A franking machine including a printer for printing postal indicia on a mail item, a supplier for supplying postage printing ink to allow a refill of the printer with postage printing ink, and a self-obturating connection connected to the postage ink supply by an ink transferor and intended either to place the postage ink supply in communication with the printer in the case of postage ink printing or to isolate the postage ink supply from the printer in other cases of printing.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,735 discloses a franking machine provided with an ink supply device which comprises an intermediate reservoir for regulating the level of ink delivered to the ejection nozzles of the printing module from a principal ink reservoir.
However, such a supply device appears complex and poorly adapted to the printing of postal indicia of which the slogan is of a colour different from that used for the postage printing ink. In effect, as this device continuously supplies the injection nozzles, it is necessary to provide as many devices as there are colours to be used, of which at least one for supplying postage printing ink (generally of a very specific colour), this resulting in a relatively expensive machine.
In addition, any problem arising at the level of the intermediate reservoir or of the principal ink reservoir automatically prohibits any fresh print.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the afore-mentioned drawbacks by proposing a particularly high-performance franking machine which is nonetheless simple to use.

Franking machine incorporating an integrated ink supply device


A manual transmission shift control apparatus wherein dual cables lead from a floor-mounted shift control lever assembly directly, i.e., without bending, to dual select and shift shafts operatively connected to the transmission. The dual shafts are rotatably mounted and operated in a housing on top of the transmission. A selector mechanism bearing a shift finger is rotatably and slidably mounted on a shaft in the housing, such that, through suitable linkage, the shift finger is selectively rotated by the rotated select shaft into 1/2, 3/4, or 5/R shift positions, and then slid by the rotated shift shaft into the 1, 3 or 5 shift ratios in one direction, or the 2, 4 or R shift ratios in the other direction.

Heretofore, transmission select and/or shift shafts have generally consisted of sliding types. For example, each of Hurlow U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,417, Suzuki U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,329, and Kinkade, et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,560 discloses a common or single sliding and rotational shift shaft or rod.
Prior remote shift control arrangements, which have been utilized in conjunction with double rotational select and shift shafts, have not generally utilized flexible push-pull cables leading substantially directly from the remote shift control lever unit to the double shafts. For example, Crack U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,964 discloses flexible cables which must traverse substantially right angle turns therebetween, with a combination torque tube flexible cable serving as the select shaft rotating means.
West U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,403 discloses matched motion translators in master and slave units, which are rotationally and translationally guided in their respective units, and interconnected by dual push-pull cables. Matched driving and driven (gear select shift rail) members having rotary and linear motions are disclosed in Leigh-Monstevens U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,640.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,211 includes an upright shaft rotatable by a first cable via a crank arm to, in turn, rotate an inner crank arm and, thereby, slide a rail selector sleeve mounted around a gearshift shaft. The latter, with the rail selector sleeve keyed thereto and free to slide longitudinally thereof, is rotated by an upright pivotable crank arm actuated by a second cable.
Furthermore, many internal shift mechanisms have heretofore comprised mechanisms having rotational rail selector movement, in contrast to linear movement, requiring longer shift finger design and consequent increased size an weight of associated parts, in addition to increased frictional losses resulting from a sliding selector member being pushed by the rotating shift finger.


In a broadcast receiver, where the user operates a channel up/down key of a remote controller, when the broadcast signal to be next received is an analog broadcast signal, a tuner unit which has received a broadcast signal immediately before the operation receives the analog broadcast signal to be next received. In the broadcast receiver, in accordance with the side of the channel up/down key which is operated by the user (the up side or the down side), a digital broadcast signal of a channel number which is closest to the channel that is currently received and output by one of tuner units is previously received by the other tuner unit. When the user selects the channel of the digital broadcast signal which is received by the other tuner unit, the broadcast receiver outputs video and audio signals on the basis of the digital broadcast signal which is already received.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a broadcast receiver that can selectively receive a digital broadcast and an analog broadcast.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cable television is in widespread use in North America. The user can select a desired one of plural channels to watch a program of the selected channel. In North America, in addition to an analog broadcast which is conventionally used, a digital broadcast which is typified by a BS (Broadcasting Satellite) digital broadcast or a CS (Communication Satellite) digital broadcast is becoming pervasive. In such a digital broadcast, as compared with an analog broadcast, the image quality can be improved higher and the number of channels can be increased. In North America, furthermore, a digital broadcast (terrestrial digital broadcast) which is standardized by ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) has been started. In a digital broadcast, a broadcast signal is transmitted with using a physical channel which is different from that of an analog broadcast, and bands between channels of an analog broadcast are allocated to channels of the digital broadcast. Namely, channels of a digital broadcast exist mixedly with those of an analog broadcast. In the case of channel Nos. 1 to 10, for example, channel allocation is conducted so that channels. 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 10 are channels of an analog broadcast, and channels. 2, 6, 7, and 9 are those of a digital broadcast.
In an analog television broadcast, a broadcast station transmits an uncompressed television broadcast signal of one channel on one signal of one physical channel (one frequency band). When it is detected that the user conducts an operation of selecting a channel of the analog broadcast, a broadcast receiver first receives a broadcast signal of the frequency band corresponding to the selected channel, and then immediately outputs video and audio signals to a display apparatus. Therefore, substantially no time period elapses from the timing when the operation of selecting the channel is conducted on the broadcast receiver, to that when an analog broadcast signal of the channel is reproduced on the display apparatus, so that the user can immediately view a program of the channel.
By contrast, in a digital television broadcast, a broadcast station applies compression coding on signals of plural channels by using a digital compression technique, and then transmits the signals in one physical channel (one frequency band) in a time-division manner. Specifically, a digital-television broadcast station multiplexes signals into a signal of one frequency band, and then transmits television broadcast signals of plural channels which are called subchannels. The digital-television broadcast station further transmits a signal containing channel information required for restoring a signal of a desired channel, every two or three seconds with adding the signal to the compressed and multiplexed digital broadcast signal.
When it is detected that the user conducts an operation of selecting a channel, a broadcast receiver first receives a digital broadcast signal of the frequency band corresponding to the selected channel, and then extracts the channel information signal contained in the received signal. On the basis of the channel information signal, the broadcast receiver then separates and extracts a signal of the selected channel from the received digital broadcast signal, restores the signal to the original or uncompressed state, and outputs the restored signal to a display apparatus. After the user conducts an operation of selecting a channel on the broadcast receiver, therefore, the user must wait for about five to ten seconds before a broadcast signal of the channel is reproduced on the display apparatus. During this time period, the user must view the screen of the broadcast receiver on which no image is displayed or no signal is reproduced. In the broadcast receiver, where a digital broadcast signal of one physical channel is received and video and audio signals of a certain subchannel are once output to a monitor apparatus, when an operation of changing a channel is conducted so as to output another subchannel of the physical channel to the monitor apparatus, video and audio signals of the subchannel are immediately output to the monitor apparatus.
Conventionally, a broadcast receiver has bee proposed in which the time period required for channel tuning in a situation where a digital broadcast and an analog broadcast mixedly exist can be shortened (for example, see JP-A-2001-24537 (pages 2 and 3, FIGS. 1 and 2)).
In the broadcast receiver disclosed in JP-A-2001-24537, in order to select a desired one of plural channels to view a program, the user can conduct channel selection on the broadcast receiver by using an inputting device such as a remote controller. Specifically, the user operates a numeric keypad of the remote controller to input a channel number, so that the channel to be viewed can be quickly selected. Alternatively, the user may operate a channel up/down key to sequentially switch over channels while displaying programs on a display apparatus to check the programs, so that a favorite program can be selected.


A mobile terminal comprises: a body having an electronic equipment part therein; a middle frame mounted in the body; a main substrate mounted in the body; a side case which is located around a lateral surface of the body and includes a plurality of antenna radiators and a plurality of slits among the plurality of antenna radiators; a ground line connected to the antenna radiators; and a power feeding line for applying power to the antenna radiators, wherein the slits include first and second slits, which are located at a first lateral surface of the mobile terminal, and third and fourth slits, which are located at second and third lateral surfaces adjacent to the first lateral surface of the mobile terminal, thereby improving antenna performance by minimizing interference among the antenna radiators for transmitting and receiving each frequency signal.

Terminals may be generally classified as mobile/portable terminals or stationary terminals according to their mobility. Mobile terminals may also be classified as handheld terminals or vehicle mounted terminals according to whether or not a user can directly carry the terminal.
Mobile terminals have become increasingly more functional. Examples of such functions include data and voice communications, capturing images and video via a camera, recording audio, playing music files via a speaker system, and displaying images and video on a display. Some mobile terminals include additional functionality which supports game playing, while other terminals are configured as multimedia players. More recently, mobile terminals have been configured to receive broadcast and multicast signals which permit viewing of content such as videos and television programs.
As such functions become more diversified, the mobile terminal can support more complicated functions such as capturing images or video, reproducing music or video files, playing games, receiving broadcast signals, and the like. By comprehensively and collectively implementing such functions, the mobile terminal may be embodied in the form of a multimedia player or device.
As the functions of such terminals are expanded, various types of wireless communication are applied such that data is exchanged in a wireless manner. In order to utilize various wireless communication schemes, antennas having different frequency characteristics are configured. In order to transmit and receive more data, a plurality of antennas operating in one frequency band may be configured to transmit or receive data simultaneously or sequentially.
However, there is a problem that wireless communication is influenced by surrounding electronic components and thus mutual interference occurs. For this reason, a distance from the antenna to other components and the distance and arrangement between the antennas are being studied.


The present disclosure provides carbazole-dioxazine pigment of Formula I;

Carbazole-dioxazine pigments are well known for their strong bluish-red to violet shade. These pigments have excellent heat resistance, light resistance and tinctorial strength. These pigments are used in the applications such as paint, plastic, inks, coatings and the like.
Pigment Violet 23 (PV-23) is the most important member of this class. Pigment violet-23 (carbazole violet) exhibits color range between bluish-red and violet shade.
However, there is felt a need for developing variants of carbazole-dioxazine pigment so as to exploit the inherent colour strength of carbazole-dioxazine chromophore with improvement in the pigmentory properties like viscosity, transparency, gloss, heat stability, color strength and durability properties relative to Pigment Violet 23.

Carbazole dioxazine pigment and a method for its preparation

Abstract: wherein,                R is C1-C8 alkyl group, preferably R is an ethyl group,        R1 is a chloro group, and        R2 is a —NHC(═O)Ph group.

Abstract: The pigment is synthesized from 3-nitro-N-ethylcarbazole. The first step is nitration of 3-nitro-N-ethylcarbazole to form 3,6-dinitro-N-ethylcarbazole which is reduced to form 3-amino-6-nitro-N-ethylcarbazole. This amino compound is benzoylated to form 3-benzamido-6-nitro-N-ethylcarbazole which is then hydrogenated to form 6-amino-3-benzamido-N-ethylcarbazole. Condensation of 6-amino-3-benzamido-N-ethylcarbazole with chloranil provides an intermediate. Cyclization of the intermediate in the presence of a cyclization reagent provides the compound of Formula-I. The pigment has wavelength of maximum absorption (λmax) at 571 nm in dimethylformamide as a solvent.


A method is provided for encapsulating an object with a heat-shrinkable material prior to subjecting the encapsulated object to insert, injection molding. The encapsulation protects the object from thermal damage by preventing contact with the injected polymer. In addition, the encapsulation protects the object from contact by any liquids or other foreign materials which penetrate the molded enclosure.

The present invention relates to a method of protecting an object subjected to insert, injection molding by encasing the object in an encapsulating shell prior to subjecting the object to insert, injection molding. More particularly, it relates to encapsulating an object with a heat-shrinkable material prior to subjecting the object to insert, injection molding.
Insert, injection molding involves the insertion of an object into an injection mold and injecting a flowable polymer at high temperature and pressure into the mold to form a molded product of which the inserted object has become an integral part. Certain objects can be damaged when contacted by the high temperature, high pressure polymer as it is injected into the mold. For example, electrical or electronic devices, or combinations thereof in the form of a printed circuit board, are particularly susceptible to damage when subjected to insert, injection molding. Such devices may become instantly inoperative upon contact by molten polymer. Alternatively, thermal shock from direct exposure to molten polymer may produce latent damage, resulting in the premature failure of such parts. In addition, when the injected polymer is above the melt temperature of solder, any solder coming into contact with the polymer will melt. As a consequence, the electrical connection made by the melted solder can become disabled. Moreover, if the solder is only partially melted, the melted portion may flow with the molten polymer and make contact with an adjoining electrical or electronic component, thereby forming a conductive "bridge" between two components which should not be electrically joined.
Although electrical and electronic devices, as well as printed circuit boards, are susceptible to damage when subjected to insert, injection molding, in many instances it is highly desirable to do so nevertheless Insert, injection molding is done in order to provide a protective enclosure around such devices when used in operating environments which may subject the devices to physical abuses, such as jarring or frequent exposure to dirt and moisture. In an automotive vehicle, for instance, electrical devices, electronic devices, and printed circuit boards are often provided with a protective molded enclosure, particularly those which are exposed to automotive fluids, excess vibrations and jarring, or physical contact. Examples include temperature sensors, which are exposed to engine vibrations, continuous contact with oil, and high temperatures, and speed sensors, which are subjected to transmission vibrations, high temperatures, and exposure to transmission fluid.
An additional problem with insert, injection molded products is that the injection molded enclosure can allow liquids or other foreign materials to penetrate the molded enclosure and come into contact with the enclosed object. This can result from cracks in the enclosure as well as through openings intentionally left in the enclosure in order to access the enclosed object. In the case of electrical or electronic components, such liquid contact can result in damage or shorting.
As can be appreciated, means for protecting objects from damage when subjected to insert, injection molding, as well as for preventing contact by liquids which penetrate the molded enclosure, would be highly advantageous. U.S. Pat. No. 3,226,463 to Wallace discloses a dielectric sleeve which is placed around a circuit element as well as the bare wire connections of the circuit element with conductor leads. The circuit element with the sleeve therearound is placed in an injection mold and subjected to heated liquid plastic which is injected into the mold under pressure. However, the dielectric sleeve permits the heated liquid plastic to flow inside of the sleeve such that the heated liquid plastic directly contacts the circuit element and bare wire connections Thus, the circuit element, as well as the connections, is susceptible to thermal damage In addition, any solder used to make the connections is vulnerable to melting. Further, in use, any liquids which penetrate the solidified plastic will directly contact the circuit element and/or the connections.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need exists in the art for a method of protecting an object subjected to insert, injection molding from damage due to contact with the injected polymer, and for protecting the enclosed object from contact from foreign liquids or other materials which penetrate the molded enclosure.

Encapsulated product and method of manufacture


Techniques are disclosed for systems and methods to provide accurate and compact three dimensional (3D) capable multichannel sonar systems for mobile structures. A 3D capable multichannel sonar system includes a multichannel transducer and associated processing and control electronics and optionally orientation and/or position sensors disposed substantially within the housing of a sonar transducer assembly. The multichannel transducer includes multiple transmission and/or receive channels/transducer elements. The transducer assembly is configured to support and protect the multichannel transducer and associated electronics and sensors, to physically and/or adjustably couple to a mobile structure, and/or to provide a simplified interface to other systems coupled to the mobile structure. Resulting sonar data and/or imagery may be displayed to a user and/or used to adjust a steering actuator, a propulsion system thrust, and/or other operational systems of the mobile structure.

Sonar may be used to perform bathymetry, detect underwater hazards, find fish, and/or otherwise assist in navigation by producing data and/or imagery of a water column beneath a watercraft. Conventional sonar systems often include one or more independently operating sonar transducers with temporally and/or spatially non-overlapping beams arranged to help differentiate ensonifications and produce traditionally recognizable sonar imagery.
Higher quality sonar imagery has conventionally been associated with relatively large and unwieldy sonar transducer assemblies that can preclude operation in shallow depths. Sonar systems incorporating such assemblies are typically expensive and cannot be used with a large portion of non-commercial watercraft. At the same time, consumer market pressures and convenience dictate smaller and easier to use systems that include more features and produce higher quality resulting imagery. Thus, there is a need for an improved methodology to provide compact yet feature-rich and flexible-use sonar systems, particularly in the context of providing relatively high quality enhanced sonar data and/or imagery.


In a color photoelectric conversion apparatus in which a plurality of semiconductor image sensors each having a plurality of light-receiving windows are arrayed, and a plurality of light-receiving windows in a main scanning direction constitute one color light-receiving element, the last light-receiving window or at least two light-receiving windows including the last light-receiving window of a first semiconductor image sensor of adjacent semiconductor image sensors, and the first light-receiving window or at least two light-receiving windows including the first light-receiving window of the next semiconductor image sensor constitute one color light-receiving element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-chip color image sensor and, more particularly, to a multi-chip color image sensor in which a plurality of semiconductor image sensors each having a plurality of light-receiving windows are arrayed, and the plurality of windows in a main scanning direction constitute one color light-receiving element.
2. Description of Related Background Art
Conventionally, an original reading unit of, e.g., a facsimile apparatus utilizes semiconductor image sensors such as CCD image sensors, bipolar image sensors, and the like, whose light-receiving windows are aligned in a line.
In general, as a system of using these sensors, a so-called multi-chip system is known. In this system, a plurality of semiconductor image sensor chips each having a length of several mm to several tens of mm are arrayed to have the same size as an original to be read, and the sensor array is used as a proximity image sensor using a one-to-one correspondence optical system, e.g., a SELFOC lens array (trade name, available from Nippon Sheet Glass Co. Ltd.)
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of multi-chip system semiconductor image sensors.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion A of the multi-chip system semiconductor image sensors.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an optical system using the multi-chip system semiconductor image sensors.
FIGS. 1 and 3 illustrate an original 1, a circuit board 4 for mounting semiconductor image sensors, on which a desired circuit is arranged, semiconductor image sensors S.sub.1 to S.sub.n which are aligned in a line, a SELFOC lens array 5, and an original illumination LED 6.
In FIG. 2, light-receiving windows 7 of each semiconductor image sensor are aligned in a line.
The multi-chip system semiconductor image sensors have the following features. That is, they do not require a reduction optical system, and can be rendered compact. Thus, the multi-chip system semiconductor image sensors are widely used in image processing apparatuses such as facsimile apparatuses.
In recent years, a demand has arisen for color sensors in addition to the above-mentioned monochrome semiconductor image sensors. As a most general system for realizing a color system, the above-described multi-chip system semiconductor image sensors have been examined. For example, the following three systems are proposed.
In the first system, a pixel (light-receiving window) pitch is set to be 1/3 that of a monochrome image sensor, and RED, GREEN, and BLUE color filters are arranged on the light-receiving windows in turn to constitute a light-receiving unit for one line, so that outputs from three adjacent light-receiving windows, i.e., RED, GREEN, and BLUE light-receiving windows are defined as one color dot (one color light-receiving element).
FIG. 4A is an explanatory view showing an arrangement of light-receiving windows for monochrome sensors, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory view showing an arrangement of light-receiving windows for color sensors.
In FIGS. 4A and 4B, semiconductor image sensors 8a and 8b respectively have light-receiving windows 7a and 7b. A pitch (a light-receiving window pitch in the main scanning direction) of the light-receiving windows 7b of the color sensors is 1/3 a pitch (light-receiving window pitch in the main scanning direction) of the light-receiving windows 7a of the monochrome sensors. RED, GREEN, and BLUE color filters are arranged in turn on the light-receiving windows 7b. Note that such a system is called an in-line system.
In the second system, the number of lines of the light-receiving windows on the semiconductor image sensors is increased from one to three, and an interval between adjacent lines is set to be the same as or an integer multiple of the light-receiving window pitch in the main scanning direction. For example, when the interval between the adjacent lines is set to be the same as the pitch in the main scanning direction, outputs from the first and second lines are input to a memory, so that the output from the first line is delayed by two lines, and the output from the second line is delayed by one line. Thus, one color dot (one color light-receiving element) is defined by the two delayed outputs and the output from the third line.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement of light-receiving windows.
In FIG. 5, semiconductor image sensors 10 have light-receiving windows 9. The light-receiving windows 9 are separated by a pitch P in the main scanning direction, and are separated by a line pitch Q (light-receiving window pitch in the subscanning direction). For example, RED color filters are arranged on the light-receiving windows of the first line, GREEN color filters are arranged on the light-receiving windows of the second line, and BLUE color filters are arranged on the light-receiving windows of the third line.
In the third system, three lines of semiconductor image sensors each having light-receiving windows are arranged, and color filters are arranged in units of lines of semiconductor image sensors.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement of semiconductor image sensors.
In FIG. 6, semiconductor image sensors 11, 12, and 13 of the first, second, and third lines have light-receiving windows 7. For example, RED color filters are arranged on the light-receiving windows of the semiconductor image sensor of the first line, GREEN color filters are arranged on the light-receiving windows of the semiconductor image sensors of the second line, and BLUE color filters are arranged on the light-receiving windows of the semiconductor image sensors of the third line.
In the above-mentioned prior art, the subscanning direction corresponds to a direction in which an original to be read is fed, and the main scanning direction corresponds to an array direction of light-receiving windows. A "column" means an array of light-receiving units in the subscanning direction, and a "row" means an array of light-receiving windows in the main scanning direction.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the main scanning direction and the subscanning direction.
FIG. 7 illustrates a subscanning direction 16, a main scanning direction 17, a read start position 14 of a light-receiving window of the first chip of multi-chip image sensors, and a final read position 15 of the last chip.
However, the multi-chip color image sensors of the above-mentioned three systems suffer from the following problems.
In the in-line system as the first system, for example, a dot pitch at a joint of adjacent chips of the semiconductor image sensors is considerably larger than a regular pitch, as shown in FIG. 8.
In the in-line system, a dot pitch equivalently corresponds to a pitch between adjacent GREEN, RED, or BLUE windows since RED, GREEN, and BLUE light-receiving windows constitute one color dot (one color light-receiving element) in a color sensor. FIG. 8 illustrates a pitch between adjacent GREEN windows.
If a regular pitch is represented by P.sub.1 and a pitch at a joint of adjacent semiconductor image sensor is represented by P.sub.2, P.sub.2 is given by: EQU P.sub.2 =P.sub.1 +2A+B-D 1
where A is the distance between an edge of the last light-receiving window and an edge of a semiconductor image sensor chip, B is the gap at a joint between semiconductor image sensors, and D is the distance between adjacent light-receiving windows.
The dot pitch P.sub.2 (to be simply referred to as the pitch P.sub.2 hereinafter) at a joint between adjacent semiconductor image sensor chips is larger than the regular pitch P.sub.1 (to be simply referred to as the pitch P.sub.1 hereinafter) by 2A+B-D.
More specifically, the pitches P.sub.1 and P.sub.2 are calculated at a resolution of 400 DPI (400 dots per inch).
The pitch P.sub.1 is calculated by: ##EQU1##
A is set to be 20 .mu.m in consideration of the influence on light-receiving windows when semiconductor image sensors are cut from a semiconductor wafer.
B is set to be about 20 .mu.m in accordance with die-bonding precision of semiconductor image sensor. D is set to be about 6 .mu.m in consideration of isolation of light-receiving windows. In this case, the pitch P.sub.2 is calculated by substituting P.sub.1 =63.5 .mu.m, A=20 .mu.m, B=20 .mu.m, and D=6 .mu.m in equation 1 as follows: ##EQU2## Therefore, ##EQU3##
In a general color sensor, a pitch offset of about 1.85 times the regular pitch forms a nonsensitive band at a joint to cause moire, and adversely influences an output image.
The 3-line system as the second system can cope with a pitch offset easier than the in-line system, as shown in FIG. 9.
In the 3-line system, since the RED, GREEN, and BLUE color filters are arranged in units of rows, a regular pitch P.sub.3 corresponds to a pitch between adjacent color filters, and a dot pitch P.sub.4 at a joint of adjacent semiconductor image sensor chips corresponds to a pitch between color filters at end portions of adjacent semiconductor image sensor chips, as shown in FIG. 9.
Assuming that the pitch P.sub.3 is set to be 63.5 .mu.m, and a main scanning length of a light-receiving window is set to be 30 .mu.m, the dot pitch P.sub.4 is calculated by: EQU P.sub.4 =2A+B+30 (.mu.m)=90 (.mu.m)
At this time, the pitch P.sub.4 is about 1.42 times the pitch P.sub.3. This value poses no problem on an output image since a pitch offset which influences an image is 1.5 times or more the regular pitch in general. However, the 3-line system requires an external memory, and the entire system is completed, resulting in an increase in cost.
The third system requires a memory having a larger capacity than that required in the 3-line system described above, and mounting precision of semiconductor image sensors must be improved. Therefore, it is considerably difficult to realize the third method.
In order to prevent formation of the nonsensitive band in the main scanning direction, another system is proposed. In this system, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, every other sensors are offset in the subscanning direction, and overlap each other in the main scanning direction.
A sensor arrangement in which a plurality of chips are alternately arranged on a circuit board 1, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, is called a staggered arrangement. The staggered sensors have the following feature. That is, there is no change in resolution at a joint between adjacent chips since a pitch of color filters need not be changed for data at the joint between the adjacent chips.
However, the staggered sensors require a space d between adjacent sensors, which space is considerably wider than a pitch x between adjacent color filters. Thus, a memory having a large capacity is required to synchronize output signals from the sensors.
As described above, the above-mentioned systems for constituting the multi-chip color image sensors suffer from their own problems. The in-line system as the first system has received a lot of attention due to its advantages, e.g., a simple system, a possibility of a reduction in cost, and the like, since it does not require a memory.

Multi-chip color image sensor with light-receiving windows arranged to provide sensor output signals corresponding to the gap between adjacent sensors


A feedthrough device and brazing process for joining the constituent parts of the feedthrough device, while allowing a lead to pass therethrough in a nonconductive manner. The feedthrough comprises at least one lead, a ferrule defining a capacitor recess and defining an insulator recess, an insulator disposed in the insulator recess of the ferrule, the insulator defining a passageway sized to allow the lead to pass therethrough. The feedthrough further comprises a capacitor disposed in the capacitor recess and defining a capacitor passageway sized to allow the lead to pass threrethrough, and the capacitor comprises first and second sets of plates, wherein the first set of plates is conductively coupled to the ferrule and the second set of plates is conductively coupled to the lead. Brazing is a two step process wherein the braze joints between the insulator and the lead and between the insulator and ferrule are formed first at a first temperature using an insulator braze material. The second step of brazing is performed at a lower temperature than the brazing in the first step, and utilizes capacitor braze materials that are different from the insulator braze materials in that they have lower melting temperatures than the insulator braze materials.

This invention relates to feedthroughs for providing an electrical path for implantable medical devices including electrical pulse generators. Examples of such devices are implantable cardiac pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators for correction of cardiac abnormalities. The pacemaker or defibrillator device has a housing containing a pulse generator including associated circuitry and a battery that serves as a power supply. A conductive lead or pin extends from the pulse generator circuit in the interior of the device and passes through the device housing where it is connected via a medical lead to an electrode surgically attached to an appropriate location in the heart.
One of the concerns related to the use of such implantable medical devices (pacemakers, defibrillators, etc.) is that they are subject to stray electromagnetic interference (EMI). Such EMI may come from sources such as television transmitters, cell phones, theft detection devices and so on. This spurious EMI is highly undesirable because it can interfere with proper functioning of the implanted medical device, either by inhibiting a proper response or by causing an improper one. Such stray EMI can essentially be eliminated as a problem source by shunting the EMI to ground with the use of a filter capacitor connected between the input lead wire(s) and electrical ground. Typically, one capacitor is positioned between each such lead wire and ground. These capacitors are often built into a monolithic structure or array when used for a multilead feedthrough. If the array is in the form of a right circular cylinder, it is designated a discoidal capacitor.
However, these prior art type feedthroughs routinely use conductive polymeric materials such as polyimides and epoxies or metallic materials such as solder alloys for holding their constituent parts together. Use of the conductive polymeric materials requires care in preventing leakage of the conductive polymer into locations in the assembly where it could cause a short circuit rendering the implantable medical device inoperative. In addition, conductive polymers exhibit relatively low electrical conductivity as compared with metallic materials. The bonding mechanism between the conductive polymer and the metallic members of the feedthrough is predominately mechanical, resulting in a relatively weak electrical and mechanical connection. Solders have relatively low melting temperatures such that subsequent high temperature welding operations on other parts of the device can compromise the soldered joint or cause beading in which a ball or pellet of solder could fall into a location in the device where a short circuit could result. Additionally, some soldering operations require the use of fluxes that leave behind undesirable residues after the soldering is completed, that can be a source of entrapped moisture, possibly resulting in device failure. Thus, there is a need for a better filtered feedthrough device as well as a better filtered feedthrough assembly process.
The present invention provides a feedthrough assembly and a method of making the same wherein capacitive arrays are installed into a single or multi-pin feedthroughs using a brazing process. The braze material serves to join the capacitor to the feedthrough, holding it securely in place. In addition, the braze material provides the electrical connection from one set(s) of internal capacitor plates to the flange or ferrule and from the opposing set(s) of plates to the feedthrough lead wire(s).
In particular, the feedthrough comprises a lead or conductive pin, a ferrule defining a capacitor receiving recess and an insulator receiving recess, a capacitor disposed in the capacitor receiving recess and defining a capacitor passageway for the lead to pass therethrough, and an insulator disposed in the insulator receiving recess and defining an insulator passageway for the lead to pass through. The lead or pin passes through the insulator in a nonconductive manner. The capacitor comprises first and second sets of plates separated by a dielectric, the first set of plates being conductively coupled to the ferrule and the second set of plates being conductively coupled to the lead so that the lead or pin passes through the ferrule in a non-contacting and nonconductive manner. An insulator braze material is used for forming the insulator-lead braze joint and the insulator-ferrule braze joint. A capacitor braze material is used for forming the capacitor-ferrule braze joint and the capacitor-lead braze joint.
The insulator braze material is typically gold, while the capacitor braze material is a composition selected to be compatible with the termination materials used in the capacitor. The brazing process is a two step procedure wherein the first step calls for the brazing of the insulator-lead braze joint and the insulator-ferrule braze joint at a first temperature using a selected insulator braze material. The second step of brazing calls for brazing the capacitor-ferrule braze joint and the capacitor-lead braze joint, with the selected capacitor braze material at a second temperature that is lower than the first temperature. The braze materials for each step described in the detailed description. This second brazing process does not damage, weaken, or otherwise destroy the insulator-ferrule braze joint or insulator-lead braze joint formed in the previous operation (first step of the brazing process) because if is performed at a lower temperature.
A durable feedthrough assembly is thus provided that is superior to the prior art because the feedthrough can withstand subsequent welding processes without losing its integrity and because the constituent parts of the feedthrough are brazed together. If a solder were used, it might melt, weaken, and bead up at the increased temperatures encountered during welding and a compromised joint could thus result. Furthermore, beads of solder could form if soldering were employed and they could fall into the region of the implantable device containing the electrical components causing short circuits and other problems. The present invention avoids these problems and thus successfully overcomes problems associated with the prior art.

Installation of filter capacitors into feedthroughs for implantable medical devices


An improved low liquid gentle jet dyeing machine which has a pressure vessel with one or more inner chambers located interior to and spaced from the interior edges of the pressure vessel. An endless rope of fabric is contained within each inner chamber. The fabric is plaited to form a plug in the inner chamber. A rotatable perforated barrel reel lifts the fabric from this plug through the outlet of the inner chamber. The fabric then enters a jet dyeing chamber which contains a parallel flow non-clog venturi disposed so as to gently impregnate the fabric with dye liquid. The fabric exits the jet dyeing chamber through a cloth discharge tube which is disposed to convey the fabric to the entrance of the inner chamber in such a way that the angular change of direction of the fabric is minimized. The side walls and floor of the inner chamber are perforated, with the number of side wall perforations being greater toward the chamber entrance and lesser toward the chamber outlet. As the fabric leaves the cloth discharge tube and contacts the inner chamber, the dye liquid leaves the fabric through the perforations of the inner chamber. A plastic liner is placed along the floor of the inner chamber in order to assist the movement of the plug of fabric from the entrance to the outlet of the inner chamber. The inner chamber has a cross section which increases in depth from the entrance to the outlet to allow the fabric plug to progress from the entrance to the outlet with less and less binding. Beneath the vessel is a pump suction header which maximizes the net positive suction pressure for the pump which recirculates the dye from the pressure vessel to the non-clog jet venturi.

Jet dyeing machines, as representatively described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,544, are widely used throughout textile producing areas of the world. Although there have been advances in this art area since the early 1970's when these machines first became popular, many of the pre-1980 jet dyeing machines are still in extensive use. A representative dyeing machine of the prior art is shown in FIGS. 5 and 5A.
A jet dyeing machine made prior to 1978 typically has a pressure vessel 1 which is about seven feet in diameter. Within the pressure vessel 1 is one or more prior art inner chambers 22, each containing an endless rope of fabric 5 which is dyed as it circulates through the jet dyeing machine. The endless rope of fabric 5 is plaited or folded in the prior art inner chamber 22 and floats in a bath of dye liquid. By floating the endless rope of fabric 5 in a bath, the strain on the fabric is reduced.
The endless rope of fabric 5 is lifted from the floating plug by a lifter reel 23 contained within a lifter reel housing 6. The lifter reel 23 frequently consists of a series of spokes which catch and move the fabric as they rotate. The endless rope of fabric 5 then goes to a jet dyeing chamber 7 where a jet venturi (not shown) introduces dye liquid to the fabric. The endless rope of fabric 5 then moves to the cloth discharge tube 20 where the dye liquid and the fabric return to the prior art inner chamber 22. As shown in FIG. 5A, prior art cloth discharge tubes 20 normally require the endless rope of fabric 5 to make a sharp turn which can impede the fabric's progress as it re-enters the prior art inner chamber 22.
Dye is recirculated from an end wall pump header or opening 12 which leads to the pump and pump housing 14. The pump lifts dye liquor through the heat exchanger 15 and sends it through the manifold 16 which distributes the dye to the jet dyeing chambers 7. Each pressure vessel 1 on a prior art jet dyeing machine typically has more than one prior art inner chamber 22. For each prior art inner chamber 22 there is an associated lifter reel 23 and jet dyeing chamber 7. The prior art jet dyeing machine typically has a relatively small existing drain pipe 18 located beneath the pressure vessel 1.
These prior art jet dyeing machines have several drawbacks. First, floating the fabric in a bath of dye liquid to reduce the strain on the fabric requires a large amount of liquid relative to the amount of fabric to be dyed. The dye liquor to fabric weight ratio for most of these machines is 10:1 or more. Because the dyeing process frequently occurs under heat and pressure, the liquor volume must be heated, consuming an amount of energy proportionate to the amount of liquid contained within the vessel. At the conclusion of the dyeing process, the spent liquor is discharged as waste, incurring treatment costs proportionate to the amount of liquor in the vessel.
The older machines also often have problems with dye uniformity because the fabric rope 5 is under tension and often twisted by the lifter reel 23, by the jet venturi, or by the sharp turn that the fabric makes as it moves through the cloth discharge tube 20. This causes the dye in the jet to permeate the fabric rope unevenly. Fabric twists and tangles further complicate the dyeing process because they require shut-down of the machine in order to physically untangle the fabric. Moreover, all of the stresses and strains which are caused by prior art jet dyeing machines may damage light, more delicate fabrics by abrading the fabric.


The present disclosure provides a water supply assembly of a toilet comprising a water input pipe, a water tank, a water suction pump and a water output pipe; wherein the water input pipe is connected to the water tank; clean water enters the water tank through the water input pipe; the water tank is connected to the water suction pump connected to the water output pipe; the water suction pump pumps the clean water inside the water tank into the water output pipe; the water tank comprises a main water tank portion, an auxiliary water tank portion, and a water equalizing pipe connecting between and through the main water tank and the auxiliary water tank. The present disclosure provides a flushing assembly, a water suction assembly, and a check valve for use in the toilet. The present disclosure provides a method, device, and storage for controlling toilet water consumption.

With respect to the orientation of a toilet, when a user faces towards the toilet, the side of the user's left hand is often called the left side of the toilet. According to ordinary construction custom, the corresponding water input port on the wall is also located at the left side of the toilet.
The angle valve hidden inside the main body of the toilet is also located at the left side of the toilet. But the angle valve should lead to the other side of the toilet (i.e. the right side) via a relative long water input pipe and then connect to a water input valve and a vacuum breaker in turn to make sure that clean water is conveyed into a water tank situated at the right side of the toilet. This is because the relative long water input pipe (extending from the left side to the right side of the toilet) is relatively more flexible in rigidity and thus the position of its connecting port (to the water input valve) is easier to be adjusted.
However, regarding this kind of internal arrangement, there are water passage elements located at both the left side and the right side of the toilet. So, the electrical assembly has to be interposed across the interspace among the water passage elements. Once any of the water passage elements leaks water, the electrical assembly is risky to be destroyed.
Therefore, there's a need of designing an internal structure of an intelligent toilet whose electrical assembly is separated from the water passage elements.
Some flushing water tanks of toilets, in order to solve the problem of insufficient flushing water volume, are arranged to increase the partial height of the water tank under the toilet bowl part within the toilet bottom internal borders so that the goal of enlarging the volume of the flushing water is achieved.
However, regarding the toilet which has very small bottom profile and the height of the bowl part is limited, even the toilet whose bottom is shrunken inward to some extent, its flushing water volume probably still cannot reach reasonable water supply volume under this circumstance. In addition, because of the insufficiency of the flushing water supply volume, the flushing speed of the toilet is not enough, which renders several problems including the faeces are unable to be flushed away timely and cleanly enough.
Therefore, there's a need of designing a flushing water supply assembly of a toilet under the condition of limited space under its bowl part and within its skirt part of the toilet. This flushing water supply assembly and this toilet should have large flushing water volume and be able to flush away faeces thoroughly.
For some intelligent toilets, their flushing water tank commonly situate at the position under the bowl part of the toilet. However, with respect to the bowl part with rectangle-shaped or other sharp turning inner surface, under the circumstance of low water flow from the main water input passage such as municipal tap water passage inside the house wall, the flushing water current is inadequate to circle alongside all sides of the inner surface because of its insufficient potential energy. Therefore, the flushing water is hard to wash out the whole inner surface of the bowl part during flushing.
Therefore, there's a need of designing a flushing structure which renders the toilet with the bowl part having rectangle-shaped or other sharp turning inner surface to be able to not only wash out the whole inner surface of the bowl part during flushing adequately and evenly but also discharge the faeces by siphon effect swiftly and powerfully, which saves water consumption.
Referring to FIG. 13 as an example, it can be seen that the water tank 6′ includes a first water gate 61′ (water may flow both inwardly and outwardly therethrough) and a second water gate 62′ (water can only flow outwardly therethrough). The first water gate 61′ situates above the second water gate 62′. The cut-off water level of the first water gate 61′ is AL1, the cut-off water level of the second water gate 62′ is AL2. When the water level in the water tank 6′ reaches the cut-off water level ALL the air inside the water tank 6′ begins to enter into the drainage cavity C and the Venturi effect is just terminated, which causes the concurrent supply of water from the water tank 6′ and tap water directly coming from outside to be unable to continue. However, because of the existence of the second water gate 62′ connecting to water suction pump, the position of the first water gate 61′ cannot be arranged at the same place.
Therefore, there's a need of designing an additional component (low water suction component) which makes sure that even if the water level in the water tank 6′ is lower than the original cut-off water level AL1 of the first water gate 61′, the water is still able to be obtained and conveyed into the drainage cavity C.
In order to prevent the water that has already entered into the internal water passages of a toilet and even the water that has already flushed into the bowl part of the toilet ("contaminated water") from flowing backwards, a check valve is necessary to be set in the water passages. In the meanwhile, for the sake of safety, the developer needs to pay attention to the failure caused by wire-shaped article mixed in the water flow in the water passage.
In some examples, iron wire could be used to imitate the wire-shaped article to be sandwiched between the sealing surfaces of the check valve to let the check valve fail to operate and then let the water inlet of the passage connect to the vacuum source which causes the water to flow backwards. Thus, whether there's any backflow water coming from downstream and going back to clean water source can be observed.
During the actual test, using the combination of a vacuum breaker and a check valve is an optional way for effectively prohibiting the contaminated water from flowing backwards in the test. In this way, the check valve is situated at a side close to the clean water source, the vacuum breaker is arranged at the downstream of the internal water passages of the toilet. When the vacuum source sucks the contaminated water, the diameter of the check valve that is invalidated by the iron wire needs to be as small as possible, then the air-intake requirement of the vacuum breaker could be lowered down. Namely, relatively little air-intake volume can meet the requirement of breaking the suction caused by the vacuum.
For some normal spring type check valves, after inserting the iron wire, the diameter of the check valves for flowing backwards is very large, which leads to very high technical requirement to the vacuum breaker.
As for some normal duckbill valves, after inserting the iron wire, the diameter of the valves for flowing backwards is very small that is very beneficial of lowering down the technical requirement to the vacuum breaker, but the diameter of the duckbill valves for flowing forwards is also decreased dramatically.
Therefore, there's a need to design a check valve whose diameter for flowing backwards is as small as possible and diameter for flowing forwards is as large as possible.
A method for controlling toilet water consumption requires to determine a flushing duration. In Chinese Application No. CN200780033872.6, the method comprises measuring a duration T starting from the commencement of flush water replenishment until the volume of the flush water in the tank reaches the height of a float (i.e. the duration for replenishing water after a previous toilet flush). Then, T is used to estimate the water supply pressure, based on which the duration for a next toilet flush is calculated.
A jet pump refers to a pump having a jet flush structure. FIG. 29 illustrates a toilet comprising a jet pump. The jet pump pressurizes a water stream into a water outlet 1′ and expels the water stream from a jet mouth 2′ to produce jet water under the influence of the Venturi effect. The jet water from the jet mouth 2′ drives another water stream coming from a tank water outlet 3′ to leave from a water outlet 4′ with the jet water together. Both water streams then enter a bowl part or bowl rim.
The jet water stream coming from the jet mouth 2′ is defined as a first water stream. The water stream coming from the tank water outlet 3′ is defined as a second water stream. Thus, the toilet having the jet pump uses two water streams to perform the toilet flush. However, in these examples, the toilets in the only calculate the duration for water replenishment and fails to distinguish the different flow velocities of the two water streams. Accordingly, some toilets cannot precisely estimate and control the amount of water consumption.

Flushing assembly, water supply assembly, lower position water suction assembly, water tank, check valve for use in a toilet, and method, device, and storage medium for controlling toilet water consumption


A 2-step guide hood latch apparatus for a vehicle is provided, which by removing a conventional safety lever, a driver can open a hood merely with two times of manipulation of a release handle indoors without going out of the vehicle, thereby solving the conventional inconvenience of having to put the hand into the hood and manipulate the safety lever. To this end, the 2-step guide hood latch apparatus includes a pawl rotatably mounted on a base plate, a claw rotatably mounted on the base plate in such a way to be held with the pawl, and a guide lever, an end portion of which is hinge-coupled to the pawl by a hinge structure, and a center portion and the other end portion of which are coupled to the claw to induce 1-step lock and 2-step lock states of the claw, in which a hood is opened merely with manipulation of a release lever inside a vehicle.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a 2-step guide hood latch apparatus for a vehicle, by which a user may be provided with convenience in opening a hood merely with a simple manipulation inside a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
While vehicles have been recognized and developed as a simple transportation means or carrying equipment, technological competition to meet various demands by the customers become more fierce with the diversification in consumers' tastes.
Recently, vehicles have been evolved to shift their main focus from providing better exterior shapes and designs into provision of more advanced conveniences and control-related facilities.
In order to secure product competitiveness over rival car manufacturers in the global market as well as in the domestic market, a 2-step open hood system has been developed by Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation.
A hood is generally locked in two steps by using a safety lever so that when a release lever is manipulated inside a vehicle to release the locked hood, one step binding release is conducted by a cable operation, and in front of the vehicle, a driver puts the hand into an engine room to release the safety lever, whereby the hood is opened. In this way, a two-step safety device is provided for hood operations.
This structure is intended to meet vehicle safety standards regulations, and a firm hood latch should be installed in the vehicle's hood. For a vehicle in which a hood is opened or closed forward and the hood, if opened during driving, may obstruct a driver's field of vision, the vehicle is regulated by law to have 2-step lock or 2-spot lock.
FIG. 1 is an operating state diagram of a general hood latch apparatus for describing a method for releasing the hood latch apparatus. As shown in the first cut, an initial state, a hood striker 5 is locked in 2 steps by a claw 1 and a hook 2.
As shown in the second cut, once a driver manipulates a release lever disposed in an indoor driver's seat side, a pawl 4 is pulled in a direction indicated by an arrow and is rotated, thus releasing a binding force applied to the claw 1.
Next, as shown in the third cut, as the claw 1 is rotated, the striker 5 leaves an insertion groove 1a of the claw 1, such that the hood is slightly lifted from a primary lock state into a primary open state.
As shown in the fourth cut, the driver goes out of the vehicle and puts the hand into the primarily-opened hood to push a safety lever 3 in a direction indicated by an arrow, such that the hook 2 connected with the safety level 3 is rotated and thus the binding force which holds the hood striker 5 is released. Thus, the hood changes from the secondary locked state into the secondary open state.
However, to open the hood, the driver inevitably experiences the cumbersome process of manipulating the release lever indoors for primary lock release and putting the hand into the hood outdoors to manipulate the safety level 3.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

2-step guide hood latch apparatus for vehicle


A remote control system and method comprising a television and a light pointing apparatus adapted, in a first embodiment, to transmit a first narrow beam having a first frequency corresponding to visible light, which is used to give an indication of where the pointer is pointed, and a second expanded beam surrounding the first beam and comprising a second frequency corresponding to infrared light. In a second embodiment, the pointer transmits a single frequency modulated light beam. In operation, the beam of light is shown on the television screen to activate an on screen menu based user interface via a photo sensor, microprocessor and onscreen display controller. Screen menu items appear on the screen positioned around the periphery of the screen. The user then moves the beam of light on the screen to the periphery of the screen to optically engage one of the plurality of photo conductors, which triggers an appropriate menu sequence or the performance of a television function such as, e.g., channel up.

As processor power in televisions have increased, so to has the complexity of the remote control units used to control the television and peripheral devices connected to the television. From an initial device having channel up and down buttons, volume up and down buttons and a numeric keypad, the conventional remote control unit has grown into a complicated behemoth with multiple function keys including, e.g., but not limited to, channel up and down, volume up and down, numeric keypad, device, device menu, TV menu, guide, info, PIP/POP, cursor, select, last, list, record, stop, pause, fastforward, rewind, source, input, and the like. As a result, operation of the remote control and the control of the television is often fraught with difficulty and frustration.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus and method that is easy to use and that facilitates the control of a television and peripheral devices connected to the television.

Remote control system and method for controlling a television

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc.


A plurality of storage location numbers (“SLNs”), each having a cryptographic period, is received at a first device (100). A system cryptographic period is determined based on the SLN cryptographic periods. Prior to expiration of each system cryptographic period, if at least one SLN requires an updated, the first device sends updated key material for the at least one SLN. A second device (102) maintains first, second, and third keysets, wherein the first and second keysets comprise key material. The second device receives a message to make the first keyset active, and a second message for updating at least a portion of the key material in the second keyset with updated key material for at least one SLN. The second device makes the third keyset equivalent to the second keyset, updates the second keyset with the updated key material, and receives a third message to make the second keyset active.

If a user wants to have key material in a secure device to have different cryptographic periods, managing the cryptographic periods can be a challenge. A cryptographic period is defined as the period of time during which key material is valid; key material is used to encrypt and/or decrypt information.
Based on the user's security policy, the user determines how long he wants to use the key material before changing it. Depending on the operations the user is involved with, he may want to have the key material he is using change at different intervals. Changing key material at different interval requires the user to manage multiple cryptographic periods. For example, a user may have key material that needs to change once a month and other key material that needs to change once every six months.
The APCO over-the-air-rekeying ("OTAR") standard defines the ability to use multiple cryptographic groups (a collection of keysets, where a keyset in a group of key material that is valid for the same cryptographic period) to manage multiple cryptographic periods. Multiple cryptographic periods could be obtained by placing key material of the same cryptographic period into the same cryptographic group, wherein the key material is managed using storage location numbers ("SLN"; also known as common key references). The standard allows sixteen different cryptographic groups to be defined, and thus a maximum of sixteen different cryptographic periods could be managed. This solution requires more than two keysets, as keysets must be unique between cryptographic groups.
In existing conventional OTAR two-way radio systems, one cryptographic group and two keysets are used and supported by the APCO OTAR protocol standard. Thus, only one cryptographic period is supported.
Implementing multiple cryptographic groups allows for multiple cryptographic periods; however, managing multiple cryptographic groups and keysets can be confusing and complex. Managing one cryptographic group and two keysets has proven to be a challenge in existing conventional OTAR two-way radio systems. Multiple cryptographic groups also introduce the potential for interoperability issues such as coordinating the SLNs that are used for interoperability and the cryptographic period of those SLNs. Adding a new SLN to an existing system may not be straightforward either. For example, if the user wants to add a SLN, they may not be able to add the next one in their list of SLNs; first the user needs to determine the cryptographic period for the SLN, find the cryptographic group that has this cryptographic period or create a new one, and get a SLN from that cryptographic group.
Thus, there exists a need for a solution that simplifies key management and allows the user to assign a cryptographic period to each SLN in a single cryptographic group without being limited by or coordinating with the existing SLNs in the system.

Managing multiple cryptographic periods in a single cryptographic group


Efficient, lower weight, more versatile rear projection screens can be produced by combining in laminated form an unmodified clear matrix resin layer with a second sheet containing light diffusing polymer particles of specific size and size distribution.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to bilayer rear projection screens comprising a supporting polymeric layer and an adhered polymeric layer, preferably tinted, containing specific light diffusing particles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent television technologies, the size of screens for Braun tubes is limited to the size of less than 50 inches even in large screen type televisions because the inside of a cathode ray tube is vacuum. A larger TV screen can be used in rear projected displays. There are two types of projected displays, a rear projected type and a front projected type. Slides are generally used with the front projected type and white cloth or white plastic screens are commonly used as screens thereof. When a translucent sheet is used, a rear projection screen can also be used in viewing slides.
EPC publication 269,324, Jun. 1, 1988 and EPC publication 342,283, Nov. 23, 1989 disclose a plastic translucent sheet with excellent light transmittance. Further use of light diffusing compositions as rear projection screens is also disclosed in these publications.
The performance of a rear projection screen is judged by the balance in characteristics of resolution, gain and contrast. The screen is required to provide sufficient resolution to be useful in data presentation by displaying sharp images. At the same time, the screen must diffuse the light in such a way as to allow a broad viewing audience angle. A gray tint is typically used to create contrast. This contrast is most noticeable when images on the screen are viewed in the presence of ambient light. Typical screens consist of a sheet of acrylic polymer, i.e., poly(methyl methacrylate), or glass, approximately 6 mm thick and are coated with a thin (<25 microns) layer of a light diffusing material. A neutral gray tint is sometimes added to the coating to provide improved contrast over screens without the tint.
The industry still seeks a light-weight, readily prepared, efficient rear projection screen with the specified light-scattering and transmission qualities.


A semiconductor chip packaging structure comprising a dielectric film having one or more through holes aligned with the one or more contact pads of at least one power semiconductor chip. A patterned electrically conductive layer adjacent to the dielectric film has one or more electrically conductive posts which extend through the one or more though holes aligned with the contact pads to electrically couple the conductive layer to the contact pads. In certain embodiments, one or more air gaps may be formed between the dielectric film and the active surface of the at least one power semiconductor chip. Methods for fabricating the semiconductor chip packaging structure are also disclosed.

The present application relates generally to structures and methods for packaging power semiconductor devices.
Wide band gap semiconductor devices, such as SiC devices, have the ability to operate at highly elevated temperatures for some power electronics applications, without degrading device performance or developing failure mechanisms that would limit operating life. This attribute has the potential benefit of permitting high power operation in high temperature environments without expensive cooling structures and materials that would be required if lower operating temperatures had to be maintained. However, operating wide band gap power devices at high temperatures puts severe limitations on the packaging, assembly, interconnection materials, processes and structures.
In the past, semiconductor packaging technologies were designed for the known temperature limits of silicon and gallium arsenide devices, which are near the 125° C. to 150° C. range. Packaging structures for such devices typically incorporate polymer materials and wire bonding interconnection technology, which can be used at lower temperatures without sustaining heat damage. Packaging structures incorporating these technologies generally cannot be subjected to continuous exposure of relatively high temperatures without facing issues of degradation and reliability.
Traditional packaging technologies typically employ organic adhesion layers, which often have relatively high CTE values ranging, for example, from about 30 to about 60 ppm/C. For applications involving very cold temperatures or wide thermal cycles, the use of these organic adhesion layers may cause undesirable levels of thermal stress on packaging structures.
Using polymers in packaging structures which are not hermetically sealed may also cause problems in high moisture environments, since polymers tend to absorb moisture. Absorption of moisture can have undesirable effects, including raising the dielectric constants of the polymers and increasing parasitic capacitances.
Packaging approaches that do not contain organic polymer materials are generally complex, costly and have poor electrical performance. These inorganic based packages are generally wire bonded devices mounted onto a ceramic substrate, which includes one or more interconnect structures and die mount down pads. However, incorporating interconnect structures on ceramic substrates generally results in the use of non-optimum thermally conductive ceramic substrate material, which can in turn result in a module having a non-optimum thermal path.
Further, wire bonded devices have a number of disadvantages, including high series electrical resistance, high inductance, high levels of electromagnetic interference (EMI), application of mechanical stress to the devices, and current crowding on the device surface. Other drawbacks of wire bond assemblies include the need for large package height and large substrate footprints to accommodate the wire bond pads on the substrate. In addition, coating wire bonds with dielectrics to achieve voltage isolation can be difficult for a number of reasons, including the shape of the wire bonds, the gold metal generally used to make the bonds, and the extreme fragility of the bonds themselves. The difficulty of achieving dielectric isolation of wire bonds is becoming more of a problem because of the relatively high currents and voltages used for developing high power applications.

Power semiconductor packaging method and structure


A fuel pump (10) supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine includes an electric motor (14), a shaft (16) driven by the motor, and a pump assembly (18) including a pumping element (20) mounted on the shaft. A fuel pump improvement includes the shaft being a multi-sided shaft with the pumping element having a central opening (22) through which the shaft extends. This opening is a contoured opening having a plurality of sides each of which is in contact with a side (22a-22c) of the shaft to distribute wear which occurs between the shaft and the pumping element. This construction prolongs the operating life of the pump. In a roller vane type pump having N vanes, the motor shaft has a number of sides S determined by the formula S=N±1, and N>3.

This invention relates to electric fuel pumps for use in automotive vehicles; and more particularly, to an improved construction for mounting an impeller to a drive shaft by which an electric motor driving the pump causes the impeller assembly of the pump to rotate, the improved construction reducing shaft wear and improving service life of the pump.
A high-pressure electric fuel pump such as is commonly used in fuel injected automobile engines includes a housing in which is encased an electric motor and an impeller assembly driven by the motor. The impeller assembly is mounted on a drive shaft driven by the motor, with the suction created drawing low-pressure fuel into the pump from a fuel tank or reservoir of a fuel module. The impeller is designed to increase the fuel pressure from approximately atmospheric pressure on the input side of the pump to pressures ranging to 50 psi and higher on the outlet side of the pump, depending upon the particular application.
Heretofore, the drive shaft has generally been a round shaft such as shown in FIG. 1A, although other shaped shafts have been used. U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,284, for example, describes a drive shaft, referred to as a D-shaft (see prior art FIG. 1B), because a portion of the shaft is flattened so that the contour of the shaft, viewed axially, resembles the letter D. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,722,815 and 5,711,408 opposite portions of the shaft are flattened to create what is referred to as a "double-D" contour. There are also shaft constructions in which an intermediate or end portion of an otherwise circular shaft is shaped into an X pattern such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,282, or a square shape with rounded corners such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,202. These latter profiles are for mounting and locking the impeller assembly onto the shaft to improve pump efficiency by reducing the effects of wear between the impeller and motor shaft.
While the various constructions shown in these patents may work for their intended purpose, there are improved impeller constructions by which the impeller assembly is mounted on the shaft and which are less susceptible to wear and further increase the efficiency of the fuel pump.

Impeller-drive shaft construction for a fuel pump


The device is an apparatus for infrared spectroscopy. A succession of collimated light beams throughout the middle and near infrared spectrum are impinged against a sample or samples and the diffuse component of the reflected light is measured throughout the spectrum. This diffuse component is analyzed by a neural network to determine such characteristics as content of the sample.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to infrared spectroscopy with neural network analysis and associated quantitative methodology to analyze the contents of organic and non-organic products in the food, pharmaceutical, petroleum, soil and other industries.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several spectroscopy systems have been developed to analyze the chemical compounds of organic and non-organic substances. The use of absorbed or reflected light energy in various spectral bands has been used to obtain spectral identification of the organic compounds. The time involved to perform the spectral analysis and the associated mathematical computation has been typically 45 to 180 seconds which has not been adequate for analysis of mass produced items, particularly while still on the production line, such as the determination of the content of a pharmaceutical product or the determination of fat, moisture and/or protein content in a meat or similar food product. Additionally, prior art spectroscopy techniques have not been able to detect minute quantities of potent substances in organic objects. Such increased sensitivity and accuracy would be of great use in the analysis of soil in the agricultural industry by determining which fertilizers have been used and what deficiencies the soil may have, and would have further similar application in the pesticide application industry by determining which pesticide has been used recently in an area thereby determining which pesticide has likely lost its efficacy.

Real-time on-line analysis of organic and non-organic compounds for food, fertilizers, and pharmaceutical products


A liquid crystal display apparatus includes: an array substrate; a seal material; and an opposite substrate, wherein the array substrate includes: a plurality of thin film transistors formed in correspondence to respective intersection parts of a plurality of gate wirings and a plurality of source wirings; a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor; an opposite electrode formed to face the pixel electrode; a gate extraction wiring that connects the gate wirings and a connection terminal formed in an outer area of the seal material; a conductive film that covers the gate extraction wiring with sandwiching a first insulation film therebetween; and a second insulation film that covers the conductive film in at least part of the outer area of the seal material, and wherein the conductive film is applied with an electrical potential of the opposite electrode.

In recent years, a new display apparatus having a thin and planar display panel using liquid crystals, electroluminescence, charged fine particles and the like has been widely used instead of the conventional cathode-ray tube. A liquid crystal display apparatus representative of the new display apparatus has not only thin and lightweight properties but also low power consumption and low voltage driving characteristics. The liquid crystal display apparatus has the liquid crystals that are sealed between two substrates. One substrate is an array substrate having a display area in which a plurality of pixels is arranged in a matrix shape, and the other substrate is an opposite substrate that is formed with a color filter, a black matrix (light shield film) and the like. The array substrate and the opposite substrate are bonded with a seal material.
Specifically, since a thin film transistor (TFT) type liquid crystal display apparatus has TFTs, which are switching elements, in respective pixels on the array substrate, the respective pixels can have voltages independently driving the liquid crystals, and thus it is possible to display a high-quality image with less crosstalk. Also, each pixel is provided with a gate wiring (scanning wiring) that controls on-off operations of the TFT and a source wiring (signal wiring), which intersecting with the gate wiring, to input image data. Typically, each pixel corresponds to an area that is surrounded by the gate wirings and the source wirings.
In an in-plane switching (IPS) type (horizontal electric-field type) liquid crystal display apparatus, a plurality of pixel electrodes and opposite electrodes (common electrodes) are arranged alternately at an interval in a slit shape or pectinate shape, as viewed from a plan view, on the same layer or different layer on one array substrate. A generally horizontal electric-field is applied to a substrate surface, and thus an image is displayed. The IPS type has an improved viewing angle characteristic, compared to the conventional TN (Twisted Nematic) type. However, the IPS type has a lower light transmissivity, compared to the TN type, because the electrode parts of the pixel electrodes and opposite electrodes do not mostly contribute to the display.
It is known that an improved horizontal electric-field type apparatus, such as a fringe field switching (FFS) type (for example, JP-A-2009-265484 and JP-A-2010-049185. In a broader interpretation, it is described that the FFS type is also the IPS type). In the FFS type liquid crystal display apparatus, the pixel electrodes and the opposite electrodes are formed on one array substrate, like the IPS type. However, the pixel electrodes and the opposite electrodes are arranged with being overlapped vertically with sandwiching an insulation film therebetween. Also, generally, the lower electrode has a plate (plane) shape and the upper electrode has a slit shape or pectinate shape having an opening.
In the FFS type, the pixel electrode is any one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode. In the FFS type, since the liquid crystals are driven by the fringe electric-field between the upper and lower electrodes, the liquid crystals above the electrode parts of the upper electrodes are also driven to contribute to the display. Thereby, the light transmissivity is improved, compared to the IPS type.


An implantable pump and methods for detecting leaks in an implantable pump are provided. In one embodiment, the implantable drug pump includes a housing having at least one inlet port and an outlet port formed therein. The outlet port is adapted to communicate with a catheter for delivering fluid to a patient's body, and the inlet port(s) are effective to deliver fluid into the housing. The housing further includes at least one reservoir disposed therein and effective to contain a fluid. In use, the pump preferably includes a fluid having one or more drugs disposed in at least one of the reservoirs, and a radiolucent fluid disposed in one of the reservoirs. A user programmable control mechanism is coupled to the drug pump and is effective to selectively control movement of the valves between the open and closed positions.

Implantable drug delivery devices are commonly used to provide site specific and/or sustained delivery of beneficial agents to address adverse patient conditions. The pumps are used for the continuous medication delivery over relatively long periods of time in patients who could otherwise only be treated by injecting the medications, such as, e.g., morphines, heparins and similar drugs, several times daily. Pumps are advantageous in comparison with injections in that an even flow rate and a significantly lower total intake of the drug can be realized.
Implantable drug pumps typically include a reservoir for storing a fluid, such as a drug, and a pump or other flow control device to deliver the fluid to a site within a patient. A septum is formed on the top of the pump to allow refilling of the reservoir. Most implantable pumps also include a bolus port which is coupled to the catheter to enable a one-time injection directly to the treatment site. In use, the pump is disposed in a subcutaneous pocket in the area of the abdomen of the patient whereby the refill opening sealed by the septum is palpable under the skin of the patient. The medication reservoir is filled by piercing the skin of the patient and the septum with the corresponding needle of a syringe.
While implantable pumps have been proven to be highly effective, one disadvantage of current designs is the inability to detect leaks in the catheter extending from the pump to the drug delivery site, or between the catheter and the outlet port. Currently, leak detection requires the drug to be removed from the drug reservoir, and sodium chloride to be introduced through the refill port. The pump is then set to dispense the sodium chloride until any residual drug is removed from the reservoir. This process alone can take several days to complete. Once the reservoir is emptied, a contrast agent can then be introduced through the bolus port. An x-ray image of the contrast agent flowing through the catheter is then taken to detect any leaks.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved drug pumps, and for methods for detecting leaks in a drug pump.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Trouble shooting accelerator system for implantable drug delivery pumps


Oxide-free, low temperature wafer bonding permits electric current to cross the covalently bonded interface unimpeded by traps, recombination centers and unintentional, defect-induced blocking barriers when interfacial defects are passivated by hydrogen diffused from shallow implants towards the interface. Systems and methods comprising oxide-free, low temperature covalent wafer bonding with passivated interface states are used in various applications requiring reduced interfacial scattering and carrier trapping and efficient charge collection across bonded interfaces.

Direct bonding of semiconductor wafers is becoming a versatile technique for the combination of different functionalities in a compact, monolithic unit. Especially oxide-free bonding has recently been shown to provide interfaces of superior quality in comparison with epitaxial growth, where threading dislocations forming during the plastic relaxation of misfit stress very often degrade lattice mismatched device layers (see for example Matthews et al., in J. Appl. Phys. 41, 3800 (1970), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). In direct wafer bonding, dislocations are exclusively located at the bonded interface irrespective of the lattice mismatch of the bonding partners. For example, the ability to form monolithic structures of compound semiconductors bonded to silicon substrates has a significant potential for Si photonics and high efficiency multi-junction solar cells and other applications, provided that the bonding process is carried out at low temperatures in order to avoid mechanical stress developing because of different thermal expansion coefficients of the bonding partners. Recent examples of hybrid III-V/Si photonic devices based on low temperature, oxide-free direct bonding of GaAs on Si, where the lattice parameter mismatch amounts to 4%, have for example been described by K. Tanabe et al. in Sci. Rpts. 2, 349 (2012), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Successful oxide-free bonding of InP to Si has been demonstrated as well despite the lattice parameter mismatch which in this case is even as large as 8.1% (see for example A. Talneau et al. in Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 212101 (2013), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference).
The application of direct, oxide-free wafer bonding to high-resolution, high-sensitivity particle and X-ray imaging detectors has been described for example by von Känel in the International Patent Application No. WO 2016/097850, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Such wafer bonding requires exceptionally smooth surfaces with a roughness typically below one nanometre, achievable for example by chemical mechanical polishing. In addition, the wafer surfaces have to be oxide-free prior to bonding. Especially if one or both of the bonding partners has undergone device processing, such as CMOS processing, not only the bonding but also the oxide removal needs to be carried out at low temperature, typically below 300° C.-400° C. or preferably below 300° C. or even below 200° C.
There are mainly two methods available for the removal of surface oxides at low temperatures. The first method includes dry etching or sputtering and subsequent transfer of the clean wafers in ultra-high vacuum ("UHV") to the bonding chamber. Ultra-high vacuum is the vacuum regime characterized by pressures lower than about 10−7 pascal or 100 nanopascals (10−9 mbar, ˜10−9 torr). UHV requires the use of unusual materials for equipment, and heating of the entire system above 100° C. for many hours ("baking") to remove water and other trace gases which adsorb on the surfaces of the chamber. At these low pressures the mean free path of a gas molecule is approximately 4 km, so gas molecules will collide with the chamber walls many times before colliding with each other. Almost all interactions therefore take place on various surfaces in the chamber. Room temperature bonding under UHV conditions was originally tested on small samples for example by H. Takagi et al. in Jap. J. Appl. Phys. 38, 1589 (1999), and by M. M. R. Howlader et al. in J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 19, 2114 (2001), the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. More recently, the application of oxide removal by dry etching to oxide-free bonding at the scale of 200 mm wafers has been demonstrated by C. Flötgen et al. in ECS Transactions 64, 103 (2014), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Since such dry etching processes involve surface bombardment by energetic particles, they inevitably lead to some surface amorphization and consequently to an amorphous interfacial region after bonding with a thickness of typically a few nanometres (see for example H. Takagi et al. in Jap. J. Appl. Phys. 38, 1589 (1999); M. M. R. Howlader et al. in J. of Vac. Sci. Technol. 19, 2114 (2001); C. Flötgen et al. in ECS Transactions 64, 103 (2014), the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference). One of the consequences of amorphous interfaces is the presence of dangling bonds which may act as carrier traps and recombination centers and lead to Fermi level pinning. The electrical transport properties across such a bonded interface may hence be non-ideal even when it is oxide-free (see for example S. Bengtsson et al. in J. Appl. Phys. 66, 1231 (1989); M. M. R. Howlader et al. in J. Vac. Sci. Technol. 19, 2114 (2001), the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference).
The second method for removing surface oxides is by wet chemical etching, usually in a dilute HF bath. Silicon surfaces become hydrogen passivated by such a treatment, so that re-oxidation happens slowly even in air (see for example G. W. Trucks et al. in Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 504 (1990), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). The bonding process between two H-terminated wafers is called hydrophobic bonding. It results, however, in very weak bonds and therefore needs to be followed by post-bonding annealing in order to drive off the interfacial hydrogen and to establish covalent bonds. Unfortunately, post-bonding annealing frequently leads to the formation of undesirable hydrogen bubbles at the interface even at temperatures as low as 300° C. The temperature at which hydrogen bubbles form can be reduced further when the annealing is carried out for sufficiently long times. Reaching bulk fracture strengths requires annealing temperatures on the order of 700° C. (see for example Q.-Y. Tong et al. in Appl. Phys. Lett. 64, 625 (1994), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). Bubble formation during the annealing of hydrophobically bonded Si wafers can be avoided for example by providing escape paths in the form of grooves for the hydrogen to escape (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 6,787,885 to Esser, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). However, Esser is not suitable for applications in which the whole bonded interface area needs to be electrically conducting. In the instant disclosure, an electrically conducting interface is defined as an interface across which charge carriers can flow freely. In other words, it is not an electrically conducting plane such as a metallic sheet. In the absence of wafer patterning, the only way of avoiding hydrogen bubbles and forming strong covalent bonds even at room temperature seems to be to drive off the surface hydrogen before the bonding by some means and to perform the bonding in UHV. The most common method of hydrogen removal from a passivated Si surface is thermal desorption, starting at about 370° C. for SiH2 species and 450° C. for SiH species (see for example P. Gupta et al. in Phys. Rev. B 37, 8234 (1988), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). Since an annealing temperature of 450° C. is already too high for most CMOS processed wafers, it is preferable to desorb the hydrogen by other means, such as photo-thermal desorption (see for example A. M. Fecioru et al. in Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 192109 (2006), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference) or He ion bombardment (see for example M. R. Tesauro et al. in Surf. Sci. 415, 37 (1998), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference).
Oxide-free Si—Si interfaces obtained by bonding and subsequent annealing are characterized by the formation of a dense interfacial dislocation network because of inevitable wafer twist and tilt (see for example A. Reznicek et al. in Mat. Chem. Phys. 81, 277 (2003), and T. Akatsu et al. in J. Mat. Sci. 39, 3031 (2004), the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference). Even in the absence of oxygen and amorphous layers, bonded interfaces are therefore not defect-free, since dislocations are usually associated with deep traps and recombination centers which affect the optical and electrical properties. In order to minimize the effect of interfacial defects on the electrical transport across bonded interfaces, the surfaces of the bonding partners are therefore usually heavily doped (see for example US Patent Application No. 2006/0021565 to Zahler, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). Alternatively, the detrimental effect of such defects can be minimized for example by hydrogen passivation. Passivation of dangling bonds on crystalline-Si surfaces by a hydrogenated amorphous Si layer was demonstrated long ago (see for example J. I. Pankove et al. in Appl. Phys. Lett. 34, 156 (1979), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). A similar effect was observed on bonded Si wafers subjected to annealing above 1000° C. to reveal the dislocation network and to subsequent hydrogen diffusion (see for example A. Loshachenko et al. in Phys. Stat. Sol. C 10, 36 (2013), and T. Jiang et al. in Phys. Stat. Sol. A 209, 990 (2012), the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference).
There is a need for low temperature, covalent wafer bonding permitting electric charge transport across the bonded interface unimpeded by traps, recombination centers, defect-related potential barriers and associated band bending.
There is a need for oxide-free wafer bonding at low temperatures compatible with CMOS processed wafers providing electrical transport properties unaffected by unintentional interfacial barriers and associated band bending as well as traps and recombination centers.
There is especially a need for charge collection across oxide-free wafer bonds which is unaffected by interfacial scattering, charge carrier trapping and carrier recombination for wafers of any doping level including undoped wafers.

Structures, systems and methods for electrical charge transport across bonded interfaces