A method of manufacturing Construction and Demolition ("C&D") disposal debris into a substitute/alternative daily/initial cover product approved by an environmental regulatory authority for use at a solid waste disposal landfill, wherein the C&D disposal debris, before processing/manufacturing, is considered a raw material/feed stock composed of a commingled inseparable mixture of solid waste components/items which are classified based on their origin as C&D disposal debris. These components are mechanically processed by screening or shredding to a predetermined specification particle size to collectively create/form a "C&D Recovered Screen Material" ("RSM") product. This C&D-RSM product is applied as daily/initial cover material covering compacted and leveled Municipal Solid Waste ("MSW") substituting the normally used sand, dirt or earthen materials at permitted/licensed MSW disposal landfills operating with a landfill leachate containment system or other approved site location. Once applied, this manufactured MSW disposal landfill substitute C&D-RSM daily cover product is treated with a formulated solution in order to meet the required environmental regulatory authority specifications necessary for any product or material to be approved by them as a MSW disposal landfill daily/initial cover material or as a substitute daily/initial cover product.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a manufactured, partially biodegradable municipal solid waste ("MSW") disposal landfill specification daily/initial cover product.
More specifically, this invention relates to a MSW disposal landfill substitute/alternative daily/initial cover product composed of C&D disposal debris which has been mechanically processed by screening/shredding to a predetermined specification maximum particle size.
2. Description of the Related Art
Environmental regulations governing solid waste material are found at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 258, Criteria for Municipal Solid Waste Facilities, 40 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 261.2.; Definition of Solid Waste, Florida Statutes (F.S.) Chapter 403, Environmental Control and the Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.) Chapter 62-701, Solid Waste Management Facilities (Apr. 23, 1997) incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, the Standard Industrial Classification (S.I.C.) Manual, printed by the Executive Office of the President Office of Management and Budget is also incorporated herein by reference.
In the solid waste industry, it is the origin of the components of the unwanted solid waste which determines its solid waste classification. "Origin" denotes the type of activity conducted at the specific geographic site location where the unwanted solid waste material originated from, was generated at or produced. As an example, based upon their "origins" the following solid waste classifications are used: residential, commercial, construction, demolition, lot clearing, site development, manufacturing, industrial, yard trash/yard waste also known as green waste and the like. Furthermore, documents such as certificate of use, certificate of occupancy, occupational licenses, building construction permits, demolition permits, lot clearing permits and the like provide useful information in determining solid waste material classifications. These issued documents provide the necessary information to the appropriate agencies of towns, cities, municipalities, counties, state and environmental regulatory authorities or the like.
Upon review (examination) of these issued documents, the solid waste generated/produced at the specific site location in question and its classification can accurately be determined. Furthermore, zoning codes, comprehensive land use master plans and the like can also be used to determine solid waste classifications. Once the classification of the solid waste has been accurately established, the proper disposal location approved by environmental regulatory authorities for this specific type of solid waste can be made. Additional information on the classification of solid waste entering a permitted/licensed or approved solid waste management facility can be obtained from the facility's required operational record.
Operational records such as Monthly Operating Reports ("MOR's") are usually required by all permitted/licensed or approved solid waste management facilities or the like. The requirement of compiling the MOR from the daily operational records is usually included/attached as a "specific condition" to the permit/license issued to the solid waste management facility. An example of this MOR requirement is found in the State of Florida's Administrative Code (F.A.C. Chapter 62-701 Solid Waste Management Facilities, dated Apr. 23, 1997, Section 801, General Permit for Solid Waste Transfer Stations (4)(g), and is included herein:
(4)(g) Operational records shall be maintained to include a daily log of the quantity of solid waste received and transported and the origin of the waste. Such records shall be compiled on a monthly basis and shall be available for inspection by the Department. Reports shall be retained at the station for three years. Review of the required daily operational records should clearly indicate the exact geographic site location of the "origin" of the solid waste. PA1 (25) Construction and demolition debris" means discarded materials generally considered to be not water soluble and non-hazardous in nature, including but not limited to steel, glass, brick, concrete, asphalt material, pipe, gypsum wallboard and lumber, from the construction or destruction of a structure as part of a construction or demolition project or from the renovation of a structure, including such debris from construction of structures at a site remote from the construction or demolition project site. The term includes rocks, soils, tree remains, trees and other vegetative matter which normally results from land clearing or land development operations for a construction project; clean cardboard, paper, plastic, wood, and metal scraps from a construction project. Effective Jan. 1, 1997, except as provided in Section 403.707 (13)(j), F.S., unpainted, non-treated wood scraps from facilities manufacturing materials used for construction of structures or their components and unpainted, non-treated wood pallets provided the wood scraps and pallets are separated from other sold waste where generated and the generator of such wood scraps or pallets implements reasonable practices of the generating industry to minimize the commingling of wood scraps or pallets with other solid waste, and de minimis amounts of other non-hazardous wastes that are generated at construction or demolition projects, provided such amounts are consistent with best management practices of the construction and demolition industries. Mixing of construction and demolition debris with other types of solid waste will cause it to be classified as other than construction and demolition debris. PA1 17-520.400(1)--All ground water shall at all places and at all times be free from domestic, industrial, agricultural, or other man-induced non-thermal components of discharges in concentrations which, alone or in combination with other substances, or components or discharges (whether thermal or non-thermal): PA1 (a) Are harmful to plants, animals or organisms that are native to the soil and responsible for treatment or stabilization of the discharge relied upon by Department permits; or PA1 (b) Are carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, or toxic to human beings, unless specific criteria are established for such components in Rule 62-520.420 F.A.C.; or PA1 (c) Are acutely toxic within surface waters affected by the ground water; or PA1 (d) Pose a serious danger to the public health, safety or welfare; or PA1 (e) Create or constitute a nuisance; or PA1 (f) Impair the reasonable and beneficial use of adjacent waters. PA1 (5) "Recyclable material" means those materials which are capable of being recycled and which would otherwise be processed or disposal of as a solid waste. PA1 (i) used or reused as ingredients in an industrial process to make a product, provided the materials are not being reclaimed; or PA1 (ii) Used or reused as effective substitutes for commercial products; or PA1 (iii) Returned to the original process from which they are generated, without first being reclaimed or land disposed. The material must be returned as a substitute for feed stock materials. In cases where the original process to which the material is returned is a secondary process, the materials must be managed such that there is no placement on the land.
A determination can then be easily made as to the classification of the solid waste received from that specific location and the correct type of solid waste management facility where that specific solid waste is to be abandoned by disposal.
As an example, solid waste generated/produced by industries listed under the Standard Industrial Classification (S.I.C.) Manual industrial code 1152-1794 and 1796-1799 are classified as construction solid waste. Solid waste generated/produced by the S.I.C. industry code number of 1795 is classified as demolition solid waste.
Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris is considered solid waste by environmental regulatory agencies because in most instances, the C&D debris is simply abandoned by being disposed of, burned or incinerated. Construction and Demolition (C&D) Debris, as used herein and as defined by the State of Florida's Administrate Code (F.A.C.) is found at Chapter 62 Part 701 (62-701 ) Solid Waste Management Facilities, dated Apr. 23, 1997, Section 200 Definitions, (25) "Construction and Demolition Debris" is included herein.
Therefore, solid waste material generated by construction and/or demolition activity is classified as Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris by environmental regulatory authorities providing it has not been allowed to become mixed or commingled with any other classification of solid waste disposal material. Specifically excluded from the definition of C&D debris is asbestos and/or asbestos waste, biological/biomedical waste and all hazardous waste materials.
Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris contains many salvageable items. Once these salvageable components have been removed for reuse or other beneficial purpose, the remain material is renamed "C&D disposal debris." This remaining C&D disposal debris is usually simply abandoned by being disposed of, burned or incinerated. Component separation of C&D debris may be undertaken at the construction or demolition project site, land development site, permitted/licensed or approved Material Recovery Facility (MRF), solid waste transfer station or at any other site location approved by environmental regulatory authorities to accept and process this type of solid waste material. Additionally, certain geographic site specific conditions may be encountered where the economics of removing/separating usable components/items from the C&D debris may not be economically favorable. This occurs when no demand or current market exists for the components/items if removed/separated from the C&D debris. This unseparated C&D debris now also becomes "C&D disposal debris" and is usually abandoned by being disposed of, burned or incinerated. The C&D debris, whether separated or unseparated before processing/manufacturing, is considered a raw material/feed stock in this related art. It is this C&D disposal debris raw material/feed stock which is processed by mechanical screening/shredding to a predetermined specification maximum particle size which produces/creates the manufactured "C&D Recovered Screened Materials (RSM)" product of this related art.
Once treated with the preferred formulated solution of this related art, this C&D-RSM material becomes the MSW disposal landfill substitute daily cover product of this invention. Furthermore, once processed by mechanical screening/shredding, this MSW disposal landfill substitute daily/initial cover product, both before and after treatment, is referred to as C&D Recovered Screen Material (RSM). "Recovered Screen Materials (RSM)" is the mixture of collected solid particles which have passed through a screen or grate having predetermined size openings in their surface when solid waste is processed by mechanical screening or shredding. The environmental impact as well as public health, safety and welfare issues should be investigated thoroughly by environmental regulatory authorities before giving site specific approval allowing the utilization of this C&D-RSM product for any other use than by solid waste disposal landfills operating with a leachate containment system.
The State of Florida's Administrative Code (F.A.C.) (R. 12/96) Chapter 17-520.400, Ground Water Classes, Standards and Exemptions, addresses protective minimum criteria for ground water, and is included herein.
The pollution threat to ground water or surface waters from specific contaminants which may leach from the manufactured C&D disposal debris RSM product can be limited by the application/utilization of this substitute daily/initial cover product only at solid waste disposal landfills which operate with a landfill leachate containment system. Furthermore, the C&D-RSM product should be tested for all of the contaminants listed in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) 1994 Groundwater Guidance Concentration Booklet; Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater Resources compiled by Bryan Baker, telephone (904) 488-3601, incorporated herein by reference. An example of a potential groundwater contaminant listed in the FDEP 1994 Groundwater Guidance Concentration Booklet as a systemic toxicant are Boron and Borates, American Chemical Society's Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) #7440-42-8. Boron (B), boric acid (H.sub.3 BO3) and sodium tetraborate decahydrate (Na 2B407.10 H.sub.2 O) are found as components of commercially available gypsum wallboard. Ground water will cause leaching of boron and borates from gypsum wallboard.
Several samples of commercially available gypsum wallboard were tested by the Curcumin Method and contained on the average 4,000 mcg/g (ppm) of total boron and borates. This average value of 4,000 ppm computes to 7.86 pounds of boron and borates per ton (2,000 pounds) of commercially available gypsum wallboard. The guidance concentration listed in the 1994 FDEP Groundwater Guidance Concentration Booklet for boron and borates is 630 ug/L (ppb). Based on this guidance concentration value, 2,000 pounds of commercially available gypsum wallboard, which contains 7.86 pounds of Boron, will cause 1,496,483 gallons of ground water to exceed the listed permissible limit.
Additionally, dissolved solids which migrate from this C&D-RSM product should be evaluated carefully by environmental regulatory authorities to determine their potential overall effect before allowing usage of this material at a location operating without a leachate containment system. An example of this is found in the State of Florida's Administrative Code (F.A.C.) Chapter 62 Part 701 (62-701) Solid Waste Management Facilities, dated Apr. 23, 1997, Section 300 Prohibitions (b) and is included herein.
62.701.300(b) No person shall store, process or dispose of solid waste in a manner or location that causes air quality standards to be violated or water quality standards or criteria of receiving waters to be violated.
The C&D disposal debris which has not been allowed to become commingled or mixed with any other classification of solid waste material may be abandoned by disposal at a permitted/licensed C&D debris landfill or other approved site location including any RSM generated/produced or removed from this debris. However, if the C&D disposal debris has been mixed or commingled with other classifications of solid waste, such as commercial solid waste, it cannot be abandoned by disposal at a permitted/licensed or approved C&D debris landfill including any RSM generated/produced or removed from this debris mixture.
Commercial solid waste as used herein is solid waste originating from stores, businesses, commercial warehouses, hospitals, educational, health care, military and correctional institutes, non profit research organizations, government offices and the like. It typically includes, but is not limited to, waste rubber tires, processed waste rubber tires, rubber items, carpet, mixed paper, plastic, painted lumber, packaging material, textiles, wooden crates, pallets, metal strapping, glass, ferrous and non-ferrous items, furniture, upholstered furniture, small pieces of office equipment, treated lumber, fiberglass, fiberglass items, de minimis amounts of putrescible items, insulation material, styrofoam and the like.
This mixed or commingled C&D disposal debris must be disposed of at a Class III solid waste disposal landfill, Subtitle "D" MSW disposal landfill, Class I MSW disposal landfill, MSW disposal landfill operating within a slurry wall landfill leachate containment system or other environmental regulatory authority approved site location.
Under certain environmental regulatory conditions, the C&D disposal landfill, Solid Waste Transfer Station, Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or the like which is permitted/licensed or approved to accept and process C&D debris or its equivalent may be located within the geographic site boundaries of a MSW disposal landfill, Class I solid waste disposal landfill, Subtitle "D" Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) disposal landfill, MSW disposal landfill operating within a slurry wall landfill leachate containment system or their equivalents. Additionally, the C&D disposal landfill, Solid Waste Transfer Station, Materials Recovery Facility or the like which is permitted/licensed or approved to accept and process C&D debris may be located directly on top of a previously used sanitary landfill, MSW disposal landfill, Class I solid waste disposal landfill, Subtitle "D" MSW disposal landfill or their equivalents.
It is within the contemplation and scope of the present invention that limited or incidental amounts of other solid waste components may be present in the C&D debris without altering either its essential characteristics or its suitability to be manufactured into the specification particle sized C&D-RSM substitute daily/initial cover product of this related art. The "C&D disposal debris" which has been processed/manufactured into RSM by mechanical screening/shredding is viewed as a "Recyclable Material" in this art and not a solid waste. The definition of "Recyclable Material" is found in the State of Florida Statutes (F.S.) 1996 Supplement to Florida Statutes 1995, Chapter 403 Part IV Resources Recovery and Management, definition (5) "Recyclable Material" included herein:
Therefore, C&D disposal debris when manufactured into an accepted and approved specification particle sized MSW disposal landfill or other approved site location substitute daily cover product qualifies as a "recycled material." Furthermore, by viewing this C&D disposal debris as a raw material/feed stock the town, city, municipality, county, state or the like where this debris was generated/produced may be allowed to factor the reuse of this debris into their overall recycling credits. This in turn would increase their recycling credits and thus their ability to qualify for Federal Government grants.
The Federal Governments, Code of Federal Regulations, (CFR)(Jul. 1, 1996 Edition) definition of "Solid Waste" is found at 40-CFR part 261.2 and is incorporated herein by reference.
An excerpt from 40-CFR-261.2, definition of "Solid Waste" is included herein.
40 C.F.R. 261.2
(e) Materials that are not solid waste when recycled.
(1) Materials are not solid wastes when they can be shown to be recycled by being:
Therefore, when this C&D-RSM product is applied at MSW disposal landfills or other approved site locations as daily/initial cover material substituting the normally used commercial products of sand, dirt, earthen material or the like and then treated with the formulated solution of this related art, it should no longer be classified as a solid waste by environmental regulatory authorities.
One known solution to converting Construction and Demolition (C&D) debris to a landfill daily cover material is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,450 to Smith, et al. This prior art does not adequately address the criteria found at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Jul. 1, 1996 edition, part 25B.21 (a.) "Cover Material Requirements," included herein, which outlines the specific parameters that must be met in order for any product or material to be approved for daily cover usage. The Federal Governments Environmental Protection Agency regulations found at 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), revised as of Jul. 1, 1996, Part 258.21 (Cover Material Requirements) which has been adopted by most states, is included herein.

Solid waste landfill cover material and method of extending the useful life of a solid waste disposal landfill


A robust mechanical structure is provided to prevent small foundation structures formed on a substrate from detaching from the substrate surface. The strengthened structure is formed by plating a foundation metal layer on a seed layer and then embedding the plated foundation structure in an adhesive polymer material, such as epoxy. Components, such as spring probes, can then be constructed on the plated foundation. The adhesive polymer material better assures the adhesion of the metal foundation structure to the substrate surface by counteracting forces applied to an element, such as a spring probe, attached to the plated foundation.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to fabrication of a mechanical structure on a substrate surface for robustly mounting Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). More particularly, the present invention relates to a structure provided on a substrate surface for robustly mounting spring probes used on probe cards for testing integrated circuits on wafers.
2. Related Art
Mechanical structures are fabricated on substrate surfaces for a variety of applications. The substrate surfaces include polymers, metals, ceramics, semiconductors, etc. Typically to make electrical contact, a metal seed layer is deposited on the substrate surface to form bond pads for mounting the mechanical structures. As the size of the bond pad shrinks to accommodate smaller structures such as MEMS, or to accommodate limited spacing between small structures in an array, peeling or breaking of the metal seed layer from the substrate is more likely to occur, particularly with significant forces applied to mechanical structures formed on the bond pad. It, thus, becomes desirable to provide a robust support structure to prevent the metal seed layer from separating from the substrate.
One example of a MEMS structure mounted on a substrate surface includes a spring probe used to form a probe card for testing components on wafers, as illustrated in FIG. 1. A typical spring probe 2 is shown in FIG. 1 attached to a metal seed layer 4 provided on top of a layer 6 on a substrate 8. The layer 6 is optional, since the metal seed layer 4 can be directly connected to the substrate 8. The layer 6 is typically an insulator, but may be conducting, while the seed layer 4 is a metal, creating a metal-dielectric layer over the substrate 8. Metals making up the seed layer 4 can include copper, gold, silver, palladium, tungsten, titanium, aluminum, nickel, or a material that facilitates bonding of the spring probe 2, or further electroplating to form the spring probe 2. Alternatively, a bi-layer, multi-layer, or alloy of two or more of these materials, such as titanium-tungsten, copper-nickel-gold, etc. may provide the seed layer 4. Insulators making up layer 6 can include polyimide (PI), benzocyclobutene (BCB), FR4, ceramics, filled polymer or other materials. The substrate 8 is typically a multi-layer ceramic material, but may be a multilayer organic, metal matrix, metal, semiconductor or other. The spring probe 2 is typically composed of thin gold wire 10 surrounded by a resilient material 12, such as nickel cobalt, with a thin layer of gold plating 14 applied to maximize electrical conductivity. The fabrication of the spring probes 2 on the layer 6 involves application of the metal seed layer 4 on the layer 6 and then subsequently bonding and patterning the wire 10, and plating the wire 10 to form layers 12 and 14. The complete probe 2 is about the diameter of a human hair. Further details of spring probes used for wafer testing are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,211 entitled "Method of Manufacturing Electrical Contacts Using A Sacrificial Member," and U.S. Pat. No. 5,994,152 entitled "Fabricating Interconnects and Tips Using Sacrificial Substrates," both incorporated herein by reference. Other types of spring probes similar to the spring probe of FIG. 2, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,255,126 entitled "Lithographic Contact Elements," incorporated by reference herein, can likewise be attached to metal seed layers provided on a substrate surface. Although spring probes are referenced, other mechanical structures can be mounted on substrates, and may benefit from features of the present invention described subsequently.
Increases in the density of integrated circuits (ICs) on a wafer require a similar decrease in spacing between spring probes in an array used on a probe card for testing the ICs. A decrease in the spacing between spring probes in an array means a decrease in the size of the bond pads formed in the metal seed layer. As the bond pads shrink, the absolute breaking or fracture strength of the seed layer to its underlying substrate material becomes critical.
FIG. 2 illustrates how a force F applied to the probe springs during testing of ICs on a wafer can cause the metal seed layer pads to detach from the polyimide surface. As shown, the force F applied to the spring probe 2 during testing can cause the metal seed layer pad 4 to detach from the substrate 6 in area 16.
The mechanical robustness of structures formed on a seed layer, such as spring probes, depends on: (1) the size of the contact area between the seed layer and the substrate surface, (2) surface preparation of the substrate, and (3) the degree of adhesion between the seed layer and the substrate surface on which it is formed. Minor changes in processing conditions such as hydration/dehydration conditions can cause deterioration of the adhesion strength between the seed layer and the substrate, leading to catastrophic failure of the seed layer connection to the substrate surface. In some cases, robust parts cannot be fabricated as the peel strength required for such robust structures exceeds the adhesion strength of the seed layer to the substrate on which it is formed.
It would be desirable to provide a robust mechanical structure to prevent small bond pads, or mechanical structures formed on a substrate surface from detaching from the substrate surface when forces are applied to structures on the substrate.

Method to build robust mechanical structures on substrate surfaces


A dual fluid dispenser comprising a dispenser body and a nozzle. The dispenser body has first and second pump chambers, a first intake port adapted for fluid communication with a first liquid source, a second intake port adapted for fluid communication with a second with a first liquid source, a second intake port adapted for fluid communication with a second liquid source, first and second intake liquid flow paths for passage of fluid from the intake ports to the pump chambers, and first and second discharge liquid passageways. A third discharge liquid passageway is defined at least in part by the dispenser body. The third discharge liquid passageway includes a mixing chamber and a spinner chamber downstream of the mixing chamber. The first and second discharge liquid passageways are configured for passage of liquid from the first and second pump chambers to the mixing chamber. The nozzle includes a nozzle orifice in fluid communication with the spinner chamber. A fluid spinner member is in the spinner chamber. The pump chambers, and intake liquid flow paths are configured so that varying the volume of the pump chambers draws liquid from the intake liquid flow paths, forces the drawn liquids from the pump chambers to the mixing chambers where the liquids are mixed, and forces the mixed liquids through the spinner chamber and out the nozzle orifice.

This invention relates generally to dispensers, such as trigger sprayers, and more particularly to dispensers configured for simultaneously dispensing two fluid.
Trigger sprayers are those types of sprayers having pivoting triggers that are manually manipulated to dispense liquids from the sprayers. A conventional trigger sprayer is connected to a liquid container for dispensing the contents of the container as a spray, stream, or foam in response to manual reciprocation of the trigger. This type of trigger sprayer has been employed to dispense various different types of liquids from containers to which the trigger sprayers have been attached. However, such conventional trigger sprayer has drawbacks when employed with certain types of liquids. Certain liquids dispensed from conventional trigger sprayers are the product of two or more separate component liquids that remain stable while separated but have a limited shelf life when they are mixed together. Trigger sprayers attached to containers containing liquids of this type usually cannot remain in storage or on a store shelf for a prolonged period before the liquid product begins to lose effectiveness. To employ conventional trigger sprayers for dispensing liquids of this type and to increase the chance that the shelf life of the liquid product does not expire before the product is sold, the separate liquid components of the final liquid product must be mixed together to produce the final liquid product just prior to the liquid product being packaged in the containers and shipped to market where they are offered for sale. In addition, some liquid products are comprised of one or more component liquids that do not readily mix with each other, for example, water and oil. When liquid products of this type are packaged in containers with trigger sprayers, the separate liquid components that make up the final product tend to separate from each other while the product is stored in inventory or while the product sits on a store shelf awaiting sale. Subsequent operation of the trigger sprayer results in dispensing only that liquid component that had settled to the bottom of the container. In the oil and water example, only the water component of the liquid would be dispensed initially from the sprayer. Once all of the water is dispensed, then oil alone is dispensed.
Various multiple-compartment trigger sprayers have been designed in an effort to overcome the above-noted problems. These new designs include trigger sprayers that are attached to liquid containers that keep the component parts of a liquid product separate from each other until they are drawn from the containers by the trigger sprayers. Trigger sprayers of this type include sprayers that mix the separate component parts of a liquid product for the first time in the pump chambers of the sprayers prior to their being dispensed. However, even these newer designs of trigger sprayers have drawbacks. Once the trigger sprayer pump chamber is primed with the two components of the final liquid product, as the trigger sprayer sits between uses the shelf life of the liquid product in the pump chamber could expire. Also, the separate liquid components of the final product could separate from each other in the sprayer pump chamber. As a result, the next time the trigger sprayer is operated, the liquid first dispensed from the sprayer would be the left-over liquid remaining in the pump chamber. This liquid could have an expired shelf life or separated component liquids. In either situation, the quality of the liquid first dispensed from the sprayer would be less than that expected. Another disadvantage of the present trigger sprayers is that mixed liquids remaining in the trigger sprayers occasionally leaks back into the containers and contaminates the liquids.
A further disadvantage is the complexity of parts required to construct such trigger sprayers. This complexity increases the cost of manufacture and the difficulty of assembling the trigger sprayers.

Continental Sprayers International, Inc.


A planetary transmission for a vehicle, comprising a planet carrier, on which at least one planet wheel is mounted, a hub arranged for a vehicle wheel and connected to the planet carrier, and a static housing which is connected to the vehicle and in which the hub is mounted. A friction brake is arranged at an outer periphery of the planet carrier and is intended to brake the rotation of the planet carrier in relation to the static housing. The hub and the planet carrier are interconnected by a splined connection. According to an embodiment, an outer gear ring is arranged so as to interact with the at least one planet wheel, which outer gear ring is connected to the static housing by a second splined connection.

It is previously known to arrange a planetary transmission in conjunction with the wheel of a vehicle. The drive shaft of the vehicle is then provided with an inner sun wheel for the planetary transmission, and a static housing surrounding the planetary transmission is provided with an outer gear ring. The sun wheel and the gear ring interact with planet wheels which are arranged on a planet carrier. The planet carrier is connected to a hub which is mounted in the static housing, and a vehicle wheel can be mounted on the hub by means of wheel bolts. By arranging a planetary transmission in conjunction with the wheel of a vehicle, an increase in torque from the drive shaft to the wheel is obtained. In order to brake the vehicle, friction discs are arranged on the periphery of the planet carrier, which interact with disc plates which are arranged in the static housing.
The construction of the known planetary transmission is such that it is not suitable for large and heavy vehicles, such as industrial machinery, which would require, for example, a stronger hub bearing arrangement and thus a longer hub in the axial direction. This would, however, place greater demands on the connection between the planet carrier and the hub, at the same time as it is desirable to keep the planetary transmission as a whole as compact as possible.

Planetary transmission apparatus including vehicle-wheel hub


A recovery system and method for performing site recovery utilizes recovery-specific metadata and files of protected clients at a primary site to recreate the protected clients at a secondary site. The recovery-specific metadata is collected from at least one component at the primary site, and stored with the files of protected clients at the primary site. The recovery-specific metadata and the files of the protected clients are replicated to the secondary site so that the protected clients can be recreated at the secondary site using the replicated information.

Resource-consuming clients, such as virtual machines (VMs) or other software entities capable of running various applications, can be used to deploy applications in one or more virtual datacenters, which are virtualized collections of computing, storage, and networking resources of a distributed computer system. The physical resources that support the clients in the virtual datacenters may be located at one or more physical sites. Since at least some of the clients may be running business-critical applications, disaster recovery management systems may be deployed at some of the sites so that these clients can be recreated at recovery sites when needed.
In order to properly recreate clients in a recovery site during recovery or failover, additional information regarding the clients may be needed. For some disaster recovery management processes, metadata that includes the additional information may be separately transmitted to the recovery site from client data that includes the state of the clients for recreation. However, maintaining synchronization between the metadata and the client state data is difficult and error prone. Thus, there can be a mismatch between the metadata and the client state data since the two data may not represent the same point in time.

Recovery system and method for performing site recovery using replicated recovery-specific metadata


Disclosed is a conductive, flame-retardant polymeric fabric composed of a woven or non-woven nylon, polyester or acrylic fabric. A surface of the fabric is provided with a flame-retardant layer applied by coating the flame-retardant directly onto the fabric surface. Disposed on the flame-retardant layer is a conductive metal applied preferably by vapor deposition. The resulting article not only has a surface resistance of less than one ohm/sq, but also the article has an Underwriter Laboratories very thin material (VTM) vertical bum test rating of zero rendering the article suitable for use as an electromagnetic interference shielding fabric.

Many modern electronic devices require flame retardant approval from Underwriters Laboratories (UL). These include such devices as personal and business computers, various radio frequency and microwave devices, equipment used in telephone base stations and switching electronics. If each individual component of such apparatus has UL approval, the overall apparatus does not require flame-retardant approval. Thus, ensuring that each component has UL approval avoids the need for UL testing of the entire apparatus and reduces cost to the apparatus manufacturer.
The need for flame retardant approval of individual components extends to fabric materials that may be used in various shielding components of the apparatus. Shielding components protect the electrical or electronic components of the apparatus from electromagnetic interference (EMI). Electromagnetic interference is understood to mean undesired conducted or radiated electrical disturbances from an electric or electronic apparatus, including transients, which can interfere with the operation of other electrical or electronic apparatus. Such disturbances can occur anywhere in the electromagnetic spectrum. Radio frequency interference (RFI) refers to disturbances in the radio frequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum but often is used interchangeably with electromagnetic interference. Both electromagnetic and radio frequency interference are referred to hereafter as EMI.
Electronic devices not only are sources of EMI, but also the operation of such devices may be adversely affected by the emission of EMI from other sources. Consequently, electric or electronic apparatus susceptible to electromagnetic interference generally must be shielded in order to operate properly.
Many shielding applications such as gaskets, cable shields, grounding straps, conductive tapes, laminate shields among others, utilize a conductive fabric in its construction. For example, a gasket for use between a computer cabinet and a cabinet door may comprise a resilient core enclosed in a conductive fabric. Conductive fabrics generally are formed of polymeric fibers and are either woven or non-woven. To render the fabric conductive, the fibers may include particles of a conductive material or the fabric may be coated with a conductive metal by various methods including electroless plating and vapor deposition among others.
One method of providing a conductive fabric with flame retardant properties is to incorporate a flame retardant into the material of the fabric. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,606 discloses dispersing alumina trihydrate in a polymeric material used to form a conductive fabric. A further alternative is to form the fabric of fiberglass. While a fiberglass fabric is inherently fire resistant, it is brittle and subject to cracking in dynamic applications. Substrate fabrics of polymeric materials generally are more flexible and durable than fiberglass and are preferred. The problem is that prior attempts to produce a conductive polymeric fabric having flame-retardant properties suitable for use as an EMI shield have not been entirely satisfactory.
The industry standard for a flame retardant EMI shielding fabric is a fabric having an Underwriters Laboratories rating for very thin material (VTM) of zero burn in a vertical burn test (described hereinbelow). A VTM burn rating of zero is particularly difficult to achieve for metalized polymeric fabrics because the metal coating acts as an accelerant to combustion.
Incorporating a flame retarding material into the formulation of the polymeric material of the fabric provides a degree of protection but does not completely solve the problem. Applying a flame-retardant material over the conductive metalized surface may provide a UL approved material. However, the amount of flame retardant that must be applied over the metalized surface in order to obtain the UL VTM zero burn rating (vertical burn test) forms such a thick layer that it significantly decreases the surface conductivity of the metalized fabric. Since high surface conductivity is a desirable attribute of EMI shielding material, a material having a low surface conductivity renders it unacceptable for such use. Low surface conductivity also is caused by corrosion of the conductive metal layer and conventional flame-retardant materials accelerate galvanic corrosion of the conductive metal. This is another reason why applying a flame-retardant coating to the metalized surface of a conductive fabric has not been an acceptable solution.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a electrically conductive polymeric fabric having flame retardant properties.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a conductive polymeric fabric that has an Underwriters Laboratories vertical burn test VTM flammability rating of zero.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a flame retardant conductive polymeric fabric that is corrosion resistant so as to maintain a high degree of surface conductivity over time.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide method of making a flame retardant conductive polymeric fabric suitable for use in EMI applications.

Flame retardant corrosive resistant conductive fabric article and method


Process for the preparation of foamed supramolecular polymers characterized in that the foaming of the supramolecular polymer is carried out in the presence of blowing agents.

It is known for several years that supramolecular polymers are polymers in which the monomers are at least in part bond to one another via H-bridges.
When the monomer units have a low molecular weight, they form at low temperature a rigid dimensionally stable polymer. At higher temperatures, however, since the H-bridges are much weaker, essentially only monomeric units are present and can be easily handled.
International Patent Application No. WO 97/46607 relates to a supramolecular polymer containing monomeric units that form H-bridges with one another, the H-bridge-forming monomeric units in pairs forming at least 4-H-bridges with one another. As H-bridge-forming monomeric units, substituted ureido-pyrimidones and ureido-pyrimidines were used. In examples XII and XIII of that International Patent Application is described the end-capping of polydimethyltrisiloxanes with 4-benzyloxy-6-(3-butenyl)-2-butylureidopyrimidine and 6-(3-butenyl)-2-butylureido-4-pyrimidone, respectively.
Supramolecular polymers have also been described in our co-pending PCT application PCT/EP01/14082.
In "Reversible Polymers Formed from Self-Complementary Monomers Using Quadruple Hydrogen Bonding", by R. P. Sijbesma, H. B. Beijer, L. Brunsveld, B. J. B. Folmer, J. H. K. Ky Hirschberg, R. F. M. Lange, J. K. L. Lowe, E. W. Meijer, published in Science, Vol. 278, 28 Nov. 1997, is described in FIG. 2 the reaction of 6-tridecylisocytosine with hexanediisocyanate to give a bifunctional compound (2a) which forms reversible polymers. In FIG. 6 of that reference is also disclosed the functionalization of a trifunctional copolymer of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide with a diisocyanate, followed by a reaction with methylisocytosine to give a compound (7) which has the ability to form reversible polymer networks. These compounds (2a) and (7) are supposed to allow the formation of polymer networks that can be used in hot melts and coatings. However, as indicated in the reference, compound (2a) has a tendency to crystallise and compound (7) exhibits poor mechanical properties.
In "New Polymers Based on the Quadruple Hydrogen Bonding Motif", by Brigitte J. B. Folmer, pages 91-108, PhD Thesis, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, 2000, is described (see in particular page 96) the end-capping of hydroxy terminated polymers with a reactive synthon obtained by the reaction of methylisocytosine with 1,6-hexanediisocyanate. The hydroxy terminated polymers are a hydrogenated polybutadiene, a polyether, a polycarbonate and a polyester.
As a result of the increased demand for lighter thermoplastic materials, a low density TPU needs to be developed which, in turn, represents a big technical challenge to provide, at minimum, equal physical properties to conventional low density PU.
It is already known to produce soles and other parts of polyurethane by a polyaddition reaction of liquid reactants resulting in an elastic solid moulded body. Up till now, the reactants used were polyisocyanates and polyesters or polyethers containing OH-groups. Foaming was effected by adding a liquid of low boiling point or by means of CO2, thereby obtaining a foam at least partially comprising open cells.
Reducing the weight of the materials by foaming the TPU has not given satisfactory results up to now. Attempts to foam TPU using well-known blowing agents as azodicarbonamides (exothermic) or sodiumhydrocarbonate (endothermic) based-products were not successful for mouldings with reduced densities below 800 kg/m3.
With endothermic blowing agents, a good surface finish can be obtained but the lowest density achievable is about 800 kg/m3. Also, the processing is not very consistent and results in long demoulding times. Very little or no foaming is obtained at the mould surface due to a relatively low mould temperature, resulting in a compact, rather thick skin and a coarse cell core.
By using exothermic blowing agents, a lower density foam (down to 750 kg/m3) with very fine cell structure can be achieved but the surface finish is not acceptable for most applications and demould time is even longer.
From the above it is clear that there is a continuous demand for low density TPUs having improved skin quality which can be produced with reduced demould times.
It has now been surprisingly found that foaming supramolecular polymers with a PU backbone structure in the presence of blowing agents, allows one to meet the above objectives. Demould times are significantly reduced and the process can be carried out at lower temperatures, resulting in a better barrel stability. In addition, the use of blowing agents, even allows to further reduce the density while maintaining or improving the skin quality and demould time. Alternatively, the efficiency of the blowing agents, when combined with the supramolecular polymer is improved.
The present invention thus concerns a process for the preparation of foamed supramolecular polymers whereby the foaming of the supramolecular polymer is carried out in the presence of blowing agents.
The low density supramolecular polymers thus obtained (density not more than 800 kg/m3) have a fine cell structure, very good surface appearance, a relatively thin skin and show comparable physical properties to conventional PU which renders them suitable for a wide variety of applications.
The invention provides TPU products having outstanding low temperature dynamic flex properties and green strength at the time of demould, at density 800 kg/m3 and below.
The term "green strength", as is known in the art, denotes the basic integrity and strength of the TPU at demould. The polymer skin of a moulded item, for example, a shoe sole and other moulded articles, should possess sufficient tensile strength and elongation and tear strength to survive a 90 to 180 degree bend without exhibiting surface cracks. The prior art processes often require 5 minutes minimum demould time to attain this characteristic.
In addition, the present invention therefore provides a significant improvement in minimum demould time. That is to say, a demould time of 2 to 3 minutes is achievable.
Adding blowing agents during the processing of TPUs is widely known, see e.g. WO-A 94/20568, which discusses the production of foamed TPUs, in particular expandable, particulate TPUs, EP-A 516024, which describes the production of foamed sheets from TPU by mixing with a blowing agent and heat-processing in an extruder, and DE-A 4015714, which concerns glass-fibre reinforced TPUs made by injection moulding TPU mixed with a blowing agent.
The use of microspheres in a polyurethane foam has been described in EP-A 29021 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,257.
Nevertheless, none of the prior art documents discloses the use of a combination of a supramolecular polymer and blowing agents to produce foamed low density TPU (density 800 kg/m3 and even below) nor do these documents suggest the benefits associated with the present invention including the skin quality and thereby maintaining physical properties at low density.


An integrated circuit includes a substrate having a plurality of electronic devices, a plurality of interconnect layers disposed on one or both sides of the substrate, and a plurality of active electrically conductive interconnect layer structures. The plurality of interconnect layers include horizontal interconnect and vertical-interconnect-access (VIA) layers. The plurality of active electrically conductive interconnect layer structures are disposed on at least one of the plurality of interconnect layers and electrically coupled with at least one of the plurality of electronic devices. The integrated circuit also includes a plurality of spare electrically conductive interconnect layer structures disposed on at least one of the plurality of interconnect layers and electrically isolated from the plurality of active electrically conductive interconnect layer structures.

1. Field
The field of the embodiments generally relates to improved techniques and architectures for modifying the physical design and realization of integrated circuits, and more specifically to an architecture of spare wiring structures for improved engineering change orders.
2. Related Art
Integrated circuit design typically involves a series of well-defined steps using a sequence of electronic-design-automation (EDA) or computer aided design (CAD) tools. In a first step, the required functionality of the design is typically specified using a hardware description language (HDL) or by drawing a schematic with a graphical entry tool. Regardless of the mechanism used to specify the design, the design is converted to a netlist of logic elements through a step known as synthesis by an EDA software tool. The synthesis tool specifies the design as a netlist of circuit elements in a way that optimizes the design as specified using user-supplied constraints. These constraints may include optimizing for a desired operating speed, implementation area, or power-efficiency, etc. Given that the post-synthesis netlist meets the desired optimization requirements, an EDA tool then derives a silicon layout of the design netlist through a series of steps called placement, clock-tree synthesis, timing optimization, and routing. The outcome of the layout process is the physical design of the integrated circuit.
After the physical design of the integrated circuit has been generated through the layout design-automation tool, it is used to build a photomask set with each photomask being used for a separate photolithographic step during manufacture of the integrated circuit. The costs associated with the production of each photomask and the set as a whole is a significant part of the total cost of fabricating an integrated circuit.
If there are design errors or specification changes found after the photomask set has been manufactured, one or more of the photomasks must be redesigned and remanufactured. Changes are first made to the netlist and physical design before the relevant replacement photomasks are manufactured. The process of modifying or updating a design in such a way is referred to as an engineering change, an engineering change order, or in short as an ECO. To reduce costs, it is typically desirable to perform engineering change orders such that the desired change in design functionality or the physical realization is achieved while altering as few photomasks as possible, especially those photomasks that are more expensive to manufacture.
If an engineering change requires the refabrication of too many photomasks, the increased manufacturing costs, schedule delays, and risks associated with the engineering change may warrant a full revision, in which case the entire photomask set must be redesigned and remanufactured. The feasibility of an engineering change is a determination of whether or not an engineering change is possible without the need for modifying all photomasks, otherwise known as a full revision.

Architecture of spare wiring structures for improved engineering change orders


Hydrophobic inorganic fine particles characterized by being a mixture of at least small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles having an average primary particle diameter of 5 to 25 nm and having a maximum peak particle diameter of 20 nm or less and large-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles having an average primary particle diameter which is 1.5 to 100 times the average primary particle diameter of the small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles; the mixture being a mixture having been treated in the same treating tank to subject both the small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles and large-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles simultaneously to hydrophobic treatment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hydrophobic inorganic fine particles used in image forming processes such as electrophotography, electrostatic printing and toner jetting, a process for producing the hydrophobic inorganic fine particles, and a toner containing the hydrophobic inorganic fine particles.
2. Related Background Art
It is commonly known to add small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles to toner particles for the purpose of controlling toner characteristics such as chargeability and fluidity of toners to achieve good developing performance.
In toners to which such small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles are added, it has been ascertained that the small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles come to stand buried in surface portions of toner particles because of a stress applied between a toner and a carrier when the toner is used as a two-component developer, a stress applied from a developing blade and a developing sleeve when the toner is used as a one-component developer, an impact against inner walls of a developing assembly and a toner agitation blade, and a mutual impact between toner particles.
In order to make the small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles less buried, it is effective to use large-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles in combination, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Applications Laid-Open No. H04-204751, No. H05-346682, No. H06-313980, No. H06-332235 and No. H07-92724.
The large-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles have an effect as a spacer, and hence they prevent toner particle surfaces to which the small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles have adhered, from coming into direct contact with the carrier, developing blade, developing sleeve, developing assembly inner walls, toner agitation member and other toner to lessen the stresses. This makes the small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles kept from being buried in the surface portions of toner particle, and brings achievement of longer lifetime of toners.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H04-204751 discloses a toner having hydrophobic fine silica particles and hydrophobic fine titanium oxide particles or hydrophobic fine aluminum oxide particles, which is a toner characterized in that the hydrophobic fine titanium oxide particles or the hydrophobic fine aluminum oxide particles have peaks at 10 to 20 μm and 30 to 60 μm in primary particle diameter.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H05-346682 discloses a toner characterized in that an inorganic fine powder having a BET specific surface area of less than 80 m2/g and treated with a silicone oil and an inorganic fine powder having a BET specific surface area of 80 m2/g or more and treated with a silane coupling agent.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H06-332235 discloses a toner for electrophotography comprising toner particles and at least two types of external additives, which is a toner for electrophotography which is characterized in that particles of 5 μm or smaller are present in a proportion of 1 to 8% by volume in particle size distribution of toner particles, that a first external additive has an average particle diameter of 0.1 to 0.5 μm in number base of primary particles, and that a second external additive has an average particle diameter of 20 nm or less in number base of primary particles and is hydrophobic.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H07-104501 discloses a proposal of a toner making use of hydrophobic fine silica particles of 15 to 20 nm in particle diameter and hydrophobic fine silica particles or alumina fine particles of 13 nm or less in particle diameter.
However, because of the addition of two types of hydrophobic inorganic fine particles different in particle diameter, these toners have had problems in respect of mixability of the both and dispersion on the surfaces of toner particles, and had insufficient development durability and charging stability.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H06-313980 discloses a developer characterized in that inorganic fine particles have, in its number primary particle diameter distribution curve, i) a maximum value of number proportion at each of a primary particle diameter x (nm) (where 20≦x≦50) and a primary particle diameter y (nm) (where 3x≦y≦6x) and ii) 10% by number or less of number proportion in the primary particle diameter (x+y)/2 (nm), have a value of X/Y within the range of from 0.5 to 2.0 where the number proportion of inorganic fine particles on the side of small particle diameter which have a primary particle diameter of less than (x+y)/2 (nm) is represented by X% by number and the number proportion of inorganic fine particles on the side of large particle diameter which have a primary particle diameter of (x+y)/2 (nm) or more by Y% by number, and have a value of z/x of from 150 to 400 where the volume-average particle diameter of toner particles is represented by z (nm).
However, in this inorganic fine particles, the peak of the primary particle diameter on the side of small particle diameter in the number primary particle diameter distribution is as relatively large as 20 nm or more, and moreover a peak is also present on the side of large particle diameter. Hence, when calculated on the basis of weight, it follows that the large-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles are present in a very large number in respect to the small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles, bringing about problems on fluidity and chargeability.
Japanese Patent Applications Laid-Open No. H08-36316, No. 2000-56595 and No. 2002-23414 disclose, in a contact transfer assembly in which a bias is applied to a transfer member by a means for applying the bias and a toner held on a latent image bearing member, prepared by externally adding to and mixing in toner particles at least two types of external additives different in average particle diameter, is transferred to a transfer medium, a contact transfer assembly which has defined the relationship between the loose apparent density of the toner and the hardness of the transfer member. However, the respective two types of external additives different in average particle diameter, used here, have separately been hydrophobic-treated, and hence the both differ in their agglomerative properties and readiness of dispersion on toner particle surfaces, and it has been difficult to disperse the both uniformly on the surfaces of toner particles.
Under such a technical background, it is earnestly sought to newly provide novel hydrophobic inorganic fine particles such that the small-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles and the large-particle-diameter inorganic fine particles can readily and uniformly be dispersed on the toner particle surfaces even where they have been hydrophobic-treated.

Hydrophobic inorganic fine particles, hydrophobic inorganic fine particles production process, and toner


A zoom lens system including, from the object side to the image side, a first lens unit and a second lens unit, where when zooming, the distance between the first lens unit and the second lens unit changes. In at least one exemplary embodiment, the first lens unit includes a first lens element having negative optical power, and a second lens element having positive optical power.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens system. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a zoom lens system suitable as an optical system for an image pickup apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the technology of solid-state image sensors, such as a CCD, used in image pickup apparatuses, such as digital still cameras and camcorders, has made remarkable progress. In addition, the image pickup apparatuses have been reduced in size. Therefore, a compact, thin, and lightweight photographic lens system having improved optical performance is needed.
A two-unit zoom lens has relatively improved optical performance, and its entire lens system is small. The two-unit zoom lens includes, from the object side to the image side, a first lens unit having negative refractive power and a second lens unit having positive refractive power, and changes the distance (air space) between the two lens units to perform zooming.
The lens system of this two-unit zoom lens is composed of a relatively small number of lenses. Therefore, this two-unit zoom lens is commonly used in small lens systems.
A small two-unit zoom lens whose first lens unit consists of a negative lens and a positive lens and whose second lens unit consists of a positive lens and a negative lens is discussed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-273670, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-033810, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-052235 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,389).
A two-unit zoom lens whose second lens unit consists of a first lens subunit having positive refractive power and a second lens subunit having positive refractive power, the second lens subunit performing focusing, is discussed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-9997 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,987).
A three-unit zoom lens suitable for a small image pickup apparatus having a high-resolution image sensor, the zoom lens including three lens units having negative, positive, and positive refractive power respectively, is discussed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-147381 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,243,213) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-284177 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,337).
A small three-unit zoom lens whose second lens unit consists of a positive lens and a negative lens is discussed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-9999 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,818).
The two-unit zoom lenses and the three-unit zoom lenses discussed in the above documents can be improved in optical performance in order to be used for an image pickup apparatus using a high-resolution solid-state image sensor.

Zoom lens system and image pickup apparatus having the same


A cosmetic comprising the following components (A), (B), (C) and (D):                (A) 0.001 to 50% by weight of an organic acid represented by a general formula (1), wherein R1 denotes a residue derived from a natural sterin having one hydroxy group or a hydrogenated product thereof, or a residue derived from bile acid in which the hydroxyl hydrogen atom is removed; R2 denotes a divalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 24 carbon atoms; and M denotes a hydrogen atom, an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, ammonium, alkanolammonium having 2 to 9 carbon atoms in total, alkylammonium or alkenylammonium having 1 to 22 carbon atoms in total, a pyridinium substituted with an alkyl group or an alkenyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms, or a basic amino acid;        (B) 0.001 to 20% by weight of a base;        (C) 0.0001 to 50% by weight of a ceramide; and        (D) water,and comprising, as a component (E), an acid other than the component (A) in a content satisfying a relationship: 0≦(E)/(A)<0.2, and having pH of 6 to 11.

A horny layer, which is present in the outermost layer of the skin, has a function of suppressing entering of substances from the outside and water evaporation from the inside of the skin, and, at the same time, holding moisture in the horny layer itself so as to keep softness or smooth appearance of the skin. Lipid called a horny intercellular lipid (hereinafter, referred to as a horny ICL) is present in spaces in the horny cells constituting the horny layer such that the lipid is filled in the spaces between the horny cells.
About 50% of lipid composition of the horny ICL is ceramides, and the remainder includes cholesterol, cholesterol ester, and fatty acid. In general, it is known that the reduction of the horny ICL, in particular, a ceramide causes not-preferable skin states such as rough skin, dry skin, and aged skin, and the horny layer reduced in a performance can be improved by externally supplementing the ceramide as a component for improving the function of the horny layer (Non-patent Literatures 1 and 2).
However, since the ceramide has a strong crystalline property, and a high melting point, it is difficult to stabilize the ceramide during formulation. Therefore, in order to blend stably the ceramide into skin external composition, a surfactant and a large amount of various oil agents, or the like, need to be used together, and as a result, it has not been possible to avoid deterioration of a feeling upon use and limitation of the nature of formulation.
Patent Literature 1 describes stabilization of the horny ICL containing a ceramide by using, for example, phospholipid and synthesized surfactants, but use of synthesized surfactants poses problems in terms of safety or a feeling upon use. Furthermore, there has been a problem that phospholipid itself is easily oxidized or degraded.
Furthermore, Patent Literature 2 describes that when a ceramide is emulsified with a sphingosine which is a lipid present in a horny ICL and an acid, the ceramide is not crystallized and can be retained stably. However, combination of the sphingosine and the acid shows cationic property, so that anionic substances cannot be coexistent.
On the other hand, an organic acid containing a sterol group is not the lipid which is present in the horny ICL, but has a similar structure to that of cholesterol sulfate or cholesteryl ester, and therefore has good affinity with the horny layer and high permeability.


A torsional-vibration damper rotatably supported for translating torque between a prime mover and the input of a transmission that includes a primary element operatively connected for rotation with the power take off of a prime mover and a secondary element operatively connected for rotation with the input to a transmission. A spring mechanism is operatively disposed between the primary element and the secondary element that is adapted to operatively couple the primary element to the secondary element in a damped torque translational relationship. The torsional-vibration damper also includes a friction device having a plurality of friction blocks that are each operatively supported between the primary element and the secondary element such that the friction blocks provide frictional contact between the primary element and the secondary element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to torsional-vibration dampers for motor vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
A torsional-vibration damper is, generally, a type of elastic coupling disposed between two components of a drive train of a vehicle, for example, between an internal-combustion engine and a transmission. Such devices reduce or otherwise prevent vibrations from being transmitted from the engine to other parts of the drive train.
The basic embodiment of a torsional-vibration damper includes a primary element and a secondary element that can be coupled to each other by a spring device and are limited in movement in relation to each other about a rotational axis. The spring device advantageously includes a plurality of springs disposed on a radial arc spaced relative to the rotational axis and, preferably, at a certain uniform distance from each other. The springs, or a sequence of multiple springs, if applicable, are then connected to the primary element on one side of the springs and to the secondary element on the other side of the springs. Torque is transmitted through the spring coupling, and, as a result of the spring characteristic, a certain additional damping effect is achieved.
When torsional-vibration dampers are used in the drive train, however, it is necessary to have a high moment of friction in the drive train to decrease the vibration amplitudes in the resonance range. Unfortunately, this causes the transmission characteristic to deteriorate in higher speed range.
In response to this problem a torsional-vibration damper has been developed in the related art that includes primary and secondary elements coupled not only by the spring device, but additionally via a friction device whose damping effect can be controlled and adjusted by a special force-generating device. The friction device can also be engaged and disengaged in the manner of a clutch.
Although the torsional-vibration dampers known in the related art are basically effective in solving this problem, they have distinct disadvantages. In particular, they are often physically complex and also require a separate control system. The control system operatively controls the friction device to selectively provide the desired controlled moment of friction given the specific operating conditions at the time. The inherent complexity of both the friction device and its control system results in a torsional-vibration damper that can be cost prohibitive. Therefore, the manufacturing costs of many such devices are considered too high for many applications.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for a torsional-vibration damper having a friction device that provides a controlled moment of friction. In particular, there remains a need in the art for torsional-vibration damper that employs a simple friction device to provide a damping effect that does not need a separate control system and can be produced cost-effectively.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An application includes a variety of metadata and operations that may process the metadata. Selective portions of the metadata are identified and various combinations of available operations are automatically generated for the selective metadata. Each generated operation is then individually validated for syntax and semantics, without actually executing the operation.

Metadata is data about data. That is, metadata defines or describes primary data. For example, metadata are the field names of a database table, mappings between or within database tables, legends of database tables, hierarchies of database tables, joins associated with database tables, and the like. Of course, metadata is not restricted to database applications, because virtually all electronic applications consume primary data that is associated metadata. For example, an electronic mail (email) message may have a time of day or calendar day indicating when a message was sent or created, and this time of day or calendar day can be viewed as metadata.
In some cases, the metadata actually drives the processing of an application. For example, in database applications the metadata defines how and where primary data is acquired. Essentially, the metadata is populated as values (e.g., table names, keys, field names, etc.) within a search operation, such as an SQL search. These values then drive the search and the corresponding results (primary data) produced by the search.
Many organizations have large databases or data warehouses with a variety of database tables and field names (metadata). This is particular true for retail organizations that engage in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), where relationships between customers, products, services, stores, and the like are maintained for the entire organization. These organizations create, manage, and maintain large amounts of primary data and metadata within their databases or data warehouses. Maintaining and supporting such large amounts of primary data and metadata can be daunting.
In fact, when these organizations create new mappings or views into their data store for purposes of mining or reporting new desired features or trends, the development time associated with this exercise becomes time and resource intensive. To do this, typically, business analysts and data base administrators team up to create the new mappings or views into the data warehouse. In some instances, the hierarchies and mappings which need to be produced are themselves voluminous and complex. Once development is done, there is no efficient way for the analysts and database administrators to validate the new mappings, short of manually generating each possible combination of searches that the new mappings may generate with the metadata and then processing each possible search.
This manual construction of possible searches is often times not feasible and not practical given limited time constraints, limited human resources, and limited processing resources. Consequently, errors in defining the metadata often go undetected until a user attempts an operation that generates an invalidate search. When this occurs, an entire problem resolution process is followed until the error is properly located and fixed. This iterative process of problem resolution is not an ideal or desired situation, but is one that is conventionally deployed for large metadata applications, particularly applications associated with large data warehouses.
Therefore, there is a need for improved techniques for automatically validating metadata.


A display device may include a data driver, a data line, a display panel that includes a first sub-pixel and a second sub-pixel both connected to the data line and respectively positioned in a first region and a second region of the display panel, and a timing controller that may receive first-type image signals and second-type image signals. The first-type image signals may correspond to a first gray-scale and may correspond to the first region. The second-type image signals may correspond to a second gray-scale and may correspond to the second region. The timing controller may use the first gray-scale to generate a compensated gray-scale if a difference between the first gray-scale and the second gray-scale is greater than a reference value. The data driver may generate a gray-scale voltage according to the compensated gray-scale and may provide the gray-scale voltage through the data line to the first sub-pixel.

The invention is related to a display device and a driving method (or controlling method) thereof.
In general, a display device includes a display panel for displaying images and includes drivers (e.g., a data driver and a gate driver) for controlling operation of the display panel. The display panel may include a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, and a plurality of pixels. Each of the pixels may include a thin-film transistor, a liquid crystal capacitor, and a storage capacitor. The data driver may output gray-scale voltages to the data lines, and the gate driver may output gate signals (e.g., gate-on voltages and gate-off voltages) to the gate lines.
For displaying a desired image on the display device, gate-on voltages and data voltages may be transmitted to the gate electrodes and source electrodes of the thin-film transistors via the gate lines and data lines. The data voltages should have specific levels corresponding to the desired image. If a thin-film transistor is turned on, a data voltage is applied to the corresponding liquid crystal capacitor and the corresponding storage capacitor. Ideally, the data voltage should be retained for a predetermined duration, even when the thin-film transistor is turned off. Nevertheless, parasitic capacitance between the gate electrode and the drain electrode of the thin-film transistor may lead to a variation in the applied and/or retained data voltage, which may function as a gray-scale voltage. There may be a difference between the data voltage output from the data driver and an actual data voltage applied to the liquid crystal capacitor and the storage capacitor. The voltage difference is called a kickback voltage. A large value and/or significant variation of the kickback voltage may cause quality of an image displayed by the display panel to be unsatisfactory and/or to deteriorate.
In general, each data line is connected to a plurality of pixels, and data voltages may be sequentially provided to the plurality of pixels. The data voltages sequentially applied to two pixels may be different from each other. If there is a significant difference between the data voltages applied to the two pixels, brightness non-uniformity in the displayed image may be perceived by a viewer, and the quality of the image may be unsatisfactory.

Display device, related control method, and related controller


A sheet metal packing for disposable materials, comprises a container with a wall, a bottom and an opening, as well as a lid to close the opening. A partition (40) is fixed rigidly inside the container (1) and delineates, with the bottom (4) and the wall (3) of the container, a receptacle (60) for the materials, whereby at least one orifice (43) has been arranged in the partition for the passage of the materials in the receptacle.

The invention relates to sheet metal packing used for packaging disposable materials, which cannot be eliminated directly together with household refuse or sewage waters.
Toxic materials or used devices, containing a risk of contamination, can be mentioned among others.
These materials must be collected specifically, which is cumbersome and relatively costly.
One such metal packing is known from document DE-U-94 03 362. This known packing is intended for disposing sharp and pointed objects such as needles, surgical sharps, and syringes. Its construction is such as to prevent specifically medical personnel from injuring themselves during the disposal procedure.
Therefore, the known packing comprises a bin formed by a base plate, a wall, and a top plate provided with an entry for the disposable material and with a device which allows separating sharp or pointed objects from the appropriate handle without touching them. The packing further comprises a lid. In this known packing, the top plate of the bin is rigidly attached to the wall by a circumferential seam or by spot welding.
Another waste disposal container is known from DE-A-35 36 656. This known container comprises a bin removably attached to a support device comprising a lid and a mechanism for opening and closing the lid. This container further comprises an insert attached to the wall of the bin and which is intended for extinguishing spontaneously inflamed material inside the bin.
It has proven necessary to develop a new system, designed for packaging materials to be eliminated, readily disposable together with the household and whose cost is minimal.

Sheet metal packing for disposal materials


Charge Control Agents In Display Media. Use of charge control agents in display media comprising bichromal elements increases the ability to control translation and rotation of spherical elements in their cavities more precisely, thus yielding sharper and clearer images and longer life at lower applied voltages.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,335,818, 6,362,915 and 6,496,298 are assigned to the same assignee of the present application. The entire disclosures of these patents and others that are cited in the REFERENCES below are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Disclosed are additives used in making well-behaved bichromal elements in display media, such as Gyricon displays, which are known. Bichromal elements, which are spherical in shape and of about 50 microns in diameter, perform the function of pixels in images formed in these displays, as described further below. Usually, the images suffer from poor quality because the bichromal balls having oppositely colored hemispheres with opposite charges do not assume proper positions; that is, they do not rotate in a precise manner, so as to make the images sharp and clear. What is needed, therefore, is a means for making the bichromal balls behave well and predictably. The charge control agents (CCAs) that are disclosed herein are used as an additive during compounding of black and white waxes that are components of bichromal Gyricon balls to provide better hemispherical control of charges, and hence improved performance under varied electric fields to yield enhanced images on especially Gyricon displays.
Display media, such as Electric Paper or twisted ball panel display devices, are known and are described, for example, in REFERENCES given below and are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The media generally are comprised of an encapsulant medium material, for example, an elastomer, such as a cured polysiloxane, sandwiched between two indium tin oxide coated substrates, such as glass or Mylar™. Generally, the elastomer layer has closely packed cavities, each containing a bichromal sphere suspended in a dielectric liquid. The dielectric liquid may also be present in substantial amounts in the elastomer matrix. In media that are active in an electric field, the bichromal spheres have a net dipole due to different levels of charge on the two sides of the sphere. An image is formed by the application of an electric field to each pixel of the display, which rotates the bichromal spheres to expose one color or the other to the viewing surface of the media. The spheres may also have a net charge, in which case they will translate in the electric field as well as rotate. When the electric field is reduced or eliminated, the spheres ideally do not rotate further; hence, both colors of the image remain intact. This image bistability is one feature of display media made with bichromal Gyricon balls.
The composition of certain bichromal spheres is known, for example, as set forth in the references given below. The spheres comprise black polyethylene with a light reflective material, for example, titanium oxide, sputtered on one hemisphere. In a different approach, a rotary ball is prepared by coating white glass balls of about 50 microns in diameter, with an inorganic coloring layer such as indium by evaporation. In a similar process, bichromal balls comprising glass balls are first heavily loaded with a white pigment such as titanium oxide, followed by coating from one direction in a vacuum evaporation chamber with a dense layer of nonconductive black material which coats only one hemisphere.
Methods and apparatus for fabricating bichromal elements are known and referenced below. One apparatus comprises a separator member having opposing first and second surfaces and an edge region in contact with both surfaces, and delivery means for flowing first and second colored hardenable liquid material over the first and second surfaces, respectively, so that the liquid materials arrive at the edge, usually at substantially the same flow rate, and form a reservoir outboard of the edge region. The reservoir comprises side-by-side regions of different colors, which in a preferred embodiment, do not intermix. Further means are provided for propelling the first and second liquid materials away from the separator member and out of the reservoir into a fluid medium. As this occurs, a plurality of forward ends of side-by-side bichromal streams become unstable and break up into droplets. The droplets form into spherical balls, each of the balls approximately comprising hemispheres of differently colored hardenable liquids. These bichromal balls are from about 5 to about 200 microns in diameter.
The aforementioned display media can suffer from drawbacks caused by incomplete or lack of rotation of the bichromal balls. When the balls do not rotate close to 180 degree, the switching from one color to the other is not complete. As a result, image quality suffers. In some cases, increasing the strength of the electric field used to rotate the spheres can help in achieving more complete rotation, but in other cases sufficient rotation cannot be attained, even at higher fields. In the latter cases, it is believed that the dipole strength of the sphere relative to the monopole strength is too small, rendering it difficult to get sufficient rotation before the sphere translates across its cavity in the elastomer matrix. Many of the balls lack sufficient monopole and dipole strengths to dislodge them from the cavity walls.
Materials that can improve the rotational behavior of bichromal balls could enable display media to be used in a wider variety of applications than is currently possible. For example, materials that provide a more reproducible and lower voltage for rotation and a sharper voltage threshold above a certain value can be used to make bichromal passive matrix displays in which balls that do not experience a sharp threshold voltage do not alter their state. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a display media wherein a threshold voltage of a particular value exists. It is further desirable to provide a display media wherein the threshold voltage is sharper to eliminate most, or ideally all, of the rotation below the threshold voltage and more complete rotation can be obtained at a lower applied voltage. It is still further desirable to provide a display media in which the balls have sufficient monopole and dipole strengths to allow the electric field not only to pull them from the cavity walls and translate, but also to rotate those 180° completely.
Disclosed herein are additives used in making well-behaved bichromal elements in display media. The additives comprise charge control agents (CCAs) that enable lower switching voltages, faster and more complete rotation of balls, less stiction on the cavity walls, and more distinct voltage thresholds for displays and display media containing bichromal spheres or balls, and in particular, Gyricon balls. The bichromal ball formulation disclosed herein provides improvingly stronger monopole and dipole strengths.


A semiconductor device includes an N.sup.- type semiconductor layer (2). The N.sup.- type semiconductor layer (2) includes a triangular pole trench (10), an apex portion thereof contains a gate electrode (5). The trench (10) penetrates the semiconductor layer (2) and a P type well region (3) and projects into an N.sup.+ type source region (4). A source electrode (7) is disposed so as to be insulated from the semiconductor layer (2) by an oxide film (9) and in contact with the well region (3) and the source region (4). A drain electrode (8) is connected to the semiconductor layer (2) through an N.sup.+ type semiconductor substrate (1). With a higher potential at the gate electrode (5) than at the source electrode (7), the well region (3) is partially inverted into N type near the trench (10). Thus, the semiconductor device is turned on due to a channel created associated to the conductivity type inversion. Most of current flow allowed in the semiconductor layer (2) by the channel flows near the trench (10). Hence, even when process patterns are refined, electrode-to-electrode insulation remains undegraded in the semiconductor device, attaining low on-resistance and high off-breakdown voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device which has a high off-breakdown-voltage and low on-resistance.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a conventional double diffused MOSFET transistor (VDMOS transistor). In the VDMOS transistor, an N.sup.- type semiconductor layer 2 is formed on an N.sup.+ type semiconductor substrate 1. The N.sup.- type semiconductor layer 2 includes P type well regions 3 each including N.sup.+ type source regions 4. The P type well regions 3 and the N.sup.+ type source regions 4 are created by ion implantation; for example, boron-implantation to create the P type well regions 3 and arsenic-implantation to create the N.sup.+ type source regions 4. A gate oxide film 6, a gate electrode 5, a source electrode 7 and an oxide film 6 are formed on the N.sup.- type semiconductor layer 2. A drain electrode 8 is disposed on the bottom major surface of the semiconductor substrate 1.
Thus, the device of FIG. 1 is an N-channel VDMOS transistor. When the source electrode 7 and the gate electrode 5 are commonly at low potential and the drain electrode 8 is at high potential, the P type well region 3 immediately under the gate electrode 5 does not invert into N type. Hence, the semiconductor layer 2 comprises a depletion layer extending from a PN junction between the well region 3 and the semiconductor layer 2 toward the semiconductor substrate 1. In the conventional N-channel VDMOS transistor, the growing depletion layer reaches the semiconductor substrate 1, thereby breakdown voltage being maintained (OFF state).
When a voltage applied to the gate electrode 5 is changed so that the gate electrode 5 is at a higher potential than the source electrode 7, the P type well region 3 immediately under the gate electrode 5 inverts into N type. Hence, electron flow is allowed from the source region 4 to the semiconductor substrate 1 through the N-inverted portion (ON state).
It is known that on-resistance primarily depends on resistance at N-inverted portion of the well region 3, i.e., channel resistance, JFET resisitance, which is created between neighboring well regions 3, and resistance of the semiconductor layer 2. Although the resistance of the semiconductor layer 2 decreases with an increase in its impurity concentration and a decrease in its thickness, a too small thickness and too high impurity concentration must be avoided. A too small thickness leads to deterioration in breakdown voltage while a too high impurity concentration hinders a depletion layer from growing as desired. Thus, high breakdown voltage and low resistance of the semiconductor layer 2 are just not compatible: high breakdown voltage is ensured only in return of an insufficient reduction in the resistance of the semiconductor layer 2, i.e., at the expense of low on-resistance.
Decreased channel resistance and decreased JFET resistance are possible if process patterns have refined features, in other words, if diffusion profiles of the well region 3 and the source region 4 are optimal. However, this also has disadvantages. When the process patterns become refined, the gate electrode 5 and the source electrode 7 short-circuit due to degraded insulation therebetween, with a result that a yield drops. In addition, it becomes difficult to form the source electrode 7 because the source electrode 7 needs to contact both the well region 3 and the source region 4.

Semiconductor device with high off-breakdown-voltage and low on resistance


Cathode and anode sides of a plurality of solid electrolytic capacitors are connected by simultaneous electric welding. The welding step is effected to connect an anode lead of a lead frame to the anode electrode of a capacitor body and simultaneously connect a cathode lead of the lead frame to the cathode conductor layer of an adjacent capacitor body. The welding electrode for the cathode lead exerts moderate force to the capacitor bodies using a spring function of the capacitor lead. The simultaneous welding for the adjacent capacitor bodies and the moderate force prevent electrical and mechanical damages of the insulator layer of the solid electrolytic capacitors during the welding.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a solid electrolytic capacitor and, more particularly, to a process for connecting a cathode conductor layer with a cathode lead in a solid electrolytic capacitor.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Some solid electrolytic capacitors use a valve-function metal such as tantalum. Fabrication of such a solid electrolytic capacitor (may be referred to as electrolytic capacitor or simply capacitor hereinafter) includes a step for connection between a pair of electrodes, which include an anode electrode and a cathode conductor layer, and a pair of external lead wires, which include an anode lead and a cathode lead. In a conventional fabrication process, the connection between the anode electrode and the anode lead is usually effected by electric welding. On the other hand, the connection between the cathode conductor layer and the cathode lead is effected by several methods, which involve problems to be solved. A variety of proposals and studies have been made to solve the problems.
Examples of the connection between the cathode conductor layer and the cathode lead include the use of a conductive adhesive, such as a silver paste, wherein conductive fillers such as silver particles and an adhesive such as epoxy resin are admixed. FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of an example of conventional solid electrolytic capacitors fabricated by using the conductive adhesive. The capacitor comprises a capacitor body 11, an anode electrode 12 protruding from the top surface of the capacitor body 11, and a conductor layer 13 constituting a cathode electrode formed on the side and bottom surfaces of the capacitor body 11. The cathode lead 16 is electrically connected and fixed to the cathode conductor layer 13 by a conductive adhesive 23.
The conventional capacitor of FIG. 1 requires separate steps for connection on the anode side (between the anode lead 15 and the anode electrode 12) effected by electric welding and for connection on the cathode side (between the cathode lead 16 and the cathode conductor layer 13) effected by the conductive adhesive 23, resulting in a lower throughput of the capacitors. In addition, the connection on the cathode side requires a heat treatment for a certain length of time, which further lowers the throughput of the capacitors.
Examples of the connection on the cathode side include the use of a soldering technique. A soldering technique using a pulse thermal treatment is described in Publication NO. JP-A-1990-46715, which includes in essence the steps of mounting the capacitor body on a pre-heated hot plate, and removing the capacitor body therefrom after a given length of time to thereby apply a pulse thermal energy to the capacitor body. The waveform of the pulse thermal energy has a rapid rise, a rapid fall and a high amplitude.
The soldering connection on the cathode side requires separate operations for the anode side and cathode side, similarly to the case of the conductive adhesive. Also, the soldering technique requires a relatively large length of time, for example, several seconds, for the pulse heating, which also lowers the throughput of the capacitors.
A proposal is made which uses the electric welding for the connection on the cathode side. Examples for the electric welding include a parallel gap welding in which welding current flows between a pair of parallel welding electrodes disposed in the vicinity of the connection. FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of the capacitor during the parallel gap welding, which is disclosed in UM Publication No. JP-B-1987-2762. A cathode lead 16 running parallel to the bottom surface of the capacitor body 11 in spaced relationship therewith is connected to the capacitor electrode (not shown) by a fuse 24, which is welded by the parallel gap welding technique for bridging the cathode lead 16 and the cathode electrode. The parallel gap welding using the electric welding, however, generally requires a relatively large space for the welding, which is not suited to a small-sized product.
Another electric welding known in other technical fields applies a pressing force between a pair of welding electrodes sandwiching therebetween an element to be welded. If this technique is used in fabrication of a capacitor, the pressure is applied directly to the capacitor body to thereby damage the insulator film etc. of the capacitor body thereby increasing the leakage current between the electrodes. Accordingly, the characteristics or reliability of the capacitor is lowered.

Method for manufacturing a solid electrolytic capacitor