The present invention relates to a tin whisker mitigation material using thin film metallic glass underlayer, which is a thin film metallic glass (TFMG) formed between a metal substrate and a tin layer. Particularly, the TFMG can be a Zr46Ti26Ni28 underlayer or a Zr51.7Cu32.3Al9Ni underlayer, capable of blocking off the interaction occurring in the interface of a copper layer (the metal substrate) and the tin layer, so as to carry out the inhibition of tin whisker growth. Moreover, a variety of experiment data are proposed for proving that the TFMG of the Zr46Ti26Ni28 or the Zr51.7Cu32.3Al9Ni can indeed be used to replace the conventionally used thick tin layer for being the underlayer between the copper layer (the metal substrate) and the tin layer, and then effectively inhibit the interaction occurring in the Cu/Sn interface and the growth of tin whisker by low manufacturing cost way.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lead-free soldering technology electronics, and more particularly to a tin whisker mitigation material using thin film metallic glass underlayer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Currently, electronics packaging technology mainly uses copper or iron-nickel alloy as a conductive lead frame for electrically connecting chips and printed circuit board (PCB). However, because both the copper lead frame and the iron-nickel lead frame cannot join with the PCB well, a solder-plating layer is coated on the surface of the lead frame for enhancing the connection of the lead frame and the PCB.
The solder-plating layer is traditionally made of tin-lead alloy, and has been replaced by lead-free solder because the lead (Pb) is an unrecyclable toxic material. However, lead-free solder would spontaneously produce tin whisker under room temperature; moreover, when the tin whisker is produced to include a specific length, the tin whisker may connect to the two adjacent solder pins in a packaged electronic component, and then causes the two adjacent solder pins to short. Besides, when the length of the produced tin whisker is almost equal to the space of the two adjacent solder pins, the point discharge may occur and produce spark to fail the packaged electronic component.
Accordingly, a method for inhibiting the growth of tin whisker is proposed. Referring to FIG. 1, which illustrates a flow chart of a conventional method for inhibiting the growth of tin whisker; moreover, please simultaneously refer to FIG. 2, there is shown a side cross-sectional view of a multi-layer structure fabricated by using the method. The method for inhibiting the growth of tin whisker mainly includes 3 steps.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the method is firstly proceeded to step (S01′), providing an iron-nickel alloy substrate 202′, wherein the weight percent of the nickel in the iron-nickel alloy substrate 202′ is ranged from 42 wt % to 60 wt %. Next, the step (S02′) is executed for forming a nickel layer 204′ on the surface of the iron-nickel alloy substrate 202′, and the thickness of the nickel layer 204′ is ranged from 1 μm to 2 μm. Finally, the method is proceeded to step (S03′), forming a tin layer 206′ on the nickel layer 204′, and the thickness of the tin layer 206′ is ranged from 3 μm to 20 μm. Thus, the stress in the internal of the tin layer 206′ can be prevented by the nickel layer 204′, therefore the growth of tin whisker would be further inhibit, so as to prevent the tin whisker growing on the surface of the tin layer 206′.
The above-mentioned method can indeed effectively inhibit the growth of tin whisker by way of forming an electroplated nickel layer 204′ with the thickness of 3 μm-20 μm as an underlayer between the Cu/Sn interface. However, it needs to further concern the issues brought by the above-mentioned method are that: (1) the waste produced by the electroplating process is harmful to environment; and (2) the 20 μm electroplated nickel layer 204′ would increase the manufacturing method of the electronics package.
Thus, through above descriptions, it is able to know that conventional method for inhibiting the growth of tin whisker still includes drawbacks and shortcomings, so that the inventor of the present application has made great efforts to make inventive research thereon and eventually provided a tin whisker mitigation material using thin film metallic glass underlayer.

Tin whisker mitigation material using thin film metallic glass underlayer

National Taiwan University Of Science And Technology


Reduction of the free layer thickness in GMR devices is desirable in order to meet higher signal requirements, besides improving the GMR ratio itself. However, thinning of the free layer reduces the GMR ratio and leads to poor thermal stability. This problem has been overcome by making AP2 from an inverse GMR material and by changing the free layer from a single uniform layer to a ferromagnetic layer AFM (antiferromagnetically) coupled to a layer of inverse GMR material. Examples of alloys that may be used for the inverse GMR materials include FeCr, NiFeCr, NiCr, CoCr, CoFeCr, and CoFeV. Additionally, the ruthenium layer normally used to effect antiferromagnetic coupling can be replaced by a layer of chromium. A process to manufacture the structure is also described.

The principle governing the operation of most current magnetic read heads is the change of resistivity of certain materials in the presence of a magnetic field (magneto-resistance or MR). Magneto-resistance can be significantly increased by means of a structure known as a spin valve or SV. The resulting increase (known as Giant Magneto-Resistance or GMR) derives from the fact that electrons in a magnetized solid are subject to significantly less scattering by the lattice when their own magnetization vectors (due to spin) are parallel (as opposed to anti-parallel) to the direction of magnetization of their environment.
The key elements of a spin valve are a low coercivity (free) ferromagnetic layer, a non-magnetic spacer layer, and a high coercivity ferromagnetic layer. The latter is usually formed out of a soft ferromagnetic layer that is pinned magnetically by a nearby layer of antiferromagnetic material. Alternatively, a synthetic antiferromagnet (formed by sandwiching an antiferromagnetic coupling layer between two antiparallel ferromagnetic layers) may be used as the pinned layer. This results in a more stable device which we will refer to it as a synthetically pinned device.
When the free layer is exposed to an external magnetic field, the direction of its magnetization is free to rotate according to the direction of the external field. After the external field is removed, the magnetization of the free layer will stay at a direction, which is dictated by the minimum energy state, determined by the crystalline and shape anisotropy, current field, coupling field and demagnetization field. If the direction of the pinned field is parallel to the free layer, electrons passing between the free and pinned layers, suffer less scattering. Thus, the resistance at this state is lower. If, however, the magnetization of the pinned layer is anti-parallel to that of the free layer, electrons moving from one layer into the other will suffer more scattering so the resistance of the structure will increase. The change in resistance of a spin valve is typically 10–20% when current flow is in the film plane.
Most GMR devices have been designed so as to measure the resistance of the free layer for current flowing parallel to the film's plane. However, as the quest for ever greater densities continues, devices that measure current flowing perpendicular to the plane (CPP) have begun to emerge. For devices depending on in-plane current, the signal strength is diluted by parallel currents flowing through the other layers of the GMR stack, so these layers should have resistivities as high as possible while the resistance of the leads into and out of the device need not be particularly low. By contrast, in a CPP device, the resistivity of both the leads and the other GMR stack layers should be as low as possible.
As shown in FIG. 1, the CPP spin valve structure has three magnetic layers: free layer 17 as well as AP1 layer 15, and AP2 layer 13. Free layer 17 is free to rotate in response to external fields. The AP2 direction is fixed by antiferromagnetic layer 12 (typically MnPt) with ruthenium layer 14 being used to provide the antiferromagnetic coupling. Their relative magnetization directions during device operation are always antiparallel to one other. It is normal practice to utilize the same material (like CoFe) for both AP1 and AP2. This has a positive bulk spin asymmetry coefficient β, as well as positive interface spin asymmetry coefficient γ.
β is defined as 1−ρ↑/(2ρ)=ρ↓/(2ρ)−1 where ρ↑, ρ↓ are the resistivity of spin up and spin down electrons, respectively. ρ is the material resistivity (=ρ↑ρ↓/ρ↑+ρ↓). γ is defined as 1−r↑/2rb)=r↓/(r↑+r↓) where r↑(r↓) is the interface resistance for spin up and spin down electrons; rb=(r↑r↓)/r↑+r↓). When r↑=r↓, γ will be 0 and the interface has no spin dependent scattering. Also seen in FIG. 1 is seed layer 11, capping layer 18 and non-magnetic spacer layer 16.
In TABLE I we show the β and γ magnitudes for the three magnetic layers together with the resulting magnitude of their resistivity for both up and down electrons for both the parallel and antiparallel states:
TABLE I(Ru between AP1 and AP2)resistivity in P stateresistivity in AP stateLAYERβγspin upspin downspin upspin downCoFe (free)>0>0lowhighhighlowCoFe (AP1)>0>0lowhighlowhighCoFe (AP2)>0>0highlowhighlow
The consequences of this are that the AP2 contribution to CPP GMR is always negative so it reduces the resistance contrast between the parallel and anti-parallel states of the free layer. This limits the GMR ratio as well as dRA (change in anti-parallel resistance) for synthetically pinned spin valves.
In order to meet higher signal requirements it would be desirable to reduce the thickness of the free layer besides improving the GMR ratio itself. However, thinning of the free layer causes a low GMR ratio and poor thermal stability. A synthetic free layer would seem to provide a way to maintain good thermal stability but, in both in CIP and CPP SV structures, synthetic free layers actually cause a GMR loss due to current shunting in CIP and effective thinning of the free layer in CPP.
The present invention discloses a solution to this problem.
A routine search of the prior art was performed with the following references of interest being found:
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,704, Lederman et al. show a MR CCP transducer structure. Dykes et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,688) shows a CPP SV MR device. U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,089 (Barr et al.) also describes a CPP MR device. U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,763 (Yuan) discloses a CPP GMR Transducer while in U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,191 Yaun teaches how to stabilize a MR device. U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,553 (Stearns et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,613 (Rottmayer) also are related patents.


According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a first housing, a second housing, a third housing and a first movable member. The first housing includes a first opening through which the electronic device is capable of being coupled to an external coupling apparatus. The second housing is rotatably connected to the first housing. The third housing is removably attached to the second housing. The first movable member is across the first housing and the second housing, movable between a first position at which the third housing is locked to the second housing and a second position at which the third housing is capable of being unlocked from the second housing, and is configured to be restricted from moving from the first position to the second position when the electronic device is coupled through the first opening.

Conventionally, there has been known an electronic device on which a coupling apparatus can be mounted. Here, the coupling apparatus is an apparatus that restricts movement of one housing as well as prevents other housing from being removed from the one housing.
Regarding such a structure, an electronic device or an apparatus is preferred to have, for example, a novel configuration that can restrict the movement of the housing in simple way or that can lock another member.


The invention relates to a sliver channel of a spinning plant preparation machine for the deposit of a fiber sliver in a container. The sliver channel is designed in form of a helix with changing gradient.

The present invention relates to a sliver channel of a spinning plant preparation machine for depositing a fiber sliver in a container.
A sliver channel located in the rotary plate of a spinning plant preparation machine the central line of which is a helix, is known from DE-AS 11 15 622. The helix has a constant gradient and curvature. The cross-section of the sliver channel is circular and tapers downward. The disadvantage with the known sliver channel is that when it is used in modern spinning plant preparation machines, in particular in drawing frames with delivery speeds of over 800 m/min, the fiber sliver which had been given a uniform character with utmost precision cannot be deposited in the container with sufficient care. At these high speeds it has also been shown that the hairiness of the fiber sliver increases as it is being deposited, and this is detrimental to fiber sliver quality.

Rieter Ingolstadt Spinnereimaschinenbau AG


An apparatus includes a plurality of processors and a holder unit. The plurality of processors execute a task as a unit of processing by dividing the task into multiple threads including single and parallel threads, where the single thread is executed by only one of the plurality of processors whose respective pieces of processing have reached the thread, and the parallel thread is executed in parallel with another parallel thread by the plurality of processors. The holder unit is configured to held information to be shared by the plurality of processors. Each processor executes one of the multiple threads at a time, and causes the holder unit to hold reaching-state information indicating an extent to which the multiple threads executed by the plurality of processors have reached the single thread. Each processor determines whether to execute the single thread, based on the reaching-state information held in the holder unit.

A parallel computer including multiple processors operable in parallel enhances processing efficiency by dividing a task as a unit of processing into multiple threads and then making the multiple processors to execute the threads. A processor device, such as a central processing unit (CPU) including multiple cores, is one of parallel computers.
For a parallel computer of this type, there has been proposed a technique in which a storage area is first allocated to a thread continuously activating from the start to the end of a program, and then variables used in the other treads threads are stored in the storage area (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-99426). This technique ensures that even when another thread executed in parallel ends, a variable used in the other thread is held in the storage area without being lost during the execution of the program.
Another proposed technique is that, based on a value set to a flag allocated to a main memory, a thread waits for execution of synchronous processing until execution of an instruction code by another thread completes, and executes the synchronous processing after the execution of the instruction code is completed (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-134145).

Apparatus and method for controlling execution of a single thread by multiple processors


A drawer box, including: a plurality of note accommodation parts arranged in a width direction of the drawer box, at least one note accommodation part being deep-bottomed with a depth substantially equal to a height of the drawer box; a divider including a bottom plate for dividing the at least one deep-bottomed note accommodation part into an upper portion and a lower portion, the divider further including an upright portion which extends perpendicularly from one end of the bottom plate; a first holding device for holding the divider in a position where the bottom plate divides the at least one deep-bottomed note accommodation part into the upper portion and the lower portion; a guide device for guiding the divider to a bottom position, wherein the divider divides the at least one deep-bottomed note accommodation part into two side portions by the upright portion of the divider; and a second holding device for holding the divider in the bottom position.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a drawer box which is included in an electronic money register, a POS terminal, and the like for accommodating coins and notes, and papers such as checks and gift tokens.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
A drawer box for accommodating money in an electronic money register, a POS terminal, and the like, is usually structured to include a resin-molded money case provided in a main body of the drawer-type box. FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary conventional money case.
The money case includes a plurality of coin accommodation portions 1 in a front part thereof, and a plurality of note accommodation portions 2 for horizontally accommodating notes in a stacked manner which are posterior to the coin accommodation portions 1. The note accommodation portions 2 are arranged side by side along a width direction (arrow W) of the money case. Often, the coin accommodation portions 1 have a deep-bottomed shape having a depth substantially equal to the height of the money case, while the note accommodation portions 2 have a shallow-bottomed shape having a depth substantially half of the height of the money case. The note accommodation portions 2 have a shallow-bottomed shape, for example, for the following reasons: an increased depth makes it difficult to take out notes; and a lock unit needs to be provided below the note accommodation portions 2 in order to hold the drawer box in an open or closed state.
A larger note accommodation space is demanded in order to cope with an increase in the numbers of notes caused by issuance of new kinds of high-value notes in overseas countries, and to deal with countries in which many kinds of notes are circulated. However, space-saving is also strongly demanded, which makes it difficult to simply increase the size of the drawer box in order to enlarge the note accommodation space. Therefore, enlargement of the note accommodation space while avoiding an increase in the size of the drawer box has been strongly demanded.
Drawer boxes proposed to cope with such a demand are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 6-30883, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 6-15178, Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 4-352298, Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 3-80395, and Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2-137089.
The drawer box disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 4-352298 adopts a structure in which a note accommodation part has a deep-bottomed shape and is divided into an upper and a lower portions by a detachable divider. This structure allows the portion above the divider to be used as a note accommodation portion with a shallow bottom in which notes are accommodated horizontally, and also allows the portion below the divider to accommodate notes in the case where there are many kinds of notes. Therefore, the note accommodation space is enlarged while avoiding an increase in the size of the drawer box.
However, in the case where the portion below the divider is used, the notes accommodated in the portion above the divider need to be taken out and put back together with the divider every time notes are taken out of and put into the portion below the divider. This is time-consuming and troublesome.
Furthermore, since the notes accommodated below the divider cannot be visibly checked without removing the divider, the recognition of the notes is not easily performed.


A heat exchanging member includes: a pillar shape honeycomb structure having an outer peripheral wall and partition walls extending through the honeycomb structure from a first end face to a second end face to define a plurality of cells forming a through channel of a first fluid, and a covering member for covering the outer peripheral wall of the honeycomb structure. In a cross section of the honeycomb structure perpendicular to a flow direction of the first fluid, the partition walls includes: a plurality of first partition walls extending in a radial direction from the side of a center portion of the cross section; and a plurality of second partition walls extending in a circumferential direction, and a number of the first partition walls on the side of the central portion is less than a number of the first partition walls on the side of the outer peripheral wall.

Recently, there is a need for improvement of fuel economy of motor vehicles. In particular, a system is expected that warms up a coolant, engine oil and ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) at an early stage to reduce friction losses, in order to prevent deterioration of fuel economy at the time when an engine is cold, such as when the engine is started. Further, a system is expected that heats an exhaust gas purifying catalyst in order to activate the catalyst at an early stage.
In such systems, for example, the use of a heat exchanger is considered. The heat exchanger is an apparatus including a heat exchanging member for conducting heat exchange between a first fluid and a second fluid by allowing the first fluid to flow inside and the second fluid to flow outside. In such a heat exchanger, for example, the heat can be effectively utilized by exchanging the heat from the first fluid having a high temperature (for example, an exhaust gas) to the second fluid having a low temperature (for example, cooling water).
As a heat exchanger for recovering heat from a gas with elevated temperature such as a motor vehicle exhaust gas, a heat exchanger having a heat exchanging member made of a refractory metal has been known. However, there have been problems that the refractory metal is expensive and further difficult to be processed, has high density and heavy weight, and has lower thermal conductivity, and the like. In view of the problems, recently, a heat exchanger is being developed that houses a heat exchanging member having a pillar shape honeycomb structure in a casing, and allows a first fluid to flow through cells of the honeycomb structure, and a second fluid to flow on an outer peripheral surface of the heat exchanging member in the casing.
As a honeycomb structure used for the heat exchanging member, prior art proposes a pillar shape honeycomb structure including: first partition walls each extending in a radial direction from a central portion toward an outer peripheral portion; and second partition walls each extending in a circumferential direction, in a cross section perpendicular to a flow direction of a first fluid (a cell extending direction) (patent document 1).

Heat exchanging member and heat exchanger


A portable boat skidway is provided by combining lengths of steel rods interconnected by flexible joints in a ladder-like array with skidding tubes of high density polymeric material which serve as "rungs". A turning pad is provided by assembling a square of rods with enveloping skidding tubes, and adding a diagonal skidding cylinder.

The need to provide lightweight skidways for small craft to permit them to be launched or drawn-up on a shoreline has previously been recognized. Examples of prior art patents addressing this objective are:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,996--Jerry W. Edson PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,587,874--Edwin H. Graf PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,942--Joseph Dren PA1 U.K. 2,116,123--William G. Watson. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,728 to Lucien Leduc PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,754,017 to H.E. Hart et al PA1 Italy 480,348 to Giacomo Ghiglione.
None of these references provide for an articulated slipway, of extended length, that is readily portable.
Three patents that do propose structures that provide an articulated slipway are:
In the Leduc patent a series of transverse bars are linked together by chains in a ladder-like manner. These chain-linked bars are supported between longitudinal stringers to provide a support base for planks used to create a ramp up into the back of a vehicle. However, the chains do not resist collapsing, and it is not readily apparent how this system could be deployed on a beach as a non-collapsible skidway.
In the Hart patent a series of racks bearing rollers are deployed progressively up the side of a beach. The rollers within each rack are rigidly mounted in a rocking frame. The sides of each frame are considerably longer than the width of the rollers, and these individual frames are not readily disassemblable. This system is complex and has according, a considerable cost penalty.
The patent to Ghiglione shows a series of transverse slider bars, depicted as being made of wood, held together in an articulated ladder-like array by a series of rods that interconnect joints mounted at the end of each bar or "rung". The specific structure of Ghiglione relies upon an upper wooden rung upon which the keel of a boat may be slid. This rung is fastened from below to a metal bar that is up-turned at its outside ends to provide a mount for a pin (4) to which inter-rung connecting rods are attached. Thus the connections between the rods and rungs in Ghiglione are not articulated in the lateral direction, and the Ghiglione skidway can not be swerved sideways in a staggered fashion. Further Ghiglione does not use a tubular skidding cylinder which may be rotated to distribute wear.
The articulated detachable structures described are articulated only to be extent that they are flexible in a single transverse or rotational direction. In Leduc the transverse bars are confined laterally by the longitudinal stringers. In Hart, each rack of rollers may be tipped about only one axis. And in Ghiglione, the connecting rods are attached to pins which serve as shafts and limit flexibility to rotation about the axis of such shafts.
None of these references provide a skidway which has the feature of being fully articulated in the sense of being fully articulated, that is to say of being flexible both laterally, in the plane of the skidway, and perpendicularly to the plane of the skidway.
A further need for small boat owners is to provide a turning pad by which boats may be re-oriented, once pulled up onto the beach.
Boats are normally landed bow first when landing on a beach. There is a need for a system by which a boat can be hauled up the track, centered over a pivoting device and turned around to enable a bow-first launch. This is very advantageous for a number of reasons:
Small outboard powered planing hulls have a weight concentration in the stern often combined with a sharp, squared off transom. They will potentially "hang up" on a skidway when skidded along stern first. A turning pad enables boats to be turned 180 degrees and skidded bow first.
A bow-first launch is advantageous when launching into wave conditions.
Furthermore the turning pad enables boats to be handled by a single person or at least fewer people by enabling them to be skidded bow first.
With this background in mind, the invention in its general form will first be described, and then its implementation in terms of specific embodiments will be detailed with reference to the drawings following hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate the principle of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. The invention will then be further described, and defined, in each of the individual claims which conclude this Specification.


This invention relates to a new and distinct variety of raspberry plant named ‘DrisRaspTwo’ which is primarily characterized by medium-sized, medium-red fruit that mature to a dark red color and having an early bud burst, is disclosed.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct raspberry cultivar designated 'DrisRaspTwo' and botanically known as Rubus ideaus L. This new raspberry variety was discovered in Santa Cruz, Calif. in May 2004 and originated from a cross between the female parent raspberry plant 'Driscoll Cardinal' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,903) and the proprietary male parent raspberry plant 'W776.1' (unpatented). The original seedling of the new cultivar was asexually propagated by stolons or tissue culture, at a nursery in Santa Cruz, Calif. 'DrisRaspTwo' was subsequently asexually propagated and underwent further testing at a nursery in Santa Cruz, Calif. for five years. The present invention has been found to be stable and reproduce true to type through successive asexual propagations.


A base station (BS) capable of communication with a number of transmission points includes a processor configured to control a beamforming transmission or reception and an integrated antenna array system. The integrated antenna array system includes a baseband signal processing unit configured to perform baseband functions and disposed between the two sections. The integrated antenna array system also includes a plurality of physical antenna elements disposed in groups. Each of the groups includes an equal number of the plurality of physical antenna elements. The plurality of physical antenna elements are disposed symmetrically around the baseband signal processing unit.

The rapid growth of data traffic driven by mobile devices poses challenges on capacity of wireless networks. Multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) and multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) are key technologies introduced in the 3GPP LTE and LTE-advanced systems to improve spectral efficiency. In current MIMO systems, an evolved Node B (eNB) is usually equipped with a linear array with antenna elements placed in a horizontal line, and the eNB exploits spatial diversity in the azimuth (horizontal) domain. In contrast, deploying antennas vertically allows eNBs to utilize diversity in elevation domain by, for example, elevation beamforming, achieving up to 30% gain in system capacity.

Integrated two dimensional active antenna array communication system


A method of processing a digital television (DTV) signal in a DTV receiver, the method includes receiving a digital television signal including video streams and an event information table carrying information for events on predefined virtual channels; parsing the event information table, the parsed event information table comprising bit rate information defining one or more bit rates associated with video streams in the digital television signal; and processing the video streams according to the parsed bit rate information.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a digital television (DTV) receiver and a method for processing a DTV signal.
2. Background
In a digital broadcasting environment, a transmitter may transmit a digital television (DTV) signal containing a video stream having a variety of bit rates in order to supply desired broadcasting contents to various consumers having a variety of tastes. A DTV receiver must receive and process the DTV signal containing the video stream having the variety of bit rates.
The present disclosure suggests a method and apparatus for allowing a transmitter and receiver to transmit and receive a DTV signal containing a video stream having a variety of bit rates.

Digital television receiver and method for processing a digital television signal


A protocol conversion and arbitration circuit may include: a protocol conversion circuit to receive signals complying with a second protocol used by a master, and to convert the received signals into signals complying with an intermediary protocol used by an internal bus of a slave; and a transform circuit to receive, from the protocol conversion circuit, and to convert the once-converted signals into signals complying with a first protocol used by the slave.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to the Background Art having a memory controller with only one port.
Referring to FIG. 1, a system board 100 has a system 110 and an external memory 121. The system 110 includes a memory controller 111, an advanced high-performance bus (AHB) 114, an APB bridge 117, an advanced peripheral bus (APB) 119, a plurality of AHB masters 112 and 115, an AHB slave 116, and an APB slave 118.
Here, the memory controller 111, the AHB 114, the APB bridge 117, the APB 119, and the plurality of AHB master 112, AHB master 115, AHB slave 116, and APB slave 118 support (or use) only one (and the same) protocol, for example, an advanced micro-controller bus architecture (AMBA) protocol.
The memory controller 111 controls data input and output between each of the plurality of AHB master 112, AHB master 115, AHB slave 116, and APB slave 118, and the external memory 121. Also, the memory controller 111 is connected to the AHB 114 through one port 113. Each module AHB master 112, AHB master 115, and AHB slave 116 is connected to the AHB 114. Here, the AHB 114 is used as a system bus.
Accordingly, each of the AHB master 112, AHB master 115, AHB slave 116 and APB slave 118 can write data to or read data from the external memory 121 through a path that includes the system bus 114, the memory controller 111 via port 113, and input/output pins 120. Since in order to write data in and read data from the external memory 121, each AHB master 112, AHB master 115, AHB slave 116, and APB slave 118 should use the system bus 114, the load of the system bus 114 increases and as a result, the entire performance of the system is also lowered.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system according to the Background Art having a multiport memory control. Referring to FIG. 2, the system board 200 has a system 210 and an external memory 224. The system 210 includes a memory controller 211, a system bus (AHB) 213, an APB bridge 216, an APB bus 217, a plurality of AHB master 212, AHB master 214, AHB slave 215, and HPB slave 218, and a plurality of buses 221, . . . , 222.
The memory controller 211 has a plurality of ports 220-1 trough 220-n capable of being connected to each of the plurality of modules. Hereinafter, the memory controller 211 having the plurality of ports 220-1 through 220-n will be referred to as a 'multiport memory controller'.
All of the multiport memory controller 211, the system bus 213, the APB bridge 216, the APB bus 217, the AHB master 212, AHB master 214, AHB slave 215, and APB slave 218 support (or use) only one (and the same) protocol (for example, the AMBA protocol).

Protocol conversion and arbitration circuit, system having the same, and method for converting and arbitrating signals


A photoelectric sensor array is labelled by accumulating charge, preferably charge from a dark current, in at least a portion of the sensor array and reading out the accumulated charge to form an image to determine locations of atypical pixels in the portion of the sensor array. A signature of the sensor array is generated from the locations of atypical pixels and stored. The array is subsequently identified by re-accumulating charge in the portion of the array to form a signature based on the atypical pixels for comparison with the stored signature.

Where a plurality of different sensors may be selectively connected to an imaging system, it is very desirable to be able to determine an identity of a connected sensor. For example, defect maps are typically provided with each sensor, indicating locations of atypical pixels so that readings from the atypical pixels can be corrected and it is necessary to know which sensor is connected in order to use a corresponding defect map. Thus, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,084-B1 discloses a method of determining the location of defective pixels in a sensor array, storing these locations in a memory associated with the sensor, for example on the same chip as a CMOS sensor, and making corrections for readings, or a lack of a reading, from defective pixels. In circumstances where a plurality of sensors may be connected to an imaging system, it is advantageous instead to store maps of the defects centrally, either in the imaging system or in a central database accessible remotely, and to identify the sensor connected to the imaging system so that a corresponding defect map may be used to correct an image generated by the connected sensor. For example, in dental x-ray imaging, a dental surgeon may select one of say three available x-ray sensors dependent, for example, on an area to be x-rayed or the size of a patient's oral cavity. At present, with a manual system, a dental surgeon has disadvantageously to divert his attention from a patient to key into a computer keyboard of an imaging system the identity of a sensor connected to the imaging system. It is preferable if the imaging system automatically identifies a sensor connected to the imaging system. It is known to use an EEPROM in association with a sensor, for example in series in a connector to the sensor, to provide an identifying signal to an imaging system to identify the sensor. However, use of an EEPROM adds undesirable cost and complexity to the sensor and is dependent on recognition by the imaging system of the identifying signal.
In summary, a known method of improving quality of a CCD image comprises storage of dark and bright/flat field image data, and the correction of dark and bright defects in subsequent images by appropriate processing using the stored data. In order to do this, known CCD drive or imaging systems either require: a fixed, single CCD array sensor with only one corresponding set of stored dark and flat field image data, manual selection of a particular CCD serial number, from a set of serial numbers, in order to retrieve the appropriate dark and flat field data or automatic selection of a particular CCD serial number by reading an EEPROM incorporated into a CCD connector, in order to retrieve the appropriate dark and flat field data.
It would be advantageous to be able to identify a sensor uniquely and automatically from a set of sensors to apply corrections, without the use of a EEPROM.
It would also be advantageous to be able to identify a sensor uniquely for warranty purposes, for example, to determine whether a particular sensor is covered by a particular manufacturer's or supplier's warranty.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Identification of a photoelectric sensor array


An optical information storage medium includes information on recording layers having the same reproduction channel characteristics or different reproduction channel characteristics. Nominal recording speed information is recorded in a read-only zone, and maximum and minimum recordable speed information is recorded in a recordable zone of an area other than a user data area. The nominal recording speed information is reproduced using a differential signal channel or a sum channel, and the maximum and the minimum recordable speed information is reproduced using the sum channel. The optical information storage medium addresses a situation where the nominal recording speed is not satisfied due to errors occurring during the manufacture of the storage medium. Thus, the defective disc proportion can be reduced, and loss of user data due to application of inaccurate recording layer information can be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical information storage medium and a recording/reproducing method thereof, and more particularly, to an optical information storage medium on which optical information have the same channel characteristics or different recording speed information is recorded thereon, and a recording/reproducing method for the optical information storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical discs or optical information storage media are widely used in optical pickup devices that record/reproduce information in a non-contact manner. Types of optical discs include compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), and high density DVDs (HD-DVDs). Optical discs which are capable of recording, erasing, and reproducing data include CD-R, CD−RW, DVD−RW, DVD-RAM, and DVD+RW.
With an increase in recording density of such optical discs, the performance of a disc drive is improved. Since recording characteristics of such an optical disc match the recording speed of the disc drive, data can be reliably recorded or reproduced where the disc drive satisfies the recording characteristics of the optical disc. While a conventional disc drive can reliably record data on a low speed disc, it does not satisfy the recording characteristics of a high-speed disc, and thus it may frequently damage user data. On the other hand, a conventional disc drive for a high-speed disc can also damage user data when recording the user data on a low speed disc.
Accordingly, the recording speed information is needed to reliably record data. To obtain such information, a recording speed of a disc is recorded in a predetermined region of the disc, and a disc drive recognizes the recording speed of a desired disc and records data at a predetermined recording speed of the desired disc. For example, in a case of a 2×-speed disc, a recording speed of the disc is recorded in a predetermined region of the disc prior to its shipment, and thus a disc drive can record data referring to recording characteristics according to the recording speed of the disc recorded thereon.
However, quite frequently, a recording speed of a disc does not reach a nominal recording speed of the disc during a testing. For example, after a 4×-speed disc is manufactured and a recording speed thereof is recorded in a predetermined region of the disc, the true recording speed of the disc does not actually reach the 4× speed. At this time, such a disc cannot be used as a 4×-speed disc, but it may be appropriate as a 3×-speed disc or a 2×-speed disc. However, a disc drive will still recognize the disc as the 4×-speed disc because the recorded recording speed is 4× speed, and will try to record user data at the 4× speed. In such a case, since the recording speed does not actually reach the 4× speed, the user data cannot be recorded normally and can be damaged. Consequently, the 4×-speed disc, which may be appropriate as a 3×-speed disc or a 2×-speed disc instead, is discarded as a defective disc.
Accordingly, a method of using such a disc is needed, and a subsequent operation is needed to handle a case where a recording speed of the disc decreases due to various manufacturing conditions of the disc.

Optical information storage medium and recording/reproducing method for the optical information storage medium


The present invention provides methods and apparatus for the rapid and efficient collection and purification of activated monocytes. The methods and apparatus of the present invention provide means for effecting the collection and purification in an aseptic environment. The method involves filtering a blood component mixture through a monocyte-adhering filter; washing the blood component mixture; backflushing the filter with a physiological solution; and backflushing the filter with Dextran-40/serum albumin.

Monocytes are an important leukocyte subset for potential clinical use as cell therapy agents. In culture, and with the addition of the appropriate cytokines, monocytes can differentiate into other clinically useful cells such as activated monocytes/macrophages (1-10), dendritic cells (11-15), endothelial-like cells (16-21), osteoclasts (22-23), and microglial cells (24). For example, monocytes/macrophages have been utilized for the experimental regeneration of central nerve tissue, the clinical treatment of chronic wounds, and adoptive immunotherapy. In animal models, monocytes/macrophages pretreated by exposure to damaged, regeneration-competent peripheral nerve imparts to macrophages the ability to promote the experimental regeneration of transected optic nerve (1) and spinal cord (2). Phytohemagglutinin stimulated allogenic mononuclear cells have been locally applied to venous or arterial ulcers in patients, resulting in accelerated granulation, epithelialization, and a greater likelihood of complete closure compared to untreated controls (3). Subcutaneous administration of allogeneic activated adherent monocytes/macrophages into the healthy tissue surrounding wounds promoted wound repair and closure in a murine system (4) and in patients with decubitus ulcers (5,6). Monocytes have also been cultured in autologous serum and recombinant granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor to promote differentiation 5 into macrophages, which have been subsequently activated with interferon gamma and other agents to produce macrophage-activated killer (MAK) cells for the treatment of cancer (7-10). Monocyte derived dendritic cells are being extensively investigated as professional antigen presenting cells and are being used in the laboratory in cellular-based vaccines for infectious diseases and are in use clinically for the treatment of cancer (11-15).
Non-Filter Methods for Monocyte Isolation:
There are several methods for the isolation of monocytes for clinical use. Large numbers (>1×109) of highly pure monocytes (>90%) can be isolated by density gradient sedimentation followed by counterflow centrifugal elutriation of mononuclear cells collected by apheresis (25). Those cells are somewhat activated immediately following isolation, but become quiescent after overnight incubation in a defined media (26). However, no closed system elutriator has yet been developed for sterile monocyte isolation. Alternatively, large numbers of monocytes (>1×109) can be purified by performing a continuous density gradient sedimentation to isolate mononuclear cells followed by either a continuous or discontinuous density gradient sedimentation to separate monocytes from lymphocytes (27,28). However, the technique requires two gradients, discontinuous gradients can be difficult to prepare, and the procedure is not easily carried out in closed systems. Monocytes have also been isolated by permitting attachment of cells derived from osmotically shocked buffy coats to the polyvinyl chloride polymer and plasticizers of blood containers (6). Cells isolated by adherence to blood container plastic are activated with or without osmotic shock, and have been shown to secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines during culture (29,30). While this technique can be performed in a closed system, it typically produces relatively small numbers of cells (<5×107) compared to elutriation methods. In addition, no method for cryopreservation of adherent monocytes from osmotically shocked buffy coat has been reported. Another disadvantage is that non-filter methods are time consuming and often require more than two hours to complete the isolation procedures. Therefore, there is a clinical need for the development of methods for sterile and rapid isolation of adherent monocyte preparations containing large numbers of cells that can be cryopreserved. Such preparations would facilitate the logistics of conducting clinical trials, including dose-ranging studies. These clinical applications might include the use of monocytes/macrophages for the healing of chronic wounds, the administration of endothelial cells for healing of chronic wounds, the use of endothelial cells for supplying new vessels to support repair of damaged heart tissue, the use of dendritic cells for the preparation of infectious disease or cancer vaccines, the use of osteoclasts for the control of pathological conditions resulting in excess bone formation and atherosclerosis (31), and the use of microglial cells to remove damaged central nervous tissue.
Filter Methods for Monocyte Isolation:
One source of leukocytes from which monocytes might be derived is from non-woven filters used to deplete leukocytes from blood and blood components. For example, leukocytes, including neutrophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes and monocytes, were recovered from a leukocyte depletion filter by Chong and coworkers by backflushing with cold, anticoagulant sodium citrate solution (32). One disadvantage of such a method, however, is that many of these leukocyte reduction filters bind platelets, which are released upon backflushing the filter and thus contaminate the final product. Platelets can interfere with the further culture of monocytes to dendritic cells, osteoclasts, and endothelial cells.
Ebner and colleagues utilized blood leukocyte reduction filters as a source of leukocytes along with two additional non-filter purification processes to eventually culture monocytes into dendritic cells (33). In that study, the authors used density gradient centrifugation to remove neutrophils and T-cells rosetting with sheep erythrocytes to remove residual red cells as a means to isolate monocytes from a leukodepletion filter.
An advantage of using filters as a source of leukocytes is that large quantities of monocytes can be aseptically collected with little contamination by red cells, platelets, and plasma. Additionally, filtration methods afford especially high quantities of activated monocytes. Activated monocytes exhibit pluripotency and can be cultured and differentiated into numerous other lineages including dendritic cells, macrophages, osteoclasts, endothelial cells, and microglial cells. Activated monocytes also secrete greater quantities of cytokines associated with inflammation and differentiation. Such activated monocytes also display dendritic cell surface markers earlier during culture than monocytes collected by other methods.
Non-woven filters such as are used in cord blood filters or stem cell filters can be used to concentrate monocytes from blood component mixtures. These monocyte adhering filters preferentially bind white cells over plasma, platelets, and red cells; and preferentially bind monocytes over lymphocytes or granulocytes. Other examples of monocyte adhering filters include whole blood leukoreduction filters, which also bind white cells preferentially over plasma, platelets, and red cells. As used herein, the term monocyte-adhering filter refers to a filter that will pass about 90% of the red cells in a blood component mixture, and about 75% platelets, yet retains at least about 75 to 100% monocytes, about 20 to 80% lymphocytes, and 10 to 50% granulocytes. A blood component mixture is any mixture derived from blood or blood products that includes leukocytes, and in particular monocytes.
An example of a monocyte-adhering filter is a commercially available non-woven filter of superfine polyethylene terephthalate fibers coated with about 97% 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and about 3% N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate. (SCF System, Asahi Medical Corp.) (34). Such filters pass about 90% red cells and about 75% platelets, while retaining at least about 86% monocytes, about 74% lymphocytes, and about 31% granulocytes.
Using a backflush solution of Dextran-40 solution and serum albumin under high shear conditions, it is possible to recover greater than 80% of the CD34+ cells in a blood component mixture as well as about 80% of cells with longterm culture initiating cell (LTC-IC) activity. Stem cells and monocytes isolated from backflushing the filter were still contaminated with substantial numbers of lymphocytes and neutrophils; therefore, preparations still contained low percentages (10%) of monocyte subpopulations (34).
Existing filtration collection methods suffer several disadvantages. They require additional purification to adequately enrich monocytes for potential clinical use. Most, if not all, of the purification methods are difficult or impossible to carry out in a closed system, making maintenance of sterility a problem in producing clinical grade cell preparations. Similarly, most purification procedures require more than two hours for completion, making the isolation process costly and time consuming.
There is a need in the art for apparatus and methods that provide rapid means for differentially separating white cell subpopulations from the filter itself, and that avoid the need for additional separation and sterilization techniques. This would provide means for the sterile isolation of large numbers of monocytes in a closed system with adequate purity. The resulting cells could be used directly for cell therapy, or cultured in closed systems for use by those skilled in the art for differentiation into macrophages, dendritic cells, osteoclasts, endothelial-like cells, or microglial cells, and could subsequently be used in cellular therapeutic procedures.

Method for enriching adherent monocyte populations


The present disclosure relates to modified homoserine dehydrogenase and a method for producing a homoserine-derived L-amino acid using the same.

Among L-amino acids, L-threonine, L-isoleucine, and L-methionine commonly use homoserine produced by homoserine dehydrogenase (hereinafter referred to as "Hom"; EC:184.108.40.206) from aspartate-semialdehyde (hereinafter referred to as "ASA"). Therefore, in order to produce the amino acids via a fermentation method, it is essential to maintain the activities of enzymes used in the biosynthetic pathway at a certain level or higher, and intensive research thereon has been conducted.
In particular, the activity of homoserine dehydrogenase acting at the branch point of the biosynthetic pathways of L-lysine and L-threonine is known to be regulated by L-threonine and L-isoleucine. Recently, there have been several reports on Hom desensitized to feedback inhibition by L-threonine and a method for producing L-threonine using the same. In 1991, Eikmann et al. in Germany reported Hom desensitized by substituting glycine, which is the amino acid residue at position 378 of Hom, with glutamate (Eikmanns B J et al., Appl. Microbial Biotechnol. 34: 617-622, 1991); and in 1991, Archer et al. reported that desensitization occurs when the C-terminus of Hom is damaged due to a frame-shift mutation (Archer J A et al., Gene 107: 53-59, 1991).

Nucleic acid encoding a modified homoserine dehydrogenase


A vacuum cooling system is provided with controls for reliably and consistently controlling the cooling system for a chamber that holds produce provided with a vacuum pump, a refrigeration system, a vent valve, a bleed valve, first, second and third pressure detectors or pressure set points and a programmable logic controller for starting the pump and then automatically operating the refrigeration system in response to operation of the first pressure detector and then momentarily and repeatedly opening the bleed valve in response to operation of the second detector and wherein the third detector detects a pressure above the second level detector and the control system closes the bleed valve in response to operation of the third pressure detector.

This invention relates to cooling of produce to remove field heat from harvested crops such as lettuce, celery, mixed leaf lettuce, spinach, cabbage, and cauliflower. The invention is preferably used in connection with cooling equipment provided by Western Precooling Systems under the trademark Hydro Vac and illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,844,132 and 4,576,014. It is envisioned that this equipment will also be used to vacuum cool products other than produce, such as turkeys or sod, that would not use the water spray of the Hydro Vac system.
In this equipment, freshly harvested produce (or other product) is placed in a vacuum chamber equipped with a vacuum pump, vacuum and temperature control instruments and gages, a refrigeration system having a cooling coil inside the chamber for condensing water evaporated from the produce and a spray system for spraying water on the produce. The produce is cooled by evaporation of water from the produce and by conduction of heat from the produce to the condensed water. A restricted vent is provided into the chamber for re-pressurizing the chamber at a controlled rate after cooling so that water on the produce is not forced into the cells of the produce to damage the produce. The heat removed from the produce is removed from the chamber by the refrigeration coils which condense water vapor and cool the air and water in the chamber.
Operation of the vacuum pump in the system can be started and stopped by totally starting or stopping a pump or by opening and closing a butterfly valve between the pump and chamber, and similarly, operation of the refrigeration system can be started and stopped by totally starting and stopping the system or by opening and closing a valve in an ammonia refrigerant line. The cooling system has been manually controlled with the operator:
a--starting the vacuum pump, PA1 b--then starting the Hydro Vac water circulation pump which may be operated or not and for different times depending on the different produce (where water spraying is used, it is usually desirable to start water spraying at a pressure, for instance about 300 millimeters of mercury, above that at which water flashing vaporization starts so that the produce is wet and does not lose its own water when flashing starts), PA1 c--then starting the refrigeration system after the vacuum gauge stops falling indicating that water in the produce has started flashing (this occurs at a pressure of about 15 to 20 millimeters of mercury depending of produce field temperature, 15 mm for 75 degrees F. and 20 mm for 100 degrees F.), PA1 d--then monitoring wet bulb or internal product temperature probes or the vacuum gauge to determine when the surface temperature of the produce reaches about 33 degrees F. and stopping further cooling by first stopping the ammonia supply to the cooling coil in the refrigeration system, then closing the vacuum butterfly valve if necessary, and then flicking the vent valve open and closed quickly if necessary, PA1 e--then restarting the refrigeration and pump if the temperature and pressure in the chamber rise, and PA1 f--finally when the entire load of produce has been cooled to about 33 degrees F. as indicated by the temperature probe in the produce, the process is stopped by stopping the vacuum pump and refrigeration, venting the chamber and removing the produce.
Operation of the Hydro Vac equipment in this way has been very successful, but operator inattention to the equipment has reduced throughput of product and on occasion produced inconsistent results, or even freezing of the product, thereby ruining the product.

Method and apparatus for cooling produce


A radiation sensitive compound prepared by reacting a phenol compound with a quinone diazide sulfonyl halide in a mixture of a solvent having a relative dielectric constant of not larger than 10 and a solvent having a relative dielectric constant of at least 15, which compound is less colored and gives a positive resist composition having a good resolution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for preparing a radiation sensitive compound and a positive resist composition comprising said radiation sensitive compound which is produced by the process of the present invention.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, as a radiation sensitive component of a positive resist composition, a condensation product of a phenol compound and a quinone diazide sulfonyl halide has been used. When a hydroxyl group of the phenol compound is present near a group having a large steric hindrance or a ratio of the quinone diazide sulfonyl halide to the phenol compound is increased, a condensation reaction takes a long time in a solvent having a low relative dielectric constant. Depending on a kind of a sensitizer, a produced compound is precipitated in the solvent having the low relative dielectric constant. To solve such problems, it is proposed to increase an amount of a basic catalyst such as triethylamine. Though the increase of the catalyst amount shortens the reaction time and overcomes the precipitation problem, the radiation sensitive compound is severely colored so that resolution of a resist composition containing such compound is decreased.

Process for preparing radiation sensitive compound and positive resist composition


A garment and laundry press including a relatively movable press buck and press head one of which is connected to pivotal arm structure at one thereof with the other end of said pivotal arm structure being connected to a longitudinally extending fluid pressure driven rotatable actuator member.

The present invention relates to laundry machinery apparatus and more particularly to an improved apparatus for imparting relative motion for engagement and disengagement or closing and opening of a cooperating press buck and press head of a garment and laundry press machine.
A number of garment and laundry press machines for moving a press head into and out of engagement with a press buck have long been known in the garment and laundry machinery art, attention being directed to such U.S. Pat. No. 2,971,281, issued to E. N. Neckel on Feb. 14, 1961; U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,159 issued to D. L. Radford et. al. on Jan. 20, 1970; U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,290, issued to Ake Anderson on Jul. 28, 1981; U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,624, issued to D. B. Ward on Aug. 23, 1983; and, U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,745, issued to G. L. Oberly on Jul. 4, 1989. For the most part, these and other head press activating mechanisms of prior garment and laundry pressing machinery have used standard air and steam circuitry to activate pivotal arm linkages, such linkages being connected to press heads which, in turn, reciprocally move into and out of pressing engagement with press bucks with steam being connected to the press.
These past garment and laundry pressing arrangements have been comparatively costly in the manufacture of numerous intricate parts and the assembly of these parts into operating machinery and often have presented problems in both maintenance and in parts replacement. Further, comparatively complex indexing machinery, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,535, issued to S. S. Gill on Nov. 19, 1991, has been required to move the press heads through a comparatively limited radius angle, which in turn restricts machinery use in pressing large garment and laundry articles and in the refined pressing of small garment and laundry articles which often require ready accessibility to the press buck for manual hand manipulation.
The present invention provides a comparatively inexpensive, economical and efficient garment and laundry press structure, recognizing and effectively modifying and utilizing rotary actuator structure heretofore known in the prior art. In this regard, attention is further directed to long known U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,738, issued to F. C. Eicher et. al. on Oct. 9, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,875, issued to H. J. Amshoff, III on Oct. 4, 1988; and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,453, issued to F. Eicher et. al. on Aug. 20, 1991. All three of these known patents disclose a pressure driven vane actuator disposed in a fixed chamber defining house with the vane actuator being keyed to a shaft to rotate the shaft for powering purposes. The present invention recognizes and avails itself of the structural teachings of these patents, modifying and utilizing the known structure in a new and unobvious manner to bring about a unique garment and laundry press arrangement heretofore unknown in the art.
Various other feature of the present invention will become obvious to one skilled in the garment and laundry press art upon reading the disclosure herein.


An exterior siding mounting bracket assembly used in conjunction with siding placed over sheathing of an exterior wall has a base member having a mounting flange fastened to the sheathing and a water diversion fitting also fastened to the sheathing and flashed in-part beneath the lower end of the mounting flange. A wall arrangement projects laterally outward from the mounting flange and away from the sheathing. A trim member of the bracket assembly has a partition arrangement that preferably snap fits to the wall arrangement and a trim flange constructed and arranged to substantially cover the water diversion fitting and the cut edges of the siding that cover in-part the mounting flange. Preferably, the water diversion fitting has an elongated drip edge spaced outwardly from the siding to shed water collected from generally cascaded from the mounting flange and outward from the siding.

Especially common in residential building structures, the sheathing of exterior walls are known to be covered with a siding material typically made of aluminum, plastic, cedar or other synthetic material often made to appear like wood. Often, various exterior appendages of the home such as cloths dryer vents, exterior light fixtures, electrical outlets, and water spigots must be trimmed-out for aesthetic reasons. This is commonly done with a mounting bracket. One such example of a known mounting bracket is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,708, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The known mounting bracket has an internal base member that snap fits to an external trim member along an axis disposed perpendicular to the sheathing and during assembly. The base member has a continuous flange that projects radially outward and is typically nailed to the sheathing. Projecting axially or laterally outward from the flange and to an inner central panel is a continuous wall. Generally, the wall defines the perimeter of the central panel. A cutout communicates through the panel and has a shape generally dictated by the appendage projecting through it.
The trim member has a continuous partition that projects laterally and axially inward toward the base member, and an aesthetically pleasing flange that projects radially outward from the partition. An opening is generally defined by the partition and receives the wall and panel when the bracket is assembled. The partition is generally shaped to conform with the wall. Multi-positional snap fit features are known to be carried between a radially outward surface of the wall and a radially inward surface of the partition. When the bracket is assembled, the close proximity of the partition to the wall causes the feature to lock the partition and wall together.
During construction of the building, once the base member is secured to the wall, the siding material is installed over the wall and over the flange. The siding, however, must be trimmed so that it is slightly spaced from the continuous wall of the base member. This spacing allows room for entry of the continuous partition of the trim piece, yet is close enough to the wall so that the ends are aesthetically concealed by the outer flange of the trim member which is substantially flush to the siding. Unfortunately, the siding is typically exposed to rain or water which flows down the siding and beneath the exterior flange. This water can accumulate and seep into the concealed ends of the siding and seep further down to the inner flange of the base member exposing the sheathing to moisture. The retained moisture can potentially create a host of problems including the rot of wood, disintegration of simulated materials and the attraction of unwanted insects.

Exterior siding mounting bracket assembly and method of assembly


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for suggesting search queries relevant to a user's context. One of the methods includes providing a navigation control for navigating in a graphical space. A portion of a large-scale graphical space is displayed on a screen of an electronic device and a navigation control is generated and displayed on the screen. The navigation control includes a ring-shaped graphical entity and a knob graphical entity positioned at point on the ring-shaped graphical entity. A zooming user input can be received to the navigation control, and in response, zooming in the graphical space is provided. The zooming user input includes the user selecting the knob graphical entity and tracing a shape of the ring-shaped graphical entity with the knob graphical entity in either a first direction to zoom in or in a second direction to zoom out.

People spend considerable time using their electronic devices, and more particularly, their handheld electronic devices (also referred to as mobile electronic devices), such as mobile telephones, music players, PDAs (personal digital assistant) and the like. Users best like those devices that are intuitive to use and whose interactions best meet their expectations regarding how machines should operate. They interact with electronics through inputs and outputs from the devices, where the outputs generally are provided audibly and/or on a flat graphical display screen. Inputs may occur via touch screens, joysticks, mice, keypads, rollers balls and other such input mechanisms.
As electronic devices become more powerful, users interact with them more by viewing and/or interacting with graphical entities, such as maps, images, video, web pages and the like. The information represented by such entities may be enormous and very large (e.g., a detailed map of the United States can be miles wide), while the displays on electronic devices can be very small. As a result, it can be a challenge to provide graphical information in sufficient detail for a user, for example, by zooming in on one area of an entity, while still giving the user a sense of space and permitting the user to move intuitively through the space.

Navigation control for an electronic device


A ferromagnetic material sputtering target made of metal having a composition containing 20 mol % or less of Cr, and Co as the remainder thereof, wherein the structure of the target includes a metallic substrate (A), and, in the metallic substrate (A), a spherical phase (B) containing 90 wt % or more of Co in which the difference between the longest diameter and the shortest diameter is 0 to 50%. Provided is a ferromagnetic material sputtering target capable of improving the leakage magnetic flux to obtain a stable electrical discharge with a magnetron sputtering device.

The present invention relates to a ferromagnetic material sputtering target for use in the deposition of a magnetic thin film of a magnetic recording medium, and particularly of a magnetic recording layer of a hard disk adopting the perpendicular magnetic recording system, and to a sputtering target which is able to obtain stable electrical discharge when sputtered with a magnetron sputtering device.
In the field of magnetic recording as represented with hard disk drives, a material based on Co, Fe or Ni as ferromagnetic metals is used as the material of the magnetic thin film which is used for the recording. For example, Co—Cr-based or
Co—Cr—Pt-based ferromagnetic alloys with Co as its main component are used for the recording layer of hard disks adopting the longitudinal magnetic recording system.
Moreover, composite materials of Co—Cr—Pt-based ferromagnetic alloys with Co as its main component and nonmagnetic inorganic matter are often used for the recording layer of hard disks adopting the perpendicular magnetic recording system which was recently put into practical application.
A magnetic thin film of a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk is often produced by sputtering a ferromagnetic material sputtering target having the foregoing materials as its components in light of its high productivity.
As a method of manufacturing this kind of ferromagnetic material sputtering target, the melting method or powder metallurgy may be considered. It is not necessarily appropriate to suggest which method is better since it will depend on the demanded characteristics, but a sputtering target made of ferromagnetic alloys and nonmagnetic inorganic particles used for the recording layer of hard disks adopting the perpendicular magnetic recording system is generally manufactured with powder metallurgy. This is because the inorganic particles need to be uniformly dispersed within the alloy substrate, and this is difficult to achieve with the melting method.
For example, proposed is a method of performing mechanical alloying to alloy powder with an alloy phase produced with the rapid solidification method and powder configuring a ceramic phase, uniformly dispersing the powder configuring the ceramic phase in the alloy powder, and molding this by way of hot press to obtain a sputtering target for a magnetic recording medium (Patent Document 1).
The target in the foregoing case has an appearance where the substrate is bonded in the form of soft roe (cod fish sperm) and surrounded by SiO2 (ceramics) (FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1) or dispersed in the shape of thin strings (FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1). Although the other drawings are unclear, it is assumed that they show similar structures.
These structures entail the problems described later, and are not considered to be favorable sputtering targets for a magnetic recording medium. Note that the spherical substance shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1 is mechanical alloying powder, and not a target structure.
Moreover, even if alloy powder produced with the rapid solidification method is not used, a ferromagnetic material sputtering target can be prepared by preparing commercially available raw material powders for the respective components configuring the target, weighing these raw material powders to the intended composition, mixing the powders with well-known methods by using a ball mill or the like, and molding and sintering the mixed powder by way of hot press.
There are various types of sputtering devices, but a magnetron sputtering device comprising a DC power source is broadly used in light of its high productivity for the deposition of the foregoing magnetic recording film. This sputtering method makes a positive electrode substrate and a negative electrode target face each other, and generates an electric field by applying high voltage between the substrate and the target under an inert gas atmosphere.
Here, the sputtering method employs a fundamental principle where inert gas is ionized, plasma composed of electrons and positive ions is formed, and the positive ions in this plasma collide with the target (negative electrode) surface so as to discharge the atoms configuring the target. The extruded atoms adhere to the opposing substrate surface, wherein the film is formed. As a result of performing the sequential process described above, the material configuring the target is deposited on the substrate.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No.H10-88333

Ferromagnetic material sputtering target


A radio card is disclosed that is rigid on one end and relatively flexible on the second end. The radio card's 68-pin connector and radio are mounted on the rigid end of the card, and the antenna, which is advantageously fabricated from a flexible material, is mounted on the relatively flexible end of the card. When the radio card is inserted into a PC Card slot in the wireless terminal, the rigid end (with the 68-pin connector) is inserted first. When the radio card is seated inside the wireless terminal's card slot, the flexible end of the radio card (which comprises the antenna) is flexed so that the plane of the antenna is advantageously parallel to the plane of the slot doors or housing or both of the wireless terminal. When the doors and housing of the wireless terminal adjacent to the antenna is unshielded, the antenna can radiate through the doors and housing and can exhibit favorable radio propagation characteristics. Because the radio card does not extend out of the wireless terminal's card slot, the doors to the card slot can be closed, which prevents dirt and dust from entering the wireless terminal. Furthermore, because the radio card does not extend out of the wireless terminal, neither the radio card nor the wireless terminal are unlikely to be damaged if the wireless terminal is accidentally dropped.

In the last few years it has become increasingly common for a hand-held wireless terminal (e.g., a notebook computer, a supermarket scanner, a warehouse data-entry device, etc.) to be equipped with a wireless telecommunications capability to enable the wireless terminal to transmit information to a host system, or to receive information from the host system, or both. For example, a worker in a warehouse can carry a wireless terminal to assist a host system in monitoring inventory. The host system can transmit by radio to the wireless terminal a request to the worker to check how many units of a particular item are in the warehouse. After the worker has counted the number of units the worker can enter the number into the wireless terminal, which relays the number back to the host system by radio.
Although some wireless terminals (e.g., cellular telephones, cordless telephones, etc.) are manufactured with a permanent, integrated radio, other wireless terminals (e.g., hand-held data-entry devices, notebook computers, etc.) are not. One advantage of manufacturing a wireless terminal without a permanent radio is that it enables the end-user to select a radio that is appropriate for the environment in which the wireless terminal is to operate.
The wireless terminals that are manufactured without an integrated radio are, however, usually manufactured with the capability to connect to a radio. Typically, the connection is made through an industry-standard specification that prescribes both the mechanical and electrical interface. Currently, the PCMCIA "PC Card" interface is the standard to which almost all wireless terminals are designed.
The PC Card specification prescribes a slot in the wireless terminal for receiving a credit-card-shaped radio and a 68-pin electrical connector on both the radio card and in the slot so that the radio card and the wireless terminal can share power, ground and signaling. The PC Card interface also specifies the voltage, timing, and signaling protocol on each lead of the 68-pin electrical connector.
Typically, a PC radio card has a built-in antenna for transmitting and receiving signals. FIG. 1 depicts a diagram of a top view of a typical radio card. As shown in FIG. 1, radio card 100 comprises radio 107, which is electrically connected to antenna 103 via lead 105, all of which are mounted on printed circuit board 101. Typically, lead 105 is printed on printed circuit board 101. Radio card 100 also comprises connector 109, which is the 68-pin electrical connector between radio 107 and the circuitry within the wireless terminal.
FIG. 2 depicts a diagram of a top view of wireless terminal 201 and radio card 100 when radio card 100 has been properly inserted into wireless terminal 201. FIG. 3 depicts a side view of FIG. 2. When radio card 100 is seated into wireless terminal 201, that portion of radio card 100 comprising antenna 103 typically projects out of wireless terminal 201 because it enables antenna 103 to radiate and receive signals unhindered by the housing of wireless terminal 201.
There are, however, two distinct disadvantages to having the radio card project out of the wireless terminal. First, the fact that radio card 100 extends beyond the housing of wireless terminal 201 greatly increases the likelihood that the radio card or the wireless terminal or both will be damaged if the wireless terminal is accidentally dropped and lands on radio card 100. Second, many wireless terminals have one or more doors (e.g., door 203) that cover the slot into which a PC Card is inserted. The fact that radio card 100 extends beyond the housing of wireless terminal 201 precludes the closing of door 203, which allows dirt and dust to enter the wireless terminal.
Therefore, the need exists for an improved radio card design or terminal design or both that does not increase the likelihood that the radio card or wireless terminal or both will be damaged if the wireless terminal is accidentally dropped and that does not allow dirt and dust to enter the wireless terminal. Furthermore, the improved radio card design or terminal design or both should exhibit favorable radio propagation characteristics.


An electrophotographic image carrier is disclosed. The image carrier has a photoreceptor made from a photoreceptive layer and a resin layer. The resin layer is made of a siloxane resin having a cross-linked structure, and contains an anti-oxidant.

This invention relates to an electrophotographic image carrier and an image forming apparatus, an image forming method and a processing cartridge using the image carrier.
Recently, an electrophotographic image forming method is popularly used for writing digital processed data, in which an organic photoreceptor is exposed to light doted image wise to form a static latent image on the image carrier comprising a photoreceptor and an image is formed by a reversal development.
It is required to the electrophotographic image carrier comprising the photoreceptor to be used in such the method that the photoreceptor is stable for a prolonged period of time of use and is able to correspond to writing of a high-resolution image. Usually, an organic photoreceptor, also referred to OPC, is an essential technology for a process requiring a high image quality since the organic photoreceptor can be selected from a great choice of materials, compared with an inorganic photoreceptor. Accordingly, the organic photoreceptor can easily be corresponded to various kinds of light source and is excellent in the stability of charged potential.
On the other hand, the organic photoreceptor is required to be improved in the durability thereof since the organic photoreceptor is low in the mechanical strength and a defect caused by a wearing or a damage. The use of a protective layer formed by cross-linked a siloxane resin, which is excellent in the mechanical strength, is noted as a technology by which the resistivity of the organic photoreceptor to the problems of damage and wearing can be raised.
Various trial have been carried out to solve such the problems. For example, a technology in which a condensation product of an organic silicon polymer and colloidal silica is contained in the surface layer is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection No. 9-319130.
Recently, as described in Japanese Patent Publication Open to public Inspection (JP O.P.I.) 9-190004, a photoreceptor is developed which has a resin layer containing a siloxane resin having a charge transportable structural unit. Such the protective layer is superior in the mechanical strength and the electric property, and the drawback of the mechanical strength of the organic photoreceptor can be considerably improved thereby. However, the effect of such the layer is insufficient yet in the durability and the image quality.
Besides, it has been known that the charge transporting substance in the properties of the photoreceptive layer is deteriorated by an oxidant gas such as ozone or NOx formed by an electrode for charging, transferring or separating. The oxidation of the photoreceptor causes lowering in the charging property and the light sensitivity, consequently a fault in the image such as fogging or lowering in the image density is occurred. However, the deterioration is apparently inhibited in an usual photoreceptor since the photoreceptive layer is suitably worn and the extreme surface, which is mostly deteriorated, is suitably worn and the deteriorated substance and the contamination substance on the surface is removed. In contrast, in the photoreceptor having the resin layer containing the siloxane resin having the charge transportable structural unit, the mechanical strength and the electrophotographic property of the photoreceptor can be raised by the strength of the siloxane resin and the presence of the charge transportable unit and an advantage that the wearing amount of the photoreceptor is extremely reduced. However, the reduced wearing amount of the photoreceptor makes difficult to remove the effect of the contamination substance formed by the effect of the oxidant gas such as ozone or NOx. Accordingly, it is strongly required to inhibit the deterioration under the condition in which the wearing is difficultly occurred.
It is pointed out that the problems of deterioration in the stability of charged potential of the photoreceptor and the image quality are caused by accumulation of the deteriorated substance formed by the oxidant gas such as ozone and NOx in a prolonged period of time since the siloxane resin having a cross-linked structure excellent in the surface strength is lowered in the wearing amount. The invention is carried out to solve such the problems.
As a result of the studying by the inventors, it is a problem of the cross-linked layer of organic silicon that the layer is easily influenced by the absorbed moisture under a high humid condition since a not reacted hydrolyzable group or a silanol group tends to be remained on the layer surface. When a large amount of not reacted group exists, absorption of water molecules and formation of a product of discharge in the charging process tend to occur under a high humid condition. Consequently, the surface electric resistivity is lowered and a problem such as image flowing is caused.
The above-mentioned phenomena are considerably occurred at a portion near the charging electrode when the image carrying drum is stopped. For example, the image flowing cannot be sufficiently inhibited at the portion under the charging electrode by blowing exhausted air or a heating device arranged at a portion near the image carrying drum. It is considered that the damaging substance such as active oxygen formed in the operating period is remained around the charging electrode and affects to the photoreceptor coated on the stopped image carrier. Accordingly, the surface of the image carrier cannot be uniformly heated by usual blowing of the exhaust air or by the separated heating device arrange at near the image carrier, and effect of such the heating means may be insufficient to prevent the absorption of water molecules under the high humid condition.
The object of the invention is to provide an electrophotographic image carrier comprising a photoreceptor, in which the effects of the resin layer containing a siloxane resin having a cross-linked structure is maintained during a prolonged period of time, and which has a good charging property, a high sensitivity and a high image quality, and the charged potential thereof is stable in the course of use for a prolonged period of time, and to provide an image forming apparatus, an image forming method and a processing cartridge using the image carrier.
The another object of the invention is to provide an electrophotographic image carrier which has a good charging ability, a high sensitivity and a high wearing resistivity, and the surface resistivity thereof is not lowered under a high humid condition, consequently the problem of image flowing is not occurred, and to provide an image forming apparatus, an image forming method and a processing cartridge each using the electrophotographic image carrier.
The inventors have found that the deterioration of the resin layer can be effectively inhibited when the resin layer has a charge transportable structure and contains an anti-oxidant, particularly an anti-oxidant having a specific structure.
An electrophotographic image carrier comprising an electric conductive substrate provided thereon, a photoreceptor comprising a photoreceptive layer and a resin layer, in which the resin layer comprises a siloxane resin having a charge transportable structural unit and a cross-linked structure, and the resin layer contains an anti-oxidant.
An electrophotographic photoreceptor comprising a resin layer which comprises a siloxane resin having a cross-linked structure which is formed by reacting an organic silicon compound having a hydroxyl group or a hydrolyzable group with a compound having a charge transportable structural unit, and the resin layer contains an anti-oxidant.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor wherein the resin layer comprises a siloxane resin having a cross-linked structure represented by the following Formula 1.
wherein X is a structural unit having charge transportability, and Z is an optional linking group having two or more valences.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor wherein Z in Formula 1 is a substituted or unsubstituted alkylene group or a substituted or unsubstituted arylene group.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor wherein Z in Formula 1 is an atom or a group each having two or more valences when the adjacently bonded atoms (the silicon atom Si and the carbon atom C constituting a part of the charge transportable structural unit) are removed.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor wherein Z in Formula 1 is O, S or NR, and R in Formula 1 is H or a mono-valent organic group.
An electrophotographic photoreceptor comprising a resin layer which comprises a siloxane resin having a cross-linked structure which is formed by reacting an organic silicon compound having a hydroxyl group or a hydrolyzable group with a compound having a charge transportable structural unit which has a hydroxyl group, and the resin layer contains an anti-oxidant.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor, wherein the anti-oxidant is a hindered phenol compound.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor, wherein the anti-oxidant is a hindered amine compound.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor, wherein the anti-oxidant is an organic phosphor anti-oxidation compound.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor wherein the anti-oxidant is an organic sulfur anti-oxidation compound.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor, wherein the resin layer is arranged as the outermost layer.
An image forming method using the electrophotographic image carrier comprising photoreceptor, which comprises the steps of charging, image wise exposing, developing, transferring and cleaning.
An image forming apparatus comprises the electrophotographic image carrier and processes of charging, image wise exposing, developing, transferring and cleaning.
A processing cartridge to be used for image forming through the processes of charging, image wise exposing, developing, transferring and cleaning in which the processing cartridge comprises a combination of the electrophotographic image carrier with at least one of a charging device, an image exposing device, a developing device, a transferring device and a cleaning device.
An electrophotographic image carrier comprising a photoreceptor having a layer containing a siloxane resin having a cross-linked structure.
The electrophotographic image carrier wherein the layer containing the siloxane resin having the cross-linked structure is a resin layer formed by reacting an organic silicon compound having a hydroxyl group or a hydrolyzable group with colloidal silica.
The electrophotographic image carrier, wherein the photoreceptor contains a layer containing a siloxane resin having a charge transportable structural unit and a cross-linked structure.
The electrophotographic image carrier, wherein the photoreceptor contains a layer containing a siloxane resin having a charge transporting ability and a cross-linked structure.
The electrophotographic image carrier, wherein the siloxane resin having a charge transporting ability and a cross-linked structure is a siloxane resin formed by reacting an organic silicon compound having a hydroxyl group of a hydrolyzable group with a compound having a structural unit which has a hydroxyl group and a charge transporting ability.
The electrophotographic image carrier, wherein the layer containing the siloxane resin having the charge transporting ability and the cross-linked structure contains an antioxidant.
The electrophotographic image carrier, wherein the layer containing the siloxane resin having the charge transporting ability and the cross-linked structure contains a hindered phenol compound or a hindered amine compound as an antioxidant.
The electrophotographic image carrier, wherein the layer containing the siloxane resin having the cross-linked structure is a surface protective layer.
The electrophotographic image carrier wherein the image formation is carried out while heating the photoreceptor by a heating device from the interior of the photoreceptor.
An image forming method wherein the electrophotographic image carrier is used and the method comprises the step of heating the electro-photographic image carrier.
The image forming method wherein the step of heating the electrophotographic image carrier is carried out from the interior of the photoreceptor thereof.
An image forming apparatus wherein the electro-photographic image carrier is used and an image is formed through the processes of charging, imagewise exposing, developing, transferring, separating and cleaning.
A processing cartridge to be used for forming an image using the electrophotographic image carrier and through processes of charging, imagewise exposing, developing, transferring, separating and cleaning, wherein the processing cartridge comprises a combination of the electrophotographic image carrier and at least one of a charging device, an image exposing device, a developing device, a transferring or separating device and a cleaning device.

Electrophotographic image carrier and image forming apparatus, image forming method and processing cartridge using it