A kitchen appliance with a safety interlock for processing foodstuff including a housing with a motor and a switch to actuate the motor within the housing. A bowl has a first actuator therein for selectively actuating the switch. A bowl lid is removably mountable over a mouth of the bowl and is mounted to a mouth of the bowl when the bowl and bowl lid are in a working position. A feed tube defines a feed cavity including a feed mouth. The feed tube has a second actuator in an operative relationship with the first actuator. A feed tube lid is pivotably and removably mounted to the feed tube and includes a tab. The tab contacts and moves the second actuator to its operative position to thereby actuate the switch through the first actuator when the feed tube lid is in a closed position.

The present invention is directed to processing foodstuff and, more particularly, to a food processor lid that that is configured for the processing of a relatively large size or a large volume of foodstuff and to a food processor with a safety interlock.
Food processors commonly include a lid with a feed tube extending generally perpendicularly from a lid top surface, a food pusher that is slideably positionable within the feed tube and a bowl with a mouth that removably receives the lid. The feed tube is used to insert food into the bowl during processing and is sized to prevent a user's hand from entering the bowl while the processing tool is in operation. Food may be inserted into the bowl through the feed tube during processing or a foodstuff that is sliced or grated by a rotating disk that is positioned near a rim of the bowl may be inserted through the feed tube. Specifically, Underwriters Laboratories food processor safety requirements demand a feed tube with an average inside diameter that is less than two and one-half inches (2.5″) with no dimension greater than three inches (3″) and that the processing tool must be recessed at least four inches (4″) below the mouth of the feed tube. Underwriters Laboratories requirements also demand that if the average inside diameter of the feed tube is two inches (2″) or less, the distance that the tool must be below the plane of the feed tube may be reduced to three and one-half inches (3.5″). The above-listed dimensions for a feed tube are directed to preventing a relatively small hand from being inserted through the feed tube and into the bowl during operation.
Based upon the above-described safety limitations for the feed tube, only relatively small, long and narrow foodstuff may be inserted into the bowl during processing. For example, many potatoes have a minor diameter or width of at least one and one-half inches (1.5″) and, therefore, only a single potato may be inserted into the feed tube for processing at one time. In addition, when grating or slicing a large volume of foodstuff, an initial volume of foodstuff is positioned in the relatively small feed tube, a food pusher pushes the foodstuff onto the rotating disk and into the bowl, the food pusher is removed from the feed tube and the process is repeated multiple times until the large volume of grated or sliced foodstuff is produced. Therefore, the size of foodstuff that may be processed and the time that it takes to process a relatively large volume of foodstuff is often prohibitive for food processors with feed tubes that fall within the above-described dimensional safety requirements.
Enlarged feed tubes or feed tubes that have feed dimensions that are greater than the above-described safety dimensions often include covers over their mouths that limit access to the feed cavity and bowl during processing. Such enlarged feed tubes may include a pivoting door comprising a side of the enlarged feed tube that actuates a safety switch when the door completely closes the feed tube, thereby denying access to the feed cavity when the door is open. In addition, enlarged feed tubes having enlarged food pushers that actuate safety switches only when the enlarged food pusher is positioned within or over the enlarged feed tube are used to process relatively large size or a large volume of foodstuff. However, these prior art food processors often do not permit continuous feeding of foodstuff into the enlarged feed tube during processing. A safety switch often cuts power to a motor when the feed cavity is exposed and processing is terminated until the feed cavity is closed or the enlarged food pusher is inserted into the enlarged feed tube thereby expanding processing time.
A preferred embodiment of the lid for a food processor in accordance with the present application has an enlarged feed tube and permits processing of relatively large size or a large volume of foodstuff. The lid of the preferred embodiment also permits limited access to the enlarged feed tube during processing without disabling the cutting tool. The lid is generally simple to use and relatively easy to clean. Permitting access to the relatively large feed tube during operation permits insertion of ingredients into the feed tube without disabling the food processor. In addition, when the enlarged feed tube is exposed and a user's hand is insertable into the mouth of the enlarged feed tube, the lid of the of the preferred embodiment renders the tool and food processor inoperative so a user's hand does not come into contact with a rotating cutting tool. Accordingly, the food processor lid of the preferred embodiment allows processing of relatively large size or a relatively large volume of foodstuff while maintaining safety.
Further, kitchen appliances commonly include a motor housing with a motor positioned therein, a bowl that is removably mountable to the motor housing and a lid that is removably mountable over a mouth of the bowl. A drive shaft extends from the motor housing into the bowl when the bowl is mounted to the motor housing. The drive shaft is rotatably driven by the motor and a processing tool is removably securable to the drive shaft for processing foodstuff within the bowl. During operation, a number of safety interlocks have been developed that prevent a user's hands from coming into contact with the processing or cutting tool when the bowl is mounted to the housing and the bowl lid is mounted to the bowl.
Prior safety interlocks may include a tab on the bowl lid that extends into a slot in the motor housing to close a switch that enables power to be provided to the motor only when the bowl and bowl lid are properly mounted. The motor housing in these kitchen appliances extends upwardly from its base along a side of the bowl. The kitchen appliance is assembled such that a user's hand is unable to enter the processing space within the bowl when the switch is closed and the appliance is operational. The prior art processors require the additional vertical portion of the motor housing that extends upwardly from the base of the motor housing. A tab extends from a rim of the bowl lid that extends into a slot in the side of the vertical section of the motor housing to actuate a switch within the vertical section of the motor housing. Because of this configuration, the bowl and bowl lid must be mounted in one operating position relative to the motor housing such that the tab enters the slot. These kitchen appliances also tend to take up a relatively large amount of counter space in a kitchen. Therefore, it would be desirable to create a food processor having a safety interlock including a switch mounted in the motor housing and a movable shaft located adjacent a handle of the bowl which take up less counter space than conventional food processors with safety interlocks. Accordingly, the safety switch is only closed when a user's hand cannot come into contact with a rotating tool within the bowl.

Kitchen appliance with a safety interlock


The present invention relates to a screening system for modulators of GPCRs. Further it relates to recombinant vector systems for the heterologous expression of heterodimeric g-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in eukaryotic host cells. Preferably the functional expression of engineered GPCRs for the perception of sweet and L-amino acid taste or more preferably the use of these receptors for the identification of functional ligands is also encompassed.

In this specification, a number of documents are cited. The disclosure of these documents, including manufacturer's manuals and patent applications or patents, is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.
GPCRs represent the largest family of cell surface receptors with an estimated number of up to 1000 genes within the human genome characterized by a seven-transmembrane configuration as their main feature. (Bockaert and Pin, 1999; Pierce et al., 2002). GPCRs are activated by a multitude of different ligands, including peptides, proteins, lipids, small molecules, ions or even photons. Activated GPCRs alter their conformation allowing it to catalyze the exchange of guanosine diphosphate (GDP) for guanosine triphosphate (GTP) on the α-subunit of a heterotrimeric g-protein coupled to the GPCR. Heterotrimeric G-proteins composed of one out of 18 different α-subunits, one out of 5 different β-subunits and one out of 11 different γ-subunits are usually classified by the nature of their α-subunit and generally grouped into four main classes: Gs, which activates adenylyl cyclase; Gi, which inhibits adenylyl cyclase; Gq, which activates phospholipase C; and G12/13 with heterologous functions. In addition to the α-subunit dependent signaling the β/γ-subunits can function as signaling molecules on their own. GPCR dependent signaling becomes even more complex if it is considered that these receptors can exist as homo-oligomeric or hetero-oligomeric complexes. (George et al., 2002; Milligan et al., 2003; Salahpour et al., 2000). Hence, it is not surprising that GPCRs are responsible for the regulation of a wide variety of different physiological processes.
Recently the role of GPCRs in human senses like vision, olfaction and taste has been subject of intensified investigations. While the participation of the GPCR rhodopsin in visual sensing is one of the most comprehensively examined g-protein coupled receptor signaling examples of the last 30 years (Maeda et al., 2003), the role of GPCRs in olfaction and bitter taste as well as sweet taste was discovered in the 1990ies. (Buck and Axel, 1991; Firestein, 2001; Lindemann, 1996b; Lindemann, 2001).
The discovery of GPCR signaling in taste perception is closely connected to the discovery of tastant specific signaling in vertebrate taste cells. In electrophysical and biochemical studies it was apparent that tastant derived signaling resulted in typical GPCR dependent second messenger induction, e.g. cyclic nucleosides (cAMP, cGMP), inositol tri-phosphate (IP3) or calcium. (Kinnamon und Cummings, 1992; Kinnamon und Margolskee, 1996; Lindemann, 1996a). The participation of GPCRs in taste perception was further approved by the finding of the g-protein gustducin specifically expressed in vertebrate taste cells. (McLaughlin et al., 1992; Wong et al., 1996). On the other hand it was known from genetic mouse studies that the ability to sense sweet taste of e.g. saccharin was linked to the so called sac locus on mouse chromosome 4. (Bachmanov et al., 2001; Lush, 1989; Lush et al., 1995). Based on these data it was obvious to search for GPCR sequence tags in taste cell derived subtracted cDNA libraries or by performing genomic sequence scanning to further narrow down the mouse sac locus for the identification of GPCR analogs as putative taste receptors. These two approaches led to the rat, mouse and human receptor DNA sequences for the taste GPCRs T1R1 and T1R2 (Hoon et al., 1999; Hoon and Ryba, 1997) as well as T1R3. (Kitagawa et al., 2001; Li et al., 2001; Max et al., 2001; Montmayeur et al., 2001; Sainz et al., 2001). Homology alignments revealed that these taste receptors like the homodimeric metabotrophic glutamate receptor (mGluR), the heterodimeric γ-aminobutyric acid type B receptor (GABABR) and homodimeric extracellular calcium receptors are members of the small family of class C GPCRs. As a common characteristic most of the class C receptors exhibit a large extracellular amino terminal domain composed of a so called venus flytrap module (VFTM) and a cysteine rich domain (CRD) that connects the VFTM to the heptahelical domain. (Pin et al., 2003). Besides that homo- as well as hetero-oligomerisation was described for several of these class C receptors. (Bai et al., 1998; Kaupmann et al., 1998; Kunishima et al., 2000; White et al., 1998). Consequently, the characteristic feature of GPCR oligomerisation of class C receptors was tested for the putative sweet taste receptors T1R1, T1R2 and T1R3.
By recombinant heterologous expression in eucaryotic cell systems a functional expression and tastant specific activation of an artificially linked G-Protein dependent signaling cascade was demonstrated by calcium imaging. T1R receptors assemble to build up functional taste receptors. As a result of several investigations it was shown that the heterodimeric T1R1/T1R3 functions as a glutamate (umami) and L-amino acid receptor whereas the heterodimeric T1R2/T1R3 functions as a high affinity sugar and artificial sweetener receptor. Particularly, heterodimeric co-expression of T1R1 and T1R3 results in taste receptors that respond to umami taste and monosodium glutamate stimuli whereas heterodimeric co-expression of T1R2 and T1R3 results in taste receptors that respond to sweet stimuli like diverse sugars (e.g. glucose and sucrose), artificial sweetener (e.g. acesulfam K, cyclamat, saccharin) and sweet proteins like monellin, thaumatin, brazzein (Li et al., 2002; Nelson et al., 2002; Nelson et al., 2001; Zhao et al., 2002). A similar chronicle could be generated for the identification of GPCRs for the perception of bitter taste with the exception that so far no homo- or oligomerisation has been reported for these so called T2R-GPCRs. (Meyerhof et al., 2005).
The above discussed identification of genes coding for receptors responsible e.g. for taste perception, together with cloning said genes into appropriate vectors for the expression of said proteins in eukaryotic cells and the transformation of said cells with said vectors raised the expectation that screening systems and/or screening methods for GPCR modulators, i.e. agonists and antagonists of the above detailed receptors should be easy to be developed within a reasonable time.
This is reflected by a huge and still growing number of patent applications in this field.
The cloning of T1R1 is disclosed in different patent applications, e.g. in WO 03/025137; in WO 00/06952 (wherein it is designated GPCR-B3) US020040191862A1 and WO2005/033125.
The cloning of T1R2 is disclosed in patent applications WO 03/025137, US020040191862A1 and US020030040045A1
The cloning of T1R3 is disclosed in patent applications WO 03/025137, WO 03/025137, US020040191862A1 and US020030040045A1
A system for the expression of said proteins in eukaryotic cells is disclosed in patent applications WO 03/025137, WO 00/06952, US20040191862A1, WO2004069191 and US20030040045A1.
A screening system for putative taste modulators is disclosed in patent applications WO 00/06952, WO2004069191 and US20030040045A1.
Yet, nothing is to be told about the successful identification of new modulators, e.g. new artificial taste modulators such as new sweeteners utilizing such screening methods/systems.
The ongoing debate on obesity in developed countries and the growing health consciousness of consumers lead to an increasing demand of food and beverages with significant calorie reduction compared to products fully sweetened with carbohydrates such as sucrose, glucose, fructose or syrups such as HFCS 55 or 42. As the consumer usually is not willing to compromise on taste products should have similar sweetness intensity and taste quality as products regularly sweetened with these carbohydrates.
High intensity sweeteners are substances, which have no or virtually no calories and a sweetness potency several times higher than sugar. High intensity sweeteners or blends of high intensity sweeteners are used in food and beverages to achieve a sweet taste without adding calories to the products.
Most commonly used high intensity sweeteners are not from natural origin; They were discovered accidentally and are chemically synthesized. Most of them have a widespread approval in a large number of countries. Examples are substances such as acesulfame K, alitame, aspartame, cyclamate, neohesperidine dihydrochalcone, neotame, saccharin, and sucralose.
However, no high-intensity sweetener matches the taste profile of sugar completely. They differ in characteristics such as sweetness profile, side taste and off-taste characteristics. Proper blending of different high intensity sweeteners is known to overcome part of the taste limitations of single high-intensity sweeteners. But even if a more sugar-like sweetness profile is achieved in products with high-intensity sweeteners only, they still can be distinguished sensorically from their counterparts with just sugar or other carbohydrates by lack of mouthfeel and reduced flavour characteristics. Therefore a need exists for new high-intensity sweeteners which offer either alone or in blends with existing sweeteners sweetness profiles and flavour characteristics much closer to sugar than the existing products can offer.
Besides calorie reduction many of today's consumers are seeking for food and beverage products either without artificial additives or even being fully organic. Theoretically natural high-intensity sweeteners could fulfil this demand. A number of natural high-intensity sweeteners were discovered throughout past years such as stevioside, rebaudioside, brazzein, thaumatin, mogroside, glycyrrhizin, monatin, abrusoside, monellin, phyllodulcin and others. These are substances which naturally occur in different plants and can be obtained by selective extraction measures. Besides very limited approvals and in some cases difficulties to extract products on an industrial scale none of these products can claim to offer a sugar-like taste. In fact, all of these substances show a sweetness with a far slower onset than sucrose and a very lingering sweetness. Most of these products have strong side-taste and aftertaste characteristics such as bitter, mentholic or liquorice notes or show even strong cooling or numbing sensations. Therefore some of these products, e.g. thaumatin, can be rather regarded as being flavour enhancer than sweetener. Blending of two or more of these substances can not overcome these taste limitations. Therefore in the area of natural sweetener the need for new high-intensity sweeteners with a taste profile closer to sugar is even stronger than in the case of artificial sweeteners (O'Brien Nabors, 2001; Leatherhead Food R A, 2000; Grenby, 1996; von Rymon Lipinski und Schiweck, 1991).
Therefore, there still exists a need in the art to identify and isolate new substances which may be used as modulators of taste perception, e.g. as sweeteners.
Notwithstanding the above, because of the high importance of these GPCRs in vivo, and the many different functions associated with said receptors, it has to be assumed that many of the modulators of GPCRs that might be identified by the method of the present invention may be of practical value.
Therefore, the availability of a simple and reliable screening system for modulators of said receptors would be of big importance.
In multicistronic expression vectors the coding sequences of different proteins are under the control of only one promoter and the different cistrons are connected via virus derived internal ribosomal entry sites (IRES) or cap independent translation enhancer (CITE). IRES or CITE elements confer a translation initiation independent from the otherwise necessary 5′-end of a messenger RNA, which is recognized by the eucaryotic ribosomes to start their scanning process for the first accessible translational start codon. (Fux et al., 2004; Hellen and Sarnow, 2001). So far multicistronic expression vectors have been described basically as dicistronic expression units for the coupled expression of a gene of interest linked via an cap-independent translation initiation site to a resistance marker (conferring resistance to e.g. hygromycin, zeocin, neomycin) enabling selection of stable cell lines for heterologous mammalian expression studies. For this approach IRES or CITE dependent expression vectors are commercially available.
Reports on genuine multicistronic expression studies in mammalian systems with descriptions of tri-cistronic or even quadro-cistronic heterologous expression studies are rare and for the most part intended to improve inducible protein expression e.g. for gene therapy applications. However in this pioneering work multicistronic expressions have been mostly performed with small and soluble proteins like reporter genes (green fluorescent protein, yellow fluorescent protein, red fluorescent proteins, secreted alkaline phosphatase, secreted amylase) or engineered transactivators e.g. for macrolide- or streptogramin dependent expression or selection markers. Although these studies are aimed at potential therapeutic protein expression in gene therapy applications, only few genes with a therapeutic potential are mentioned within this studies (e.g. vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); the oncoprotein bcl-2). (Fussenegger et al., 1998; Hartenbach and Fussenegger, 2005; Kramer et al., 2003; Moser et al., 2000; Weber et al., 2005).
Concerning the expression of taste receptors there is one report on dicistronic expression of mouse taste receptors (mT2R8/5; mT1R3) each fused to green fluorescent protein and linked via an IRES element to red fluorescent protein. This approach was applied to trace and localize the expression pattern of taste receptors in neurons (Sugita and Shiba, 2005).

Optimized human T1R3 nucleic acid molecule

Nutrinova Nutrition Specialties & Food Ingredients GmbH


Example fluid couplings, systems and methods are described including a fluid delivery tube for delivering fluid to a fluid supply, a fluid interconnect fitting for connection to the fluid delivery tube, a retainer for engaging the fluid interconnect fitting and a fluid supply for retaining the fluid interconnect fitting with respect to the fluid supply, and a seal feature arranged to mate with the fluid interconnect fitting and a fluid inlet of the fluid supply.

Examples of fluid delivery systems include fluid supplies, regulators for regulating fluid flow and/or back pressure, and fluid dispensing heads. A fluid delivery system may be part of a wider system, for example a print system. Regulators may be provided in a fluid supply, near a fluid dispensing head or at any other suitable location in the fluid delivery system. Exchangeable or non-exchangeable fluid supplies may be provided for delivering the fluid to the fluid dispensing heads. In some systems the fluid supplies include a reservoir and a regulator. In other systems, separate reservoirs are connected to the fluid supplies. Such separate reservoirs can be connected to the respective fluid supplies through fluid delivery tubes, for replenishing the supplies.
Continuous ink supply systems include one or more separate ink reservoirs connected to ink supplies, for continuously replenishing the ink supplies with ink out of the reservoir. In other systems, such as scanning printhead systems, regulator supplies may be provided on a scanning carriage and the ink reservoirs are included in separate exchangeable ink cartridges. Regulator supplies may be connected to distant reservoirs through flexible tubes. The distant reservoirs deliver the fluid to the regulator supplies and printheads while the carriage scans. In some of these fluid delivery systems it is challenging to establish reliable fluidic couplings.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


When three-dimensional images are displayed on various display apparatuses, the images are displayed in a state that allows for stereoscopic vision even if the size of the display apparatus is large or even if the resolution of the display apparatus is low.

Conventionally, various methods for displaying three-dimensional images have been proposed. Of these, "binocular methods" using binocular parallax are generally used. Specifically, a stereoscopic vision can be achieved by providing left and right-eye images having binocular parallax and projecting them separately on the left and right eyes, respectively. In the observation of three-dimensional images of this kind, the obtained stereoscopic effect depends on the magnitude of the binocular parallax (to be called "the amount of parallax"). Accordingly, if stereographs of an identical three-dimensional image are displayed in different sizes on screen, the resultant visions become different because of the change in the amount of parallax. That is, even when an identical display apparatus is used, the amount of parallax becomes greater if the display size of the image is enlarged. Further, on different display apparatuses, there occur cases where the amount of parallax becomes greater if the image is displayed on the display apparatus having a greater size.
FIG. 7 shows this situation, where w<W. In the case where, as shown in FIG. 7(a), a right-eye image 701 and a left-eye image 702 fuse into a stereoscopic image at a position 703, if the display size of the image becomes greater as shown in FIG. 7(b), the amount of parallax w in the case shown in FIG. 7(a) becomes greater and equal to W. As W becomes too large, it is impossible to see a stereoscopic view with both eyes. If the image is magnified by an image process, it is possible to predict the possibility of incapability of reproducing a stereoscopic vision because the magnification is done by the process on the terminal side. However, if the image is enlarged due to difference in the specifications between display apparatuses, there has been the problem that the situation cannot be correctly grasped.
In order to solve the above problems, a patent literature 1 has disclosed a technology in which three-dimensional image data is received together with information as to the size of the display apparatus that can produce a preferable stereoscopic effect if the three-dimensional images are supplied as they are, and the amount of parallax of the three-dimensional images is modified so that a preferred stereoscopic effect can be obtained in the user terminal display.    Patent literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Hei 10-150608.

Stereoscopic image reproducing apparatus and stereoscopic image reproducing method

Abstract: The apparatus includes: a decision means for deciding based on the standard information contained in the control information whether the amount of parallax on the display screen when three-dimensional image data is displayed is greater than the amount of parallax on the optimal display apparatus for displaying the three-dimensional image data; and an image processing means for implementing an image process for changing the amount of parallax, and adjusts the amount of parallax of three-dimensional images in accordance with the ratio between the pitch between dots of the standard display apparatus for displaying three-dimensional images and the pitch between dots of an own terminal.


Inhibition of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO1) is an attractive immunotherapeutic approach for the treatment of a variety of cancers. Dysregulation of this enzyme has also been implicated in other severe diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and arthritis. Small molecule inhibitors of Formula (Ia) and (Ib) of IDO, their synthesis, and uses thereof are provided.

Over the past two decades immunotherapy has emerged as powerful tool in the treatment of many cancers. In this arena, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO1) has received significant attention from both industry and academia. IDO1 is a heme-containing enzyme that catalyzes the oxidative cleavage of the C2-C3 indole double bond to produce N-formylkynurenine. The generated N-formylkynurenine is then further metabolized to other bioactive metabolites, including kynurenine, kynurenic acid, 3-hydroxy-kynurenine, quinolinic acid and eventually nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). Expression of IDO1 can be induced by IFN-γ, TNF-α and other inflammatory cytokines.
Although initially identified as an important enzyme in modulating the immune response in placental tissue, IDO1 was later implicated as a key mediator of innate and adaptive immunity in the microenvironment of tumors. The expression of IDO1 by various tumor cells leads to the depletion of tryptophan in the microenvironment and subsequent block of T-cell proliferation. Dysregulation of IDO1 expression has also been implicated in the progression of several other conditions such as arthritis, inflammation, and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Inhibition of IDO1 with a small molecule is an attractive immunotherapeutic strategy for the treatment of a wide range of cancers; discovery of additional classes of such molecules is a continued need in immuno-oncology drug design.
The above information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.

Inhibitor of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-1 and methods of manufacture and use thereof


The modified asphalt provided by the disclosure is prepared from the following raw materials in parts by weight: 100 to 120 parts of asphalt, 6 to 20 parts of a modifier, 3 to 9 parts of a compatibilizer, 0.15 to 0.25 parts of sulfur, 0.4 to 0.6 parts of a non-amine anti-stripping agent and 0.2 to 0.4 parts of a coupling agent; and the modifier comprises a styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer, a rubber, and a polyurethane. The modified asphalt provided by the disclosure can simultaneously satisfy an elastic recovery at 25° C. of ≥98%, a dynamic viscosity at 60° C. of ≥500,000 Pa·s, a composite shear modulus at 60° C. of ≥10 Pa, and a critical temperature at G*/Sin≥2.2 kPa of ≥94° C.

Asphalt is an indispensable bonding material for road construction and pavement maintenance projects. With the rapid development of highway construction and maintenance work, the demand for asphalt is increasing year by year. At present, countries all over the world have been dedicated to advocating the "resource-efficient and environment-friendly" development concept, and various types of thin-layer asphalt pavement structure systems are the main development direction of highway construction and maintenance in response to this concept. In addition, China has proposed the construction of "sponge cities," and high-performance water-permeable asphalt pavement is a key link in the process of building "sponge cities." In the road industry, the development of related concepts requires higher performance and a more durable asphalt binder system.
As a typical viscoelastic material, the viscosity and elasticity indexes of the asphalt binder are both of great significance in project implementation. At present, there are many high-viscosity modified asphalts on the market, as well as high-elasticity modified asphalt systems. However, due to the contradiction between these two indexes, it is very difficult to obtain high viscosity and high elasticity indexes in the same asphalt binder at the same time. Meanwhile, asphalt binders with dual characteristics of high viscosity and high elasticity are considered to be a major development direction of current high performance asphalts, and are extremely important bonding materials for ultra-thin asphalt structure systems and water-permeable asphalt pavement systems.

Modified asphalt and preparation method therefor

Central Fortune Creation Technology Group Co., Ltd.


Method and apparatus for making a fiber reinforced composite wherein fiber reinforcement material is disposed in a molding cavity formed between a substantially rigid molding tool and a compliant molding tool in a pressurizable chamber of a pressure vessel, such as an autoclave. Uncured polymer resin is introduced under pressure to the molding cavity by a resin pump disposed in the chamber or external thereof so as to initially infiltrate the fiber reinforcement material with the resin. The chamber is gas pressurized to provide isostatic pressure on the rigid and compliant tools during resin infiltration of the fiber reinforcement material. The resin-infiltrated fiber reinforcement material then is heated in the chamber to cure the resin matrix. Large surface area composites of the aerospace skin structure type can be made using the present invention.

Resin transfer molding processes are widely used in the manufacture of fiber reinforced composites. One particular resin transfer molding process involves initially positioning a dry fiber reinforcement material, such as a preform or a lay-up of plys, in a molding cavity defined between opposed, precision-machined matched metal molding tools. The molding tools are held together such that the tools define the molding cavity which has a configuration of the desired composite shape to be made. A flowable thermosetting resin then is pumped into the molding cavity under relatively low pressure (e.g. usually under 100 psi) effective to cause the resin to flow through and saturate the fiber reinforcement material. The matrix-infiltrated fiber reinforcement material then is heated to cure the resin to a thermoset condition.
As a result of the resin pressure within the molding cavity and high tool clamping pressure, conventional resin transfer molding tools comprise relatively massive, machined metal members to resist forces and distortion under the pressure and temperature conditions of the molding operation. Moreover, as mentioned, the molding tools typically are disposed in a hydraulic press that exerts a clamping force thereon during the molding operation to prevent separation of the tools from pressure within the mold cavity and maintain an appropriate seal therebetween.
Such resin transfer molding tools are disadvantageous in that they are costly to fabricate. Moreover, the tools are clamped together in a press during the resin transfer molding operation so as to resist the resin pressure within the molding cavity from separating the tooling details.
In addition, such conventional resin transfer molding tools necessarily must surround the molded composite being fabricated and inherently are limited in the dimensions of the composite that can be produced. For example, conventional resin transfer molding processes using such massive molding tools have not proved feasible for the production of fiber reinforced composites of the aerospace skin type that have a large surface area and a relatively small thickness dimension. In particular, conventional resin transfer molding processes have not been used heretofore in the production of fiber reinforced composites generally having a surface area greater than 10 square feet (for flat composite surfaces) and thickness dimension less than approximately 0.125 inch.
An object of the present invention is to provide a resin transfer molding method and apparatus that overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of conventional resin transfer molding processes employing massive matched metal molding tools.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a resin transfer molding method and apparatus that overcome the aforementioned disadvantages and limitations of conventional resin transfer molding processes with respect to production of fiber reinforced composites having a large surface area and small thickness dimension.

Isostatic pressure resin transfer molding


An optical pickup apparatus, comprising: a light source to emit a light flux; a light converging system including an objective lens to converge the light flux emitted from said light source onto an optical information recording medium; a first diffraction element placed within an optical path up to the optical information recording medium; a light flux splitting element that is placed within the optical path from said light source up to the optical information recording medium and that splits an incident light flux emitted by the light source; a monitor element that receives a light flux split by said light flux splitting element and outputs a signal according to a received light amount; a second diffraction element placed between said light flux splitting element and said monitor element; and a control section that controls the drive of said light source according to the signal from said monitor element.

In recent years, the research and development of high density optical disk systems that can carry out recording/reproduction of information using blue-violet color semiconductor laser of wavelengths with about 400 nm has been progressing rapidly. As one example, in an optical disk carrying out information recording and reproduction with the specifications of an NA of 0.85, and light source wavelength with 405 nm, that is, in a so-called Blu-ray Disc (BD), for an optical disk of 12 cm diameter which is the same size as that of a DVD (NA of 0.6, light source wavelength with 650 nm), it is possible to record 20 to 30 GB of information per side, and further, in an optical disk carrying out information recording and reproduction with the specifications of an NA of 0.65, and light source wavelength with 405 nm, that is, in a so-called HD DVD, for an optical disk of 12 cm diameter, it is possible to record 15 to 20 GB of information per side. In the following, in the present patent description, these types of optical disks are called "High density DVDs".
However, it cannot be said that the value as a product of the optical pickup apparatus is sufficient when merely appropriate information can be recorded and reproduced in a high density DVD of the above types. At present, considering the current reality that DVDs and CDs with various types of information recorded in them are being sold, it is not sufficient to record and reproduce appropriate information in high density DVDs, and, for example, the ability to record and reproduce appropriate information in a similar manner in the conventional DVDs or CDs possessed by the user leads to increasing the value of the product as a compatible type of optical pickup apparatus. Because of this background, the optical system used in a compatible type optical pickup apparatus, of course must be low in cost and have a simple configuration, and in addition, it is desirable that it should be possible to obtain a good spot size for recording and reproducing appropriate information in high density DVDs, and conventional DVDs and CDs also. Further, although optical pickup apparatuses have been realized that can record and/or reproduce information in a compatible manner for DVDs and CDs, there is the current situation that further size reduction, thickness reduction, and cost reduction on the current configuration are being desired.
However, in order to realize an optical pickup apparatus having compatibility with DVDs and CDs, objective lenses provided with diffraction structures have been developed. As such an objective lens, for example, there is one in which, on one surface of the objective lens, different diffraction structures are provided inside and outside a prescribed distance h from the optical axis in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, in the inner region, spherical aberration is corrected for the different protective substrate thicknesses, and in the outer region, spherical aberration is corrected only at the time of using a DVD but flaring is done without correcting the spherical aberration at the time of using a CD. By forming an objective lens of this type, it becomes possible to form appropriate focusing spots required at the time of recording or reproducing the respective information in the different optical information recording media (see Patent Document 1).
Patent Document 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-171709.
It is also possible to form this type of diffraction structure, not limited to on the objective lens, but on the collimator lens or coupling lens, or in a dedicated optical element. In addition, on the one hand, in order to absorb the aberration error (color aberration) due to variations in the wavelength of the laser light source or wavelength fluctuations, there are cases in which a diffraction element is provided, of course, in the light emission system from the light source to the optical disk.
However, when a diffraction element is provided in the light emission system as in these examples, there was the problem that, because of variations in the diffraction efficiency, there were variations in the amount of light focused on the information recording surface of the optical disk. In other words, the temperature of the diffraction element changes along with changes in the ambient temperature, the diffraction efficiency of the diffraction element used in the light emission system changes, or else the temperature of the light source changes or the amount of light emitted changes, the wavelength of the emitted light changes, and as a result, very often the diffraction efficiency of that diffraction element changes.
FIG. 5 is a simulation diagram showing the state of the spot of light focused on the recording surface of an optical disk and the flare, and in this case, the focused light spot SPT is at the center point, and surrounding it is the flare. The flare shown here is generated when the temperature of the diffraction element DE formed on the optical surface of the objective lens OBJ is different from the design temperature, or when the wavelength of the light flux passing through it is different from the design wavelength. For example, if the design temperature of the diffraction element DE is 25° C. but it is used at 60° C., or if the design wavelength of that diffraction element DE is 405 nm but a light with wavelength 407 nm is incident on it, etc., a part of the light flux passing through the diffraction element DE does not form the focused light spot SPT, but becomes the flare dispersed around the focused light spot SPT. This flare is created by a diffracted light different from the design order of the diffraction element DE. In other words, although the light of different diffraction orders generated by the diffraction element DE interfere with each other and energy is given only to light of a specific order (for example, 10th order) thereby forming the focused light spot SPT by this light of a particular order, when the temperature or passing light wavelength of the diffraction element DE are different from the design conditions, the flare is generated because a part of the diffracted light of orders different from the above specific order (diffracted light of different orders) are not erased completely by diffraction. In this manner, when the temperature of the diffraction element DE or the wavelength of the light passing through it are different from the design conditions, a part of the incident light flux will not be used for the focused light spot SPT that is used for reproduction or recording of information of the optical disk, that is, a loss occurs in the amount of light.
FIG. 1(a) is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the temperature of the diffraction element and the diffraction efficiency, and FIG. 1(b) is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the wavelength fluctuations and the diffraction efficiency. In FIG. 1(a), while the diffraction efficiency of the optical source wavelength λH of, for example, a blue-violet laser becomes a maximum around a temperature of 25° C. of the diffraction element, the diffraction efficiency of the optical source wavelength λD of red color laser becomes a maximum around a temperature of the diffraction element of 50° C. In other words, at a temperature of the diffraction element other than the temperature at which the diffraction efficiency becomes a maximum, in the case of the light fluxes of either of the two wavelengths λH and λD, the diffraction efficiency changes in accordance with changes in the temperature. On the other hand, as is shown in FIG. 1(b), the diffraction efficiency changes even when the light source wavelength is shifted from the design wavelength.
FIG. 2(a) is a drawing showing the light flux focused on the information recording surface of the optical disk OD by the diffraction element DE as viewed in a direction at right angles to the optical axis, and FIG. 2(b) is a diagram showing the light flux focused on the information recording surface of the optical disk OD as viewed in a direction at right angles to the optical axis, and while the focused light spot SPT here has a diameter of 0.5 to 1.0μm, surrounding it is flare with a low light amount.
The diffraction efficiency when the light flux is focused on the information recording surface of the optical disk OD through the diffraction element DE of the light emission system shown in FIG. 2(a) is expressed by q/p where p is the energy of the light flux incident on the diffraction surface of the diffraction element DE and q is the energy of the light flux with a specific diffraction order in the spot SPT focused on the information recording surface of the optical disk among the light flux diffracted by that diffraction element DE. However, the diffraction order of 0 is also included.
The diffraction efficiency of the diffraction element is determined by the degree of interference between the light emitted from neighboring diffraction ring bands, and the diffraction efficiency becomes high when the interference is strong, that is, when the phase of the light is the same. In an ordinary diffraction lens, the step between the ring bands is determined assuming the oscillation wavelength of the semiconductor laser used in optical pickup apparatus and the temperature of the diffraction element, so that the phase is the same in those conditions.
However, in actuality, the oscillation wavelength of the semiconductor laser differs depending on the individual laser, or the wavelength of oscillations changes or the diffraction element itself expands or contracts due to changes in the environmental temperature. As a result, because the phase of the light emitted from neighboring ring bands gets shifted, and because the diffraction efficiency changes as is shown in FIG. 1, the amount of light of the light flux with the order of diffraction focused on the recording surface of the optical disk changes.
Since the amount of shift in the phase becomes large as the step between the ring bands designed originally becomes large, particularly in a diffraction structure using diffracted light of a high order of diffraction, the diffraction efficiency changes sensitively with respect to changes in the wavelength and temperature.
For example, when the amount of light in the emitted light from a semiconductor laser changes, because of the so called APC (Auto Power Control) drive control, by guiding a part of the light flux emitted from the semiconductor laser to a monitor element, the amount of emitted light is monitored accurately, and based on the result of that monitoring, it is possible to stabilize the amount of light emitted by the semiconductor laser. However, when the diffraction efficiency changes, since this is not reflected in the result of monitoring, light flux with changed amount of light gets focused as it is on the information recording surface of the optical disk. In that case, if the amount of light focused on the recording surface of the optical disk fluctuates, it is likely that a problem occurs such as either it becoming difficult to carry out good reading of the recorded information or it being not possible to carry out good recording.
In an example of an optical pickup apparatus shown in FIG. 6, the signal from the temperature detector TD that measures the environmental temperature of the optical pickup apparatus is input to the first Auto Power Control APC1 and the second Auto Power Control APC2. When the environmental temperature changes with respect to the set value, based on the graph in FIG. 1(a), the first Auto Power Control APC1 or the second Auto Power Control APC2 carries out laser control in the direction of compensating the change in the diffraction efficiency (for example, increasing the laser power if the diffraction efficiency decreases, or decreasing the laser power if the diffraction efficiency increases). However, it is desirable to place the temperature detector TD in the neighborhood of the actuator of the objective lens OBJ, inside the optical housing, or in its neighborhood.
In this manner, it is also possible to think of, for example, measuring using a thermistor, etc., the environmental temperature or the temperature of the diffraction element of the optical pickup apparatus or in its surroundings, and to change the output of the semiconductor laser in accordance with the result of that measurement. In the example of an optical pickup apparatus shown in FIG. 6, although there is the advantage that it is possible to correct the changes in the diffraction efficiency due to changes in the temperature with a relatively simple and inexpensive configuration, as has been explained above, changes in the diffraction efficiency occur not only due to changes in the environmental temperature but also due to changes in the wavelength of oscillations of the light source, even if only changes in the environmental temperature are measured, it is difficult to adjust the output of the semiconductor laser accurately based on that.

Optical pickup apparatus with temperature compensation


A plastic sealed type semiconductor apparatus includes at least two semiconductor devices which are disposed with a space therebetween in such a manner that circuit forming surfaces oppose each other, and an electric signal lead which is adhered to each of the circuit forming surfaces with an insulating member provided therebetween for electric insulation and which is electrically connected to the semiconductor device by a thin metal wire. The semiconductor devices and the electric signal leads are sealed with a resin in a state where the electric signal leads are laid on top of one another to form a plastic package. The overlaid portion of the electric signal leads has a surface contact portion of the leads and a resin providing portion. The resin providing portion is a recessed portion which is formed when the resin is molded in such a manner that it passes through the surface contact portion of the leads in the lateral direction thereof. The resin providing portion prevents entry of water or moisture and thus eliminates corrosion or breakage of the electric interconnections formed on the circuit forming surface of the semiconductor device or thin metal wires. Thus, the reliability of the semiconductor apparatus is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plastic sealed type semiconductor apparatus, and more particularly, to a plastic sealed type semiconductor apparatus which is highly reliable and hence suited for high integration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional plastic sealed semiconductor apparatus has the structure in which a semiconductor device is fixed on a chip pad which is the device mounting portion with a plurality of leads disposed around the chip pad, in which the semiconductor device and the leads are electrically connected by thin metal wires and in which a resin is molded around the entire assembly.
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for semiconductor apparatuses in which a plurality of semiconductor devices are mounted on the chip pad to achieve a high degree of integration. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication Nos. 62-119952, 1-257361 and 60-47161 disclose a structure in which a plurality of semiconductor devices are fixed onto chip pads in the conventional manner.
While the structure in which a plurality of semiconductor devices are mounted has been studied to achieve a high degree of integration, the size of a single semiconductor device has been increased also to achieve a high degree of integration. However, there is a tendency that the external dimensions, particularly, the external dimensions in the direction of the plane, of the semiconductor apparatus cannot be increased or is reduced due to design restrictions of the substrate on which the semiconductor apparatus is mounted.
Under the circumstances, in the structures in which the semiconductor devices are fixed on the chip pads in the conventional manner, when the size of each of the semiconductor devices is increased but the external dimensions of the semiconductor apparatus remains the same, the length of that portion of the semiconductor apparatus which fixes the leads to the resin (the length of the inner lead which is buried in the resin) is reduced. Thus, there is raised a problem that fixing strength is not sufficiently provided to the lead.
To avoid this problem, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-241959 has proposed a structure in which a plurality of inner leads are adhered to the circuit forming surface of a semiconductor device with an insulating member therebetween. This structure is called a lead-on-chip configuration.
FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a plastic sealed type semiconductor apparatus in which two semiconductor devices having the lead-on-chip structure are laid on top of one another, which apparatus is the subject of this invention.
As shown in FIG. 17, electric signal leads 2 and 2' are adhered to circuit forming surfaces 1a and 1'a of semiconductor devices 1 and 1' with an insulating member 3 provided therebetween for electric insulation between the semiconductor devices 1 and 1' and the leads 2 and 2'. Electric connection between the semiconductor devices 1 and 1' and the electric signal leads 2 and 2' is provided by means of thin metal wires 4.
The two semiconductor devices having the lead-on-chip structure are disposed in such a manner that the circuit forming surfaces thereof oppose each other. The electric signal leads 2 and 2' are joined to each other at an overlaid portion 2a thereof. A resin 5 is molded around the semiconductor devices and the electric signal leads to form a resin package 6. Whereas the electric signal lead 2' is cut substantially at the same level as the side surface of the resin package 6, only the electric signal lead 2 is coupled to an outer lead 7.
Thus, plastic sealed semiconductor apparatus is provided by overlaying the lead-on-chip type semiconductor devices on top of each other, so that the outer dimensions of the semiconductor apparatus do not increase even when the semiconductor devices employed are large, and sufficient fixing strength of the leads is provided.
However, in the plastic sealed semiconductor apparatus in which the lead-on-chip type semiconductor devices are overlaid on top of each other, as shown in FIG. 17, since the joined portions of the electric signal leads 2 and 2' are restricted in only a little area, there is space on a major portion of the overlaid surfaces of the electric signal leads 2 and 2' so that water or moisture readily enter the interior of the plastic package 6 through the overlaid surfaces of the electric signal leads 2 and 2'.
When the water or moisture enters the interior of the plastic package 6, this can corrode or break the electric interconnections or thin metal wires 4 formed on the circuit forming surfaces 1a and 1'a of the semiconductor devices 1 and 1', substantially reducing the reliability of the plastic sealed type semiconductor apparatus. Thus, entry of water or moisture into the interior of the plastic molded type semiconductor apparatus must be prevented.

Plastic sealed type semiconductor apparatus


Methods and systems for providing financial and/or board member information in a secured manner to members of boards of directors of companies and others through a publicly-available widely disseminated network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to systems and methods for improving communications and information flow. In a specific embodiment, communications and information flow to and between corporate board members are improved.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the Sarbanes-Oxley era, boards of directors and the professionals who serve them are under increasing pressure to improve the governance processes of their companies. As a result of Sarbanes-Oxley, directors are being held more accountable for the actions of their company. Many corporate secretaries have voiced the opinion that since Sarbanes-Oxley, they have had to increasingly prioritize board communications and work harder to improve governance processes.
Directors on a corporate board are expected to make decisions for the corporation on a wide variety of issues, for example, quality initiatives, potential business deals, financial outlooks, compliance and business development. Boards of directors meet regularly to discuss management issues and to review any corporate deals that may be in progress. These meetings may be held monthly, quarterly or semi-annually. The board of directors needs to be kept up to date on corporate progress on a number of fronts. Information gathering for a board can be a daunting task, particularly when the company is a large international corporation. Information from subsidiaries and other corporate entities, other than the parent corporation, may be needed to be gathered and condensed. Such information may then be placed into a format wherein directors, with different levels of understanding pertaining to particular corporate matters, can all be brought up to at least a level of understanding such that they can make reasonable business decisions for the corporation.
Corporate secretaries are frequently assigned the task of distributing relevant company information and reference materials to members of the board of directors. This information may be placed in a number of corporate board books which may be directed to the members of the board in general or with respect to committees within the board of directors. The most current information available is often what is needed for a fully informed decision of the board.
Board members may comprise individuals residing in diverse geographic locations. Some board members may reside internationally as compared to the standard location of the board meeting. It therefore may be a formidable task to get all members of the board together in one place. The difficulty in getting board members together may relate not only to the geographic locations of board members at a particular point in time, but also relate to divergent scheduling concerns of the different board members. It is not atypical for a board member to be employed in a top level position at another company, and/or to be a board member on another corporate board.
In the past, board functions have relied on paper-based systems and the need to manually correlate travel arrangements among members of the board. Documents pertaining to corporate activities, as for example, potential deals, could be prepared and then disseminated to members for their review and comment. Ultimate selection of a course of action might then be required at a meeting of the board. Such methodology may be time-consuming, and decisions relating to corporate activities may have to be stalled until a board meeting can be held.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,983,263 describes an electronic boardroom to facilitate review of business specific information. Boards of directors are said to be able to conduct a meeting in real-time on-line. U.S. Pat. No. 6,983,263 asserts a system that permits directors to review comments of other directors on corporate issues as well as to supply their own comments for review by other directors. Via a web page links may be provided allowing one to review information such as deals to be reviewed, business reviews, financials, report generation, employee performance reviews, and productivity review. The electronic boardroom is said to facilitate movement of information and reduce the time and travel associated with face-to-face meetings.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0108268A1 describes a company board data processing system and method. Such system and method provides a user interface platform to supply information related to members of boards of companies and to enable comparison of board members or boards at the board member level. The system stores parameters related to board members of a plurality of boards. The user interface allows one to compare parameters between board members and/or boards at board member level. Information pertaining to the company such as operating profit and assets may also be stored.
While such electronic systems provide advantage over paper based systems, there are arguably numerous needs of directors which are not addressed. For example, directors need not only raw information pertaining to the company which they represent to make a decision, but may also rely on parallel information pertaining to peer-type companies. They may also need fast access to information pertaining to their representations on other corporate boards. Further, such systems also do little for the corporate secretary who must compile information needed by the members of the board, or committees of the board, who must schedule meetings among the board members, and who must keep meticulous notes of corporate minutes. Such systems may also fail in providing the extent of confidentiality necessary to prevent eavesdropping in communications and transmissions.


An autofocus imaging system for a microscope system includes a tilted autofocus image sensor that images an oblique cross-section of a slide. The autofocus imaging system focuses multiple sequential overlapping images, which have been taken by the tilted autofocus image sensor, by making a comparison of the multiple sequential overlapping images. An axial position of a tissue layer on the slide can be determined from a polar error signal resulting from this comparison.

In digital pathology and particular in the case of whole slide scanning, specimens are sliced and imaged for analysis purposes as well as teaching purposes. Line sensors may be used for scanning a whole tissue slide. These slide scanners may perform a continuous mechanical scanning, thereby reducing stitching problems and allowing for the use of so-called time delay integration (TDI) line sensors in order to accommodate for low brightness of the illumination, as for example disclosed in WO 01/84209 A2.
Before the actual scanning the optimum focus position may be determined at a number of positions on the slide. This results in a "focus map". This procedure can be used when the axial position of the tissue layer may vary with several micrometers across the slide, as depicted in FIG. 1 (to avoid any doubt, it should noted here that the term axial refers herein to a direction along the axis 7 shown in FIG. 2).
The variation of the tissue layer may thus be more than the focal depth of the microscope objective. During scanning the focus position of the objection is set on a trajectory that interpolates between the measured optimum focus settings on the selected measurement locations. However, this procedure may be both prone to errors and be also time-consuming, thereby limiting the throughput of the system.
In known autofocus imaging systems it may not be possible to determine the sign of the focus error (above or below focus), i.e. the focus error signal may not be polar. This may be disadvantageous for a continuous autofocus system that needs permanent updates on the optimum focus setting.
WO 2005/010495 A2 describes a system and a method for generating digital images of a microscope slide, the microscope comprising a main camera and a focus camera which is tilted with respect to the optical axis.

Determining a polar error signal of a focus position of an autofocus imaging system


This invention provides a compressor that can efficiently return lubricating oil through an oil storage chamber to a lubrication target site without residence of the lubricating oil within the discharge chamber and can prevent deterioration in lubrication performance. The compressor comprises a housing having a discharge chamber for lubricating oil-containing hydraulic fluid and a discharge port communicating with the discharge chamber, a rotational shaft extended into the housing, a compression unit for the suction, compression and discharge of the hydraulic fluid through the drive of the rotational shaft, and a lubricating oil separator comprising a separation chamber and an oil storage chamber. The separation chamber is provided between the discharge chamber and the discharge port in the housing. The oil storage chamber is located below the separation chamber. Lubricating oil separated from the hydraulic fluid in the separation chamber is introduced through an oil hole is stored in the oil storage chamber. The compressor further comprises a communication section for directly communicating the discharge chamber and the oil storage chamber without through the separation chamber.

A compressor for a refrigeration circuit compresses refrigerant, and usually lubricating oil is contained in the refrigerant. The lubricating oil contained in the refrigerant has not only a function for lubricating slidable surfaces, bearings, etc. in the compressor but also a function for sealing the slidable surfaces. However, if the lubricating oil is circulated over the entire refrigeration circuit, generally the lubricating oil becomes a factor decreasing the cooling ability of the refrigeration circuit.
Therefore, a compressor incorporating a lubricating oil separator thereinto is known. The lubricating oil separator separates lubricating oil from compressed refrigerant on the route through which the refrigerant compressed in the compressor is introduced from a discharge chamber to a discharge port. More concretely, the lubricating oil separator has a separation chamber disposed between the discharge chamber and the discharge port, and it separates the lubricating oil from the compressed refrigerant which is introduced from the discharge chamber into the separation chamber through a spouting hole. The lubricating oil separated from the refrigerant is stored in an oil storage chamber formed below the separation chamber (for example, Patent document 1).    Patent document 1: JP-A-11-82352

Compressor with dual pathways for returning lubricating oil


An image output apparatus is provided with an image conversion unit for converting image data into an output image of intermediate gradation using a line screen for forming pixel points in stripes, an element angle storing unit for storing the angle information of line segments of the image data, a jaggy judging unit for judging whether or not jaggies will appear on the outline of the output image based on the angle information of the line segments stored in the element angle storing unit, and a screen angle setting unit for substantially changing the screen angle of the line screen if jaggies are judged to appear by the jaggy judging unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image output apparatus, an image output method and an image output program product for expressing the shading of an output image using a line screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
In image output apparatuses such as image forming apparatuses and image display apparatuses, there is generally used a method for expressing the shading of an output image using a line screen.
There is also known a dither method for expressing the shading by increasing or decreasing the number and/or size of dots. Particularly, a method for generating a stripe pattern and expressing multi-gradation by changing the number and/or width of strips is called a dither method using a line screen (FIGS. 1A, 1B: described in detail later).
Generally, in a color image forming apparatus, images are formed using four color toners of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow) and K (black). Thus, upon displaying an intermediate color, the intermediate color is expressed by the dither method using a line screen. At this time, an intermediate graduation of the line screen is expressed for each toner color, and the intermediate color is expressed by superimposition printing of the respective toner colors.
In this case, each plane (toner output plane) has a different angle (screen angle) as shown in FIG. 3 lest a moire pattern should be formed by toner stripe patterns to be superimposed. The respective screen angles are set different, e.g. 75° for magenta, 45° for black, 15° for cyan and 0° for yellow.
However, upon printing by the dither method using a line screen, if angles of thin line segments constituting the stripe pattern and dot forming angles (screen angles) in the dither method approximate, the unevenness (jaggies) of the lines segments stands out.
FIG. 1A shows an image of a character "RE" in Japanese katakana (character similar to "V" in alphabet) in a case where the angle of a line segment of an oblique stroke P1 of "RE" approximates to a screen angle upon expressing this character "RE" similar to "V" using a mono-color line screen. FIG. 1B shows an example in which the angle of a line segment of an oblique stroke P2 of "RE" largely differ from the screen angle. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, the size of pixel points is enlarged so that the state of the line screen can be easily understood. If FIGS. 1A and 1B are seen from a more distant point, the appearance of jaggies making the unevenness of the outline of the character is more noticeable in the oblique stroke P1 of "RE" in FIG. 1A as compared to the oblique stroke P2 of "RE" in FIG. 1B.

Image output apparatus, image output method and image output program product


A roof integrated photovoltaic system includes a plurality of photovoltaic panels each having a right end, a left end, a front edge, and a back edge. A right end coupler is secured to the right ends of at least some of the photovoltaic panels and a left end coupler is secured to the left ends of at least some of the photovoltaic panels. The right end couplers and the left end couplers are configured to interlock and form a seal when two of the plurality of panels are moved into end-to-end engagement with each other. At least one front edge coupler is affixed to at least some of the plurality of photovoltaic panels at the front edges thereof and at least one back edge coupler is affixed to at least some of the plurality of photovoltaic panels at the back edges thereof. The front edge couplers and the back edge couplers configured to interlock when two of the plurality of panels are moved into edge-to-edge engagement and a seal is positioned to prevent water from penetrating at the junction of a front edge of one panel and the back edge of an adjoined panel. Panels are installed on a roof in end-to-end and front edge to back edge relationship to form a photovoltaic array and are electrically interconnected to produce electricity when exposed to sunlight. Flashing and gap filling faux panels are provided as part of the system.

Generating electricity from sunlight has been possible for many years through the use of photovoltaic (PV) cells and panels, PV panel assemblies have been mounted on the roofs of residential homes, but historically such installations have been considered by many to be unsightly and bulky. More recently, so-called "solar shingles" have been available, but these have not tended to be completely successful, particularly with respect to the difficulty of installation and performance issues related to shading or dirt accumulation on the PV panels of the shingles. A need exists for a PV system for the roof of a residential home that is not unsightly, that makes use of highly efficient solar cell technology, that includes shade management to maximize performance when some panels are shaded or dirty, that is integrated with the roof, and that, in addition to generating electricity, provides a roof deck covering that is at least as reliable and long lasting as traditional shingles. It is to the provision of a system that meets these and other needs that the present invention is primarily directed.

Building Materials Investment Corporation


A liquid crystal medium is described, which has a wide temperature range of a liquid crystal phase, a large optical anisotropy and a large dielectric anisotropy and exhibits an optically isotropic liquid crystal phase. The liquid crystal medium is characterized in including a chiral dopant and a liquid crystal compound with a chlorophenyl ring and exhibiting an optically isotropic liquid crystal phase.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid crystal medium useful as a material for an optical device, and in particular, to a liquid crystal medium having a wide temperature range of a liquid crystal phase, a large dielectric anisotropy and a large refractive index anisotropy. This invention also relates to an optical device using the liquid crystal medium, and particularly to an optical device that can be used in a wide temperature range and driven at a low voltage and can achieve a high-speed electrooptical response.
2. Description of Related Art
Liquid crystal display (LCD) devices utilizing liquid crystal compositions are widely used in displays of clocks, calculators, word processors and so on. These LCD devices utilize the optical anisotropy and dielectric anisotropy, etc. of liquid crystal compounds. The operation modes of the LCD devices mainly include phase change (PC), twisted nematic (TN), super twisted nematic (STN), bistable twisted nematic (BTN), electrically controlled birefringence (ECB), optically compensated bend (OCB), in-plane switching (IPS), and vertical alignment (VA) and so on, which utilize one or more polarizers for display. Moreover, in recent years, more attention has been paid to the mode where an electric field is applied to an optically isotropic liquid crystal phase to induce electric birefringence (Patent References 1-9/Non-patent References 1-3).
Moreover, wavelength tunable filters, wavefront control devices, liquid crystal lenses, aberrational correction devices, aperture control devices and optical head devices etc. that utilize the electric birefringence in a blue phase as one of the optically isotropic liquid crystal phases have been proposed (Patent References 10-12).
According to the driving mode, LCD devices can be classified into passive matrix (PM) and active matrix (AM) types. The PM type is further classified into static type and multiplex type etc., and the AM type is further classified into thin film transistor (TFT) type, metal insulator metal (MIM) type and so on.
Such LCD devices contain liquid crystal compositions having suitable properties. To improve the characteristics of an LCD device, the liquid crystal composition preferably has suitable properties. A liquid crystal compound as a component of a liquid crystal composition needs to have the following general properties:    (1) chemical stability and physical stability;    (2) a high clearing point (phase transition temperature from the liquid crystal phase to the isotropic phase);    (3) a low lower-limit temperature of a liquid crystal phase (nematic phase, cholesteric phase, smectic phase, optically isotropic liquid crystal phase like blue phase, etc.);    (4) good compatibility with other liquid crystal compounds;    (5) a suitable dielectric anisotropy; and    (6) a suitable optical anisotropy.
Particularly, for an optically isotropic liquid crystal phase, a liquid crystal compound having a large dielectric anisotropy and a large optical anisotropy is preferred from the viewpoint of lowering the driving voltage.
When a composition containing a liquid crystal compound having chemical and physical stability (1st property) is used in an LCD device, the voltage holding ratio is improved.
Further, a liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystal compound with a high clearing point or a low lower-limit temperature of a liquid crystal phase (2nd and 3rd properties) can have a wide temperature range of a nematic phase or optically isotropic liquid crystal phase, and thus can be used in a display device in a wide temperature range. A liquid crystal compound is generally mixed with a number of other liquid crystal compounds to prepare a liquid crystal composition, so as to exhibit better properties that are difficult to develop by a single compound. Therefore, a liquid crystal compound having good compatibility with other liquid crystal compounds (4th property) is preferably used in an LCD device. In recent years, LCD devices with superior properties, especially display performances like contrast, display capacity, response time and so on, are required. In addition, regarding the liquid crystal material used, a liquid crystal composition having a low driving voltage is required. Further, in order to drive at low voltage an optical device that is driven in an optically isotropic liquid crystal phase, a liquid crystal compound with a large dielectric anisotropy and a large optical anisotropy is preferred.
The optically isotropic polymer/liquid crystal composite materials disclosed in Patent References 1-3 and Non-Patent References 1-3 require high voltages for device operation. Patent References 4-9 disclose optically isotropic liquid crystal compositions and polymer/liquid crystal composite materials being expected to have lower operation voltages; however, the optically isotropic liquid crystal composition and polymer/liquid crystal composite material containing a compound having chlorophenyl moiety according to this invention was not mentioned therein.
[Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-32796
[Patent Reference 2] International Publication No. 2005/90520
[Patent Reference 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-336477
[Patent Reference 4] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-89622
[Patent Reference 5] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-299084
[Patent Reference 6] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-506477
[Patent Reference 7] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-506515
[Patent Reference 8] International Publication No. 2006/063662
[Patent Reference 9] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-225655
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Optically isotropic liquid crystal medium and optical device


A bulb assembly includes a shell, a holder, and a bulb, wherein the bulb and the holder are received in the shell, wherein the bulb has two conductive wires passing through the holder and being folded upward outsides. The shell is provided with a central plate extending to the bottom of the holder and separating two conductive wires from each other. Hence, there are two connecting types for electrical wires with conductive pins to insert into shell and contact with various position of the conductive wires that facilitates the utilization of the products.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a traditional bulb assembly includes a bulb (1), a holder (2), and a shell (3). The bulb (1) is received in the holder (2), and both of them are again received in the shell (3). The bulb (1) has two conductive wires (11), each of which passes through the holder (2) and then is folded upward outside the holder (2). Two electrical wires (4) connect with relating conductive pins (5) to insert into the shell (3) from its bottom end. The pin (5) is placed between outside end of the conductive wire (11) and inner face of the shell (3) to form an electrical connection.
The present invention is to provide an improved bulb assembly with dual connecting types that facilitates the application for some decorative lighting strings. Now, accompanying with drawings, the character and structure of the present invention will be disclosed as following.

Bulb assembly with dual connecting types