of "line-of-sight" limitations. To conformally and uniformly coat all surfaces within a porous morphology, a deposition technique akin to ALD is required, where substantial time is allowed for surface mobility of adsorbed atoms prior to reaction. However, numerous manufacturing limitations of traditional ALD processes present a need for a more manufacturable process that achieves similar film quality, uniformity and conformality.
While metalorganic reagents (i.e., precursors) used in ALD of oxides such as Al2O3 and ZnO (trimethylaluminum (TMA) and diethylzinc (DEZ), respectively) evaporate at relatively low temperatures (<100° C.) and at modest base vacuum pressures (>1 Torr), most metalorganic precursors require temperatures greater than 100° C. (and many greater than 200° C.) to yield a substantial vapor pressure. The key drawback to high precursor boiling point is that the substrate temperature must also be maintained above the precursor boiling point to prevent condensation of precursor on substrate surfaces. Precursor condensation results in loss of monolayer-by-monolayer growth control, which in turn results in unpredictable final film thickness. Substrates in an evacuated ALD chamber also often need to be heated radiatively (as with suspended roll-to-roll foil substrates), due to the lack of a heat transfer medium. Radiative heating is inefficient for reflective foil substrates such as those used in battery electrodes. Residual gases trapped within layers of roll-to-roll substrates can also lengthen pump down time in traditional ALD chambers, and the loss of unused precursor through continuous purge and evacuation result in poor materials utilization in traditional ALD processes. The pyrophoric nature of the gaseous metalorganic precursors typically used in traditional ALD processes also requires the incorporation of costly safety infrastructure.
For decades, high quality, conformal thin films of oxides and chalcogenides have been deposited on porous substrates by techniques other than ALD, such as chemical bath deposition (CBD), successive-ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and layer-by-layer sol-gel. In the CBD technique, (typically) aqueous solutions of complexed metal precursors are mixed with chalcogenide or oxide ion sources. Temperatures for these processes are usually modest, well below decomposition temperatures for battery electrode materials, binders or separators. CBD is best known for depositing high quality CdS or ZnS as the n-type junction partner on CdTe or CIGS thin film solar cells. This technique has been used for years to set world record efficiencies for these types of solar cells. They have yielded high open-circuit voltages, high diode ideality and high shunt resistance, indicating excellent film quality and conformality. CBD processes have also been commercialized into high-volume thin film solar cell production lines.
A useful variation of the CBD technique is SILAR. In this instance, substrates are alternately exposed to cationic and anionic reactant solutions, with rinse steps in between. While this technique results in slower film growth, a benefit of the technique is the elimination of homogenous nucleation (precipitation) from intermixing of the two reactants, which dramatically improves materials utilization. Considering the fact that the tunneling limit of a good dielectric is on the order of 1-2 nm, SILAR techniques are feasible for deposition of passivation layers on solid electrolyte surfaces. Thickness control in SILAR processes is also better than in CBD processes; thickness control of a passivation layer on solid electrolytes, for instance, is critical to prevent unwanted barriers to lithium diffusion while maintaining an electron tunneling barrier.
Solution-based techniques also exist that demonstrate layer by layer sol-gel coating using the same kinds of metalorganics used in vapor phase ALD. For instance, an Al2O3 monolayer can be grown by immersion of a substrate in a solution of an appropriate aluminum alkoxide. The adsorption of the metalorganic precursor, followed by an oxidizing step such as hydrolysis, can yield one monolayer of oxide. These steps are repeated with rinse steps in between to yield monolayer-by-monolayer coatings. The metal alkoxide precursors are typically soluble to very high molarities in standard organic solvents like 2-propanol. In recent years, high quality Al2O3, SiO2 and ZrO2 recombination blocking layers were all grown on TiO2 dye-sensitized solar cells using this technique. Similar techniques have also been employed to deposit various polymer materials, such as "metalcones" and polyamides.
U.S. PGPUB 2016/0090652 presents a liquid phase ALD method akin to that described above, wherein discrete wafer substrates are consecutively exposed to a solution of metalorganic precursor, a rinse solvent to remove excess metalorganic, an oxidizing solution and another rinse. These four steps are repeated to yield any desired thickness of film. The wafer is attached to a spin-coating apparatus; immediately after each step the wafer is spun to remove excess fluid. While this technique may work well for substrates similar to wafers, the process cannot be used to coat continuous substrates such as rolls of foil. Additionally, spin-coating systems can only coat individual discrete substrates up to a few hundred mm in lateral dimension. Larger substrates are also impractical to coat via spin-coating due to practical mechanical limitations. Uniformity of coating also degrades with increasing substrate dimensions.
Hence, there is also a need for the economical coating of porous, discrete substrates. While traditional ALD techniques have been demonstrated at scale for the coating of certain discrete substrates such as wafers, they often suffer from the same manufacturability limitations as continuous substrates, as described above. This becomes especially true when the coating material of interest requires a precursor that is costly, and poor materials utilization in ALD makes the process economically unviable.
In this context, an example of a discrete porous substrate that could be more economically coated by a solution-phase deposition technique is a free-standing solid-state electrolyte, such as a ceramic solid-state electrolyte. An example of a ceramic solid-state electrolyte that is often processed as free-standing, discrete, sintered pellets or plates is Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO). Anode and cathode materials are then typically applied to either side of the free-standing electrolyte to yield a solid-state battery.
However, in order to meet demand for large-scale applications (such as consumer electronics, electric vehicles or grid-scale energy storage), rechargeable battery manufacturing has been typically scaled to take the form of a "roll-to-roll" (R2R) process, wherein large rolls of foil current collector are processed through various fabrication steps in a high-speed, continuous manner, ultimately yielding rolls of battery electrode that are then slit and sectioned into individual cells. This manner of fabrication has resulted in numerous GWh of global Lithium-Ion battery production per year. Therefore, in order to scale solid-state batteries to meet the demand of the aforementioned large-scale applications without disrupting the (mature) R2R battery manufacturing process, solid-state electrolytes should also be applied using R2R fabrication techniques. One example is the co-sintering of solid ceramic electrolytes with standard Lithium-Ion cathode materials (such as LiNixMnyCozO2), which yields a bulk powder that may then be cast onto current collectors with the aid of standard adhesive and conductive binders. In another example, a solid-polymer electrolyte may be fabricated as a free-standing film and then "sandwiched" in-between sheets of anode and cathode prior to assembly as a cell, all as part of an in-line R2R process.
Unfortunately, the introduction of a R2R vapor-phase ALD processes within the Lithium-Ion manufacturing process with the purpose of applying coatings to solid-electrolytes or solid-electrolyte-electrode composite materials is untenable due to the numerous aforementioned process constraints in addition to high upfront capital costs and slow process times.
Accordingly, the present disclosure aims to meet the aforementioned needs by applying coatings to solid-electrolyte/electrode interfaces and provide other benefits, such as using a more low-cost, more scalable manufacturing process than ALD in a manner that can also be scaled to a R2R format.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Solution-phase deposition of thin films on solid-state electrolytes


The invention relates to implants which are based on a biodegradable thixotropic compound having pseudoplastic properties and which can be injected subcutaneously or intradermally into the fibrous tissue. The inventive implant comprises microparticles of at least one biocompatible ceramic compound which are suspended in a vector fluid containing at least one hyaluronic acid-based compound and at least one biodegradable thixotropic compound having pseudoplastic properties. The invention also relates to a kit for the extemporaneous use of such implants, the production of said implants and the use thereof in order to fill wrinkles and/or fine lines and/or cutaneous depressions and/or scars.

The invention relates to implants for subcutaneous or intradermal injection into fibrous tissue, for use in man or animals in reparatory or plastic surgery or in esthetic dermatology for filling wrinkles, fine lines, skin depressions and scars, including the filling of skin defects secondary to the taking of a treatment liable to result in a lipodystrophy usually characterized by facial lipoatrophy.
A certain number of products have been used to date. Each product has advantages and disadvantages.                Silicone oils, which are banned as injections, were easy to use. However, migration of droplets of silicone into the tissues located below the point of injection, by simple gravity, has been observed after injection. Silicone incorrectly used or used in large amount has been the cause of siliconoma, and even of delayed allergic reactions. Silicone is not biodegradable.        Teflon® paste is a suspension of polytetrafluoroethylene microparticles (diameter from 10 to 100 μm) in glycerol. This product, in many cases, caused severe and chronic serous infections and had to be removed after a few months from the dermal and subdermal tissues for the majority of patients. It has also been proven that small polytetrafluoroethylene microparticles were found in the liver.        Collagen suspensions have been very widely used in the last ten years. Collagen has remained the leader in these indications for a very long time since it was virtually the only product used that benefits from a marketing authorization for the treatment of aging of the skin. A few cases of allergic reactions have been noted in about 3% of patients. The resorption of collagen occurs on average in the majority of patients between 3 and 5 months, which necessitates several injections per year in order to have a certain level of efficacy. Finally, it should be noted that collagen is of bovine origin.        Biological samples taken from the patient himself. The idea was, admittedly, interesting, but the clinical experience revealed the failure in reimplanting fatty cells, which are absorbed and disappear within a few weeks. Another system consisted in adding plasma from the patient to a collagen gelatin of bovine and porcine origins. The results are even more disappointing and the product is of animal origin.        Hyaluronic acid used in the majority of pharmaceutical forms or in the majority of medical devices is in the form of a sodium hyaluronate gel. It is, very widely used by virtue of its ease of injection and its safety of use, and it offers a good alternative on account of its biocompatibility and its absence of toxicity. These sodium hyaluronate gels are moreover widely used in eye surgery. However, their rapid bioresorbability (typically ranging between 4 and 6 months) may disappoint certain users in the field of filling wrinkles or skin depressions, since the injections must be repeated at close and regular intervals.        Bioplastics are polymerized silicone microparticles (diameter 70 to 140μ) dispersed in poly-vinylpyrrolidone. Rejection reactions have been noted.        Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) microspheres 20 to 40 μm in diameter in suspension either in a gelatin solution or in a collagen solution or in a hyaluronic acid solution. PMMA is not biodegradable, although widely used in the field of ophthalmology in the form of an intraocular implant. In the dermato-esthetic field, there is not sufficient history to know how this implant behaves after five or six years of intradermal implantation. Moreover, when the vector is a collagen solution (of bovine origin), allergy has been reported in 3% of cases.        Polylactic acid (PLA) microparticles of poly-morphic form and from 40 to 63 μm in diameter in suspension in sodium carmellose. The product sold under the name Newfill® represents advantageous progress since it allows efficacy of treatment over a relatively long period, limiting the injection sessions. The polymer used is an L PLA 100 (crystalline form of 100% levorotatory PLA) that incurs extremely slow resorption kinetics (more than 5 years). However, the persistence of PLA crystals in the tissues may be feared, which may, in certain cases, lead in the long term to chronic inflammatory reactions during repeated injections. The use of CMC (cellulose derivative) may, on the one hand, be the cause of allergic reactions, and, on the other hand, the body does not have an enzymatic system capable of degrading cellulose. Furthermore, extemporaneous reconstitution, vigorous shaking for homogenization before use, and poor syringeability of the product limit its use and put off many users. Cases of granuloma at two years and also cystic nodules requiring exeresis in the majority of cases are beginning to be reported.

Ceramic-based injectable implants which are used to fill wrinkles, cutaneous depressions and scars, and preparation method thereof


A method of providing application-oriented software for a desired application-oriented functionality within a computer system includes transferring configuration data to the computer system, wherein the configuration data predefine a functionality of an application-oriented software to be created, using one or more program components from a plurality of program components stored locally within the computer system depending on the functionality predefined by the configuration data, creating the application-oriented software by the locally used program components depending on the functionality defined by the configuration data, and embedding the created application-oriented software in an operating environment in the computer system to provide the desired application-oriented functionality.

Generally, applications or application-oriented software for a desired application-oriented functionality within a computer system on which the application-oriented software has to be run, are created in a development environment, on a dedicated development computer system, for example. The created (built) software is then transferred to the computer system, where the software is to be run. For example, a file may be uploaded to the computer system comprising a copy (image) of the constructed software. Changes in configuration or of the functional range of the application-oriented software often result in changes of the complete software package, for example, of the image file that has to be transferred to the computer system. As a result, the complete software package has to be imported to the computer system by an upload to import changes in configuration or of the functional range of the software. In particular, when the bandwidth of a data connection for such an upload is limited, for example, in applications of the computer system as a so-called edge computer system at sites having an exposed location and/or severe environmental impacts, the traditional method disadvantageously results in a large data volume and maybe long lasting data transfers, wherein the data transfer is often error-prone or fails completely.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a method of providing application-oriented software for a desired application-oriented functionality and a computer system that provides a desired application-oriented functionality enabling a flexible configuration of the application-oriented software to provide variable functionalities and nonetheless overcome the disadvantages of traditional solutions stated above.

Method of providing application-oriented software and computer system

Fujitsu Technology Solutions Intellectual Property GmbH


A pneumatic tire having a tread portion, a pair of sidewall portions, a pair of bead portions each with a bead core therein, wherein in a tire meridian section including a tire axis under a standard state that the tire is mounted on a standard rim and inflated to a standard pressure but loaded with no tire load, the tread portion has a tread width TW (mm) being from 80 to 90% of a nominal tire width YW, a profile from a shoulder region of the tread portion to the sidewall portion includes a shoulder profile for defining the shoulder portion, a sidewall profile for defining at least a part of the sidewall portion, and a buttress profile smoothly connecting between the shoulder profile and the sidewall profile.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire having an improved profile which improves the ride comfort, low rolling resistance and braking performance.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pneumatic tire has a profile extending from an axially outside shoulder region of the tread portion to the sidewall portion that usually determines the ride comfort, low rolling resistance and braking performance. Referring to FIG. 3, the tire has a tread portion "a" including the shoulder portion b. In case that the profile "e" of the shoulder portion b is modified so as to have a large radius R1 of curvature shown by a virtual line from a radius R2 of curvature, since the shoulder portion b would be rounded, the ride comfort may be improved due to the reduced contact pressure acting on the shoulder portion b. Also, since the rubber thickness disposed on the shoulder portion b tends to be thinner, the rolling resistance of the tire may be decreased due to the small tire weight.
However, such a tire is liable to have an unsatisfactory braking performance due to a small ground contact area of the tread portion.
In order to improve the braking performance of the tire, the tread width may be enlarged so as to have a large ground contact area. However, if the tread width is enlarged, the rubber thickness on the buttress portion disposed in between the tread portion and the sidewall portion is liable to increase, and thereby the rolling resistance may deteriorate due to a heavy tire weight. Moreover, the ride comfort may also deteriorate due to the less deformation of the buttress portion.
In order to improve various performances, a tire having a tread profile that extends along with an involutes line is proposed. The tread profile, for example, has a radius of curvature gradually decreasing from the tire equator to the axially outside of the tire so that the ground contact pressure on the tread portion is uniform in the tire axial direction, and thereby wear resistance and the steering stability may be improved.
However, since such a profile is not sufficiently improved as for the tread shoulder portion and the sidewall portion, the ride comfort, rolling resistance and the braking performance may be deteriorated.


An intelligent side step apparatus for a vehicle includes a step panel (13) that protrudes and expands to a side of a vehicle body (16) when a getting-off mode signal of a passenger is generated. The step panel (13) moves down to a side of the vehicle body when a getting-on mode signal of a passenger is generated. A step lamp (14) mounted on the step panel (13) is turned on when a night mode signal is generated.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an intelligent side step apparatus for a vehicle, and more particularly, an intelligent side step apparatus for a vehicle which actively adjusts the vertical height and expands in the width direction separately for getting in/out of a vehicle and is equipped with a lamp that is turned on in a night mode for safety of passengers.
2. Description of Related Art
Some of recreation vehicles having seats higher than those of sedans are equipped with a side step 1 for convenience of a passenger, as shown in FIG. 1.
However, a common side step 1 is simply fixed to a vehicle body 2 (side sill outer panel) and cannot be adjusted in vertical height and cannot expand in the width direction, so that a passenger is inconvenienced in using the side step 1 when getting in/out of a vehicle.
That is, a passenger can step on the side step 1 well in getting out of a vehicle and accordingly it is possible to prevent the passenger from getting hurt from a fall only when the side step 1 is conspicuous to the passenger, and the passenger can easily step and get in the vehicle only when the height of the side step 1 is small.
However, since the side step 1 of the related art has a structure that cannot adjust the vertical height and cannot expand in the width direction, a passenger is inconvenienced in using the side step 1 for getting in/out of a vehicle.
Further, a side step improved to adjust the vertical height and expand in the width direction has been developed to solve the problem, but it is inconvenient for a passenger to use the side step because the passenger should adjust the side step and expand it in the width direction in person.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

Intelligent side step apparatus for vehicle


An apparatus for use as a portable cabinet. The apparatus is comprised of a lower section (11) with a first end (12), a second end (13), a front portion (14), and a bottom portion (15), that is attached to an upper section (16) with a first end (17), a second end (18), a front portion (19) and a top portion (20) by a hinging element (24). The upper section (16) is arranged and configured to allow it to fold into the lower section (11) creating open and closed positions. The apparatus further comprises a securing element (39) to support the upper section (16) when in the open position and elements to improve the mobility of the apparatus.

Many catering businesses and establishments that are rented for parties utilize portable cabinets as bars or serving stations. Unfortunately, these portable cabinets are large and bulky making their transportation difficult. In addition, if they are kept on site, they require large storage areas. Therefore, there arises the need for a portable cabinet that is large enough to act as a bar or serving station, but yet small enough for transportation and storage purposes.
The present invention meets this need with a cabinet that is foldable. The invention has an upper section that is hinged to a lower section allowing the upper section to fold into the lower section, reducing the size of the cabinet for transportation or storage. The cabinet can also be equipped with rollers or handles to improve transportation and can be stored vertically for closet and small floor space storage.


A polyphenylene ether having a predetermined structure.

Materials having low dielectric characteristics for processing a large amount of data at a high speed in a highly advanced information society are required as materials for electrical and electronic uses. Among others, polyphenylene ethers are known for having excellent dielectric characteristics such as a dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent, and the like and for having excellent dielectric characteristics even in a high-frequency band (high-frequency region) from a MHz band to a GHz band. Therefore, polyphenylene ether-based resin is used as a substrate material and the like for configuring base materials of printed wiring boards included in electronic devices utilizing high-frequency bands as a high-frequency molding material.
Meanwhile, excellent heat resistance, excellent moldability, and the like are also required in addition to excellent dielectric characteristics when using as a molding material such as a substrate material. In this regard, conventional polyphenylene ethers are thermoplastic and cannot provide sufficient heat resistance in some cases. Therefore, use of a material in which thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin is added to a polyphenylene ether, use of a material which is obtained by modifying a polyphenylene ether, and the like have been supposed (Patent Literature 1).
Patent Literature 1 describes a modified polyphenylene ether compound having a predetermined polyphenylene ether moiety in its molecular structure, with a molecular terminal thereof having at least one or more of a p-ethenylbenzyl group, a m-ethenylbenzyl group, and the like.
Examples of a resin composition containing a polyphenylene ether having been modified include the polyphenylene ether resin composition described in Patent Literature 2.
Patent Literature 2 describes a polyphenylene ether resin composition including a polyphenylene ether having a polyphenylene ether moiety in its molecular structure, having a p-ethenylbenzyl group, a m-ethenylbenzyl group, or the like at a molecular terminal thereof, and having a number-average molecular weight of 1000 to 7000, and a crosslinking-type curing agent.
Patent Literature 3 describes a modified polymer having a polyphenylene ether moiety in its molecular structure and having a methacryl group at a molecular terminal thereof.
Another problem of polyphenylene ethers is that since polyphenylene ethers generally have relatively high molecular weights, and softening points thereof are high, polyphenylene ethers tend to have high viscosity and low flowability. When a printed wiring board is manufactured by forming a prepreg, which is used for manufacturing a multilayer printed wiring board and the like, by using such a polyphenylene ether and using the formed prepreg, the problem in moldability may occur that molding failure such as voids generated at the time of multilayer molding occurs during manufacturing, for example, and a highly-reliable printed wiring board is difficult to obtain.
In order to suppress occurrence of such problems, use of a polyphenylene ether having a relatively low molecular weight is considered. However, when such a polyphenylene ether with a merely reduced molecular weight is used, curing of a resin composition including such a polyphenylene ether is insufficient even thermosetting resin or the like is used in combination, and thermal resistance of a resultant cured product tends not to be sufficiently enhanced. In addition, as a distance between crosslinked points after curing becomes short, the polymer generally tends to be fragile, and a rubber component is required to be added so as to improve fragility.
As a method for solving these problems, low-molecular weight branched polyphenylene ethers which are obtained through polymerization in the presence of a polyfunctional phenol compound having a valence of three or more have been proposed (Patent Literatures 4, 5, and 6). Since these branched polyphenylene ethers have branched structures, they have solution viscosity lower than that of linear polymers at the same molecular weight, and they have high flowability relative to a linear polymer having the same molecular weight. Therefore, a polymer having a higher molecular weight can be used at the time of curing, and improvement in physical properties of a cured product can be expected. In addition, since the number of crosslinking reaction points increases, it is also expected that crosslinking reaction is easily controlled in addition to contribution to the improvement in physical properties described above.

Polyphenylene ether, composition of the same, and manufacturing method of the same


A switching device suitable for DC operation includes at least a pair of contacts having a first and second contact, wherein at least one of the two contacts is mobile and the two contacts are in contact with one another in a switched-on state and are not in contact with one another in a switched-off state, having an arc driver arrangement which generates a magnetic field at least in the region of the pair of contacts, and comprising a first arc guiding arrangement by which an arc which is produced between the contacts is guided in a first current direction to a quenching device for quenching the arc, wherein a second arc guiding arrangement is provided, by means of which an arc which is produced between the contacts is guided in a second current direction, which is opposite the first current direction, to said quenching device for quenching the arc.

Such a switching device is known from EP2 061 053 A2. For creating a switching device for direct current applications, it is recommended that the housing of a switching device for alternating current applications be used, where at least one additional magnet is provided for creating a magnetic field with field lines predominantly transverse to the isolation gaps of current paths of the alternating current switching device. There are three receiving regions in the housing for each single current path, where each current path is assigned a movable switching contact element as well as two fixed switching contact elements opposite to each other. The three movable switching contact elements can be moved together, between a closed position which corresponds to the switched-on state of the switching device, and an open position which corresponds to a switched-off state of the switching device. The individual current paths are each assigned two arc extinguishing devices in the form of extinguishing plates, arranged over one another and electrically isolated from each other. In addition, when the movable switching contact elements are open, each current path has two isolation gaps which form between the ends of the movable switching elements and the first and second fixed switching elements which are allotted to the ends of the movable switching contact elements. On opening of the switching contact elements, an arc which can be extinguished with the help of arc extinguishing devices is formed along isolation gaps. Since arcs in direct current applications cannot be extinguished during zero current passing as in alternating current applications, a magnetic field that drives the arc into an arc extinguishing device has to be used in direct current applications. This magnetic field is built up by permanent magnets, where a magnetic field is built up with field lines in a direction which runs transverse to the isolation gaps and creates a Lorenz force on the arcs that form along these separation sections which drives an arc in the direction of an arc extinguishing device. In this context, an arc between a first contact pair is driven in the direction of a first arc extinguishing device and the arc between a second contact pair is driven in the direction of the second arc extinguishing device. Since the movement of the arcs is dependent on the direction of the current, the switching device is only suitable for one current direction, i.e. polarity. If the switching device is operated in the opposite current direction, the arcs will not be driven into the arc extinguishing devices but in the opposite direction to a switching bridge. Even if the magnetic polarity of one of the arc extinguishing devices is reversed, one of the arcs would run towards a switching bridge, which would result in reduced lifetime, since the switching bridge or other part would be damaged or even destroyed in the long run.
The EP 0 789 372 B1 also shows a switching device of the type mentioned at the outset. A fixed contact is provided with a fixed arc runner which is circular arc-shaped. A movable arc runner is provided on a movable contact, where an arc can form between the two arc runners, which can be moved in different directions by the arc driver assembly in accordance with the direction of the current. In accordance with the direction of current, this is diverted around a centre point, either in the first direction of rotation or in a second direction of rotation opposite to the first, where the centre point corresponds to the centre point of the fixed arc runner. An arc with the first direction of current is diverted into a first arc runner channel and an arc with a direction of current opposite to the first direction of current is diverted into the second arc runner channel. Both arc runner channels run around the centre point and are arranged next to each other separated by an insulating wall. The arc runner channels are part of an extinguishing device for extinguishing the arc. Furthermore, the extinguishing devices comprise extinguishing plates which are radially oriented to the stationary arc channels. The extinguishing plates are arranged in such a way that they cover both the arc channels and, therefore, are part of both extinguishing devices.

Switching device which is suitable for DC operation


In aspects of a configurable print server device, a print server device implements a print server manager that receives a print job request from a requesting device. When the print job request requires transcoding into a printer command set and/or printer language supported by a printer connected to the print server device, the print server manager transcodes the print job. The print server manager can download firmware for installation in a printer and download updated printer firmware from an update server over a network. The print server manager is configurable by executing a script with a script engine to manage print server operations of the print server device. Updated versions of scripts can be downloaded over a network from the update server.

Some printers require a host computer to download firmware to the printer for installation each time the printer is powered up. However, as mobile computing and communication devices, such as mobile phones, tablet devices, notebook computers, and other network-connected devices become pervasive, many printers may not be connected to a host computer or may only be connected to a host computer on an intermittent basis. As the variety and number of devices connecting to a printer increases, the diversity of printing formats that need to be supported for printing from these devices tends to increase as well. However, many printers do not natively support a network connection and/or or cannot handle the diversity of printing formats typically required by the many mobile computing and communications devices.


A magnetic disk apparatus is disclosed, in which the product specifications such as the number of heads, the number of disks and the information on the destination of the apparatus can be efficiently, accurately identified by a single circuit. The magnetic disk apparatus comprises an identification circuit that can identify the performance specification information. The identification circuit includes a first resistor circuit arranged on a cable connecting a head actuator and a printed board, a second resistor circuit formed on the printed board and having an end thereof connected to a reference voltage and the other end thereof connected in series to the first resistor circuit, an A/D converter for converting the voltage value at the junction point of the first and second resistor circuits into a digital value of a predetermined number of bits, and a memory for storing in advance the performance specification information and the control information of the magnetic disk apparatus corresponding to a digital value of a predetermined number of bits. The control circuit on the printed board can thus control the magnetic disk apparatus by judging the performance specification information of the magnetic disk apparatus from the output value of the A/D converter and the value stored in the memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic disk apparatus which is a memory apparatus or, in particular, to a magnetic disk apparatus comprising a performance specification identification circuit capable of identifying the individual performance specification of the magnetic disk apparatus with a simple configuration.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the performance of a magnetic disk apparatus has come to depend to a large measure on the characteristics of the heads or the magnetic disks providing a storage medium. For this reason, it is necessary to strictly manage the characteristics of the heads and the disks, and the magnetic disks must be used under conditions conforming to the respective characteristics.
The characteristics of the heads and magnetic disks have conventionally been managed mainly on the assembly line for the disk apparatus. Specifically, a worker makes it a practice to visually check the number of the magnetic disks and the number of the heads or the type of the control IC of the magnetic disk apparatus in the process of assembly, and attaches a label or the like conforming to the configuration of the magnetic disk apparatus on the reverse side of the housing to thereby identify the type of the magnetic disk apparatus.
The latest trend, however, is toward an increased number of types of heads and magnetic disks, of the magnetic disk apparatus, which are supplied from a plurality of suppliers. Further, in order to increase the range of articles by changing the storage capacity of the magnetic disk apparatuses, different numbers of heads or magnetic disks are sometimes mounted in the same housing. The characteristics of the heads and the magnetic disks may thus vary from one supplier to another. In the case where the heads and the magnetic disks are purchased from different suppliers, therefore, the characteristics corresponding to the respective parts are preferably recognized by the control circuit of each magnetic disk apparatus to control the apparatus with a control constant most suitable to each part.
With the increased number of combinations of the number and type of the heads and the magnetic disks and the number of the types of the control IC for the control circuit delivered from different suppliers, it has become increasingly difficult to set up or manage individual magnetic disk apparatuses conforming to the respective component elements thereof.
Another current trend is toward an increased use of a composite head including a MR (magnetoresistive) head and an inductive head for the magnetic disk apparatus. The resultant problem is a change in the characteristics of the magnetic disk at low temperatures (deterioration of the overwrite (O/W) characteristic) that adversely affects the data read-write characteristics, and a solution to this problem is desired.
In a magnetic disk apparatus, the signal reproduced by the head is passed out of the housing through a flexible circuit board mounted on the side of the carriage, and led to a printed circuit board arranged on the reverse side of the housing. The head IC and the servo IC for demodulating the read signal supplied by the head are often mounted on the flexible circuit board (hereinafter referred to as the flexible cable).
In the magnetic disk apparatus, the number of the magnetic disks accommodated in the same housing are sometimes changed by a modification to the specification by the supplier of the magnetic disk apparatus. In the case where the head IC for processing the signals from the head or circuit components such as the capacitors and resistors forming the peripheral circuit are mounted on the flexible cable, a separate circuit for identifying the specification information of the magnetic disk apparatus is mounted on each of the flexible cable and the printed circuit board.
The identification circuit for the specification information of the magnetic disk apparatus generally includes a pull-down circuit having a resistor mounted on the flexible cable and a MCU (microcomputer unit) as a control IC for the magnetic disk apparatus mounted on the printed circuit board 79.
This specification information identification circuit for the magnetic disk apparatus can represent two states according to the presence or absence of the resistor in the pull-down circuit. In the case where a magnetic disk apparatus having the same housing specification has two specifications for the magnetic disk, one involving a single magnetic disk, and the other involving two magnetic disks, for example, the two states are distinguished by changing the resistance value of the resistor.
In this method, however, only two states can be represented by each pull-down circuit. If the type and the number of the heads is to be identified in addition to the number of magnetic disks, therefore, an increased number of the pull-down circuits are required, thereby posing the problem of an increased number of connectors, MCU pins and resistors leading to an increased overall cost.
Further, for the specification information to be obtained on the number of each type of magnetic disks and the type and the number of the heads of each magnetic disk in the process of fabrication of a magnetic disk apparatus, such information must be read from the label attached to the individual magnetic disk apparatuses. In the conventional method, the bar code printed on the label is read by a tester, so that a program code and read/write parameters suited to each housing of the magnetic disk apparatus are downloaded.
With regard to the deterioration of the overwrite characteristic at low temperatures which has recently posed a problem, on the other hand, it is known that the read/write characteristic can be improved by increasing the write current. An excessively increased write current, however, is liable to destroy the data in adjacent tracks by write expansion.
A means for solving these problems is disclosed in JP-A-64-79904, JP-A-1-137409 and JP-A-1-166361, in which a resistor is mounted on both the flexible cable in the magnetic disk apparatus and on the printed circuit board (hereinafter referred to simply as the printed board) outside the magnetic disk apparatus. The two resistors are connected in series, so that a reference voltage is applied to them and the partial voltage appearing at the junction point is identified by a voltage comparator.
The method described in the above-mentioned patent publications, however, requires a series-connected resistor and a comparator for detecting a partial voltage at the junction point thereof for each identification item of the magnetic disk apparatus. For identifying a multiplicity of items, therefore, a correspondingly increased number of voltage comparators are required, giving rise to a new problem of an increased size and hence an increased cost.
Another problem of the method described in the above-mentioned patent publications is that the internal temperature of the housing of the magnetic disk apparatus cannot be detected and therefore the deterioration in the overwrite characteristic at low temperatures cannot be prevented.

Magnetic disk apparatus with circuit capable of identifying individual specification


Described is a refilling container for refilling a writing, painting or drawing implement, a cosmetic applicator implement or the like, wherein the implement (44) comprises an applicator member (48) which projects out of a casing and which has a capillary conveying action, for a fluid of relatively low viscosity, a reservoir for the fluid, which is in fluid communication with the applicator member (48), and a vent passage (78) in the vicinity of the applicator member (48). The refilling container (10) is provided with a neck portion (58). The implement (44) to be refilled can be inserted with its applicator member (48) and with a casing portion (46) adjoining the applicator member (48), into the neck portion (58) of the refilling container, in such a way that the neck portion (58) is sealed off by the casing portion (46) and a fluid communication is formed through the vent passage (78) between the refilling container (10) and the reservoir in the implement (44).

The invention relates to a refilling container for refilling a writing, painting or drawing implement, a cosmetic applicator implement or the like, wherein the implement comprises an applicator member which projects out of a casing and which has a capillary conveying action for a fluid of relatively low viscosity, a reservoir for the fluid which is in fluid communication with the applicator member, and a vent passage in the vicinity of the applicator member.
In implements of that kind, the applicator member with its capillary conveying action may comprise a fibrous wick material or the like, which is suitable to provide for capillary conveying of the fluid which is stored in the reservoir of the implement. In that arrangement, the vent passage which is disposed in the vicinity of the applicator member is known to serve to avoid a reduced pressure which impedes or prevents the discharge of the fluid from the applicator member.
Hitherto implements of this kind were what are known as one-way or disposable implements which were thrown away after the fluid stored in the reservoir of the implement had been consumed. However that results in environmental pollution which cannot be ignored.
A refilling container of this kind which is intended in particular for writing implements, that is to say fountain pens, is known from DE-C-859 719. Therein the plug element is in the form of a tubular sleeve with a central opening therethrough so that a further element, namely a stopper, is required for sealing off the refilling container. The stopper has to be removed from the plug element when a writing implement is to be filled using the refilling container. That situation involves the problem that the stopper can be lost, whereupon the plug element and thus the refilling container can no longer be sealingly closed.
The object of the present invention is therefore that of providing a refilling container of the kind set forth above, which is suitable for refilling an implement, in a simple and time-saving manner, so that such an implement does not need to be thrown away when the fluid stored in its reservoir has been used up.

Refilling container for refilling a writing, painting or drawing implement

Schwan-STABILO Schwanhaeusser GmbH & Co.


A blister pack comprises a cover member (12) and a support member (22). The cover member (12) includes a distortional region (14) formed from a plurality of slits (16) therein. A saleable item is located between the cover member (12) and the support member (22). The slits (16) allow the cover member to distort to the size of the saleable item.

The present invention relates to blister packaging for the display of saleable items and a method of manufacturing such blister packs.
Previously, blister packaging has been formed in one of two ways. In a first method, the blister package comprises a single moulded plastics sheet adapted to be folded along a central region. In one or each side of the folded region a blister (or recess or protrusion) is formed. Where such a blister is formed in each side, it is preferred that after folding of the plastics sheet the two blisters are aligned to form a single storage region. The plastics sheet is otherwise generally planar. The item or items to be sold are for convenience usually located within the blister prior to folding of the plastics sheet.
A second method, commonly known as captive blister packaging, comprises a planar sheet of plastics material into which a blister (or recess or protrusion) has been formed, held between a front and a back sheet of cardboard, the front sheet being provided with an opening through which the blister (but not the surrounding planar region of the plastics sheet) extends.
One shortcoming associated with these conventional blister packages is the fact that a moulding process is used to form the plastics sheet and the blister. As an alternative to moulding, it is possible to stamp the blister into the planar plastics sheet. However, even this method suffers the same problem, which is that it is an expensive process to form either the mould or the stamp. Furthermore expenses are increased when different sizes of articles are required to be packaged as this involves either remoulding or providing a new stamp.
A further problem with conventional blister packaging is that it offers a potential purchaser no chance to feel or touch the article prior to sale. Potential purchasers frequently desire to touch the article before purchase. There are several reasons to explain the popularity of this so-called "interactive" packaging. One such reason being that the potential purchaser has the ability to move the article around and see what it looks like from several different angles.
Whilst it is often possible for conventional packaging to be opened and resealed to achieve the above, it is the case that many customers will not purchase an item if its packaging has been tampered with.

Deckham, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, NE8 3XD


A method of determining the filler content of paper, wherein the paper stock is examined prior to delivering the stock to the de-watering section of the paper machine, and wherein the volume concentration of particles in the stock that have a size which is greater than the characteristic size of the filler is determined at varying mechanical working of the pulp, and the amount of filler retained in the paper is predicted from the result of at least two such determinations.

The present invention relates to a novel method of determining the filler content of finished paper.
The manufacture of paper involves the use of other ingredients in addition to fibers (paper pulp), for instance such ingredients as sizing agents, fillers, and possibly also pigments. Filler is used to impart special properties to the paper, particularly with regard to its printing characteristics, brightness and opacity. The filler is often cheaper than the paper pulp and is also used to lower the manufacturing costs. The most common fillers in this regard are white mineral substances, such as kaolin, chalk, talc and gypsum. Chalk is normally used in present-day manufacture. The filler is normally added in large quantities, particularly when manufacturing so-called fine paper. The paper may have a filler content of up to 50% ash content, although filler contents of about 20% are common.
Paper is manufactured on a paper machine from stock or stuff consisting of an aqueous solution of mainly fibers and additives, for instance filler. The stock, or stuff, normally contains about 0.5 percent by weight fibers. The stock is de-watered on a wire, to form a coherent paper web. The wire can be compared with a filter cloth which is essentially impermeable to fibers but permeable to the liquid and, e.g., to filler particles that fail to adhere to the fibers. Downstream of the so-called wire section the de-watered paper sheet will contain about 20 percent by weight fibers. The solution that passes through the wire is returned to incoming stock through the medium of a recycling circuit, normally referred to as the short circulation.
The filler particles are normally very small in size and chemicals which function to flocculate the filler and bind it to the fibers are added to the stock, to prevent the filler particles passing through the wire in the de-watering process. These chemicals are normally referred to as retention agents and include, e.g., polymer compounds that carry electric charges. Normally, about half of the filler is retained in the paper sheet and the remainder recycled. Only a relatively small amount of retention agent is added to the stock and it can be assumed that the retention agent remains generally in the paper, or looses its activity.
The term retention has been introduced as a measurement of how much of the material delivered to the paper machine fully remains in the finished paper. When the concentration of incoming material or one of its components, e.g. fibers or filler, in the incoming stock is C.sub.in and the flow is F.sub.in, the weight of the dried paper per unit of time is P and the concentration in the recycled water is C.sub.out, the retention R can be calculated as follows: ##EQU1## Since the recycled material constitutes the difference between the incoming quantity and the quantity of finished paper, the equation can be approximated to the following equation, since F.sub.out .apprxeq.F.sub.in : ##EQU2## Retention is used as a measurement of effectiveness in the de-watering process, and may also be applied as a parameter in controlling surface weight and filler content of the paper sheet.
Retention in the de-watering process can be assessed by on-line measuring of the consistencies of the incoming and outgoing flows. However, measuring of the consistency of the incoming and outgoing flows is encumbered with serious drawbacks, for instance such drawbacks as a disturbing influence of air bubbles, high stock temperatures and uneven consistency distribution in the filtrate, the white water. Sensitivity is also dependent on the measuring method used. One example of known methods applied to this end is the method taught by WO 86/07458, in which two optical measuring devices are used, of which one uses infrared light and the other uses polarized light. These signals are combined and then used to calculate the fiber/solids and filler contents of respective flows.
Another method involves measuring surface weight and ash content (filler content) of the dried sheet further on in the paper machine. This method employs the use, e.g., of traversing measuring instruments which move across the paper web. These instruments apply, e.g., X-ray fluorescence or X-ray absorption to determine the filler content. It is obvious that these known methods cause a delay in the control of stock consistency. Furthermore, when starting-up the paper machine, the paper web does not extend through the entire machine up to the point at which the measurements are taken.
Hitherto, retention has functioned solely as a diagnostic instrument in paper manufacturing processes. Furthermore, retention is not controlled essentially directly when practicing prior art methods. Normally, fibers and filler are metered to the stock in controlled quantities while awaiting equilibrium. Obviously, such indirect control involving addition of material to the large liquid volume constituted by the stock combined with the short circulation will also cause control delays.
There is therefore a need for a simple method by means of which retention can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy and with the smallest possible delay in the de-watering process, and also an associated method for controlling retention quickly and responsively and thereby a novel method for controlling the filler content of finished paper.

Method for determination of filler content in paper


In the case where a radial fan is provided on the upper end side of a rotor to provide an air circulating flow containing refrigerant gas so as not to hinder the flow of lubricating oil in a motor chamber, by which a motor is cooled, in order to reduce the cost of the radial fan, the radial fan is constructed by combining a plurality of blades (fan blades) (242) formed radially in the range of approximately 180° opposed to an upper balancer (270) so as to have a height smaller than the height of the upper balancer (270), and a fan cap (260) including a fan cover portion (262) covering the top faces of the blades (242) and an engagement portion (263) fixed to the upper end side of the rotor.

A scroll compressor has a cylindrical closed vessel whose both ends are closed, and the closed vessel is arranged vertically. In the closed vessel, a refrigerant compressing section consisting of a combination of a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll and a motor for driving the orbiting scroll are housed. The motor is also a heat source, and when it is operated in a closed space such as the closed vessel, the temperature rises rapidly. An excessive rise in temperature deteriorates component materials of the motor, so that the motor must be cooled.
In the scroll compressor, as one of the methods for preventing an excessive temperature rise of the motor, a method described in Reference 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H07-305688) is known. This method is explained with reference to FIG. 10. A scroll compressor 1 has a cylindrical closed vessel 2 whose both ends are closed, and the interior of the closed vessel 2 is divided into a compression chamber 21 and a motor chamber 22 with a main frame 4 being held therebetween.
In the compression chamber 21, a refrigerant compressing section 3 consisting of a combination of a fixed scroll 31 and an orbiting scroll 32 is housed, and in the motor chamber 22, a motor 6 having a rotational driving shaft 5 for orbiting the orbiting scroll 32 is housed. The closed vessel 2 is arranged vertically so that the axis thereof is substantially vertical, so that a bottom portion of the closed vessel 2 forms a storage portion for lubricating oil 9.
The fixed scroll 31 and the orbiting scroll 32 each have a scroll wrap formed so as to erect on an end plate, and are arranged in a state in which these scroll wraps are engaged with each other. In this state, the orbiting scroll 32 is rotated by the motor 6, by which a crescent-shaped space formed by the wraps is moved from the outer periphery to the center while the volume is decreased. By utilizing this operation, low-pressure gas is sucked from the outer periphery side and high-pressure gas is discharged from a portion near the center.
In order to restrain an excessive rise in temperature of the motor 6, in Reference 1, a pipe 23 is provided on the outside of the closed vessel 2 to cause the refrigerant compressing section 3 to communicate with a lower space 22b of the motor chamber 22, by which high-pressure refrigerant gas produced in the refrigerant compressing section 3 is introduced into the lower space 22b of the motor chamber 22 via the pipe 23.
According to this configuration, the high-pressure refrigerant gas passes through a gap Ga between a stator 6a and a rotor 6b of the motor 6 and a gap Gb between the stator 6a and the closed vessel 2, flowing toward an upper space 22a of the motor chamber 22 while cooling the motor 6, and is delivered to a refrigerating cycle through a refrigerant discharge pipe 24 provided in the upper space 22a.
However, in the case of Reference 1, there arise problems described below. The lubricating oil 9 stored under the motor chamber 22 is pumped up by a positive displacement pump or a centrifugal pump provided on the lower end side of the rotational driving shaft 5 along with the rotation of the rotor 6b. After lubricating sliding portions such as a bearing of the main frame 4, the lubricating oil 9 returns from the upper space 22a of the motor chamber 22 to the lower space 22b thereof passing through the gap between the stator 6a and the closed vessel 2.
Therefore, on the outer peripheral side of the stator 6a, the high-pressure refrigerant gas flowing from the lower space 22b toward the upper space 22a and the lubricating oil flowing from the upper space 22a toward the lower space 22b collide with each other, so that the return of the lubricating oil 9 is hindered. Therefore, a sufficient amount of lubricating oil 9 is not supplied to the pump, so that poor lubrication of sliding portions may occur. Also, since the pipe 23 is laid on the outside of the closed vessel 2, the piping cost is needed.
To solve these problems, the applicant of the present invention has proposed a scroll compressor described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-106272 as Reference 2. In this scroll compressor, as communicating means for causing the upper space of motor chamber to communicate with the lower space thereof, first communicating means is provided between the stator of motor and the enclosed vessel, and second communicating means is provided in the rotor of motor or in the rotating shaft thereof. A radial fan that rotates together with the rotor is provided on an upper end ring of the rotor to directly introduce the high-pressure refrigerant gas produced in the refrigerant compressing section into the upper space of the motor chamber, by which the high-pressure refrigerant is circulated by convection using the radial fan to cool the motor.
FIG. 11 shows an example of a radial fan 7 provided on an upper end ring 6c of the rotor. According to this configuration, some of high-pressure refrigerant is sucked from the lower space toward the upper space on the second communicating means side, and a circulation path for a flow from the upper space toward the lower space is formed on the first communicating means side, so that the motor can be cooled without a collision of the high-pressure refrigerant gas with the flow of lubricating oil.
In a cage rotor, the end ring is usually manufactured by casting of aluminum. In Reference 2, fan blades 7a of the radial fan 7 are formed integrally with the upper end ring 6c, and a fan cover 8a for covering the top faces of the blades 7a is integrally formed on an upper balancer 8 installed to the upper end ring 6c.
According to this configuration, by installing the upper balancer 8 to the upper end ring 6c, the radial fan 7 can be assembled. However, since the fan blade 7a and the upper balancer 8 have the same height, the fan blade 7a is higher than is necessary. Also, the mass of the balancer 8 must be increased according to the size of the fan blade 7a, which increases the material cost.
Furthermore, since the upper balancer 8 is formed integrally with the fan cover 8a for the fan blades 7a, and thus the fan cover 8a is located just under a bearing section 4a (see FIG. 10) of the main frame 4, a space having a height larger than the height of the upper balancer 8 must be secured between the bearing section 4a and the rotor 6b, which poses a problem in that the axial length of the scroll compressor itself must accordingly be increased inevitably.
To solve this problem, the applicant of the present invention has succeedingly proposed a scroll compressor described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-308007 as Reference 3. One example of this proposal is explained with reference to FIG. 12. The height h of the fan blade 7a is made have the minimum height necessary for the air blowing capacity of the radial fan 7, while the upper balancer 8 is made have a height p larger than h and is arranged so as to rotate along the outer periphery of the bearing section 4a of the main frame 4.
According to this configuration, the space between the bearing section 4a and the rotor 6b can be made narrower than the height of the upper balancer 8. Therefore, the axial length of the scroll compressor itself can be made shorter, and also the radial fan 7 having a predetermined air blowing capacity can be obtained.
However, in manufacturing the fan blades 7a and the upper balancer 8, which have different heights as shown in FIG. 12, sintering is technically difficult to perform. Therefore, a cast product must be finished by cutting, which increases the manufacturing cost. A method can be used in which the radial fan 7 and the upper balancer 8 are manufactured separately by sintering. However, this method is unfavorable because the assembling man power increases, which also results in increased manufacturing cost.
Also, in a synchronous motor using a permanent magnet rotor, unlike an induction motor having the cage rotor, the fan blades cannot be molded integrally with the end ring of rotor. Therefore, the fan blades of radial fan must be manufactured as a piece part by sintering or casting, which causes the cost to increase.

Internal refrigerant gas circulation apparatus for a closed-type scroll compressor


A column of an integrated memory circuit includes two bit lines each with a right half and a left half and a plurality of similar memory cells connected to each half of each bit line. One of the memory cells connected to each line is used as a reference and the other cells are used for data storage. Each half of each bit line is connected to a sense node of a sense amplifier latch through an independently controlled transistor switch. To read the data from the first half of the first bit line, the transistors connecting the first half of the first bit line to the sense node is turned on and the transistor connecting the second half of the first bit line to the sense node is turned off. Both transistor switches connecting respective halves of the other bit line to the other sense node are turned on. Each half of each bit line includes approximately the same effective load. The load applied to the first sense node is thus about half of the load applied to the second sense node. Access switches are opened to access the value stored in the data memory element and the reference data element and the resulting potential in the bit lines are significantly different whether the same value is stored or not, due to the different loads. Preferably, the output of the memory elements is selected so that the reference potential is about midway between the potential in a bit line half connected to a memory element storing a high value and a low value.

The development of the EDVAC computer system in 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computers have become indispensable in many fields of human endeavor including engineering design, machine control, process control, and information storage and access. Each computer includes processing units, memory units, a means for receiving input signals and a means for transmitting output signals. Computers used as workstations also include apparatus for user input such as a keyboard and mouse, and apparatus for providing information to the user such as a display screen and a printer. The memory provides instruction signals and other data to the processor to control the operation of the computer. The data is transmitted between the memory and processor through multiple parallel wires called a bus. The processor executes the instruction signals and transmits at least some of the resulting data signals back to the memory for storage.
In digital computers, data is processed and stored in binary form. Binary refers to a number system in which all digits are either 0 or 1. Signals are usually transmitted within the computer as voltage levels. For example, a low potential such as 0 volts may be used as a zero and a higher potential such as 3 volts may be used as a one. Data signals are stored in computer memory using static switches (transistor states or capacitive charges) called bits that are set to either on or off (or high or low) to represent either 0 or 1. Since numbers in a digital computer are transmitted in binary form and stored in switches that are either on or off, the use of binary numbers results in a simpler design, more efficient storage, and faster operation than a computer based on decimal numbers.
For example, decimal one (1d) may be stored as binary 0001 (1b) and decimal two (2d) is stored as binary 0010 (10b); and thus 3d is stored as 0011b (2d+1d). Similarly, since 4d is stored as 100b, then 7d (4d+2d+1d) is stored as 0111b.
The storage of data signals in computer memory is known as "writing to the memory", and the generation of data signals by the computer memory is known as "reading from the memory". When data is written to memory, the switches are set to represent the numeric value of the data that is written and then the data signals can be read from the memory by detecting the settings of the switches and generating corresponding data signals. The bits are grouped together into bytes consisting of 8 bits and words, or cells of 2, to 8 bytes to form one or more larger numbers. Characters (letters, numerals, punctuation marks, symbols) are represented by numbers (e.g. 0-255) that can be stored in one byte.
In early computers, a type of memory known as core was used. This consisted of individual rings (cores) of ferrite in an array connected by wires to electronic writing and sensing circuits. Data was stored by applying a current to set the magnetic polarity of one of the rings. The polarity of the magnetic field of each ring represented either a zero or a one. In modern computers the use of core memory has been replaced by transistor and capacitance based electronic memory.
There are several common types of electronic memory used in computer systems. Dynamic memory is a type of memory which must be refreshed. Refreshing consists of reading the value in the memory and then writing the same value to the memory. Dynamic memory usually consists of capacitive elements (gates of FETs or capacitors) that can be isolated or accessed using transistor switches. Static memory is another common type of memory. Static memory does not have to be refreshed. The stored values remain in storage as long as the memory is receiving electrical power. Static memory usually consists of several transistors forming a circuit which can be switched to operate in either of two stable states.
Permanent memory (non-volatile memory) is a type of memory which does not require external power to maintain data. The permanent memory may be manufactured with connections and opens that can not be changed (known as read only memory ROM); or the permanent memory may be programmable once using high voltages to burn out connections to form opens (programmable read only memory PROM); or the PROM may be bulk re-writable using ultraviolet light or high currents applied to one pin to erase the entire memory of the chip and written by applying a high voltage signal to charge floating gates to write data; or the permanent memory may be electrically re-writable such as electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) in which each word may be individually rewritten. For example, low power static or dynamic memory may be made permanent by including batteries in the package with the memory. Flash memory is another common type of permanent memory which uses ferromagnetic capacitors to store charges. The flash memory is written by a higher potential difference, and when read outputs a lower potential difference.
Previous patents related to electronic memory include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,572,459 to Wilson, 4,598,387 to Chuang, and 5,367,481 to Takase all of which are herein incorporated in whole, by reference.

Reference potential for sensing data in electronic storage element

International Business Machines Corporation