Abstract: A method of fabricating an electrode of an external electrode fluorescent lamp (EEFL) includes plating nickel on both ends of a glass tube through an electroless nickel plating process and forming electrodes by dipping the glass tube into an electrode material including zinc, and tin or lead.

Abstract: A cassette assembly and a method of manufacturing fluorescent lamps using the cassette assembly are provided. The cassette assembly includes a housing defining a process chamber and having a plurality of holes in which glass tubes for the fluorescent lamps are inserted to communicate with the chamber, a carrying unit including two or more porous plates through which the glass tubes are fitted, a plurality of ring members disposed on the porous plates to preliminarily fix the glass tubes to the carrying unit by allowing the outer circumferences of the glass tubes to contact, and a locking unit for changing the glass tubes from the preliminary fixing status to a lockup status by varying contact pressure applied between the ring members and the glass tubes.

Abstract: There is provided a fluorescent material coating apparatus for a fluorescent lamp. The fluorescent material coating apparatus includes a cassette on which a plurality of glass tubes are detachably mounted, a delivery member having a delivery chamber communicating with first ends of the glass tubes, a negative pressure generating unit for allowing fluorescent solution to be drawn into the glass tubes by generating a negative pressure in the glass tubes communicating with the delivery chamber by lowering the pressure of the delivery chamber, a dry air supplying unit for supplying dry air to the delivery chamber to dry the fluorescent solution applied on inner surfaces of the glass tubes, a solution tank containing the fluorescent solution and disposed below the glass tubes mounted on the cassette, and a moving unit for allowing lower end portions of the glass tubes mounted in the delivery chamber to be dipped into the fluorescent solution contained in the solution tank.

Abstract: An ice cream vending machine serves a customer with ice cream maintained in an optimum state by preventing supply of ice cream at a greater temperature. The ice cream vending machine includes a cooling system, a freezing chamber cooled by the cooling system, a canister arranged within the freezing chamber for holding a bead type ice cream, a cup supplying device arranged outside of the freezing chamber, for supplying a cup for holding the bead type ice cream, an ice cream discharging device for discharging the bead type ice cream from the canister, and a conveyor for conveying the cup supplied by the cup supplying device, the cup being conveyed between a location to where the cup is supplied by the cup supporting device to a location where the ice cream is discharged from the freezing chamber. The cup-conveyor may convey the cup either along a horizontal plane or in both a horizontal and a vertical direction.

Abstract: An ice cream vending machine serves a customer with ice cream maintained in an optimum state by preventing supply of ice cream at a greater temperature. The ice cream vending machine includes a cooling system, a freezing chamber cooled by the cooling system, a canister arranged within the freezing chamber for holding a bead type ice cream, a cup supplying device arranged outside of the freezing chamber, for supplying a cup for holding the bead type ice cream, an ice cream discharging device for discharging the bead type ice cream from the canister, and a conveying means for conveying the cup supplied by the cup supplying device, the cup being conveyed between a location to where the cup is supplied by the cup supporting device to a location where the ice cream is discharged from the freezing chamber. The cup-conveying means may convey the cup either along a horizontal plane or in both a horizontal and a vertical direction.

Abstract: A controller, for use in a video signal encoding system, decides an inter/intra mode, a field/frame DCT mode and a quantization parameter, wherein the video signal contains a multiplicity of GOP's, each of the GOP's being classified into three types of frames, each of the frames being divided into a multiplicity of macroblocks.

Abstract: A controller, for use in a video signal encoding system, which decides an inter/intra mode, a field/frame DCT mode and a quantization parameter, wherein the video signal contains a multiplicity of GOP's each of which is classified into three types of pictures, with each of the pictures being divided into a multiplicity of macroblocks. The encoding system encodes the video signal on a macroblock basis.