Hydrophobic salts are a class of materials comprising electronically delocalized organic cations and polyatomic organic or inorganic anions. These salts, which typically possess melting points of less than 175° C., and more particularly, below 150° C., may also be liquid at room temperature and below.
In the 1940s Hurley and Wier first disclosed the preparation and use of ionic salts, which were fluid at room temperature, comprising the electronically delocalized N-alkylpyridinium cation and haloaluniinate inorganic anions in a series of U.S. Pat. (Nos. 2,446,331, 2,446,339, and 2,446,350). However, the practical utility of these haloaluminate-based pyridinium salts is severely compromised by their extremely high reactivity with trace amounts of water leading to the liberation of heat and toxic gases.
In the 1990s, air and water stable salts comprising the electronically delocalized 1,3-dialkylimidazolium cation and non-haloaluminate anions, e.g. BF4− and PF6− were prepared by Wilkes and coworkers (J Chem. Soc. Chem. Comm. 965 [1992]). However, these salts, because the alkyl groups on the imidazolium cation possessed less than three carbon atoms, have a significant solubility in water and may not be described as "hydrophobic". Ellis describes (WO 9618459) a process for making ionic liquids by reacting a solution of a lead salt of an anion desired in the ionic liquid with 1,3-dialkylimidazolium halide salts, and separating the lead halide precipitate from an aqueous solution of the hydrophilic ionic liquid product. Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,405 Arduengo describes a one-step process for the preparation of salts comprising 1,3-disubstituted imidazolium cations and the conjugate base of an acid. These salts, which are highly hydrophilic, are prepared via reaction of an alpha-dicarbonyl compound, an aldehyde (in toluene), an amine, and an acid comprising hydrogen halides, sulfric acid, or phosphoric acid.
The multi-step preparation of the more technologically useful hydrophobic salts comprising 1,3-dialkylimidazolium cations and the bis[trifluoromethylsulfonyl]imide anion was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,832 and in Inorg. Chem. 1168 (1996). U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,602 describes a multi-step reaction route leading to a broad spectrum of air and water stable hydrophobic salts comprising 1,3-dialkylimidazolium cations coupled with non-Lewis acid containing polyatomic anions possessing a van der Waals volume of greater than 100 A3.
However, all of the known procedures for preparation of hydrophobic salts minimally involve a two-step reaction sequence starting with an expensive 1-alkyllimidazole followed by alkylation by an alkyl halide. In addition to the high cost of the alkylimidazole, halide impurities (such as Cl−, Br−, and I−) from alkyl halide starting materials are both difficult and time consuming to remove. The purification step employing a silver reagent to produce halide-free hydrophobic salts is very expensive and unsuitable as an industrial process. Therefore, a need exists to improve the process for the preparation of ionic salts that are both hydrophobic and halide-free. The ability to inexpensively produce industrial quantities of such salts will enable the introduction of these technologically useful materials into a host of cost-sensitive chemical and engineering applications.

One-step process for the preparation of halide-free hydrophobic salts

Abstract: This invention describes a one pot, single-step process for the preparation of halide-free hydrophobic salts comprising polyalkylated imidazolium cations and various anions in accordance with the following structure, where R1 and R3 represent the either the same or different alkyl groups, and R2, R4, and R5 represent either hydrogen atoms, or the same or different alkyl group substituents; X represents a polyatomic anion that is the conjugate base of an acid. By simply mixing aqueous formaldehyde with an alkyl amine such as methylanune, ethylamine, n-propyl oriso-propylamine, or n-butyl-, iso-butyl, or t-butylamine, or by mixing aqueous formaldehyde with two alkyl amines (preferably one being methylamine, ethylamine, n-propyl- or iso-propylamine, or n-butyl-, isobutyl, or t-butylamine) and another being n-propyl- or isopropylaine, or n-butyl-, isbutyl, or t-butylamine), an acid (such as hexafluorophosphoric acid, trifluoroacetic acid, pentafluoropropionic, heptafluorobutyric acid, or the free acid of a bis(perfluoroalkylsulfonyprnide or tris(perfluoroalkylsulfonyl)methide as the source of the anion) and aqueous glyoxal solution, the hydrophobic ionic salts or mixtures thereof thus formed may be conveniently separated directly from the aqueous byproduct layer. Like the single cation hydrophobic salts, these mixed hydrophobic ionic liquids are non-flammable and manifest no detectable vapor pressure up to their decomposition temperature of greater than 300° C. We have also discovered that, surprisingly, ternary mixtures of dialkylated ionic liquids manifest higher ionic conductivities than a single ionic liquid of the mixture alone. This property benefits electrochemical power source applications such as batteries and capacitors. Furthermore, we have discovered that ternary mixtures of dialkylated ionic liquids absorb microwave radiation more efficiently than a single ionic liquid of the mixture alone. This property benefits microwave-induced synthetic reactions. Such physical and chemical properties make it possible to employ inexpensive mixtures of polyalkylated imidazolium cations in an advantageous manner as thermal transfer fluids, high temperature lubricants, and plasticizers, and as solvents in the areas of electrochemistry, synthetic chemistry, catalysis, and separations chemistry.


In a column AT shift lever device, a base portion of a shift lever is fixed to a central portion of a shaft that is rotatably supported by a retainer. A select plate is pivotally connected to an end portion of the shaft. The select plate is capable of being moved by operation of a select cable, in a plane that includes a rotational axis of the shaft. A flat plate-like detent plate perpendicular to the rotational axis of the shaft is mounted outwardly of the retainer, and engaged with an end portion of the select plate.

The present invention relates to an automotive column automatic transmission (AT) shift lever device and, more particularly, to a type of column AT shift lever device for performing a select operation using a select button provided in a shift knob.
A column AT shift lever device is a device wherein a shift lever is mounted near a column shaft. In a widely employed construction, at the time of a shift operation, for example, from the park position to a drive position, a select button provided in a shift knob is pressed so that the engagement between a detent plate and a detent member is released by operation of a select rod or a select cable, thereby permitting shift operations to proceed.
However, a conventional detent plate incorporated in a column AT shift lever device has a projection-recess detent pattern on its cylindrical surface that is coaxial with the rotating axis of the shift lever. Therefore, a detent plate is not easy to manufacture. In particular, if the device is reduced in size, the radius of the curvature of the cylindrical surface is similarly reduced and it becomes difficult to achieve high dimensional precision. The problem is that an error in the dimensional precision of the detent plate leads to error in the position of a shift cable assumed to correspond to each position of the shift lever.

Column automatic transmission shift lever device


A seal assembly and method for the manufacture thereof is provided. The seal assembly provides a dynamic fluid seal between a housing having a bore and a shaft having an outer running surface rotating within the bore. The seal assembly comprises a rigid carrier for supporting the seal assembly within the bore of the housing. A flexible member is mounted to the rigid carrier. The flexible member is formed from an elastomeric material that allows the flexible member to flex during use. A sealing element is retained by the flexible member about the outer running surface. The sealing element is formed from a non-polytetrafluoroethylene bearing grade plastic material having a hardness relatively greater than a hardness of the elastomeric material of the flexible member. The sealing element moves with the flexible member as the flexible member flexes. The sealing element extends along the outer running surface in a plurality of helically wound convolutions.

Seal assemblies are well known for providing a dynamic fluid seal between a housing having a bore and a shaft having an outer running surface protruding through the bore and rotating relative to the housing. Such seal assemblies typically comprise a rigid carrier for supporting the seal assembly in the bore. A mounting collar formed from rubber is often molded about the rigid carrier to provide a press-fit connection between the seal assembly and the housing thereby aligning the seal assembly within the bore about the outer running surface. The rigid carrier supports a sealing element, e.g., a lip seal, encircling and dynamically sealing the outer running surface of the shaft.
The sealing element, e.g., the lip seal, is often formed from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) because PTFE offers superior thermal and chemical resistance and a low coefficient of friction. However, PTFE has comparatively low wear and abrasion resistance and is costly, limiting its use to only certain sealing applications or requiring extra measures to protect the PTFE from damage from the environment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a seal assembly which overcomes or minimizes the drawbacks to typical PTFE seals, while preserving their advantages.

Seal assembly and method of manufacturing the same


An interrogation device is used to locate a nerve within the body. The device uses a piezoelectric crystal to locate a pulsing vessel proximate with the nerve. As the device is guided toward the nerve, it can emit an electric signal to stimulate the nerve. The operator can then watch for any physical reaction from the patient in response to nerve stimulation. As the device closes upon the nerve, pressure is applied with the needle to the vessel, thus compressing the vessel, diminishing the doppler response. Once the surface of the nerve is located, it can be accurately anesthetized.

The present invention relates to an interrogation device and specifically a Doppler-guided nerve stimulator device which accurately localizes and positions a puncture needle or other surgical probe into a neurovascular bundle or near a nerve. This invention has application in a variety of medical procedures, and has particular utility in regional anesthesia procedure. The neurovascular bundle includes a fibrous sheath or fascial compartment surrounding a nerve and a vessel. The ability to perform regional anesthesia requires the very precise placement of the appropriate drug inside of a neurovascular bundle innervating the region to be anesthetized. Previously, localization and puncture of the neurovascular bundle has been dependent on the skill of the operator either in guiding an appropriately beveled needle, or in following the motor responses elicited by a nerve stimulator attached to a conductive electrode. Devices of this latter type are known as nerve stimulator electrodes. However, as listed in Plexus Anesthesia Vol. 1 by A. Winnie M.D., because the neurovascular bundle travels near vital structures, these devices are associated with operator error and well recognized morbidity and mortality. For example, in the upper extremities the neurovascular bundle has a posterior, superior position in relation to the clavicle. Closely apposed to the bundle is the pleura and substance of the lung. Inaccurate placement of a needle into the lung can result in pneumothorax while inadvertent injury to a vessel can result in hemothorax. Long term nerve injuries after blind injection into the neurovascular bundle are well known. Separate but equally serious injuries can occur to structures adjacent to the neurovascular bundle when the anatomy is obscured, minimize nearby structure or vascular injury and allow easy confirmation of position within the neurovascular bundle.
One example of an interrogation device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,226 to Staub et al. This device is a variable output nerve locator that permits stimulation of an exposed nerve by the application of electrical energy to the nerve. This device however does not use a guide needle, will not allow administration of medications or the introduction of other instruments into the neurovascular bundle, and requires exposure of the nerve surgically. A second example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,433 to Marz et al. Marz discloses a puncturing and catheterizing device for the human or animal body which uses a conductive puncture needle and a surrounding cannula. The device is specifically intended for nerve tracts and allows the use of an attached nerve stimulator. This device allows only electrical stimulation to be used to provide directional information and does not allow the attachment of different sensors to the puncture needle and cannula. A third and different type of device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,606 by Yock for cannulation of a vessel. This device relies upon an ultrasound transducer attached to the tip of a trocar positioned within a hollow needle for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves through the sharpened end of the needle. The device can be guided in response to the backscattered ultrasound energy reflected from flow within the vessel until the vessel is cannulated. However, the patent does not disclose any means or method of distinguishing the vessel from the neurovascular bundle nor any means or method for locating or avoiding the nerves contained within a bundle should it be used for cannulation of a vessel contained within a neurovascular bundle. Nor does the device assure localization of the sharpened needle tip within a neurovascular bundle or in close proximity to a selected nerve. It also does not allow the addition of other sensors such as a nerve stimulator or allow the use of a bipolar stimulator design.


An in-mold transfer film is formed to satisfy the conditions of F2>F1, F3>F2, F3>F1, and F3>F1+F4+F5, where F1 is an adhesive force at an interface between a base and a mold-release layer, F2 is an adhesive force at an interface between the mold-release layer and a printed ink layer, F3 is an adhesive force at an interface between the printed ink layer and a transferred object, F4 is a cohesive force of the mold-release layer, and F5 is a cohesive force of the printed ink layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to in-mold transfer films, and more particularly to an in-mold transfer film suitable for multi-kind and small-quantity production.
2. Description of the Related Art
In known in-mold decorating, a printed in-mold transfer film (sheet) is arranged in a mold used for injection molding, so that a molded part as a transferred object is formed by injection molding, and at the same time, various images such as patterns or characters are transferred on a surface of the molded part in the mold.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-127596 (FIG. 1) suggests an example in-mold transfer film used in such in-mold decorating. This in-mold transfer film has a mold-release layer on a surface of a base, and a printed ink layer provided on a surface of the mold-release layer by thermally transferring ink using a thermal transfer printer. Such formation of the printed ink layer is suitable for multi-kind and small-quantity production as compared with formation of a printed ink layer by a printing method, such as gravure printing, screen printing, or offset printing, or by depositing, with the use of a plate
FIG. 2 is an explanatory illustration showing procedures in sequence of in-mold decorating. As shown in part (a) of FIG. 2, a pair of molds 101A and 101B are opened, and an in-mold transfer film 102 is set at a predetermined position inside a mold 101 (the reference numeral 101 denotes a combination of the pair of molds 101A and 101B). At this time, the in-mold transfer film 102 is arranged such that a printed ink layer 102b provided on a base 102 faces a material to be injected to a cavity 101c (see part (b) of FIG. 2).
As shown in part (b) of FIG. 2, the mold 101 is clamped so that the mold 101 is closed. At this time, a predetermined portion of the in-mold transfer film 102 is sandwiched in the mold 101.
As shown in part (c) of FIG. 2, a material 103 is injected to the cavity 101c of the closed mold 101. The material 103 injected to the mold 101 is cooled and solidified to provide a molded part 104 as a transferred object. At this time, the material injected to the cavity 101c is injected to cover the printed ink layer 102b of the in-mold transfer film 102 arranged at the cavity 101c. The printed ink layer 102b contacting the material is bonded (thermally transferred) to a surface of the molded part 104 by heat and pressure (injection pressure) of the material.
As shown in part (d) of FIG. 2, the mold 101 is opened, and the molded part 104 is released from the cavity 101c of the mold 101. At this time, the portion of the printed ink layer 102b bonded to the molded part 104 is released from the base 102a of the in-mold transfer film 102.
As described above, in in-mold decorating, printing (decorating) is performed by transferring the printed ink layer 102a as an image applied to the molded part 104 during molding.
Meanwhile, in recent years, mold techniques and computer designs are becoming highly efficient. In the in-mold transfer film 102, the printed ink layer 102b as the image to be transferred to the transferred object 104 is also desired to be improved in shape followingness and graphical design.


A keypad in which output keystrokes are determined both from individual switch activation and from the combined activation of adjacent switches. The keypad has a substrate carrying an array of sense elements arranged to change state in response to keypad operation, a flexible cover disposed above the substrate and having an exposed surface defining an array of independent key regions, with combination key regions defined in interstices between adjacent independent key regions. Snap elements provide tactile feedback. Some versions have a touch-sensitive grid rather than a switch matrix. A method of dialing a telephone includes generating a corresponding sequence of numerals by transposing alpha character input into one of the numerals 2 through 9 according to standard telephone keypad letter-number correspondence

The miniaturization of electronic products is one of the primary tenets of technologic advance. Competitive advantage and the success of a product line largely hinges on the ability of a company to successfully provide products that are both increasingly functional and increasingly portable. As technology advances, it becomes increasingly possible to miniaturize electronic circuitry below human scale, with the result being that the interface (e.g., screens, keypads, cursor control devices) can come to limit the size of portable products. Therefore, as portable products enter this realm, the ergonomic quality and size of their input devices (such as keypads) will have a growing significance to product acceptance and success. Of special significance is the telephone keypad, because it has such importance worldwide as a fundamental communication and economic tool. International standards have been established, for example, for the minimum dimension between adjacent key switches to accommodate typical human fingertips. By "key" I mean an element, of an array of elements over a surface, which when struck produces an identifying output corresponding to the location of the element. The term "key region" includes, for example, a localized region having key-like behavior on a touch-screen and a localized region of a keypad formed by placing a membrane over an array of contact switches. A "keypad" is an array of keys or key regions and includes, among other things, a conventional keypad (such as is found on most telephones, calculators and such), a keyboard, and similar touch-sensitive arrangements implemented with a touch-screen or with demarcated zones on a membrane surface. While such a surface is commonly planar, it may also be curved.
Some of my earlier work has been directed at reducing the size of keypads through the development of keypads in which output keystrokes are determined both from individual switch activation and from the combined activation of adjacent switches. Some of my earlier work is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,612,690 and 5,973,621, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. I refer to such keypads herein as "IACK" keypads, or Independent-And-Combination-Key keypads.
In this context, "independent keys" or "independent key regions" are elevated regions of a keypad surface with individual graphical elements, which provide a corresponding output when individually pressed. A "combination key" or "combination key region," on the other hand, is a locally depressed region of an IACK keypad surface that provides a unique output as a consequence of the simultaneous or near-simultaneous manipulation of a set of two or more adjacent (e.g., diagonally adjacent or "kitty-corner"), independent key regions, typically corresponding to a central graphical element. I use the term "defined combination" to refer to any combination of independent keys that corresponds to a combination key, as interpreted by an associated device. Conversely, an "undefined combination" is a set of independent keys that do not, when simultaneously depressed, correspond to a defined combination key.
Thus, an IACK keypad is a keypad that includes both independent and combination keys or key regions. Such keypads typically have independent key regions identified by graphical elements on surfaces slightly elevated above adjacent surfaces carrying other graphical elements that identify combination key regions, for example. It is possible to design such keypads with advantageously very small spacing between adjacent independent key regions.
It is desirable to increase the accuracy of IACK keypads and other input devices with respect to the interpretation of the intent of the user, regardless of the switch technology used. There is a special need to better determine whether the user intends an individual or a combination key output in an IACK keypad, in those implementations when a strong tactile feedback is desired, such as is provided by metal snap domes. Improvements in the ergonomics of such keyboards are also desired, as well as better algorithms to simplify the interpretation of input, such as for use in telephones and such.
Additional improvements in the design and implementation of keypads and other input devices are desired.


A valve comprised of a valve body (1) incorporating a flow bore (2), of a check element (3) rotatably or pivotally adapted to said flow bore, said check element having the shape of rotational body or part of it, incorporating a flow port (4) and being supported by seat seals (5, 6), and of a driving stem (7). The stem is connected to the check element by means of a driver element (8) which is adapted to movably fit in a slot machined to the outside surface of the check element, said slot being aligned orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the flow port of the check element. The driver element (8) is detachably joined to the stem (7). The end of the stem is adapted to a toothed, keyed or splined hole (12, 13) of the driver element (8) so as to render the joint a torque-transmitting capability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a valve comprised of a valve body incorporating a flow bore, of a closure element rotatably or pivotally adapted to said flow bore, said check element having the shape of a rotational body or part of one, incorporating flow ports and being supported by seat seals, and of a driving stem connected to said check element, whereby the stem is connected to the closure element by means of a driver element which is adapted to movably fit in a slot machined to the outside surface of the closure element, said slot being aligned orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the flow port of the closure element. The valve is suited for checking or regulating the flow of a medium in a pipeline.
2. Description of the Related Art
The salient flow, regulating and checking characteristics of the ball valve are known in the art. Therefore, the use of this valve type is widespread and it is available in several different constructional embodiments. Ball valves developed for checking applications in particular conventionally have such a design in which the ball and the driving stem are fabricated as separate elements and in which the ball element is rotatably supported by means of seat seals adapted to the inlet and outlet sides of the valve body bore. The operating torque from the driving stem to the ball element is transmitted by a prismatic body, which is an integral part of the stem and has a cubic or rectangular shape to fit in a slot provided on the surface of the ball element, whereby the slot has matching dimensions and a straight or curved bottom. The play of the joint between the ball element and the stem is sufficiently large to allow unobstructed motion of the ball to enable pressure-assisted sealing of the valve, however, without sacrificing the torque-transmitting capability of the joint. The sealing force is created by the pressure differential prevailing between the valve ports, and consequently, when the ball element is rotated to the closed position the pressure pushes it against the seat seal.
The sides of the slot on the ball element surface are aligned orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the flow port of the ball element, thus making the sides of the slot to be parallel with longitudinal axis of the flow bore of the valve in the closed position of the valve. In this fashion the closure element can move with respect to the stem end to rest against the seal. The bottom of the slot can also be curved in the direction of the slot's longitudinal axis.
The above-described joint between the ball element and the stem has been developed further by adapting a driver disc between the ball element and the stem having the purpose of aiding the motion of the ball element between the seat seals. The lower surface of the disc is provided with a straight ridge having a length equal to the disc diameter in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the flow port of the ball element and the upper surface of the disc is correspondingly provided with a straight slot aligned orthogonally to the above-described ridge. The ridge of the lower surface is adapted to fit in the slot on the ball surface and a ridge formed to the end of the stem is adapted to fit in the slot of the disc's upper surface. As to its other functions, the valve corresponds to the sealing function of the first described embodiment of the stem joint, whereby the sealing force is also in this embodiment exerted by the pressure differential over the closed valve.
A further constructional embodiment used in ball valves is such in that the ball element surface has an internally splined hole into which a splined stem is fitted. The valve design may have one or two shafts supporting the ball, but the two-shaft type is more common. In the two-shaft construction the lower trunnion shaft below the ball element retains the ball centered relative to the driving shaft during operation of the valve, and the sealing function is provided by the pressure compressing the ball element against the seat seals. The function of the one-shaft valve corresponds to that of the above-described valves.
A typical stem-and-ball system designed for pressure-assisted sealing is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,091 (Gachot, Oct. 22, 1974).
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,162 (Ohlsson, Oct. 23, 1973) concerns an invention related to the joint between the stem and the ball element.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,330 (Wieveg et al., Aug. 8, 1982) discloses a design in which the joint between the ball element and the stem is implemented using a driver disc between the ball element and the stem.
The FI patent publication 79,253 (Kivipelto, Aug. 8, 1989) concerns an invention related to a one-shaft ball valve and employing a spline joint between the ball element and the shaft that transmits the operating torque.
Reliable function of the valve with a varying temperature of the flowing medium requires flexibility or play between the ball element and the seat seal in order to prevent the ball from jamming between the seals. When resilient seat seals made of plastic, for instance, are used, compensation of thermal expansion can be attained through elasticity of the seat seals. If the seat seals are made of a metallic material, a clearance is provided between the ball element and the seat seals so large that compressive contact of the ball element with both seat seals simultaneously is avoided.
During the rotation of the ball element to its closed position, its center point must shift in the direction of the flow so far from the center axis of the stem as required to eliminate the total play or half the elastic travel. The shift is necessary to achieve tightness of the valve. At the opening of the valve, the ball must correspondingly shift back by a corresponding distance toward the center axis of the stem under the thrust generated by the seat seal.
In conventional joints between the ball element and the stem, a problem is caused by the play in the joint between the stem and the ball element that is necessary for enabling the shift of the ball. During use the joint wears and its play increases in proportion to the operating cycles of the value, eventually resulting in annoying operating disturbance to the user. The increase of the play is accentuated by a high pressure difference imposed over the ball element. Wear is caused by the above-described reciprocating motion of the stem end in the slot of the ball surface during the operation of the valve.
This wear is especially severe in a valve with a metal seal. In such a valve the friction between the ball element and the seal is greater than in a valve with a resilient seal and the operating torque of the valve is higher. The higher torque in turn results in an increased pressure in the contacting areas of the stem joint with the ball, which further increases the frictional forces and hampers the return motion of the ball toward the center axis of the stem. This problem is avoided by virtue of the present invention. In prior-art methods the problem could have been overcome by using a ball element with two shafts, but such a construction is difficult to produce, expensive and prone to malfunction in comparison with the design offered by the present invention. The two-shaft construction necessitates the use of a movable seat seal which is compressed against the ball element by means of springs, for other mechanical or hydraulic elements in order to exert the sealing force.
The reciprocating motion of the ball causes wear and a subsequent increase of play in the joint between the ball and the stem, which in prior art has been simply circumvented through the adaptation of a driver disc in the above-described manner between the stem end and the ball, whereby the disc has a ridge and a slot for transmitting the operating torque from the stem to the ball element. This embodiment, however, must be provided with a clearance in the fits of the ridge and the slot on the opposite sides of the disc in order to attain a functioning pressure-assisted sealing effect, whereby the rotational play of the valve remains large and torque-transmitting capability of the stem minimal.
The embodiment based on the use of a driver disc removes the problem caused by the increase of play due to wear, but notwithstanding this, the play remains larger than that offered by the present invention because of the initial play necessary in such a construction. The slotted joints on the upper and lower surfaces of the disc must have play to allow the motion of the ball element even under a small pressure difference toward the direction of the flow when the valve is rotated closed. Correspondingly, the ball element must move easily back toward the center axis of the stem when the valve is opened. Moreover, when a slotted joint is used, the torque-transmitting capability of the joint remains inferior to a spline joint. To achieve a high torque-transmitting capability, the internal and external splines would have to be relatively high, which in its turn would necessitate a large diameter of one end of the stem. Herein, a problem arises in that the sealing area of the ball element is reduced and that a stem extended longer than normal cannot be adapted to the body without modification of the body structure. Reduction of the ball element area available for sealing necessitates the use of a larger-diameter ball element and possibly also increasing the size of the valve body. Consequently, the use of a larger-diameter stem may become very awkward. The use of an extended-length stem is necessary to maintain an appropriate operating temperature of the valve actuator and the stem seal when the medium flowing through the valve is extremely cold or hot, or in cases where, e.g., the stem seal must be modified for a drain tap necessary to collect a toxic medium. Of course, a similar adaptation problem is encountered when a driver element machined from the same blank with the stem is used.
The wear problem can also be overcome by using a ball element having a internally splined hole to accept the splined stem that rotates the ball element. Also such a design is incapable of achieving a ball element which is easily rotatable and can travel a large degree in the direction of the flow without resorting to the use of substantial play of the spline joint.
A large play in the joint between the ball element and the stem prevents the use of the valve as a regulating valve in most applications. Play in the operating control may also cause problems in closure valve use, because uncertainty in the positioning of the ball element to the optimally sealing position of the ball results in inferior check performance of the valve. These problems related to zero-play transmitting of the operating torque and increase of the operating play are overcome by virtue of the present iuvention.


Systems and methods for rendering web content in a browser are described herein. An embodiment includes a web rendering engine in a rendering engine process to generate one or more requests to selectively redraw one or more regions of content retrieved by a browser process. A renderview then generates a bitmap based on the requests and content retrieved by the browser process. The bitmap may then be stored by the renderview in a shared memory area where it may be accessed by a renderview host in the browser process. The renderview host may then provide the bitmap to a backing store associated with a display device for display to a user. In another embodiment, the shared memory area between the browser process and the rendering engine process may be used to achieve efficient scrolling of a web page through rate limited rendering of content.

Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to browser technology.
Background Art
Browsers are used to access web content or locally stored content. The location of such content is often identified by a location address such as a uniform resource locator (URL). A browser may use a URL to access content associated with the URL. A user can interact with a browser through a user-interface to direct a browser to different content areas.
Content areas may contain text, audio, video and other forms of content delivery. Content requested by a user through a browser needs to be rendered for display so that the user can view the content using a display device such as a monitor.
Content delivered across networks such as the Internet has become increasingly rich in information and interactivity. To interact with such content, users are usually provided which various types of interfaces ranging from touch-screen interfaces to voice driven interfaces in addition to standard windowed interfaces.
User interfaces which allow interaction with content are usually most effective when they are more responsive. For example, consider a touch screen interface which allows a user to interact with a map through a browser. If in this case, the map is not rendered for display as fast as the touch screen perceives a user's touch driven gesture, it results in a poor user experience. Similarly there are other forms of user interfaces, which are effective only if data is rendered for display at a rate that matches or is close to the rate of user's interaction. Furthermore, older forms or user interface techniques or standard user windowed interfaces will be considerably more effective if rendering of data represented by them is improved.
In some cases, a user interface of a browser may become unresponsive due to improper rendering of content for display. A browser's user interface may also become unresponsive if it is waiting for content to be rendered for display. Loss of ability to interact with the user interface of a browser may lead to poor user experience.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and systems for rendering in a multi-process browser using a shared memory area


A diesel engine exhaust system includes a NOx absorber and a diesel fuel fired burner operated at an enriched fuel-to-air ratio to generate a sufficient quantity of CO and H2 for regenerating the NOx absorber. A method of operating a diesel exhaust system is also disclosed.

Diesel engine combustion exhaust includes various emissions, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, NOx, and particulate matter (PM). Increasingly, environmental regulations call for emissions controls to aggressively lower diesel exhaust emission levels for NOx and PM. These standards include, for example, EURO 4 (2005) and EURO 5 (2008) and U.S. Year 2004 and U.S. Phased 2007-2010 Emissions Limit Standards. Regulations are increasingly limiting the amount of NOx that can be emitted during a specific drive cycle, such as the FTP (Federal Test Procedure) in the United States or the MVEG (Mobile Vehicle Emission Group) in Europe.
One of the ways known in the art to remove NOx from diesel engine exhaust gas is by catalyst reduction. The catalyst reduction method essentially includes passing the exhaust gas over a catalyst bed in the presence of a reducing gas to convert the NOx into nitrogen. For example, known emission reduction systems include systems for supplying fuel oil as hydrocarbon (HC) reductant or ammonia provided in the form of urea, either of which are injected into the exhaust gas upstream of the NOx catalyst.
Another way to remove NOx from diesel exhaust gas is by use of a NOx absorber catalyst. In this case, NOx is trapped in the absorber catalyst as the exhaust gas stream passes therethrough. Over time, the absorber catalyst may become saturated with NOx. To alleviate such a condition, the absorber catalyst is periodically regenerated to remove the NOx from the absorber catalyst by converting the trapped to NOx to nitrogen.
Diesel particulate filters (DPF) for the removal of PM from a diesel engine exhaust stream have been proven effective to remove carbon soot. A widely used DPF is the wall flow filter which filters the diesel exhaust by capturing the particulate material on the porous walls of the filter body.

Method and apparatus for regenerating a nitrogen oxides absorber


An electrophotographic type image forming device having a developing roller and a photosensitive drum. A nip portion is provided therebetween for supplying developing agents from the developing roller to the photosensitive drum. The developing roller and the photosensitive drum are rotated in the same rotational direction, i.e, a peripheral moving direction of the developing roller is opposite to peripheral moving direction of the photosensitive drum at the nip portion, so that toners provide vivid mobility at or adjacent the nip portion so as to cancel Van der Waals attraction force, and so that the toners can be attracted to the photosensitive drum only by applied electrical field. Developing is performed immediately upstream of the nip portion in rotational direction of the developing roller, and residual toners are collected by the developing roller immediately downstream of the nip portion for collecting and reusing the residual toners. Spherical tones as well as pulverized toners are used as the developing agent.

The present invention relates to an electrophotographic type image forming device such as a laser printer, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine, and more particularly, to the image forming device of so called cleanerless type in which residual toners after transfer operation is re-used in a subsequent developing operation instead of accumulation of the residual toners in a form of waste toners. The present invention also relates to a developing roller for use in the image forming device.
In an image forming device such as a laser printer and a copying machine, residual toners remaining on a photosensitive member after the transfer operation are scraped off by a resilient blade, and are stored in a waste toner case, and the case must be periodically scrapped.
However, in such a conventional image forming device, operator's hand or clothes are contaminated at the time of scrapping the toners, and toners may be dispersed during transportation of the waste toner case due to destruction of the toner case. Therefore, working environment may be polluted, and such defect does not meet with the ecological standpoint.
Therefore, so called cleaner-less system has been proposed in which residual toners remaining on the photosensitive member are collected by the developing means and is reused in a subsequent developing operation.
One example of a cleaner-less type image forming device will be described with reference to FIG. 16.
A laser printer 200 shown in FIG. 16 generally includes a main case 202, a sheet cassette 214 provided at a bottom of the main case 202, a sheet supply roller 213 for supplying each one of a sheet P stored in the sheet cassette 214, a photosensitive drum 220 provided above the sheet supply roller 213, a transfer roller 260 in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 220 and is positioned therebelow, a fixing unit 270 disposed in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 220, and a sheet discharge tray 277 disposed above the photosensitive drum 220. That is, a meandered or zigzag sheet transport pathway PP is provided starting from the sheet cassette 214 as shown by a dotted chain line so as to provide a compact laser printer 200.
After the electrical charge on the photosensitive drum 220 is removed by a discharge lamp 241, a laser beam L emitted from a laser scanner unit 230 is irradiated on the photosensitive drum 220 to form an electrostatic latent image in a state where a charger 240 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 220 with a predetermined polarity. This electrostatic latent image is developed into a visible image by charged toners supplied from a developing roller 256 which is integrally disposed in a toner cartridge 250 and in contact with the photosensitive drum 220, thereby forming a toner image. This toner image is then transferred by the transfer roller 260 onto a fed sheet P. The toner image on the sheet P is fixed to the sheet P by a heat roller 271 of the fixing unit 270. Finally, the sheet P carrying thereon the output image is discharged onto the discharge tray 277.
On the other hand, residual toners remaining on the photosensitive drum 220 after the image transfer operation are temporarily stored on a cleaning roller 280 by applying to the cleaning roller 280 a voltage whose polarity is opposite the polarity of the toners. After completion of the transferring operation onto the sheet P, voltage having the polarity the same as that of the toners is then applied to the cleaning roller 280, so that the residual toners on the cleaning roller 280 are again discharged onto the photosensitive drum 220, and are collected into the toner cartridge 250 by the developing roller 256.
Here, in the toner cartridge 250, the developing roller 256 and a toner supply roller 255 in pressure contact with the developing roller for supplying toners 253 to the developing roller 256 are both rotatably disposed. Further, in the toner cartridge 250, a thickness regulation blade 257 is provided for regulating a thickness of the toner layer adhered onto the developing roller 256 into a predetermined thickness and for charging the toners 253. The developing roller 256 and the photosensitive drum 220 are driven to be rotated in directions shown by arrows so that surplus toners 253 removed by the thickness regulation blade 257 can be dropped onto the toner supply roller 255.
That is, the developing roller 156 is driven to be rotated in a direction opposite the rotating direction of the photosensitive drum 220 in pressure contact therewith, because the developing operation is performed while charging the toners 253 with the predetermined polarity by the developing roller. In other words, at a nip portion between the developing roller 256 and the photosensitive drum 220, these are driven to be moved in the same direction with each other.
Further, in the laser printer 200 shown in FIG. 9, the toners 253 are polymerized toners which provide high fluidity. If pulverized toners are used instead of the polymerized toners, amount of residual toners remaining on the photosensitive drum 220 may be increased after transfer operation due to low fluidity. Further, efficiency for collecting the residual toners by the cleaning roller 280 and the developing roller 256 may be lowered. As a result, residual toners can not be sufficiency collected, and may reach the transferring region, and are transferred onto the sheet P by the transfer roller 260. Consequently, a ghost image corresponding to the distribution of the residual toners on the photosensitive drum 220 may be generated in the sheet P.
Generally, polymerized toners and pulverized toners respectively provide advantage and disadvantage, and determination cannot be unqualifiedly made as to which one is superior to the other. The pulverized toners are provided by mulling wax, CCA(charge control agent), and coloring agent (carbon black if black color is to be generated) with a resin such as styrene acrylic resin and polyester resin, and then by pulverizing the mulled mixture. Due to the pulverization, toners may have irregular shape and have many corners. As a result, the toners do not provide sufficient fluidity. Accordingly, the toners do not provide sufficient spreading characteristic in the developing unit, to lower transferring efficiency. On the other hand, because of the low fluidity, toner leaking amount through a minute gap can be reduced, which facilitates a design of a sealing member which is adapted for avoiding toner leakage.
Constituents of the polymerized toners are not greatly different from those of the pulverized toners. However, method for producing the polymerized toners is quite different from the method for producing the pulverized toners. For producing the polymerized toners, raw materials are dispersed in a solvent, so that the polymerized toner has generally spherical shape because of the surface tension. According to the recent technique, it is impossible to produce toners by polymerization method using polyester resin. Therefore, styrene acrylic resin is widely used. The polymerized toner has generally spherical shape, so that it can provide high fluidity. As a result, the toners are sufficiently spread in the developing unit to provide high transferring efficiency. However, due to the high fluidity, toners may be easily leaked through a fine gap, and therefore careful attention is required in designing a sealing member.
Further, in the laser printer 200, as shown by the dotted chain line in FIG. 9, the sheet transport pathway PP is meandered, and therefore, a special sheet such as a thick sheet or an envelope are not available which are disadvantageous for image transfer. If a linear sheet passage can be provided, printing can be made on the thick sheet and the envelope. However, in this case, amount of residual toners remaining on the photosensitive drum 220 may be increased due to insufficient transfer of the toners. Accordingly, the residual toners cannot be completely collected by the cleaning roller 280 and the developing roller 256, so that ghost may be generated on the sheet P, similar to the above described disadvantages.
That is, as described above, it is difficult in the cleaner-less type image forming device to use the pulverized tones which are easily produced but provides low fluidity. Therefore, the device must use the polymerized toners which provide high transferring efficiency but are difficult to produce. Consequently, design of a sealing member may become difficult, the sealing member being adapted for preventing the toners from leakage at a position around the developing roller 256.
Further, in using the polymerized toners, amount of residual toners remaining on the photosensitive drum may be increased particularly in a low temperature, low humidity condition when image is formed on the special sheet such as the thick sheet and the envelope those providing low transferring efficiency. Therefore, the residual toners cannot be completely collected by the developing roller, and ghost may be generated.
The cleaner-less type still requires means for temporarily storing residual toners during printing such as the above described cleaning roller 280. Therefore, additional power source is required in comparison with a system where cleaning blade is provided for scraping off the residual toners.
Further, instead of the cleaning roller, toner leveling brush can be used for leveling the residual toners on the photosensitive drum. In this case, additional power source is unnecessary. However, the toner leveling brush cannot completely collect the residual toners if the amount of the residual toners is increased, and therefore, ghost may be generated.
Further, in another conventional electrophotographic type image forming device, transferring means such as a transfer roller is disposed above the photosensitive drum. This structure is advantageous in that accessing to a sheet passage becomes possible by opening the device from upper side so as to deal with the sheet jamming. This is advantageous over a structure shown in FIG. 16 in which the transfer roller 260 is disposed below the photosensitive drum 220. Further, if the transfer roller is disposed above the photosensitive drum, a sheet cassette can be exposed to the upper side, which facilitates supply of the sheet, and furthermore, a linear sheet passage can be provided, which is capable of printing to a special sheets such as a thick sheet, an envelope and OHP sheet. With such reasons, in the conventional image forming device, the transfer roller is desired to be disposed above the photosensitive drum.
On the other hand, according to the developing process in this type of image forming device, an elastic roller formed of an electrically conductive silicone is used as the developing roller which carries toners, and so called impression developing process is performed in which the developing roller is depressed against the photosensitive drum for developing operation. According to this process, efficient developing operation can be performed by enhancing the developing efficiency of the toners. However, the toners also serve as lubricants. By the existence of the toners at the nip portion where the developing roller and the photosensitive drum are in contact with each other, developing operation can be performed with maintaining a smooth contact between the developing roller and the photosensitive drum.
However, as described above, in the impression developing method in which the transfer roller is disposed above the photosensitive drum, rotating direction of the developing roller is opposite to the rotating direction of the photosensitive drum with respect to the nip portion taking the sheet feeding direction(rotating direction of the photosensitive drum) and toner supplying direction toward the photosensitive drum into consideration. Therefore, if developing operation is performed with the developing efficiency close to 100% in case of the solid black printing, almost all the toners are used for the developing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum at a position above the nip portion. Accordingly at the nip portion, extremely small volume of toner or no toner is provided. As a result, smooth contact between the developing roller and the photosensitive drum at the nip portion cannot be maintained due to non-existence of the lubricant, i.e., the toners. As a result, a surface of the developing roller may be irregularly deformed or vibrated to cause chattering due to the friction between the developing roller and the photosensitive drum. Finally, corrugated pattern may be generated in an output image due to the chattering. On the other hand, by lowering the developing efficiency, it is possible to retain the toners at the nip portion on the developing roller even in case of the solid black printing. However, this leads to degradation of the output image.
Further, in the impression developing method in which the transfer roller is disposed above the photosensitive drum and rotating direction of the developing roller is opposite to the rotating direction of the photosensitive drum with respect to the nip portion, the developing roller formed of silicone may easily be worn, so that striped scratches may be generated on the developing roller, which leads to insufficient printing where striped pattern is formed in an output image. Further, service life of the developing roller, which is expendables, may be shortened.
Further, in the electrophotographic type image forming device, in order to enhance imaging quality, fluidity is required in the toners so that the toners can be properly subjected to developing, transferring and cleaning on the photosensitive drum. To this effect, the surface of the toner is added with additives such as silica.
If the toners having high fluidity are used capable of performing high imaging quality (for example, 600 dpi), the toners scraped from the developing roller by the photosensitive drum is deposited on the upper portion of the nip portion due to the rotational directions of the photosensitive drum and the developing roller. As a result, the deposited tones may adhere to an unwanted portion due to the Van der Waals attraction on the photosensitive drum, which portion does not correspond to the electrostatic latent image portion. As a result, foggy portion may be generated on the transferred image in the sheet, to lower the quality of the image.
In another aspect, the developing roller is imparted with an electrical conductivity by an electron conduction capable of being applied with the developing bias voltage. That is, electrical conductivity is imparted on the developing roller by dispersing electrically conductive minute particles such as carbon particles into the elastic material which is the base material of the developing roller.
In this developing method, efficient developing can be performed by enhancing developing efficiency of the toners. On the other hand, the toners also serve as electrically insulating materials located between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller to which the developing bias is applied. Because of the existence of the toners at the nip portion between the developing roller and the photosensitive drum, surface voltage level of the photosensitive drum can be stably maintained in developing operation.
However, as described above, if 100% developing efficiency is contemplated in the developing operation, almost all the toners are adhered to the photosensitive drum at a position above the nip portion in case of solid black printing. Accordingly at the nip portion, extremely small volume of toner or no toner is provided serving also as the electrical insulator. As a result, electrical insulation cannot be maintained between the developing roller and the photosensitive drum at the nip portion due to non-existence of the toner, and consequently, the developing bias voltage applied to the developing roller may be leaked to the photosensitive drum. Accordingly, the surface voltage of the photosensitive drum becomes unstable, to lower imaging quality.
On the other hand, it is possible to still retain toners at the nip portion on the developing roller even in the case of solid black printing by lowering the developing efficiency. However, this causes degradation of the output image.

Electrophotographic type image forming device and developing roller for use in the device


This invention provides an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display device, in which a plurality of electro-luminescent units is sandwiched between a light reflective layer with an aperture array and a micro-lens array. A light absorbing layer is adjacent to a surface of the light reflective layer opposite to the electro-luminescent units. The ambient light entering the display can be focused to the apertures and directly projected unto the light absorbing layer to eliminate the ambient light. The contrast of the organic light-emitting diode display device is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The ambient light is known to have a negative impact on the visual effect of an organic light-emitting diode display device, and the ambient light elimination design of the prior art mainly relies on adding a light absorbing layer to the display device to reduce the reflection of the incident ambient light and increase the contrast of the display device. Though the design can partially reduce the ambient light, some of the light radiated from the organic light-emitting diode device is eliminated as well. Consequently, the contrast of the display device cannot be improved significantly to enhance the visual effect.
FIG. 5A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional organic light-emitting diode display device with a top-emitting surface that comprises, from bottom to top, a bottom substrate 501, a light absorbing layer 502 located on the bottom substrate 501, a reflective electrode layer 503 located on the light absorbing layer 502, an organic luminescent layer 504 located on the reflective electrode layer 503, a transparent electrode layer 505 and a transparent top substrate 506. The transparent electrode layer 505 is under the transparent top substrate 506. As the ambient light enters the display device from the top, some of the ambient light will penetrate the reflective electrode layer 503 and be absorbed by the light absorbing layer 502, thus the amount of the reflected ambient light will be less than that of the incident ambient light.
FIG. 5B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional organic light-emitting diode display device with a bottom-emitting surface that comprises, from bottom to top, a transparent bottom substrate 511, a transparent electrode layer 512 located on the transparent bottom substrate 511, an organic luminescent layer 513 located on the transparent electrode layer 512, a reflective electrode layer 514 located on the organic luminescent layer 513, a light absorbing layer 515 and a top substrate 516. The light absorbing layer 515 is under the top substrate 516. When the ambient light enters the display device from the bottom, some of ambient light will penetrate the reflective electrode layer 514 and be absorbed by the light absorbing layer 515, thus the amount of the reflected ambient light will be less than that of the incident ambient light.
As described above, the light-absorbing layer 502 or 515 can partially absorb both the incident ambient light and the light radiated from the organic luminescent layer 504 or 513, thus the luminescent efficiency of the organic luminescent layer 504 or 513 will be lowered. Though the light absorbing layer 502 or 515 can reduce the negative impact caused by the ambient light, it also absorbs some of the light radiated from the organic luminescent layer 504 or 513. Consequently, the contrast of the display device cannot be significantly increased to improve the visual effect.

Organic light-emitting diode display device


An improved adjustable box wrench having a mouth (9) with a plurality of gripping surfaces (27, 31, 32) for surrounding a nut, bolt or the like. A movable jaw (5) allows the size of the mouth to be altered when a worm screw (8) is turned. The worm screw (8) has gear (24) which fit between teeth (20) in an arm (4) extending from the movable jaw (5). The adjustment arm (4) and worm screw (8) fit into cavities (14, 17) in the wrench body (1). Increased lateral support for the movable jaw is provided by protrusions (19) on each side (21) of the jaw which fit into and move longitudinally within channels (26) in fixed gripping surfaces (32) on opposite sides of the mouth (9). A removable closure plate (6) covers the adjustment arm (4) and the worm screw (8) and facilitates assembly of the wrench and disassembly for repair or other purposes.

This invention relates to tools and more particularly, to an improved wrench which is adjustable to fit completely around any size of nut, bolt or the like.
Conventional adjustable wrenches utilize a pair of jaws which contact only two sides of a nut or a bolt, thereby making the wrench prone to slipping during use. Such wrenches also allow too much play due to the adjustment mechanisms used therein. Slippage during use can cause injury to the user's knuckles or other part of the hands. In an effort to overcome such problems, adjustable wrenches which grip nuts and bolts on all sides, also known as "box wrenches," have been developed. However, current box wrenches often still allow too much play, thereby losing their grip or lock on a nut or bolt during use.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved adjustable box wrench that eliminates play and provides a non-slip grip or lock on bolts and nuts which are not provided by current box wrenches.
The most pertinent prior art includes the following patents:
______________________________________ Patent No. (U.S. unless stated otherwise) Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 390,422 White Oct. 2, 1888 4,766,786 Jeremic Aug. 30 1988 Des.239,759 Glantz May 4, 1976 4,987,805 Ejdenwik Jan. 29, 1991 Swed.60657 March 11, 1923 Des.313,925 Cone Jan. 22, 1991 Des.322,545 Cone Dec. 24, 1991 3,204,497 Dinkler Sept. 7, 1965 717,390 Gray Dec. 30, 1902 Des.303,916 Colvin Oct. 10, 1989 Des.304,669 Boyd et al. Nov. 21, 1989 4,967,613 Cone Nov. 6, 1990 ______________________________________
The White patent teaches an adjustable box wrench with a gripping jaw which uses a thumb nut on a screw rod as the adjustment mechanism. The Jeremic patent discloses an adjustable wrench with a removable key adjustment mechanism. The Glantz patent shows an adjustable ring spanner for a wrench. The Ejdenwik patent discloses an adjustable wrench with a box end different from the present invention. The Swedish patent shows a wrench with an adjustable box end. The two Cone design patents show adjustable box wrenches with gripping ends. The Dinkler patent teaches a double ended adjustable box wrench. The Gray patent discloses a double-ended adjustable wrench. The Colvin patent shows another double ended adjustable box wrench with a different gripping head than the present invention. The Cone utility patent teaches an adjustable box wrench that requires a large aperture in the jaw slot into which the thumb wheel screw and the threaded adjustment rod must fit. Thus, as designed the adjustment mechanism of the Cone patent allows considerable play in the adjustment mechanism, making it susceptible to slippage during use.
Although the prior art contains many patented box wrenches, none has the same structure as the present invention which provides the benefits of the present invention as is described and illustrated herein.


Methods of forming integrated circuit devices include forming an integrated circuit substrate having an electrically insulating layer thereon and forming a mask layer pattern having at least first and second openings of different size therein, on the electrically insulating layer. First and second portions of the electrically insulating layer extending opposite the first and second openings, respectively, are simultaneously etched at first and second different etch rates. This etching yields a first trench extending adjacent the first opening that is deeper than a second trench extending adjacent the second opening. Then, the bottoms of the first and second trenches are simultaneously etched to substantially the same depths using an etching process that compensates for the first and second different etch rates.

As semiconductor devices are required to be more highly integrated, their design rules are reduced. Accordingly, it may be more challenging to form a pattern having a small line width on an integrated circuit substrate. Moreover, efforts are being made to reduce resistance of patterned integrated circuit structures. Attempts are being made to use materials having low electrical resistance and to replace inter-wiring insulating materials with lower dielectric constant insulating materials. In particular, a low dielectric constant insulating material layer may be used for a semiconductor device whose line width is small, for example, a semiconductor device having a line width of 65 nm or less. Unfortunately, the use of low dielectric constant insulating materials may result in lower device yields if the etching rates of these materials cannot be carefully controlled.

Methods of patterning insulating layers using etching techniques that compensate for etch rate variations

International Business Machines Corproation

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.


Provided is a blankmask with a light-shielding layer including a light block layer and an anti-reflective layer, and a hard mask film. The light block layer and the anti-reflective layer are formed by combining a layer formed of a MoSi compound and a layer formed of a MoTaSi compound. Thus, the blankmask enables formation of a pattern of 32 nm or less, since the light-shielding layer can be thinly formed to a thickness of 200 to 700 and a photomask having pattern fidelity corresponding to the resolution of the pattern can be formed. The light-shielding layer has an optical density of 2.0 to 4.0 at an exposure wavelength of 193 nm, chemical resistance, and a sufficient process margin for defect repair. Further, the hard mask film is formed to a thickness of 20 to 50 using a compound including tin (Sn) and chromium (Cr), thereby decreasing an etch rate of the hard mask film. Accordingly, a resist film can be formed as a thin film, thereby manufacturing a high-resolution blankmask.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blankmask and method for fabricating a photomask using the same, and more particularly, to a blankmask that can be formed to have a resolution of 32 nm or less and that has a pattern fidelity corresponding to the resolution, and a method of fabricating a photomask using the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Today, as the increasingly high integration density of large-scale integrated circuits (ICs) has been accompanied by the need for ever finer circuit patterns, semiconductor microfabrication process technology has emerged as a very important issue. In the case of a highly integrated circuit, circuit wires become finer for low power consumption and high-speed operation, and there is a growing need for a contact hole pattern for an interlayer connection and a circuit arrangement for high integration. In order to satisfy this demand, a technique of recording a finer circuit pattern requires manufacture of a photomask, belonging to the field of lithography.
In lithography, a binary-intensity blankmask using a light-shielding layer, and a phase-shift blankmask using a light-shielding layer and a phase-shift film, have been commercially used in order to improve the resolution of a semiconductor circuit pattern. Recently, a blankmask for a hardmask that includes a hard mask film and a light-shielding layer has been developed.
Conventionally, a blankmask for a hardmask has a structure in which a transparent substrate, a light-shielding layer, a hard mask film, and a resist film are sequentially stacked. A final photomask using the blankmask for a hardmask is obtained by forming a light-shielding layer pattern on a transparent substrate. In this case, the resist film is formed to a predetermined thickness since the resist film has selectivity with respect to a lower hard mask film, and the light-shielding layer has a thickness appropriate to secure a predetermined optical density (O.D.), a surface reflectivity feature, a chemical resistance, and a sufficient process margin for defect repair.
Recently, as patterns have become finer and denser, a photomask is required to be manufactured to have not only a high resolution but also precise critical dimension (CD) mean-to-target (MTT), CD uniformity, CD linearity, and pattern fidelity.
However, the following problems may occur when such a fine pattern is formed using a conventional blankmask for a hardmask.
A first problem is related to the thickness of the resist film. The thinner the resist film is, the higher the resolution of a pattern is. To form the resist film to a thin thickness, a time for etching the lower hard mask film is preferably short. However, when a material of a conventional hard mask film is used to form a high-resolution pattern, the time for etching the hard mask film becomes relatively long. Thus, it is difficult to form the resist film as a thin film. Even if a new material can be used instead, it is actually difficult to select a material that has not only selectivity (dry etch characteristics) with respect to the light-shielding layer below the resist film but also a least CD bias with respect to the light-shielding layer.
A second problem is related to pattern fidelity according to the thickness of the light-shielding layer. The light-shielding layer should have optical characteristics and durability (chemical resistance, exposure resistance, a sufficient defect repair margin, etc.) to manufacture a final photomask or perform wafer printing. Thus, the light-shielding layer is formed to a thick thickness so as to satisfy all of the above characteristics. However, recently, as patterns need to be finer to form high-resolution patterns, the light-shielding layer needs to be formed as a thin film. However, since the light-shielding layer should have not only light-shielding properties (optical density) capable of blocking incident light, but also chemical resistance, exposure resistance, a sufficient defect repair margin, etc., the light-shielding layer is very difficult to form as a thin film.

Blankmask and method for fabricating photomask using the same


In a scroll compressor, a gas purge bore is formed to extend from an oil bore penetrating a drive shaft of the compressor, causing coolant gas to be expelled out with rising of lubricating oil sucked up by an oil pump through the oil bore. This allows the lubricating oil to rise without undergoing resistance of the coolant gas. By positioning the oil bore close to an oil groove formed in an eccentric bearing, the lubricating oil can be surely supplied to the oil groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an enclosed scroll compressor for use in refrigerators, air conditioners, and so on.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 5 shows a vertical sectional view of a known scroll compressor. Referring to FIG. 5, in an upper portion of the interior of an enclosed container 101, there are disposed a compression mechanism 102 comprised of a fixed scroll 102a and a gyratory scroll 102b held in mesh with each other, a crankshaft 103 for driving the gyratory scroll 102b, an Oldham's ring 104 as a rotation preventing mechanism for converting the gyratory scroll 102b from rotating movement into gyrating movement, a thrust bearing 105 for supporting the thrust force of the gyratory scroll 102b, and a bearing part 106 comprised of a main bearing 106a and an auxiliary bearing 106b for jointly bearing the thrust bearing 105 and supporting the crankshaft 103. The fixed scroll 102a and the bearing part 106 are fastened together by bolts through a spacer 108. FIG. 6 shows assembled components around an eccentric bearing of the crankshaft in FIG. 5. An eccentric bearing 110 having an oil groove 109 formed therein and a leaf spring 111 are disposed in a hole 103a formed in an upper end of the crankshaft 103. A shaft 107 of the gyratory scroll 102b is inserted to the eccentric bearing 110 so that the gyratory scroll 102b is gyrated with rotation of the crankshaft 103 in the direction indicated by arrow A in FIG. 6. Further, in FIG. 5, a rotor 112a is attached to the crank-shaft 103 and makes up an electric motor 112 in cooperation with a stator 112b fixed to the enclosed container 101 by shrinkage fitting. The rotor 112a and the stator 112b are both disposed below the compression mechanism 102. An oil pump 113 is provided at a lower end of the crankshaft 103, and oil bores 115a, 115b are formed through the crankshaft 103 for introducing lubricating oil 114 pooled at the bottom of the enclosed container 101 from the oil pump 113 to upper sliding portions. The crankshaft 103 is supported by the main bearing 106a and the auxiliary bearing 106b. Attached to the enclosed container 101 are an intake pipe 118 for sucking a coolant through it and a delivery pipe 119 for discharging the coolant through it. These pipes 118, 119 are connected to an evaporator and a condenser (not shown), respectively, thereby constituting a generally known refrigerating cycle.
The oil pump 113 is generally a pump utilizing centrifugal force. The lubricating oil 114 is supplied to the sliding portions of the eccentric bearing 110, the main bearing 106a, the auxiliary bearing 106b, the thrust bearing 105, etc., which are disposed in the upper portion of the container space, under an action of centrifugal force produced by the oil pump 113 and in the oil bores 115a, 115b formed through the crankshaft 103.
In the above-described structure, however, upper spaces of oil paths (i.e., upper portions of the oil bores 115a, 115b and the hole 103a in the upper end of the crankshaft) are closed or left slightly open with respect to the inner space of the enclosed container. When the compressor is stopped, the upper spaces of the oil paths are filled with coolant gas. To start operation of the compressor and supply the lubricating oil to the sliding portions by sucking the oil by the oil pump 113 from that condition, the gas accumulated in the closed spaces of the oil bores 115a, 115b must be expelled out. The force for supplying the oil to the sliding portions is provided by the centrifugal force produced by the oil pump 113 and in the oil bores 115a, 115b. But, with the coolant gas filled in the oil bores 115a, 115b, sufficient centrifugal force cannot be produced. At the beginning of operation of the compressor, therefore, the accumulated gas is expelled out by insufficient force and, only after that, the oil is supplied to the sliding portions. This has raised a problem that supply of the oil to the sliding portions is delayed and a lubricating trouble such as a seizure may occur.

Scroll compressor having oil bores formed through the crank shaft

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Embodiments of the present invention generally provide methods, apparatus, and systems for compensating for frequency fluctuations in source light used to interrogate an optical sensor. The optical sensor may be interrogated to generate a sensor signal. A reference device co-located with the optical sensor may also be interrogated to generate a reference signal. Optical parameters extracted from the reference signal may be used to correct parameters extracted from a sensor signal.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to optical sensing systems and, more particularly, to compensating for frequency fluctuations in source light used to interrogate optical sensors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical sensors can offer numerous advantages over conventional electrical and/or electromechanical sensing devices. For example, optical sensors typically have greater resistance to electromagnetic interference (EMI) than other types of sensors. Additionally, optical sensors tend to be small, lightweight, and physically robust. Consequently, optical sensors are commonly used in applications requiring resistance to a variety of harsh environmental conditions, such as downhole sensing applications.
Most optical sensors operate under the same basic principles. A sensitized region along an optical fiber is exposed to an environmental condition that modulates a light signal transmitted within the optical fiber. The modulation alters one or more parameters of the light transmitted within the optical fiber, such as amplitude, power distribution versus frequency/wavelength, phase, or polarization. Modulated light emerging from the fiber is analyzed to determine values indicative of the environmental condition. A wide variety of parameters may be measured using fiber-optic sensing techniques, such as strain, displacement, velocity, acceleration, flow, corrosion, chemical composition, temperature, and pressure, among others.
A fiber-optic interferometer sensor may be used to detect changes in light affected by an environmental condition as the light propagates along an optical fiber. A fiber-optic interferometer is typically formed by two reflectors, each placed at the end of a different optical path. One of the fiber-optic paths may be exposed to an environmental condition that alters a parameter of light transmitted through that path. Reflected light from each path may be recombined to mix coherently, thereby forming a "fringe" signal which is directly related to the difference in optical path lengths (i.e., the products of refractive index and physical length of the different paths). The fringe signals may be analyzed and correlated with the magnitude of the environmental condition. Fiber-optic interferometer sensors are typically used in applications where very sensitive measurements are required.
A Bragg grating sensor is an intrinsic optical sensor that operates by modulating the wavelength of a light field transmitted through an optical waveguide. A Bragg grating sensor comprises a tuned optical filter, or "Bragg grating", imprinted upon the core of an optical waveguide coupled to a broadband light source. The Bragg grating is structured to reflect light within a narrow bandwidth centered at a Bragg wavelength corresponding to the spacing of the Bragg grating. If the Bragg grating sensor is strained, for example by stress or vibration, the Bragg grating spacing changes. This results in a shift in the reflected light wavelength, which can be measured and correlated with the magnitude of the stress or vibration. Bragg gratings may be paired within a length of optical fiber to form an FBG interferometer sensor. An FBG interferometer sensor generally provides greater sensitivity to strain changes in a length of optical fiber than a sensor utilizing a single Bragg grating.
Examples of an optical Bragg grating sensor are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,084, entitled "Bragg Grating Pressure Sensor", issued Jul. 23, 2002 to Fernald, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,452,667, entitled "Pressure Isolated Bragg Grating Temperature Sensor", issued Sep. 17, 2002, to Fernald, et al., all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Optical sensors have become increasingly popular in the petroleum industry due to their resistance to interference and tolerance for harsh environmental conditions. For example, optical sensors may be used as gravity meters in petroleum exploration to measure minute changes in the earth's gravitational field. Alternatively, optical sensors may be used as hydrophones in a water environment to measure shock waves reflected from hidden rock layers as part of a seismic survey process. Optical sensors are also used to monitor conditions within a well during or after drilling operations have been performed. For instance, optical sensors may be used in a well logging operation to take measurements of rock formations within a borehole. Alternatively, optical sensors may be used in drill-stem testing operations where pressure variations within a borehole are measured to determine the presence of oil reservoir rock in the surrounding strata.
As discussed above, an optical sensor may modulate the phase of light emitted by a light source responsive to an environmental condition. However, instabilities in the frequency of an interrogating light signal arriving at an optical sensor from a light source may cause variations in sensor signals. For example, fluctuations in the frequency of an interrogating light signal arriving at an interferometer or Bragg grating sensor may cause variations in the reflected light signal emitted by the sensor, resulting in undesirable noise.
Fluctuations in the frequency of an interrogating light signal arriving at an optical sensor are oftentimes due to light source output instabilities. However, in many environments, achieving a stable light source output is extremely difficult. For example, oil platforms and ships typically contain propulsion engines, diesel engine generators, hoisting systems, pumps, thrusters, and other such devices that generate significant vibrations during operation. A light source generally must be isolated from vibrations in order to obtain a light frequency output sufficiently stable to obtain accurate readings from typical Bragg grating and fiber-optic interferometer sensors. Consequently, in these and other vibration prone environments, damping units have been used to isolate light sources from low frequency vibrations, typically in the range of 1–100 Hz. However, low frequency damping units are expensive to build, very heavy, and oftentimes insufficient to completely eliminate vibration induced source frequency fluctuations.
Fluctuations in the frequency of an interrogating light signal arriving at an optical sensor may also be caused by changes to the light signal as it travels from a light source through an optical fiber to the sensor. For example, strain on an optical fiber due to environmental vibrations, pressure, and/or temperature changes may cause Doppler-shift effects, resulting in frequency fluctuations in a light signal passing through the optical fiber. Other environmental conditions may adversely affect the frequency of light emitted by a light source. For example, changes in the ambient bulk temperature and/or current applied to a light source may cause changes in a laser light source cavity, resulting in frequency fluctuations.
As discussed above, frequency fluctuations due to light source instabilities and/or changes to a light signal traveling through an optical fiber may result in sensor output variations and unwanted noise. These effects may significantly impair the accuracy and repeatability of an optical sensor system. In applications such as oil exploration and/or oil well monitoring, these effects may significantly increase the cost of drilling and oil extraction. In addition to frequency fluctuations, other parameters that may affect sensor accuracy are environmental parameters, such as temperature and acceleration, that affect the optical signal received from interrogated sensors.
One approach to compensate for such parameters is to utilize reference sensors (references) that are located at or near the measuring sensors (sensors) and, thus, subjected to the same environmental conditions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,522,797, entitled Seismic Optical Acoustic Recursive Sensor System describes a time division multiplexed (TDM) interrogated marine seismic interferometric sensor array that employs reference interferometers that are co-located with the sensor interferometers and, therefore, should be subjected to the same temperature and acceleration. However, the reference interferometers may be made insensitive to parameters measured by the interferometer sensors (acoustic pressure in this case). The referenced patent describes a method for removing sensor sensitivity to temperature and acceleration by subtracting fringe signals received from the reference interferometers from corresponding signals received from the sensor interferometers. One problem with this approach, however, is that the sensor interferometers are still sensitive to both source frequency fluctuations and lead fiber length fluctuations.
Accordingly, there is a need to eliminate or reduce the effects of frequency fluctuations in an interrogating light signal arriving at an optical sensor in order to improve sensor accuracy and repeatability.

Downhole optical sensor system with reference


A cap has a visor and a hole defined by its crown. The hole communicates with a pocket that extends from the hole external to the crown. The hole and pocket are sized to easily accommodate a ball to be caught, e.g. a baseball. A ball flying into the crown will be funneled by the crown through the hole and into the pocket to be trapped therein. The pocket prevents the ball from bouncing out of the cap's crown. The pocket can be folded and fastened against the crown, or concealed inside the crown, to give the cap a conventional appearance. The visor has a grip affixed to it to help a wearer securely grip the visor while trying to catch a flying ball in the crown's pocket. The force of a ball being caught releases the pocket and causes it to unfold, trapping the ball.

This invention relates in general to baseball caps, and in particular to caps designed to also catch baseballs.
Visored sporting caps commonly worn by baseball fans, hereafter generally referred to as "baseball caps" are quite common. Such caps have a visor which shields glaring lights or sunlight from a wearer's eyes. The cap of this invention may be worn wherever baseball caps in general are used but is particularly useful for catching foul balls and home runs while watching baseball games.
Many people attend baseball games with the hope of catching a baseball as a souvenir. To do so, some spectators bring their own baseball gloves. However, it is rare to have a ball hit in one's direction close enough to catch, so carrying a glove is essentially a burden. It must be held or placed on a person's lap, and there is always a risk that it may be lost or taken.
The idea of using a hat or a sporting cap for catching a baseball is not new. Additionally, some prior hats have glove-like attachments secured to the top or crown portion of the hat. These glove-like adaptations allowed a user to insert his or her hand into the glove-like section to catch a ball. Some include pockets for the insertion of padding to help cushion the impact when the ball is caught. However these hats have certain disadvantages, such as an appearance different from the standard sporting cap, appearances that are strange and undesirable. Additionally, it is not always easy to insert a person's hand into a glove section and it forces the person to momentarily take his or her eyes off the flight of the ball. Also, there was insufficient cushioning for the ball's impact. For these and other reasons, these types of ball-catching hats have not become popular.
The cap of this invention has features to allow it to be used to catch a baseball, or other ball, but these features do not detract from its appearance or normal use as a baseball style cap. Since the cap has a normal appearance, it can be un-embarrassingly be worn throughout a game and is therefore less likely to be lost.
Other advantages and attributes of this invention will be readily discernible upon a reading of the text hereinafter.


A simple self-oscillating mixer circuit is provided, suitable for forming with an antenna (21) the complete front end of an inexpensive short-range FMCW radar. A modulating signal (40), e.g. from a sweep generator (44), is applied to a control terminal (14) to sweep the RF output (R) of the self-oscillating mixer SOM (10). A cancellation circuit (6 to 9) is connected between the control terminal (14) and an IF output line (13) to remove a corresponding modulation (41) which occurs on the IF line (13) and so to generate a substantially demodulated IF output signal (I). Advantageously a grounded-source MESFET in a feed-back network forms the SOM (10) and has the IF output line (13) taken from its gate. In this case the IF modulation (41) is inverted with respect to the modulating signal (40), and so the cancellation is achieved by adding the modulating signal (40) to the modulated IF output signal (41), e.g. via a resistor network 6 to 8.

This invention relates to self-oscillating mixer circuits for converting an R-F (radio frequency) signal to an IF (intermediate frequency) signal, particularly but not exclusively self-oscillating mixer circuits suitable for use as the front end of a frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) short-range radar. The invention also provides a simple frequency-modulated radar comprising such a self-oscillating mixer circuit, for example an inexpensive short-range FMCW radar suitable for use in cars or other vehicles for collision avoidance purposes or speedometer applications.
Self-oscillating mixer circuits for converting an RF signal to an IF signal are known, comprising an RF oscillator having an RF line, a common terminal and an IF line; the RF line serves for transmitting RF signals to and from the oscillator, and the IF line serves for deriving from the oscillator an IF signal which results from the mixing of the RF signals in the oscillator. U.S. Pat. No. 4 219 779 describes one such known self-oscillating mixer circuit in which the RF oscillator is formed by a field-effect transistor connected in a feed-back path. In this known circuit the IF line is connected to the drain of the transistor; the RF line is connected to either the gate or the source, depending on whether a common source configuration or common gate configuration is used in the circuit.
The whole contents of U.S. Pat. No. 4 219 779 are hereby incorporated herein as reference material. In accordance with the teaching in U.S. Pat. No. 4 219 779, a dielectric resonator is coupled to the RF line in order to improve the stability of the oscillator frequency and to suppress leakage of a local oscillator frequency into the RF line input.

Self-oscillating mixer circuits, and FMCW radar