1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber adapter, and more particularly, to an optical fiber adapter with a shutter member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the optical fiber has been widely used as signal transmission media because of its high bandwidth and low loss nature. In order to transmit over a longer distance without the need of repeaters, it is common to use a high power diode laser to launch a laser beam into the optical fiber. However, the high power laser beam used to carry information is usually invisible. In other words, the human eyes will be unable to sense the high power laser beam if it leaves from the open end of a fiber cable. Thus, it is required to obstruct the high power laser beam to avoid hurting the eyes when the laser beam leaves from an optical fiber.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional fiber adapter 100 includes a housing 110 having a plurality of side walls 160. The side walls 160 define a receiving recess 120. One of the side walls 160 is provided with a slot 130 for mating with the key 192 of the connector 190 when the connector 190 is inserted into the receiving recess 120. In addition, the outer surfaces of two opposite side walls 160 are provided with recesses 140 that a clip (not shown in the figure) can be disposed thereon to facilitate the adapter 100 to be mounted on a panel.
In general, the adapter 100 further has another set of side walls 160 that defines another receiving recess 120. The two receiving recesses 120 are opposite and can respectively receive a connector 190. Of course, the two receiving recesses 120 of the adapter 100 can be designed to mate with two different types of connectors. The fiber connector 190 is always attached to one end of a fiber cable 194 and a light beam can propagate down the fiber cable 194 and emit from the ferrule 196 of the connector 190. Likewise, a light beam can be coupled into the fiber cable 194 from the end face of the ferrule 196.
When the adapter 100 is used to couple two connectors 190 together, the two connectors 190 are respectively inserted into the receiving recesses 120. The ferrules 196 of the connectors 190 thus slide into a hollow sleeve (not shown in the figure) and are brought into axial alignment and contact with each other. A light beam will be able to propagate from the fiber cable 194 of a connector 190 through the interface between the two ferrules 196 and then reach the fiber cable 194 of the other connector 190, and vice versa.
When one connector 190 is disconnected from the adapter 100, the light beam originally propagating from the connector 190 still kept in the adapter 100 to the presently disconnected connector 190 will now leave the ferrule 196 and emit from the receiving recess 120. If the emitted light beam is high power and not obstructed, a lasting exposure to such light beam is harmful to people, particularly to the eyes. Thus, to avoid exposing to the high-power light beam, it is common to use a cap 180 to block up the unused receiving recess 120. This can obstruct the light beam and also prevent the receiving recess 120 from dust. If a connector 190 would like to be mated with the adapter 100, the cap 180 is required to be removed. However, the cap 180 is apt to get lost and it is still possible to expose the eyes to the light beam during mating.
Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional fiber adapter 200 is generally the same as the adapter 100 but further includes a cover 250 pivotally connected to the housing 110. The cover 250 covers the receiving recess 120 in its closed position. A spring 260 can force the cover 250 to be pivoted to its closed position when the receiving recess 120 is not mated with a connector 190. Thus, the cover 250 is capable of obstructing the light beam emitted from the receiving recess 120 in its closed position. If a user would like to mate a connector 190 with the adapter 200, he is first required to lift the cover 250 from its closed position and then to insert the connector 190 into the receiving recess 120. Upon pulling out the connector 190, the cover 250 is pivoted to cover the receiving recess 120 through the spring 260. As a result, the user has no chance to expose to the high-power light beam. However, the construction of the adapter 200 is much more complex than that of the adapter 100.
Referring to FIG. 3, a conventional protection cap 300 for the fiber adapter 100 includes a hollow housing 310 with two opposing openings and a cover 350 pivotally connected to the housing 310. The cover 350 is pivoted to cover one of the two openings through a spring 360. The protection cap 300 can be put on the adapter 100 and cover the outer surfaces of the side walls 160 and the receiving recess 120 of the adapter 100. When a user would like to mate a connector 190 with the adapter 200, he is required to lift the cover 350 from its closed position and then to insert the connector 190 into the receiving recess 120. Likewise, upon pulling out the connector 190, the cover 350 is pivoted to cover the receiving recess 120 by the spring 360. As a result, the user has no chance to expose to the high-power light beam emitted from the receiving recess 120. However, the structure of the protection cap 300 is somewhat complex and therefore it is not inexpensive. The introduction of the protection cap 300 to obstruct the light beam will cost much.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a solution to solve the aforesaid problems.


The fabrication of integrated circuits on semiconductor wafers typically involves the creation of multiple, successive layers of materials, such as insulators, conductors, semiconductors, and so forth, on the semiconductor wafers. Each of the layers is normally formed by applying a photoresist layer over previously formed layers and then the photoresist layer is patterned. Portions of the photoresist layer not exposed during the patterning can be washed off and the layer can be formed using one of many desired techniques. When completed properly, the multiple layers combine to form functional integrated circuits. The alignment of the individual layers is crucial to creating properly formed structures in the semiconductor wafer. Misalignment of the layers can reduce the performance of the integrated circuitry if the misalignment is small (due to improper device geometries) and inoperable integrated circuitry if the misalignment is large (due to formation of improper electrical connections).
Misalignment of the layers can arise when a photomask is used to pattern a layer and the photomask is not lined up properly with previously created layers on the semiconductor wafer. Misalignment can be due to mechanical shift errors, optical lens magnification errors, optical lens aberration errors, and so forth. Mechanical shift errors can be the result of shifts in the semiconductor wafer and/or the photomask during processing and optical lens magnification errors can be a result of magnification mismatches between different layers of the semiconductor wafer. Optical lens aberration errors can be the result of non-ideal characteristics of an optical lens being used, wherein light passing through the lens behaves differently depending upon the portion of the lens the light is passing through.
Overlay targets have been used to allow for the alignment of the individual layers of a semiconductor wafer. After a photoresist layer has been patterned (and before the actual layer has been created) on top of the semiconductor wafer, which can have one or more targets, an optical system, such as a part of an overlay metrology tool, can capture images of the targets along with corresponding bullets (a part of the photoresist layer corresponding to the overlay target) in the photoresist layer and optical analysis algorithms can determine if the photoresist layer is aligned within specifications with respect to the semiconductor wafer. If the photoresist layer being created is determined to be misaligned, the photoresist layer can be removed, usually using a chemical wash, and a new photoresist layer can be applied and patterned and the optical processing can be repeated until the photoresist layer becomes aligned.
One disadvantage of the prior art is that the overlay targets can be used to detect mechanical shift errors and lens magnification errors. However, lens aberrations can also result in significant misalignment errors and the prior art overlay targets do not adequately capture lens aberration errors.
A second disadvantage of the prior art is that the overlay targets do not exploit the advantages of using polarized light.
Yet another disadvantage of the prior art is that the overlay targets typically comprise the photoresist layer and a layer immediately beneath it. The use of adjacent layers can permit a sequential build-up of misalignment that, while between the adjacent layers is within specifications, can lead to an overall misalignment that exceeds specifications.


The invention relates to a transmission apparatus in connection with a pulling equipment intended for moving especially a cable or a corresponding product, the transmission apparatus comprising a shaft that is operated by a motor and that is connected to an output shaft of the transmission apparatus by means of cog wheels, said output shaft being connected to means that are in contact with the cable or a corresponding product and that move the cable, the motor being arranged to rotate the output shaft via the driven shaft and the cog wheels in the direction of motion of the cable or the like and, if necessary, to decelerate the rotation of the output shaft in the direction of motion of the cable or the like, the cog wheels being arranged to form a circle extending from the motor-driven shaft to the output shaft and correspondingly from the output shaft to the motor-driven shaft.
In addition to cables, the phrase xe2x80x9ca cable or a corresponding productxe2x80x9d refers in the present application to ropes, conductors and other products formed from strands, and to semi-finished articles of the products at different stages of production.
When sheathed cables are produced, the sheath must be vulcanized and cooled after the forming stage. For this purpose, the processing line is provided with a vulcanizing tube that is followed by a cooling pipe in the direction of travel of the cable. A metal conductor to be coated is passed through the vulcanizing tube and the cooling pipe by means of a first pulling equipment placed before the extruder and a second pulling equipment located after the cooling pipe. During the vulcanization, the cable is supported in the horizontal extruder process entirely by the aforementioned pulling equipments or by the first pulling equipment, the cooling pipe and the second pulling equipment. The cable travels along a catenary trajectory at least in the vulcanizing tube, which means that at least the vulcanizing tube must be catenary in shape.
During the vulcanization process, the cable must not get into contact with the hot vulcanizing tube, and therefore it is necessary that the cable is kept straight so that it does not touch the inner surface of the vulcanizing tube. If the cable touches the surface of the vulcanizing tube, the cable sheath will be damaged and the cable cannot be used for the intended purpose. The aforementioned matters set great requirements for the operation of the pulling equipments. A pulling equipment, for example a drive wheel, must grip the metal conductor without any slipping between the conductor and the drive wheel, the frame of the pulling equipment must be very sturdy and firmly attached to the bearing surface, the drive wheel must be firmly mounted in bearings to the frame in order to minimize the risk of vibration and oscillation, and for the same reason the transmission of the pulling equipment must operate as smoothly as possible without clearances. The clearance-free operation of the transmission of the pulling equipment is highly significant especially when loading takes place mainly in the direction of motion, as for example in the cable vulcanization process, where the motor may get into decelerating action in connection with certain cable sizes due to the tensile force of the cable. In other words, the motor may change its pole, whereupon the clearance of the gear transmission produces a tug, which easily results in harmful oscillation of the cable.
In prior art pulling equipments, rotation of the drive wheel is based on a transmission apparatus that is formed of a gear rim and a cog wheel and that is placed between an actuator and the drive wheel. In such arrangements, the drive wheel is provided with a gear rim that is coaxial with the axis of rotation of the drive wheel and that comprises either inside or outside gearing, and the pulling equipment is provided with a motor-driven cog wheel. The speed of the motor is controlled by means of a sensor placed in the vulcanizing tube and used to measure the location of the sheathed cable in the tube. The pulling equipment provided at the output end of the cooling pipe is usually run at a constant speed, and the location of the cable in the vulcanizing tube is adjusted by means of control of the rotational speed of the pulling equipment located before the extruder.
In practice, it has been noted, however, that despite very accurate machining of the gear teeth, vibrations occur in the pulling equipment in connection with the gear transmission described above, and the vibrations result in harmful oscillation of the cable in the vulcanizing tube. This is obviously a result of too big clearances between the teeth, the clearances becoming more evident with heavy loads. It should be noted that in the present cable vulcanization lines the distance between the pulling equipments may be as much as 200 meters, which means that a hanging cable causes considerable loading in the drive wheel and the teeth. A possible elliptical shape of the gear rim also causes variation in the clearances of the teeth and therefore in the steadiness of the pulling.
In another prior art arrangement, the drive wheel is replaced with several closely positioned rollers that are mounted in bearings in a substantially semicircular formation, and an inner endless rubber belt travels over the rollers. Outside the curved roller conveyor there is an outer endless rubber belt that passes over a sheave and presses against the roller conveyor in a semicircular form. The metal conductor to be coated travels between the inner and the outer belt to extruders. The speed of the metal conductor in the extruder is adjusted by decelerating the speed of the sheaves around which the inner belt travels. With this arrangement it is possible to avoid the drawbacks resulting from the clearances of the gear transmission, but on the other hand, the decelerating effect provided by means of the drive wheel is simultaneously lost.
Another essential drawback is that the inner rubber belt is subjected to a great pressure that is produced by the rollers and the outer rubber belt and that tends to lead to a breakdown of the inner rubber belt. Another drawback is that the outer rubber belt tends to slide away from the drive groove and therefore breaks.
Another example of prior art arrangements is a caterpillar-type pulling mechanism, which is arranged in connection with a drive wheel that is firmly mounted in bearings in the frame structure, the pulling mechanism being used to forward the metal conductor. On the one hand, such an arrangement improves for example the decelerating effect, but on the other hand, this kind of separate caterpillar equipment comprises clearances, which cause problems with vibration as described above.
An example of prior art arrangements is a pulling equipment where the force is conducted to the central shaft of the drive wheel by means of a worm gear. Such a gear is loaded with a high torque and therefore the equipment must be provided with a rather heavy construction, which also means that it has often rather great clearances that also cause the aforementioned problems with vibration.
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a transmission apparatus with which the prior art drawbacks, such as the vibration problems caused by the clearances of the transmission, can be eliminated. This is achieved with a transmission apparatus according to the invention, which is characterized in that the cog wheels are helical gearwheels and that one cog wheel shaft is arranged to be moved in its longitudinal direction when the rotation of the output shaft is being decelerated, whereupon during the movement of the cog wheel shaft, the cog wheels situated on the shaft are arranged to rotate, due to opposite helicity of the teeth of the cog wheels, the adjacent cog wheels that are in mesh with the first cog wheels, thus eliminating the free play occurring between the cog wheels during the deceleration.
The primary advantage of the invention is that the invention provides even transmission that does not cause harmful vibrations in the cable or a corresponding product. Another advantage of the invention is its simplicity, wherefore the start-up and use of the invention will be advantageous.


To respond a requirement of increase in withstanding voltage and decrease in on-resistance (or decrease in on-voltage) of a semiconductor device, a semiconductor device having the SJ structure has been developed, and in particular a semiconductor device having the SJ structure in both of the cell region and the terminal region is actively developed. The SJ structure is provided in not only in the cell region but also in the terminal region, thereby a depleted region (meaning an expansion area of a depletion layer when the semiconductor device is turned off) can be formed in a wide area of the terminal region, and consequently withstanding voltage of both of the cell region and the terminal region can be improved.
This type of semiconductor device is often formed by using a semiconductor stack in which a semiconductor lower-layer and a semiconductor intermediate-layer are stacked. In the semiconductor intermediate-layer, the SJ structure is formed. In many cases, when the semiconductor stack is seen in a plane view, the cell region in which a vertical semiconductor-switching-cell group is built is provided in a central side of the semiconductor stack, and the terminal region is provided around the periphery of the cell region.
A plurality of vertical switching cells is formed in the cell region. For example, in the case that the vertical semiconductor switching cell is MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor), the semiconductor lower-layer is called a drain layer, and a drain electrode is connected to the drain layer. When the vertical semiconductor switching cell is IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), a collector layer in an opposite conduction type is provided on a back of the semiconductor lower-layer, and a collector electrode is connected to the collector layer. When a gate structure of the vertical semiconductor switching cell is in a planar type, a body region is formed in an upper region of the SJ structure, and a planar gate electrode is formed opposite to the body region. Alternatively, when the gate structure of the vertical semiconductor switching cell is in a trench type, a semiconductor upper-layer in a conduction type opposite to the semiconductor lower-layer is formed on a surface of the SJ structure, and a trench gate electrode that penetrates the semiconductor upper-layer is formed.
An avalanche resistance check of a semiconductor device is often carried out by an L-load surge resistance test and the like. In the L-load surge resistance test, excessive energy is supplied to the semiconductor device to forcibly induce breakdown. The breakdown is induced in a region of more than critical electric-field strength. Considering an area ratio between the cell region and the terminal region, breakdown is induced in a side of the cell region having a larger area, thereby avalanche energy per unit area can be reduced compared with a case that breakdown is induced in a side of the terminal region having a smaller area. Therefore, if breakdown is induced in the cell region side, local consumption of excessive avalanche energy can be suppressed, consequently occurrence of breakdown of the semiconductor device can be suppressed. To realize the phenomenon, withstanding voltage of the terminal region must be made high compared with standing voltage of the cell region, so that breakdown is induced dominantly in the cell region.
JP-A-2003-273355, which corresponds to US 2005-0098826-A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,844,592, proposes a semiconductor device in which an insulating layer and a field plate are provided on a surface of the SJ structure in the terminal region. Furthermore, it proposes a structure in which thickness of the insulating layer is increased stepwise from the side of the cell region to the side of a region opposite to the cell region.
When a combined structure of an insulating layer and a field plate is provided in the terminal region, an electric field in an upper region of the terminal region can be reduced. While the above prior art does not describe the following operation and effects in detail, when an insulating layer whose thickness is increased stepwise is used, an electric field near a boundary between the cell region and the terminal region, in which the electric field tends to be concentrated, can be reduced. It has been found from study of the inventors that an insulating layer which was adjusted to be thin is formed in the cell region side, thereby a significant effect of reducing the electric field near the boundary between the cell region and the terminal region is obtained. Thus, breakdown of the semiconductor device due to local concentration of the electric field can be avoided.
However, as described before, in this type of semiconductor device, it is important that a relationship of “terminal region>cell region” is established between the withstanding voltage of the cell region and the withstanding voltage of the terminal region. The withstanding voltage of the cell region and that of the terminal region are mainly determined by height in a thickness direction of depleted regions formed in respective regions if the breakdown due to the local concentration of the electric field does not occur. In the semiconductor device of the above prior art, the height in the thickness direction of the depleted regions formed in both the cell region and the terminal region corresponds to height in the thickness direction of SJ structures formed in both. The height in the thickness direction of the cell region is equal to that of the terminal region. Therefore, the semiconductor device of the patent literature 1 has a limitation in that the withstanding voltage of the terminal region can be made equal to the withstanding voltage of the cell region at the maximum, or can not be made high compared with the withstanding voltage of the cell region.


Few of literatures and patents about the catalyst which can be used to produce ethylene by direct conversion of methane is disclosed; moreover, it is different in technical field from present invention. By conventional processes, large amounts of by-product such as carbon dioxide are produced, separation and removal thereof is difficult and environmental pollution is likely to be caused. Also, synthesis of hydrocarbon(s) by conventional dehydrogenation is conducted at relatively high temperature of about 1500.degree. to 1550.degree. C. through thermal or electric cracking reaction to cause some problems such as necessity of supply of high energy, expense of high temperature equipment (plan) as well as enormous loss of thermal energy expense, particulary severe corrosion of reactor.
As prior art describing synthesis of hydrocarbon by oxidative coupling or dehydrogenation reaction, there are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,066,629, 5,068,486 and 5,118,654, Canadian patent no. 2016675 and Japanese patent nos. 04352730, 04368342.


This invention relates to a semiconductor laser and a method of producing the same which has recently rapidly extended its application to light sources for various types of electronic equipment and optical apparatus and is now greatly in demand.
One of the important functions of a semiconductor laser which is required when it is used as a coherent light source for electronic equipment or optical apparatus is oscillation at a single spot, or single transversal mode oscillation. To realize this, it is necessary to suppress the spread of laser light and confine the light by a concentration current flowing through the laser element near the active region in which the laser light propagates. This type of semiconductor laser is normally called the stripe-type semiconductor laser.
A relatively simple method for the stripe type is to only restrict current to be narrow. The laser according to this method needs a high threshold value for realization of the single transversal mode oscillation. The stripe type which can oscillate at the lowest threshold is a buried stripe type semiconductor laser (normally called the BH laser). The production of this type of laser, however, requires that the crystal growth process be performed twice whereas with other lasers this process need normally be performed only once, that is, it is necessary that after the multilayered films including an active layer are grown, the buried region be removed and then a buried layer be again grown. In addition, it is somewhat technically difficult to produce this laser.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method of producing a semiconductor laser in which the buried-stripe structure that is necessary to oscillate in a single transversal mode at a low threshold value can be produced by a single crystal growth process.


The present disclosure relates to technologies for browsing, indexing, sharing, summarizing, and searching videos.
In recent years, two major technology advancements have created an important trend in everyday life: digital video applications technologies have become increasingly popular; the Internet has enabled people to be increasingly connected. Mobile technologies have improved from making simple phone calls to smart phones and tablets that are powerful computer devices equipped with high definition cameras and connected in 4G wireless networks. Many people now have two cameras in the front and back of their mobile devices always ready to video record of everything happening in their lives. People are willing to share the videos with their friends or the whole world. Digital video signals can now be streamed to mobile devices and computers over the Internet, and to Digital TV at homes. People also want to review old videos to find something or a place or someone that they met. The amount of video recording per user has increased from once a month or a week to several times per day, especially more during holidays, vacations, and other special events. The task of tagging all the videos has become a real challenge to many users. In the near future, people want to use videos as they have been text and images.
A challenge in digital video applications today is a lack of video tools for managing videos in the same flexible way as we manage web and text content. Today video searching is conducted based on tag (metadata) that users associated to videos. The searches are manual and are text based, which requires time and effort from the user.
Moreover, user text tagging is always under the criteria of the user, which can change over time for the same user, and are usually different from the criteria of the user's family and friends with whom the user's videos are to be shared. Thus searching the even tagged videos can become a difficult task for the same user over time and for different users.
It is very difficult and time consuming to use current technologies to browse, organize, share, and search the long video files stored in smart phones, tablets, and computers.
Some products have made initial attempt to address this problem by recognizing faces of people in the video and tag them as metadata. The tags can be used to search people in videos. But these products have limited applications because not all events involve people or human faces and even a person is recognized, more detailed classifications are often needed to recognize the nature of the events.
Some approaches select a few frames that are called “key frames” which are a set of pictures or slides that capture key moments in a video. This “key frames” can significantly reduce file size from a video to a set of pictures, but it pays a heavy price because movement and audio, the essential properties of a video, are lost in the process.
There is therefore still a need to provide simple and effective tools for people to browse, index, share, and search videos in a similar fashion as people manage text and web content.


In recent years, various kinds of electronic devices, such as a tablet terminal, a PDA and a smartphone, have been developed. Most of these electronic devices include touch-screen displays for facilitating input operations by users.
By touching a menu or an object, which is displayed on the touch-screen display, by a finger or the like, the user can instruct an electronic device to execute a function which is associated with the menu or object.
However, most of existing electronic devices with touch-screen displays are consumer products which are designed to enhance operability on various media data such as video and music, and are not necessarily suitable for use in a business situation such as a meeting, a business negotiation or product development. Thus, in business situations, paper-based pocket notebooks have still been widely used.
Recently, a technique for determining a relationship between a tablet terminal and the seating position of a user, based on the direction of writing of handwritten characters, has also been developed.
In the meantime, in general, most of tablet terminals have a function of automatically rotating the direction of a screen image in accordance with the direction of the tablet terminal.
However, in a handwriting application which handles a handwritten document, if the direction of the screen image of the application is automatically rotated in accordance with the direction of the tablet terminal, there may be a case in which a feeling of use, such as a feeling of using a real paper-based pocket notebook, cannot be obtained. The reason for this is that if the direction of the screen image is automatically rotated, it would become difficult to handwrite characters, etc. in a free direction on the display screen of the handwriting application.
On the other hand, the handwriting application is required to also have a function as a digital tool for handling a handwritten document as digital data.


Conventionally, a refrigerating apparatus configured to cool an inside of a compartment such as a container used for, e.g., marine transportation or a trailer used for, e.g., ground transportation has been known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses the refrigerating apparatus (trailer refrigerating apparatus) of this type. The refrigerating apparatus includes a casing body attached to an opening of a trailer of a refrigerated vehicle, and a refrigeration cycle unit supported by the casing body. The refrigeration cycle unit forms a refrigerant circuit configured to perform a vapor compression refrigeration cycle. Specifically, the refrigeration cycle unit includes a compressor, a radiator, an expansion valve, and an evaporator. The compressor, the radiator, and the expansion valve are supported by the casing body so as to be positioned outside a cooling compartment (i.e., outside a compartment). The evaporator is supported by the casing body so as to be positioned inside the cooling compartment (i.e., inside the compartment).
An air path is formed inside the cooling compartment (trailer) such that air circulates through the evaporator. On the other hand, when refrigerant circulating through the refrigerant circuit passes through the evaporator, the refrigerant is evaporated by absorbing heat from in-compartment air. In such a manner, the in-compartment air of the trailer is cooled to store food etc.


Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the processing of integrated circuit elements and in particular to the processing of contact pads of integrated circuit elements.
Contact pads (also referred to as bond pads or short pads) are commonly used to make external electrical contact with an integrated circuit (IC) element or device, e.g., with a chip.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device. In particular, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device functioning as a driver circuit for driving a power device for power supply.
2. Description of the Related Art
A power device is an element used to drive a load such as a motor. The power device can control supply of a large current to a load to perform the supply intermittently by a switching operation.
As an example of the power device, a power transistor such as an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) can be given. The power transistor has a large gate capacitance compared to other transistors.
Driving of the power transistor is controlled by pulse width modulation (PWM). PWM control is performed in accordance with a PWM signal output from a microcomputer or the like. The voltage of the PWM signal is too low to directly drive the power transistor having a large gate capacitance. Therefore, the PWM signal needs to be converted into a high-voltage signal and supplied to the power transistor.
A driver circuit for converting the PWM signal to a high-voltage signal includes a transistor including silicon. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a structure of a semiconductor device in which an n-channel transistor and a p-channel transistor are provided over a silicon substrate and the on/off state of IGBT is controlled.


1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a liquid crystal display. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a liquid crystal display having a backlight assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various display devices have been developed to be applicable to a portable information processing device, such as a tablet computer, a notebook computer, etc. In addition to ways to improve a display quality of the display devices, various approaches have been studied to reduce the display devices in size and weight.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention refers to a coating device for the deposition of thin films on especially large-area substrates, like architectural glass or display panels. Furthermore, the present invention refers to a method for coating such substrates.
2. Prior Art
Coating devices for coating of especially thin layers on substrates like glass are widely used in industrial applications, e.g. depositing of heat insulation layers on architectural glass or conductive or semiconducting layers on display panels or photovoltaic units.
In order to apply such thin films on large-area substrates, devices and methods are known from prior art. However, a permanent need for improvement exists with respect to an increase of homogeneity of layer thickness or other properties of the deposited layers over the whole coated substrate as well as an enhancement of efficiency of coating.
Since it is always difficult to find an appropriate comprise to achieve these diverging needs, an improvement in this respect is especially valuable.
From prior art sputter processes are known for carrying out coating processes mentioned above.
As can be seen from FIG. 9 showing a prior art apparatus, sputter devices have an electrode arrangement 401, 402 within a process chamber 201, 202 in order to ignite a plasma and accelerate ions of the plasma towards a target in front of a cathode of the electrode arrangement 401, 402. Magnetron cathodes comprise a magnet arrangement, which is disposed behind the target so as to lead to a confinement of electrons in front of the target and thus to a plasma concentration in this area. Thus, a high sputter yield is achieved due to the high concentration of ions impinging on the target. The material of the target is atomized and deposits on the substrate 5, 6 being disposed opposing to the magnetron cathode.
In order to achieve a high through-put of the device, a double-chamber design can be used with two process chambers 201, 202 arranged side by side to each other. Such a double-chamber 200 enables a production of the process chambers with reduced effort and allows a space saving design of the sputter apparatus. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, a buffer chamber 100 for storing the substrates to be coated and a lock section 300 having two locks 301 and 301 for feeding the substrates into both process chambers 201, 202 are additionally provided for.
DE 41 26 236 C2 also describes a device for a sputter process. This device comprises a rotating magnetron cathode having a hollow cylinder target, which rotates in order to use the whole target surface for sputtering.
According to DE 41 26 236 C2 two magnet arrangements are disposed in the hollow cylinder target so as to form two plasma areas on opposing sides of the cylindrical magnetron electrode. One plasma is used for coating the substrate, the second plasma generated by the second magnet arrangement is used for cleaning of the rotating target. However, it is also possible to simultaneously deposit layers on two substrates being located at the opposing sides of the cathode. This device can however only be used for small-area coatings or a dynamic coating process wherein the substrates are passing the single sputter source.
A similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,660. However, instead of a magnet arrangement inside the cylindrical electrode, a magnet arrangement disposed outside the target or cathode is used. However, this device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,660 is also a single coating source with small lateral dimensions for small-area coatings or dynamic coating processes.
In order to achieve large-area coatings with homogenous layer thicknesses, EP 15 94 153 A1 suggests to provide a plurality of cathodes in order to allow stationary coating of large-area substrate facing the plurality of cathodes. However, in order to be sure that at the margins of the substrates the same layer thickness is achieved as in the central area, the cathodes of EP 15 93 153 A1 are arranged at a curved surface. Accordingly, it is not possible to use cathodes described in DE 41 26 236 C2 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,660 having deposition areas on two sides of the cathodes, since the curved arrangement of the cathode does not allow homogenous twin-deposition from two sides of the cathode.
Other devices, e.g. described in WO 2007/051105 A2 or JP 2004 027 272 A, deal with the above-mentioned problems by providing movable magnet arrangements for magnetron electrodes. Although, this leads to an improved material usage of target material and allows for adapted deposition areas leading to an enhancement of layer homogeneity, improvements with respect to layer homogeneity of large-area depositions and improvements with respect to efficiency are still necessary.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of semiconductor device manufacturing and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for determining grid dimensions using scatterometry.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a constant drive within the semiconductor industry to increase the quality, reliability and throughput of integrated circuit devices, e.g., microprocessors, memory devices, and the like. This drive is fueled by consumer demands for higher quality computers and electronic devices that operate more reliably. These demands have resulted in a continual improvement in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, e.g., transistors, as well as in the manufacture of integrated circuit devices incorporating such transistors. Additionally, reducing the defects in the manufacture of the components of a typical transistor also lowers the overall cost per transistor as well as the cost of integrated circuit devices incorporating such transistors.
The technologies underlying semiconductor processing tools have attracted increased attention over the last several years, resulting in substantial refinements. However, despite the advances made in this area, many of the processing tools that are currently commercially available suffer certain deficiencies. In particular, such tools often lack advanced process data monitoring capabilities, such as the ability to provide historical parametric data in a user-friendly format, as well as event logging, real-time graphical display of both current processing parameters and the processing parameters of the entire run, and remote, i.e., local site and worldwide, monitoring. These deficiencies can engender nonoptimal control of critical processing parameters, such as throughput, accuracy, stability and repeatability, processing temperatures, mechanical tool parameters, and the like. This variability manifests itself as within-run disparities, run-to-run disparities and tool-to-tool disparities that can propagate into deviations in product quality and performance, whereas an ideal monitoring and diagnostics system for such tools would provide a means of monitoring this variability, as well as providing means for optimizing control of critical parameters.
Semiconductor devices are manufactured from wafers of a substrate material. Layers of materials are added, removed, and/or treated during fabrication to create the electrical circuits that make up the device. The fabrication essentially comprises four basic operations. Although there are only four basic operations, they can be combined in hundreds of different ways, depending upon the particular fabrication process.
The four operations typically used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices are:                layering, or adding thin layers of various materials to a wafer from which a semiconductor device is produced;        patterning, or removing selected portions of added layers;        doping, or placing specific amounts of dopants in the wafer surface through openings in the added layers; and        heat treatment, or heating and cooling the materials to produce desired effects in the processed wafer.
Among the important aspects in semiconductor device manufacturing are rapid thermal annealing (RTA) control, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) control, etch control, and photolithography control. As technology advances facilitate smaller critical dimensions for semiconductor devices, the need for reduction of errors increases dramatically. Proper formation of sub-sections within a semiconductor device is an important factor in ensuring proper performance of the manufactured semiconductor device. Critical dimensions of the sub-sections generally have to be within a predetermined acceptable margin of error for semiconductor devices to be within acceptable manufacturing quality.
Generally, most features on a semiconductor device are formed by depositing layers of material (e.g., conductive or insulative) and patterning the process layers using photolithography and etch processes. The various process layers used for forming the features have many specialized functions. Certain layers are used to form conductive features, others are used to form insulating features, and still others are intermediate layers used to enhance the functionality of the processing steps used to pattern and form the functional layers.
There are many variables that affect the accuracy and repeatability of the photolithography and etch processes used to form features from the process layers. Typical metrology data collection for measuring the efficacy of the photolithography and etch processes do not provide data that is sufficiently accurate and timely to facilitate run-to-run control of such processes. Certain techniques, such as scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, may be used to generate two-dimensional data, such as a critical width dimension, but they cannot be used to characterize the entire feature. For example, to generate a sidewall angle measurement, an important measure of quality, a destructive cross-section SEM analysis is required. Destructive tests are expensive, as they require destruction of the wafer, and thus, it is impractical to perform such tests at a frequency that would allow run-to-run control.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.


In a production process of an aluminum alloy wheel, spraying is a very important procedure, and the procedure is carried out to achieve a better appearance effect for the wheel. However, the procedure contains numerous steps, after spraying bottom powder and colored paint on the wheel for the first time, and before carrying out the next step, bottom powder on a ring flange of the wheel and at a center hole must be removed; at this time, if the bottom powder is removed manually, the efficiency is absolutely very low, and the effect is not good; and therefore, an automatic device is needed to quickly remove the bottom powder online.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sensors capable of detecting a gas in a fluid and, more particularly, to sensors capable of measuring the presence and the amount of oxygen (O.sub.2).
2. Description of the Prior Art
Analytical methods for the determination of O.sub.2 in a fluid include the amperometric and galvanic methods. These methods are quite rapid, simple in operation, and are specially suited for determining O.sub.2 in either its gaseous state or as it may be found dissolved in a liquid.
In the amperometric method, a sensor such as that shown in FIG. 1 is employed. In such a sensor, generally indicated as 10, body 12 is provided having a reservoir 14 therein containing a center post 16 for supporting a gold cathode 18. A membrane holder 20, cap 22, and O-ring 23 are provided to hold a polymeric membrane material 24, such as polytetrafluoroethylene of a thickness of from 0.00025 inches to 0.002 inches, stretched over the gold cathode thereby completely enclosing reservoir 14. Reservoir 14 is then filled with an electrolyte 26, typically a 5% KCl solution, either buffered or unbuffered. When the sensor is to be used in an application where temperatures in excess of 100.degree. F. are generally encountered, the electrolyte is generally mixed with typical antifreeze compounds such as ethylene glycol. Additionally, an anode 28, typically silver, is disposed within reservoir 14 in contact with electrolyte 26. A potential of about 750 millivolts is applied between the anode 28 and the cathode 18 by means 29 connected thereto. In stretching the membrane 24 over cathode 18, a very minimal amount of electrolyte 26 is contained between gold cathode 18 and membrane 24. As sample fluid is brought in contact with membrane 24, O.sub.2 diffuses through membrane 24 to contact the gold cathode 18 in the presence of the electrolyte 26. A current flow results which is linear with the partial pressure of O.sub.2 being sampled. Thus, this current can be measured and correlated to the amount of O.sub.2 in the sample.
In the galvanic method, a sensor such as that shown in FIG. 2 is employed, wherein corresponding numbers indicate corresponding parts. The sensor employed in the galvanic method typically has a silver cathode 18', a lead anode 28' and a readout device 29', e.g., an ammeter.
While these methods are satisfactory in many applications, they suffer drastically in atmospheres of high carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) such as encountered in monitoring automobile exhaust or stack gas emissions. Such sensors as that of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, as described above, become less sensitive to O.sub.2 upon even brief exposure to high concentrations of CO.sub.2 and may take several hours to recover so as to indicate the proper value of O.sub.2. The response of such sensors is highly dependent on the pH of the electrolyte at the interface between the gas diffusing through the membrane and the cathode. At low, or acid, pH levels the response is low. At high, or base, pH levels the response is higher. Typical responses by a prior art sensor are shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. In FIG. 3, the sensor was first exposed to ambient air containing approximately 21% O.sub.2. It was then exposed to pure nitrogen (N.sub.2). FIG. 3 shows the response which was both expected and achieved. Upon exposure to N.sub.2, the response dropped to the zero line. Upon exposure to air, the response climbed to the level indicating approximately 21% O.sub.2. This cycle was repeatable without problem. Referring now to FIG. 4, the expected and actual response of a prior art sensor is shown when the sensor was exposed to ambient air and then exposed to a mixture of 15% CO.sub.2 plus 3% O.sub.2 and the balance nitrogen. When exposed to the mixture, the expected response is for the output to drop to the 3% level, being an indication of the 3% O.sub.2 content of the mixture. Upon exposure to ambient air, it is expected that the output will climb to the 21% O.sub.2 level of the ambient air. The actual response, however, was not as anticipated. When the sensor was exposed to the mixture, the response fell to the expected 3% O.sub.2 level. When the sensor was subsequently exposed once again to the ambient air sample, the output overshot the 21% level, then reversed and undershot the 21% level, and then slowly approached the 21% level asymptotically. It was found that the recovery period required for the output to attain the actual 21% level varied depending both on the duration of exposure to CO.sub.2 and the amount of CO.sub.2 in the sample. For example, when using such a prior art sensor on an automobile exhaust, an exposure for a period one minute to the exhaust gases resulted in a recovery period on the order of two to three hours before an accurate ambient response could be attained.
This phenomenon is a result of the small volume of electrolyte trapped adjacent to the gold cathode by the membrane. This is typically on the order of 1 microliter. As previously mentioned, the response of such a cell is dependent on the pH of the electrolyte. When CO.sub.2 is introduced, carbonic acid is formed which, when mixed with such an extremely small volume of basic electrolyte, results in a change of the pH of the electrolyte adjacent the gold cathode. In the typical electrolyte having a pH of approximately 13.5, the introduction of carbonic acid having a pH in the order of 4.5 results in a change of pH of the electrolyte trapped adjacent the gold cathode to a level of approximately 9. The response of the electrode will be correspondingly reduced until such time as the pH can attain its normal value by diffusion of normal electrolyte into the space between the membrane. The initial overshoot observed is, presumably, caused by the sudden change in pH and the unsettling of the electrolyte in the cathode area.
Attempts at improving the performance of O.sub.2 sensors are not new in the art. It is well known that changes in pH of the electrolyte adjacent the cathode will change the response of the electrode. On the other hand, it is known that the thickness of the electrolyte in this same area affects the sensitivity of the electrode to oxygen. Thus, ideally, the spacing between the membrane and the cathode is kept minimal while means are provided for allowing the free movement of the electrolyte through the space. Thus, in the prior art, it has been suggested to roughen the surface of the gold cathode, provide channels therein for the movement of electrolyte, and depose porous materials between the membrane and the cathode to provide channels for the movement of the electrolyte.
Such prior art suggestions have resulted in O.sub.2 sensors of marginal sensitivity and poor response times for certain applications. In particular, automobile exhaust analysis and flue gas analysis provide environments imposing restrictions beyond the capabilities of prior art O.sub.2 sensors employing such techniques. In the field of automobile exhaust gas analysis, the ability to cycle and recover at rapid rates is imperative in "assembly line" type testing environments.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to have an electrochemical O.sub.2 sensor capable of yielding accurate and reproducible date in applications wherein high CO.sub.2 levels are encountered at both ambient, or low, and elevated temperatures. Such a sensor would be highly useful for monitoring the O.sub.2 content of automobile exhaust and stack gas emissions.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mounting assemblies and, more particularly, to a mounting assembly for storage devices.
2. Description of Related Art
A computer, such as a typical desktop computer, a tower computer, a server, and the like, usually includes storage devices, such as hard disk drives (HDDs). In using a computer, especially a server, different kinds of HDDs may be needed, each having a different size. Some standard HDD sizes include 2.5 inches, 3.5 inches, and so on. Thus, mounting assemblies capable of mounting different HDDs to a computer are needed.


Prior microwave electrical devices include resistors, series shunt elements, and solid-state devices such as Schottky diodes, PIN diodes, varactor diodes, and transistors. Another prior microwave device is a bridge quad (also referred to as a sampling bridge) that includes four diodes in one package. Another prior microwave electrical device that has four diodes is a ring quad, also called a quad-ring.
One type of prior microwave device has beam leads on the top of the device to provide connections to external circuitry. The beam leads are structurally supported by diodes that make up the device. The beam leads also provide interconnections between terminals of the diodes. For example, on certain prior ring quads, the beam leads provide interconnections between the anodes and cathodes of the respective diodes.
For another type of prior microwave electrical device, metal interconnections reside on one side of the device and metalized layers for external connections reside on the other side of the device. This helps to make the device less fragile. Prior microwave devices using this alternative configuration include ring quads, bridge quads, and diodes.
Both of the prior types of microwave devices discussed above typically use glass to hold components of the devices together. For example, certain prior ring quads typically use glass to hold four diode blocks together. Metallic interconnections for those prior microwave devices typically provide only minimal support. Thus, for certain types of prior microwave devices, glass is the material that provides major structural support.
Nevertheless, the structural support provided by the glass typically is only for a portion of a prior device assembly process. During the final stages of device fabrication, prior microwave devices are typically either (1) completely encased in glass to form a hermetic seal or (2) encapsulated in epoxy.
The way glass is used for certain prior microwave devices has several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the glass makes the prior microwave devices relatively fragile. Because of this fragility, those prior microwave devices have relatively low maximum tear strengths. This means that certain prior microwave devices can be destroyed relatively easily.
Another disadvantage associated with certain prior microwave devices is that assembly operations are relatively tedious and delicate given that beam leads of certain prior microwave devices are not covered by the glass layer. Capacitance, inductance, and balance problems can arise from improper bonding of the beam leads. The exposed and relatively large beam leads during the fabrication process are also prone to bending, which can result in capacitance, inductance, and balance problems. Dynamic resistance problems can also arise. Special care is typically required for the beam leads to seat properly during packaging.
Another disadvantage associated with glass is that air bubbles are typically formed inside the glass layer during fabrication. When the liquified glass is deposited during certain prior fabrication processes, air often enters the liquified glass and forms air bubbles inside the glass. The air bubbles inside the glass typically weaken the glass in a nonuniform way from point to point and from device to device. This results in differences in strength between prior microwave devices from device to device.
Another disadvantage with certain prior microwave devices is that glass typically is liquified as part of the fabrication process. This requires relatively high temperatures.
One type of prior integrated circuit is typically attached to a package substrate when being packaged to a lead package. The leads of the prior integrated circuit are typically bonded to respective leads of the lead package.
One disadvantage of such prior integrated circuit is that the leads of the prior integrated circuit tend to have relatively high lead inductance that typically results in electrical problems with respect to the circuit. Another disadvantage is that the packaging of the prior integrated circuit is typically relatively expensive. Another disadvantage is that the leads need to be spaced apart far enough to permit the use of wire bonding machinery.
Another type of prior integrated circuit employs beam leads formed on the top of the prior integrated circuit for attachment to a next level of interconnection. In addition, the beam leads provide connections to external circuitry. These beam leads, however, are typically relatively fragile and difficult to handle.
Another type of prior integrated circuit uses bumps on the die or substrate or both, or uses solder balls, to attach the chip directly to a substrate in a "flip chip" fashion. One disadvantage with these approaches is that there may be different thermal expansions with respect to the chip and the substrate, which in some cases can lead to failure of the solder connection. Moreover, such arrangements may result in the chip being easily damaged during handling.


This invention relates broadly to the structure of macromolecules and more specifically to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods for preferentially observing exposed positions of a macromolecule.
The three-dimensional structure of macromolecules such as proteins can provide insight into their function in normal and diseased cells. For example, when certain compounds or “ligands” bind to a protein, the 3-D structure of the protein can help identify the ligand's binding sites on the protein. Atomic-resolution structures can allow researchers to understand the interaction between ligands and macromolecules and to design and select new ligands that may serve as therapeutic drugs.
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has determined the structure of many proteins at atomic resolution. Nevertheless, current NMR methods for protein structure determination are extremely time-consuming because they require painstaking deduction of the positions of thousands of individual atoms. As attention focuses on larger and more complex proteins and the number of atoms increases, the data generated by NMR methods can become overwhelming, making it virtually impossible to determine the structure of the protein.
Thus, there is a need for methods that can provide information about large macromolecular structures in a way that is useful for understanding ligand binding. The present invention satisfies this need and provides related advantages as well.


Display devices are used for presentation of video to a viewer. The video to be presented may be transmitted to the display device from a source unit in the form of a video signal. A display device receiving a video signal will render video output corresponding to data conveyed by the video signal. However, if the display device improperly interprets the video signal, which could occur, e.g., if the video signal includes excessive noise, the corresponding video output may be disrupted or compromised.


This invention is directed to bitumen compositions, which are prepared from bitumen, polymers such as copolymers of styrene and a conjugated-diene, and defined amounts of crosslinking agents such as sulfur. The bitumen compositions described herein are useful in industrial applications; such as in hot mix asphalts useful in preparing aggregates for road paving.
The use of bitumen (asphalt) compositions in preparing aggregate compositions (bitumen+rock) useful as road paving material is complicated by at least three factors, each of which imposes a serious impediment to providing an acceptable product. First, the bitumen compositions must meet certain performance criteria or specifications in order to be considered useful for road paving. For example, to ensure acceptable performance, state and federal agencies issue specifications for various bitumen applications including specifications for use as road pavement. Current Federal Highway Administration specifications designate a bitumen (asphalt) product, for example, AC-20R as meeting defined parameters relating to properties such as viscosity, toughness, tenacity and ductility (see Table 1). Each of these parameters define a critical feature of the bitumen composition, and compositions failing to meet one or more of these parameters will render that composition unacceptable for use as road pavement material.
Conventional bitumen compositions frequently cannot meet all of the requirements of a particular specification simultaneously and, if these specifications are not met, damage to the resulting road can occur, including permanent deformation, thermally induced cracking and flexural fatigue. This damage greatly reduces the effective life of paved roads.
In this regard, it has long been recognized that the properties of conventional bitumen compositions can be modified by the addition of other substances, such as polymers. A wide variety of polymers have been used as additives in bitumen compositions. For example, copolymers derived from styrene and conjugated dienes, such as butadiene or isoprene, are particularly useful, since these copolymers have good solubility in bitumen compositions and the resulting modified-bitumen compositions have good rheological properties.
It is also known that the stability of polymer-bitumen compositions can be increased by the addition of crosslinking agents such as sulfur, frequently in the form of elemental sulfur. It is believed that the sulfur chemically couples the polymer and the bitumen through sulfide and/or polysulfide bonds. The addition of extraneous sulfur is required to produce the improved stability, even though bitumens naturally contain varying amounts of native sulfur.
Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,322, issued Mar. 20, 1979 to Maldonado et al., discloses a process for preparing a bitumen-polymer composition consisting of mixing a bitumen, at 266°–446° F. (130°–230° C.), with 2 to 20% by weight of a block copolymer, having an average molecular weight between 30,000 and 300,000, with the theoretical formula Sx-By, in which S corresponds to styrene structure groups and B corresponds to conjugated diene structure groups, and x and y are integers. The resulting mixture is stirred for at least two hours, and then 0.1 to 3% by weight of sulfur relative to the bitumen is added and the mixture agitated for at least 20 minutes. The preferred quantity of added sulfur cited in this patent is 0.1 to 1.5% by weight with respect to the bitumen. The resulting bitumen-polymer composition is used for road coating, industrial coating, or other industrial applications.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,516, issued Dec. 19, 1978 to Gagle et al., discloses an asphalt (bitumen) polymer composition obtained by hot-blending asphalt with 3 to 7% by weight of elemental sulfur and 0.5 to 1.5% by weight of a natural or synthetic rubber, preferably a linear, random butadiene/styrene copolymer. U.S. Pat. No. 3,803,066, issued Apr. 9, 1974 to Petrossi, also discloses a process for preparing a rubber-modified bitumen by blending rubber, either natural or synthetic, such as styrene/butadiene rubber, with bitumen at 293°–365° F. (145°–185° C.), in an amount up to 10% by weight based on the bitumen, then adjusting the temperature to 257°–320° F. (125°–160° C.), and intimately blending into the mix an amount of sulfur such that the weight ratio of sulfur to rubber is between 0.3 and 0.9. A catalytic quantity of a free-radical vulcanization-accelerator is then added to effect vulcanization. This patent recites the critical nature of the sulfur to rubber ratio, and teaches that weight ratios of sulfur to rubber of less than 0.3 gives modified bitumen of inferior quality.
Although polymer-modified bitumen compositions are known, these previously described compositions are not necessarily useful for road paving applications. For example, mixing NorthWest paving asphalt having an initial viscosity of 682 poise at 140° F. (60° C.) with 3.6 weight percent Kraton®-4141, a commercially available styrene-butadiene tri-block copolymer which contains 29 weight percent plasticizer oil, and 0.25% sulfur gives a modified-asphalt composition with a viscosity of 15,000 poise at 140° F. (60° C.). This viscosity, however, greatly exceeds the acceptable viscosity range set by the widely used AC-20R specification for paving asphalt. This specification, issued by the Federal Highway Administration, requires bitumen compositions to have a viscosity in the range of 1600–2400 poise at 140° F. (60° C.). Thus, the modified bitumen compositions produced by the procedures of U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,322 using Kraton®-4141 would be unacceptable for use in road paving under the AC-20R specification.
The second factor complicating the use of bitumen compositions concerns the viscosity stability of such compositions under storage conditions. In this regard, bitumen compositions are frequently stored for up to 7 days or more before being used and, in some cases, the viscosity of the composition can increase so much that the bitumen composition is unusable for its intended purpose. On the other hand, a storage stable bitumen composition would provide for only minimal viscosity increases and, accordingly, after storage it can still be employed for its intended purpose.
The third factor complicating the use of bitumen compositions concerns the use of volatile solvents in such compositions. Specifically, while such solvents have been heretofore proposed as a means to fluidize bitumen-polymer compositions containing relatively small amounts of sulfur which compositions are designed as coatings (Maldonado et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,246), environmental concerns restrict the use of volatile solvents in such compositions. Moreover, the use of large amounts of volatile solvents in bitumen compositions may lower the viscosity of the resulting composition so that it no longer meets viscosity specifications designated for road paving applications. In addition to the volatile components, reduction of other emissions during asphalt applications becomes a target. For example, it is desirable to reduce the amount of sulfur compounds that are emitted during asphalt applications.
Asphaltic concrete, typically including asphalt and aggregate, asphalt compositions for resurfacing asphaltic concrete, and similar asphalt compositions must exhibit a certain number of specific mechanical properties to enable their use in various fields of application, especially when the asphalts are used as binders for superficial coats (road surfacing), as asphalt emulsions, or in industrial applications. (The term “asphalt” is used herein interchangeably with “bitumen.” Asphaltic concrete is asphalt used as a binder with appropriate aggregate added, typically for use in roadways.) The use of asphalt or asphalt emulsion binders either in maintenance facings as a surface coat or as a very thin bituminous mix, or as a thicker structural layer of bituminous mix in asphaltic concrete, is enhanced if these binders possess the requisite properties such as desirable levels of elasticity and plasticity.
Previously, various polymers have been added to asphalts to improve physical and mechanical performance properties. Polymer-modified asphalts are routinely used in the road construction/maintenance and roofing industries. Conventional asphalts often do not retain sufficient elasticity in use and, also, exhibit a plasticity range that is too narrow for use in many modern applications such as road construction. It is known that the characteristics of road asphalts and the like can be greatly improved by incorporating into them an elastomeric-type polymer which may be one such as butyl, polybutadiene, polyisoprene or polyisobutene rubber, ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer, polyacrylate, polymethacrylate, polychloroprene, polynorbornene, ethylene/propylene/diene (EPDM) terpolymer and advantageously a random or block copolymer of styrene and a conjugated diene. The modified asphalts thus obtained commonly are referred to variously as bitumen/polymer binders or asphalt/polymer mixes. Modified asphalts and asphalt emulsions typically are produced utilizing styrene/butadiene based polymers, and typically have raised softening point, increased viscoelasticity, enhanced force under strain, enhanced strain recovery, and improved low temperature strain characteristics.
The bituminous binders, even of the bitumen/polymer type, which are employed at the present time in road applications often do not have the optimum characteristics at low enough polymer concentrations to consistently meet the increasing structural and workability requirements imposed on roadway structures and their construction. In order to achieve a given level of modified asphalt performance, various polymers are added at some prescribed concentration.
Current practice is to add the desired level of a single polymer, sometimes along with a reactant that promotes cross-linking of the polymer molecules until the desired asphalt properties are met. This reactant typically is sulfur in a form suitable for reacting. Such current processes are discussed in various patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,322 (Maldonado); U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,121 (Bellamy); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,612 (Chauerat), all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Other reactants and combinations of reactants are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,916 to Trinh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,340 to Bonitz and U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,542 to Matheson et. al. Common to these patents is the use of tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTDS) and/or stearic acid in significant concentration. Both of these compounds add raw material costs and handling difficulties the present invention avoids. For example, stearic acid, when airborne is a combustible dust. TMTDS is moderately toxic by ingestion but is highly toxic if inhaled. Further, TMTDS has been shown to break down into n-nitroso-dimethylamine in the human stomach, a compound that has been shown to be carcinogenic in test animals. Surprisingly, the present invention achieves the required asphalt properties without the use of TMTDS or stearic acid.
The cost of the polymer also adds significantly to the overall cost of the resulting asphalt/polymer mix. Thus, cost factors weigh in the ability to meet the above criteria for various asphalt mixes. In addition, at increasing levels of polymer concentration, the working viscosity of the asphalt mix becomes excessively great and separation of the asphalt and polymer may occur.
One result of the high viscosities experienced at increased polymer concentrations is that it makes emulsification of the asphalt difficult. As is known in the art and used herein, emulsification of asphalt refers to forming an emulsion of asphalt and water. Asphalt emulsions are desirable in many applications because the emulsion may be applied at lower temperatures than hot-mix asphalts because the water acts as a carrier for the asphalt particles.
For example, hot-mix asphalts, mixes of asphalt, aggregate, and a single polymer, commonly are applied at a temperature of 350° Fahrenheit (F.) to 450° F. (177° Centigrade (C) to 232° C.) to achieve the requisite plasticity for application. In comparison, an asphalt emulsion typically may be applied at 130° F. to 170° F. (54° C. to 77° C.) to achieve the same working characteristics. Emulsified asphalt products are generally used to reduce the release of environmentally-harmful volatile organic compounds normally associated with asphalts diluted with light carrier solvents such as diesel fuel, naphtha, and the like. Emulsification basically requires that the asphalt and any desired performance-enhancing additives be combined with an emulsifying agent in an emulsification mill along with about 20 to 40 percent by weight of water. However, high polymer loading in asphalt produces high viscosities and melting points, making emulsification of the polymer-asphalt composition difficult.
The bitumen/polymer compositions are prepared in practice at polymer contents range from about 3% to 6% by weight of bitumen depending on the nature and the molecular weight of the polymer and the quality of the bitumen. Gelling of the bitumen/polymer composition, which is observed fairly frequently during the preparation of the said composition or while it is stored, occurs as soon as the polymer content of this composition exceeds the above-mentioned threshold. It is thus difficult, in practice, to produce non-gellable bitumen/polymer compositions with a high polymer content, which are more economical to prepare and to transport than bitumen/polymer compositions with a lower polymer content.
In view of the above, bitumen compositions, which simultaneously meet the performance criteria required for road paving, and which are substantially free of volatile solvent would be advantageous. Additionally, viscosity stable bitumen compositions would be particularly advantageous. Further, a method for efficiently introducing the polymer into the bitumen composition would be desirable. In preparing the composition, significant mixing is needed to insure the uniform addition of both the polymer and any crosslinking agents. The crosslinking agents are usually added as a dry powder and mixed with the asphalt compositions.
As can be seen from the above, the art is replete with methods to improve the mixing of asphalt and polymer compositions. The needed elements for the commercial success of any such process include keeping the process as simple as possible, reducing the cost of the ingredients, and utilizing available asphalt cuts from a refinery without having to blend in more valuable fractions. In addition, the resulting asphalt composition must meet the above-mentioned governmental physical properties and environmental concerns. Thus, it is a target of the industry to reduce the cost of the polymers and crosslinking agents added to the asphalt without sacrificing any of the other elements.
TABLE 1Properties of Various Asphalt GradesAASHTO M-226TESTAC 2.5AC 5AC 10AC 20AC 30AC 40Viscosity@140° F., poise250 ± 50500 ± 1001000 ± 2002000 ± 4003000 ± 6004000 ± 800(AASHTO T-202)Viscosity @275° F.; cSt,125175250300350400minimum (AASHTO T-201)Pen. @77° F.; minimum22014080605040AASHTO t-49)Flash Point, COC325350425450450450Minimum ° F.Ductility After TFOT10010075504025(AASHTO T-179)@77° F., 5 cm/min,minimumViscosity After TFOT10002000400080001200016000(AASHTO T-179)@140° F., poiseminimumTESTAR1000AR2000AR4000AR8000AR16000Viscosity@140° F., poise1000 + 2502000 + 500 4000 + 10008000 + 200016000 + 4000(AASHTO T-202)Viscosity@275° F., cSt,140200275400500minimum (AASHTO T-201)Pen. @77° F., minimum6540252020(AASHTO T-49)Percent of Original—40455052Pen. @77° F., minimumDuctility @77° F.,100100757575minimum, 5 cm/min
Methods of preparing stable bitumen polymer compositions addressing these considerations have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,697, the contents of which are incorporated herein as if set forth in full. The method steps therein disclose addition of the crosslinking agents containing elemental sulfur, zinc mercaptobenzothiazole, zinc oxide and dithiodimorpholine (as a replacement for sulfur). It is desirable to extend the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,697 to include crosslinking agents having enhanced properties or to crosslinking agents that reduce or eliminate hydrogen sulfide emissions from the resultant composition.


Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-284594 is expressly incorporated by reference in its entirely.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a body upper structure for a vehicle. Particularly, it relates to a structure around a joint between a roof side-rail and a center pillar for a vehicle. In the vehicle, the roof side-rail forms one fore-and-aft directional framework member on one side of the roof, while the center pillar forms one up-and-down directional framework member on one side of the vehicle body.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-313353 discloses a body upper structure for vehicle. In this structure, an engagement rib is formed on a connecting part between a center-pillar outer member and the roof side-rail. While, an engagement recess is formed on another connecting part between a center-pillar inner member and the roof side-rail. In assembling, by engaging and welding the engagement rib with the engagement recess, the roof side-rail and the center pillar are integrated into one body.
Now, it is known that a downward load is applied on the roof side-rail when the vehicle has an xe2x80x9coffsetxe2x80x9d front collision or when the roof collapses. On the other hand, when the vehicle has a side collision, the center pillar is subjected to a load in a direction to thrust up the roof side-rail.
The above-mentioned body upper structure has the roof side-rail and the center pillar formed into one body; nevertheless there still remains a possibility that when the vehicle has the above collisions, the roof side-rail or the center pillar is locally and greatly deformed since the structure does not take measures to effectively transmit a collision load from the roof side-rail to the center pillar, and vice versa.
Under the above circumstance, it is an object of the present invention to provide a body upper structure for a vehicle, which is superior in transmitting a load from the roof side-rail to the center pillar, and vice versa, thereby reducing a local deformation in the roof side-rail or the center pillar at the vehicle collision or at the collapse of the roof.
According to the invention, the above-mentioned object is accomplished by a body upper structure for a vehicle, comprising:
a roof side-rail which is formed to have a closed cross section and also provided with a vertical rib bridging between an upper wall and a lower wall both forming the roof side-rail; and
a center pillar united with the roof side-rail, the center pillar having a pillar outer member and a shoulder part formed on an upper end of the pillar outer member so as to fit a successive corner defined between lower and outer walls forming the roof side-rail thereby to support the roof side-rail;
wherein the pillar outer member is provided, on an interior side thereof, with a plurality of vertical ribs at an interval in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, the vertical ribs extending from a base of the shoulder part downward while respective upper ends of the vertical ribs are abutting on the lower wall of the roof side-rail; and
wherein the vertical ribs are formed to project inwardly in a width direction of vehicle, up to a position where, in view along an up-and-down direction of vehicle, the upper ends of the vertical ribs substantially intersect with the vertical rib of the roof side-rail.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a matrix type display apparatus such as a liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as an LCD), and particularly to a technique for the enlarged display of a screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a conventional LCD.
This LCD displays image signals supplied from a personal computer or the like (referred to below as a PC) on a color screen having a size of 1024 pixels horizontally by 768 pixels vertically. This LCD comprises a control circuit 10, a display signal circuit 20, a scan signal circuit 30, and a liquid crystal panel 40.
Red, green, and blue color image signals formed from R, G, and B signals, clock signals CLK showing timings of a sampling of these R, G, and B signals, horizontal synchronizing signals HSYN, and vertical synchronizing signals VSYN are fed to the input side of the control circuit 10 from an unillustrated PC. On the basis of these signals, the control circuit 10 then generates start signals EI, clock signals CK, R, G, B data, and strobe signals STB and outputs these to the display signal circuit 20. The control circuit 10 also has the function of generating start signals ST and clock signals CP and outputting these to the scan signal circuit 30.
The display signal circuit 20 is provided with a 1024 stage shift register 21 which corresponds to the 1024 pixels in the horizontal direction, data latches 22 and 23, and a display drive section 24. The shift register 21 sequentially shifts and holds the start signals EI based on the clock signals CK and the held contents of each stage are fed to each stage of the data latch 22 as latch signals L1, L2, etc up to L1024. The data latch 22 holds the R, G, B data fed from the control circuit 10 based on the latch signals L1 to L1024.
The data latch 23 stores the R, G, B data of the 1024 horizontal pixels held by the data latch 22 at the strobe signal STB timing. The display drive section 24 generates display voltages S1, S2 etc up to S3072 which correspond to R, G, B data of the 1024 pixels stored in the data latch 23 and outputs these display voltages.
The scan signal circuit 30 is provided with a 768 stage shift register 31 and scan drive section 32 for sequentially scanning and displaying the 768 pixels in the vertical direction in horizontal line units. The shift register 31 holds the start signals ST in the initial stage register as scan signals and then sequentially shifts these scan signals in accordance with the timing of the clock signals CP. The contents at each stage of the shift register 31 are fed to the scan drive section 32 and are output as scan voltages G1, G2, etc up to G768.
The liquid crystal panel 40 is provided with 768 X electrodes X1, X2, etc up to X768 arranged at equal spacing in a line direction, and 1024 groups (note that each group is made up of 3 electrodes corresponding to R, G, and B) of Y electrodes Y1, Y2, etc up to Y3072 arranged at equal spacing in a column direction. Color pixel display is performed in line units in accordance with display voltages S1 to S3072 applied respectively to the Y electrodes Y1 to Y3072 at locations where an X electrode Xj to which a scan voltage Gj (wherein j is a number from 1 to 768) is applied intersects with a Y electrode Y1 to Y3072.
In this type of LCD, when R, G, B signals, clock signals CLK, horizontal synchronizing signals HSYN, and vertical synchronizing signals VSYN are supplied from a PC, horizontal cycle start signals EI and, thereafter, in synchronization with the clock signals CLK, R, G, B data is sequentially transmitted in single pixel units from the control circuit 10 to the display signal circuit 20. In the shift register 21, latch signals L1 to L1024 are generated in accordance with the clock signals CK. R, G, B data is further sequentially held in the data latch 22 in synchronization with the latch signals L1 to L1024.
When the R, G, B data of the 1024 pixels of a single line is held in the data latch 22, a strobe signal STB is output from the control circuit 10. Accordingly, the R, G, B data of the single line in the data latch 22 is also stored in the data latch 23. In the display drive section 24, display voltages S1 to S3072 are generated based on the R, G, B data of the 1024 pixels stored in the data latch 23 and are output.
Moreover, start signals ST for each vertical cycle and clock signals CP for shifting the start signals ST and generating scan signals are output from the control circuit 10 to the scan signal circuit 30. When the start signals ST are supplied, the output signal of the initial stage of the shift register 31 of the scan signal circuit 30 is set to a level xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d for designating display and output signals of subsequent stages are set to a level xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d for designating non-display. Output signals of each stage of the shift register 31 are then sequentially shifted one stage at a time towards the rear in synchronization with the clock signals CP which correspond to the horizontal cycle. The output signals of each stage of the shift register 31 are fed to the scan drive section 32 and scan voltages G1 to G768 are generated for each line in accordance with the display/non-display and output.
The display voltages S1 to S3072 which correspond to the R, G, B data of a single line output from the display drive section 24 are fed to the Y electrodes Y1 to Y3072 of the liquid crystal panel 40. Moreover, the scan voltages G1 to G768 output from the scan drive section 32 are fed to the X electrodes X1 to X768 of the liquid crystal panel 40. The timing of the strobe signals STB fed from the control circuit 10 to the display signal circuit 20 is substantially identical to the timing of the clock signals CP fed to the scan signal circuit 30. Therefore, a single line which corresponds to the X electrode Xj driven by the scan voltage Gj output from the scan drive section 32 is displayed through the display voltages S1 to S3072 based on the R, G, B data for the single line stored in the data latch 23. In addition, all other X electrodes other than the X electrode Xj are placed in a non-display state.
A screen is displayed by the X electrodes X1 to X768 being sequentially driven from top to bottom by the scan voltages G1 to G768 sequentially output from the scan drive section 32.
However, this type of conventional LCD has the following problems.
For example, when an image signal supplied from a PC is for displaying on a 640 horizontal pixel by 480 vertical pixel screen, no pixel data exists for displaying at the right hand side and bottom of a liquid crystal panel 40 having 1024 horizontal pixels by 768 vertical pixels. Therefore, the problem has existed that the displayed screen is small and the display position is offset to the top left.
In order to solve this problem, attempts have been made to provide a processing device and frame memory corresponding to the resolution of the liquid crystal panel 40 in the LCD. Image signals fed from the PC are interpolated by this processing device and converted into image data for a 1024 horizontal pixel by 768 vertical pixel screen and displayed.
However, in this type of method, because a large amount of frame memory and a high speed processing device are necessary, the problem arises that costs are increased and the amount of power needed to run the processing device at high speed also increases.
The present invention solves the above problems in the conventional technology and provides a matrix type display apparatus such as an LCD which has a simple circuit structure and which is capable of enlarging the display of a screen.
In order to solve the above problems, the first aspect of the present invention is a matrix type display apparatus comprising: display means having M number of X electrodes (wherein M is a number greater than one) arranged in parallel, N number of Y electrodes (wherein N is a number greater than one) arranged so as to intersect the X electrodes, and display elements provided at each point of intersection of the X electrodes and Y electrodes, the display means performing a matrix type display at the points of intersection of the N number of Y electrodes and the X electrodes which are driven by scan voltage in accordance with a display voltage applied to each Y electrode; scan drive means for generating the scan voltage in order to sequentially drive the X electrodes; and display drive means for holding image data which corresponds to the X electrodes driven by the scan drive means, and for generating the display voltage based on the held image data and driving each of the Y electrodes, wherein the scan drive means and the display drive means have the following structure.
Namely, the scan drive means is provided with M number of flip-flop circuits (referred to below as xe2x80x9cFF circuitsxe2x80x9d) and switches for altering the connections of the M number of FF circuits and, in normal display mode, the scan drive means forms shift registers having M number of stages by connecting the M number of FF circuits in series and also generates the scan voltages based on each output signal of the M number of FF circuits and, in enlarged display mode, the scan drive means forms shift registers having m number of stages (wherein m is a number less than M) by connecting a portion of the M number of FF circuits in parallel at a constant ratio and also generates the scan voltages based on each output signal of the M number of FF circuits.
Moreover, the display drive means is provided with N number of FF circuits and switches for altering the connections of the N number of FF circuits and, in the normal display mode, the display drive means forms shift registers having N number of stages by connecting the N number of FF circuits in series and also holds the image data based on each output signal of the N number of FF circuits and generates the display voltages in accordance with the image data and, in the enlarged display mode, the display drive means forms shift registers having n number of stages (wherein n is a number less than N) by connecting a portion of the N number of FF circuits in parallel at the constant ratio and also holds the image data based on each output signal of the N number of FF circuits and generates the display voltages in accordance with the image data.
The second aspect of the present invention is the matrix type display apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein switches in the scan drive means and the display drive means are formed from analog switches (referred to below as xe2x80x9cSWxe2x80x9d) controlled by mode signals which designate the normal display mode or the enlarged display mode.
According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, because the above described structure is employed, the following operation can be performed.
In normal display mode, the M number of FF circuits in the scan drive means are connected in series by switches such as SW or the like. Scan voltages are sequentially generated from each FF circuits and fed to the X electrodes of the display means. The N number of FF circuits in the display drive means are also connected in series by switches. Image data based on output signals sequentially output from each FF circuit is held, and display voltages are generated in accordance with the image data and fed to the Y electrodes of the display means.
In contrast, in enlarged display mode, the M number of FF circuits in the scan drive means are connected in parallel and in series at a constant ratio by switches. Scan voltages are generated based on output signals from each FF circuit and fed to the X electrodes of the display means. The N number of FF circuits in the display drive means are also connected in parallel and in series at a constant ratio by switches. Image data based on output signals from each FF circuit is held, and display voltages are generated in accordance with the image data and fed to the Y electrodes of the display means.
The third aspect of the present invention is the matrix type display apparatus according to the first and second aspects, wherein the scan drive means is provided with a plurality of integrated circuits used for shifting which are connected in a cascade connection and, in the enlarged display mode, the scan drive means simultaneously drives outputs of scan voltages for front or rear non-display regions based on selection signals which correspond to the integrated circuit connection position.
The fourth aspect of the present invention is the matrix type display apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein selection signals for a plurality of integrated circuits in the scan drive means are directly fed from ground voltage or power supply voltage supplying the integrated circuits.
According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the following operation is performed in the scan drive means in the matrix type display apparatus according to the first and second aspects of the present invention.
Selection signals corresponding to the connection positions at which a plurality of integrated circuits used for shifting are connected in a cascade connection in the scan drive means are directly fed, for example, from a power supply and ground voltage identical to the integrated circuits. In enlarged display mode, the output of scan voltages for front and rear non-display regions is stopped based on the selection signals.


Methods for installing synthetic fields are well-known. As is well known, the installation method is primarily a manual process and typically differs from field to field. Most synthetic fields include a plurality of strips of synthetic turf that are placed or laid out on a substructure or sub-base, such as the ground, upon which the field is permanently installed. The strips together make up a completed synthetic field after they have been laid out, processed and then secured. Some or all of the strips of synthetic turf typically require markings thereon, such as yard line markings, numbers or the like. When the fields are installed, some of the markings, such as logos, yard line numbers, and hash marks are inserted into the field after it has been placed on the subbase at the location where the field is to be permanently located. As can be appreciated, the position of each individual strip with respect to the overall synthetic field is important. Similarly, the location of the markings on each of the individual strips is critical to the overall appearance of the field. If the markings are inserted in the field improperly, they can be out of alignment with respect to the other markings on the field or can be individually crooked, which can make the field look sloppy.
Due to the nature of these fields, their construction, and the nature of the steps required for their installation, the typical manufacturing and installation steps suffer from a variety of disadvantages, including those discussed above. Also, the fabrication, manufacturing, and installation steps are extremely time consuming and labor intensive. Further, these steps can be extremely variable from field to field as well as costly due to the extensive labor commitment required.


In modern belt retractors, both a reversible belt tensioning unit and an irreversible belt tensioning unit are used for driving the belt reel in wind-up direction, when a vehicle condition is regarded as critical, in order to eliminate a slack in the safety belt and bring the vehicle occupant into an upright position. The reversible belt tensioning unit is configured as a pretensioner, which in the case that the critical vehicle situation does not lead to an accident returns the belt reel to its starting position. The irreversible belt tensioning unit, however, only is activated in actual accident situations, which subsequently require the replacement of the entire belt retractor.
In addition, modern belt retractors include a force limitation system which limits the force maximally exerted by the belt onto the body of the vehicle occupant, in that it permits a certain withdrawal of belt webbing from a defined force acting in the belt webbing. If the irreversible belt tensioning unit now is activated as long as the reversible belt tensioning unit still is coupled with the belt reel, the succeeding limitation of force not only requires to overcome the resistance provided by the force limitation system, but also to turn back the reversible belt tensioning unit against its direction of action. As a result higher forces than desired and provided by the design of the force limitation system are generated in the safety belt.
This invention creates a belt retractor, in which during a force limitation phase after a tensioning effected by the irreversible belt tensioning unit, the reversible belt tensioning unit reliably is separated from the belt reel, but is again operable after such force limitation phase.