An axis body includes a first abutting portion abutting against an abutted portion of a leg portion by pushing-in; and a second abutting portion which is positioned on a pushing-in backward side more than the first abutting portion. After a part of the leg portion is spread by the first abutting portion, the axis body is pushed in further, so that the other one part of the leg portion is spread. A temporary attaching device, which temporarily attaches the axis body and a main body at a position before the above pushing-in wherein one portion of the axis body is housed inside the main body, is provided.

There is a grommet also called a pin grommet and the like comprising the axis body and the main body wherein the axis body is pushed in. (See Patent Document 1) Such a grommet has a structure such that from a state wherein a leg portion of the main body is inserted and passed through a through-hole formed in a fastening object, the axis body is pushed into the main body so as to spread such leg portion, and fastened to such a fastening object. In the grommet described in the Patent Document 1, in an end of the axis body, there is formed a concave portion which constricts the axis body. In a state wherein the axis body has not been completely pushed into the main body, a claw portion formed inside an end of the leg portion of the main body enters into the concave portion, and the main body and the axis body are temporarily attached. However, in the grommet described in the Patent Document 1, even when the main body and the axis body are temporarily attached in such a manner, the axis body is required to be pushed into the main body while elastically deforming the leg portion of the main body up to a position wherein the aforementioned claw portion is entered into the concave portion.


A printer includes a full-line type printhead which can correct variations in the ink discharge amounts from the respective nozzles, and density unevenness of a printed image due to variations in the operations of many driving circuits in the printhead and changes in the internal temperature or a temperature gradient of the printhead, and can obtain a high-quality printed image without density unevenness in consideration of the print conditions and changes in operation environmental temperature. A pre-heating operation is performed by selecting an optimal pre-pulse signal for each nozzle of the printhead on the basis of information stored in an EEPROM of the printhead and pre-pulse selection data associated with each nozzle of the printhead. A heat signal is also generated to obtain a main pulse suitable for each IC of a printhead corresponding to an ink of each color. In addition, the internal temperature of the printhead or printing density information from the printhead is monitored. If the internal temperature or the printing density is high, control is performed to inhibit a pre-pulse selection signal from being output while applying pre-pulse and main pulse signals to each nozzle heater of the printhead, which is used for a print operation.

This invention relates to a printer and, more particularly, to a printer for printing an image on a recording medium by using a line-type printhead.
A printhead mounted in a conventional ink-jet printer has a considerably smaller print width than printing paper. The printhead is therefore mounted in the printer to oppose printing paper, and a carriage on which the printhead is mounted is laterally moved to perform a serial print operation.
Density unevenness of a printed image in such a printhead is corrected by, for example, controlling the print operation of the printer by a reciprocal printing method.
As an effective printing method for a printhead mounted in a conventional ink-jet type printer, a double pulse control printing method is known. In this method, a short pulse is applied to each nozzle heater of the printhead first, and a long pulse is then applied to each nozzle heater.
In a line printer incorporating a full-line printhead having the same print width as that of printing paper, since the print width is large and the number of nozzles for discharging an ink is large, variations in ink discharge amount per orifice and the discharge direction cannot be neglected, unlike those in a printhead mounted in a serial printer like the above conventional printer. In addition, the line printer cannot employ the reciprocal printing method, which can be employed by the serial printer, owing to its structure.
Under the circumstances, a print control method different from that employed by the serial printer is required for the line printer to obtain a high-quality printed image free from density unevenness by making the ink discharge amounts from the ink discharge nozzles uniform.
Furthermore, in the line printer incorporating the full-line printhead described above, since a large number of nozzle heaters are also used, due to uneven energization of the nozzle heaters depending on the printing density, and changes in operating temperature, the internal temperature of the printhead cannot be kept constant for a proper print operation, resulting in variations in the ink discharge amounts from the respective nozzles. For this reason, it is difficult to maintain good print quality.
In the printer having the full-line printhead with the same print width as that of printing paper, since the structure of the printhead is different from that of a printhead having a small print width, printhead control is required in consideration of the following points to maintain high print quality:
(1) Since the nozzle heaters used for the ink discharge nozzles of the full-line printhead are driven by a plurality of LSIs, variations in ink discharge amount must be suppressed in units of LSIs in consideration of variations in the quality of LSIs.
(2) Control must be performed to suppress variations in ink discharge amount due to a temperature gradient in the printhead which is derived from a long print width.
(3) Control must be performed so as not to damage the nozzle heaters when large currents are supplied to the nozzle heaters to perform control operations (1) and (2).


A laser cutting system, including a steering mirror assembly for directing a laser beam through a predetermined cutting path along a workpiece or substrate material. The steering mirror assembly includes a base, and a mirror pivotally supported on the base by a flexure assembly which confines pivotal movement of the mirror about a vertical Y-axis and/or about a horizontal X-axis. A pair of electrical actuator assemblies include movable bobbin assemblies connected to the mirror by control rod flexures at locations on the mirror which are spaced 90° apart from one another. In operation, selective electrical energization of the actuator assemblies controls movement of the bobbin assemblies to pivot the mirror about the vertical Y-axis and/or about the horizontal X-axis throughout a number of angular orientations to thereby direct the laser beam through a predetermined cutting operation pattern along the substrate surface to cut materials from the substrate. The flexure arrangements which support the mirror on the base and which connect the bobbin assemblies to the mirror facilitate substantially frictionless movement of the bobbin assemblies and the mirror, which allows the mirror to pivot at high operational speeds during the cutting sequence.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser cutting system in which a laser beam is directed or steered through a predetermined cutting path along a substrate or workpiece to cut the substrate or workpiece. In particular, the present invention relates to a steering mirror assembly for directing the laser beam.
2. Description of the Related Art
Blister card packaging is used to package and display small items at a retail sale location. One example of blister card packaging is the packaging used for small batteries, which generally includes a blister card including various display and informational graphics, to which a plastic bubble piece or "blister" is attached for containing the batteries.
Typically, the foregoing types of packaging blister cards, display cards, clamshell inserts, etc., are printed on a large sheet of cardboard stock, and several different types of blister cards may optionally be printed on one sheet of cardboard stock to save material. A die-cutting process is used to cut the individual cards from the sheet of cardboard stock, requiring a custom-made die which is used with a press to cut the cards from the sheet of cardboard stock. Thereafter, the blister cards are removed from the sheet, stacked, and packaged for shipment to the product manufacturer.
A problem with this arrangement is that for each particular layout of blister cards on the blister card stock, i.e., for each customer order or production run, a custom-built die is needed. This requires the blister card producer to build and stock a large number of custom-made dies.
In view of the foregoing concerns, as well as similar concerns in other industrial applications, high power laser cutting systems have been developed for cutting articles from a substrate material or workpiece. In one approach, the substrate material itself is moved in two dimensions while the laser beam is held stationary. In another approach, the substrate material is held stationary while the laser-generating device is itself moved in two dimensions with respect to the substrate. In a still further approach, the substrate is held stationary, and a steering mirror assembly, including two or more separate, individually-controlled movable mirrors, is used to reflect and direct the laser beam along a cutting path. Typically, two mirrors are used, one controlling an X-axis component of direction of the laser beam and the other controlling a Y-axis component of direction of the laser beam. The individual mirrors are actuated by mechanical systems, such as motors, which are either directly connected to the mirrors or coupled to the mirrors through a gear drive, a screw drive, or other mechanical drive means.
Disadvantageously, because mechanical drive systems for mirrors used in laser steering systems incorporate mechanical drive components such as gears and belts, for example, friction is generated during operation, which limits the speeds at which the mirrors may be moved, and in turn limits the operational speeds at which the laser beam can process a substrate material or workpiece. Further, mechanical drive systems may be prone to failure due to mechanical fatigue or breakage, and typically require skilled maintenance to ensure that the drive systems operate properly.
What is needed is a laser cutting system for cutting articles from a substrate or workpiece which is an improvement over the foregoing.

Steering assembly with electromagnetic actuators


System(s), device(s), and method(s) provide automated configuration of operator interface(s) in an industrial control system, the automated configuration is based at least on control logic that regulates a process and associated equipment in an industrial environment. A terminal that renders control data can acquire the control logic and associate a set of control data structures therein to one or more display objects, which can be retained in a set of libraries stored in the terminal. Based at least on the association, the terminal automatically generates a rendering project that can render an operator interface that conveys control data according to the control logic. A mapping enables association amongst a control data structure and a display object; the mapping can include relationships amongst display objects for numerous domains of industrial control. The operator interface can be refined autonomously or through external data received at the terminal and associated with predetermined event(s).

Industrial control systems regulate operation of equipment in an industrial environment, where operation of the equipment includes process(es) typically directed to accomplishment of a complex task or a streamlined, automated task, such as large scale manufacturing. Regulation of operation of the equipment and related process(es) typically exploits and produce substantive amounts of control data, which include configuration data such as controller code, human-machine interface (HMI) data, process recipe(s) and report definitions, or the like. In addition, operation of industrial control systems also produces both real-time and historical data about the status of regulated equipment and related process(es), the data including alarms, process values, and audit/error logs. To operate industrial control systems, various HMIs in the industrial environment render control data (real-time (or last known) and historical data) through operator interfaces which convey process overviews or equipment detail. Multiple operator interfaces are created to provide rich information related to the various control processes implemented in the industrial control system so that the operator can switch between them to monitor various aspects of the equipment and related process(es) under control. Various factors contribute to the time and human resources necessary to configure operator interface(s) employed to render control data in an industrial environment; such factors include complexity of the equipment and related process(es) that are regulated through one or more controllers, amount of control data collected as part of controlling the equipment and the related process(es), and security protocols and associated data necessary to ensure operational integrity of the equipment. Yet, in conventional industrial control systems, development of an operator interface to consume control data through a dedicated human-machine interface (HMI) is a highly manual process that generally occurs after control design or equipment configuration and contributes significantly to the development cost.

Automated operator interface generation in a control system


A bearing unit is provided with casters on either side reducing frictional losses during travel in a channel. The bearing unit is capable of being hingedly connected to other similar bearing units, end to end, to form a bearing chain. Such a chain is capable of assuming a multitude of shapes and, therefore, can adapt to the shape of a non-linear channel. This device is particularly useful as a means of reducing frictional energy losses when one solid surface is required to slide over another solid surface in a curvilinear path.

Bearings have been used extensively to reduce frictional energy losses occurring when two solid surfaces slide over one another. In many instances, they are used to accommodate rotational movement of one surface over another.
In some instances, two surfaces may be required to slide over one another in a linear or curvilinear path. Accordingly, there is a need for a bearing device to reduce frictional losses arising from sliding one surface over another in a curvilinear path.


An ice transfer device for a refrigerator is provided. An ice-making part is provided at an upper portion of an ice maker of the refrigerator, and a storage container is provided below the ice-making part. Both edges of a bottom surface of the storage container are rounded, and a transfer member for transferring ice is provided within the storage container. Further, a motor is installed in the vicinity of one of the rounded edges of the storage container and has a motor shaft protruding toward the rear of the ice maker. A gearbox provided at the rear of the storage container has a driving shaft protruding toward the front of the ice maker. With this construction, the inner space of the refrigerator can be efficiently used.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly, to an ice transfer device for a refrigerator, which can transfer ice made in an ice maker to a dispenser in the refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional ice transfer device for a refrigerator will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a refrigerator with a conventional ice transfer device, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the ice transfer device shown in FIG. 1.
As shown in these figures, a refrigerator body 1 is provided with a freezing chamber 3 for storing foodstuffs that is selectively opened or closed by a door 5. Further, a dispenser 7 is provided at a side of a front face of the door 5, and an ice maker 10 is installed at an upper portion of the freezing chamber 3.
As shown in FIG. 2, an ice-making part 11 for making ice i is provided at an upper portion of the ice maker 10. A storage container 13 for storing the ice i, which has been made by the ice-making part 11, is installed at a lower portion of the ice maker 10 that is below the ice-making part 11.
Meanwhile, a transfer member 15 for pushing stored ice i toward the front of the ice maker 10 is provided within the storage container 13. The transfer member 15 is formed helically and rotated by a motor 17 installed at the rear of the storage container 13. At this time, the motor 17 is arranged such that a motor shaft 17′ is directed to the front of the ice maker 10.
A gearbox 19 is also provided between the transfer member 15 and the motor 17. The gearbox 19 comprises a plurality of gears to function to transmit increased driving torque to the transfer member 15 while reducing the driving speed of the motor 17. The gearbox 19 has a driving shaft 19′ that is directed to the front of the ice maker 10 in the same manner as the motor shaft 17′. The gearbox 19 is connected to the transfer member 15 and the motor 17 by the driving shaft 19′ and the motor shaft 17′, respectively.
An ice-crushing member 21 is provided at a front end of the transfer member 15. The ice-crushing member 21 is to crush the ice i that is transferred to the front of the ice maker 10 by the transfer member 15. A delivery part 23 for delivering crushed ice i to the outside through the dispenser 7 is provided below the ice-crushing member 21.
However, the conventional ice transfer device for the refrigerator constructed as above has the following problems.
As described above, the motor 17 is conventionally installed at the rear of the storage container 13. Thus, there is a need for a space for the installation of the motor 17, which corresponds to the size of the motor 17, at the rear of the storage container 13. Since such a space is outside the storage container 13, it becomes a dead space in which ice i as well as foodstuffs cannot be stored. That is, the conventional ice transfer device has a disadvantage in that the space cannot be efficiently used.


A control method of a display apparatus including a panel configured to include red (R), green (G), and white (W) subpixels, and a backlight configured to provide the panel with backlight using at least one of a white light source and a blue light source, including: converting image data into R, G, and blue (B) subframe data; turning on the R, G, and W subpixels according to the R, G, and B subframe data; and turning on the W subpixel, setting a brightness of the white light source to a brightness value of the R, G, and B subframe data, providing the panel with white light at the set brightness, turning on subpixels corresponding to remaining subframe data, setting at least one of the brightness of the white light source and a brightness of the blue light source, and providing the panel with light at the set brightnesses, is provided.

1. Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a display apparatus and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a display apparatus that displays an image using at least one of a white light source and a blue light source, and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to development of electronic technology, diverse types of display apparatuses have developed and propagated. In particular, large flat panel display apparatuses such as liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatuses and plasma display panel (PDP) display apparatuses have propagated recently and are being used in many households.
Since LCD displays cannot emit light autonomously, a backlight unit is generally used. The backlight unit includes diverse light sources such as white light emitting diodes (LEDs) and provides an LCD panel with backlight. The LCD panel displays a color image by filtering the backlight using red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color filters.
The R, G, and B color filters exist independently. Thus, since an area to pass light produced by the backlight unit is fixed, the ability to express colors is limited.
A white LED that uses a general yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) fluorescent substance may express only a 75% color area in comparison with a National Television System Committee (NTSC) system. In a subpixel structure composed by independent R, G, and B subpixels, the white light is not passed though the subpixel structure without being filtered, but is instead expressed by a combination of the three primary colors, R, G, and B. Due to this feature, the brightness is lowered.
In order to solve this problem, a field sequential color (FSC) method in which colors are implemented by sequentially turning on R, G, and B light sources instead of using the color filters has developed. However, the FSC method has a problem of causing a color break-up (CBU) phenomenon. In addition, changes in brightness and wavelength of the R, G, and B light sources vary according to temperature. Accordingly, as the R, G, and B light sources are used over a period of time, color rendering may be degraded.

Display apparatus and control method thereof


Embodiments of the current invention describe ammonia hydroxide treatments for surfaces. In one embodiment, a method and a cleaning solution including ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), water (H2O), a chelating agent, and a surfactant for cleaning silicon germanium substrates are described. The cleaning solution does not include hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) because hydrogen peroxide etches germanium. In another embodiment, a method of terminating oxidized surfaces on semiconductor substrates with terminating groups that promote the bonding of the oxidized surface to another surface with a surface treatment containing ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) is described. The oxidized surface is immediately bonded to a second substrate after evaporation of the surface treatment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of cleaning and conditioning semiconductor substrates, and in particular to the field of cleaning a silicon germanium substrate and preparing a silicon dioxide surface for bonding.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Silicon germanium substrates may be used as the semiconductor material used to form the transistors of integrated circuits. Silicon germanium substrates may be used because they have higher electron mobility than silicon substrates. Although silicon germanium substrates may serve the same function as silicon substrates, silicon germanium substrates have different properties than silicon substrates and in some instances may require different processing than silicon substrates. This is true in the area of cleaning silicon germanium substrates prior to fabricating an integrated circuit.
Silicon substrates are typically cleaned using an SC1 (Standard Clean 1) solution containing ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and water. The SC1 solution cannot be used to clean silicon germanium substrates because hydrogen peroxide etches germanium and ammonium hydroxide etches silicon. SC1 prevents the etching of a silicon substrate by the formation of a protective oxide on the surface of the silicon substrate that passivates the silicon substrate. A high dilution of the SC1 solution or applying the SC1 solution to a silicon germanium substrate for a short period of time does not sufficiently prevent the etching of germanium by hydrogen peroxide because germanium is extremely sensitive to being etched by hydrogen peroxide. Additionally, because SC1 etches silicon germanium substrates, the SC1 solution causes significant roughness on the surface of the silicon germanium substrates. This roughness detrimentally affects the electrical properties of structures formed on the silicon germanium substrates. In the past, silicon germanium substrates have been cleaned by a hydrofluoric acid solution followed by a rinse by ozonated deionized water. But, this cleaning sequence causes significant etching and roughness of the surface of the silicon germanium substrates.
Cleaning and conditioning an oxidized surface on a semiconductor substrate in preparation for bonding to another surface to create the most effective bonding possible is also a challenge. For example, silicon dioxide surfaces on silicon substrates are typically bound to one another by placing two flat silicon dioxide surfaces into contact with one another. The two silicon dioxide surfaces are attracted to one another through Van der Waals forces and the surfaces will stick to one another. The silicon dioxide surfaces of the silicon substrates are then annealed to form covalent bonds between the two silicon dioxide surfaces at a high temperature in the range of 1000° C.–1100° C. Ideally, a silicon dioxide surface prepared for bonding to another silicon dioxide surface should be terminated with groups that promote easy bonding between two surfaces at a low temperature anneal to prevent damaging the substrate or structures, such as microelectronic machines (MEM's), formed on the substrates. Termination groups that promote easy bonding between two silicon dioxide surfaces include —OH, —NH4, and —O−. The typical cleaning processes used to clean a wafer before bonding include a final water rinse that converts these termination groups to oxygen bridges (—O—) between the silicon atoms of the silicon dioxide surface. Forming covalent bonds between two silicon dioxide surfaces terminated with oxygen bridges requires the high annealing temperatures in the range of 1000° C.–1100° C. But, eliminating the final water rinse after cleaning the substrate with well known cleaning solutions such as standard clean 1 (SC1) or standard clean 2 (SC2), which includes hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide and water, would result in residues left on the wafer that would create particle defects between the two wafers that prevent the substrates from properly bonding and may adversely affect device performance. One prior art solution to eliminate the oxygen bridge termination groups is to treat the silicon dioxide surfaces, after having been cleaned and rinsed with water, with an oxygen plasma in order to break the oxygen bridges and create —O− terminating groups. But, the oxygen plasma treatment requires that the substrate be placed into an additional chamber and only serves to make the surface of the silicon dioxide surface reactive. The oxygen plasma does not clean the surface of the wafer and is thus an additional step that needs to be added to processing after wet cleaning the wafer.

Ammonium hydroxide treatments for semiconductor substrates


A valve control system for positioning a valve in response to a command signal. The valve control system comprises a sensor for detecting the position of the valve and for generating an outer feedback signal, a valve location command circuit for comparing the command signal to the outer feedback signal to generate a correction signal, an actuator for positioning the valve in response to pneumatic pressure, a spool slidably disposed within a block to direct pneumatic pressure to the actuator, a spool positioning device for moving the spool to a desired position, a spool sensor for detecting the current position of the spool and generating an inner feedback signal, and a spool location command for comparing the correction signal to the inner feedback signal to generate a spool positioning signal to direct the spool positioning device to move the spool to the desired position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a valve control system to position a valve in response to an electrical command signal.
2. State of the Art
Valve control systems typically position a valve in response to a command signal, generally an electrical signal generated outside the valve control system. The current level of the electrical signal represents the desired position of the valve. For example, many valve control systems respond to command signals that vary between 4 to 20 milliamperes, with 4 milliamperes representing the valve in the fully closed position, 20 milliamperes representing the valve in the fully opened position, and a signal between 4 and 20 milliampere linearly representing a partially opened (or closed) valve.
Many valve control systems also include a valve sensor for detecting the position of the valve and generating an electrical feedback signal representing the present position of the valve. A command circuit compares the electrical feedback signal to the command signal and generates a correction signal. The correction signal, after processing, directs an electro-pneumatic device, such as the block and spool described in the detailed description below, to direct pressure to a pneumatic actuator that physically moves the valve to the desired position.
Present valve control systems have a lag time between the receipt of the command signal and the actual placement of the valve. The present systems also have an inability to precisely hold a valve in a partially opened position in response to a proper command signal. There is a need for an improved valve control system with a quicker response time and improved position control.

Inner-loop valve spool positioning control apparatus


A composite semipermeable membrane includes a porous supporting membrane and a separation functional layer, in which, in cross-sections having a length of 2.0 μm in a membrane surface direction, the average number density of projections in the separation functional layer which have a height of one-fifth or more of the 10-point average surface roughness is 10.0-30.0 projections/μm and the projections have an average height less than 100 nm, and in which a water production rate and a salt rejection are predetermined values or more after an aqueous solution is passed through under certain conditions.

With respect to separation of a mixture, there are various techniques to remove substances (e.g., salts) dissolved in a solvent (e.g., water). In recent years, use of membrane separation methods is expanding for the processes with less energy and resource consumption. The membranes for use in the membrane separation methods include microfiltration membranes, ultrafiltration membranes, nanofiltration membranes, reverse osmosis membranes and the like, and these membranes are being used in obtaining potable water, for example, from seawater, brackish water, or water containing a harmful substance, and in the production of industrial ultrapure water, wastewater treatment, recovery of valuables, etc.
Most of the reverse osmosis membranes and nanofiltration membranes that are commercially available at present are composite semipermeable membranes, and there are two types of composite semipermeable membranes: one which includes a gel layer and an active layer obtained by crosslinking a polymer, the layers being disposed on a porous supporting membrane; and one which includes an active layer obtained by condensation-polymerizing monomers on a porous supporting membrane. Of these, a composite semipermeable membrane obtained by coating a porous supporting membrane with a separation functional layer constituted of a crosslinked polyamide obtained by the polycondensation reaction of a polyfunctional amine with a polyfunctional acid halide is in extensive use as a separation membrane having high water permeability and salt-removing ability.
In water production plants in which reverse osmosis membranes are used, higher water permeability is required for a further reduction in running cost. Furthermore, when a composite semipermeable membrane is used as a reverse osmosis membrane, this composite semipermeable membrane is required to retain those membrane performances even in a long-term high-pressure operation or even under such operation conditions that operation and stopping are frequently repeated and the pressure fluctuates.
Factors which affect the performance of the composite semipermeable membrane include a projection structure formed on the polyamide surface. With respect to a relationship between the membrane performance and the projection structure, a technique has been proposed in which elongated pleats are formed to thereby increase the substantial membrane area and improve water permeability (JP-A-9-19630, JP-A-9-85068 and JP-A-2001-179061). Furthermore, a method has been proposed in which a porous supporting membrane is inhibited from being densified by pressure to inhibit the composite semipermeable membrane from changing in performance during operation (Japanese Patent No. 3385824 and JP-A-2000-153137).
However, there are instances when conventional composite semipermeable membranes decrease in water permeability or salt-removing ability under such conditions that the pressure applied to the membranes fluctuates, as when operation and stopping are frequently repeated.
Consequently, it could be helpful to provide a composite semipermeable membrane which can combine high salt-removing ability and water permeability even under such conditions that the pressure fluctuates.


The present technology relates generally to systems for characterizing atherosclerotic plaque, such as a spectral CT system, and methods of using same.

Atherosclerotic plaque is commonly assessed by determining the lumen diameter of the relevant portion of the blood vessel. However, lumen diameter is a poor measure of plaque vulnerability. For example, lumen diameter provides no information about the tissue composition of the atherosclerotic plaque itself.
For robust characterization of atherosclerotic plaque, an ideal imaging device would have high spatial resolution to measure plaque morphology, offer multiple tissue classification to determine plaque composition, and be safe for serial studies. Common imaging modalities such as CT, angiography and ultrasound have not been developed to provide detailed characterization of atherosclerotic plaque. Conventional dual-energy CT would provide high resolution, but cannot provide soft tissue classification. In addition, dual-energy CT is not suitable for serial studies because it exposes the test subject to relatively high dose levels of radiation. Improved systems and methods for characterizing atherosclerotic plaques are needed.

Systems for characterizing atherosclerotic plaque and methods of using same


An image processing apparatus for outputting an image which contains different kinds of multi-level signals for letters, figures, photographs, screened-halftone, etc. The apparatus comprises a screened-halftone pattern detecting circuit and a continuous-tone pattern detecting circuit for detecting a screened-halftone pattern and a continuous-tone pattern, respectively, by using neighboring pixels of the target pixel, counters for counting UP/DOWN in accordance with the outputs of the detecting circuits, a filter for switching the filtering coefficients of the image signal in multiple stages in accordance with the outputs of the counters and a quantizer for bi-level-quantizing the output of the filter. It is thus possible to produce an image having a good quality free from deterioration due to the rapid switching of region judgements and bi-level-quantizing methods.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus for bi-level-quantizing a gradated image, which is stored in digital processing, so as to record and display the bi-level-quantized image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various copies are processed in conventional image processing apparatuses such as scanner, copying machine and facsimile. In a binary image region such as letters, for example, an image is quantized into bi-level with a fixed threshold so as to make the outline of the image clear, while in a continuous-tone image region such as a photograph a dither threshold matrix processing is adopted in order to enhance the gradation reproducibility.
In a pseudo halftone region such as screened-halftone, it is necessary to subject the region to a dither threshold matrix processing after it is filtered through a screened-halftone which suppresses the screened-halftone components in order to prevent moires.
Many copies such as a catalog have a binary image region such as letters and a continuous-tone image region in the form of a mixture. In this case, it is necessary to distinguish each region and to subject each region to an appropriate processing before outputting it.
As such processings, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 58-3374 discloses a method of distinguishing a binary image region from a continuous-tone image region by obtaining the maximum luminance and the minimum luminance of the pixels in a block, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 64-57877 discloses a method of distinguishing regions in screened-halftone printing by obtaining the difference in an average luminance of the pixels in a plurality of surrounding blocks, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 2-112077 discloses a method of distinguishing the regions on the basis of the number of pixels which constitute the peak or the trough of the curve of a gradation change in a block.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. Sho 64-57877, Hei 2-112077 and Hei 2-115987 disclose a technique of detecting screened-halftone pattern pixels by using information on the regions surrounding the target pixel.
None of these conventional methods, however, can realize the ideal discrimination of the regions, and greatly deteriorate the picture quality on the boundary of different regions at the time of bi-level-quantizing. For example, the portion having a high resolution frequency component such as an eye and hair in a portrait is judged to be a binary image region because the difference in the maximum luminance and the minimum luminance in the decision block containing that portion becomes locally large. As a result, in the output binary image, a bi-level-quantized image portion with a fixed threshold with an intensified contrast suddenly appears in a smooth pseudo halftone image.
In screened-halftone printing, in the portion in which the luminance level greatly changes such as the portion at which a gray background changes into black hair, since the difference in the average luminance of the pixels in the blocks in the vicinity of the target pixel is large, the portion is judged to be a binary image portion. Consequently, in the output image, the black hair portion which is processed by bi-level-quantizing with a fixed threshold appears in a flat background image which is smoothed and pseudo-halftoned by the filter, thereby impairing the smoothness of the image.

Image processing apparatus and method for multi-level image signal


The present invention relates to a fender, which is used as cushioning material mainly at the time of a ship being moored, and a management system thereof. A transponder is mounted in a fender 1 that is an object to be managed, and an ID code is read by the transponder in the fender 1 being accessed by terminals 2A through 2D provided in areas where are areas to be managed and each have one or more terminals. Historical information showing an installed place and an installed period of the fender 1 and individual update information including the ID code is transferred to a control system 4 through communication networks 6A through 6D. The control system 4 not only stores manufacturing information and historical information of all the fenders 1 that are objects to be managed, but also updates the historical information on the basis of the individual update information received from the terminal 2. Furthermore, the control system 4 displays the manufacturing information and historical information of a specific fender 1 designated by an operator. Thereby, it is possible to perform management of fenders, installed in being dispersed, in real time.

Conventionally, fenders are used for buffering shock arising in a ship, a quay, or ships when the ship comes alongside a structure such as the quay or the ship comes alongside another ship on the sea.
A fender is classified according to material buffering shock: a rubber fender buffering shock with rubber; a pneumatic fender buffering shock with air; a foam fender buffering shock with foam material; or the like. In addition, the fender is classified according to usage: a fixed fender used with being fixed with bolts to a structure such as a quay; and a floating fender used with being floating on the sea and moored with a chain or the like to a quay or a ship.
Owners of these fenders are various, for example, port-related groups, ship-holding companies, rental companies of fenders and oil companies, and there are many fender manufactures in the world.
Therefore, various types of fenders are intermixed in the same port. In particular, since the floating fenders are easily detached, the floating fenders are resold or borrowed and lent, are carried with being embarked on ships, or are used with being passed around many ships. Therefore, the floating fenders can not stay at a fixed location, but can move in the whole world in many cases.
In addition, since the fenders are expensive, the fenders are used for the long time such as more than ten years, and are used after repair in case of slight damages.
The fenders bear an important part in ships safely coming alongside quays and ships. The ships and quays are damaged if the fenders do not play the part, and hence it can cause serious accidents.
Therefore, for the holding companies and users of the fenders, it is very important to identify each fender and recognize manufacturing items such as a manufacturing date and a manufacturing place, specifications and structure, characteristics such as buffering capability, information regarding history such as repair and used places of each fender in real time, and to manage many fenders so as to use only the normal fenders in any time.
Nevertheless, it has been not easy to manage the fenders in a location where various fenders are intermixed as described above, and in particular, it was further difficult to manage the floating fenders used over the world with being moved.
An object of the present invention is in consideration of the above problems to provide a fender and a fender management system that make it possible to easily manage the fenders installed in being dispersed.


A plate-shaped light guide for a planar light source device that guides a light emitted from a primary light source includes a light incident end face, a light emitting face and a back surface on the opposite to the light emitting face, wherein a plurality of first elongated lenses having an average slant angle of 0.5 to 60° are continuously or intermittently formed on one of the light emitting face and the back surface, and at least a portion of a surface of each first elongated lens, or at least a portion of the other one of the light emitting face and the back surface, or at least the portion of the surface of each first elongated lens and at least the portion of the other one of the light emitting face and the back surface includes a rough surface having an average slant angle of 0.1 to 8°.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a planar light source device of an edge light system, and more particularly to a planar light source device which uses a point light source such as a light emitting diode (LED) designed to realize miniaturization and a reduction in power consumption. The planar light source device of the present invention is suitably applied to a backlight of a relatively compact liquid crystal display device used as a display panel of a portable electronic device such as a cellular phone, or an indicator of various devices.
2. Background of the Related Art
Recently, the liquid crystal display device has been in wide use as a monitor for a portable notebook personal computer or the like, or a display section for a liquid crystal television, a video integrated liquid crystal television or the like, and in various other fields. The liquid crystal display device basically comprises a backlight section and a liquid crystal display element section. As the backlight section, a type of an edge light system has frequently been used with a view to making the liquid crystal display device compact. Conventionally, as a backlight, a type has been in wide use in which at least one end face of a rectangular platelike light guide is used as a light incident end face, a linear or bar-shaped primary light source such as a straight tube fluorescent lamp is arranged along the light incident end face, a light emitted from the primary light source is entered into the light guide through the light incident end face thereof, and the light is emitted from a light emitting face which is one of two principal surfaces of the light guide.
Meanwhile, there has recently been made a demand for miniaturization and a reduction in power consumption regarding liquid crystal display devices of relatively small screen sizes such as portable electronic devices, e.g., cellular phone, personal digital assistants, portable game machines, etc., or indicators of various electric devices or electronic devices. Thus, an LED that is a point light source is used as a primary light source of the backlight in order to reduce power consumption. As the backlight that uses the LED as the primary light source, an example is described in JP(A)-7-270624 in which a plurality of LED's are one-dimensionally arrayed along a light incident end face of a light guide in order to exhibit a function similar to that of the backlight which uses the linear primary light source. The use of the primary light source based on the one-dimensional arrangement of the plurality of LED's enables acquisition of a required light amount and uniformity of a luminance distribution on an entire screen.
However, in the case of the compact liquid crystal display device, a further reduction is demanded in power consumption. In order to meet this demand, it is necessary to reduce the number of LED's to be used. However, a reduction in the number of LED's brings about lowering of luminance and non-uniformity of a luminance distribution.
JP(A)-9-133918 and JP(A)-10-20121 propose a planar light source device to achieve low power consumption without lowering luminance as much as possible. In the device, a rough surface or a lens surface is formed, on which a number of elongated lenses such as elongated prisms are formed in parallel with an incident end face as a light emitting mechanism on a light emitting face or a back surface of a light guide, and a prism sheet having a number of elongated prisms is arranged on the light emitting face of the light guide so as to set the prism surface of the prism sheet on the light guide side. According to the device, power consumption of the backlight is reduced and a distribution of an emitted light is narrowed to prevent lowering of luminance as much as possible.
In the case of applying such a light emitting structure to the planar light source device that uses the point light source, the device in which the rough surface is formed as the light emitting structure can emit a highly directive light of a narrower emitted light distribution in a plane (perpendicular direction) perpendicular to both of the light incident end face and the light emitting face of the light guide, but cannot sufficiently prevent a reduction of luminance because of a very wide emitted light distribution in a plane (parallel direction) parallel to the light incident end face of the light guide and perpendicular to the light emitting face. On the other hand, the device in which the lens surface is formed as the light emitting structure can emit a highly directive light of a narrower emitted light distribution in both of parallel and perpendicular directions to achieve high luminance, but has a problem of an extremely narrow distribution range of an emitted light, i.e., several to several tens of degrees, in a plane parallel to the light emitting face. Additionally, since the reduced number of LED's increases a distance between light emitting points, a region of the light guide close to a region between adjacent light emitting points is expanded to lower intensity of a light emitted therefrom in a required direction. This condition has a problem of bringing about non-uniformity (i.e., non-uniformity of uniformity degree of luminance) of a luminance distribution in an observation direction on a light emitting surface of the planar light source device.
An object of the present invention is to provide a high-quality planar light source device by solving, without deteriorating an emitted light distribution, the aforementioned problems of a reduction of luminance and non-uniformity of luminance distribution brought about by the use of a small number of primary light sources in a point state to achieve low power consumption of the planar light source device that uses the primary light source in the point state.

Area light source and lightguide used therefore


A lens refractive index detection device is disclosed which has a light source module, a lens center physical thickness detection module and a lens center optical thickness detection module. The light source module includes a first light source component and a second light source component for outputting a collimated light beam, a first light combining component, and a focusing component. The lens center physical thickness detection module includes a first imaging component and a second imaging component. The lens center optical thickness detection module includes a first photodetection component and a second photodetection component, a beam splitting component, a partial reflection mirror, and a movable reflection mirror. The lens refractive index detection device enables simple operation, fast and non-destructive on-line detection, and is also applicable to lenses with irregular surfaces, such as aspherical lenses, cylindrical lenses, and finished lenses. A lens refractive index detection method is also provided.

The refractive index parameter is an important parameter index of optical lenses. In order to ensure good imaging quality of the optical system, the refractive index of optical materials needs to be accurately measured. At present, the high-precision measurement of the refractive index of optical glass materials is detected by the minimum deflection angle method, but the premise of the detection by the minimum deflection angle method is that the optical glass to be measured is made into a triangular prism to refract light, and the angles of the triangular prism need to be accurately detected at the same time. Therefore, although the minimum deflection angle method to detect the refractive index of optical glass materials is a direct detection method, it has the following technical problems: 1. It is necessary to destroy the optical element, which is obviously unsuitable for the detection of a finished lens. 2. It is difficult and time-consuming to make prisms. For different batches and different materials of optical glass, corresponding prisms need to be made separately and the detection efficiency is low. 3. The prism used in the test is not applicable for detection of irregular aspherical lenses, cylindrical lenses and other asymmetrical lenses. The minimum deflection angle method is more suitable for glass manufacturers to test the same batch of raw glass, but not for online high-precision testing of finished lenses. For example, the refractive index detection of spectacle lenses requires that the detection of its refractive index and its material properties is achieved when the optical component material is not known and the optical element itself is not to be damaged to achieve, thereby determining its material properties.
At present, there are mainly two kinds of refractive index detection methods for finished lenses: one is to perform inverse calculation according to the refractive power formula, that is, to measure the curvature of the front and back surface, the center thickness and the power of the lens using mechanical precision measurement method. The formula calculates the refractive index of its wavelength. This method is complicated and difficult to operate. It is difficult to guarantee the measurement accuracy, and it is not suitable for measuring aspheric lenses. Another method is to change the "environment" refractive index by changing the refractive index of the medium contacting with the front and back surfaces of the lens. For example, one may place the lens in a solution with a known refractive index, or attaching a flexible medium with a known refractive index to the front and rear surfaces of the lens, and respectively detect the optical power of the lens in the air and in the solution. The refractive index of the lens can be calculated by the change of the refractive power and the refractive index of the solution. This method is also complicated to operate and difficult to detect.

Lens refractive index detection device and method


An APU compartment drain system is provided that ensures thorough draining of fluids from the compartment that may otherwise accumulate therein. Such drainage is achieved despite the presence of a predetermined range of negative pressure differentials across the compartment. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a floor disposed along the tailcone lower skin is configured to collect any and all liquids that may leak or otherwise drop from the APU. A drain tube is in fluid communication at its upper end to the floor and at its lower end to a check valve selectively open and placed as closely as possible to the aircraft overboard drain port. Liquids collected by the floor are gravitationally directed into the drain tube upper end. The check valve is configured to be open to fluid drainage from the tube out of the drain port when the pressure head of fluid upstream of the check valve exceeds fluid pressure at the drain port due to aircraft or APU operating conditions. The check valve is configured to be closed to fluid drainage from the tube out of the drain port when the fluid pressure at the drain port due to aircraft or APU operating conditions exceeds the pressure head of fluid upstream of the check valve. Once the maximum negative pressure differential encountered by a particular aircraft is determined, the check valve is placed relative to the floor pan such that fluid completely filling only the tube will provide the maximum pressure head necessary to open the check valve and provide draining.

Most modern aircraft include an auxiliary power unit ("APU") as standard operational equipment. Typically, the APU is positioned in a compartment located in the tailcone portion of an aircraft. Federal Aviation Administration regulations require a means for overboard draining of all flammable liquids that might be leaked by the APU or otherwise may accumulate in the APU compartment. Heretofore, the draining method most commonly employed included one or more drainage tubes connecting the compartment to an overboard drain port. Gravity flow was relied upon to force the liquids through the drainage tubes and drain port.
Unfortunately, a negative pressure differential often exists within the compartment, that is, pressure within the compartment is often lower than the pressure at the aircraft drain port. In such instances, reliance upon gravity flow is generally insufficient inasmuch as the liquid pressure head needed to overcome the negative pressure differential may entail a dangerously large upstream liquid accumulation. Accordingly, what is needed is an APU compartment drainage system that ensures thorough compartment draining under maximum negative pressure differential conditions for any given aircraft.


Uncooked pasta is steamed to obtain a surface-gelatinised pasta which then is contacted with water to obtain a wet pasta, and the wet pasta is steamed to obtain a pasta product which is at least partially cooked. The pasta product may be refrigerated, or may be dried, or may be dried and mixed with water and sauce and then rotary retorted.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a process for the production of a quick-cooking pasta or a retorted pasta more particularly a dry or wet uncooked pasta.
2. Description of Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,072 describes a process for preparing a fast-cooking pasta which comprises soaking uncooked pasta in water for a period of time sufficient to hydrate the pasta and then cooking the soaked pasta by heating for a period of time shorter than would be needed to cook pasta which had not been previously been soaked. It is also stated that, before soaking, the uncooked pasta may be dried at a temperature of from 165.degree. F. to 190.degree. F. (74.degree. C. to 88.degree. C.), depending on the dough composition, to obtain a dry pasta which can tolerate cold water soaking. Drying methods described in this patent include hot air, microwave and superheated steam.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,435 describes a process for preparing a dried pasta which can rapidly be reconstituted for consumption which comprises steaming a formed, wet pasta while intermittently spraying water having a pH of from 5 to 5.5 and a temperature of 90.degree. C. onto the formed pasta, so that the temperature of the formed pasta steamed and sprayed does not fall below 97.degree. C., to cook and hydrate the formed pasta to obtain a cooked pasta having a dry matter content of from 35% to 45% by weight and then drying the cooked pasta. The losses of starting material, essentially starch, are said to be from 6 to 8% by weight. The pasta is completely cooked by this process.

Treatment of uncooked pasta products to reduce cooking loss


An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) intermittent energization controller is included with a CPU that adaptively controls the DC power used to energize the ESP. An opacimeter is mounted to the ESP for detecting the opacity of dust particles flowing through the same. The CPU searches through a table consisting of a predetermined number of charge-pause parameter sets until one charge-pause parameter set is found to cause the difference between the detected opacity level and the preset opacity level to be within a predetermined tolerable range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an automatic intermittent energization controller for use in an electrostatic precipitator (ESP).
2. Description of Prior Art
For environmental protection purposes, factory facilities that produce exhaust gases are generally installed with electrostatic precipitators (ESP) to collect pollutant particles contained in the exhaust gas. A typical ESP includes collecting plates arranged in parallel to each other and discharge wires disposed between the collecting plates. A DC power is delivered to the discharge wires so that electrons discharged by the discharge wires, known as corona currents, cause ionizations of the pollutant particles passing through the ESP. The ionized dust particles are attracted by an electric fields established by the DC power to thereby be collected by the collecting plates.
For purposes of energy saving and higher dust-removing efficiency, the DC power delivering to the ESP can be varied in accordance with the concentration of pollutant particles passing through the ESP, i.e. the DC power is supplied with a maximum magnitude when there is detected a very large concentration of dust particles, and the DC power can be reduced when there is detected a low flow of dust particles.
A conventional power controller is shown in FIG. 1, in which an AC power source is used as the main power source generating an AC voltage V.sub.1 (t) having a period of T, T=1/60 for typical industrial power applications, and with a waveform as illustrated in FIG. 2A. A thyristor circuit 20 is used in combination with a thyristor firing control circuit 30 to control the passing or cut-off of full sinusoidal cycles in the AC voltage V.sub.1 (t). A charge period is herein and hereinafter defined as one period including a first predetermined number C of full sinusoidal cycles in the AC voltage V.sub.1 (t) allowed to pass through the thyristor circuit 20; and a pause period, which appears right in subsequence to the end of one charge period, is herein and hereinafter defined as one period including a second predetermined number P of full sinusoidal cycles in the AC voltage V.sub.1 (t) being cut off by the thyristor circuit 20. One charge period and its subsequent one pause period appear alternately with a period of T.sub.1 +T.sub.2.
For an example as illustrated in FIG. 2B, if (C,P)=(5,1), then the thyristor circuit 20 allows five consecutive full sinusoidal cycles in V.sub.1 (t) to pass therethrough and cuts off the subsequent one during a period of 6.T. For another example as illustrated in FIG. 2C, if (C,P)=(2,5), then the thyristor circuit 20 allows two consecutive full sinusoidal cycles in V.sub.1 (t) to pass therethrough and cuts off the subsequent five during a period of 7.T.
The full sinusoidal cycles in V.sub.1 (t) accordingly are sent intermittently via an low-to-high voltage transformer 40 to the AC-to-DC conversion circuit 50, which is used to generate a DC output V.sub.DC in proportion to the average power of V.sub.2 (t). By fundamental electric principles, the output DC voltage is also in proportion to R.sub.c, where: ##EQU1## A larger R.sub.c indicates more consumption of electrical energy, and a smaller R.sub.c indicates less consumption of electrical energy.
The selection of the charge-pause parameter set (C,P) for the conventional ESP energization controller is achieved only by manual input. Once the selection is made, the controller is not adaptive to changes in the flow rate of dust particles. The only way to change the DC power level input to the ESP is by means of input another new set of (C,P) manually. Therefore, the ESP operator has to be sitting by the ESP, monitoring the flow of dust particles and thereby choosing an appropriate set of (C,P) for adaptive control of the dust removing process.

Automatic intermittent energization controller of electrostatic precipitator (ESP)

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A device for assisting parturition, which device can be used to practice delivery, in birth training, in delivery, and in post natal and other rehabilitation. The device includes a body part and a seat part for the woman in labor. In the seat part there is a cut-out for the exit of the baby. The seat part is connected to the frame part, and in the device there are support elements which the woman in labor can grip, and on which she can lean in various delivery positions. The seat part is attached to the body in such a way that the cut-out faces away from the body and the elements for attaching to the body are between the body and the seat part. The seat part can be turned laterally relative to the body.

Various kinds of birthing chairs, stools, beds, and frames are known, which do not, however, as the present invention does, suit both to floor use and for attachment or connection, for example, to a conventional bed or a hospital bed and being located on top of, or above the bed. Known solutions also cannot be lifted on top of the bed, without it preventing the bed from being simultaneously used normally and obstructing the need of a parturient to change position and move her body freely. The birthing bed and chair solutions restrict changing of the birthing position and do not take into account the work ergonomics or work safety of the staff or hygiene risks. When giving birth in a prone position, the loading on the sacro-iliaca (SI) joints may cause pain in both the pelvic and back areas. In stool and chair births, the working position of the staff is often uncomfortable because their back may be in a physically overloaded position for a long time.
At floor-level, birthing, excretions create hygienic and slipping risks for those in the room. In addition, solutions external to the bed slow down the rapid transfer of the parturient to the operating theatre in emergencies.


This invention presents a new class of multicomponent metallic oxides which are particularly suited toward use in fabricating components used in processes for producing syngas. The non-stoichiometric, A-site rich compositions of the present invention are represented by the formula (LnxCa1xe2x88x92x)y FeO3xe2x88x92xcex4wherein Ln is La or a mixture of lanthanides comprising La, and wherein 1.0 greater than x greater than 0.5, 1.1xe2x89xa7y greater than 1.0 and xcex4 is a number which renders the composition of matter charge neutral. Solid-state membranes formed from these compositions provide a favorable balance of oxygen permeance and resistance to degradation when employed in processes for producing syngas. This invention also presents a process for making syngas which utilizes such membranes.

Synthesis gas (syngas) containing hydrogen and carbon oxides is an important feedstock for the production of a wide range of chemical products. Syngas mixtures having controlled ratios of hydrogen and carbon monoxide are catalytically reacted to produce liquid hydrocarbons and oxygenated organic compounds including methanol, acetic acid, dimethylether, oxoalcohols and isocyanates. The syngas product can be further processed and separated to yield high purity hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The cost of generating the syngas is frequently the largest part of the total cost of preparing these products.
Two major reaction routes are commonly used by industry for syngas production, namely steam reforming of light hydrocarbons, primarily natural gas, naphtha and refinery offgases, and the partial oxidation of carbon-containing feed stocks ranging from natural gas to high molecular weight liquid or solid carbonaceous materials. Autothermal reforming is an alternate process which uses a light hydrocarbon feed which combines features of partial oxidation and steam reforming reactions in a single reactor. A concise review of such processes is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,323. Such processes typically require oxygen in purities of greater than 95 vol %, which is available from cryogenic air separation in large tonnage volumes or pressure swing absorption for smaller volumes.
Alternative processes have been developed for syngas production wherein oxygen necessary to conduct the partial oxidation reaction is provided in situ by the separation of air at high temperatures using solid-state membranes which conduct oxygen ions and electrons under operating conditions. Solid-state membranes which conduct oxygen ions and electrons are also known as mixed conducting membranes. Such mixed conducting membranes can be used in combination with appropriate catalysts to produce syngas in a membrane reactor eliminating the need for a separate oxygen production step. A membrane reactor typically has one or more reaction zones, wherein each reaction zone comprises a mixed conducting membrane which separates each reaction zone into an oxidant side and a reactant side.
Multicomponent metallic oxides are represented in the art by formulae which present one or more xe2x80x9cA-sitexe2x80x9d metals and one or more xe2x80x9cB-sitexe2x80x9d metals. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,411 discloses certain multicomponent metallic oxides having the perovskite structure represented by the formula AsAxe2x80x2tBuBxe2x80x2vBxe2x80x3wOx, wherein A represents a lanthanide, Y or a mixture thereof; Axe2x80x2 represents an alkaline earth metal or mixture thereof; B represents Fe; Bxe2x80x2 represents Cr, Ti or a mixture thereof; and Bxe2x80x3 represents Mn, Co, V, Ni, Cu or a mixture thereof, and s, t, u, v, w and x each represent a number such that s/t equals from about 0.01 to about 100; u equals from about 0.01 to about 1; v equals from about 0.01 to 1; w equals from 0 to about 1; x equals a number that satisfies the valences of A, Axe2x80x2, B, Bxe2x80x2 and Bxe2x80x3 in the formula; provided that 0.9 less than (s+t)/(u+v+w) less than 1.1. In a preferred embodiment Axe2x80x2 is calcium or strontium and Bxe2x80x3 represents Mn or Co or a mixture thereof. These multicomponent metallic oxides require chromium or titanium as a B-site element.
Multicomponent metallic oxides depicted by formulae presenting A-site metals and B-site metals may be stoichiometric compositions, A-site rich compositions or B-site rich compositions. Stoichiometric compositions are defined as materials wherein the sum of the A-site metal stoichiometric coefficients equals the sum of the B-site metal stoichiometric coefficients. A-site rich compositions are defined as materials wherein the sum of the A-site metal stoichiometric coefficients is greater than the sum of the B-site metal stoichiometric coefficients. B-site rich compositions are defined as materials wherein the sum of the B-site metal stoichiometric coefficients is greater than the sum of the A-site metal stoichiometric coefficients.
U.S. Pat No. 6,033,632 discloses a solid-state membrane for use in a catalytic membrane reactor which utilizes a membrane fabricated from a multicomponent metallic oxide having the stoichiometry A2xe2x88x92xAxe2x80x2xB2xe2x88x92yBxe2x80x2yO5+z, wherein A is an alkaline earth metal ion or mixture of alkaline earth metal ions; Axe2x80x2 is a metal ion or mixture of metal ions where the metal is selected from the group consisting of metals of the lanthanide series and yttrium; B is a metal ion or mixture of metal ions, wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting of 3d transition metals and the group 13 metals; Bxe2x80x2 is a metal ion or mixture of metal ions where the metal is selected from the group of the 3d transition metals, the group 13 metals, the lanthanides and yttrium; x and y are independently of each other numbers equal to or greater than zero and less than 2; and z is a number that renders the compound charge neutral. In a preferred embodiment the 3d transition metal is Fe and the group 13 metal is Ga, whereas Axe2x80x2 preferably is La and A is Sr and Ba.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,356,728 and 5,580,497 disclose cross-flow electrochemical reactor cells formed from multicomponent metallic oxides which demonstrate electron conductivity and oxygen ion conductivity at elevated temperatures. According to both documents, suitable multicomponent metallic oxides are represented by (Sr1xe2x88x92yMy)xcex1(Fe1xe2x88x92xCox)xcex1+xcex2)xcex4, wherein M is a metal selected from the group consisting of elements having atomic number in a range from 56 to 71, calcium and yttrium, x is a number in a range from about 0.01 to about 0.95, y is a number in a range from about 0.01 to about 0.95, xcex1 is a number in a range from about 1 to about 4, xcex2 is a number in a range upward from 0 to about 20, such that 1.1 less than (xcex1+xcex2)/xcex1xe2x89xa66, and xcex4 is a number which renders the compound charge neutral.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,807 teaches a fluid separation device capable of separating oxygen from an oxygen-containing gaseous mixture which utilizes at least one solid-state membrane comprising a dense mixed conducting multicomponent metallic oxide layer formed from a composition of matter represented by the formula:
LnxAxe2x80x2xxe2x80x3Axe2x80x2xxe2x80x3ByBxe2x80x2yxe2x80x2O3xe2x88x92z,
wherein Ln is an element selected from the f block lanthanides, Axe2x80x2 is selected from group 2, Axe2x80x3 is selected from groups 1, 2 and 3 and the f block lanthanides and B and Bxe2x80x2 are independently selected from the d block transition metals, excluding titanium and chromium, wherein 0xe2x89xa6x less than 1, 0 less than xxe2x80x2xe2x89xa61, 0xe2x89xa6xxe2x80x3 less than 1, 0 less than y less than 1.1, 0xe2x89xa6yxe2x80x2 less than 1.1., x+xxe2x80x2+xxe2x80x3=1.0, 1.1 greater than y+yxe2x80x2 greater than 1.0 and z is a number which renders the compound charge neutral. This reference discloses B-site rich non-stoichiometric compositions because the sum of the x indices is 1.0 and the sum of the y indices is greater than 1.0.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,220 presents a class of multicomponent metallic oxides which are well suited toward use in fabricating components used in solid-state oxygen separation devices. While the reference relates primarily to B-site rich compositions, the reference discloses A-site rich non-stoichiometric compositions represented by the formula LnxAxe2x80x2xxe2x80x2Axe2x80x3xxe2x80x2ByByxe2x80x2Bxe2x80x3yxe2x80x3O3xe2x88x92z wherein Ln is an element selected from the f block lanthanides, Axe2x80x2 is selected from Group 2, Axe2x80x3 is selected from Groups 1, 2 and 3 and the f block lanthanides and B, Bxe2x80x2 and Bxe2x80x3 are independently selected from the d block transition metals, excluding titanium and chromium, wherein 0xe2x89xa6x less than 1, 0 less than xxe2x80x2 less than 1, 0xe2x89xa6xxe2x80x3 less than 1, 0 less than y less than 1.1, 0 less than yxe2x80x2 less than 1.1, 0 less than yxe2x80x3 less than 1.1, x+xxe2x80x2+xxe2x80x3=1.0 0.9 less than y+yxe2x80x3 less than 1.0 and z is a number which renders the compound charge neutral wherein such elements are represented according to the Periodic Table of the Elements adopted by IUPAC.
A solid-state membrane employed in a process for making syngas is exposed to severe reaction conditions such as temperatures above 600xc2x0 C., a large pressure difference across the solid-state membrane, a highly oxidizing environment on one surface, and a water, hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide containing reactant gas stream on the other surface. Therefore, the solid-state membrane must have sufficiently high oxygen flux, a sufficient chemical stability in the syngas and air environments, a sufficiently low creep rate under the applied mechanical load, a sufficient resistance to demixing of the metal cations and a sufficiently low chemical expansion under the membrane operating conditions.
Numerous compositions known in the art for fabricating solid-state membranes do not adequately meet all the above criteria. Although some compositions are known to meet the oxygen flux criteria, for example, these compositions typically may not meet one or more other criteria as listed above. These criteria are nevertheless highly sought after for development of an economically viable technology based on solid-state membranes.
Researchers continue to search for suitable solid-state membranes that will economically and reliably produce syngas through the oxidation of methane and partially reformed methane feed stocks. More in detail, researchers are searching for mixed conducting multicomponent metallic oxides suitable for use in fabricating the dense layer of a solid-state membrane which meet the above criteria.
Applicants have discovered a new class of A-site rich non-stoichiometric multicomponent metallic oxides which are particularly suited toward use in solid-state membranes suitable for use in processes for producing synthesis gas (syngas). These compositions of matter overcome problems associated with many prior art compositions of matter by providing a favorable balance of oxygen permeance, resistance to degradation, favorable sintering properties and coefficients of thermal expansion which are compatible with other materials used to fabricate solid-state membranes.
The compositions of matter according to the invention are represented by the formula:
(LnxCa1xe2x88x92x)yFeO3xe2x88x92xcex4
wherein
Ln is La or a mixture of lanthanides comprising La, and wherein
1.0 greater than x greater than 0.5
1.1xe2x89xa7y greater than 1.0 and
xcex4 is a number which renders the composition of matter charge neutral.
In a preferred embodiment, 0.98 greater than x greater than 0.75 and 1.05 xe2x89xa7yxe2x89xa71.01.
The invention also presents solid-state membranes which comprise a first side and a second side wherein the solid-state membrane comprises a dense layer formed from a composition of matter represented by the formula:
(LnxCa1xe2x88x92x)yFeO3xe2x88x92xcex4
wherein
Ln is La or a mixture of lanthanides comprising La, and wherein
1.0 greater than x greater than 0.5
1.1xe2x89xa7y greater than 1.0 and
xcex4 is a number which renders the composition of matter charge neutral.
In a preferred embodiment, the dense layer of the solid-state membrane is formed from a composition of matter according to the formula wherein 0.98 greater than x greater than 0.75 and 1.05xe2x89xa7yxe2x89xa71.01.
The solid state membranes may further comprise any number of additional layers to enhance performance and durability. Such additional layers may include a porous mixed conducting multicomponent metallic oxide layer contiguous to the dense layer. The solid-state membranes which comprise a dense layer and any number of additional layers may be fabricated into a variety of shapes including flat plates or tubes. These solid-state membranes possess two exterior sides, referred to as the first side and the second side.
For example, one can envision the two sides of a coin in the case of a flat plate or the interior and exterior surfaces of a tube. Such solid-state membranes may also include a catalyst on the first side, a catalyst on the second side or on the first side and the second side meaning the surfaces of the membrane which will be in contact with the oxygen-containing feed gas and the methane-containing reactant gas during operating of the syngas process of this invention.
By way of example, the first side may be referred to as the reactant side and the second side may be referred to as the oxidant side. Suitable catalysts to be deposited onto the reactant side of the solid-state membrane are conventional reforming catalysts or partial oxidation catalysts such as a metal or an oxide of a metal selected from Groups 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10, 11 of the Periodic Table of the Elements according to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Preferred metals or oxides of metals are selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, iron, platinum, palladium, and silver.
By way of example, the second side of the solid-state membrane may be referred to as the oxidant side. Suitable catalysts to be deposited onto the oxidant side are conventional oxygen reduction catalysts such as a metal or an oxide of a metal selected from the Groups 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 15 and the F block lanthanides of the Periodic Table of the Elements according to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Preferred metals or oxides of metals are selected from the groups consisting of platinum, palladium, ruthenium, gold, silver, bismuth, barium, vanadium, molybdenum, cerium, praseodymium, cobalt, rhodium and manganese. Optionally, the catalyst may be any multicomponent metallic oxide which catalyzes the desired reaction.
The invention also presents a process for producing a synthesis gas product comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide comprising the steps of:
a) providing a reaction zone having an oxidant side and a reactant side which are separated by a solid-state membrane comprising a dense layer formed from a composition of matter represented by the formula:
(LnxCa1xe2x88x92x)yFeO3xe2x88x92xcex4
xe2x80x83wherein
Ln is La or a mixture of lanthanides comprising La, and wherein
1.0 greater than x greater than 0.5
1.1xe2x89xa7y greater than 1.0 and
xcex4 is a number which renders the composition of matter charge neutral,
b) heating an oxygen-containing feed gas and introducing the resulting heated oxygen-containing feed gas in the oxidant side of the reaction zone at an oxidant feed temperature and an oxidant gas feed pressure;
c) heating a methane-containing reactant gas and introducing the resulting heated methane-containing reactant gas in the reactant side of the reaction zone at a reactant gas feed temperature and a reactant gas feed pressure;
d) permeating oxygen from the oxidant side of the reaction zone through the solid-state membrane to the reactant side of the reaction zone and reacting the oxygen with the methane-containing reactant gas to form the synthesis gas product;
e) withdrawing the synthesis gas product from the reactant side of the reaction zone at a product gas outlet temperature; and
f) withdrawing an oxygen depleted gas stream from the oxidant side of the reaction zone at a product gas outlet temperature.
The oxygen containing feed gas in step (b) is preferably heated by direct combustion with a fuel in a direct-fired combustor to produce a hot, pressurized combustion product to provide the heated oxygen-containing feed gas.
Optionally, the process further comprises the steps of:
g) introducing a heated gaseous stream comprising steam and one or more hydrocarbons into a catalytic reforming reaction zone comprising at least one catalyst which promotes steam reforming of hydrocarbons to form a partially reformed intermediate gas comprising at least methane, hydrogen and carbon oxides; and
h) introducing the partially reformed intermediate gas into the reactant side of the reaction zone of step c).
Preferred operating conditions are defined for feed gas and product gas temperatures and for the pressure differential across the membrane during operation of the process. For example, the reactant feed gas temperature is between 950xc2x0 F. (510+ C.) and 1400xc2x0 F. (760xc2x0 C.) and the product gas outlet temperature is greater than about 1500xc2x0 F. (815xc2x0 C.). The oxidant gas feed pressure is between 1 psig (0.069 barG) and 45 psig (3.1 barG). The reactant gas feed pressure is between 100 psig (6.9 barG) and 900 psig (62 barG) and the oxidant gas feed temperature is up to 200xc2x0 F. (111xc2x0 C.) greater than the reactant gas feed temperature. The oxidant gas feed temperature is preferably less than the oxygen-depleted oxidant gas temperature.
Applicants"" invention can be more readily understood by referring to the Detailed Description of the Invention and the Figures which are attached hereto.

Mixed conducting membranes for syngas production


A method, system, and computer program product are provided for managing data in a browser-based application. The application is opened in the browser, and a subset of the application is arbitrarily specified as data. Different versions of the subset of the application specified as data are caused to persist so that they may be recovered later. Persistence and recovery of the subset of the application specified as data are performed in a manner transparent to the application.

The present invention relates generally to data processing and interactive computer applications, and more particularly, to application state checkpointing.
In a traditional web application, the browser displays the user interface and mainly passes user input to a back-end server that is executing the core application logic. This ensures that web applications can run on base configurations of most browsers but can result in an inferior user experience when compared to an average desktop application. This problem arises because base configurations of browsers do not have access to a rich set of user interface elements, and the browser is locked to application code and state residing on a remote server. Most user input causes a mandatory page load, making the application feel less responsive and more disruptive for the user.
Modern applications leverage the browser's ability to execute Javascript and communicate with the server using asynchronous messaging. Application code and application state can be moved from the server to the browser, resulting in applications that have richer interfaces and improved responsiveness. Code executing in the browser has much more autonomy to manage the application state separate from the server-side components. For example, browser-based office applications may only require a server to store data documents while the browser handles all other document management operations. This has greatly improved user experience.
Because of the large improvement in user experience, it is likely that applications which rely heavily on script executing in a browser will be an important, if not dominant, design for web applications. This has implications in browser design, application programming models, and performance enhancing strategies for the web infrastructure. One such implication is the ability for these applications to checkpoint their states. Browser applications are subject to various failures, and there exists a need to capture all the necessary state information needed to seamlessly restart, a browser application on demand. Checkpointing is also fundamental for enabling other state management services, such as application suspensions and resumptions and operation undoes and redoes.
Applications built using browser-based technologies increasingly need to manage application state on the client-side. Unfortunately, the browser is mostly optimized to render static documents and lacks the proper programming and user abstractions for managing application state. Application state management within the browser itself is an afterthought, since traditionally all application state management has been done outside the browser. Programming an application for the browser requires extensive knowledge of workarounds to achieve consistent results. The browser's document model of programming applications is incompatible with common application programming models. The browser freely mixes view components, executable script, and data into a single renderable document, creating an application structure that is a patchwork of sections, each having their own visual components, data, and script.
Developers wishing to add checkpointing services to the application state must manually interpret the patchwork of code that may be spread over several files. This interpretation includes identifying what state needs to be captured in the checkpoint and manually wiring the application to use persistence services that may not be available at runtime.
Current browser-based facilities for managing application state rely on custom coded or limited script APIs and browser-based services for persistent data. While both are appropriate for relatively passive web browsing, more complex browser based application levy new requirements on application-state management, such as state versioning, handling intermittent connectivity, and synchronization.
Thus, there exists a need for browser enhancement to provide both developers and users with a way to mange client-side state management.

Method, apparatus, and computer program product for managing data in a browser-based application

International Business Machines Corporation


A chip package assembly is produced by preparing a transparent substrate in advance, a chip is electrically connected to a circuit layout of the transparent substrate. Make sure an unoccupied layer is sealed between the transparent substrate and the chip, so as to form the chip package assembly. After the processes mentioned above are done, the chip package assembly can leave the clean room to run post-processes, such as die sawing, or camera module packaging.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for packaging a chip and a chip package assembly produced thereby, and particularly relates to a method that is rather than conventional package technologies and can improve the ability of packaging an optical electronic sensor, for example, the optical electronic sensor connects a predetermined region of a circuit layout of a transparent sheet via a conductive material, in order to form an unoccupied layer therebetween. After each chip is packaged, the transparent sheet is sawed into plurality of dices, the dices can be assembled into various camera module.
2. Description of Related Art
As much progress of electronic products does, such as being lightweight, thin, short and small, and being multiple functions, component packages applied for these electronic products develop with high frequency, quantities of I/O ports and microminiaturize. How to increase the production mass of and how to keep the quality of the component packages are the current issues.
With respect to FIGS. 1A and 1B, an optical electronic sensor package processed by the first conventional package method, a chip scale package (CSP) technology, is disclosed. A substrate 10a is prepared firstly. Secondly, a chip 20a with a micro-lens (μ-lens) array 21a is settled on the substrate, and a conductive pad 22a is arranged on the chip 20a and at the same top surface with the μ-lens array 21a. Thirdly, a terminal wrapping lead 30a is arranged from the conductive pad 22a of the chip 20a to a bottom of the substrate 10a. Fourthly, the bottom of the substrate 10a is dispensed with a solder ball array 11a, which electrically connects the conductive pad 22a via the terminal wrapping lead 30a. Fifthly, an optical paste 50a is coated on the chip 20a in order to stick with a cover glass 40a; a CSP device 1a is thus finally finished. During the post-processes, the CSP device 1a can be secured on to a printed circuit board 70a (a flexible board or a generic rigid board) by a reflow procedure during which the solder ball array 11a will melt for connecting therebetween, and a lens holder 60a, a lens 90a and an infrared ray filter 80a are gathered together on the printed circuit board 70a in sequence as a camera module (in FIG. 1B). As we know, the refraction index of the conventional cover glass 40a is about 1.6, the refraction index of the optical paste 50a is about 1.5, and the refraction index of the μ-lens array 21a is about 1.6. However, the optical paste 50a is filled between the chip 20a and the cover glass 40a, according to Snell's Law, the light passes through the cover glass 40 and is transmitted into the μ-lens array 21a via the optical paste 50a, and the CSP device 1a fails to provide good light convergence capacity and the image sensitivity of the camera module is bad. In addition, the CSP device 1a is obviously difficult to manufacture due to the complicated structure per se and the complex steps, the yield rate cannot raise so that the materials and the cost cannot be saved.
Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, an optical electronic sensor package processed by the second conventional package method, a chip on board (COB) technology, is disclosed. Firstly, a chip 20b is disposed on a printed circuit board 70b (generally a rigid board, or a flexible board also can be used), and a μ-lens array 21b and a conductive pad 22b are arranged at the same surface of the chip 20b. Secondly, a golden wire 30b bonds the conductive pad 22b to the printed circuit board 70b for the electrical connection. Thirdly, a lens holder 60b, a lens 90b and an infrared ray filter 80b are gathered together on the printed circuit board 70b in sequence, and further to seal this COB device 1b as a camera module for directly packaging, wherein the infrared ray filter 80b is arranged inside the lens holder 60b, the lens holder 60b is adhered to the printed circuit board 70b in advance, and the lens 90b is assembled into the lens holder 60b (in FIG. 2B). This camera module can be applied for electronic products hereafter. During the COB method, if there is any particle or dust fallen on the μ-lens array 21b of the chip 20b, a kind of critical failure mode will damage the image sensing, the fallen particle cannot be removed by any cleaning means, and therefore, the camera module absolutely fails. Thus, for keeping the COB device 1b from the particles and dusts, the whole process will be practiced in a clean room with high criteria, for example, a class 10 clean room in order to increase the yield rate. But such the clean room is so expensive, and the lager size of the clean room for containing all the equipments used in the COB processes costs more than the regular one. Furthermore, in the clean room, the airflow therein should be kept steady and stable, or the disturbed air and the induced particles will affect the yield rate. Nevertheless, the wire bonding procedure causes the air disturbance due to the high speed thereof.
Hence, an improvement over the prior art is required to overcome the disadvantages thereof.

Method for packaging chip and package assembly produced thereby


A transistor is formed using a semiconductor substrate and forming a control electrode overlying the semiconductor substrate. A first current electrode is formed within the semiconductor substrate and adjacent the control electrode. The first current electrode has a first predetermined semiconductor material. A second current electrode is formed within the semiconductor substrate and adjacent the control electrode to form a channel within the semiconductor substrate. The second current electrode has a second predetermined semiconductor material that is different from the first predetermined semiconductor material. The first predetermined semiconductor material is chosen to optimize bandgap energy of the first current electrode, and the second predetermined semiconductor material is chosen to optimize strain of the channel.

Conventional transistors typically use a same material for the source and drain. The materials that are used are customized for a specific application. For example, for applications where significant power requirements are needed from a transistor, a transistor material having a high breakdown voltage is desirable. Such materials include those materials known to have a high bandgap energy. Currently asymmetric transistors provide advantages that improve transistor device performance. In addition, for transistors that require a high breakdown voltage and low drain junction current leakage a high bandgap material in the drain region is desirable.
Another design parameter for transistors is the consideration of the amount of transistor channel strain. It is desired to have as high a channel strain in a transistor as possible. In order to maximize the channel strain, a high strain material is used in both the source and drain. However, known high strain materials have a low bandgap energy and therefore lower the transistor's breakdown voltage and create higher drain junction current leakage. Thus, the design of transistors involves a tradeoff to maximize two desired properties that cannot be found in a single material.
Others have proposed asymmetric transistor structures with the use of asymmetric dopant implants. The objectives in using asymmetric transistor structures are to minimize the impact of junction capacitance on circuit performance, reduce junction current leakage and gate current leakage.
Transistors that are doped asymmetrically do not address the breakdown and junction leakage that arises from the reduced bandgap energy of the material in the source and drain of the transistor.
Skilled artisans appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.

Semiconductor transistor having structural elements of differing materials