The present invention has its object to provide a technique which can eliminate HC poisoning of an exhaust gas purification catalyst in a suitable manner in a fuel injection control system of an internal combustion engine which can use a liquid fuel and a gas fuel. In order to achieve this object, the present invention is constructed such that in the fuel injection control system of an internal combustion engine capable of using a liquid fuel and a gas fuel, when HC poisoning of the exhaust gas purification catalyst has occurred, HC poisoning is intended to be eliminated by causing the internal combustion engine to operate by the use of the gas fuel if the temperature of the exhaust gas purification catalyst is less than a specified value, whereas the elimination of HC poisoning is intended by causing the internal combustion engine to operate by the use of the liquid fuel if the temperature of an exhaust gas purification device is not less than the specified value.

In recent years, there have been proposed internal combustion engines which can be operated by the use of a plurality of kinds of fuels. In such internal combustion engines, there has been proposed a technique in which a gas fuel (CNG: Compressed Natural Gas) is used during a period of time from engine starting until a catalyst for exhaust gas purification becomes activated, and a liquid fuel (gasoline) is used after the exhaust gas purification catalyst has been activated (see, for example, a first patent document).
In addition, there has also been proposed a technique in which in an internal combustion engine capable of using a plurality of kinds of fuels, a liquid fuel is used at the time of carrying out NOX reduction treatment of an NOX storage reduction catalyst which is arranged in an exhaust system of the internal combustion engine (see, for example, a second patent document).

Fuel injection control system of an internal combustion engine


An apparatus is disclosed for sealing pallets of fresh produce inside plastic bags and furnishing the interiors of the sealed bags with a modified gaseous atmosphere. Conventional pallets loaded with cooled fresh produce are moved one at a time to an in-line squeeze station. The produce load of a pallet positioned at the squeeze station is squeezed between opposed vertical walls to suspend it above the pallet base as a downwardly movable floorplate descends to allow the deposition of a plastic sheet lining on the pallet. The floorplate is raised to its former level to bear the weight of the loaded pallet as the produce load is unsqueezed and the loaded pallet is moved by conveyor to a bagging station.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of bagging product units on a production line, and in particular to a method and apparatus for bagging agricultural produce pallets in preparation for modifying the atmosphere surrounding the produce inside the bag with a gas or gas mixture to retard ripening and spoilage, or to otherwise promote freshness and extend the shelf life of such produce.
2. Description of the Related Art
The ripening of agricultural produce such as tomatoes or peaches is affected by the atmosphere surrounding the produce. Many foodstuffs, such as fresh produce (e.g., strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, cauliflower), can have their fresh condition maintained for an extended period of time by controlling the gaseous atmosphere inside the package in which they are contained. Losses during shipment and storage can be substantially decreased in this manner so that a greater percentage of fresh produce can be delivered to the consumer in acceptable condition.
Many kinds of fresh produce, a primary one being strawberries, are shipped in a quantity of boxes on a pallet base, with the entire load being enclosed by a plastic bag that is sealed to the base. U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,931, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, discloses the providing of a special atmosphere into the containing space formed by the plastic bag by first inserting a sharp-ended ended nozzle through the plastic sheeting, evacuating the air inside the bag, and introducing gases into the interior. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/311,225, U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,302 filed Feb. 15, 1989, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Bagging Product Units," by Kevin J. Bolejack and Frederick Forgnone is hereby also incorporated herein by reference.
That application discloses a method and apparatus for enclosing pallets of fresh produce in sealed bags and furnishing the interiors of the sealed bags with a modified gaseous atmosphere for preserving such produce. Conventional pallets loaded with fresh produce are transported from cooling tunnels to an input conveyor. The input conveyor moves the pallets automatically one at a time to an in-line squeeze station. When a pallet is positioned at the squeeze station the conveyor stops automatically. The produce load of a pallet positioned at the squeeze station is squeezed between opposed vertical walls to suspend it above the pallet base as a downwardly movable floorplate descends to allow the pallet base to be removed and replaced with a pallet having a plastic sheet lining secured between the pallet board runners and pallet deck boards. Then the floorplate is raised to its former level to bear the weight of the loaded pallet as the produce load is unsqueezed. Next the loaded pallet with its plastic-covered base is moved by conveyor to a bagging station. The free edges of the plastic sheeting on the plastic covered base are folded upward and attached to the trays on the first tier of the produce load, and the mouth of a plastic bag is drawn downward over the top of the loaded pallet.
The bag is initially draped over an arm radiating from a bagger frame which keeps a supply of bags draped over a plurality of such radial arms at a convenient height. The arms extend from a rotatable hub so that bags can be moved into position above successive loaded pallets as they are needed. Following the bagging step the bagged pallet is moved to a turntable and sealed by rotation against spring-loaded overlapping strips of tape. After being moved, preferably automatically, to a gassing station, the sealed bag surrounding the produce is first evacuated and then filled with a suitably modified atmosphere to preserve the freshness of the produce. A preferred method for bag evacuation and subsequent gas filling in the Tectrol Atmosphere Injection System employs the insertion of nozzle means through the plastic bag. Gases inside the bag are first removed with vacuum means and then replaced with a spoilage-retardant modified gaseous atmosphere. The hole punctured in the bag by the inserted nozzle is sealed, preferably with a patch of tape. Optionally, the gassed pallet may be reoriented through 90.degree. by a repositioning turntable and sent down an inclined portion of roller-surfaced table to a pallet exit area for removal, preferably by forklift.


A dynamic endpoint aggregator aggregates dynamic endpoints of requested Web services for efficiently delivering the Web services to a Web service client. The client communicates to the aggregator a plurality of SOAP requests each having a SOAP header containing a redirect URL for the aggregator in turn to access each of the requested Web services. Web service data is aggregated by the aggregator and then efficiently communicated to the client, which is particularly useful when wireless clients access Web services because of the limited bandwidth available over the wireless link. The aggregator also handles dynamic endpoints by dynamically resetting all endpoints of requested Web services without burdening the wireless link.

The term "Web service" typically refers to a modular application that can be invoked through the Internet. The consumers of Web services are typically other software applications that communicate, usually over HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), using XML (extensible Markup Language) standards including SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), WSDL (Web Services Description Language), and UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration). In other words, a "Web service" is an application hosted on a Web server that provides information and services to other network applications using the HTTP and XML protocols. Conceptually, a Web service can be understood as an URL-addressable library of functionality that is entirely independent of the consumer and stateless in its operation.
A conventional technique for accessing Web services is shown in FIG. 1. The client sends individual SOAP requests to each Web service and then receives individual SOAP responses from each Web service. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the client establishes three separate and direct communication sessions with each of the three Web services, which burdens the communication link between the client and the data network hosting the Web services. Furthermore, if dynamic endpoints have to be reset, for example for load balancing, the dynamic endpoints need to be reset at the client, which also burdens the communications link between the client and the data network. For wireless clients accessing Web services, this is particularly problematic since the wireless link typically has limited bandwidth.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide a system and method that enables a client to efficiently access Web services.
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.

Dynamic endpoint aggregator for web services


A panel insert for use with a structural panel and a fastener having a hold out mechanism. The panel insert comprises a body portion disposed within the structural panel. The body portion includes a first surface, an opposing second surface, and an aperture passing therethrough for receiving the fastener. A recessed portion opening to the second surface is provided to receive the hold out mechanism and secure the fastener to the structural panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to panel inserts for use with structural panels and fasteners having hold out mechanisms. In particular, the present invention relates to panel inserts for use with fasteners having hold out features.
2. Description of Related Art
Grommet inserts, also referred to as panel inserts, for fastening structural panels and composite sandwich panels together are well known in the art. These panel inserts are used in a wide variety of applications, most often as a strengthening means through which a fastener, bolt, or stud nut may be passed to couple other structures to a composite panel. In most cases, these panel inserts are formed by coupling two or more pieces together, usually a male piece and a female piece, through an aperture in the composite panel. There are many different ways to couple the pieces together and prevent them from exerting too much force on the panel, including: press fitting one portion into another, ratcheting one portion into another, receiving the lip of one piece with a groove on the other piece, deformation of one piece by the other piece, and so on. Some of these panel inserts include a counter bore to receive a flush head bolt or stud nut.
Panel inserts generally come in two types: xe2x80x9cprotruding,xe2x80x9d which have flanges that protrude beyond the opposing surfaces of the panels, and xe2x80x9cflush,xe2x80x9d which have flanges that are flush with one or both of the opposing exterior surfaces of the panel. Flush panel inserts usually involve some inward deformation of the panel surfaces near the aperture that passes through the panel. Although protruding panel inserts do not require any deformation of the panel, the flanges of the protruding panel insert often get in the way when panels or parts are being assembled or disassembled, particularly when bolts or stud nuts passing through the grommet also protrude beyond the surfaces of the panel. On the other hand, because the flanges of flush panel inserts are flush with one or more of the opposing surfaces of the panel, the panels assemble and disassemble easier and faster, with less opportunity for incidental damage from handling.
The primary purpose of these grommet panel inserts is to strengthen the panel at aperture through which the fastener, bolt, or stud nut passes.
Although these flush panel inserts may be installed flush with the exterior surfaces of the structural or composite panel, they do not adequately provide for flushly mounting fasteners having hold out mechanisms.
There is a need for a composite panel insert having a recess to receive a hold out mechanism of a fastener or stud nut, whereby the hold out mechanism and the stud nut are flush with a surface of the composite panel when the stud nut is in a hold out position.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a composite panel insert having a recess to receive a hold out mechanism of a fastener or stud nut, whereby the hold out mechanism and the stud nut are flush with a surface of the composite panel when the stud nut is in a hold out position.
A principle advantage of the present invention is that when the hold out mechanism and the stud nut are flush, or sub-flush, with the interior surface of the composite panel, i.e., the surface of the panel that mates with another structural component, ease and speed of assembling and disassembling other parts and panels to the composite panel is greatly improved. Another advantage of the present invention is that incidental damage from handling to the composite panel and other parts and panels is reduced because fewer studs and nuts protrude out from the exterior surface of the composite panel.
The above, as well as, additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description.

Composite panel insert with hold out recess feature


A magnetic sensor 10 includes GMR elements 11-18, and heating coils 21-24 serving as heat generating elements. The elements 11-14 and 15-18 are bridge-interconnected to constitute X-axis and Y-axis sensors, respectively. The heating coils 21, 22, 23, and 24 are disposed adjacent to the elements 11 and 12, the elements 13 and 14, the elements 15 and 16, and the elements 17 and 18, respectively. The heating coils 21-24, when electrically energized, heat mainly the adjacent elements. Therefore, the elements can be heated and cooled in a short period of time in which constant geomagnetism can be ensured. Data for compensation of temperature-dependent characteristic (ratio of change in sensor output value to variation in element temperature) is obtained on the basis of the temperatures of the elements before and after the heating, and the magnetic sensor outputs before and after the heating. Subsequently, the temperature characteristics of the elements are compensated on the basis of the data.

There has hitherto been known a magnetic sensor which utilizes a magnetoresistive element, such as a ferromagnetic magnetoresistive element (MR element), a giant magnetoresistive element (GMR element) or a tunnel magnetoresistive element (TMR element), as a magnetic field detecting element, and which, on the basis of a resistance value of the magnetoresistive element, generates an output value according to an external magnetic field acting on the magnetoresistive element.
The resistance value of a magnetoresistive element is dependent on temperature. Therefore, even when under a magnetic field of fixed magnitude, output value of the magnetic sensor varies with the temperature of the magnetoresistive element. Consequently, compensating this temperature dependence is an essential requirement for detecting (the magnitude of) a magnetic field with high precision.
A magnetic sensor apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (kokai) No. H06-77558 attains such compensation by means of a temperature sensor disposed adjacent to a magnetoresistive element. A relation between voltage, serving as an output value of the magnetic sensor, and temperature (temperature-dependent characteristic) is measured in advance and stored in a memory. Then, on the basis of an actual temperature detected by the temperature sensor and the relation stored in the memory, a reference voltage is determined, and a difference between an actual voltage output by the magnetic sensor and the determined reference voltage is amplified and output to thereby compensate the temperature-dependent characteristic of the magnetic sensor.
Meanwhile, the output value of a high sensitive magnetic sensor varies under an influence of geomagnetism, and geomagnetism varies with time. Consequently, the temperature-dependent characteristic stored in the memory of the above-mentioned magnetic sensor apparatus must to be measured within a predetermined short period of time in which geomagnetism is ensured not to change; and during the above-described measurement the magnetoresistive element must be heated or cooled within a short period of time.
However, if the above-mentioned magnetoresistive element is heated by an ordinary heating/cooling apparatus, not only the magnetoresistive element, but the entire magnetic sensor, including a substrate of the magnetoresistive element, is heated/cooled. Therefore, heating/cooling time would be long due to the large heat capacity of the magnetic sensor, and consequently geomagnetism would change during measurement of the temperature dependence. As a result, a problem would arise, in that the reliability of the temperature-dependent characteristic stored in the memory would be lowered, and consequently precise compensation of the temperature-dependent characteristic would be impossible. Although one feasible solution is to measure the temperature-dependent characteristic under an environment free from the influence of geomagnetism, an apparatus (magnetic field canceller) for establishing such environment is extremely expensive, thereby introducing another problem of increasing the manufacturing cost of the magnetic sensor.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic sensor, which is capable of measuring a temperature-dependent characteristic inexpensively, within a short period of time, and with precision, and to provide a method for precisely compensating a temperature-dependent characteristic of a magnetic sensor.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a single-chip magnetic sensor which can generate an output signal of the magnetic sensor without using a connecting wire; e.g., an Au wire for connecting the magnetic sensor to external parts (for instance an external circuit).
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic sensor in which external noise exerts substantially no influence on a control circuit section which performs various operations such as generation of an output signal on the basis of a change in resistance of a magnetoresistive element, obtainment of data regarding the temperature characteristic of the magnetoresistive element, initialization of the magnetization of the free layer of the magnetoresistive element, and application of an external magnetic field to the magnetoresistive element for testing the performance of the magnetoresistive element.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic sensor having a structure suitable for fixing magnetization of pinned layers of a plurality of magnetoresistive elements in the same direction easily and reliably.

Magnetic sensor, and method of compensating temperature-dependent characteristic of magnetic sensor


A battery charging system detects a secondary battery terminal voltage and selectively controls a first switch to connect/disconnect a series-connected smoothing capacitor and resistor to ground to present an impedance greater than the battery impedance and further controls a second switch to connect/disconnect a charging control circuit in series between the voltage supply and the secondary battery being charged.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charger system, a charging method and a secondary battery system, and more particularly, suitably applied to a charger system, a charging method and a secondary battery system in which a secondary battery is charged using electric power given from an AC power source.
2. Description of the Related Art
The demand of portable compact electronic appliances which are exemplified by small-sized headphone stereos, VTRs incorporated with cameras, and mobile communication terminals has been increasing. These compact electronic appliances use secondary batteries having large capacities as power sources, and the secondary batteries can be charged by being supplied with charging currents from associated charger systems when power of the secondary batteries is lowered.
In FIG. 1, numeral 1 shows a charger system, in which a secondary battery 5 is charged using electric power obtained from an AC power source 2. In other words, the charger system 1 inputs AC power given from the AC power source 2 into a transformer 3. The transformer 3 which is composed of a primary coil L1 and a secondary coil L2 sends out a desired voltage after dividing the voltage of the given AC power in accordance with a ratio between the respective numbers of windings of the primary coil L1 and the secondary coil L2. Further, the charger system 1 converts the AC power of the desired voltage into DC power by rectification with a diode D1 and smoothing with a capacitor C1. Furthermore, the charger system 1 prepares a predetermined charging standard voltage or a predetermined charging standard current by performing a constant current/constant voltage processing on the thus obtained DC power with a charging control section 4. The charger system 1 charges the secondary battery 5 with stable DC power thus obtained.
By the way, in the charger system 1 configured as described above, a DC voltage is extracted by rectifying an AC voltage with the diode D1 and moreover, pulsating components are eliminated from the DC voltage with the capacitor C1, and then the secondary battery 5 is charged by supplying the obtained DC voltage. However, in the case where a secondary battery having a large capacity is used as a power source, a high current must be supplied as a charging current for charging the secondary battery and the capacitor C1 must have a large capacitance for smoothing such a high charging current.
However, external dimensions of capacitors generally tend to be large in proportion to their capacitance values. Accordingly, in the charger system which has the capacitor C1 having such a large capacitance value, its miniaturization is a difficult in that a volume for placing the capacitor C1 has to be reserved. In addition, such a high charging current has another problem in that heat is generated by the capacitor C1.

Charger system switchably connects a smoothing capacitor and resistor and charging controller based on a detected secondary battery voltage


An oxygen generating device (11, 211) to which a gas mixture containing oxygen is fed, and which is operable to separate the gas mixture into oxygen rich and oxygen depleted gas components, the device (11, 211) including a negative temperature coefficient material (36a 36b 36c; 236) which is active at an elevated temperature above a minimum operating temperature, to separate the gas mixture into oxygen rich and oxygen depleted gas components, there being an electronic control unit coupled to the device to pass an electrical current through the device (11, 211) to produce a heating effect within the device to heat the gas mixture at least towards the minimum operating temperature wherein the device includes a plurality of active sections (A, B, C) through each of which the gas mixture passes in turn, and the electrical current supply is connected to each of the sections (A, B, C) so that the sections electrically are connected in series.

This invention relates to an oxygen generating device and to a system incorporating an oxygen generating device.
In order for passengers or aircrew in an aircraft to breath when exposed to ambient atmospheric pressure at elevated altitudes, it is necessary to provide a supply of breathing gas enriched with oxygen.
One means of achieving this is to carry within the airframe a supply of compressed oxygen gas, but particularly in a small aircraft, where space is at a premium, and/or in an aircraft where the added weight of the gas bottle containing the compressed oxygen gas is significant, this is not acceptable.
To reduce weight and space requirements another means is to carry within the airframe liquid oxygen. Liquid oxygen systems give rise to space and weight penalties and also a requirement for liquid oxygen to be available for replenishment of the liquid oxygen supply at a ground station.
More recently oxygen-enriched gas has been produced on-board of the aircraft by a so-called on-board oxygen generating system (OBOGS) based on pressure swing technology using a zeolite molecular sieve material to separate oxygen from air. This requires at least two zeolite beds which have to be sequentially cycled through on-stream/generating and off-stream/purge cycles. A limitation of such systems is that theoretically the maximum oxygen concentration obtainable in the product gas is 95% unless additional means are provided for the removal of argon and other trace gases from the supply air which is normally bleed air from a compressor stage of an engine powering the aircraft.
Increasing attention is now being given to ceramic membrane technology in provision of a system which will generate substantially 100% oxygen product gas or highly oxygen-enriched product gas of breathable quality for use in aerospace and other breathing applications. Such gas will hereinafter be referred to as being "oxygen rich", and the residual gas, will be referred to as being "oxygen depleted".
Certain ceramic materials, which are so-called ionic conductors of oxygen, become electrically conductive at elevated temperatures due to the mobility of oxygen ions within the crystal lattice. Since these materials are only conductive to oxygen ions, an external electric circuit providing electronic conduction is needed. Temperatures in the order of at least 600 K are required to obtain sufficient ionic conductivity.
Such ceramic oxygen generating devices may comprise one or more ceramic membranes through which an electrical current is passed, whilst ambient air is supplied to one face of the membrane which allows oxygen in the supply air to diffuse through the membrane by ionic transport when the membrane is at the required elevated temperature, and be recovered on the other side of the membrane.
To ensure that the ambient air entering the device does not cool the membrane and prevent it from efficiently being heated to a minimum operating temperature, the ambient supply air is pre-heated typically by passing the supply air through a heat exchanger to which hot oxygen rich gas and/or hot oxygen depleted gas delivered from the oxygen generating device is fed, so that the cooler ambient air is heated.
The electrical current passing through the material has a heating effect on the material and on the air passing through the device, and at least after an initial warm up period, the oxygen generating device is self sustaining at a temperature above the minimum operating temperature at which air is separated into its oxygen rich and oxygen depleted gas components.
The amount of ambient air fed to the oxygen generating device, (and electrical current passed through the material) can be controlled as necessary, to ensure that the demand for the oxygen rich gas supply is met, but in previous arrangements it has been necessary to provide complex active control means to control the electrical current and hence the temperature of the device, so that overheating of the oxygen generating device is avoided.
With at least some commonly used ceramic membrane materials, there is a higher electrical resistance through the material at lower temperatures, and so the magnitude of electrical current which can pass through the material to cause a heating effect, is dependent on the temperature of the material, which in turn depends at least in part on the temperature of the gas mixture delivered to the material. The inventors have realised that this property of the material can be utilised to avoid overheating of the oxygen generating device without an active control means being required to control the electrical current.


A rare earth permanent magnet is prepared by disposing a powdered metal alloy containing at least 70 vol % of an intermetallic compound phase on a sintered body of R—Fe—B system, and heating the sintered body having the powder disposed on its surface below the sintering temperature of the sintered body in vacuum or in an inert gas for diffusion treatment. The advantages include efficient productivity, excellent magnetic performance, a minimal or zero amount of Tb or Dy used, an increased coercive force, and a minimized decline of remanence.

By virtue of excellent magnetic properties, Nd—Fe—B permanent magnets find an ever increasing range of application. The recent challenge to the environmental problem has expanded the application range of these magnets from household electric appliances to industrial equipment, electric automobiles and wind power generators. It is required to further improve the performance of Nd—Fe—B magnets.
Indexes for the performance of magnets include remanence (or residual magnetic flux density) and coercive force. An increase in the remanence of Nd—Fe—B sintered magnets can be achieved by increasing the volume factor of Nd2Fe14B compound and improving the crystal orientation. To this end, a number of modifications have been made. For increasing coercive force, there are known different approaches including grain refinement, the use of alloy compositions with greater Nd contents, and the addition of coercivity enhancing elements such as Al and Ga. The currently most common approach is to use alloy compositions having Dy or Tb substituted for part of Nd.
It is believed that the coercivity creating mechanism of Nd—Fe—B magnets is the nucleation type wherein nucleation of reverse magnetic domains at grain boundaries governs a coercive force. In general, a disorder of crystalline structure occurs at the grain boundary or interface. If a disorder of crystalline structure extends several nanometers in a depth direction near the interface of grains of Nd2Fe14B compound which is the primary phase of the magnet, then it incurs a lowering of magnetocrystalline anisotropy and facilitates formation of reverse magnetic domains, reducing a coercive force (see K. D. Durst and H. Kronmuller, "THE COERCIVE FIELD OF SINTERED AND MELT-SPUN NdFeB MAGNETS," Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 68 (1987), 63-75). Substituting Dy or Tb for some Nd in the Nd2Fe14B compound increases the anisotropic magnetic field of the compound phase so that the coercive force is increased. When Dy or Tb is added in an ordinary way, however, a loss of remanence is unavoidable because Dy or Tb substitution occurs not only near the interface of the primary phase, but even in the interior of the primary phase. Another problem arises in that amounts of expensive Tb and Dy must be used.
Besides, a number of attempts have been made for increasing the coercive force of Nd—Fe—B magnets. One exemplary attempt is a two-alloy method of preparing an Nd—Fe—B magnet by mixing two powdered alloys of different composition and sintering the mixture. A powder of alloy A consists of R2Fe14B primary phase wherein R is mainly Nd and Pr. And a powder of alloy B contains various additive elements including Dy, Tb, Ho, Er, Al, Ti, V, and Mo, typically Dy and Tb. Then alloys A and B are mixed together. This is followed by fine pulverization, pressing in a magnetic field, sintering, and aging treatment whereby the Nd—Fe—B magnet is prepared. The sintered magnet thus obtained produces a high coercive force while minimizing a decline of remanence because Dy or Tb is absent at the center of R2Fe14B compound primary phase grains and instead, the additive elements like Dy and Tb are localized near grain boundaries (see JP-B 5-31807 and JP-A 5-21218). In this method, however, Dy or Tb diffuses into the interior of primary phase grains during the sintering so that the layer where Dy or Tb is localized near grain boundaries has a thickness equal to or more than about 1 micrometer, which is substantially greater than the depth where nucleation of reverse magnetic domains occurs. The results are still not fully satisfactory.
Recently, there have been developed several processes of diffusing certain elements from the surface to the interior of a R—Fe—B sintered body for improving magnet properties. In one exemplary process, a rare earth metal such as Yb, Dy, Pr or Tb, or Al or Ta is deposited on the surface of Nd—Fe—B magnet using an evaporation or sputtering technique, followed by heat treatment. See JP-A 2004-296973, JP-A 2004-304038, JP-A 2005-11973; K. T. Park, K. Hiraga and M. Sagawa, "Effect of Metal-Coating and Consecutive Heat Treatment on Coercivity of Thin Nd—Fe—B Sintered Magnets," Proceedings of the 16th International Workshop on Rare-Earth Magnets and Their Applications, Sendai, p. 257 (2000); and K. Machida, et al., "Grain Boundary Modification of Nd—Fe—B Sintered Magnet and Magnetic Properties," Abstracts of Spring Meeting of Japan Society of Powder and Powder Metallurgy, 2004, p. 202. Another exemplary process involves applying a powder of rare earth inorganic compound such as fluoride or oxide onto the surface of a sintered body and heat treatment as described in WO 2006/043348 A1. With these processes, the element (e.g., Dy or Tb) disposed on the sintered body surface pass through grain boundaries in the sintered body structure and diffuse into the interior of the sintered body during the heat treatment. As a consequence, Dy or Tb can be enriched in a very high concentration at grain boundaries or near grain boundaries within sintered body primary phase grains. As compared with the two-alloy method described previously, these processes produce an ideal morphology. Since the magnet properties reflect the morphology, a minimized decline of remanence and an increase of coercive force are accomplished. However, the processes utilizing evaporation or sputtering have many problems associated with units and steps when practiced on a mass scale and suffer from poor productivity.

Rare earth permanent magnet and its preparation


The stacking wheel has one or a plurality of first and second stacking-wheel disks which are disposed on an axle in a mutually concentric relationship and spaced apart in the axial direction. Distributed over their circumference, the stacking-wheel disks respectively have a plurality of sheet slots for receiving a sheet and are disposed in a mutually staggered relationship in a portion of the sheet slots. An azimuthal profile offset of the stacking-wheel disks has the effect that the sheet slots of the first stacking-wheel disk run ahead of or run behind the sheet slots of the second stacking-wheel disk. The sheet slots of the first and second stacking-wheel disks have at their radially inside end an azimuthal profile offset that is reduced or eliminated again up to the slot end of the sheet slots. This avoids damage to the stacked sheets.

This invention relates to a stacking wheel for stacking sheets and to a sheet-goods processing apparatus comprising such a stacking wheel, in particular for processing value documents.
Stacking wheels of the above-mentioned kind possess sheet slots distributed over the circumference for receiving sheets of the sheet goods to be stacked. The sheet slots extend along a substantially spiral-shaped course from radially outward to radially inward within the stacking wheel. Hence, sheet-goods processing apparatuses equipped with such stacking wheels are also designated spiral slot stackers.
Automatic sorting machines in which sheet-shaped articles are sorted are to be able to process maximum numbers of pieces within a minimum time, which necessarily leads to high transport speeds. In conventional spiral slot stackers it is problematic to increase the transport speed to more than 40 sheets per second, since the sheets running into the stacking wheel must be decelerated to a standstill on a short path within a short time. In particular, the sheets can thereby hit the end of the sheet slots and consequently be damaged at the leading sheet edges.
DE 3232348 A1 describes a spiral slot stacker that has a plurality of stacking-wheel disks rotating around a common axle and having sheet slots extending from the outside to the inside in a spiral shape. The sheet slots of the disks each form a delivery slot into which a sheet is inserted tangentially. Using a stripper disposed between the disks the sheets are stripped out of the delivery slots. The circumferential speed of the disks is substantially lower than the transport speed of the sheets, so that the sheet running in slides with its surface frictionally along the outer boundary walls of the spiral-shaped sheet slots. The frictional force resulting from the relative motion decelerates the sheet. To increase the friction for decelerating the sheets running into the stacking wheel, it is proposed in DE 3232348 A1 to mutually "stagger" the spiral-shaped sheet slots of the stacking-wheel disks disposed side by side on the common axle. Staggering is to be understood to mean that the spirally extending sheet slots are not mutually congruent when viewed along the drive axle, but extend differently. The sheets running into the sheet slots thereby become wavy in a direction transverse to the moving direction of the sheets. This can be obtained e.g. with identical stacking-wheel disks whose sheet slots all have the same spiral curvature when at least one of the stacking-wheel disks is mounted on the drive axle so as to be rotated by a small angular amount relative to the other stacking-wheel disks. Due to the wavy curvature imposed on the sheets when the sheets are moved along the sheet slots, the pressure of the sheets against the boundary walls of the spiral slots is increased, so that frictional forces and thus the braking action increase accordingly. Upon a further increase of the transport speed of the sheets to be stacked, however, the stacked sheets show damage to the leading sheet edges.


A retractable intermodal vehicle (10) for supporting and connecting modified semitrailers (11) end-to-end to form a train of trailers capable of being operated on a railroad track (172); the semitrailers also able to be operated on a highway as regular semitrailers. In the preferred embodiment, the intermodal vehicle (10) is comprised of two lower frames (12), with a wheel/axle assembly (18) mounted to each, and each pivoted from and supporting a single upper frame assembly (14), the pivoting of these lower frames providing a limited steering of the rail axles relative to the upper frame. Inflatable air springs (22) are mounted between the lower frames (12) and upper frames (14) to allow each upper frame to be raised and lowered. The upper frame assemblies include a gravity load carrying structure (140) for supporting one end of a superimposed trailer, a coupler body (104), each containing a coupler tongue (116), the tongue being arranged to enter a complimentary coupler tongue receiving socket (120) at either end of the superimposed trailer; and an upwardly movable coupling pin (134), each pin capable of being raised to enter concentric apertures in a coupler tongue and an a complimentary trailer mounted socket to effect a coupling between these elements, and each pin being capable of being lowered to permit the withdrawal of the coupler tongue from the trailer socket.

The prior art describes methods and apparatus whereby highway trailers can be assembled into a train of rail cars by removably attaching the highway trailers to rail trucks (or bogies) with wheels appropriate to rail travel; the rail trucks being detached when the trailers are to be used as normal highway units.
In the prior art of U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,466, the coupling means between the trailers when used in the rail mode is of a style which includes a forward projecting (male) coupling tongue at the front of each trailer and a complimentary (female) socket at the rear of each trailer, together with a vertical pin passing through both the tongue and the socket to effect a coupling between them. In this prior art, a standard three-piece rail truck is surmounted by an adapter pedestal unit. The adapter pedestal unit is mounted within the center of the rail truck bolster in the same way that corresponding elements of a rail car would be mounted. That is, it has a circular flat center plate at its lower surface, with the center plate riding within the central "bowl" which is part of the rail truck bolster. It thus has the ability to rotate and rock as required by the motions of the car traveling on the track. The rail truck is equipped with normal coil springs which are able to deflect as required by the superimposed load. In order to mount the railtruck/adapter combination beneath the rear of a highway trailer for use on the rails it is necessary that the rear of the trailer be raised enough for the insertion of the railtruck/adapter unit. Additionally, it is also necessary that the adapter be high enough to ensure that once the loaded trailer is placed upon it, the highway wheels of the trailer will not touch the railroad track when the rail truck springs deflect under load. The usual method for raising the trailer to mount it upon the railtruck/adapter is by the use of an air-spring highway suspension on the trailer. This trailer suspension system, such as that manufactured by Nu-Way, Granning or Fruehauf, is customarily arranged to allow for the injection of excess air into the springs; the excess air causing the rear of a trailer so equipped to be lifted above its normal highway operating height to allow the railtruck/adapter unit to be placed beneath it. This air-spring highway suspension unit also has the ability to retract its axles still further once the railtruck/adapter unit is in place, thus raising the highway wheels clear of the tracks. Other methods for raising the trailers are also used acceptably. For example, it is also practical to simply lift the rear of the trailer by external or internal mechanical or hydraulic means, or by the use of a ramp for the trailer wheels. Placing the railtruck/adapter unit in a depressed track or lowering it with a lift table will also permit the trailer to be backed over it.
In the prior art of Pat. No. 5,107,772, a special rail truck is described. This special rail truck is comprised of a rail-wheel mounted chassis and a frame mounted above this chassis. This frame has attached to it, two "fifth wheel" units such as those normally found on a conventional highway tractor used for pulling semi-trailers. Trailers used with this rail truck are fitted with vertical, downward-projecting kingpins; one at each end of the trailers. In use, the trailers are backed over the fifth wheel units so that the kingpins enter the apertures of the fifth wheels. The rail wheels of this special rail truck are air-sprung, but the rail wheels are not steerable along the railroad track. It has been mathematically proved that the kingpin/fifth-wheel combination above described does not have sufficient strength to pull safely more than (perhaps) six loaded trailers at best. This is in part because the kingpin is in a single-shear arrangement. This inadequacy of kingpin strength is made up for by the use of intermediate traction units interspersed along the train, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,772 and further in U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,169.
Another patent which discloses a rail truck which is adapted to support one end of each of two adjacent highway trailers is GB 2,150,900. A lifting coupling is at each end of the rail truck, the lifting coupling being provided with a load bearing surface and a pivot pin, the pivot pin being received within a suitable socket at an end of the highway trailer. This construction also has the disadvantage in that only a few trailers can be pulled because the pivot pin is also in single shear arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,144 also describes an intermodal rail truck unit which is detachable from specially-constructed trailers. The rail truck unit is equipped with two transverse bolsters, each of which is of a width to receive and support either end of a semitrailer or ISO container; the trailers or containers being attached to the aforesaid transverse bolsters by vertically-oriented, upwardly projecting twist-lock fittings near the outer ends of the bolsters, and similar to those customarily used in the attachment of ISO containers to each other and to ships or railroad cars transporting them. These twist-lock fittings are in a single-shear arrangement with respect to the tailer supporting bolsters. As in the case of the kingpins used in U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,772 described above, this single shear arrangement can be mathematically proved to be of insufficient strength to pull a train safely. U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,144 further describes the rail trucks used with this system as having a "rigid chassis." A rail truck having a rigid chassis is incapable of providing any steering of the individual rail axles. Additionally, the patent describes a train makeup and breakup procedure wherein the trailers and/or containers are lifted by an overhead crane into position atop the rail truck bolsters, over the upwardly-projecting twist-lock fittings located near the ends of the transverse trailer support bolsters. No procedure for train makeup or breakup other than lifting the trailers is described.
In all of the above prior art, disadvantages can be identified. For example, the requirement that in some prior art designs the rear of the trailers must be lifted or that the railtruck/adapters must be lowered for attachment beneath the trailers requires equipment which adds weight to the trailer, as does the inclusion of a coupler tongue and a coupler socket as part of the trailer structure. The use of fittings such as kingpins, pivot pins, or twist-locks for pulling a train of rail cars is not a structurally sound practice. Further, it is highly desirable that modern rail trucks have a capability for limited axle steering in order that they can perform more safely on poor tracks and at higher speeds on good tracks.

Intermodal vehicle for forming train of trailers


An apparatus and method for cross-correlation spur mitigation comprising choosing from a plurality of peak measurements, a first peak measurement with a first carrier-to-noise density estimate and a first Doppler offset measurement, and a second peak measurement with a second carrier-to-noise density estimate and a second Doppler offset measurement to form a pair; calculating a carrier-to-noise density difference based on the first carrier-to-noise density estimate and the second carrier-to-noise density estimate; calculating a Doppler difference based on the first Doppler offset measurement and the second Doppler offset measurement; comparing the carrier-to-noise density difference to a carrier-to-noise density threshold; and comparing the Doppler difference to at least one Doppler threshold.

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers determine position by computing the relative time of arrival (TOA) of ranging signals that are simultaneously transmitted from a plurality of GNSS satellites orbiting the earth and/or pseudolites (collectively referred to herein as "GNSS sources"). GNSS sources transmit timing and satellite orbital (e.g. ephemeris) data in addition to ranging signals. As described herein, GNSS sources can include the United States Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian Glonass system, the European Galileo system, any system that uses satellites from a combination of satellite systems, or any satellite system developed in the future (collectively called as "SPS" or "Satellite Positioning System"). Furthermore, some position determination systems utilize pseudolites or a combination of satellites and pseudolites. Pseudolites are ground-based transmitters that broadcast a ranging code, such as a PN code (similar to a GPS or CDMA cellular signal), modulated on a carrier signal which may be synchronized with time provided by an SPS. Pseudolites are useful in situations where SPS signals from an orbiting satellite might be unavailable. The GNSS sources, as referred herein, include SPS, pseudolites or a combination thereof.
GNSS receivers determine pseudoranges to various GNSS sources and compute the position of the receiver using the calculated pseudoranges, timing and ephemeris data. The pseudoranges are time delay (a.k.a. code phase) values measured between the received signal from each GNSS source and a local reference function. Acquisition of the GNSS source signal can take up to several minutes and must be accomplished using a sufficiently strong received signal to achieve low error rates.
Each GNSS source transmits a RF signal which is modulated by a code whose phase is used to provide the time (and thus distance) accuracy needed for positioning applications. In some systems, a pseudorandom noise (PN) ranging code is unique to each GNSS source (e.g., the U.S. GPS system), while in others a common code is used while the carrier frequency is unique to the GNSS source (e.g., the Russian Glonass system). In addition, the RF signal is also modulated by a navigation data message. In one example, GPS sources transmit using the same carrier frequency at the same time. Thus, the GNSS receiver discriminates each GNSS source signal by the well-known code division multiple access (CDMA) technique. The PN codes are selected to be nearly orthogonal (uncorrelated) to each other. For purposes of description and not limitation, the following description concentrates primarily on CDMA satellite systems.
In order to determine position information for a GNSS receiver, the time between the transmission of the signal and its reception at the receiver is needed. The time difference may be determined partially by (e.g.) demodulating the data stream of the navigation message and using frame and bit synchronization, while the PN code phase offset of the received signal is used to determine time more precisely. The initial determination of the code phase offset for a particular satellite is referred to as acquisition of that satellite.
In general, to acquire and track a desired GNSS source that is in common view with several other GNSS sources, a GNSS receiver can replicate the unique PN code and the carrier signal, including Doppler offsets, to generate a two-dimensional reference function. The GNSS receiver can then correlate the received signal (which is a composite of many GNSS source signals received by the GNSS receiver) with the two-dimensional reference function to yield a two-dimensional correlation function indexed in time delay and Doppler offset. Maximum correlation occurs when the time delay and Doppler offset of the reference function matches the time delay of the incoming PN code and the Doppler offset of the desired signal (extracted from the received signal). After acquisition, the GNSS receiver maintains track of the desired signal by continuous adjustment of the time delay and Doppler offset (which varies with the relative velocity between the receiver and the satellite).
In general, signals transmitted from different GNSS sources do not significantly interfere with each other since they use unique PN codes (which are nearly orthogonal to one another) and/or unique carrier frequencies. The interference level depends on the relative amplitude of the received signal. Under some conditions, one or more signals transmitted by the GNSS sources can be attenuated relative to signals transmitted by other GNSS sources. The presence of strong GNSS signals produces interference that can reduce the ability to track weaker GNSS signals.
In one example, cross-correlation spurs (spurious maxima when correlating one PN code with another PN code that may be wrongly declared as true auto-correlation peaks and may thus cause false acquisition) are generated when an interfering GNSS source is received at certain frequencies relative to the search frequency of the desired GNSS source. In one example, since the C/A (coarse/acquisition) PN codes of the GPS satellites have a period of 1 ms, the most significant cross-correlation maxima occur when the Doppler difference between the interfering GPS satellite and the desired source is a multiple of 1 kHz (the reciprocal of the PN code period). Additionally, there may be weaker cross-correlation spurs at other frequencies. These cross-correlation spurs can cause false acquisitions, for example under certain Doppler difference and/or antenna gain conditions. In one example, a desired source may be at a low elevation angle, may suffer multipath loss, have greater atmospheric loss and/or be received with lower antenna gain all compared to an interfering source at a high elevation angle. In this example, the relative cross-correlation maxima between the desired reference signal and the undesired signal (from the interfering source) may be relatively high which causes a false acquisition (that is, the receiver may determine that it has acquired satellite A, when instead the received signal that produces the spurious peak in the correlation function was from satellite B). As a consequence of these spurious cross-correlation maxima, the GNSS receiver may falsely acquire the undesired signal which cannot subsequently be tracked, generally leading to an incorrect position fix.

Apparatus and method for cross-correlation spur mitigation


A bioassay substrate (1) takes a flat-plate shape in which the principal surface similar to that of optical disc such as CD, etc. is circular. At the center of the substrate (1), there is formed a center hole (2) into which a chucking mechanism for rotation and holding is inserted. The substrate (1) is rotationally driven with the center hole (2) being as center. On the substrate (1), there are formed two regions of a recording region (3) and a reaction region (4) which are formed in concentrical form in a radial direction. The recording region (3) is a region where, similarly to the optical disk information recording medium, laser beams are irradiated so that recording/reproduction of information is optically performed. The reaction region (4) is a region serving as the filed of mutual reaction between probe DNA (nucleotide chain for detection) and sample DNA (marked or labeled nucleotide chain), in concrete terms, the field of hybridization reaction.

At present, substrates for bioassay which are so-called DNA chip or DNA micro-array (hereinafter generally called DNA chip) in which predetermined DNA substances are finely arranged by the micro-array technology are utilized for mutation of gene, SNPs (monobasic polytype) analysis, and/or gene manifestation frequency analysis, etc., and begin to be widely utilized in production of medicine, clinical diagnosis, pharmacologic genomics, legal medicine and/or other fields.
In such DNA chips, since a large number of various DNA oligonucleotide chains or cDNA (complementary DNA) substances, etc. are arranged on glass substrate or silicon substrate, inclusive analysis of mutual reaction between materials such as hybridization, etc. can be performed.
In the DNA analysis technique using DNA chip, there is employed an approach to PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)-amplify mRNA (messenger RNA) extracted from cell and/or tissue, etc., while assembling fluorescence probe dNTP by inverse transfer PCR, etc. with respect to, e.g., probe DNA which has been changed into solid-phase state (immobilized) on DNA chip to produce sample DNA to drop the sample DNA onto the DNA chip to perform hybridization of hybridization of probe DNA and sample DNA to perform fluorescent measurement by a predetermined detector.
Here, e.g., in the Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2001-238674 publication and the PCT Patent Application Laid Open No. 2002-501174 publication, it is proposed that the shape of the DNA chip is caused to have circular-plate shape to apply substrate technology cultivated in the filed of optical disc to the DNA analysis.
In the case of performing DNA analysis to which the technology of the optical disc has been applied, there can be applied such a servo technology to detect, by light detector, fluorescence produced from fluorescence mark while rotating the DNA chip caused to have circular-plate shape to specify light emitting position of that fluorescence by the addressing technology. Thus, increase in the number of sample materials to be processed and improvement in detection accuracy and detection speed can be performed.
However, in the conventional DNA chip technologies, since the number of integration times and integration density of the DNA chip itself were small, it cannot be said that quantity of analysis which can be attained by single assay is sufficient. As a result, user was difficult to freely set the kind and the number of materials to be detected, and classification of arrangements (grouping) on the substrate used.
In addition, in the conventional analysis technique using DNA chip, information of kind or grouping of material to be detected of DNA chip, analyzed result by the DNA chip and analysis program for DNA chip, etc. were used in the state separately recorded with respect to different information recording media. For this reason, association between DNA chip and information recording medium where analysis results, etc. are recorded is weak. As a result, it was difficult to integrally perform management of DNA chip and information.

Bioassay substrate and bioassay device and method


The present invention relates to maintaining an order of received data units during a handover procedure in a wireless communication system. The present invention includes receiving a plurality of data units from a source station according to a sequence prior to handover to a target base station, wherein each data unit includes a sequence number, receiving at least one data unit having a sequence number after handover from a target base station, and delivering to a higher layer all data units received from the source base station prior to handover and having sequence numbers smaller than a sequence number of the at least one data unit received from the target base station after handover.

A universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) is a European-type, third generation IMT-2000 mobile communication system that has evolved from a European standard known as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM). UMTS is intended to provide an improved mobile communication service based upon a GSM core network and wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) wireless connection technology. In December 1998, a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) was formed by the ETSI of Europe, the ARIB/TTC of Japan, the T1 of the United States, and the TTA of Korea. The 3GPP creates detailed specifications of UMTS technology.
In order to achieve rapid and efficient technical development of the UMTS, five technical specification groups (TSG) have been created within the 3GPP for standardizing the UMTS by considering the independent nature of the network elements and their operations. Each TSG develops, approves, and manages the standard specification within a related region. The radio access network (RAN) group (TSG-RAN) develops the standards for the functions, requirements, and interface of the UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), which is a new radio access network for supporting W-CDMA access technology in the UMTS.
FIG. 1 provides an overview of a UMTS network. The UMTS network includes a mobile terminal or user equipment (UE) 1, a UTRAN 2 and a core network (CN) 3.
The UTRAN 2 includes several radio network controllers (RNCs) 4 and NodeBs 5 that are connected via the lub interface. Each RNC 4 controls several NodeBs 5. Each NodeB 5 controls one or several cells, where a cell covers a given geographical area on a given frequency.
Each RNC 4 is connected via the lu interface to the CN 3 or towards the mobile switching center (MSC) 6 entity of the CN and the general packet radio service (GPRS) support Node (SGSN) 7 entity. RNCs 4 can be connected to other RNCs via the lur interface. The RNC 4 handles the assignment and management of radio resources and operates as an access point with respect to the CN 3.
The NodeBs 5 receive information sent by the physical layer of the UE 1 via an uplink and transmit data to the UE 1 via a downlink. The Node-Bs 5 operate as access points of the UTRAN 2 for the UE 1.
The SGSN 7 is connected to the equipment identity register (EIR) 8 via the Gf interface, to the MSC 6 via the GS interface, to the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 9 via the GN interface, and to the home subscriber server (HSS) via the GR interface.
The EIR 8 hosts lists of UEs 1 that are allowed to be used on the network. The EIR 8 also hosts lists of UEs 1 that are not allowed to be used on the network.
The MSC 6, which controls the connection for circuit switched (CS) services, is connected towards the media gateway (MGW) 11 via the NB interface, towards the EIR 8 via the F interface, and towards the HSS 10 via the D interface.
The MGW 11 is connected towards the HSS 10 via the C interface and also to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The MGW 11 also allows the codecs to adapt between the PSTN and the connected RAN.
The GGSN 9 is connected to the HSS 10 via the GC interface and to the Internet via the GI interface. The GGSN 9 is responsible for routing, charging and separation of data flows into different radio access bearers (RABs). The HSS 10 handles the subscription data of users.
The UTRAN 2 constructs and maintains an RAB for communication between a UE 1 and the CN 3. The CN 3 requests end-to-end quality of service (QoS) requirements from the RAB and the RAB supports the QoS requirements set by the CN 3. Accordingly, the UTRAN 2 can satisfy the end-to-end QoS requirements by constructing and maintaining the RAB.
The services provided to a specific UE 1 are roughly divided into CS services and packet switched (PS) services. For example, a general voice conversation service is a CS service and a Web browsing service via an Internet connection is classified as a PS service.
The RNCs 4 are connected to the MSC 6 of the CN 3 and the MSC is connected to the gateway MSC (GMSC) that manages the connection with other networks in order to support CS services. The RNCs 4 are connected to the SGSN 7 and the gateway GGSN 9 of the CN 3 to support PS services.
The SGSN 7 supports packet communications with the RNCs. The GGSN 9 manages the connection with other packet switched networks, such as the Internet.
FIG. 2 illustrates a structure of a radio interface protocol between a UE 1 and the UTRAN 2 according to the 3GPP radio access network standards. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the radio interface protocol has horizontal layers comprising a physical layer, a data link layer, and a network layer, and has vertical planes comprising a user plane (U-plane) for transmitting user data and a control plane (C-plane) for transmitting control information. The U-plane is a region that handles traffic information with the user, such as voice or Internet protocol (IP) packets. The C-plane is a region that handles control information for an interface with a network as well as maintenance and management of a call. The protocol layers can be divided into a first layer (L1), a second layer (L2), and a third layer (L3) based on the three lower layers of an open system interconnection (OSI) standard model.
The first layer (L1), or physical layer, provides an information transfer service to an upper layer by using various radio transmission techniques. The physical layer is connected to an upper layer, or medium access control (MAC) layer, via a transport channel. The MAC layer and the physical layer exchange data via the transport channel.
The second layer (L2) includes a MAC layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a broadcast/multicast control (BMC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. The MAC layer handles mapping between logical channels and transport channels and provides allocation of the MAC parameters for allocation and re-allocation of radio resources. The MAC layer is connected to an upper layer, or the radio link control (RLC) layer, via a logical channel.
Various logical channels are provided according to the type of information transmitted. A control channel is generally used to transmit information of the C-plane and a traffic channel is used to transmit information of the U-plane.
A logical channel may be a common channel or a dedicated channel depending on whether the logical channel is shared. Logical channels include a dedicated traffic channel (DTCH), a dedicated control channel (DCCH), a common traffic channel (CTCH), a common control channel (CCCH), a broadcast control channel (BCCH), and a paging control channel (PCCH) or a shared channel control channel.
The BCCH provides information including information utilized by a terminal to access a system. The PCCH is used by the UTRAN to access a terminal.
For the purposes of a multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS) additional traffic and control channels are introduced in the MBMS standard. The MCCH (MBMS point-to-multipoint control channel) is used for transmission of MBMS control information. The MTCH (MBMS point-to-multipoint traffic channel) is used for transmitting MBMS service data. The MSCH (MBMS Scheduling Channel) is used to transmit scheduling information. The different logical channels that exist are listed in FIG. 3.
The MAC layer is connected to the physical layer by transport channels and can be divided into a MAC-b sub-layer, a MAC-d sub-layer, a MAC-c/sh sub-layer, a MAC-hs sub-layer and a MAC-m sublayer according to the type of transport channel being managed. The MAC-b sub-layer manages a BCH (broadcast channel), which is a transport channel handling the broadcasting of system information. The MAC-c/sh sub-layer manages a common transport channel, such as a forward access channel (FACH) or a downlink shared channel (DSCH), which is shared by a plurality of terminals, or in the uplink the radio access channel (RACH). The MAC-m sublayer may handle the MBMS data.
The possible mapping between the logical channels and the transport channels from a UE perspective is given in FIG. 4. The possible mapping between the logical channels and the transport channels from a UTRAN perspective is given in FIG. 5.
The MAC-d sub-layer manages a dedicated channel (DCH), which is a dedicated transport channel for a specific terminal. The MAC-d sublayer is located in a serving RNC (SRNC) that manages a corresponding terminal. One MAC-d sublayer also exists in each terminal.
The RLC layer, depending of the RLC mode of operation, supports reliable data transmissions and performs segmentation and concatenation on a plurality of RLC service data units (SDUs) delivered from an upper layer. When the RLC layer receives the RLC SDUs from the upper layer, the RLC layer adjusts the size of each RLC SDU in an appropriate manner based upon processing capacity and then creates data units by adding header information thereto. The data units, called protocol data units (PDUs), are transferred to the MAC layer via a logical channel. The RLC layer includes a RLC buffer for storing the RLC SDUs and/or the RLC PDUs.
The BMC layer schedules a cell broadcast (CB) message transferred from the core network and broadcasts the CB message to terminals positioned in a specific cell or cells.
The PDCP layer is located above the RLC layer. The PDCP layer is used to transmit network protocol data, such as the IPv4 or IPv6, effectively on a radio interface with a relatively small bandwidth. For this purpose, the PDCP layer reduces unnecessary control information used in a wired network, a function called header compression.
The radio resource control (RRC) layer located at the lowest portion of the third layer (L3) is only defined in the control plane. The RRC layer controls the transport channels and the physical channels in relation to setup, reconfiguration, and the release or cancellation of the radio bearers (RBs). Additionally the RRC handles user mobility within the RAN and additional services, such as location services.
The RB signifies a service provided by the second layer (L2) for data transmission between the terminal and the UTRAN. In general, the set up of the RB refers to the process of stipulating the characteristics of a protocol layer and a channel required for providing a specific data service, and setting the respective detailed parameters and operation methods.
The different possibilities that exist for the mapping between the radio bearers and the transport channels for a given UE are not all possible all the time. The UE and UTRAN deduce the possible mapping depending on the UE state and the procedure that the UE and UTRAN are executing. The different states and modes are explained in more detail below, as far as they concern the present invention.
The different transport channels are mapped onto different physical channels. For example, the RACH transport channel is mapped on a given PRACH, the DCH can be mapped on the DPCH, the FACH and the PCH can be mapped on a secondary common control physical channel (S-CCPCH), and the DSCH is mapped on the PDSCH. The configuration of the physical channels is given by RRC signaling exchange between the RNC and the UE.
The RRC mode refers to whether there exists a logical connection between the RRC of the terminal and the RRC of the UTRAN. If there is a connection, the terminal is said to be in RRC connected mode. If there is no connection, the terminal is said to be in idle mode.
Because an RRC connection exists for terminals in RRC connected mode, the UTRAN can determine the existence of a particular terminal within the unit of cells. For example, the UTRAN can determine in which cell or set of cells an RRC connected mode terminal is located and to which physical channel the UE is listening. Thus, the terminal can be effectively controlled.
In contrast, the UTRAN cannot determine the existence of a terminal in idle mode. The existence of idle mode terminals can only be determined by the core network to be within a region that is larger than a cell, for example, a location or a routing area. Therefore, the existence of idle mode terminals is determined within large regions, and in order to receive mobile communication services such as voice or data, the idle mode terminal must move or change into the RRC connected mode. The possible transitions between modes and states are shown in FIG. 6.
A UE in RRC connected mode can be in different states, such as CELL_FACH state, CELL_PCH state, CELL_DCH state, or URA_PCH state. Depending on the state, the UE carries out different actions and listens to different channels.
For example, a UE in CELL_DCH state will try to listen to DCH type of transport channels, among others. DCH types of transport channels include DTCH and DCCH transport channels, which can be mapped to a certain DPCH, DPDSCH or other physical channels.
The UE in CELL_FACH state will listen to several FACH transport channels, which are mapped to a certain S-CCPCH. A UE in PCH state will listen to the PICH channel and the PCH channel, which are mapped to a certain S-CCPCH physical channel.
The main system information is sent on the BCCH logical channel which is mapped on a P-CCPCH (primary common control physical channel). Specific system information blocks can be sent on the FACH channel. When the system information is sent on FACH, the UE receives the configuration of the FACH either on the BCCH that is received on P-CCPCH or on a dedicated channel. When system information is sent on the BCCH (i.e., via the P-CCPCH), then in each frame or set of two frames the SFN (system frame number) is sent which is used in order to share the same timing reference between the UE and the Node-B. The P-CCPCH is sent using the same scrambling code as the P-CPICH (primary common pilot channel), which is the primary scrambling code of the cell. The spreading code that is used by the P-CCPCH is of a fixed SF (spreading factor) 256, and the number is one. The UE knows about the primary scrambling code either by information sent from the network on system information of neighboring cells that the UE has read, by messages that the UE has received on the DCCH channel, or by searching for the P-CPICH, which is sent using the fixed SF 256, the spreading code number 0 and which ransmits a fixed pattern.
The system information comprises information on neighboring cells, configuration of the RACH and FACH transport channels, and the configuration of MICH and MCCH which are channels that are dedicated channels for the MBMS service.
Each time the UE changes the cell it is camping (in idle mode) or when the UE has selected the cell (in CELL_FACH, CELL_PCH or URA_PCH) state, the UE verifies that it has valid system information. The system information is organized in SIBs (system information blocks), a MIB (master information block) and scheduling blocks. The MIB is sent very frequently and gives timing information of the scheduling blocks and the different SIBs. For SIBs that are linked to a value tag, the MIB also contains information on the last version of a part of the SIBs. SIBs that are not linked to a value tag are linked to an expiration timer. SIBs linked to an expiration timer become invalid and need to be reread if the time of the last reading of the SIB is larger than this timer value. SIBs linked to a value tag are only valid if they have the same value tag as the one broadcast in the MIB. Each block has an area scope of validity (cell, PLMN, equivalent PLMN) which signifies on which cells the SIB is valid. A SIB with area scope "cell" is valid only for the cell in which it has been read. A SIB with area scope "PLMN" is valid in the whole PLMN, a SIB with the area scope "equivalent PLMN" is valid in the whole PLMN and equivalent PLMN.
In general UEs read the system information when they are in idle mode, CELL_FACH state, CELL_PCH state or in URA_PCH state of the cells that they have selected or the cell that they are camping on. In the system information, they receive information on neighboring cells on the same frequency, different frequencies and different RAT (radio access technologies). This allows the UE to know which cells are candidates for cell reselection.
MBMS is introduced in the UMTS standard in the Release 6 of the specification (Rel-6). It describes techniques for optimized transmission of MBMS bearer service including point-to-multipoint transmission, selective combining and transmission mode selection between point-to-multipoint and point-to-point bearers. This is used in order to save radio resources when the same content is sent to multiple users, and enables TV-like services. MBMS data can be split into two categories, control plane information and user plane information. The control plane information contains information on the physical layer configuration, transport channel configuration, radio bearer configuration, ongoing services, counting information, scheduling information, and the like. In order to allow UEs to receive this information, MBMS bearer specific control information for the MBMS is sent to the UEs.
The user plane data of MBMS bearers can be mapped onto dedicated transport channels for a point-to-point service which is sent only to one UE, or on a shared transport channel for point to multipoint service which is transmitted to (and received by) several users at the same time.
Point-to-point transmission is used to transfer MBMS specific control/user plane information, as well as dedicated control/user plane information between the network and a UE in RRC connected mode. It is used for the multicast or the broadcast mode of MBMS. DTCH is used for a UE in CELL_FACH and Cell_DCH. This allows existing mappings to transport channels.
To allow cell resources to be used in an optimized manner, a function called counting has been introduced in MBMS applications. The counting procedure is used to determine how many UEs are interested in the reception of a given service. This is done by using the counting procedure shown in FIG. 7.
For example, a UE that is interested in a certain service receives information of the availability of a MBMS service. The network can inform the UE that it should indicate to the network its interest in the service in the same way such as by transmitting the "access information" on the MCCH channel. A probability factor included in the access information message determines that an interested UE will only respond with a given probability. In order to inform the network that the UE is interested in a given service, the UE will send to the network the RRC connection setup message or the cell update message in the cell that the UE has received the counting information. This message may potentially include an identifier indicating the service that the UE is interested in.
In the case that the network operates on several frequencies, when a UE is camping on one frequency, and a MBMS service is transmitted on a different frequency, a UE may not be aware of the fact that a MBMS service is transmitted in the different frequency. Therefore a frequency convergence procedure allows the UE to receive information in frequency A that indicates in a frequency B that a given service is available.
In general, an MBMS point-to-multipoint Control Channel (MCCH) is a logical channel used for a point-to-multipoint downlink transmission of control plane information between a network and UEs in RRC Connected or Idle Mode. The control plane information on MCCH is MBMS specific and is sent to the UEs in a cell with an activated MBMS service. The MCCH can be sent in the S-CCPCH carrying the DCCH of the UEs in CELL_FACH state, or in a standalone S-CCPCH, or in the same S-CCPCH with MTCH.
The MCCH is mapped to a specific FACH in the S-CCPCH as indicated on the BCCH. In case of soft combining, the MCCH is mapped to a different S-CCPCH (CCTrCH in TDD) than MTCH. Reception of paging has priority over the reception of the MCCH for Idle mode and URA/CELL_PCH UEs. The configuration of the MCCH (modification period, repetition period, etc.) is configured in the system information sent on the BCCH.
In general, an MBMS point-to-multipoint Traffic Channel (MTCH) is a logical channel used for a point-to-multipoint downlink transmission of user plane information between a network and UEs in RRC Connected or Idle Mode. The user plane information on MTCH is MBMS Service specific and is sent to the UEs in a cell with an activated MBMS service. The MTCH is mapped to a specific FACH in the S-CCPCH as indicated on the MCCH.
In general, an MBMS point-to-multipoint Scheduling Channel (MSCH) is a logical channel used for a point-to-multipoint downlink transmission of an MBMS service transmission schedule between a network and UEs in RRC Connected or Idle Mode. Control plane information on MSCH is MBMS service and S-CCPCH specific and is sent to the UEs in a cell receiving MTCH. An MSCH is sent in each S-CCPCH carrying the MTCH. The MSCH is mapped to a specific FACH in the S-CCPCH as indicated on the MCCH. Due to different error requirements, the MSCH is mapped to a FACH different from the MTCH.
In general, FACH is used as a transport channel for MTCH, MSCH and MCCH. Moreover, S-CCPCH is used as a physical channel for FACH carrying the MTCH, MSCH or MCCH.
In general, the following connections between logical channels and transport channels exist only in downlink: 1) MCCH can be mapped to FACH; 2) MTCH can be mapped to FACH; and 3) MSCH can be mapped to FACH. The mappings as seen from the UE and UTRAN sides are shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, respectively.
For MCCH, the RLC mode to be employed is UM-RLC, with required enhancements to support out-of-sequence SDU delivery. A MAC header is used for logical channel type identification.
For MTCH, the RLC mode to be employed is UM-RLC, with required enhancements to support selective combining. Quick repeat may be used in RLC-UM. A MAC header is used for logical channel type identification and MBMS service identification.
For MSCH, the RLC mode to be employed is UM-RLC. A MAC header is used for logical channel type identification.
MBMS notification utilizes an MBMS specific PICH called an MBMS Notification Indicator Channel (MICH) in a cell. Coding for the MICH is defined in Stage-3 physical layer specifications.
In general, MCCH information is transmitted based on a fixed schedule, wherein the schedule identifies the TTI (Transmission Time interval), i.e., multiple of frames containing the beginning of the MCCH information. The transmission of the MCCH information can take a variable number of TTIs, and the UTRAN preferably transmits the MCCH information in consecutive TTIs. The UE will continue to receive the S-CCPCH until: 1) the UE receives all of the MCCH information; 2) the UE receives a TTI that does not include any MCCH data; or 3) information contents indicate that further reception is not required (e.g., no modification to the desired service information).
Based on this behavior, the UTRAN can repeat the MCCH information following a scheduled transmission in order to improve reliability. The MCCH schedule is common for all services.
All MCCH information will be transmitted periodically based on a "repetition period". A "modification period" is defined as an integer multiple of the repetition period. MBMS ACCESS INFORMATION may be transmitted periodically based on an "access info period", which is an integer divider of the "repetition period". The values for the repetition period and modification period are given in the system information of the cell in which MBMS is sent.
MCCH information is split into critical and non-critical information. The critical information is made up of MBMS NEIGHBORING CELL INFORMATION, MBMS SERVICE INFORMATION and MBMS RADIO BEARER INFORMATION. The non-critical information corresponds to MBMS ACCESS INFORMATION. Changes to the critical information are applied at the first MCCH transmission of a modification period and at the beginning of each modification period. The UTRAN transmits MBMS CHANGE INFORMATION including MBMS services IDs whose MCCH information is modified at that modification period. The MBMS CHANGE INFORMATION is repeated at least once in each repetition period of that modification period. Changes to non-critical information can take place at any time.
FIG. 10 illustrates the schedule with which the MBMS SERVICE INFORMATION and RADIO BEARER INFORMATION is transmitted. Different block patterns indicate potentially different MCCH content.
In order to increase coverage, a UE which is located between different cells can receive the same MBMS services from different cells at the same time, and combine the received information as shown in FIG. 11. In this case, the UE reads the MCCH from a cell it has selected based on a certain algorithm.
Referring to FIG. 11, on the MCCH from the selected cell (e.g., cell A-B), the UE receives information on a service that the UE is interested in. This information contains information related to the configuration of physical channels, transport channels, an RLC configuration, a PDCP configuration, etc. of the current cell, and neighboring cells that the UE might be able to receive (e.g., cell A-A and cell B). In other words, the received information contains information that the UE needs in order to receive an MTCH carrying a service that the UE is interested in cells A-A, A-B and B.
When the same service is transported on different cells, the UE may or may not be able to combine the service from the different cells. In case that combining is possible, the combining is performed at different levels: 1) no combining possible; 2) selective combining at RLC level; and 3) L1 combining at physical level.
Selective combining for an MBMS point-to-multipoint transmission is supported by RLC PDU numbering. Therefore, selective combining in the UE is possible from cells providing similar MBMS RB bit rates, provided that de-synchronization between MBMS point-to-multipoint transmission streams does not exceed the RLC re-ordering capability of the UE. Thus, there exists one RLC entity in the UE side.
For selective combining, there exists one RLC entity per MBMS service utilizing a point-to-multipoint transmission in the cell group of the CRNC. All cells in the cell group are under the same CRNC. In case de-synchronization occurs between MBMS transmissions in neighboring cells belonging to an MBMS cell group, the CRNC may perform re-synchronization actions enabling UEs to perform the selective combining between these cells.
For time division duplexing (TDD), selective combining and soft combining can be used when Node-Bs are synchronized. For frequency division duplexing (FDD), soft combining can be used when Node-Bs are synchronized inside a UE's soft combining reception window, and the data fields of the soft combined S-CCPCHs are identical during soft combining moments.
When selective or soft combining is available between cells, the UTRAN sends MBMS NEIGHBORING CELL INFORMATION containing the MTCH configuration of the neighboring cells available for selective or soft combining. When partial soft combining is applied, the MBMS NEIGHBORING CELL INFORMATION contains an L1-combining schedule, which indicates the moments in time when the UE may soft combine the S-CCPCH transmitted in neighboring cells with the S-CCPCH transmitted in a serving cell. With MBMS NEIGHBORING CELL INFORMATION, the UE is able to receive an MTCH transmission from neighboring cells without receiving the MCCH of these neighboring cells.
The UE determines the neighboring cell suitable for selective or soft combining based on a threshold (e.g., measured CPICH Ec/No) and the presence of MBMS NEIGHBORING CELL INFORMATION of that neighboring cell. The possibility of performing selective or soft combining is signaled to the UE.
The long-term evolution (LTE) of UMTS is under discussion by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) that standardized UMTS. The 3GPP LTE is a technology for enabling high-speed packet communications. Many schemes have been proposed for the LTE objective including those that aim to reduce user and provider costs, improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity.
FIG. 12 illustrates the architecture of an LTE system. Each aGW 115 is connected to one or several access Gateways (aGW) 115. An aGW 115 is connected to another Node (not shown) that allows access to the Internet and/or other networks, such as GSM, UMTS, and WLAN.
The 3GPP LTE requires reduced cost per bit, increased service availability, flexible use of a frequency band, a simple structure, an open interface, and adequate power consumption of a terminal as an upper-level requirement. Generally, The UTRAN 2 corresponds to E-UTRAN (Evolved-UTRAN). The NodeB 5 and/or RNC 4 correspond to e-NodeB (eNB) 105 in the LTE system.
In 3GPP LTE systems, system information (SI) carries different cell and network specific parameters to a UE for successful attachment to a network. The system information also facilitates paging and allows the UE to use different network services. Every cell continually broadcasts its system information on a channel, such as a broadcast control channel (BCCH). Moreover, every UE registering to the network or performing a handover to a particular cell first reads the cell specific information.
Discontinuous Reception (DRX) is a method used in mobile communication to conserve the battery life of the mobile terminal. Generally, the mobile terminal and the network negotiate periods in which data transfer occurs. During other periods, the mobile terminal turns its receiver off and enters a low power state.

Downlink packet data convergence protocol behavior during handover


A light guide plate (LGP) and LGP-based flat fluorescent panel (FFP) provides consistent light source for FFP to output consistent and high luminance light source for upgrading general light emitting efficacy to facilitate subsequent use of the light source by expanding incident angle for creating a scattering belt to destroy the total reflection of the light source passing through the scattering belt thus to avail better deflection to reduce light and shade stripes created in subsequent reflection.

(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a light guide plate (LGP) and LGP-based flat fluorescent panel (FFP), and more particularly, to one that upgrades the general light emitting efficacy of the FFP by eliminating the light interference of light and shade stripes.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Whereas the liquid crystal penal adapted in an LCD is not capable of emitting light, a flat fluorescent panel (FFP) is required to provide a light source for achieving the purpose of display.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, an FFP 1 of the prior art is essentially comprised of a light guide plate 11, one or multiple diffuser 12 and condenser 13 are disposed in sequence on the light outlet surface 111 of the light guide plate 11; multiple light guide points 113 in great number are provided on the reflective surface of the light guide plate 11; a reflector 14 is adhered to the outer side; one light inlet surface 114 as a minimum is provided on the light guide plate 11; a lamp source 15 is adapted externally to the light inlet surface 114; and the lamp source is substantially covered up by a lamp reflector 16.
In operation of the prior art as illustrated in FIG. 2, the light source from the lamp source 15 forthwith emits into the light inlet surface 114 of the light guide plate 11 due to the reflection by the lamp reflector 16. Upon entering into the interior of the light guide plate 11 by the light source, if the angle formed by the route of the light source and the light outlet 111 of the light guide plate 11 is smaller than the critical angle, the light source leaves the light guide plate 11 and varied through the diffuser 12 to achieve the purpose of condensing through the condenser 13 and finally the light source inputs toward a liquid crystal panel 2 to provide sufficient light source when the liquid crystal panel displays. Should the angle indicated by the light source in the light guide plate 11 and the light outlet surface 111 of the light guide plate 11 be greater than the critical angle, the light source indicates reflection to a reflective surface 112 to further take advantage of those light guide points 113 and the reflector 14 for reflecting its light source in seeking for the chance to output the light once again.
However, the FFP 1 of the prior art is vulnerable to the following flaws. As illustrated in FIG. 3, since the light inlet surface of the light guide plate 11 relates to a mirror without having been fogged and roughened; the incident angle is comparatively smaller when the light source from the lamp source 15 enters into the light guide plate 11. The light source arrives in the vicinity of the edge of the light outlet surface abutted to the light inlet surface 114 is prevented from leaving the light outlet surface 111 due to that the incident angle of the light source is greater than the critical angle resulting in reflection. The light guide source after the primary reflection undergoes the second reflection through those light guide points 113 and the reflector 112. Whereas the incident angle is equal to the exit angle, when the light source of the second reflection reaches once again on the light outlet surface 111, the angle indicated by the light source of the second reflection and the light outlet surface 111 is greater than the critical angle to frustrate the deflection. The repeated pattern creates the light interference to indicate light and shade stripes on the light guide plate 11, resulting in inconsistent luminance of the entire FFP and reduced total luminance to become problems pending urgent solutions by the trade.
To improve, an FFP 3 as illustrated in FIG. 4 contains a light guide plate 31; one or multiple diffuser 32 and condenser 33 in sequence on the light outlet surface 311 of the light guide plate 31; multiple light guide points 313 in great number on the reflective surface 312 of the light guide plate 31 and then covered up with a reflector 34. Meanwhile, one light inlet surface 314 as a minimum is provided on the light guide plate 31. The light inlet surface 315 is not mirrored, instead, is molded, sandblasted, etched, or tooled into fogged or roughened status. A lamp source 35 is provided to the light inlet surface 314 and is substantially covered up by a lamp reflector 36.
As the light inlet surface 314 of the light guide plate 31 is in fogged or roughened status, the angle of the light source form the lamp source 35 is expanded upon entering into the light inlet surface 314 of the light guide plate 31. Accordingly, the angle of the primary light source in the vicinity of the edge of the light outlet surface 311 abutted to the light inlet surface is smaller than the critical angle for the light outlet surface 311 to successfully become a bright area.
However, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the angle of a primary light source L1 farther from the light inlet surface 414 is gradually becoming equal to and larger than the critical angle to frustrate the light outlet and to turn into a dark area due to reflection even though the delivery of the light by the light source in the vicinity of the edge of the light inlet surface 314 abutted to the light outlet surface 311 presents no problem. The light source of that reflection is a secondary light source L2 and it though may be further reflected by those light guide points 313 and the reflector 34, the second reflection by the secondary light source L2 becomes the tertiary light source L3 due to that the incident angle of the light source is equal to the exit angle; and the attempted emission through the light outlet surface 311 by the tertiary light source L3 is frustrated since the light source is prone to be greater than the critical angle, thus is reflected again, and so on. As a result, the light interference exists to create light and shade stripes, the luminance of the FFP 3 is still not consistent, and the total luminance is insufficient with the problems found with the prior art not solved.
While the liquid crystal display is heading for larger and for full color display, more demands are put on the luminous of the FFP to point the way for future efforts by the trade. More recently, a high luminance FFP has been developed as illustrated in FIG. 6. Wherein, a light guide plate 41 is provided to an FFP 4, and the light guide plate 41 is provided with a light outlet surface 411 and a reflective surface 412. Multiple channels 413 in V shape capable of collecting the light and one light inlet surface 414 as a minimum are provided to the reflective surface. A reflector 42 is adhered to the reflective surface 412. A lamp source 43 is provided externally to the light inlet surface 414, and is substantially covered up by a lamp reflector 44. The light outlet surface is adhered with a condenser 45. As illustrated in FIG. 7, both of the light outlet surface 411 and the light inlet surface 414 of the light guide plate 41 in the FFP 4 are fogged or roughened to provide soft and consistent light outlet by the subsequent light outlet from the light guide plate 41 by omitting the installation of the conventional diffuser to save the material cost and assembly cost of the diffuser for condensing the light directly through the condenser 45 to concentrate the visual angle of luminance and significantly upgrade the luminance of the FFP 4.
However, the omission of the diffuser and the even further concentration of the visual angle of luminance lead to the even more conspicuous of the light and shade stripes on the light outlet surface, presenting a problem pending urgent solution for the FFP 4. Referring to FIG. 8, light beams from the light inlet surface partially advance in parallel for transmission into the light guide plate 41, and the remaining light beams are generally transmitted to the light outlet surface (411) upwardly and to the reflective surface (412) downwardly. For those light beams transmitted upwardly, their light emission angle has been already expanded by the fogged or roughened light inlet surface 414, the light angle of the primary light source L1 falling in the vicinity of the edge of the light outlet surface 411 abutted to the light inlet surface 414 is smaller than the critical angle and the light is smoothly deflected for the area of the primary light source L1 to become a bright area. As the location of the primary light source L1 falling on the light outlet surface 411 moves farther from the light inlet surface 414, the angle of the primary light source L1 and the critical angle of the light outlet surface 411 become larger until the deflection is prevented due to that the light angle of the primary light source L1 is greater than the critical angle. Accordingly, a dark area B is crated on the light outlet surface 411 and the light is reflected to the reflective surface 412 to become a secondary light source L2. Where as the incident angle is always equal to the reflective angle, the secondary light source is reflected once again to the light outlet surface 411 to become a tertiary light source L3. When the tertiary light source L3 is reflected once again to the light outlet surface by following the rule that the incident angle is always equal to the reflective angle, the light angle is greater than the critical angle to become a dark area, and so on. Consequently, the light and shade stripes are created to bring in the subsequent transmission of light the poor deviation to the highly luminance demanding FFP 4.