A personal hydration system with a flow-restricting device. The hydration system includes a fluid reservoir configured to store fluid and a tube assembly that is coupled to the reservoir and configured to deliver fluid to a user""s mouth, such as via a mouthpiece. The system further includes a flow-restricting device that is configured to selectively restrict the flow of drink fluid between the reservoir and the mouthpiece. In some embodiments, the flow-restricting device includes a body and a rotatable core.

The present invention relates generally to hydration systems, and more particularly to a hydration system with an improved fluid delivery system.
Medical research has demonstrated the importance of maintaining adequate hydration while engaging in strenuous physical activities, such as bicycling or mountain climbing. In the not too distant past, participants in such activities carried their water in bottles or canteens from which they drank periodically. More recently, personal hydration systems have been developed which allow users to drink more or less continuously while engaged in sporting or recreational activities. These personal hydration systems typically have a bag-like fluid reservoir that is carried in a back- or waist-mounted pack. A long flexible tube is connected to the reservoir through an exit port at one end and terminates in a mouthpiece at the other end. The tube is long enough to allow the mouthpiece to be carried in the user""s mouth to enable the user to draw water from the reservoir at will. Examples of hydration systems and mouthpieces therefore are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,727,714, 5,060,833, 5,085,349, and 6,070,767, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Although personal hydration systems have proven to be a great advance over traditional water bottles, they do suffer from some drawbacks. One such drawback is inherent in the fact that the mouthpiece is designed to release fluid when external pressure is applied thereto, such as by a user biting down upon the mouthpiece or sucking on the mouthpiece. During normal operation of the hydration system, this bite-activated mouthpiece is a preferred design because it does not require the user""s hands to be used to dispense fluid. Instead, the user""s hands are able to remain directed to the user""s activity, such as biking, climbing, skiing, and the like. However, sometimes it is desirable to prevent the delivery of fluid from the mouthpiece, even if external forces are applied to the mouthpiece. Otherwise, inadvertent dispensing of fluid may occur if the hydration system or other objects are placed on the mouthpiece, if the mouthpiece is stepped or sat upon, or if the mouthpiece strikes objects. Because the mouthpiece remains ready to dispense fluid upon the application of external forces thereto, fluid may be inadvertently dispensed from the reservoir. This unintentional, or inadvertent, dispensing of fluid not only wastes the fluid in the reservoir, but also may damage objects upon which the fluid is dispensed.
The present invention provides a hydration system with a fluid reservoir and a draining tube extending from the reservoir and terminating at a dispensing end. The system typically includes a mouthpiece in fluid communication with the dispensing end of the drinking tube. In some embodiments, the mouthpiece is a bite-actuated mouthpiece and/or a self-sealing mouthpiece. The hydration system further includes a flow-restricting device that allows the user to selectively restrict the flow of fluid to the mouthpiece of the hydration system, thereby preventing unintentional dispensing of fluid contained within the hydration system""s fluid reservoir. In some embodiments, the flow-restricting device includes a body and a rotatable core.
Many other features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description which follows and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which preferred embodiments incorporating the principles of this invention are disclosed as illustrative examples only.

Hydration system with improved fluid delivery system


To acquire a correction image by performing a sub-pixel shift process for shifting an image using a pixel interpolation filter by a pixel shift amount between pixels and a frequency correction process for correcting a frequency characteristic of the image after shifted.

The present invention relates to an electron beam device and an image processing method.
In recent years, the size of a pattern to be formed on semiconductor substrates or insulating substrates has increasingly been made finer, and a high magnification is required even for observation or dimension measurement using a scanning electron microscope.
The scanning electron microscope is an apparatus which emits an electron beam which has been finely throttled onto a specimen, detects two-dimensional electrons occurred by electron beam irradiation and reflected electrons, and performs modulation for brightness based on an amount of detected electrons so as to form an image.
If the specimen is observed at a high magnification, the so-called image drifting, may occur. In this phenomenon, a target image to be observed and having a fine pattern is moved over time. This causes a problem, such as image blur or a decrease in accuracy of length measurement.
For example, when it is intended to obtain a frame image of 512*512 pixels at an observation magnification of 100,000 times, the size of one pixel is approximately 2.6 nm on the specimen. Currently, the demanded accuracy of the size calculation is 0.5 nm or lower. In the pattern having significant image drift, the image drift of approximately 1 to 2 nm is observed in a time (40 milliseconds) for obtaining one frame image. If the size is calculated in such a drift pattern, the size deviation occurs approximately by 2 nm. Charging of the specimen by the electron irradiation is the major occurrence factor of the image drift.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-308471 discloses a method for acquiring an image (frame images) of a specimen surface while displacing a stage on which a specimen is mounted. For this acquisition, the method includes the steps of: when acquiring integrated images, grouping plural pieces of acquired images (frame images) to create integrated images correspondingly respectively to the groups; calculating image displacement quantity between the integrated images and calculating a relational expression between the image displacement quantity and the number of images; calculating the displacement quantity of the plural pieces of images based on the relational expression; and correcting and integrating the images by the displacement quantity.
Using this technique, even if the images are moved in the observation field due to displacement of the stage, it becomes possible to acquire the integrated images without degradations, such as out-of-focus of the images. Even without displacement of the stage, when the images are observed as they are moved due to the charged specimen, it is deduced to acquire the integrated images with only a small blur.
WO2010/070815 proposes a method for enhancing the accuracy of the length measurement, by converting a movement amount between frame images into movement between field images. This method is effective for improving the accuracy of the length measurement at a high magnification (particularly, it is significant in the observation field of approximately 1 micron or less) in which the accuracy of length measurement is not satisfactory with using the method of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-308471.

Electron beam device and image processing method


A thermosetting resin composition contains (A) an imide compound having a maleimide group, (B) an epoxy resin, (C) a phenolic resin, and optionally, (D) an aromatic polymer/organopolysiloxane copolymer wherein component (B) and/or (C) has a double bond conjugated with an aromatic group and component (B) and/or (C) has a naphthalene ring. The composition is easily workable and cures to products having improved adhesion, heat resistance, low thermal expansion, and low water absorption.

Thermosetting resin compositions have been widely used as a variety of electrically insulating materials, structural materials, and adhesives by molding, casting, impregnating, laminating, and other forming techniques. Increasingly rigorous requirements are currently imposed in these applications, among which heat resistance is important.
Typical thermosetting resin compositions include polyimide and epoxy resins. The polyimide resins have satisfactory heat resistance, but are poorly workable in that they require prolonged heating at high temperatures for working. The epoxy resins modified to improve heat resistance are easily workable, but insufficient in mechanical and electrical properties at high temperatures, long-term thermal degradation resistance, and extreme heat resistant function.
Several replacements were proposed, for example, a thermosetting resin mixture comprising a polyimide and an alkenyl phenol or alkenyl phenol ether as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application KoKai (JP-A) No. 994/1977, and a heat resistant resin composition comprising a maleimide compound, a polyallylated phenol, and an epoxy resin as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 28416/1982. Since the polyallylated phenol used in the latter composition has a structure in which a polyallyl ether compound has been subject to Claisen rearrangement or Claisen rearrangement creates a phenolic hydroxyl group during heat curing, each substituting allyl group and a hydroxyl or ether group are at ortho-positions on a common aromatic ring and they would remain unreacted after curing especially in the case of novolak type resin compositions, leaving problems in cured properties and thermal degradation resistance at high temperatures.


Provided is an estimating device, an estimating method, and an estimating program that each make it possible to estimate the area of activity of a target user with a smaller amount of information. An estimating device includes a first position distribution generating unit configured to generate a first position distribution of a target user on social media based on account information of the target user, a second position distribution generating unit configured to generate a second position distribution of a friend who is friends with the target user on the social media based on account information of the friend, and an estimating unit configured to estimate an area of activity of the target user based on the generated first position distribution and the generated second position distribution.

In recent years, social media, such as social networking service (SNSs), have spread around the world and are widely used. Since a large amount of information concerning users with an account and those users' friends accumulates daily in social media, studies are being done on the method of analyzing and utilizing such information.
As some related techniques, techniques for estimating the position of a user based on information from social media are known, as disclosed in Non-Patent Literatures 1 and 2. Non-Patent Literature 1 discloses a method of estimating an area of activity of a target user by use of information concerning, among friends who are friends with the target user on social media, a friend who interacts with the target user also in the real world (an offline friend). Non-Patent Literature 2 discloses a method of estimating the position of a user based on the user's friends and the content including text that the user has generated.    NPL 1: Keisuke Ikeda, Kazufumi Kojima, and Masahiro Tani. "Study on Technique of Estimating Area of Residence with Focus on Geographical Proximity Among Group of Friends," The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, IEICE technical report, Vol. 119, No. 317, pp. 37-42, AI2019-36, November, 2019.    NPL 2: Dan Xu, Peng Cui, Wenwu Zhu, and Shiqiang Yang. "Graph-based residence location inference for social media users," IEEE Computer Society, IEEE MultiMedia, Volume 21, Issue 4, pp. 76-83, October, 2014.

Estimating device, estimating method, and estimating program


In the case of an electrode (5) for a high-pressure discharge lamp, at least a part of the surface of the electrode is covered with a dendritic layer (13) made from high-melting-point metal. A substantially longer service life is achieved thereby.

The invention proceeds from an electrode for a high-pressure discharge lamp in accordance with the preamble of claim 1. At issue, in particular, are mercury short-arc lamps, in particular for the semiconductor industry. There, they are frequently used in photolithographic processes for exposing wafers or other substrates. A further preferred field of application is inert gas high-pressure discharge lamps, in particular xenon high-pressure discharge lamps. Application for metal halide lamps is also possible.
Already known from publication EP-A 791 950 is a high-pressure discharge lamp in which the anode is provided outside its tip with a sintered-on layer made from fine-grained tungsten. The surface of the anode is enlarged thereby. The temperature of the anode can thus be lowered during operation, and the bulb blackening can be reduced. The emissivity of such a layer is approximately 0.5.
DE-A 11 82 743 discloses the use of a layer which raises the emissivity and is made from sintered-on tungsten or TaC. The layer is applied to the anode in this case by slurrying a suspension of butyl acetate with cellulose binder and the corresponding metal powder. The sintering process is performed under a vacuum at temperatures above 1800xc2x0 C. Additional cooling can be achieved by using cooling channels 1-3 mm deep.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an electrode for a high-pressure discharge lamp in accordance with the preamble of claim 1 which has a very long service life.
This object is achieved by means of the characterizing features of claim 1. Particularly advantageous refinements are to be found in the dependent claims.
The coating according to the invention of the surface of an electrode is suitable as an extremely effective mechanism for cooling the electrode (by thermal radiation). The point is that the higher the emission coefficient the cooler the electrode becomes. Consequently, the tungsten evaporation from the electrode, and thus the bulb blackening can be reduced. Because of the exponential increase in the tungsten evaporation rate with the temperature of the electrode, even a comparatively slight drop in temperature leads to a substantial reduction in the bulb blackening.
In photolithography, in particular, it is required of the lamp that the reduction in the luminous flux should be as slight as possible in the course of the lamp operation. An alternative is the desire for a luminous flux which is as high as possible, so that it is possible to achieve a very short exposure time of the substrate. Consequently, a lengthening of the service life can be achieved, on the one hand. Alternatively, design possibilities are opened up for achieving a higher initial intensity in conjunction with constant maintenance. The dimensions of the electrodes can also possibly be reduced.
The reason for the reduction in the luminous flux is that the electrode material (tungsten being used as a rule) can melt and evaporate in the discharge arc in the case of a high power density. The anode, in particular, is heated up strongly by the impact of the electrons. Tungsten evaporating from the anode is deposited on the bulb and leads to bulb blackening which reduces the luminous flux of the lamp. However, the invention can also be applied in the case of highly loaded cathodes.
The anode temperature depends in this case essentially on the power emitted by it. If the anode is regarded as a Planckian radiator, the emitted power per area (L) is described by the Stefan-Boltzmann law:
L=xcex5xc3x97"sgr"xc3x97T4
Here, "sgr"=5.67xc3x9710xe2x88x928 W mxe2x88x922 Kxe2x88x924 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant; the emission coefficient xcex5 describes the deviation of a thermal radiator (0 less than xcex5 less than 1) from an ideal blackbody radiator. (xcex5=1). T is the temperature in K.
In the present invention, the coating of the anode with a dendritic metal or a metal compound increases the emission coefficient from approximately 0.3 (pure tungsten) to values above 0.6 (in the case of a temperature of at least 1000xc2x0 C.) . Values of over 0.8 are even reached for the first time in lamp construction. The dendritic structure is understood here as a multiplicity of needle-shaped, radiation-reflecting outgrowths on the otherwise smooth surface. These outgrowths are located next to one another at a spacing of a few nanometers to more than a hundred micrometers, preferably at a mean spacing of at least 300 nm. A structure in which the depth of the valley between two neighbouring needle-shaped peaks is at least 30% of the spacing of these peaks from one another has proved to be particularly suitable. The dendritic layer can be produced, in principle, from high-melting-point metals. Particularly suitable are rhenium, tungsten, molybdenum and tantalum or their carbides and/or nitrides. Carbides or nitrides of hafnium or zirconium are also suitable. In addition, a normal coating made from a high-melting-point metal can be applied between the core of tungsten and the dendritic layer.
A rhenium layer is particularly suitable, since a dendritic structure can be produced particularly effectively thereby. Its emission coefficient xcex5 is approximately 0.9. Consequently, for a prescribed emitted power L it is possible in the case of an anode coated with dendritic rhenium to reduce the temperature by up to 200 K when operating the anode, by comparison with an uncoated anode, or one coated with sintered-on tungsten or TaC. The suitability of the rhenium layer for lamp construction is astonishing to the extent that the vapour pressure of the rhenium is higher by a factor of approximately 75 by comparison with tungsten. This point of view plays no role in the case of a rotary anode operated in a vacuum, since the vapour-deposited material condenses at cold spots. However, in lamp construction the intense deposition would lead to blackening, and thus to reduced service life. Because of the substantial temperature drop, this disadvantageous effect is more than balanced out, however.
This greatly improved anode cooling furthermore greatly reduces the evaporation of the regular electrode material (tungsten) from the deposition surface of the anode facing the discharge. As a consequence thereof, the lamp is distinguished overall in the case of identical light data by a substantially diminished reduction in radiation in the course of the service life.
The front region of the anode is preferably hemispherical or conically tapered. Particularly suitable is a conical frustum with a plane deposition surface for the discharge (called the anode plateau in the following text).
Alternatively, the invention can provide anodes with smaller dimensions in conjunction with an unchanged service life response and the same operating temperature. The smaller dimensioning reduces the shading of the discharge arc by the electrodes, as a result of which the luminous flux of the lamp is increased in conjunction with the same service life response.
For example, it is possible by means of chemical gas phase epitaxy (also known in technical language as CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition)) to apply to the surface of the anode a metal layer, approximately 10 to 40 xcexcm thick, with a dendritic surface morphology. It is characterized by needle-shaped crystallites whose mutual spacing is typically approximately 10-30 xcexcm. The needle-shaped crystallites are positioned approximately perpendicularly on the surface, with the result that incident radiation is virtually completely absorbed by multiple reflection between the lateral surfaces of neighbouring crystals. As a result, such a layer has a high absorptivity and is black. In accordance with the high absorptivity, it has a high emission coefficient of up to xcex5=0.9. The production of such layers is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,148 in connection with an application in rotary anodes for X-ray tubes. Reference is expressly made to this publication. The CVD technique is particularly suitable as a method of production for this layer. However, other techniques for the production of thin, high-melting-point, metal layers such as, for example, sputtering (often designated in technical language as PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition)) or laser ablation also come into consideration.
The increase in the emission coefficient to values of up to approximately 0.9 can lower the temperature of the anode plateau, principally in high-pressure short arc lamps, by up to 200 K by comparison with uncoated anodes.
The present invention is suitable chiefly for mercury high-pressure discharge lamps with a content of 1 to 60 mg/cm3 Hg. A typical cold filling pressure of the added inert gas is from 0.2 to 5 bar. Xenon is used, in particular, but argon (250 mbar) is also very suitable.
The present invention can also be applied to other types of lamp, in particular to xenon high-pressure discharge lamps with a cold filling pressure of up to 20 bar. A very important field of application are high-pressure discharge lamps which are operated in a pulse fashion or with direct current. The point is that the loading of the electrode is particularly high here. To date, the anode plateau has melted in the middle and exhibited an extensive change in structure. This a problem has now been eliminated. In principle, the technique described here is suitable not only for the anodes of this highly loaded lamp, but also for its cathodes. The front region of the cathode is advantageously pointed.

High-pressure discharge lamp electrode having a dendritic surface layer thereon

Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft fuer elektrische Gluehlampen mbH


A small wide-angle zoom lens having good performance, in order from the object side, comprises at least a first lens group G1 having a negative refractive power, a second lens group G2 having a positive refractive power, and a third lens group G3 having a negative refractive power. During zooming from a maximum wide-angle state to a maximum telephoto state, each lens group can move toward the object side so that the distance between the first lens group G1 and the second lens group G2 decreases and the distance between the second lens group G2 and the third lens group G3 decreases. The second lens group can comprise first, second and optional third lens group units. The zoom lens is configured to satisfy various conditions to achieve advantageous results.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wide-angle zoom lens. In particular, the wide-angle zoom lens is suitable for use with a shutter camera with no restriction in back focus.
2. Background of Related Art
Lens shutter type cameras that are equipped with zoom lenses are very common. In recent years, the number of cameras equipped with high zooming ratio zoom lenses with a zooming ratio exceeding two and a wider range of angles have increased. Lens shutter type camera bodies have become more compact and more light weight. Generally, a zoom lens is retracted in the body as the distance between each of the lens groups is minimized during each zooming, in a lens shutter type camera with a zoom lens. Consequently, minimizing the thicknesses of the lens groups and lens diameter of each lens element in a zoom lens becomes important in making a camera body more compact.
Additionally, in lens shutter type cameras equipped with a zoom lens without restrictions in back focus, the back focus can be shortened at the maximum wide-angle state by placing a negative lens group closest to the image plane of the lens system. Furthermore, attempts have been made to range to more wide angles in lens shutter type cameras with a zoom lens by causing the height of the off-axis rays passing through a negative lens group to be separated from the optical axis. Thus, correcting fluctuations in coma aberrations that accompany changes in the field angle is easier. Further, by making the back focus larger during zooming from a maximum wide-angle state to a maximum telephoto state, the change in the height of off-axis rays and off-axis aberrations fluctuations are suppressed during zooming.
A negative-positive-negative type zoom lens is a conventional zoom type lens with a high zoom ratio and with a high range for the wide angle have high zooming ratio zoom lenses with wide angles. For example, these lenses are known in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications Hei 2-238,416 and Sho 54-781,149. These negative-positive-negative three group zoom lenses comprise three movable lens groups. These lens groups are, in order from the object side, a first lens group having negative refractive power, a second lens group having positive refractive power, and a third lens group having negative refractive power. Furthermore, during zooming from the maximum wide-angle state to the maximum telephoto state, each lens group moves so the distance between the first lens group and the second lens group decreases, and the distance between the second lens group and the third lens group decreases.
However, with the conventional negative-positive-negative type zoom lens, the refractive power of the first lens group is weak, which causes separation of the height of an off-axis ray from the optical axis. Therefore, the off-axis aberrations and the on-axis aberrations are independently corrected. However, if a wide-angle is desired, the off-axis ray may be further separated from the optical axis. Thus, it is difficult to properly minimize lens diameter.
Moreover, in a zoom lens where negative lens groups are closest to the image side, a sufficient back focus can not be obtained at a maximum wide-angle state to achieve a wide-angle lens state. Therefore, a shadow of any debris on the rearmost lens surface can be each recorded on the film's surface.
In the zoom lens in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Hei 2-238416, a field angle wider than 70.degree. can be included at a maximum wide-angle state. However, sufficient back focus could not be obtained at the maximum wide-angle state. Thus, a shadow of any debris on the rearmost lens surface can be easily recorded on the film's surface.
Several methods for focusing at close range by moving only one of the zoom lens groups of the lens system are also known. When focusing at close distances from a far distance, the following three methods of focusing are known:
(A) the FF (front focus) method; PA1 (B) the IF (inner focus) method; and PA1 (C) the RF (rear focus) method.
For these methods, focusing lens unit, which moves along the optical axis for focusing at close distances, must have a small lens diameter and a small amount of movement. If these two conditions are satisfied, the lens structure is simplified, and the lens system can be made smaller.
When focusing at a close distance with known negative-positive-negative three group zoom lens, the FF method (A) and the RF method (C) can be used. However, in negative-positive-negative three group zoom lenses, the diameters of first and third lens groups would be large. Thus, the FF method (A) and RF method (C) are not suitable for compactness.
Moreover, in zooming from a maximum wide-angle state to a maximum telephoto state, the second lens group could not be used as a focusing lens group by the IF method (B), because the lateral magnification of the second lens group changes from the first range (from -1 to 0) to the second range (less than -1), and the direction of movement of the second lens group is opposite that which is needed between the first range and the second range. This is not suitable for the known methods.
Moreover, with known negative-positive-negative three group zoom lens such as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Sho 54-78149, the back focus may be restricted. Consequently, the vertical height difference between the on and off-axis rays, which pass through the third lens group at a maximum wide-angle state, is small. The change in height of the off-axis rays is small when zooming from the maximum wide-angle state to the maximum telephoto state. Therefore, the aberration correction burden on the third lens group will be small, and it will be difficult to increase the zooming ratio.
Further, as auto focus cameras have become more common, the various methods have been used for focusing at close distances. For an optimum zoom lens in an auto focus camera, the focusing lens group, which moves during focusing at close distances, must be small. Also, the work displacement (displacement.times.mass) during focusing at close distances must be small to improve auto-focus systems with high speed focusing and a simple structure.
In a negative-positive-negative type zoom lens, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,792, the lens unit of the second lens group, which is arranged closest to the object side, is used as the focusing lens group and may be formed from a single lens. Consequently, its refractive power could not be strengthened to adequately correct fluctuations in various aberrations created during focusing. It is impossible to shorten the total length of the lens system at the maximum telephoto state, because the principal point of the second lens group is positioned on the object side.


A one-way clutch is provided with a retainer formed with a holding hole for holding a sprag biting between an outer race and an inner race. The retainer further has a sprag restraining piece intervening between the outer race and the inner race. The sprag restraining piece protrudes radially outwardly of the retainer and resiliently bears against the sprag so that the sprag is held between the holding hole and the sprag restraining piece and urged in a direction to bite between the outer race and the inner race. The retainer serves to hold the sprag in the holding hole and also serves to prevent the sprag from coming off the holding hole by the sprag restraining piece and causes the sprag to bite between the outer race and the inner race. Portions of the retainer serve multiple roles when compared to prior retainers and, therefore, the number of parts of the one-way clutch is decreased and the structure thereof becomes simple and the assembly thereof is simplified.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention belongs to the technical field of a one-way clutch incorporated, for example, between the drive shaft and the driven shaft, of an automobile, an ordinary industrial machine, or the like, for transmitting power to the driven shaft only when the drive shaft rotates in a predetermined direction.
2. Related Background Art
A one-way clutch according to the prior art, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 of the accompanying drawings, is usually provided with a sprag 23 biting between an outer race 21 and an inner race 22, an annular wire cage 24 holding this sprag 23, a ring-like spring 26 engaged with a spring engagement groove 25 formed in the sprag 23 and holding the sprag 23 between itself and the wire cage 24, and two ring-like side plates 27 and 28 holding the sprag 23 therebetween on the axial opposite sides thereof.
The wire cage 24 is formed with a wire bent so that opening portions may alternately face axial opposite sides of the outer race 21 and the inner race 22. A plurality of projected pieces 29 are inwardly projectedly provided on the inner peripheries of the side plates 27 and 28. These projected pieces 29 are engaged with wire cage 24, whereby the side plates 27 and 28 are incorporated into the wire cage 24.
A plurality of radially protruding resilient projected pieces 17, 18 are formed on the outer periphery of the side plate 27. When these resilient projected pieces 17, 18 are inserted into a groove 19 formed in the side of the outer race coaxially with the outer race, the wire cage 24 is positioned relative to the outer race 21 by the resilient forces of the bent resilient projected pieces 17, 18.
The sprag 23 is inserted from the outside into the wire cage 24 into which the side plate 27 is incorporated in advance, whereafter the spring 26 is mounted from the outside of the sprag 23, whereby the sprag 23 is prevented from coming off the wire cage 24 and is mounted on the wire cage 24.
However, such a one-way clutch 20 suffers from the following problems:
(1) The one-way clutch is comprised of an inner race, an outer race, a plurality of sprags 23, a wire cage 24 and a spring 26 and therefore, the number of parts is great. PA1 (2) When the sprags 23 are to be mounted on the wire cage 24, the spring 26 is brought into engagement with each spring engagement groove 25 from the outside of each sprag 23 and therefore, the assembly requires much time and labor.


Methods and apparatus for configuring a UE to assist in mitigating network congestion include determining whether a data packet has expired based on a first parameter, which indicates an expiration of the data, and adjusting a transmission of the data packet based on the determination of whether the data packet has expired. In some aspects, the UE may drop the data packet upon determination that the data packet has expired. The UE may be configured detect to a first congestion level, receive a second congestion level from a second UE, and process a frame for transmission based on the first or second congestion level. The UE may be configured determine a priority, generate a data packet that includes a destination parameter or a source parameter, adjust radio resource parameters based on the destination parameter or source parameter, and transmit data packets according to adjusted radio resources.

Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly, to a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.
Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.
These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. An example telecommunication standard is Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). LTE is designed to support mobile broadband access through improved spectral efficiency, lowered costs, and improved services using OFDMA on the downlink, SC-FDMA on the uplink, and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology. However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, there exists a need for further improvements in LTE technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other multi-access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.
In particular, LTE may be configured to support device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, and/or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication utilizing proximity-based services (ProSe), which may include devices configured to interface with the vehicle-to-infrastructure/network (V2I/N) (e.g., vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), pedestrian-to-vehicle (P2V), road side unit (RSU)). In these instances, vehicles may perform message transmissions using resources assigned by the network (e.g. eNB, or RSU) or pre-configured for V2X use.
In some circumstances, due to the potentially limited radio resources for the V2X communication, V2X may be unable to accommodate all the messages exchanged simultaneously. As such, LTE and in particular V2X, would benefit from congestion mitigation.

LTE based V2X communication QOS and congestion mitigation


A supplied analog signal is modulated by comparing the supplied analog signal with a noise signal. As a result of each comparison, an output signal is generated having a first value if the supplied analog signal is greater than the noise signal and generating an output signal having a second value if the supplied analog signal is lower than the noise signal. Such modulation is useful in applications such as analog-to-digital conversion. The transfer function of the modulator is a function of the distribution of the noise source.

The invention relates to signal modulators, and more particularly to modulation techniques useful for converting an analog signal into a digital signal.
Today's information age would not have been possible without the existence of digital technology. The huge amount of storage, communications, and information processing that now goes on continuously throughout the world relies on the fact that representation of information can be reduced to ones and zeroes. Moore's law, stating that every 18 months the amount of transistors per area is doubled, or the cost is halved, still seems to remain valid. Yet, our daily lives are filled with analog signals; that is, signals that are continuous in time and continuous in amplitude. Nyquist has shown that signals whose frequency bandwidth is limited can be made time-discrete (i.e., represented only by values associated with distinct points in time) if the rate of sampling is sufficiently large. In addition, signals can be made amplitude discrete (i.e., represented only by values selected from a fixed set of values, eliminating any possibility of any values lying "in-between" any of the values in the fixed set) by quantizing to discrete levels. In applications such as communications, the number of bits in the quantization is determined by the required signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions since quantization adds quantization noise.
It can be appreciated, then, that the interface between the analog world and the digital world is crucial for the success of digitally processing analog information. In the past, a lot of attention has been paid to analog-to-digital (A/D) converters and A/D modulators. Depending on the required speed (bandwidth of the input signal) and the required SNR, different A/D concepts can be used. Examples include successive approximation A/D, flash A/D, delta modulation, and sigma-delta modulation. These well-known techniques will now be briefly discussed.
Successive approximation is a low cost concept that can be used when the number of bits per sample has to be large. However conversion per sample takes quite a long time and the concept is not attractive for input signals with a large bandwidth.
Flash converters are extremely fast, but have high power consumption and are expensive.
Delta modulation and sigma-delta modulation techniques have become very popular as they use simple implementations and show fairly good performance. In delta modulation, the input signal is followed in a step-wise fashion: for every detected increase in the input signal, the output is increased by a fixed step size; for every detected decrease in the input signal, the output is likewise decreased by a fixed step size. Delta modulation is limited in bandwidth and amplitude because of slope overload. Slope overload occurs when the magnitude of the rise (or fall) in the input signal is larger than the steps can follow. Using larger steps compromises the SNR at smaller signal levels because the quantization levels are coarser.
Sigma-delta modulators do not have this limitation. In these modulators, the average of the binary output represents the input level. Sigma-delta modulators require a large oversampling rate in order to reduce the variation in this average.
Sigma-delta modulators are commonly used for high-performance audio and video applications. They have a few disadvantages though. For one thing, a feedback loop is used in sigma-delta modulators. The circuitry in the loop runs at the oversampling rate and can therefore consume quite a lot of power. Moreover, the loop can become unstable and may exhibit limit cycles. Additionally, the oversampling rate must be much higher than the bandwidth of the signal being sampled. Because of limits on how high the oversampling rate can be, the signal bandwidth cannot be extremely large. Furthermore, since the sigma-delta modulation introduces noise shaping, moving noise into the higher frequency area, rather extensive low-pass filtering in the digital domain is required to prevent aliasing during the down-sampling. (Down-sampling is a process whereby the number of samples representing a signal is reduced, as though the signal had been originally sampled at a slower sampling rate.)


Techniques for accommodating an incoming signal at a front-end receiver via AC-coupling or DC-coupling are described herein. In one aspect, a front-end receiver comprises a differential input with a first data line and a second data line for receiving an incoming signal. The front-end receiver also comprises an AC-coupled switch coupled to the differential input, wherein the AC-coupled switch is configured to both perform high-pass filtering on the incoming signal and offset the filtered incoming signal with a DC-offset voltage if an AC-coupling mode of the receiver is enabled. The front-end receiver further comprises a DC-coupled switch coupled to the differential input, wherein the DC-coupled switch is configured to shift a common-mode voltage of the incoming signal if a DC-coupling mode of the receiver is enabled.

Field
Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to receivers, and more particularly, to front-end receivers for accommodating incoming signals via alternating current (AC)-coupling or direct current (DC)-coupling.
Background
A device may include a front-end analog receiver for receiving an incoming signal from another device. The front-end receiver may perform front-end processing on the received signal (e.g., equalization, filtering, amplification, etc.) before forwarding the signal to other components in the device for further processing.
A front-end receiver may receive different types of incoming signals complying with different standards, such as Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIE), Universal Serial Bus (USB), Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), embedded DisplayPort (eDP), M-PHY, etc. Some types of signals may require AC-coupling at the front-end receiver, while other types of signals may require DC-coupling at the front-end receiver. A typical analog front-end receiver is either AC-coupled or DC-coupled depending on a particular application or type of incoming signal being received.

Unified front-end receiver interface for accommodating incoming signals via AC-coupling or DC-coupling


A method and system for detecting a hidden node in a wireless local area network having a first station, a second station, and an access point. The first station can send a message, where the message can be sent as a data frame. After receiving the message, the access point can send the message to the second station. The second station can receive the message from the access point. In response to receiving the message, the second station can send an acknowledgement to the access point, where the acknowledgement can be sent as a control frame. The first station can monitor for the acknowledgement sent from the second station to the access point.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to wireless local area networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to detecting a hidden node in a wireless local area network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computers have traditionally communicated with each other through wired local area networks ("LANs"). However, with the increased demand for mobile computers such as laptops, personal digital assistants, and the like, wireless local area networks ("WLANs") have developed as a way for computers to communicate with each other through transmissions over a wireless medium using radio signals, infrared signals, and the like.
In order to promote interoperability of WLANs with each other and with wired LANs, the IEEE 802.11 standard was developed as an international standard for WLANs. Generally, the IEEE 802.11 standard was designed to present users with the same interface as an IEEE 802 wired LAN, while allowing data to be transported over a wireless medium.
Although WLANs provide users with increased mobility over wired LANs, the quality of communications over a WLAN can vary for reasons that are not present in wired LANs. For example, stations in a WLAN can communicate with other stations in the WLAN through an access point ("AP"). More particularly, each station can have a transmission range within which the station can transmit signals to an AP within the WLAN.
Other stations located within this transmission range can detect signals transmitted by the station. After detecting signals transmitted by the station, these other stations can wait to send their own signals until the wireless medium is free from traffic generated by the station. However, because a station can have a limited transmission range, other stations located outside of this transmission range, typically called "hidden nodes," can exist in a WLAN. These "hidden nodes" can send signals across the WLAN that can collide with signals sent by the station. This type of collision arising from the presence of "hidden nodes" is typically called the "hidden node problem."
The collision of messages resulting from the "hidden node problem" can create unacceptable performance and reliability problems in a WLAN. For instance, each message that is interrupted by a collision can be resent according to the IEEE 802.11 standard. However, resending the message can delay the receipt of the message at its destination. In addition, each resent message can consume additional bandwidth in the WLAN. Such delays and bandwidth consumption can affect other messages being sent across the WLAN, thereby creating performance and reliability problems in the WLAN.

Detecting a hidden node in a wireless local area network


This invention relates to the engine technical field, more particularly, an integrated fuel feed apparatus. The integrated fuel feed apparatus including a driving member 20, a plunger pump 30 driven by said driving member, a fuel injector 90, a fuel intake member 13 and a fuel return member 14, with a return passage 15 always communicating the fuel intake member 13 with the fuel return member 14, with some of the fuel in the return passage 15 being ejected via the fuel injector 90 under the action of the plunger pump 30, featuring that the driving member consists of a solenoid 25, a sleeve 27 and a motion part 10 which can reciprocate in the sleeve 27 driven by the magnetic force of the solenoid 25, the aforesaid motion part 10 generating a flow difference while reciprocating in the aforesaid return passage 15, thus achieving the fuel flow from the fuel intake member 13 to the fuel return member 14. The integrated fuel feed apparatus specified in the present invention can actively restrain the generation of fuel vapor and further actively discharge the fuel vapor generated therein.

The present electronic fuel injection apparatus by BOSCH employs a rotary electromagnetic pump disposed in the fuel tank to feed fuel to the high-pressure passage wherein the fuel pressure is adjusted before it is introduced to the nozzle; thereafter the pressurized fuel is injected into the intake manifold in metered quantities between specified intervals under the control of the electronic control unit (ECU). When applied on compact high-speed engines such as those installed on motorcycles, the above-described fuel injection apparatus presents the problems of high cost, low reliability and severe fluctuation of intake pressure.
A new type of pulse electromagnetic fuel injection device disclosed in a Chinese patent publication No. CN1133810C entitled "Electronically Operated Fuel Injection Device" comprises a fuel intake member, a fuel driving member and a fuel injector; the magnetic flux generated by the actuating solenoid and the resetting solenoid of the fuel driving member drives the driven member which consists of an armature core and a plunger to achieve the circulation of fuel suction and fuel injection. The integrated fuel feed device provided in the aforesaid invention sucks fuel directly from the fuel tank via the low-pressure passage.
In actual applications, the integrated fuel feed devices may encounter certain problems such as strict installation manner, long standby time, hot restarting, long-time idling operation and high-load running under high temperature, and thereby the fuel vapor generated in the inner and outer passages thereof may severely disturb the normal fuel feed operation. Therefore a more preferable embodiment wherein the generation of fuel vapor can be restrained and further the generated fuel vapor can be timely discharged is imperative.
Another Chinese patent publication No. CN1474910A entitled "Electronically Controlled Fuel Injection System" particularly emphasizes the possibility of the aforesaid problems; thereby it installs a by-pass passage from the admission port of the intake passage to the outlet of the return passage between the solenoid and the cylinder to directly introduce the fuel back to the fuel tank. But it is still very possible that the fuel vapor would accumulate inside and outside the fuel feed device thereby to disturb the normal operation thereof because of certain problems such as the relatively stationary state of the constitution wherethrough the return flow passes, the lack of enough driving power and the over-sensitivity thereof to the installation manner. Based on the aforesaid patents, a third improved Chinese patent publication No. CN1458403A entitled "Electronically Controlled Fuel Injection Unit" preserves the return passage and further adds a check valve at the drain port thereof to prevent the fuel vapor from entering the pressure chamber.
The patents or patent applications mentioned above do not provide any mechanism to actively prevent the generation of fuel vapor and the driving power to discharge the generated fuel vapor, and still further the devices provided therein require strict installation manners, which actually keep them from completely eliminating the aforesaid problems.


The present invention relates to a method for installing a wind turbine or other tall structure at a target location at sea, the method comprising: —providing an installation vessel comprising at least one crane, wherein the crane comprises a lower boom part, a right boom part, and a left boom part, wherein the right boom part and the left boom part are connected to an upper portion of the lower boom part and extend from said upper portion, wherein a space is present between the right and left boom part, —lifting a tall structure part, in particular the nacelle assembly, with the crane, wherein in top view the tall structure part is supported at least partially between the right and left boom part by one or more hoist lines extending from the right and left boom part to the tall structure part.

The energy consumption of the past, present and future shows an ever increasing upward trend. Where in the past energy production has relied mostly on fossil fuels, the focus shifts more and more towards renewables. Climate change and the advancing technology in renewables, which result in a lower price per unit of energy, are driving factors in this trend. The development of wind turbines is a good example.
The potential of wind turbines is high, and continues to rise. This is reflected by the general tendency that wind turbines have ever increasing dimensions. The total power of a single wind turbine has increased from 1 megawatt to 12 megawatts in recent years, with associated increasing dimensions, and further increases in size are to be expected. This increase in size has as a consequence that locations offshore become more favourable than locations onshore. Large offshore wind turbines (12 MW) which are currently being installed or being developed may have blades having a length greater than 100 m. As a consequence, the height of the support structure of the wind turbine, i.e. the mast and the foundation, increases proportionally.
Installing the increasingly tall support structures with currently available installation vessels poses several challenges.
In order to lift the support structure from the deck of the vessel, there has to be a crane which extends beyond the height of the support structure. Existing installation vessels however often comprise cranes which are lower than the height of the support structure to be lifted, because they are not designed with said large wind turbine dimensions in mind. Increasing the height of said cranes to beyond the height of the support structure requires extensive and costly modifications. Replacing the existing cranes with new, higher cranes is even more expensive. Also, higher cranes may have a negative effect on the stability of the vessel due to the upward shift of the centre of gravity of the vessel.
Instead of increasing the height of existing crane, the shortage in height of the crane relative to the height of the support structure can be compensated by using two cranes. Such a method requires the two cranes to support the support structure in-between said cranes. This way, the support structure thus can extend to above the height of the two cranes. A disadvantage of this method is that it requires two cranes instead of one, and is therefore costly. A second disadvantage is that two cranes take up more deck space compared to one crane.
Yet another disadvantage of the two crane method is the way of stabilizing the support structure during lifting. Due to the independent movement relationship between the two cranes, only vertical lift rigging is possible. Rigging the support structure in a horizontal direction is difficult. In addition, synchronously moving the two individual cranes is complex.
Furthermore, safety issues are important. Offshore installation methods generally carry a certain risk for personnel, and this risk should be minimized.
Also, the water depth at which wind turbines at sea are installed has increased over the years.
All these considerations make it quite difficult to create an installation method which is simple, fast, safe and at the same time cost-efficient.
KR101790970 discloses an installation vessel for lifting a tall structure part of a tall structure, in particular a wind turbine, which is to be installed at a target location at sea. The installation vessel comprises at least one crane. An upper part of the crane comprises two "boom parts", with a space between them. The boom parts are very short and the wind turbine is not located between these boom parts.
The crane uses a lifting frame which is forked and is called a lifting fork. The lifting frame has a left projection and a right projection. The lifting frame is supported by cables only and is thus not a part of the crane itself. The installation vessel of KR 101790970 is complex and has many degrees of freedom, resulting in a difficult operation and substantial risk of collision of the load with the crane or the lifting frame with the crane.
WO0214144 discloses a vessel provided with a deck and with a device for removing and/or installing a sub-structure of a drilling or production platform, wherein said device comprises a supporting structure which is capable of tilting movement in a direction transversely to an edge of the deck and hoisting means connected to said supporting structure for hoisting said sub-structure.
CN101468774 discloses a hoisting auxiliary structure for a wind powered generator, which comprises a holding part and two hanging parts, wherein the hanging parts are positioned at two sides of the holding parts respectively and are connected and fixed with the holding part through diagonal bars.

Split crane for installation of wind turbines and other tall structures


An improvement in tabular grain manufacture is provided wherein large tabular grains can be prepared in less time and with a narrower size distribution than available in the art. The improved process includes the steps of:. a) forming a nucleation solution by adding aqueous soluble silver salt to a vessel containing 0.08 to 0.25 molar aqueous soluble halide salt in an aqueous medium; PA1 b) adding a solution of ammoniacal base to said nucleation solution when 0.30 to 9.0% of said soluble silver salt has been added; PA1 c) optionally ripening said nucleation solution for up to 60 minutes; PA1 d) adding said soluble silver salt to said nucleation solution preferrably at an increasing rate to obtain growth pBr of 1.3 to 2.3; PA1 e) adding said soluble silver salt and said soluble halide salt to grow said tabular grains.

The use of tabular silver halide grains in photographic emulsions, and the preparation thereof, have been widely known in the art. Tabular grains provide many advantages which have been well documented in the art. Generally, tabular grains are flat, silver halide grains that are prepared by employing long ripening times or a controlled salt addition such as provided by the balanced double jet (BDJ) method. The conventional tabular grain preparation procedure involves the steps of:
a) nucleation, wherein nuclei are formed upon which the grain will eventually grow; PA1 b) an optional Ostwald ripening to dissolve the smaller nuclei and redeposit them on the larger, more stable nuclei; PA1 c) growth, wherein additional silver salts and halide salts are added such that the nuclei formed during nucleation are grown to the desired size; PA1 d) optional Ostwald ripening. PA1 a) adding silver nitrate at a bromide ion concentration of 0.08 to 0.25 N (pBr of 0.60 to 1.10); PA1 b) adding a silver halide solvent, i.e. ammoniacal base, after at least 2% of the total silver solution is added; PA1 c) optional halt, or Ostwald ripening, at a bromide ion concentration of 0.005 to 0.05 N (pBr of 1.30 to 2.30) PA1 d) optional neutralization; PA1 e) growth. PA1 a) forming a nucleation solution by adding aqueous soluble silver salt to a vessel containing 0.08 to 0.25 molar aqueous soluble halide salt in an aqueous dispersion medium PA1 b) adding a solution of ammoniacal base to said nucleation solution when 0.30 to 9.0% by weight of said soluble silver salt has been added; PA1 c) optionally ripening said nucleation solution for up to 60 minutes; PA1 d) adding said soluble silver salt to said nucleation solution preferably at an increasing rate to obtain growth pBr of 1.3 to 2.3; PA1 e) adding said soluble silver salt and said soluble halide salt to grow said tabular grains. PA1 a) forming a nucleation solution by adding aqueous soluble silver salt to a vessel containing an 0.08 to 0.25 molar aqueous soluble halide salt; PA1 b) adding a solution of ammoniacal base to said nucleation solution when 0.30 to 9.0% by weight of said soluble silver salt has been added; PA1 c) ripening said nucleation solution at a pBr level of no less than 0.780 and no more than 1.250; PA1 d) adding said soluble silver salt to said nucleation solution at an increasing rate to obtain growth pBr of 1.3 to 2.3; PA1 e) adding said soluble silver salt and said soluble halide salt to grow said tabular grain.
The increased demand for tabular grains has placed a burden on manufacturers to decrease the time required to manufacture tabular grains. This demand increases as the size of the tabular grain increases since a larger period of time is required during growth to add the precursor salts of silver and halide. Simply increasing the addition rate of the precursor salts, as advanced in U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,037, causes the formation of new nuclei during the growth phase which is undesirable. The nuclei formed during growth do not reach the same size as the grains which are grown upon the nuclei formed during the nucleation step. This undesirable growth of the newer nuclei requires a second Ostwald ripening after grain growth is completed to decrease the number of smaller grains. This extra processing step is undesirable due to the extra time involved and the inherent decrease in productivity.
Silver solvents such as ammonia have been taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,727,886 and 4,801,522 to assist in the dissolution of small particles during Ostwald ripening, and to decrease the formation of new nuclei during grain growth. Specific process steps comprise
Furthermore, the addition of silver solution during the growth phase was maintained at a constant flow rate until the growth pBr was obtained. This approach works well if the rate of salt addition during growth is maintained at a relatively low rate of addition. At high levels of salt addition the salts mix to form new grain nuclei which grow as described above. If, during the growth phase, the rate of formation for new grain nuclei exceeds the rate of dissolution, multiple sizes of grains are produced. Some grains will be grown from the seeds formed during nucleation and smaller grains will be formed from the seeds formed during growth. The resulting emulsion may suffer in two ways. First, large size grains may not be obtained since there are more seeds competing for added salts. Second, the size distribution may suffer if the newer seeds do not reach the size of the particles intentionally formed during the initial nucleation phase. U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,521 further extends the growth period prior to ammonia addition wherein at least 20% of the silver is added prior to addition of the ammoniacal base. Increasing the amount of silver added prior to the addition of ammoniacal base does not correct the deficiency of the previous teachings.
The ability to form tabular grains in shorter time has been provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,641 by addition of sodium hydroxide. To exploit the teachings, the initial seeding, or nucleation, must be done at a very low level of gelatin or peptizer. An additional step is then required wherein additional gelatin is added for growth. Furthermore, the nuclei formation must be accomplished with a dilute silver solution followed by growth with a concentrated silver solution. These extra process steps are highly undesirable.
There is an ongoing need in the art for a process for large tabular grain manufacture which can be accomplished in a short period of time without adversely affecting the size distribution of the grains and without increasing the number of process steps.

Large tabular grains with novel size distribution and process for rapid manufacture


The present invention is directed to poly(dioxythiophene)/poly(acrylamidoalkylsulfonic acid) complexes and the oxidative polymerization process for making them. Aqueous dispersions of these poly(dioxythiophene)/poly(acrylamidoalkylsulfonic acid) complexes are useful for forming transparent electrically conductive organic layers comprised of such complexes.

Electrically conductive polymers have been found to be useful in electronic devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), photodetectors and photovoltaic cells. It is well known to use a layer of conductive polymer, such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), between the inorganic anode and the light-emitting layer. The conductive polymer layer is variously referred to as part of a bilayer anode, a hole-injection layer or a buffer layer. Such systems have been described in, for example, Jonas et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,515.
Useful synthetic procedures for the preparation of a poly(dioxythiophene) such as PEDOT are well known. For example, the dioxythiophene monomer can be treated with ammonium persulfate or potassium peroxydisulfate in excess hydrochloric acid in water. Such reactions are known as oxidative polymerization, wherein monomers such as thiophenes are oxidized in the presence of a protonic acid. This reaction results in a positively charged poly(dioxythiophene), with the charge being balanced with the anion from the acid. Such processes have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,926, U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,575, U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,635 and European Patent application 440 957.
The thickness of the conductive polymer layer needed in the above-mentioned electronic devices depends to some extent on the surface roughness of the conductive layer. Thicker layers are needed as the surface roughness increases. In order to prepare smooth and uniform layers, it is desirable to have dispersions of the conductive polymers with smaller particle size. Moreover, it is desirable to find new polymer systems with electrical properties that provide better performance in the conductive polymer layer.


A method of screen printing on low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) is disclosed that comprises the steps of (i) aligning tape position on the printer table of a screen printer machine for precisely positioning the tape relative to the screen mesh of the screen having a plurality of pattern openings; (ii) adjusting screen printing parameter for setting a printing condition, wherein the squeegee speed is adjusted to 50-100 mm/s; squeegee pressure is 0.05-0.wopa15 MPa; and a gap between the screen and the tape is 0.8-1.0 mm; and (iii) optimizing the screen mesh parameter with stainless steel screen mesh, wherein the screen mesh of the screen is optimized at mesh tension of 22-28 N/cm; mesh angle of 22.5°; thickness of an emulsion of 0.044 mm; mesh wire diameter of 0.028 mm; and screen mesh count of 325 apertures per inch.

Screen printing that forms a print film comprising ink, paste, or the like on the surface of a material to be printed using a printing plate (screen mesh) for screen printing can form fine patterns and has high mass-productivity, and hence is utilized in a wide variety of industrial fields.
In the field of electronic part production, a screen printing method may be employed from the points of both precision and mass-productivity. In this field, the demand for forming finer print patterns with high precision has steadily increased due to the recent development of technology to miniaturize the size of the parts.
LTCC is now a popular technology for high-frequency applications used in advantageously preparing 3-D circuits within a ceramic block enabling burying of passive elements such as resistors, inductors, and capacitors. This LTCC approach also allows a number of interfaces and the reduction of the overall substrate size. LTCC technology utilizes highly conductive metal and has a low dielectric constant, low surface roughness, low sintering temperature, and good thermal properties.
Standard screen printing technology has been principally developed for hybrid circuit manufacturing. Hybrid circuits are electronic modules printed on ceramic substrates, a technology in between semiconductor integration and discrete realization on PCB technology, and they are commonly used when electronic modules have to meet high technical requirements. The advantages of screen printing technology are well known: versatility in the conception, miniaturization, and mass production at low cost. The thick film components are produced by screen printing of conductive, resistive, and dielectric layers in order to achieve passive components on an LTCC substrate. Fine line printing is necessary in order to achieve high-component density. Therefore, it is necessary to study the effect of each parameter on printing, which subsequently affects the value of components in the circuit.
In general, screen printing is the basic technology for thick-film microcircuitry. Many variables will affect the screen printing process. The setting of the screen printer is a manual operation, and the quality of screen printed thick film strongly depends on the operator and the process variables. The parameter setting is essential to ensure the desired thickness and the uniformity of the pastes printed on the tape.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,167 discloses a screen printing apparatus and method in that in the print parameter setting process for setting print parameters including a squeegee movement speed, a printing pressure, and plate release conditions, a squeegee movement speed at which the squeegee is to be moved is set at the first step, then a printing pressure for realizing a desired cream solder charging state is set at the second step, and then plate release conditions for realizing a desired cream solder transfer state is set at the third step. It does not mention firing, baking, or heating of ceramic printed board, and there is no mention of LTCC or green tape.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,524 discloses a method of the present disclosure applicable to a screen printing method for applying an ink to a substrate by placing a screen over the substrate, drawing a squeegee that includes a contact edge over the screen in a flood stroke such that a layer of ink is deposited on the screen, and then drawing the squeegee over the screen in a print stroke with the contact edge in contact with the screen such that ink is forced through the screen onto the substrate. It does not mention LTCC or ceramic printed board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,733 discloses a process that requires firing at low temperature, i.e., 500-600° C. However, the process is directed to increase paste layer thickness by subsequent repeated layering up to 6 layers. There is no mention of 3-D circuit or interconnecting circuit layers as in an LTCC process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,948 discloses a screen printing device for screen printing a thick film ink through a screen so as to form a substantially void-free film on a surface of a microelectronics circuit. It is limited to squeegee design.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,298 is directed to the viscosity of conductive ink compound, a high-viscosity gold alloy, firing at 800-900° C. However, there is no mention of ceramics and no mention of 3-D circuitry or embedding of components.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,930,974 discloses vacuum suction holes for affixing an object to be printed. There is no mention of green tape or ceramic being made. Baking is disclosed for electrode material to form electrodes.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,908,964 discloses specifically to the clearance gap between mask and substrate. There is no mention of ceramic firing, baking, or application for green tape.
Chinese Patent No. 101188260 discloses LTCC process for fabricating a square or circular cavity as a base for a high-powered LED to be formed on the LTCC layer prior to screen-printing. There is no mention of any process control parameters for screen printing.
Chinese Patent No. 101777413 discloses a process for forming an LTCC power inductor comprising ferrite magnetic core and mentions the advantages of high-frequency ceramic material and thinner (finer or higher resolution) screen print lines besides other benefits such as less conductor loss, low dielectric constant, better coefficient of heat conductivity and better exothermic property. The process control parameters disclosed here are applicable for a very specific type of device, i.e., for an LTCC power inductor.

Method of screen printing on low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) tape


A method for the biodegradation of nitroaromatic-containing wastewater, including:                (a) providing activated sludge as biological matrix,        (b) adding a nitroaromatic-degrading microorganism to the activated sludge,        (c) adding nitroaromatic-containing wastewater to the material of step (b) and        (d) adding at least one carbon source which is more readily utilizable than the nitroaromatic to be degraded to the material of step (c).

Nitrobenzene is one of the most important industrial chemicals with an annual global production of more than 2 million tonnes. In the USA alone, in 2001 more than 1.5 million tonnes of nitrobenzene were synthesized and the production since 1990 was more than doubled. In Germany, for example, in the Uerdingen Bayer works, there is a nitrobenzene plant having a production capacity of approximately 300 000 tonnes per annum; see press information Bayer AG, 30.01.2002. About 97% of the nitrobenzene produced globally is used for the production of aniline.
Nitrobenzene is synthesized by nitrating benzene using "nitrating acid" (HNO3+H2SO4). Approximately 0.1% of the benzene consumed arises as a result of the synthesis in the form of byproducts and thus as production wastewater. This wastewater contains, as main components, 2,4-dinitrophenol and picric acid (2,4,6-trinitrophenol) and also customarily a high loading of nitrogenous and sulfur salts; see Rajan J., R. Perkins and S. Sariaslani 1994, "Microbial degradation of picric acid", Abstr. Q-121, p. 409. Abstr. 94th Ann. Meet. Am. Soc. Microbiol. 1994, and also Patil S. S. and V. M. Shinde, "Gas chromatographic studies on the biodegradation of nitrobenzene and 2,4-dinitrophenol in the nitrobenzene plant wastewater", Environ. Pollut. 57, 1989, 235-250.
Nitrophenol compounds have a high toxic potential. This applies in particular to 2,4-dinitrophenol, the main impurity of the wastewaters customarily occurring in the production of nitrobenzene, particularly because of its decoupling action on respiratory chain phosphorylation; see Pinchot G. B., "The mechanism of uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation by 2,4-dinitro-phenol", J. Biol. Chem. 242, 1967, 4577-4583. Therefore, the synthesis wastewaters which occur must be fed to appropriate disposal methods. Currently four methods are used for this:                (a) the Deep Sea Dumping Method in which the problem materials are finally deposited in the deep sea,        (b) the Deep Well Injection Method, in which the wastes are fed by an injection method to sites in deep layers in the earth where they are not a hazard to groundwater,        (c) the thermolysis method in which the wastewater is thermally decomposed at approximately 280° C. at high pressure (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,605), and        (d) the ozonation method in which the wastewater is treated with ozone at temperatures between 60 and 100° C. under elevated pressure (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,242).
However, in the Deep Sea Dumping Method and the Deep Well Injection Method, the wastes are merely finally deposited. In contrast, although the thermolysis method and the ozonation method are efficient in the disposal result, because of the necessary process procedure (temperature, pressure, use of ozone) they represent an immense cost factor within the overall nitrobenzene production method. In the thermolysis method, in addition it requires additionally increased safety precautions.

Method for the biological breakdown of effluent containing nitroaromatics


A push switch and a motor vehicle in which such a push switch is used. The push switch has a push cap, a baseplate, a switch element which is actuatable by the push cap, a first lever, and a second lever. The first lever and the second lever are mounted rotatably on the baseplate by means of bearing blocks and are each connected movably to the push cap at a first lever end. At a second lever end, the first lever and the second lever are connected movably to one another. The first lever and the second lever are designed such that they form mass compensation for the push cap.

This background section is provided for the purpose of generally describing the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventor(s), to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
In modern interior design of motor vehicles, there is an increasing necessity to install relatively large and often heavy elements at a variety of positions in the motor vehicle, which elements should also serve simultaneously as push switches. For example, push switches may be provided in the form of touchscreens, displays, or buttons in the center console, the steering wheel, the doors, the ceiling, or the dashboard with which the vehicle occupants can trigger a desired function with a touch of a finger. It is desirable here for the necessary actuation forces to remain basically the same regardless of the pressure point on the surface of the push switch. For reasons of cost, it is also sought after for the push switches to only have one sensor or element for haptic feedback.
Solutions used for computer keyboards cannot carry large loads such as, for example, 5-inch displays. In addition, larger surfaces begin to tilt such that, with keys like the space bar, the shift key, or the enter key, a shift of the keys perpendicular to the direction of actuation is often visible and sometimes multiple switch elements are required for them to be triggered reliably.
A challenge in the development of large-format push switches is that a large, heavy surface must be mounted such that the push switch can be installed anywhere in the motor vehicle, for example in the center console, the doors, the ceiling, or the dashboard. At the same time, nearly identical actuation forces should always be measurable on the surface during actuation of the push switch regardless of the installation location. In particular when a display is integrated into the push switch, malfunctions or reduced operability can occur due to the additional mass of the display, depending on the installation location.
Further problems can occur when the push-button switch is installed in the motor vehicle such that its direction of actuation is parallel to the direction of travel. Due to acceleration or braking maneuvers, the display experiences acceleration that can lead to movements on the display. A comparable problem occurs when the push-button switch is installed in the center console or in the ceiling and an uneven path is driven. The vibrations occurring in this case propagate through the relatively weakly damped system to the display. In both cases, erroneous triggerings of the switching element can occur.
With lightweight displays or key caps, these effects do not appear since swinging up can be prevented through slight pretensioning of the system and the play in the system can be reduced. Depending on the desired triggering force of the push switch, it must only be ensured that the forces occurring as a result of the acceleration are smaller than the triggering force of the push switch.

Push switch and motor vehicle having a push switch