The present invention is directed to an irrigation controller, method and software program product for generating valve control signals for energizing a valve. The irrigation controller includes a valve actuation control module selectively coupled each of plurality of control nodes and generating a valve actuation control signal thereon. The valve actuation control signal is a continuous control voltage over a plurality of control signal periods for selectively energizing the selected irrigation valve. Also integrated in the irrigation is a valve chatter module for selectively coupled each of plurality of control nodes and generating a valve chatter control signal thereon. The valve chatter module selectively and, intermittently, energizes the selected irrigation valve. The irrigation controller may further include a remote controller of remotely controlling the irrigation controller.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an irrigation controller. More particularly, the present invention relates to an irrigation controller with a solenoid activator for rapidly pulsing the solenoid actuator.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional automated irrigation systems generally comprise two coextensive physical networks that work in concert for the delivery of water. The first is a water delivery network consisting of a water delivery conduit, (e.g., pipe and/or tubing), metering, regulating and dispersing elements for efficiently regulating the flow of water through the conduit and dispersing water over a predetermined area. These elements may include pumps, boosters, irrigation control valves (such as the Weathermatic® Nitro line of diaphragm actuated valves available from Telsco Industries, Incorporated, in Dallas, Tex.) anti-siphon devices, check valves, and various types of water dispersion elements (such as sprinklers, either spray, rotary, drip, bubblers, soaker or misters) for wetting the foliage or surface area with water. At least the conduit, irrigation control valves and certain water dispersion elements are installed below ground, or at least below grade. A conventional irrigation system is divided into discrete irrigation zones (sometimes referred to as stations) and the water flow to each zone is controlled and/or regulated by an irrigation control valve. Each irrigation zone is defined by a plurality of water dispersion elements, each controlled by a separate irrigation control valve, which is coupled in the conduit between the water source and the plurality of water dispersion elements. The conduit and water dispersion elements are installed directly in the ground, but irrigation control valves are protected from the soil by a valve box and cover.
The second network is an electrical control network. The purpose of the electrical control network is to generate control signals and transmit the signals to certain components in the water delivery network. Typically, the electrical control network comprises an irrigation controller for generating the control signals (such as the SmartLine™, Weathermatic® Lawnmate or WeatherMate™ controllers, all available from Telsco Industries, Incorporated), and a transmission medium for propagating the signals to the electrical components in the irrigation system.
Periodically, it may be necessary for a grounds keeper or operator to gain access to an irrigation control valve to, for example, adjust the amount of water allowed to flow into a particular irrigation zone, or perform preventive maintenance on the irrigation control valve. Often, however, the cover of the valve box will become obscured with dirt, compost, mulch, or some other obstruction, or by vegetation which has been purposely been allowed to conceal the cover. An operator will then probe the ground with a sharpened metal probe around the presumed location in an attempt to find the cover. When the operator receives an indication of an object hidden below the surface, i.e., the probe makes contact with an object below the surface of the ground, the operator excavates the top soil, turf and/or shrubbery to identify the obstructing object. This method of probing and digging is an extremely time consuming process and may involve many hours of probing and digging to locate a particular valve.
Often, during the installation of an irrigation system, the installers will create a surface map of the irrigation system. The map shows the layout of the pipes, sprinklers and valves for each irrigation zone, with reference to fixed objects and the topography of the landscape. The operator may then update the irrigation map to incorporate the locations of plants, shrubs, trees and other foliage. With such a map, the operator will have a good approximation of the location for each valve in the system; from which the operator may begin a search for a particular valve; thereby shortening the operator's searching time.

Irrigation controller with integrated valve locator


At least an embodiment of the present technology provides a capacitor, comprising a substrate, a first solid electrode disposed on the substrate, a second electrode broken into subsections, the subsections connected by a bus line and separated from the first electric by a dielectric medium. The second electrode broken into subsections may have a lower resistance than the first solid electrode and by changing the width and length of the sides of the subsections, the resistance of the first electrode is modifiable.

Wireless communications is a rapidly growing segment of the communications industry, with the potential to provide high-speed high-quality information exchange between portable devices located anywhere in the world. Potential applications enabled by this technology include multimedia internet-enabled cell phones, smart homes, appliances, automated highway systems, distance learning, and autonomous sensor networks, just to name a few. Supporting these applications using wireless techniques poses significant technical challenge. As handsets move to meet broadband, the requirements of components are more astringent. Electrical communication systems demand new more efficient low loss devices that can be used at higher frequency ranges.
Recent advances in tunable ferroelectric materials have allowed for relatively low capacitance varactors that can operate at temperatures above those necessary for superconduction and at bias voltages less than those required for existing planar varactor structures, while maintaining high tenability and high Q factors. Even though these materials work in their paraelectric phase above the Curie temperature, they are conveniently called "ferroelectric" because they exhibit spontaneous polarization at temperatures below the Curie temperature. Tunable ferroelectric materials including barium-strontium titanate BaxSr1-x TiO3 (BST) or BST composites have been the subject of several patents. Dielectric materials including BST are disclosed by Sengupta, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,790; U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,988; U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,491; U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,893; U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,434; U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,591; U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,697; U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,429; U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,971; U.S. Pat. No. 6,801,104 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,433. These patents are hereby incorporated by reference. The permittivity (more commonly called dielectric constant) of these materials can be varied by varying the strength of an electric field to which the materials are subjected. These materials allow for thin-film ferroelectric composites of low overall dielectric constant that takes advantage of the high tunability and at the same time having high dielectric constants.
BST thin films have been used in microwave circuit applications because of their high dielectric constant, high tunability, low loss, and fast switching speed. Tunable BST films have been demonstrated as an attractive technology to low cost agile mobile circuits, such as tunable filters, tunable matching networks at a high tunable frequency range. Most of these technologies have focused on material quality, choice of electrodes, and deposition or processing techniques. As the technology matures, several issues have arisen due to the deposition methods and limited choice of electrode materials available due to the extreme deposition temperatures. Quality factor, resonance frequency and breakdown voltage are important factors for determining which applications BST thin films will work best in. High-frequency device losses consist of material-related losses in the film and at the electrode-film interface, as well as the resistive losses in the electrodes. First, thermal strain on the interface between the ferroelectric thinfilm and the metal electrode due to the creation of oxide films and crystalline microstructure. This interface is generally the cause of losses at high frequencies and premature breakdown at low voltages. Second, the designs on current devices are limited by traditional design guidelines that create resistive losses due to design constraints.
There is a need in the industry to improve the efficiency of BST thinfilm capacitors by design implementation. There is a further need to create a BST thinfilm design structure that minimizes loss at the dielectric-electrode interface. There is also a further need to create BST thinfilm designs that presents and improved structure where there is minimum contact with the bottom electrodes and creates an optimized periphery with a superb quality (Q) factor and a reasonable aspect ratio range.


The present invention is directed to a method of producing a phase shift photomask having a shifter pattern comprising SOG having a transmittance high-enough to be usable with ultraviolet radaition such as KrF (of 248 nm wavelength) used for transfer onto wafers by forming an acid generator-containing SOG directly into plate to form an SOG shifter pattern. This production method at least comprises steps of coating an acid generator-containing SOG on a photomask substrate, selectively irradiating the thus coated SOG layer with ionizing radiation, and developing the SOG layer with a suitable solvent to form a shifter pattern comprising said SOG, and further includes a step of irradiating the overall surface of the thus formed SOG shifter pattern with ultraviolet radiation and/or heating the thus formed SOG shifter pattern at a high temperature to decompose a photosensitive group absorbing ultraviolet radiation, thereby making the SOG layer transparent to ultraviolet radiation used to transfer said SOG layer onto a wafer.

The present invention relates generally to a production method of a phase shift photomask used to form fine patterns at high density, which are used for the production of high-density integrated circuits such as very LSIs and ultra-very LSIs, and more particularly to a production method of a phase shift photomask having a phase shift layer comprising spin-on glass (SOG for short).
As the degree of integration of semiconductor integrated circuits becomes higher, reticles used for circuit fabrication are now required to become finer and finer. At present, line widths of device patterns transferred from five-fold reticles for DRAMs of 16 megabytes are as fine as 0.6 .mu.m. Device patterns for DRAMS of 64 megabytes are now required to have a resolution of 0.35 .mu.m line width, and so can no longer be achieved by conventional light exposure systems using steppers.
To achieve this by forming fine patterns, methods of forming such fine patterns by making wavelengths of exposure light sources short, making transfer lenses have a high NA, and using zonal illumination, or methods of forming patterns by direct electron beam lithography without recourse to any photomask are now under investigation. A grave problem with such pattern-forming methods are, however, that some added cost is needed because of renovation of existing exposure systems, and introduction of new equipment.
For this reason, attention is now directed to pattern transfer methods using a phase shift photomask, which enable currently available steppers to be used for the formation of fine patterns.
Basic concepts and principles of a phase shift photomask have already been disclosed in JP-A-58-17344 and JP-B-62-59296. A particular merit of the phase shift photomask, which makes it possible to use existing exposure systems without giving any modification thereto, is now taken into reconsideration, and so various types of phase shift photomasks are under active development.
A brief account will now be given of the principles of transfer using a phase shift photomask with reference to FIG. 5. For the purpose of comparison, a transfer method using a conventional photomask will be explained with reference to FIG. 6, thereby explaining a resolution difference between both methods.
FIG. 5(a) is a diagram illustrating how to use a phase shift photomask 500 to conduct projection alignment using exposure light 550, and FIGS. 5(b) and 5(c) show a light amplitude profile and a light intensity profile, respectively, as measured on a resist-on-wafer. FIG. 6(a) is a diagram illustrating how to use a conventional photomask 600 to conduct projection alignment using exposure light 650, and FIGS. 6(b) and 6(c) show a light amplitude profile and a light intensity profile, respectively, as measured on a resist-on-wafer.
In FIGS. 5(a) and 6(a), reference numerals 510 and 610 stand for a transparent substrate, 520 an etching stopper layer, 530 and 630 a block (chromium) film, 540 a shifter, 550 and 650 exposure light (ionizing radiation), 500 a phase shift photomask, and 600 a conventional photomask.
The phase shift photomask 500 shown in FIG. 5(a) is made up of the transparent substrate 510, a line-and-space pattern formed of the block films 530 at a given width and pitch and located on the transparent substrate 510, openings provided at every one such line-and-space pattern, and shifter layers 540, each located astride the block layers 530 adjoining one opening, and the conventional photomask 600 shown in FIG. 6(a) is built up of the transparent substrate 610, and a line-and-space pattern composed of the block films 630 at a given width and pitch and located on the transparent substrate 610. It is here to be noted that the etching stopper layer 520 is provided all over the surface of the transparent substrate 510 between the substrate 510 and each block layer 530.
As the exposure light 550 is incident on the phase shift photomask 500, the amplitude of the light transmitting through the shifter portion 540 is shifted from the amplitude of the light transmitting between the shifter-free block films 530 by a phase n .pi. (n is an odd number), and inverted on the emerging side. For this reason, these lights interfere with each other on the resist-on-wafer to have such an amplitude profile as shown in FIG. 5(b) and, hence, such a light intensity profile as shown in FIG. 5(c).
In the case of the arrangement using the conventional photomask 600, however, the amplitude of the light emerging from the photomask has such a profile on the resist-on-wafer as shown in FIG. 6(b), because the light emerging from the openings is in phase and so interferes with each other. Consequently, the emerging light has such an intensity profile on the resist-on-wafer as shown in FIG. 6(c).
In the light intensity profile shown in FIG. 5(c) there are points between knolls, at which the intensity of the light becomes zero, while in the profile shown in FIG. 6(c) the profile form of light intensity spreads out. In other words, the light intensity profile shown in FIG. 5(c) is superior to that shown in FIG. 6(c) in terms of resolution on the resist-on-wafer.
Thus, the transfer method using the phase shift photomask 500 is found to be superior to that using the conventional photomask 600 in terms of resolution, so that the former can achieve transfer of finer patterns than would be possible with the latter.
The phase shift photomask shown in FIG. 5 is referred to as a Levenson type of phase shift photomask. Many other phase shift photomasks varying largely in structure are available, for instance, halftone and auxiliary types, and they work on the same basic concepts and principles and so may be used depending on what purpose they are used for. The Levenson type in particular is alleged to be effective to improve the resolution of a line-and-space or other pattern.
For the Levenson type of phase shift photomask shown in FIG. 5, SOG (spin-on glass) that is a coated type of silicon oxide is commonly used.
The SOG has been used not only for the aforesaid Levenson type of phase shift photomask but also for an edge block type of phase shift photomask such as one shown in FIG. 7(c) and a rim type of phase shift photomask such as one shown in FIG. 7(d).
It is here to be noted that the phase shift photomask shown in FIG. 5 is of the same type as shown in FIG. 7(a), wherein a shifter layer is laid over a block layer of a Levenson type of phase shift photomask, and so is called a shifter overlaid type of Levenson phase shift photomask. What is shown in FIG. 7(b) is, on the other hand, called a shifter underlay type of Levenson phase shift photomask wherein, as illustrated, a shifter layer 730B is situated under a block layer 740B.
The thicknesses of the shifter layers 730A, 730B, 730C and 730D, each composed of SOG, are controlled such that the phase of exposure light used for transfer is shifted by n .pi. (n is an odd number) and inverted when it passes at its wavelength through them.
It is to be understood that in FIGS. 7(a) to 7(d) transparent substrates are represented by 710A, 710B, 710C and 710D, etching stopper layers by 720A, 720B, 720C and 720D, and block (chromium) films by 740A and 740D.
As mentioned above, the SOG has commonly been used for shifter layers, and patterned as mentioned below.
This will now be explained typically with reference to the production of a shifter overlaid type of phase shift photomask.
FIG. 3 illustrates a first production method wherein an SOG coated on a substrate is selectively irradiated with electron radiation or laser light (e.g., Ar laser light of 363.8 nm wavelength), and then developed with a solvent to leave the portion irradiated with laser light while removing the unexposed portion, thereby patterning the SOG. First, provision is made of a blank 310 in which block layers 312 formed of chromium and arranged according to a given pattern are formed on a transparent substrate 311 (see FIG. 3(a)).
Following this, an SOG 340 was coated all over the surface of the substrate on which the block films 312 are formed, and then subjected to soft baking at 80.degree. to 120.degree. C. (see FIG. 3(b)).
Then, only given regions of the SOG are selectively irradiated with electron radiation 360 (see FIG. 3(c)).
Subsequently, the unexposed portion is removed by a development treatment while the portion irradiated with electron radiation or laser light 360 is kept intact, thereby obtaining a desired form of SOG shifter pattern 330A (see FIG. 3(d)).
After this, the SOG shifter pattern 330A is fired (see FIG. 3(e)), thereby obtaining a phase shift photomask 300 having the desired form of SOG shifter pattern 330A.
Firing is done by heating at 400.degree. to 500.degree. C. for the purpose of making an intimate SOG film having a high molecular weight.
A brief account will here be given of the SOG itself, and the principles of patterning the SOG.
By the "SOG" used herein is meant a film obtained by the conversion of an organic solvent solution of an organosilicon compound into silicon oxide by coating, drying, and heating. For the starting material for the SOG use may be made of metal alkoxides such as tetraethoxysilane, bipolar solvents such as water and methanol, hydrochloric acid, and the like. To allow methyl groups to remain in the SOG, triethoxymethylsilane, diethoxydimethylsilane, or trimethylethoxysilane is added to the tetraethoxysilane at an amount of a few % to a few tens %. By mixing these starting materials together, hydrolysis and polycondensation occur, resulting in the yielding of an Si--O polymer (polysilicate) having a low molecular weight.
Upon this low-molecular-weight SOG spin-coated on a substrate and subjected to soft baking, there is a slight increase in the molecular weight of the SOG.
Following this, the SOG is selectively irradiated with electron beams, ion beams, radiation light such as X-rays, .gamma.-rays and SOR, or laser light (hereinafter referred to as ionizing radiation). This then causes the irradiated regions to be polymerized resulting in a molecular weight increase. After the irradiation of the SOG with ionizing radiation, the SOG is developed with an alcohol or other solvent, so that the portion irradiated with ionizing radiation is left intact while the unexposed portion is removed due to a molecular weight difference between both the portions, thereby patterning the SOG.
This method has an advantage in that the process involved is simple, but is impractical because the SOG itself has a low sensitivity to ionizing radiation.
Accordingly, the patterning of the SOG has generally been carried out by such a second method as shown in FIG. 4.
This method makes use of a photosensitive resist having a high sensitivity to ionizing radiation (electron radiation) for the purpose of patterning the SOG. The resist coated on the SOG is selectively irradiated with (or exposed to) electron radiation. Thereafter, the resist is developed with a suitable solvent to form a resist pattern through a difference in solubility in the solvent between the exposed and unexposed portions. Then, the SOG is etched in a form conforming to this pattern, thereby forming an SOG shifter pattern.
First, provision is made of a blank 410 in which block films 412 formed of chromium are provided according to a given pattern on a transparent substrate 411 (see FIG. 4(a)), after which an etching stopper layer 420 to be used for the etching of the SOG is formed (see FIG. 4(b)).
Then, an SOG 430 is coated all over the surface of the substrate on which the block films 412 are formed (see FIG. 4(c)). After removal of a peripheral SOG film from the substrate, the SOG 430 is fired (see FIG. 4(d)).
This firing step by heating at 400.degree. to 500.degree. C. yields an intimate SOG film having a high molecular weight.
Thereafter, a photosensitive resist 440 is coated on the SOG 430, and dried (see FIG. 4(e)), after which a conductive layer 450 is formed on the resist for surface conductivity (see FIG. 4(f)). Then, given regions of the conductive layer are selectively irradiated with electron radiation 460 (see FIG. 4(g)).
Subsequently, a resist pattern 440A is formed by a development treatment and drying (see FIG. 4(h)), and the SOG 430 is etched using this resist pattern 440A as an etching-resistant mask (see FIG. 4(i)).
Subsequent removal of the resist pattern 440A yields a phase shift photomask 400 having a desired SOG shifter pattern 430A formed thereon (see FIG. 4(j)).
Thus, the second method is a complicated process involving a number of steps, and so likely to induce many defects.
As described above, the problem with the first method is that it is impractical because the SOG itself has a low sensitivity to ionizing radiation, while the problem with the second method is that it is a complicated process likely to induce many defects. A solution to these problems is now sought out.
Apart from this, it has recently been proposed to increase the sensitivity of a resist by incorporating an acid generator therein. Thus, the aforesaid first method has been modified, too, such that an SOG shifter pattern is fabricated using an acid generator-containing SOG.
However, this method does also offer a problem in that such an acid generator-containing SOG has a low transmittance with respect to light lying in the ultraviolet region.
The leading reason is that the acid generator generally contains an ultraviolet-sensitive group, which absorbs ultraviolet radiation.

Production method of a phase shift photomask having a phase shift layer comprising SOG


A heat exchanger has a fluid passage sharing a wall with a cooling fluid passage adjacent to the passage. The thermally conductive wall allows heat to be transferred from the fluid into the cooling fluid passage. The passage additionally has a set of at least one airfoil pin extending into the passage.

The present application is related to a pin fin heat exchanger with pins having an airfoil profile.
Heat exchangers capable of drawing heat from one place and dissipating it in another place are well known in the art and are used in numerous applications where efficiently removing heat is desirable. One type of heat exchanger used in fluid cooling systems dissipates heat from two parallel fluid passages into a cooling fluid passage between the passages. A cooling fluid (such as air) is then passed through the cooling fluid passage. Heat from the parallel fluid passages is drawn into the cooling fluid passage and is expelled at the opposite end of the heat exchanger with the cooling fluid. Heat exchangers of this type are often used in vehicle applications such as aircraft engines or car engines.
Devices constructed according to this principle transfer heat from the surface area of the parallel passages into the fluid flowing through the cooling fluid passage. In order to increase the surface area which is capable of dissipating heat, some heat exchangers have added pins extending from the walls of the parallel fluid passages into the air gap. The pins are thermally conductive and thus heat can be conducted from the passages into the pins and dissipated into the cooling fluid. The pins can be held in place using crossed ligaments. A device according to the above described design is referred to as a pin fin heat exchanger. The ligaments also provide more surface area which the fluid being forced through the cooling fluid passage is exposed to, and thereby allow a greater dissipation of heat. Some designs in the art utilize pins where each pin is connected to both of the parallel fluid passages resulting in a post running perpendicular to the parallel fluid passages through the gap. Current heat exchangers using pins have a symmetrical pin profile such as a circular or diamond profile.


The invention relates to a coil component used as a main component of a common mode choke coil or a transformer and a method of manufacturing the same, and the invention is aimed at providing a coil component with a small size and a low height having high differential transmission characteristics and a method of manufacturing the same. A common mode choke coil has a configuration in which an insulation film, a coil conductor, another insulation film, another coil conductor and another insulation film are stacked in the order listed between magnetic substrates provided opposite to each other. The coil conductors have a coil section which is in a trapezoidal general configuration. A top portion of the coil section is formed in a convex configuration such that it bulges in the form of a convex, and a bottom portion of the coil section is formed in a planar configuration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coil component used as a main component of a common mode choke coil or a transformer and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reductions in the size of electronic apparatus such as personal computers and portable phones have resulted in demand for reductions in the size and thickness (low height) of electronic components such as coils and capacitors mounted on internal circuits of electronic apparatus.
However, a wire-wound coil obtained by winding a copper wire or the like around a ferrite core has a problem in that it is difficult to make compact because of structural limitations. Under the circumstance, research and development is active on chip-type coil components which can be provided with a small size and a low height. Known chip-type coil components include multi-layer type coil components provided by forming coil conductor patterns on surfaces of magnetic sheet made of ferrite or the like and stacking the magnetic sheets and thin film type coil components provided by forming insulation films and coil conductors constituted by metal thin films alternately using thin film forming techniques.
Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose common mode choke coils that are thin film type coil components. FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a common mode choke coil 51 taken along a plane including center axes of coil conductors 59 and 61. As shown in FIG. 10, the common mode choke coil 51 has an insulation layer 57 formed by stacking an insulation film between ferrite substrates (magnetic substrates) 53 and 55 which are provided opposite to each other. The coil conductors 59 and 61, which are provided opposite to each other with the insulation film interposed between them and formed in a spiral configuration, are embedded in the insulation layer 57. The insulation layer 57 and the coil conductors 59 and 61 are formed in the order listed using thin film forming techniques.
An open region 63 is formed on an inner peripheral side of the coil conductors 59 and 61 having a spiral configuration by removing the insulation layer 57. An open region 65 is formed on an outer peripheral side of the spiral coil conductors 59 and 61 by removing the insulation layer 57. Magnetic layers 67 are formed to fill the open regions 63 and 65. Further, a bonding layer 69 is formed on the magnetic layers 67 and the insulation layer 57 to bond a magnetic substrate 55.
When the coil conductors 59 and 61 are energized, a magnetic path M is formed such that it passes through the magnetic substrate 53, the magnetic layer 67 in the open region 63, the bonding layer 69, the magnetic substrate 55, the bonding layer 69 again and the magnetic layer 67 in the open region 65 in the section including the center axes of the coil conductors 59 and 61. The bonding layer 69 is a film having a thickness on the order of a few μm, although it is non-magnetic. Therefore, substantially no leakage of the magnetic flux occurs in this part, and the magnetic path M may be regarded as a substantially closed path.
In order to improve differential transmission (balanced transmission) characteristics of the common mode choke coil 51, a capacitance (stray capacitance) C which is generated between the coil conductors 59 and 61 must be made small. The capacitance C is parasitically generated in parallel with inductances of the coil conductors 59 and 61. Therefore, when a relatively high capacitance C is generated, the capacitance C will dominantly constitute the impedance of the common mode choke coil 51 in high frequency bands. Since the impedance constituted by the capacitance C is inversely proportionate to a frequency, the impedance of the common mode choke coil 51 decreases, which results in degradation of differential transmission characteristics.
The capacitance C between the coil conductors 59 and 61 can be expressed by C=ε×(S/d) where d represents the inter-layer distance between the coil conductors 59 and 61; S represents the area in which the conductors face each other; and ε represents the dielectric constant of the region between the coil conductors 59 and 61 (the dielectric constant of the insulation layer 7). Since section of the coil conductors 59 and 61 are formed with a rectangular configuration, the area S over which the coil conductors 59 and 61 face each other is relatively large. Further, the coil conductors 59 and 61 are formed such that the inter-layer distance d between them becomes very small to provide the common mode choke coil 51 with a low height and to maintain predetermined common mode filter characteristics. As a result, a relatively high capacitance C is generated between the coil conductors 59 and 61, and differential transmission characteristics are therefore degraded.
Patent Document 4 discloses a pair of coils disposed in a face-to-face relationship and having a sectional configuration in which corners of the coils are rounded. In comparison to coils having a rectangular section like the coil conductors 59 and 61, the area over which the coils having a sectional configuration with rounded corners face each other at a minimum inter-layer distance between them is smaller, therefore a capacitance generated between the upper and the lower coils become a slightly lower. However, since the area over which the upper and the lower coils face each other at a minimum inter-layer distance is still relatively large in spite of the fact that the coil section has rounded corners, the differential transmission characteristics of the coils cannot be sufficiently improved.
Patent Documents 5 to 7 disclose sectional configurations of a pair of coils provided in a face-to-face relationship in a thin film magnetic head. Surfaces of such coils facing each other are curved or formed in a trapezoidal configuration when viewed in their sections. Since the purpose of such sectional configurations is to achieve effects such as a reduction in the magnetic path length between the magnetic poles of a thin film magnetic head, conductive parts of the upper and lower coils are interleaved between each other, and there are fundamental structural differences between those coils and the common mode choke coil 51, including a difference in wiring between upper and lower coils, i.e., series and parallel wiring.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. JP-A-2003-133135
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. JP-A-11-54326
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-307372
Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent No. 2011372
Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent No. 2677415
Patent Document 6: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. JP-A-2000-182213
Patent Document 7: Japanese patent No. 3086212
To reduce the height of the common mode choke coil 51 and maintain predetermined common mode filter characteristics, the inter-layer distance d between the coil conductors 59 and 61 must be reduced. As a result, a relatively high capacitance C is generated between the coil conductors 59 and 61, which results in a problem in that the differential transmission characteristics cannot be sufficiently improved.

Coil component and method of manufacturing the same


When the rocking side wall is to be opened, the rocking side wall is rotated about a shaft body and a cutout surface comes into contact with a side surface on the upper side of a connection plate When the rocking side wall is further opened with the cutout surface in contact with the side surface on the upper side of the connection plate, the rocking side wall is rotated about the shaft body in operative association with the connection plate. In the middle of the opening motion of the rocking side wall, a rocking axis of the rocking side wall moves from the shaft body to the shaft body. When the rocking side wall is rotated about the shaft body placed closer to the outside than the shaft body, the rocking side wall is opened while being further away from rough crush blades and the crush blades, and this widen the opening between the rocking side walls.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a crusher which can facilitate cleaning of crush debris, reduce cleaning time and prevent crush debris from remaining in the crusher.
2. Description of Related Art
Creation of a recycling society has been of increasing importance in order to solve problems such as environmental pollution or increased industrial waste. For example, in a molding plant for producing molded articles or molded components using synthetic resin typified by plastic, unwanted parts referred to as sprue runners or defective moldings, which are generated in molding, are collected so as to enhance the resources recycling rate of resin material.
For recycling of resin material, collected sprue runners are crushed by a crusher into crush debris having a predetermined size and used as recycle resources. Such a crusher first roughly crushes sprue runners, which have been introduced from an inlet hopper, with a rough crush blade so that the sprue runners can easily be bitten by a crush blade, and then crushes the roughly crushed material with a crush blade into crush debris having a predetermined pellet shape. A single-shaft type crusher, in which a rough crush blade and a crush blade are fixed at one rotating shaft, is composed of a small number of drive components for driving the rotating shaft and has a simple structure, and therefore is utilized in a large number of establishments aiming at in-house recycle.
On the other hand, when material to be crushed is changed, it is necessary to eliminate crush debris remaining in the crusher every time the material is changed, in order to prevent mixing of different materials. It is necessary to detach the rough crush blade and the crush blade or the like for disassembly and cleaning in order to clean the inner part of the crusher, since crush debris remains at a variety of places, such as clearance of a crush blade provided with a blade edge having a complicated shape, the surrounding area of a rough crush blade, or the inner side of a rough crush blade cover for preventing discharge of material roughly crushed by the rough crush blade. Such cleaning task is difficult and requires a fair amount of time. Consequently, a crusher having a double swing structure at a pair of surfaces of a casing body for covering a rough crush blade and a crush blade has been produced in order to reduce cleaning time and facilitate the cleaning task.
FIG. 12 is a schematic side view for illustrating an essential part of a conventional crusher. The crusher has a substantially box-shaped structure. A pair of fixed side walls 52, 52 are arranged away from each other at one opposed positions of a substantially box-shaped body, and a rotating shaft 60 is laid between substantially central parts of the respective fixed side walls 52. The rotating shaft 60 is fitted with a plurality of rough crush blades 54, . . . provided at predetermined intervals and arrangement, and with crush blades 56, . . . arranged between the fixed side walls 52 and the rough crush blades 54 and between the rough crush blades 54. It is to be noted that the orbit of the tip parts of the rough crush blades 54 and crush blades 56 are drawn in broken lines in the figure. A pair of rocking side walls 53, 53 are arranged at the other opposed positions of the substantially box-shaped body so as to be able to rock around rocking shafts 62, 62 which are parallel to the rotating shaft 60. The respective fixed side walls 52 and the respective rocking side walls 53 make up a casing.
At the inner side of one rocking side wall 53, a fixed blade 57, which is composed of a plurality of first fixed blades 57a, . . . and a second fixed blade 57b, is fixed at a predetermined position. The first fixed blades 57a mainly crush sprue runners into crush debris having a predetermined pellet size in cooperation with the crush blades 56, and the second fixed blade 57b makes it easy for the sprue runners to be bitten by the crush blades 56, in cooperation with the rough crush blades 54. Moreover, at the inner side of the rocking side wall 53, a rough crush blade cover 61 for preventing discharge of material roughly crushed by the rough crush blades 54 is provided. The rough crush blade cover 61 forms arcuate space inside thereof so as to cover the rotation orbit of the rough crush blades 54. At the inner side of the other rocking side wall 53, a scraper 55 for scraping and discharging crush debris crushed by the crush blades 56 is fixed at a predetermined position and a rough crush blade cover 61 is provided.
By rotating the rocking side walls 53 about the rocking shafts 62 for a closing operation with handles 64, contact surfaces 61a of the respective rough crush blade covers 61 come into contact with each other, preventing discharge of material roughly crushed by the rough crush blades 54. Moreover, by rotating the rocking side walls 53 about the rocking shafts 62 and supporting the rocking side walls 53 with supporting members 63, a double swing structure of the casing body is realized. With such a structure, it becomes possible to achieve the cleaning task without detaching the rough crush blades 54 and the crush blades 56 or the like for disassembly.
Moreover, produced is a chopping machine (crusher), maintenance of which can be performed easily with a structure wherein a rough crush blade cover is separated into a rough crush blade cover fixed at a rocking side wall and a rough crush blade casing detachable from a rocking side wall, the detachable rough crush blade casing (an intermediate member of a rough crush blade cover) is placed at the lower side of the rotating shaft, and the rough crush blade casing is supported with a clamp cam (see, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-105863).


An imaging incident angle tracking device, including: a light source; a first and second beam splitters or dichroic mirrors; a position sensitive detector; wherein the first and second beam splitters or dichroic mirrors are configured to direct light from the light source to a window surface through an objective lens; the first and second beam splitters or dichroic mirrors is further configured to direct the light reflected from the window surface and through the objective lens into the position sensitive detector. A positioning system, including: a baseplate; a platform; a plurality of strut assemblies connecting the baseplate and the platform; wherein each of the strut assembly includes: a linear actuator; a first flexure assembly and a second flexure assembly at the first and second ends of the strut assembly; the first and second flexure assemblies are rigid along and flexibly bendable orthogonal to the length of the strut assembly.

For most optical microscopes the objective lens and sample are mounted on different stages. For imaging targets with sophisticated profiles, a stage may have up to six degrees of freedom to move the objective to the ideal position, which takes into account the angle relative to the sample. For in vivo imaging applications where imaging through a sample window is necessary, it is essential to keep the imaging objective normal to the window surface in order to maintain high optical resolution and minimize aberrations.
Most multiphoton physiological objectives are designed as water dipping lenses to better match the refractive index of tissue. However, imaging tissue through the sample window (usually glass cover slip) adds an additional change in index of refraction interface. The window acts as a glass wedge between these two medium. FIG. 1A shows an objective 110 immersed in a liquid medium (e.g., water) 120 over a window 130 which is normal to the optical axis of the objective lens. As shown in FIG. 1B, when a focused beam goes through it at normal incident, the focal plane will be symmetrically shifted deeper into the sample. While this will introduce some spherical aberration it is not usually detrimental to the optical resolution.
However, as depicted in FIG. 2A, if the window 230 is not normal to the optical axis of the objective 210 immersed in liquid 220, then the shift in focus is not symmetrical and severe aberration are introduced mostly in the form of astigmatism as shown in FIG. 2B.
The Point Spread Function (PSF) defines the resolution of an optical system. FIG. 3A shows the scenario of a normal incident condition through a 0.17 mm cover slip and FIG. 3B shows an ideal focused spot if the lens is corrected for the cover slip. FIG. 4A shows the scenario where the widow is tilted by 15° from the normal to the optical axis and FIG. 4B shows a severe aberration in the PSF. Simulations in Zemax between these two scenarios give drastic differences. Therefore, it is important to keep the imaging objective normal to the window surface in order to maintain high optical resolution and minimize aberrations.
To properly align the window with the optical axis of the objective lens, a stage may have up to six degrees of freedom to move the objective to the ideal position, which takes into account the angle relative to the sample. This may be accomplished with a Gough-Stewart platform, also known as hexapod, which is a type of parallel robot that has six prismatic actuators, commonly hydraulic jacks or electric actuators, attached in pairs to three positions on the platform's baseplate, crossing over to three mounting points on a top plate. Devices placed on the top plate can be moved in the six degrees of freedom in which it is possible for a freely-suspended body to move. These are the three linear movements X, Y, Z (lateral, longitudinal and vertical), and the three rotations pitch, roll, and yaw.
Typically, the mounting points on the plates include ball joints or universal joints for allowing free rotation at the mounting points. In high precision applications, high rigidity and near-zero play at the joints are essential for accurate positioning of the platform. However, ball joints and universal joints do have some play between the moving parts, such as the ball and socket, and the contact surfaces tend to wear out over time due to friction. Therefore, there is a need for an alternative joint for use in the platform to provide rigidity and zero play such that a truly parallel kinematic positioning stage may be realized.


A light emitting device includes a substrate, a laminated body formed by stacking a first cladding layer, a first active layer, a second cladding layer, a third cladding layer, a second active layer, and a fourth cladding layer on the substrate in this order, a first electrode connected to the first cladding layer, a second electrode connected to the second cladding layer and the third cladding layer, and a third electrode connected to the fourth cladding layer, the first active layer generates first light using the first electrode and the second electrode, the second active layer generates second light using the second electrode and the third electrode, and a side surface of the first active layer is provided with an emitting section for emitting the first light, and a side surface of the second active layer is provided with an emitting section for emitting the second light.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a light emitting device, a super-luminescent diode, and a projector.
2. Related Art
A super-luminescent diode (hereinafter also referred to as an "SLD") is a semiconductor light emitting element, which is capable of providing an output up to several hundreds of mW with a single element similarly to a semiconductor laser while having a broad spectrum and thus being incoherent similarly to an ordinary light emitting diode.
The SLD is used as, for example, a light source of a projector. For example, there has been proposed a system of a projector disposing each of the SLD for emitting red light, green light, and blue light immediately below a light valve, and simultaneously performing control of the emission angle of the light (collection, collimation, and so on) and uniform illumination using microlenses. It is desirable in such a projector to form two or more colors of light sources (out of the three colors) on the same substrate in order to achieve common use of the optical system for miniaturization and cost reduction of the projector.
For example, JP-A-2002-299750 discloses a technology of forming two semiconductor lasers with respective wavelengths on the same substrate.
By using the technology described above, it is possible to form the semiconductor lasers or the SLDs respectively having two colors of blue and green on the same substrate.
However, in the light emitting device described in the patent document mentioned above, an n-side electrode and a p-side electrode for injecting current into an active layer are formed on the both sides of the light emitting device across the active layer and the substrate. Therefore, there is a problem that the layout of the wiring lines to be electrically connected to the electrodes is made complicated and a higher mounting cost is required when mounting the light emitting device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Light emitting device, super-luminescent diode, and projector


A method (100) for providing continuous communication service from a partially populated satellite constellation includes deploying one or more phases of satellites to populate one or more sets of orbital planes (210), and providing continuous communication service from the one or more sets of orbital planes. Satellites (320) in each phase of satellites can be positioned to reside substantially the same as a position in which they will reside in a fully populated satellite constellation thereby eliminating the need to relocate satellites in the fully populated satellite constellation. Also, a communication unit (600) and a method (700) for the communication unit to communicate in a satellite communication system having a satellite constellation capable of being deployed in a plurality of phases is provided. The communication unit is capable of communicating with the satellite communication system at various minimum elevation angles during various phases of deployment. Additionally, an antenna apparatus (800) adapted for providing satellite service at various minimum elevation angles during various phases of deployment also is provided.

Within the past decade, the telecommunication industry has seen a marked increase in demand not only for globally interconnected telephone services but also for global interconnection for broadband services. In recent years, the industry has seen the first serious consideration of Nongeostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellite constellations using Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and/or Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites and/or some combination of LEO, MEO, and/or Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites to respond to the rapidly expanding demand for global telecommunication services. These proposed satellite communication systems have the potential to provide world-wide and/or regional coverage at a much lower cost than would be possible using a terrestrial fiber-optic network. Such proposed satellite communication systems also have the potential for providing economical services to virtually any point on the earth, even to remote or sparsely populated areas where it may not be economically feasible to deploy a terrestrial network, through satellite-tosatellite and satellite-to-ground links.
In addition to the various satellite communication systems proposed for use in the telecommunication industry, satellites systems have been proposed for numerous other uses as well, including for example, remote sensing, resource mapping, sale of information from space, and navigation (or global positioning).
Of various satellite systems that have been proposed, some propose to provide world-wide coverage, while others propose to provide regional coverage, or coverage within a particular latitude band. Among these proposed satellite systems, use of satellite constellations designed with both polar and inclined orbits have been proposed.
Such proposed satellite systems generally include large satellite constellations made up of numerous satellites and possibly even as many as several hundred satellites. Manufacturing all of the satellites needed to populate relatively large satellite constellations and launching and deploying all of these satellites into their proper orbital positions to provide a fully populated satellite constellation generally requires a very large capital expenditure and is a very lengthy process. For example, providing a fully populated, fully operational satellite even of less than 100 satellites could require capital expenditure in the billions of dollars and could take years to complete.
In prior art GEO satellite systems, the satellite system operator generally can provide service and begin collecting revenues from providing service to a first market area after deploying as few as one satellite. This is because by nature of their orbit, GEO satellites can provide continuous visibility in a relatively large coverage area with only one GEO satellite. Revenues generated with this first satellite can then be used to provide funding to manufacture, launch and deploy additional GEO satellites to additional market areas.
The dynamics of NGSO satellite systems do not readily allow for derivation of revenues after launching and deploying a single satellite or even several satellites, as providing continuous service from such as system would not be feasible. One option for deriving early revenue, or deriving revenue at a point in time that is earlier than the time when the constellation is expected to be fully populated, would be to employ a rapid deployment campaign. A rapid deployment campaign involves populating the constellation by placing the entire constellation in space via multiple satellite launches where multiple satellites are launched per launch vehicle within a very short time period. This option, however, is very costly and very time and resource intensive.
A phased deployment option for a MEO satellite communication system to provide service in a portion of a potential subscriber population is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,190, to Hornstein et al. The system described in this patent and other similar prior art systems employ a phased deployment option where an "original system" which utilizes a "minimum number of satellites" to "reduce the initial capital investment" in an initial phase of deployment. This option requires partially populating each orbit of the proposed constellation with at least one satellite to provide service in a portion of the potential subscriber population. This option also requires that the satellites deployed in the "original" phase be relocated or moved in space during later phases of deployment and certainly before the "fill satellite constellation" is provided. This need to relocate the satellites after they have been deployed is undesirable because it is very costly in terms of fuel requirements, may result in a requirement to adjust the attitude of one or more satellites in space, and almost inevitably results in disruption of service in the service regions where early service is being provided during the relocation process.
Thus what is needed is a method and apparatus for providing early service from a portion of a satellite constellation of a proposed satellite system to enable derivation of revenues before the satellite constellation is fully deployed and operational. What is further needed is a method and apparatus for providing such early service by populating the portion of the satellite constellation in a manner that will not require substantial relocation of the satellites after the satellites have been placed in orbit for providing the early service.

Method and apparatus for early service using phased satellite depolyment


A method and apparatus for processing ultrasonic image signals is disclosed. The method involves receiving a plurality of input sample values representing reflected sound waves in a ultrasonic system, exponentiating each input sample to produce a plurality of respective exponentiated sample values, conditioning the exponentiated sample values to produce conditioned exponentiated sample values for receipt by an imageformer, and causing the imageformer to produce an image representing the ultrasonic sound waves in response to the conditioned exponentiated sample values.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to ultrasound systems for inspecting a material and more particularly to processing ultrasound image signals.
2. Description of Related Art
Ultrasonic sound waves are commonly used when it is desired to perform a non-destructive or non-invasive inspection of a material, such as an organic body tissue, for example. Ultrasound systems are generally configured for either industrial or medical inspections. However the underlying principles of operation of such devices remain substantially the same and a major differentiator between medical and industrial systems is the type of material being inspected.
Ultrasound systems are generally useful in providing a display of internal structural characteristics of a material or objects located within the material. In some medical ultrasound inspections it is desired to view a relative position of objects within an organic body material. Such objects may be more highly reflecting than most body tissues.
For example, in prostate brachytherapy, an ultrasound system with a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) transducer may be used to image a needle and/or small radioactive seeds, which are introduced into the prostate through a bore of the needle. The radioactive seeds are generally cylindrical, are typically less than 5 mm in length, and have a diameter of about 0.5 mm to about 1 mm, such that they can pass through typical needle bores. The radioactive seeds may include a medically-suitable radioisotope, for example I-125 or Pd-103. Conventional brightness mode (B-mode) ultrasonography is generally accepted to be unreliable for displaying objects within the prostate tissue.
Several methods and specialized apparatus have been employed for seed detection in brachytherapy using ultrasound.
PCT Patent application WO2005/092197A1 by Fenster et al. discloses an apparatus for automated seed segmentation from three-dimensional (3D) B-mode TRUS images. However, the use of 3D images is unlikely to increase the contrast between the implanted seeds and the surroundings, when using B-mode signals to produce the images.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,802 to Thornton et al. discloses a localization system that combines X-Ray fluoroscopy together with B-mode TRUS ultrasonography for identifying the radioactive seeds. However an image combination and registration requirement between the X-ray and ultrasound images is likely to increase examination time and cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,016B1 to Daft et al. discloses a post-beamformer signal processing algorithm for improving ultrasound B-mode resolution and contrast. The algorithm is based on a model of the imaging process that represents a shape of the pulse transmitted by the transducer and the frequency-dependent attenuation of that pulse as it propagates through tissue and back to the transducer, the effects of changes in frequency-dependent attenuation, and changes in scatterer density as the pulse propagates across tissue boundaries and through cystic and calcified structures.
US Patent Application 2004/0039284A1 by Alam et al. discloses several methods for enhancing the image of brachytherapy seeds by processing ultrasound radio frequency (RF) signals. A first disclosed approach employs Doppler ultrasound in which the radioactive seeds are vibrated within the tissue by vibration-inducing equipment. A second disclosed approach involves correlating image signatures with a reference signature of the radioactive seed, and a third approach discloses the use of elastography (strain imaging) wherein at least two sequential RF images under different levels of external compression are used.
There remains a need for better methods and apparatus for the ultrasound inspection of materials and particularly for inspection of organic tissues.

Method and apparatus for processing ultrasound image signals


A light measuring device is designed, so that excitation light, emitted by a light source, is guided through an excitation light optical fiber to irradiate a sample, and that fluorescence discharged by the sample is guided to an optical detection system through a receiving light optical fiber. A coupling lens is arranged ahead of the excitation light optical fiber and ahead of the receiving light optical fiber on the sample side. A sample container for retaining a sample is so designed that a lens portion, for collecting excitation light and fluorescence, is integrally formed with the cylindrical bottom. According to this arrangement, excitation light is changed to parallel light or converged light by the coupling lens, and is collected at the sample by the lens portion integrally formed with the bottom of the sample container.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical coupling system comprising a light measuring device and a sample. More specifically, the present invention relates to an optical coupling system wherein a coupling lens is arranged ahead of an optical fiber and a lens portion is integrally formed at the bottom of a sample container, and excitation light, transmitted by the optical fiber, is efficiently coupled with the sample by the coupling lens and the lens portion, and an optical coupling system wherein light generated by a sample is efficiently coupled with an optical fiber by a lens portion and a coupling lens. This technology can be applied for a light measuring device, for example, that irradiates a sample with excitation light, and measures the intensity of fluorescence generated by the excited sample.
2. Related Art
As a technique that physically or chemically examines or analyzes a material, a light measuring device is available that excites a sample through the radiation of light, and measures light generated by the excited sample to obtain various data concerning the sample. Example light measuring devices are an apparatus that measures the intensity of fluorescence having a specified wavelength that is emitted by an excited sample, or that measures a transient change in fluorescence and detects a specified material or monitors a change in density, and an apparatus that measures the spectrum of fluorescence emitted by a sample to perform a quantitative or qualitative analysis. Since both apparatuses are capable of conducting highly sensitive measurements and are appropriate for the performance of microanalysis, they are widely employed. When a liquid sample is used, during the measurement process the sample is retained in a transparent sample container that permits irradiation with an excitation light and fluorescence.
For these light measuring devices, excitation light is projected onto a sample that is positioned at a location to which light from a light source is emitted, and fluorescence generated by the excited sample is appropriately collected and enters an optical detection system. Recently, another structure has been proposed wherein, using an optical fiber, excitation light is transmitted to a sample through a coupling lens, and by using another optical fiber, fluorescence output by the sample is guided through the coupling lens to an optical detection system (see, for example, JP-A-11326210). When the optical fibers are employed in this manner, the degree of freedom is increased for the positional relationships of the sample, the light source and the optical detection system. Further, since the fluorescence to be detected is transmitted through the optical fiber, disturbance light seldom enters the optical system, so that the sensitivity of an analysis of the fluorescence, which in many cases is weak, can be increased.
However, according to the conventional example, fluorescence cannot be efficiently extracted from a sample. As one reason, fluorescence output by the sample container is dispersed. As another reason, since there is a long distance between the sample and the coupling lens, it is difficult for fluorescence to be collected at the coupling lens, and since the irradiation area for excitation light is large and the radiation density is low, the surface emission of fluorescence occurs. Further, in the conventional example, a sample cannot be irradiated efficiently using excitation light. The reason for this is that since an excitation light optical fiber, that has a comparatively large diameter is employed in order to increase the intensity of the excitation light, the excitation light can not be controlled by a coupling lens and directed to a predetermined location for a sample, and thus, the radiation density of the excitation light is lowered.
Additionally, in the conventional example, since the amount of excitation light and the amount of fluorescence are increased as much as possible, an optical fiber having a large diameter, or multiple optical fibers, must be employed, and accordingly, the diameter of the coupling lens must be increased, and to connect the excitation light with the fluorescence, a plurality of lenses are required. Thus, the size of the optical system is increased.

Optical coupling system of light measuring device and sample


A routing system utilizes a layer 2 switch interconnecting several routers to intelligently forward multicast packets throughout an internet exchange carrying multicast content. The layer 2 switch performs protocol snooping to extract a lookup key that is based on network layer protocol information. The lookup key is uniquely formulated to support either shared or explicit source distribution trees. The lookup key is used to query a forwarding memory that returns an outgoing port index. The outgoing port index points to one or more outgoing ports that are eligible to receive the multicast packet. The outgoing ports are also connected to the neighboring device(s) that are designated to receive the multicast packet. The routing system also supports real time maintenance and updating of the forwarding memory based on the periodic exchange of control messages. The routing system is configured to support PIM routers operating in PIM SM or PIM SSM modes. However, the routing system can also support other multicast protocols and/or standards.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communication internetworking, and more specifically, to forwarding signals within a communications network.
2. Related Art
With the advent of the World Wide Web (WWW), global computer networks have quickly become cost-effective and reliable mediums for the exchange and management of information within an extensive array of computers and smaller computer networks. The computer networks vary in size and type such as, local internets, corporate intranets, local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), private enterprise networks, and the like. The global Internet is the most commonly known global computer network.
The evolution of global computer networks and supporting technologies has made it possible for government officials, educational institutions, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and individuals to communicate with the local networks or personal computers of other persons or organizations. The recreational and entertainment industries are also using global computer networks to expand their potential customer bases. As a result, more individuals and companies are using the Internet, for example, to transmit and/or multicast content for a variety of personal and business reasons. For example, a recording company may broadcast a live concert over the Internet to subscribers. As another example, a television production company may multicast a televised show over the Internet to a group of subscribers.
As more individuals and/or organizations take advantage of global networks to multicast content to a group of subscribers, greater emphasis must be placed on designing a distribution network capable of handling periods of heavy traffic. In a conventional multicast Internet exchange, a network of routers is provided to transport the multicast content from a host-server to the client members of a group. Typically, the multicast packets are transmitted to every available router within a virtual local area network (VLAN). Upon receipt of the multicast packets, the routers must determine the destination and forward the packets downstream to the next router or client end station.
Flooding multicast traffic to every port within a VLAN is not the most efficient or cost-effective way to forward multicasts. As such, some multicast protocols have been developed to limit the multicast traffic to a few select ports within a VLAN. The ports are selected by determining whether the port communicates directly or indirectly with a client group member. An example of such a limited multicast protocol is described in Experimental Internet Protocol Standard, Request for Comments (RFC) 2362 (Internet Architecture Board) as Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) Sparse Mode (SM).
However, even with a limited multicast protocol, there exists no conventional method for quickly, efficiently, and inexpensively forwarding a multicast packet by a layer 2 switch. The term "layer" is used herein to refer to, for example, a layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) seven-layer Reference Model. As apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s), a layer 2 switch operates at the data link layer or layer 2 as defined by the OSI Reference Model. At layer 3 or network layer, as defined by the OSI Reference Model, forwarding activity is performed by a router.
Commercially available switches, such as those available from Cisco Systems, Inc., create a special label or tag for multicast packets. Although tag switching enables a router to read the tag and forward the packet, the router must be specially configured to be able to interpret the tag. A hub, a commonly used layer 2 device, broadcasts traffic to all interfaces. This is expensive in terms of bandwidth usage, and inefficient as traffic is sent unnecessarily to interfaces or networks that may not require the traffic, thereby wasting network and CPU resources.
Other conventional network devices, such as routers, use the network layer to route and forward multicasts. Layer 3 processing requires additional processing time and memory. As such, like tag switching, the routing device must be specially configured to implement these processing requirements.
Therefore, a method and system are needed to address the above problems, and provide layer 2 processing to forward multicast packets efficiently and quickly.

Method and system for intelligently forwarding multicast packets


Historical content corresponding to activity of a user in at least one social networking service is aggregated. The historical content indicates a plurality of collaboration partners with whom the user collaborated via the at least one social networking service in an occupation context. Based on the aggregated historical content, at least one of the collaboration partners can be identified as at least one priority collaboration partner. Whether the user currently is not in a facility where the user works can be automatically determined. Responsive to determining that the user is not in the facility where the user works, a message indicating that the user is not in the facility where the user works can be automatically sent to the at least one priority collaboration partner.

Arrangements described herein relate to unavailability notifications.
Collaboration among co-workers is a fundamental requirement in today's business environment. Nearly all leading businesses endorse the value of high-performance teams collaboratively working together. Oftentimes, however, team members are dispersed in different locations. Technological innovations developed in recent decades, such as the Internet, network based collaboration systems, voice conferencing systems, video conferencing systems, etc., allow such team members to collaborate from disparate locations. Still, team members generally need to know the availability of other team members in order to participate in collaborative working sessions with the other team members.

Sending an out-of-facility notification based on aggregated content from a task management system

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A method of monitoring the integrity of the path and flow of digital PCM data from a source end to a receiving end which includes generating a pseudo-random sequence of bits at the source end, transmitting the pseudo-random sequence of bits together with the PCM data through a transmission path to a receiving end, and applying the pseudo-random sequence of bits to a pseudo-random bit sequence checker at the receiving end.

In large digital PCM switching systems, one must monitor the switching system to ensure that it is operating correctly. Because of the large number of PCM channels that may be routed by a relatively small amount of circuitry, the core of the switching system is typically duplicated to provide redundancy so as to increase the availability of the system. Typically, two planes of switching circuitry operate simultaneously, with one plane acting as a hot standby for the other. PCM data from each source is routed to both switching planes and at each destination, circuitry selects PCM data from one of the switching planes, falling back to the other switching plane if required. In order to benefit from this redundancy, one must be able to detect a failure in the active switching plane and quickly switch over to the still functional switching plane while the failed switching plane is taken out of service so that failed circuits can be identified and replaced without affecting service (provided that another fault does not occur in the still functional switching plane while it is operating without a backup). Thus, rapid detection and diagnosis of a fault is required to minimize "downtime" of the PCM switching capability.
In typical PCM switching systems, data to be routed through the switch consists of an 8 bit PCM sample. Such samples are normally presented to the switching system at an 8 kHz rate, and are often grouped into time division multiplexed (TDM) frames carrying multiple PCM sample streams, where the frame repetition rate is 8 kHz. In many cases a lower bit rate channel is routed together with the PCM sample in order to carry signaling information. Modern systems usually allow for four state signaling and, thus require 4 bits to encode the signaling state. With frames being transmitted at 8 kHz there is a 125 microsecond interval between one frame and the next. With a requirement that PCM data be transmitted at a 64 kbit/s rate, this requires transmission of 8 bits every 125 microseconds or, in other words, one 8 bit word every frame. The requirement for signaling throughput is only 1.333 kbit/s in North America and 2 kbit/s in Europe and elsewhere. This means that transmitting only 1 bit per frame of signaling data would be more than adequate. Both requirements could be met by transmitting a 9 bit word every frame with one bit being of signaling data and the other 8 bits being PCM data. In fact, only 4 bits need be sent every 16 to 24 frames (referred to as a multi-frame).
When sending data through a switch core three types of checks are required, namely, a data integrity check, a path integrity check, and a flow integrity check. A data integrity check determines if the data was altered as it passes through the switch core. This is typically accomplished by adding a parity bit to the word of PCM data that is routed through the switch core. Generation and checking of parity is extremely simple. However, a parity bit does not permit path or flow integrity checking.
It is possible for a data path to become altered on occasion and for a given destination to be receiving data from the wrong source. Consequently, it is desirable to do a regular path integrity check. Many switch cores do not incorporate such a check. Those that do often accomplish such a check by adding an extra bit to the word of PCM data that is routed through the switch core to implement a data link. By exchanging messages through this data link, connectivity can be regularly checked. The problem with this approach is that the circuitry to exchange such messages may be quite complex and slow to detect a path integrity failure.
A flow integrity check determines if data continues to flow via the switch core path. Many switch cores do not incorporate such a check. Those that do often accomplish a flow integrity check by adding an extra bit to the word of PCM data that is routed through the switch core. Such an extra bit implements a data link as for the extra bit for the path integrity check discussed above by which messages may be exchanged and flow integrity monitored. Typically, this is accomplished using the same bit as used for the data link. The problem with this approach, as for the path integrity check using an extra bit, is that the circuitry to exchange such messages may be quite complex and slow to detect a flow integrity failure.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for checking path and flow integrity. It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple circuit for monitoring path and flow integrity.


Tire (1) for a heavy-duty vehicle of civil engineering type, and more particularly to the tread (2) thereof, and seeks to improve the grip thereof, while at the same time ensuring a satisfactory compromise with wearing and thermal endurance. The tread (2) comprises cuts (3, 4, 5) distributed, in a circumferential direction (XX′) of the tire, among circumferential grooves (3) and, in an axial direction (YY′) of the tire, transverse sipes (4) and transverse grooves (5), the cuts (3, 4, 5) delimiting elements in relief (6), each cut (3, 4, 5) being delimited by two faces facing one another and each face intersecting the tread surface (21) along an edge corner (311, 321; 411, 421; 511, 521). The tread (2) having a longitudinal edge corners ratio TAX equal to the ratio LX/S between the sum LX of the projections, on to the circumferential direction (XX′), of the effective edge corner lengths, contained in an elementary tread surface portion of surface area S, and the surface area S, and a transverse edge corners ratio TAY equal to the ratio LY/S between the sum LY of the projections, onto the axial direction (YY′), of the effective edge corner lengths, contained in an elementary tread surface portion of surface area S, and the surface area S, the longitudinal edge corners ratio TAX is at least equal to 4 m−1 and the transverse edge corners ratio TAY is at least equal to 6 m−1.

In this document:                a radial direction means a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the tire, corresponding to the direction of the thickness of the tread.        an axial or transverse direction means a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the tire.        a circumferential or longitudinal direction means a direction tangential to the circumference of the tire, perpendicular both to the axial direction and to a radial direction.        an equatorial plane is a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the tire and dividing the tread widthwise into two halves of equal widths.
The tread is that part of the tire that comprises at least one elastomeric material and is intended to come into contact with the ground via a tread surface and to be worn away.
In order to ensure satisfactory performance in terms of longitudinal grip, in traction and braking, and transverse grip, it is necessary to form within the tread a more or less complex system of cuts separating elements in relief, referred to as a tread pattern
In the present document, a cut generically denotes either a groove or a sipe and corresponds to the space delimited by walls of material that face one another and are at a distance from one another which distance is referred to as the "width of the cut". It is precisely this difference that differentiates a sipe from a groove. In the case of a sipe, this distance is suited to allowing the opposing walls delimiting the said sipe to come into at least partial contact with one another at least in the contact patch in which the tread is in contact with the ground, when the tire is subjected to nominal recommended loading and pressure conditions. In the case of a groove, the walls of this groove cannot come into contact with one another under normal running conditions.
By definition, an element in relief formed in the tread extending in the circumferential direction over the entire circumference of the tire is referred to as a rib. A rib comprises two lateral walls and a contact face, the contact face being part of the tread surface intended to come into contact with the ground during running. A rib is delimited by two circumferential cuts or circumferential grooves, unless the said rib is an axially exterior portion of the tread delimited, in this case, on just one side by a circumferential groove.
The tread thus generally comprises cuts distributed among circumferential (or longitudinal) grooves, transverse (or axial) grooves, and transverse (or axial) sipes. What is meant by a circumferential groove is a groove the mean profile of which forms, with the circumferential direction, an angle at most equal to 45°: this is a groove the mean profile of which has an a circumferential overall direction, which means to say of which the mean inclination is closer to the circumferential than axial direction. What is meant by a transverse groove or sipe is a cut the mean profile of which forms, with the circumferential direction, an angle at least equal to 45°: this is a cut the mean profile of which has an axial overall direction, which means to say of which the mean inclination is closer to the axial than circumferential direction. Thus a transverse cut may be strictly transverse, which means to say that its mean profile forms, with the circumferential direction, an angle equal to 90°, or substantially oblique, which means to say that its mean profile forms, with the circumferential direction, an angle strictly smaller than 90°.
The tread is generally geometrically characterized by an axial width WT and a radial thickness HT. The axial width WT is defined as being the axial width of the contact surface of the tread of the new tire with smooth ground, the tire being subjected to pressure and load conditions as recommended, for example, by the E.T.R.T.O (European Tire and Rim Technical Organization) standard. The radial thickness HT is defined, by convention, as being the maximum radial depth measured in the cuts, usually in the circumferential grooves. In the case of a tire for a heavy-duty vehicle of civil engineering type, and by way of example, the axial width WT is at least equal to 600 mm and the radial thickness HT is at least equal to 70 mm.
Usually, the tread comprises at least two circumferential grooves positioned axially one on each side of the equatorial plane. Each circumferential groove extends axially between two substantially circumferential faces, radially toward the inside from the tread surface as far as a bottom face and circumferentially around the entire circumference of the tire. Each circumferential groove positioned axially, with respect to the equatorial plane, at an axial distance L, has a radial depth H, the mean value over the entire periphery of the tire, measured between the tread surface and the bottom face, the radial depth H being at least equal to 70% of the radial thickness HT and at most equal to the radial thickness HT. Each circumferential groove also has an axial width W, the mean value over the radial depth H of the distance measured between the two substantially circumferential faces of the circumferential groove.
The tread may be divided into a middle portion having an axial width We at least equal to 50% and at most equal to 80% of the total width WT, generally although not necessarily delimited axially by the two axially outermost circumferential grooves, and two lateral portions positioned respectively one on each side of the middle portion and each having an axial width WS at least equal to 10% and at most equal to 25% of the total width WT. Specifically, the middle portion and the lateral portions are subjected to significantly different mechanical loadings and this may entail different design choices from one portion to another, notably given the fact of a great deal of variation in the load applied to the tire during use, according to whether the vehicle is laden or empty.
The usual running conditions, in terms of pressure, load and speed, for a tire for a heavy-duty vehicle of the civil engineering type such as, for a dumper intended to transport materials extracted from quarries or opencast mines, are particularly harsh. By way of example, on sites at which materials, such as ores or coal, are extracted, the use of a vehicle of dumper type consists, in simplified form, of an alternation of laden outbound cycles and of unladen return cycles. In a laden outbound cycle, the laden vehicle transports the extracted materials, mainly uphill, from the loading zones at the bottom of the mine, or the bottom of the pit, to unloading zones, thereby requiring that the tires have good grip in traction. In an unladen return cycle, the empty vehicle returns, mainly downhill, towards the loading zones at the bottom of the mine, thereby requiring good tire grip under braking. The often sloping tracks are also often winding, which requires that the tires have good transverse grip. Furthermore, the tracks on which the vehicles run are made up of materials generally taken from the mine, for example compacted crushed rocks which are regularly damped down in order to guarantee the integrity of the wearing layer of the track as the vehicles pass over it and which are often covered with mud and water: thereby requiring this mixture of mud and water to be removed by the tread in order to guarantee satisfactory grip on muddy ground.
It is known that the grip of a tire is dependent in particular on the number of cuts in the tread, and, more particularly, on the cumulative length of the effective edge corners of these cuts in the contact patch in which the tread is in contact with the ground. Any cut comprises two edge corners, an edge corner being the intersection of a face of the cut with the tread surface. What is meant by an effective edge corner is an edge corner which has a significant indentation effect with respect to the ground. By way of example, regarding the transverse cuts, only one edge corner is truly effective with respect to longitudinal grip: the edge corner referred to as the leading edge corner, which is first to enter the contact patch is effective in terms of longitudinal grip in traction, and the edge corner referred to as the trailing edge corner, which is last to enter the contact patch, is effective with respect to longitudinal grip under braking. Thus, half of the edge corners are effective depending on the type of loading of the tread, for example longitudinally, under the effect of driving or braking torque, or transversely. Therefore the cumulative length of the effective edge corners is equal to half the cumulative length of all the edge corners or to the cumulative length of the neutral axes of the cuts.
Thus there are two types of tread feature that are often used: the overall volume voids ratio TEG, longitudinal volume voids ratio TEX and transverse volume voids ratio TEY and the longitudinal edge corners ratio TAX and transverse edge corners ratio TAY.
By definition, the overall volume voids ratio TEG of the tread is equal to the ratio between the total volume VD of the cuts, measured on the unconstrained tire, namely on the tire when it is not mounted and not inflated, and the sum of the total volume VD of the cuts and of the total volume YR of the elements in relief delimited by these cuts. The sum VD+VR corresponds to the volume comprised radially between the tread surface and a bottom surface, translated from the tread surface radially inwards by a radial distance equal to the radial thickness HT of the tread. This overall volume voids ratio TEG, expressed as a %, governs the wearing performance in terms of the volume of wearable rubber available, and the longitudinal and transverse grip performance, through the presence of respectively transverse and longitudinal edge corners and of cuts capable of storing or removing water or mad.
The overall volume voids ratio TEG can be broken down into the sum of a longitudinal volume voids ratio TEX and of a transverse volume voids ratio TEY. The longitudinal volume voids ratio TEX is equal to the ratio between the total volume YDX of the longitudinal cuts, of circumferential groove type, and the sum of the total volume YD of the cuts and of the total volume YR of the elements in relief delimited by these cuts: it governs the performance in terms of wear, the thermal performance and the performance in terms of transverse grip. The transverse volume voids ratio TEY is equal to the ratio between the total volume YDY of the transverse cuts, of sipe and groove type, and the sum of the total volume YD of the cuts and of the total volume YR of the elements in relief delimited by these cuts: it governs the performance in terms of wear, the thermal performance and the performance in terms of longitudinal grip.
A volume voids ratio may also be determined for a portion of the tread in order to evaluate the contribution made by this portion to the performance in terms of wear and in terms of grip. It is thus possible to define, for the middle portion of the tread, a middle volume voids ratio TEC, equal to the ratio between the total volume YDC of the cuts in the middle portion and the sum of the total volume YDC of the cuts in the middle portion and of the total volume YRC of the elements in relief of the middle portion which are delimited by these cuts. The sum VDC+VRC corresponds to the volume of the middle portion comprised radially between the tread surface and a bottom surface, translated from the tread surface radially inwards by a radial distance equal to the radial thickness HT of the tread. Similarly, it is possible to define, for each lateral portion, a lateral volume voids ratio TES, equal to the ratio between the total volume YDS of the cuts in the lateral portion and the sum of the total volume YDS of the cuts in the lateral portion and of the total volume YRS of the elements in relief of the lateral portion which are delimited by these cuts. The sum VDS+VRS corresponds to the volume of the lateral portion comprised radially between the tread surface and a bottom surface, translated from the tread surface radially inwards by a radial distance equal to the radial thickness HT of the tread. It should be noted that the volume of a circumferential groove delimiting the middle portion and a lateral portion is taken into consideration, half of it in the calculation of the middle volume voids ratio TEC and half in the calculation of the lateral volume voids ratio TES.
Regarding the edge corners ratio, the longitudinal edge corners ratio TAX is the ratio LX/S between the sum LX of the projections, onto the circumferential direction XX′, of the effective edge corner lengths, contained in an uncut elementary tread surface portion of surface area S, and the surface area S. The longitudinal edge corners ratio TAX does not take account of the edge corners of the axial ends of the tread. The elementary tread surface portion conventionally corresponds to an elementary pattern of which the repeat in the circumferential direction constitutes the tread surface. The longitudinal edge corners ratio TAX, expressed in m−, governs the transverse grip which is better the higher the longitudinal edge corners ratio TAX. Similarly, the transverse edge corners ratio TAY is the ratio LY/S, between the sum LY of the projections, onto the axial direction YY′, of the effective edge corner lengths, contained in a tread surface portion of surface area S, and the surface area S. The transverse edge corners ratio TAY, expressed in m−1, governs the longitudinal grip in braking and in traction, which is better the higher the transverse edge corners ratio TAY.

Tread for a tire of a heavy civil engineering vehicle

COMPAGNIE GENERALE DES ETABLISSEMENTS MICHELIN


A loading system for 80 mm and 120 mm CDs in a player of a deck of a vehicle. This loading system has a pair of pivotal stoppers which are interengaged by teeth and which guide the compact discs onto a turntable. The stoppers are latched in a locked position to guide the 80 mm disc and are unlatched when a 120 mm disc is inserted into the player. In order to prevent backlash in the interengaged teeth, an auxiliary locking member is provided to lock the stoppers when the 80 mm disc is inserted and to unlock the stoppers when the 120 mm disc is inserted. A pivotal locking member is released when the 120 mm disc is inserted into the player and the auxiliary locking member is connected to the pivotal locking member by a projection engaged in a recess.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compact disc drive for motor vehicles and more particularly to a loading assistant system for precisely and stably guiding an 80 mm disc onto a turntable when the disc is loaded in a compact disc drive which is designed to be commonly used for both an 80 mm disc and a 120 mm disc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, there are two types of compact discs, i.e. compact discs having a size of 80 mm and 120 mm in diameter, each of which is played in an 80 mm compact disc drive and a 120 mm compact disc drive for motor vehicles, respectively. As the case may be, the compact disc drive is designed to use both the 80 mm disc and the 120 mm disc in common.
In a general construction of the conventional compact disc drive deck as shown in FIGS. 1-3, the deck includes a body case 1 which is defined by a rectangular frame 11, an upper plate member and a lower plate member, and the case is provided with a turntable 2 in its central portion and an insertion slot 12 at its front end as shown in FIG. 1. A transverse axle 4 is disposed within the body case 1, that is, inside of the insertion slot 12 which acts to draw the inserted disc in the body case 1. The transverse axle 4 is surrounded by rubber material and is axially tapered from opposing ends toward the middle portion so as to progressively move the inserted disc in the central portion of the body case 1.
Further, stopper means 3 is provided in the innermost portion of the body case 1 for supporting the fully-inserted disc.
The stopper means 3 consists of a pair of stoppers 3A, 3B pivotally mounted on the inner portion of the body case 1 by pivot pins 31A, 31B, respectively. The left-sided and right-sided stoppers 3A, 3B include toothed portions 32A, 32B at their respective inner ends which engage with each other to permit simultaneous pivotal movement of the stoppers 3A, 3B, and also include downwardly-angled projections 33A, 33B at their respective leading ends. Particularly, a protrusion 34A projects upwardly from a central portion of the left-sided stopper 3A and a hook 35B is formed in the middle of the right-sided stopper 3B.
In detail, the stopper means 3 supports the inserted disc so that a center of the disc is guided onto the turntable 2 on condition that the stoppers 3A, 3B are not spread out in the case of the smaller 80 mm disc and that the stoppers 3A, 3B are spread out in case of the larger 120 mm disc.
For this purpose, on one side within the body case 1, a locking member 5 for the 80 mm disc is provided to prevent the stopper means 3 from being spread out whereas a pivot lever 8 for the 120 mm disc is provided to release the locking member 5 and so operate the stopper means 3.
The locking member 5 is mounted on the body case 1 by a pivot pin 51 and comprises a left-sided outer end portion 52 extending in a longitudinal direction, a left-sided inner end portion 54 having a latching jaw 53, and a right-sided hook 55 for a spring. The latching jaw 53 of the left-sided inner end portion 54 can releasably lock the protrusion 34A of the left-sided stopper 3A and the right-sided hook 55 is connected with the hook 35B of the right-sided stopper 3B by a spring 71 loaded therebetween as return means 7.
Also, the pivot lever 8 is pivotally mounted on the body case 1 by a central hinge pin 8' and a contact pin 82 at a leading end of the pivot lever 8 is pushed off by the inserted 120 mm disc. Consequently, a follower pin 83 at a rear end of the pivot lever 8 presses and actuates the left-sided outer end portion 52 of the locking member 5.
If the disc to be inserted is the 120 mm disc, for example, an outer peripheral surface of the disc pushes the contact pin 82 of the pivot lever 8 outwardly to actuate the stopper means 3 and then the follower pin 83 at the opposite end presses the outer end portion 52 of the locking member 5 inwardly as seen from FIG. 1.
Pivotal movement of the outer end portion 52 due to such inward pressing causes the inner end portion 54 to pivot outwardly and thus causes the latching jaw 53 of the inner end portion 54 to be released from the protrusion 34A of the left-sided stopper 3A.
As a result, both the stoppers 3A, 3B of the stopper means 3 can be swiveled backwardly at the same time by the interlocking toothed portions 32A, 32B so as to guide the 120 mm disc in an innermost position and chuck the center of the disc onto turntable 2 without preventing the inward movement of the disc. On the other hand, if the disc is drawn out, the stoppers 3A, 3B are restored by force of the return means, i.e. the spring 71 connected between the locking member 5 and the right-sided stopper 3B.
On the contrary, the 80 mm disc enters the body case 1 without being contacted by the contact pin 82 because of its small diameter. Entrance movement of the disc is stopped by contact with the downward projections 33A, 33B of the two stoppers 3A, 3B whose pivotal movement is prevented by locking action of the locking member 5, and the center of the disc is finally chucked onto the turntable 2 in such a position as shown by a chain line with two dots in FIG. 2.
With the above-mentioned loading system, there is no particular problem in inserting and loading the 120 mm disc D1 because the disc simultaneously comes into contact with both the downward projections 33A, 33B of the stoppers 3A, 3B from the moment of insertion owing to its large diameter and the stoppers 3A, 3B are also spread out simultaneously, whereby the center of the disc D1 is easily and precisely seated on the turntable 2.
However, when the 80 mm disc D2 is inserted, it primarily comes into contact with any one of the stoppers due to its small diameter. Particularly when the disc D2 comes into contact with the downward projection 33B of the right-sided stopper 3B, it is loaded on the turntable 2 not in a position that the stoppers 3A, 3B are spread out simultaneously but in a position that the right-sided stopper 3B is more spread out than the left-sided stopper 3A due to backlash of the toothed portions 32A, 32B. As a result, the smaller 80 mm disc D2 is not centered on the turntable 2, which causes poor chucking of the 80 mm disc.

Loading system for 80mm and 120mm CD's in a vehicle player deck having auxiliary locking for guiding the 80mm disc