A lamp comprising an envelope (1) of quartz glass surrounding the light source of the lamp is described, wherein an electric conductor (8), for example, an electrode rod, is at least partly embedded in the quartz glass material of the envelope (1). At the conductor (8) is provided with protrusions (15) forming a brush-like structure at this surface. The protrusions (15) preferably have an average length of between 10 μm and 35 μm.

A lamp of this type is disclosed in US-A-2001/0005117. This publication describes a high-voltage discharge lamp comprising a quartz glass envelope enclosing the discharge space of the lamp. The lamp is provided with two sealed portions, one sealed portion at each of the two ends of the quartz glass envelope. The ends of two electrode rods project into the discharge space and a portion of each electrode rod is embedded in a sealed portion of the envelope in such a way that the two electrode rods are positioned coaxially with respect to each other. The other ends of the two electrode rods are connected to the ends of conductive molybdenum foil members in order to supply electric current to the electrode rods, which molybdenum foil members are also embedded in the sealed portions of the quartz glass envelope of the lamp. The other ends of the molybdenum foil members are connected to lead-out wires which extend outside the quartz glass envelope of the lamp.
The two electrode rods can be positioned coaxially at both ends of the envelope, but also parallel to each other and at some distance from each other, while they are embedded in the same sealed portion of the quartz glass envelope of the lamp. The lamp may be a xenon metal halide lamp or any other electric discharge lamp, in particular a HID-lamp (high-intensity discharge lamp), or any other lamp comprising a quartz glass envelope, such as a halogen lamp. The lamp may be an integral part of a unit comprising a lamp and a reflector.
Such lamps exhibit a difference of the coefficients of expansion of the conductor material and the quartz glass material of the envelope, in which at least a part of the conductor is embedded in the sealed portion of the envelope of the lamp. Such a difference of the coefficients of expansion causes high stress in the materials of the lamp when in use, particularly in the run-up phase, and the high stress may result in early lamp failure due to cracking or explosion of the envelope of the lamp. Several measures are known in order to avoid cracks in the quartz glass as a result of said difference of the coefficients of expansion, such as applying coils around the electrode rods of the lamp, or applying foils wrapped around the electrode rods. A disadvantage of these measures, most of which require additional parts in the lamp, is the relatively high additional costs.

Lamp comprising a conductor embedded in the quartz glass envelope of the lamp


In a method and device the TCP load offered in the uplink is manipulated such that an offered load asymmetry is achieved. Using such an arrangement it is possible to compensate for a link asymmetry when uplink and downlink connections are sharing the same uplink buffer in order to increase performance of the downlink. The method and device are capable of increasing the download performance both in the case when TCP connections are terminated in a different device than the terminal where the link layer is terminated, as well as when the TCP connections are terminated in the same device as the link-layer.

In wireless transmission links there often exists asymmetries. This is particularly true for cellular telecommunication networks. For example, the downlink can typically support a much higher bit-rate than the corresponding uplink. There are many reasons for such an asymmetry, but one fundamental reason is the fact that the downlink transmitter unit, the base-station, typically can use much higher transmission power compared to the corresponding uplink transmitter unit, the mobile terminal.
Other reasons include e.g. multi-user scheduling and link-adaptation issues: The down link transmitter is typically much better equipped to maintain orthogonality between transmissions to different users e.g. by time-multiplexing. However, multi-user scheduling and link-adaptation in the uplink can be very challenging as the transmitters are geographically distributed. It is also much simpler to introduce transmission diversity in the Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) downlink because, compared to the uplink, the spatial spacing of multiple transmission antennas are not restricted by the terminal size. In general, it is therefore to expect higher bit-rates in the downlink direction compared to the uplink.
An example is the High-Speed Downlink Shared Channel (HS-DSCH) of the standard 3GPP Release-5, which can theoretically support bit-rates beyond 10 Mbps. In practice a couple of Mbps has been achieved in the first product releases. However, the reverse link, the uplink, of Release 5 is carried with dedicated channel DCH, typically supporting 64 kbps and up to 384 kbps in case of good coverage. Release 6 of the wideband code division multiple access WCDMA standard comes with the enhanced dedicated channel (E-DCH) enhancement of the up link. However, the supported bit-rates will still be far below the HS-DSCH downlink bit-rates, particularly at times when the network is loaded with multiple users.
A link of a cellular radio system network having different properties for the uplink and down link, respectively can be termed an "Asymmetric Link". Moreover the bit rate ratio between the uplink and down link provided by the link-layer can be denoted "Asymmetry Ratio". For example, if the downlink layer 2 carries 3.84 Mbps, but the corresponding up-link only 384 kbps, the Asymmetry Ratio is determined to be 10.
It is known that simultaneous upload and download with Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) over such an asymmetric link will constrain the throughput of the direction with the higher bit-rate to a level proportional to the narrower direction, see for example L. Kalampoukas, A. Varma, K. Ramakrishnan "Improving TCP throughput over two-way asymmetric links: Analysis and solutions", Sigmetrics, 1998 ACM SIGMETRICS, http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/cache/papers/cs/686/ftp:zSzzSzftp.cse.ucsc.eduzSzpubzSzhsnlabz SzSigmetrics98.pdf/kalampoukas98improving.pdf. The reason is that the load offered by TCP in forward direction is based on feedback that must be carried in the reverse direction. If the uplink is loaded and in particular over loaded by other traffic the result is that this feedback in the form of acknowledgement messages (ACKs) are delayed, which will prevent TCP from clocking out new data on the downlink path with the desired pace. This is described below in conjunction with FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.
Thus, in FIG. 1, the TCP sender in the Server maintains a transmission window, and each acknowledgement, illustrated by smaller packets 103 on the reverse link clocks out new data, large packets 101, from the Server. The downlink TCP connection can offer sufficient load to the downlink path only in case the acknowledgements on the reverse link arrive with sufficient pace.
FIG. 2 illustrates two simultaneous TCP connections, one in downlink illustrated by large packets 101 and small ACK packets 103 and one in uplink illustrated by large striped packets 201 and small striped ACK packets 203. Compared to the scenario illustrated in FIG. 1, the uplink will now be saturated with TCP segments 201 from the upload connection that will hinder the TCP ACKs 103 of the downlink connection from being transmitted at sufficient pace. This means that also the downlink performance is constrained by the uplink bit-rate.
Because link asymmetry is common in wireless radio system accesses and it will so remain, it is desired to find a solution that would enhance the down-link performance at times of simultaneous upload and download.

Method and device for transmitting TCP data over asymmetric links


A rotor for an induction motor includes a rotor core having first and second ends and a plurality of conductor bars. Each conductor bar has a respective first end extending beyond the first end of said rotor core. Each first exposed end has a respective enclosed opening. The rotor also includes an end ring comprising a casting of material flowed between the respective first ends of the conductor bars and through the respective closed openings.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Electric motors can convert electric energy to mechanical energy and convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. Known electric motors are connected to an energy storage device thereby enabling the transfer of energy therebetween. Induction machines utilize single-phase or multi-phase power to produce a rotating magnetic field through a series of stators to turn a rotor. The rotating magnetic field induces electrical current through a plurality of conductive bars in the rotor. The electrical current in the conductive bars reacts with the magnetic field produced by the stators to create rotation in the rotor thereby creating mechanical energy in the form of torque.
The stators include a plurality of paired poles that are created from a series of windings and are distributed around the rotor. A common rotor type is referred to as a squirrel-cage rotor. The rotor portion is a laminated structure with bars connected through end rings. The squirrel-cage rotor has a generally cylindrical shape that includes a plurality of conductive bars along a length of a lamination stack at an outer perimeter. The plurality of conductive bars is preferably made of copper due to thermal and conductive properties but other materials, such as aluminum, can be used. The bars in the squirrel-cage are connected at their ends by two end rings. The rotor is assembled by a series of electrically conductive steel laminations through the center of the rotor until it is capped at both ends by shorting rings. The end rings hold the bars and the lamination stack together. The lamination stack is the primary flux-carrying member while the bars carry the current to generate the magnetizing force.
Known rotor fabrication methods include assembling the laminated steel stack with conductor bars on an outer periphery of the rotor and shorting end rings on the ends thereof. This may include placing the laminated steel stack into a casting mold. Molten material is introduced into open spaces formed in the rotor and open spaces between the die cast mold and the laminated steel stack to form the shorting end rings and conductor bars. It is known that oxide inclusions and voids may be formed in the conductor bars and shorting end rings during mold filling of molten material and solidification. The molten material may cool and partially solidify during turbulent flow of the molten material into the plurality of conductor bar grooves due in part to exposure to surface areas of the conductor bar grooves. The partially solidified molten material may impede molten material flow and cause voids, oxide inclusions, and other discontinuities in the conductor bars and the shorting end rings.
Power density output from an electric induction motor correlates to quality of the conductor bars and mass bulk density of the individual conductor bars. It is known that voids formed in the conductor bars and the shorting end rings during fabrication reduce power density output of the electric induction motor. The presence of oxide occlusions and cracks due to hot tearing reduces the electric conductivity of the conductor bars and shorting end rings, thereby reducing the power density output of the motor.
The use of copper material for conductor bars may increase power density and heat transfer characteristics of an induction motor as compared to an induction motor using aluminum conductor bars. The use of aluminum shorting end rings may be cast easier than using a cast copper shorting end ring while providing acceptable heat transfer properties. Known use of copper material for conductor bars and shorting end rings increases manufacturing process times and complexity as compared to aluminum conductor bars and shorting end rings. Known manufacturing processes include casting both the conductor bars and shorting end rings from the same material and welding or brazing conductor bars to shorting end rings.

Method for fabricating an induction rotor


A method for detecting a person in a space includes at least one depth sensor producing spatial data about the space to be monitored, at least one sub-model, which is sub-dividable into further sub-models being used for at least one selected body part of a human, the spatial data being used to adapt the sub-models, the adaptation being checked by position parameters between the sub-models of different body parts, and the person being recognized using a complete model made up of the checked sub-models.

The method according to the present invention for detecting a person in a space may have the advantage of being a compromise between complexity and simplicity: Complex situations, such as persons in unusual poses, with unusual clothes, or persons that are partially concealed, are processed with little effort. In this connection, it should be noted that the "detection of a person" is understood to also include the detection of specific body parts.
During the search, the presented method concentrates on comparatively few body parts that can be detected in a reliable and fast manner, such as the head. If the head of an occupant is in an unusual position in the motor vehicle, or if there are two occupants per seat in the motor vehicle, or if there exist partial concealments of the body, the respective heads are still found because there is no need to bring a complete human model into line with the scene.
The method provides different sub-models for a body part, the different sub-models being a function of the method in the case of different clothing and headgear.
Therefore, the method of the present invention is superior both to the model-free method and to a complex, complete CAD model because it can also cope with atypical scenarios. "Model-free" means that here the volume distribution, or other characteristics such as the curvature or texture, are directly evaluated by a classifier. A serious disadvantage of this method is that not all situations (such as the pose or clothing) can be covered in the training. This results in poor detection performance for model-free approaches.
Unlike the CAD model, the method according to the present invention is fast because only a few parameters are estimated. For a fast algorithm, rather than all measured values, it may be that only those of the volume to be examined may have to be taken into account to adapt a sub-model. The method according to the present invention has the characteristic that a hierarchical model of a human is adapted to the spatial data of a depth sensor. This depth sensor, for example, has high resolution. For example, the organization of the model and the method of adaptation to the spatial data of the depth sensor may be advantageous. In this context, the model may be a shape model (surface model) of the human body. The model may be designed to be articulatable, i.e., movable, and to be able to describe different forms of bodies and clothing.
According to an example embodiment, the complete model may be adapted to follow the person over time by further adapting the sub-models using the data at predetermined intervals. This allows a so-called "tracking"; a complete adaptation no longer being needed, but the detected body parts being trackable in space and time.
According to an example embodiment, at least one body part, such as the head, the shoulder, or also, for example, the chest of a human, is of importance for the classification of an occupant, especially in automotive applications such as restraint systems or occupant condition monitoring. Moreover, these body parts may be easy to recognize.
Moreover, it may be beneficial that intensity information from the data is used, the intensity information being texture characteristics, such as gray levels of the gray image or color values of the color image, which are each determined by an imaging sensor. These texture characteristics may then be associated with individual body parts in order to associate more detailed information with the individual body parts. This also allows consistency checking to be able to detect a person.
However, the general consistency check may be performed using the position parameters that define the relationship between the individual sub-models associated with the different body parts. This consistency check allows the adaptation of the sub-models by the measured sensor values to lead to reasonable values changes.
Moreover, the complete model may be transmitted for occupant classification to a restraint system in a vehicle in which the person is located. This then allows, for example, detection of persons; the system primarily detecting the posture of the occupant to identify a dangerous position of the occupant with respect to air bags and belt pretensioners. Thus, the so-called "out-of-position positions" are identified to prevent activation of the air bags in such positions in order to avoid injuries. The so-called "tracking" allows dynamic out-of-position sensing. Thus, the posture of the occupant is detected in real time. This may play a role in the case of fast movements of the head relative to the sensor, which are induced, for example, by vehicle decelerations during braking maneuvers or collisions. Here, it is also possible to classify the occupants based on size or biometric conditions, such as the average head radius or the shoulder width.
Another use of the method according to the present invention is the anti-pinch protection for extremities or objects in power windows. Extremity detection can also be used for gesture recognition. Monitoring the passenger compartment while the vehicle is parked may also be an application of the method according to an example embodiment of the present invention. This may be used, for example, in a car alarm system. It is also possible to automatically operate the child security door lock against accidental opening if a child has been detected by the method according to the present invention. In combination with a temperature sensor, it is possible to adjust the temperature by opening and closing the windows, or by controlling the air conditioning, in case a person or, for example, a child is alone in the vehicle. Convenience features may also benefit from an example embodiment of the method according to the present invention. The adjustment of headrests, mirrors, sun visors, steering wheel and/or contoured seats can be carried out automatically. The control of other systems that require the exact position of the head is rendered possible, inter alia, a hands-free kit, head-up displays, or noise control systems. Other methods, for example, for identifying the occupants, or eye localization are aided by a precise localization of the head, if necessary, along with an orientation measurement.
The depth sensor takes the form, for example, of an image pickup. Above all, a video sensor, such as a stereo camera system or a multi-camera system, may be used here. Also usable here are a distance-measuring matrix sensor using the transit-time principle or the phase-measuring principle, a laser scanner, a laser radar, or structured lighting. Further, the distance-measuring matrix sensor may use a microwave radar, or the measuring principle may be based on the emission of sound waves (ultrasound), or an arbitrary electromagnetic radiation (visible light, invisible light, microwaves).
Likewise, the representation of the sub-models contained in the modules can take completely different forms, such as CAD data, measurement data, triangulated data, superquadrics, or two-dimensional descriptions.

Method for detecting a person in a space


A chopsticks gripper article has a solid housing with a flexible inner layer therein. The flexible inner layer has a pair of chopstick-receiving through holes therein. The housing has a pair of upper through holes and a pair of lower through holes on opposite walls of the housing. A protruding portion extends downwardly from the housing and is positioned between the pair of lower through holes. A chopsticks blocking structure extends downwardly along opposite sides of the protruding portion. The protruding portion has sides that are inclined so as to converge away from the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a chopsticks gripper, and more particularly to an innovative gripper an accessory device.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
Chopsticks are an indispensable tool in the everyday life of Chinese people, which embodies the food culture of this nation.
However, the following shortcomings are observed during actual applications:
In the modern era where economic development has benefited from advanced technologies and foreign investment assistance, many foreign experts live and work in eastern countries but face the problem of learning how to use chopsticks expertly in everyday life and on many occasions.
Thus, to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art, it would be an advancement in the art to provide an improved structure that can significantly improve efficacy.
Therefore, the inventor has provided the present invention of practicability after deliberate design and evaluation based on years of experience in the production, development and design of related products.


A valve for a hermetic compressor has a valve plate disposed between a cylinder block and a cylinder head. The cylinder block has a cylinder, and the cylinder head has a refrigerant suction chamber and a refrigerant discharge chamber, which are partitioned from one another by a partition. The cylinder head further has at least first, second and third plates of different thicknesses, a refrigerant suction passage for interconnecting the refrigerant suction chamber and the cylinder; and a refrigerant discharge passage for interconnecting the refrigerant discharge chamber and the cylinder. A suction valve opens and closes the refrigerant suction passage while being moved by pressure in the cylinder; and a discharge valve opens and closes the refrigerant discharge valve while being moved by the pressure in the cylinder.

Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a compressor, and more particularly to a valve for a hermetic compressor.
FIG. 1 shows a typical example of a hermetic compressor. Referring to FIG. 1, a reference numeral 100 denotes a casing, 200 is an electronic component unit, and 300 is a compression unit for compressing refrigerant with power supplied from the electronic component unit 200.
As shown in FIG. 1, the casing 100 has upper and lower casings 110, 120, each of which has a substantially semicircular shape. The upper and lower casings 110, 120 are coupled with each other, thereby defining a predetermined sealed space therewithin.
The electronic component unit 200 includes a stator 210 installed inside of the casing 100, a rotator 220 that rotates in electromagnetic interaction with the stator 210, and a rotary shaft 230 press-fit to the rotator 220. The rotary shaft 230 has an eccentric portion 231 provided at its lower end.
The compression component unit 300 includes a piston 310, a cylinder block 320, a cylinder head 330 and a valve device 340.
The piston 310 is linked to one end of a connecting rod 311, which is connected at its other end to eccentric portion 231 of the rotary shaft 230. The cylinder block 320 provides a cylinder 321, in which the piston 310 is positioned. Accordingly, as the rotary shaft 230 is rotated, the piston 310 reciprocates within the cylinder 321.
The cylinder head 330 is connected to the cylinder block 320. The cylinder head 330 has a refrigerant suctioning chamber 332 and a refrigerant discharge chamber 333, which are partitioned from each other by a partition 331. The refrigerant suctioning chamber 332 is connected to a suction muffler 350, while the refrigerant discharge chamber 333 is connected to a discharge muffler (not shown).
A valve 340 is disposed between the cylinder block 320 and the cylinder head 330, and as shown in FIG. 2, the valve 340 includes a valve plate 341, a suction valve 342 and a discharge valve 343.
The valve plate 341 has a refrigerant suctioning hole 341a and a refrigerant discharge hole 341b formed therein. As shown in FIG. 3, the cylinder 321 of the cylinder block 320 and the refrigerant suctioning chamber 332 of the cylinder head 330 are interconnected with each other via the refrigerant suction hole 341a, while the cylinder 321 of the cylinder block 320 and the refrigerant discharge chamber 333 of the cylinder head 330 are interconnected with each other via the refrigerant discharge hole 341b.
The suction valve 342 is disposed on the side of valve plate 341 closest to the cylinder block 320, to selectively open the refrigerant suction hole 341a. The suction valve 342 is formed by partially cutting a suction valve sheet 342a disposed between the cylinder block 320 and the valve plate 341.
The discharge valve 343 is disposed on the side of valve plate 341 closest to the cylinder head 330 to selectively open the refrigerant discharge hole 341b. At the rear portion of the discharge valve 343, a stopper 344 and a keeper 345 are formed in sequential order to restrict the listing of the discharge valve 343.
The suction valve 342 and the discharge valve 343 open or close the refrigerant suction hole 341a and the refrigerant discharge hole 341b by being moved by the pressure in the cylinder 321, thereby causing the refrigerant of the refrigerant suctioning chamber 332 to be drawn into the cylinder 321 or causing the refrigerant of the cylinder 321 to be discharged out to the refrigerant discharge chamber 333. Such operation of the conventional valve 340 will be described below in greater detail with reference to FIG. 3.
During the stroke of the piston 310 moving from its upper dead end to its lower dead end, the suction valve 342 is moved by reduced pressure in the cylinder 321 to the position indicated by the one-dot line of FIG. 3, thereby opening the refrigerant suction hole 341a and letting the refrigerant of the refrigerant suction chamber 332 to be drawn into the cylinder 321 through the open refrigerant suction hole 341a.
As the piston 310 is moved from its lower dead end to its upper dead end, the drawn refrigerant is compressed, and accordingly, the pressure in the cylinder 321 keeps increasing. At this time, the suction valve 342 is moved by the pressure in the cylinder 321 to the position indicated by the solid line of FIG. 3, thereby closing the refrigerant suction hole 341a.
As the piston 310 keeps moving to its upper dead end, the pressure in the cylinder 321 also keeps increasing. Then, as the piston 310 moves very close to its upper dead end, the pressure in the cylinder 321 has increased to the maximum extent, and accordingly, the discharge valve 343 is moved by the pressure in the cylinder 321 to the position indicated by the one-dot line of FIG. 3, thereby opening the refrigerant discharge hole 341b. As a result, the compressed refrigerant in the cylinder 321 is discharged to the refrigerant discharge chamber 333 of the cylinder head 330 through the refrigerant discharge hole 341b.
After reaching its upper dead end, the piston 310 is moved back to its lower dead end, and by the recovery force of the discharge valve 343, the discharge valve 343 is moved to the position indicated by the solid line of FIG. 3, closing the discharge hole 341b. Accordingly, as the pressure is produced in the cylinder 321, the refrigerant suction hole 341a is opened.
In the conventional valve for the hermetic compressor, when the suction valve 342 and the discharge valve 343 open and close, and especially when the discharge valve 343 closes the refrigerant discharge hole 341b, the discharge valve 343 strongly beats the valve plate 341 due to the recovery force of a neck 343a of the discharge valve 343 (see FIG. 2) and the recovery force of a bending portion 344a (see FIG. 2) of the stopper 344. The striking energy generated during the beating of the valve plate 341 is converted into an instantaneous mass energy by the uniform beating of the valve plate 341, and is then converted to vibration energy generating waves. Then, considerable noise is generated as the vibration energy is converted to negative pressure energy, generating sound waves in the air.
In the conventional valve for the hermetic compressor, additional parts like stopper 344 and the keeper 345 are employed to resiliently support the discharge valve 343 and to restrict the lifting of the discharge valve 343. Accordingly, the number of parts increases and the structure becomes complex.
Further, since a certain space has to be ensured for the stopper 344 and the keeper 345, the space for the cylinder head 330 and the refrigerant suction chamber 332 becomes narrower. Accordingly, the freedom in design is limited, like the design of the refrigerant suction hole 341a and the discharge hole 341b.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a valve for a hermetic compressor capable of reducing a noise of the compressor by preventing the noise generating source, i.e., by reducing sound pressure energy coming from striking energy generated during the beating of a discharge valve on a valve plate, using sound transmission loss through a partition, which is obtained from a boundary interference between different mediums.
Another object is to provide a valve for a hermetic compressor contributing to a simpler construction with a smaller number of parts and the largest-possible space for a cylinder head, where the simpler construction is obtained by opening and closing a refrigerant discharge hole with the movement of a discharge valve in a certain space by the pressure of a cylinder, thereby omitting the need for parts like a stopper and keeper for supporting the discharge valve.
The above objects are accomplished by a valve for a hermetic compressor according to the present invention, including a valve plate disposed between a cylinder block and a cylinder head, the cylinder block having a cylinder, the cylinder head having a refrigerant suction chamber and a refrigerant discharge chamber, which are partitioned from each other by a partition, the valve plate comprising at least first, second and third plates of different thicknesses, a refrigerant suction passage for interconnecting the refrigerant suction chamber and the cylinder; and a refrigerant discharge passage for interconnecting the refrigerant discharge chamber and the cylinder, a suction valve for opening/closing the refrigerant suction passage while being moved by a pressure in the cylinder; and a discharge valve for opening/closing the refrigerant discharge valve while being moved by the pressure in the cylinder.
The first through third plates may be formed of metals of different densities. The plates may be formed of non-metals of different densities. One of the plates may be formed of a metal, while the other plates are formed of non-metals of different densities.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerant suction passage comprises: a first refrigerant suction hole formed in a first plate having a predetermined diameter; a second refrigerant suction hole formed in a second plate having a diameter narrower than the diameter of the first refrigerant suction hole; and a third refrigerant suction hole formed in the third plate and having a diameter identical to the diameter of the first refrigerant suction hole. The refrigerant discharge passage comprises: a first refrigerant discharge hole formed in the first plate and having a predetermined diameter; a second refrigerant discharge hole formed in the second plate, the second refrigerant discharge hole comprising a guide portion having a diameter greater than the diameter of the first refrigerant discharge hole, and a discharge portion partially overlapping so as to be interconnected with the guide portion; and a third refrigerant discharge hole eccentrically formed away from the first refrigerant discharge hole in a manner so as to interconnect with the discharge portion of the second refrigerant discharge hole.
The discharge valve is movably disposed inside of the guide portion of the second refrigerant discharge hole to open and close the first refrigerant discharge hole. The discharge valve is formed of a circular plate having a thickness greater than the thickness of the second valve plate, and having a diameter greater than the diameter of the first refrigerant discharge hole and smaller than the diameter of the guide portion.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plates have one or more holes of different sizes and shapes for regulating an impedance of sound waves generated by the respective plates.


In a compact camera having a flash unit that is flipped up from the camera box for use and is flipped down towards the camera box for storage, the flash head is automatically extended from the taking lens to substantially avoid "red-eye" when the flash unit is flipped up and is automatically retracted to decrease the size of the flash unit when the flash unit is flipped down.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to a compact camera with a pivotally folding flash unit. More specifically, the invention relates to a compact camera having a flash unit that is flipped up from the camera body for use and is flipped down towards the camera body for storage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A current trend in most camera design is to incorporate an electronic flash unit in the camera housing and yet make the housing relatively small in order to improve its ease of storage, portability and handling. As a consequence of making the camera housing small, however, the separation between the built-in flash unit and the taking lens is reduced, which possibly creates an undesirable effect commonly known as "red-eye". When using a flash unit and color print film, red-eye is typified by the pupils in the eyes of a person being photographed coming out red-tinted on a resulting color print. This phenomenon is attributable to the incidence into the taking lens of the red light reflected from the retinas in the person's eyes illuminated by the flash light.
Red-eye may be substantially avoided by increasing the separation between the flash unit and the taking lens. As a result, the light emitted from the flash unit will reach the eyes of a person being photographed at too great an angle to be reflected by his or her retinas into the taking lens. In this connection, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,999, issued Jan. 8, 1991, discloses a compact camera having a flash unit that is flipped up from the camera body to distance the flash unit from the taking lens for flash photography and is flipped down against the camera body for storage. The flash unit comprises a neck or supporting part that is pivotally connected to the camera body and an integral flash-emitting head part. When the neck and head parts are flipped up, they are elevated above the top of the camera body. When the neck and head parts are flipped down, .they become integrated with the front of the camera body.

Compact camera with automatically extending flip-up flash unit


There is provided an antenna device of a radio apparatus, including a fed partial element, a folded partial element and an open-ended partial element. The fed partial element is formed to be extended from a fed portion to a first branch portion where the folded partial element branches off. The folded partial element has a grounded end and has a forward path and a backward path short-circuited to each other. The folded partial element and a path on the fed partial element from the fed portion to the first branch portion have a summed length of about a half wavelength of a first frequency. The open-ended partial element branches off at a second branch portion. The open-ended partial element and a path on the fed partial element from the fed portion to the second branch portion have a summed length of about a one-fourth wavelength of a second frequency.

There is a trend that mobile phones or personal computers (PCs) with radio capability have multiple purposes and multiple functions. The above trend requires an antenna device which may be operable in multiple frequency bands or in a broad frequency range.
For the above requirement, e.g., the applicant applied for and obtained a patent on an invention of a built-in antenna of a radio apparatus which is operable in multiple frequency bands having impedance that may be smoothly matched, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Toroku), No. 3775795.
Another example of related art is a microstrip antenna disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication of Unexamined Applications (Kokai), No. 2006-157954, formed on a dielectric substrate and made operable in a broad frequency range.
The above built-in antenna of the "Toroku" reference includes a first antenna element being folded and a second antenna element being open-ended, both of which share a feeding point. The first antenna element and the second antenna element have a relatively lower resonant frequency and a relatively higher resonant frequency, respectively. The first antenna element has a forward path and a backward path short-circuited to each other at a shorting bridge which may be selectively located for impedance matching of the second antenna element.
As the resonant frequency of the second antenna element becomes higher, the shorting bridge has to be located closer to the feeding point for better impedance matching of the second antenna element. It may cause, however, the impedance to be highly inductive at the resonant frequency of the first antenna element.
As described above, there is a tendency that the impedance of each of the first antenna element and the second antenna element may not be separately adjusted if their resonant frequencies are spaced to some extent. As a separation of the resonant frequencies becomes greater, this tendency becomes clearer. Hence, it could be difficult to adapt the above built-in antenna for multiple functions of a radio apparatus supposing multiple frequencies which are spaced to some extent.
The above microstrip antenna of the "Kokai" reference includes a nearly T-shaped planar element and a linear element having a meander type portion, both being formed on a dielectric substrate and facing a ground pattern. It is mentioned in the "Kokai" reference that an electric performance of the microstrip antenna may be separately controlled in a 5 GHz band and in a 2.4 GHz band due to such an arrangement of the microstrip antenna.
The above microstrip antenna, using the dielectric substrate which is usually expensive, could hardly be applied to and built into mobile phones or PCs due to cost consideration. Apart from the cost, FIG. 4 of the above "Kokai" reference could suggest a built-in antenna formed by a flat element having a certain width, connected to a feeding point, and a branching (nearly T-shaped) linear element located at a side of the flat element opposite to the feeding point.
The above flat element having the certain width and connected to the feeding point, however, may have to be located closer to a ground circuit as the suggested antenna is built into an apparatus of a smaller size and a thinner shape. The suggested antenna may thus suffer from low impedance in such an arrangement.
A parasitic element could be added to the suggested antenna and inductively coupled to the feeding point for multiple resonances. It may be difficult, however, to locate the parasitic element close enough to the feeding point as both of them are separated by the flat element having the certain width.

Antenna device operable in multiple frequency bands


The present disclosure relates to a solid-state imaging device and an electronic device which efficiently capture incident light to improve sensitivity while maintaining the effect of suppressing noise generation. A memory is located on a side opposite from a light receiving surface and formed in the same substrate of Si as a photoelectric conversion element. The substrate including Si is defined by digging the Si deep from the light receiving surface, at a position where the memory is formed, and a bottom light-shielding film is formed at a bottom portion of the defined hole. The present disclosure is applicable to, for example, a stacked and back-illuminated solid-state imaging device.

Back-illuminated solid-state imaging devices each include a memory and a global shutter function, and the memory is located in silicon (Si) on a side opposite to a light receiving side (incident surface). If incident light leaks into the memory and the vicinity thereof, noise is caused in photoelectric conversion, and therefore a light-shielding film embedded in a groove arranged so as to surround the memory and a light-shielding film including a lid section configured to cover a surface of the memory are formed on an incident surface side (see Patent Document 1).

Solid-state imaging device and electronic device including light-shielding film for suppression of light leakage to memory

Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation


An anti-loose screw (20) includes a shank (24) having an external thread (28) with a thread angle of 63° to 68° between two flanks (34, 36) extending between a crest (30) and a root (32). A first angle (A) between one of the flanks (34, 36) and an axis (Y) extending perpendicularly to a longitudinal axis (X) of the shank (24) and passing through the crest (30) is in a range between 34° and 40°. A second angle (B) between the other flanks (34, 36) and the axis (Y) is in a range between 25° and 29°. The anti-loose screw (20) can engage with an object (40) having an internal thread (42) with a thread angle of 60° to provide an interference fit and can be formed by two dies (120, 140) each including a thread forming configuration (128, 148) having correspondingly formed ridges (130, 150) and valleys (136, 156).

The present invention relates to an anti-loose screw and a die device for forming the anti-loose screw and, more particularly, to an anti-loose screw including a thread angle larger than 60° for providing an anti-loose effect when engaged with an internal thread formed in an object and having a thread angle of 60°. The present invention also relates to a combination including the anti-loose screw and the object and relates to a die device for forming the anti-loose screw.
Screws are widely used in daily life and are engaged in internal threads in objects. A C-shaped spring washer is often mounted around a screw to prevent the screw from becoming loosened from the internal thread in an object. The spring washer is compressed and deformed to provide a reactive force by its elasticity, providing an anti-loose effect. However, the spring washer can not be used in a limited space. To solve this limitation, some manufacturers apply a coating on the thread of the screw or the internal thread of the object. The coating is compressed and deformed to provide the desired anti-loose effect. However, the coating results in a significant increase in the manufacturing costs.
Thus, a need exists for a novel anti-loose screw free of coating and for a novel die device for forming the anti-loose screw.

Anti-loose screw and a die device for forming same


An optical fiber of heat resistance, low-temperature resistance, flexural resistance, water absorption resistance, chemical resistance, etc., is provided by comprising a composition in which a core component comprises a polycarbonate or a silica type glass, a clad component comprises a graft-modified poly (4-methyl-1-pentene).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber for transmitting optical signals, particularly to an optical fiber having an excellent heat resistance and flexural resistance.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the prior art for the plastic optical fibers, polystyrene (PS) or polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) are used as the core material. However, since such materials have a glass transition temperature (Tg) as low as 100.degree. C., the core material will be softened and become fluid in a high temperature atmosphere of 100.degree. C. or higher, and therefore, the upper limit of the usable temperature is about 80.degree. C.
As a method for improving such a disadvantage, various plastic optical fibers using a polycarbonate having excellent transparency and a high Tg of about 150.degree. C. have been mentioned (for example, U.S. Pat No. 3,999,834, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 57-46204 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 60-32004). However, according to the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,834, crosslinking treatment of the clad material is required after the polycarbonate is coated with the clad material, and therefore, a disadvantage is involved in that the preparation process is cumbersome and also a long time is required for the treatment. On the other hand, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 57-46204 discloses a plastic optical fiber having a polycarbonate coated with a clad material comprising polymethylmethacrylate and so on. However, these clad materials are not sufficient for heat resistance comparing to polycarbonate. And Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 60-32004 discloses a plastic optical fiber having a core material comprising a polycarbonate coated with a clad material comprising 4-methyl-1-pentene, and further, that an unsaturated carboxylic acid such as acrylic acid may be copolymerized for improvement of the interlayer peel-off strength between the polycarbonate and the clad material. Due to poor adhesion between poly (4-methyl-1-pentene) and polycarbonate, a flexural resistance thereof as an optical fiber is inferior and the adhesiveness cannot be improved in some cases by mere copolymerization with an unsaturated carboxylic acid. Thus, under the present situation, an optical fiber having an excellent heat resistance and flexural resistance has not been practically realized.


A process to form poly sidegate LDD structures on buried channel MOSFETs is described. A polysilicon spacer is formed on the gate after source/drain processing. The spacer is later shorted to the main gate by implantation of neutral impurities. The process is particularly suited for SOI technology.

The invention relates to a method for improving buried channel integrated circuit devices, and more specifically, to a method for producing reduced size semiconductor devices having reduced electric fields and high breakdown voltages.
To continuously improve performance, the size of semiconductor devices has been steadily scaled down. The physics of the scaling laws are complex. But for MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Silicon Field Effect Transistors), a major limiting factor is the presence of high electric fields. The electric field maximum tends to occur around the body/drain junction near the silicon/silicon dioxide interface, just below the edge of the gate. This high electric field can cause reliability and/or operational problems. Reliability problems result when the electric field generates very energetic or `hot` carriers. The hot carriers are injected into the gate oxide, degrading the gate oxide quality. Operational problems result when the electric field is high enough to result in avalanche ionization. In avalanche ionization, a few carriers receive enough energy to generate other carriers, which in turn receive enough energy to generate even more carriers, and so on.
The avalanche ionization effect is a particular problem in SOI (silicon-on-insulator) devices. The reason for this is that in SOI devices, the active area is separated from the bulk of the wafer by an electrical insulator (e.g. silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or sapphire). Thus, the body of the device is at a floating electric potential. Since the body is floating, minority carriers (holes in n-channel devices, electrons in p-channel devices) collect in the body, near the source/body junction. For example, in n-channel devices, when the hole concentration changes the body potential, electrons are injected from the source. Many of these electrons reach the drain, where they participate in impact ionization. The resulting positive feedback loop results in a runaway current at electric fields levels significantly below the junction breakdown voltage.
A number of approaches for improving the maximum operating voltage in a semiconductor device have been proposed. None of the proposed means for reducing the maximum operating voltage does so without increasing the resistance in the transistor. Most techniques require special tooling or difficult processing steps and are not readily applicable to SOI technology.

Method of making gate overlapped lightly doped drain for buried channel devices


A biosensor includes a magnetic structure having grooved surface to biologically bond magnetic labels to a biological substance within the grooves. The grooves are positioned within the magnetic structure so that stray magnetic fields from the magnetic structure magnetize magnetic labels within the groove. The magnetic labels may be magnetic nanoparticles or magnetic microbeads. The techniques may reduce or eliminate the usage of any external magnetic field generator, e.g., electromagnets or current lines.

Bioassays and biosensors that detect and quantify biomolecules at ultra-low quantity, with point-of-care settings, are of great need in many fields, including basic medical science, disease control and diagnostics, drug discovery and environment monitoring. Bioassays can be used for disease or pathogen detection based on the principle of specific interactions between biological components Antibody-antigen interaction is one example of a specific interaction between biomolecules which can be used. Some other examples of biological interactions include interactions between oligonucleotides, such as DNA-DNA or RNA-RNA interaction, small-molecule-biomolecule interactions, aptamer-biomolecule interactions, protein interactions, and others.
Magnetic biosensors include giant magnetoresistive (GMR) sensors, magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) sensors, Hall biosensors or Giant magneto impedance (GMI) biosensors. Magnetic biosensing, which combines the magnetic biosensor and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), is a field which has been intensively studied. In existing magnetic biosensing schemes, when the targeted biomolecues are present, they bond to the biologically-functionalized surface of an individual magnetic field sensor or a sensor-array. Functionalized MNPs bond to these targeted biomolecules. The dipole field from the specifically bound magnetized MNPs will change the overall effective magnetic field on the sensing layer of the magnetic biosensor. This causes the change of the magnetization configuration of the magnetic biosensor, thus generating an electrical signal from the biosensor, which can be quantitatively correlated with the number of the MNPs.
Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a powerful, externally-applied magnetic field is required and operates as the exclusive source for magnetizing the MNPs. Hence, in conventional magnetic biosensing schemes, the necessity for an external magnetic field generator downplays the promised portability feature for magnetic biosensors and also increases the power consumption of the whole system.
Generating a magnetic field from built-in current lines on the biosensor has also been proposed for magnetizing the MNPs. This can eliminate the usage of an external electromagnet. However, the requirement for large power consumption still exists. The presence of a large current on a sensing chip, such as tens of milliamperes, is typically required to produce a large enough magnetic field for magnetizing the MNPs. Such a large current causes heating effects and may also result in a dielectric break down between the protection layer and the biological sample.


A method includes receiving bio-potential inputs; generating signal channels from the bio-potential inputs; pre-processing data in the signal channels; extracting R-wave peaks from the pre-processed data; removing artifacts and outliers from the R-wave peaks; generating R-wave signal channels based on the R-wave peaks in the pre-processed signal channels; selecting two or more of the R-wave signal channels; and combining the selected two or more R-wave signal channels to produce an electrical uterine monitoring signal.

A uterine contraction is a temporary process during which the muscles of the uterus are shortened and the space between muscle cells decreases. These structural changes in the muscle cause an increase in uterine cavity pressure to allow pushing the fetus downward in a lower position towards delivery. During a uterine contraction, the structure of myometrial cells (i.e., cells of the uterus) changes and the uterine wall becomes thicker. FIG. 1A shows an illustration of a relaxed uterus, in which the muscular wall of the uterus is relaxed. FIG. 1B shows an illustration of a contracted uterus, in which the muscular wall of the uterus contracts and pushes the fetus against the cervix.
Uterine contractions are monitored to evaluate the progress of labor. Typically, the progress of labor is monitored through the use of two sensors: a tocodynamometer, which is a strain gauge-based sensor positioned on the abdomen of an expectant mother, and an ultrasound transducer, which is also positioned on the abdomen. The signals of the tocodynamometer are used to provide a tocograph ("TOCO"), which is analyzed to identify uterine contractions, while the signals of the ultrasound transducer are used to detect fetal heart rate, maternal heart rate, and fetal movement. However, these sensors can be uncomfortable to wear, and can produce unreliable data when worn by obese expectant mothers.

Systems and methods for maternal uterine activity detection


A compact body spray nozzle is disclosed that includes a spray face that can be tilted to suit the requirements of the bather. The spray face is coupled to a spray body housing that is tiltable about the exterior surface of an internal stem driver ball. The stem driver ball is also coupled to a ceramic disk valve, and flow to the spray face through the ceramic disk valve is controlled by rotating the stem driver ball. An internal key index can be used to select a range of flow from the ceramic disk valve.

One type of shower nozzle is called a "body spray nozzle". This is because it is designed to be mounted lower in the shower than a conventional overhead shower head, so as to deliver more of the spray to the torso.
Because these nozzles are mounted at human height they are designed to project out less into the showering space than overhead nozzles, to minimize the likelihood of a human bumping into them. This can add complexity, particularly when designing them to permit both directional and volume control.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,410, for example, discloses a shower head where the outer housing is tiltable about a fixed ball to alter spray direction. U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,490 teaches a body spray that can be angularly adjusted and also provides flow control. A problem with such prior art nozzles, however, is that the mechanisms used to tilt or control flow are typically not compact. This can waste space in or behind the shower stall, and can add cost. Additionally, some of these nozzles are not aesthetically pleasing.
Hence, a need exists for improved body spray nozzles which address these concerns.


A station-side terminal apparatus comprises terminal devices and a terminal device sorting unit. The terminal devices includes: a buffer unit; a subscriber-side terminal apparatus sorting unit configured to transmit a unicast packet addressed to a switch-target subscriber-side terminal apparatus to the switch queues, and transmit a packet addressed to a plurality of subscriber-side terminal apparatuses to the broadcast queue, and transmit a unicast packet addressed to a non-switch-target subscriber-side terminal apparatus to the through queue; and a scheduler unit configured to read a packet from the switch queues, the broadcast queue, and the through queue. The terminal device sorting unit is configured to transmit a received unicast packet to the terminal device, and transmit a received packet addressed to a plurality of subscriber-side terminal apparatuses, to each of the terminal devices.

The present invention relates to a station-side terminal apparatus capable of dynamically switching a connection with a subscriber-side terminal apparatus, and a path switching method that switches a connection between a subscriber-side terminal apparatus and a station-side terminal apparatus.
In recent years, a service called FTTH (Fiber To The Home) using the optical fiber as a transmission channel is becoming widespread, for the purpose of providing a broad band service of high speed and wide band to general private homes. For providing the broad band service by FTTH, optical access networks called subscriber passive optical network (PON) are utilized in many places.
In the PON, one station-side terminal apparatus (OLT: Optical Line Terminal) and a plurality of subscriber-side terminal apparatuses (ONU: Optical Network Unit) are connected by branching one optical cable using optical passive elements called optical splitter (optical coupler). In the PON, the FTTH service is provided economically by sharing optical fibers, OLT, etc by a plurality of subscribers.
The PON includes what is called 10G-EPON (10 Gigabit Ethernet (registered trademark) PON) (for example, refer to IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) std 802. 3av-2009). In the PON described in this reference, communication from each ONU to the OLT (uplink communication) employs TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) technology to prevent a collision of signals from each ONU. PON using the TDMA technology is also called TDM-PON.
Further, in order to meet an increase of communication demand in future optical access network, the research and development relevant to WDM/TDM-PON (TWDM-PON) is progressing, in which a plurality of TDM-PONs are built on one PON infrastructure with WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology, as next-generation PON with a transmission rate over 10 Gbps, (for example, refer to JP 2011-55407A). TWDM-PON increases the transmission capacity in the PON infrastructure.
In the TWDM-PON described in JP 2011-55407A, an OLT includes a plurality of optical transmitting and receiving units, and a control device for controlling the TWDM-PON. Each optical transmitting and receiving unit is connected to a plurality of ONUs via optical couplers.
As for uplink communication, the reception wavelength of each optical transmitting and receiving unit of the OLT is fixedly assigned, so that the reception wavelengths of optical transmitting and receiving units of the OLTs do not overlap each other. In this case, by changing the transmission wavelength of the optical transmitting and receiving unit of the ONU, the connection between each optical transmitting and receiving unit of the OLT and the ONU is dynamically switched. Also, as for communication from the OLT to the ONU (downlink communication), the connection between each optical transmitting and receiving unit of the OLT and the ONU is dynamically switched by fixedly assigning the transmission wavelength of each optical transmitting and receiving unit of the OLT, and changing the reception wavelength of the optical transmitting and receiving unit of the ONU, in the same way as the uplink communication. Hence, the TWDM-PON has the advantage such as load sharing in response to traffic variation, high reliability by path switching in failure, and electrical power saving by sleep of the optical transmitting and receiving unit and the device circuit during low load.
Here, in the TWDM-PON, when dynamically switching the connection of the OLT and the ONU relevant to the downlink communication for example, a switch of the optical transmitting and receiving unit of the OLT, and a switch of the reception wavelength of the ONU are performed. During a switching time period when the reception wavelength of the ONU is switched from a pre-switch wavelength to a post-switch wavelength, the ONU does not receive the packet of the downlink communication (hereinafter, also referred to as "downlink packet" simply). However, in a multimedia application and the like, it is desirable that a packet loss does not occur during the switching time period in view of service quality, and a switching process without consuming a time is requested.
Hence, in order to prevent a packet loss of downlink communication in the switching time period, it is necessary that the OLT buffers packets addressed to the switch target ONU during the switching time period.
As means for buffering the input packets and switching the communication path, there is proposed a technology that a buffer is provided at a stage prior to a switch for switching the path, and the switch switches the path in response to the destination of the input packet (for example, refer to JP H 10-229404A).

Station-side terminal apparatus, and path switching method


A voice coil using a surface mount technology (SMT) to connect the voice coil and an electrode to each other, and a SMT speaker using the voice coil. A voice coil assembly includes a voice coil formed by stacking a plurality of laminated metal plates; and a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for impedance matching between the voice coil and an electrode terminal for connecting an external device and for connecting the voice coil to the electrode terminal. The laminated metal plates of the voice coil are connected in series or in parallel to each other. An active device is installed on the FPCB so as to amplify a signal input through the electrode terminal and to apply the signal to the voice coil. Since the voice coil is formed by stacking the laminated metal plates and is connected to the electrode terminal through the FPCB, a SMT is used to manufacture the SMT speaker, thereby improving productivity and reliability.

1. Field of the Invention
One or more aspects of the present invention relate to voice coils and micro speakers using the voice coils, and more particularly, to voice coils using a surface mount technology (SMT) for connection with an electrode and SMT micro speakers using the voice coils.
2. Description of the Related Art
A speaker is an audio device for generating a sound wave. The sound wave is generated as follows. In a magnetic circuit including a plate, a magnet and a yoke, a voice coil adhered to a diaphragm is positioned in a gap between the plate and the yoke. When an electrical signal flows through the voice coil, the electrical signal is converted into kinetic energy so that the diaphragm generates a compression wave, thereby generating the sound wave.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional micro speaker 10 used in portable electrical products such as cellular phones includes a diaphragm 11 for generating a sound by using a vibration, a voice coil 12 that is adhered to the diaphragm 11 and vibrates the diaphragm 11 when a current flows through the voice coil 12, a frame 13 for supporting the diaphragm 11, a U-shaped yoke 14 installed on an inner portion of the frame 13, a magnet 15 and a plate 16 which are adhered to a central portion of the U-shaped yoke 14, and a cover 17. A power leader line 12a of the voice coil 12 is adhered to the diaphragm 11 by adhesives 18, and simultaneously, is connected to an external contact electrode by using a soldering method. Thus, the voice coil 12 may be connected to a printed circuit board (PCB) of an electrical device.
The diaphragm 11 of the conventional micro speaker 10 is formed of a synthetic resin to have a thickness from several microns to several tens of microns. When a current flows through the voice coil 12 disposed on a central portion of the diaphragm 11, a magnetic line of force is generated from the voice coil 12, and thus the magnetic line of force interacts with the magnet 15. Due to the interaction between the magnetic line of force and the magnet 15, the voice coil 12 vibrates up and down according to a direction and frequency of the current flowing through the voice coil 12, and the diaphragm 11 fixed to an upper portion of the voice coil 12 also moves up and down so as to output a sound.
A conventional speaker is manufactured using a manual operation involving positioning and shaping of leader lines and electrodes of voice coils, thereby causing environmental contamination and lowering productivity. In addition, a soldered portion between a contact electrode and a power leader line of a voice coil may come apart due to vibration of a diaphragm.

Voice coil and SMT micro speaker using the same


Disclosed is a portable therapeutic fluid dispensing device. The fluid dispensing device includes a reusable part (100) comprising a reusable part housing including at least a controller and a first portion (186) of a driving mechanism, and a disposable part (200) comprising a disposable part housing including at least a reservoir (220) to retain therapeutic fluid, an outlet port to which the therapeutic fluid is dispensed, a fluid conduit providing fluid communication between the reservoir and the outlet port, and a second portion (112) of the driving mechanism. At least a portion of the disposable part housing defines at least a portion of the reservoir. Also, the second portion of the driving mechanism is mechanically couplable to the first portion of the driving mechanism upon connection of the disposable part to the reusable part.

Medical treatment of some illnesses requires continuous drug infusion into various body compartments, such as subcutaneous and intra-venous injections. Diabetes mellitus patients, for example, require administration of varying amounts of insulin throughout the day to control their blood glucose levels. In recent years, ambulatory portable insulin infusion pumps have emerged as a superior alternative to multiple daily syringe injections of insulin. These pumps, which deliver insulin at a continuous basal rate as well as in bolus volumes, were developed to liberate patients from repeated self-administered injections, and enable them to maintain a near-normal daily routine. Both basal and bolus volumes generally have to be delivered in relatively precise doses, according to an individual prescription, since an overdose or under-dose of insulin could be fatal.
Several ambulatory insulin infusion devices are currently available on the market. Mostly, these devices comprise a housing containing a driving mechanism, a power source, a controller, electronics and other minor components. Such devices generally include a disposable reservoir, configured as a conventional syringe containing insulin, which is received within the housing, and which is replaced every 2-3 days of operation. A disposable infusion set, which includes a distally located needle/cannula assembly including a cannula and a penetrating member, is connected to the reservoir at its proximal end via a fluid communication tube. Usually, the patient fills the syringe with insulin, attaches the infusion set to an exit port of the syringe, and then inserts the syringe into the pump. After purging air out of the syringe and infusion set, the patient subcutaneously inserts the penetrating member and cannula, at a selected location on the body, and withdraws the penetrating member. To avoid irritation and infection, the subcutaneously inserted cannula must be replaced and discarded after 2-3 days, together with the empty syringe. The syringe plunger is driven by a driving mechanism which includes a threaded-rod (also referred to as a "threaded plunger rod" or "threaded piston rod"), a motor, and controller/electronics. Examples of first generation syringe-type dispensing mechanism are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,847 to Hobbs, U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,694 to Kaminski, U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,486 to Stempfle, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,369 to Skakoon, the contents of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. Other dispensing mechanisms have been also discussed, including peristaltic positive displacement pumps, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,843 to Schneider and U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,786 to Wolff, the contents of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Although these devices represent an improvement over multiple daily injections, they nevertheless all suffer from several drawbacks. One drawback is the large size and weight of the devices, caused by the configuration and the relatively large size of the driving mechanism and syringe. These relatively bulky devices have to be regularly carried in a patient's pocket or attached to his/her belt. Consequently, the fluid delivery tube of the infusion set is very long, usually greater than 60 cm, in order to enable needle/cannula insertion at remote sites of the body. These uncomfortable, bulky devices and long infusion sets are disfavored by the majority of diabetic insulin users, since they disturb regular activities, such as sleeping and swimming. Furthermore, the effect of the image projected on the teenagers' body is unacceptable. In addition, the use of a delivery tube excludes some standard remote insertion sites, like buttocks, arms and legs.
To avoid the noted consequences of a long delivery tube of the infusion set, a new concept of second generation pumps was proposed. This concept included a remote controlled skin securable (e.g., adherable) device with a housing having a bottom surface adapted to contact patient's skin, a reservoir disposed within the housing, and an injection needle adapted to communicate with the reservoir. These skin adherable devices are disposed of every 2-3 days (similarly to other available pump infusion sets). These devices are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,895 to Sage, U.S. Pat. No. 6,589,229 to Connelly, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,740,059 to Flaherty, the contents of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. Additional configurations of skin securable pumps are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,723,072 to Flaherty and U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,461 to Mason, the contents of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Second generation skin adherable infusion devices suffer from major drawbacks which include, inter alia, the following:                They are heavy and bulky because:                    The syringe-type reservoir is cylindrical in shape and therefore, if the devices require retaining, for example, 3 ml of deliverable drug, their dimensions are such that they are either long with a small diameter (e.g., 60 mm long, 8 mm inner diameter) or short with large diameter (e.g., 17 mm long, 15 mm inner diameter). These devices' dimensions can result in considerable discomfort to the patient while the device is adhered to his/her skin.            The cannula insertion mechanism is contained within the housing of the device. Thus, the user has to carry this mechanism (generally a bulky spring loaded mechanism) during the 2-3 operating period of the devices.            The energy supplied generally requires more than one battery, e.g., four batteries.                        The costs of using second generation devices is generally high because the entire device, including the relatively expensive components (electronics, driving mechanism, etc.), has to be disposed of every 3 days or so.        Reservoir filling requires an additional syringe to draw the fluid from a container (e.g., a glass bottle) to fill the pump reservoir. This procedure is cumbersome and the risk of accidental piercing by the syringe needle is high.        Second generation devices generally cannot be disconnected from the patient's body, although there are situations in which patients would prefer to temporarily disconnect the pump (e.g., while taking showers, while participating in sports activities, etc.).        The cannula is rigidly secured to the pump housing, and consequently users typically cannot choose cannula length and/or vary the insertion angle.        Insulin wastage—In the event of site-misplacement of the cannula (because of scarred tissue, bleeding, cannula kinking, etc.) the entire device, including the filled insulin reservoir, has to be disposed of.        Device controlling—available wirelessly-controlled pumps do not provide the user with the ability to control the delivery of insulin without the remote control. This can be dangerous in the event the user loses his/her remote control, and may also result in the creation of psychological barriers for the user to trust the pump's operation.
To mitigate the costs issues associated with second-generation devices, and to improve patient's customization of the configuration, functionality and features of their devices, a third generation of skin securable (e.g., adherable) dispensing device was proposed and developed. An example of such a device is described in co-pending/co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/397,115 and International Patent Application No. PCT/IL06/001276, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. In a third generation device, a dispensing unit is employed, which is composed of two parts: a reusable part, that includes a driving mechanism, electronics, and other relatively expensive components, and a disposable part that includes relatively inexpensive components, such as, for example, a reservoir, a power source (which may form part of the reusable and/or the disposable part, or may be a separate component), etc.
A third generation device provides a more cost-effective solution and enables diverse use of the device. An improvement to a third generation skin securable pump that includes two parts (e.g., a reusable part and a disposable part) is described, for example, in co-pending/co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/004,837 and International Patent Application No. PCT/IL07/001578, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. These disclosures include embodiments directed to a device and a method for connection and disconnection of a skin adherable dispensing unit. In some such embodiments, the device includes a cradle unit which is initially adhered to the skin. A cannula is then inserted through the cradle unit into the body of the user. Insertion can be done automatically by a designated inserter, or may be done manually. The dispensing unit of the device can also be connected and disconnected to and from the skin-adhered cradle at the patient's discretion. This concept enables versatile operational modes that include manual and automatic cannula insertion, use of cannulae with various lengths, and also enables cannula insertion at various insertion angles. The cradle is disposable and relatively inexpensive, and may be discarded every 2-3 days. Unlike second generation infusion pumps, in the event of site misplacement of the cannula (due to scarred tissue, bleeding, cannula kinking, etc.) only the cradle and cannula need to be disposed of and replaced, rather than the whole device. Consequently, under those circumstances, the reservoir, still containing unused insulin, can be used when the infusion device is connected to a new cradle/cannula arrangement.
Currently available third generation devices nevertheless have a few drawbacks, including:                Waste of insulin—the disposable reservoir has to be filled to its full capacity, and thus, in situations where the user used less than the full capacity of insulin, some insulin will be discarded (e.g., during three days of operation a user consumes 1 ml, corresponding to 100 Insulin Units, from the available 2 ml in the reservoir, corresponding to 200 IU of insulin, resulting in a waste of 1 ml of insulin)        Reservoir volume cannot be precisely monitored and a "low volume" alert is generally not available.        Filling process requires an accessory syringe to draw insulin from another container (e.g., a vial) to fill the reservoir.        Complexity of components.        Relatively high cost of manufacturing currently available third-generation devices.

Modular skin-adherable system for medical fluid delivery


A connecting apparatus of the present invention includes an inner teeth member with inner teeth, a guide member with a rotation support portion rotatably supporting an outer peripheral surface of the inner teeth member, a first and second teeth member movably mounted on the guide member, and a switching member capable of switching a lock state and an unlock state by moving the first and second outer teeth members. Further the connecting apparatus includes a backlash preventing mechanism capable of preventing a backlash of the inner teeth member with respect to the guide member by the switching member pushing the inner teeth member (6) to the rotation support portion of the guide member. Space is formed between outer teeth of the second outer teeth member and the inner teeth of the inner teeth member. The space permits them to mesh with each other, and forms clearance between them in a radial direction.

Conventionally, a connecting apparatus used for a reclining apparatus of a vehicle seat or the like is known. (Refer to FIG. 5 in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-187867.) As shown in FIG. 6, a conventional connecting apparatus includes inner teeth member 36 attached one of a seat cushion and a seat back, and a guide member 32 attached the other one of the seat cushion and the seat back to rotatably support the inner teeth member 36. On the guide member 32, outer teeth members 34 and 35 meshing with inner teeth of the inner teeth member 36, and switching member 33 are provided. The switching member 33 may switch a lock state in which the outer teeth members 34 and 35 mesh with the inner teeth member 36 by moving the outer teeth members 34 and 35 in a radial direction, and an unlock state in which the outer teeth members 34 and 35 do not mesh with the inner teeth member 36.
Therefore, in the lock state the switching member, the outer teeth members 34 and 35 and the inner teeth member 36 are integrated. Thus their rotation are restricted by guide portions 32e and 32f of the guide member 32 for guiding the outer teeth members 34 and 35. However, between the guide portions 32e and 32f and the outer teeth members 34 and 35, clearances L are formed for the guide member 32 to slidably support the outer teeth members 34 and 35. Thus, the clearances L cause a backlash, and large backlash is caused at tip end of the seat back.
Thus, a method for restricting the backlash by reducing the clearances described above may be supposed. However, the reducing the clearances causes problems such that a manufacturing of the apparatus is difficult and a production cost is high, etc. Thus, there is a need in the art for a connecting apparatus capable of securely restricting the backlash without reducing the clearances.


A method for providing faster visual and functional recovery of patients following refractive surgery such as laser assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is disclosed. The method comprises providing a covering to the eye of a patient comprising an inner portion having an inner rigidity and at least one inner radius of curvature; and an outer portion having an outer rigidity and at least one outer radius of curvature; wherein the inner rigidity is greater than the outer rigidity.

The eye includes several tissues that allow patients to see. The cornea of the eye is an anterior tissue of the eye that is clear in healthy eyes and refracts light so as to form an image on the retina. The retina is a posterior tissue of the eye that senses light from the image formed thereon and transmits signals from the image to the brain. The cornea includes an outer layer of tissue, the epithelium, which protects the underlying tissues of the cornea, such as Bowman's membrane, the stroma and nerve fibers that extend into the stroma and Bowman's membrane. The healthy eye includes a tear film disposed over the epithelium. The tear film can smooth small irregularities of the epithelium so as to provide an optically smooth surface. The tear film is shaped substantially by the shape of the underlying epithelium, stroma, and Bowman's membrane, if present. The tear film comprises a liquid that is mostly water and does include additional components, such as mucoids and lipids. The many nerve fibers of the cornea provide sensation to promote blinking that can cover the cornea with the tear film. The nerve fibers also sense pain so that one will normally avoid trauma to the cornea and also avoid direct contact of an object to the cornea so as to protect this important tissue.
Refractive eye surgery is used to improve the refractive state of the eye and includes procedures such as, for example, automated lamellar keratoplasty (ALK), laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK), photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), laser assisted sub-epithelium keratomeleusis (LASEK), EPI-LASIK, radial keratotomy, mini-asymmetric radial keratotomy, arcuate kertotomy, limbal relaxing incisions, thermal keratoplasty, laser thermal keratoplasty, intrastomal corneal ring segment removal, and phakic intraocular lens implantation. Following any of these procedures there is a period of time before optimal vision is restored. For example, in LASIK, optimal vision is typically achieved within about 24 hours following surgery. During this recovery period, in addition to sub-optimal visual acuity, a patient may experience discomforts such as photophobia or light sensitivity and/or a burning sensation. Methods for reducing the time to achieve optimal vision and for reducing or eliminating discomfort associated with refractive eye surgery are desired.

Eye covering and refractive correction methods for LASIK and other applications


A steel disc blank provides a first face with a concave race, a second face opposite to the first face, a central through bore extending between the first and second face, and an outer peripheral edge; the disc blank is heat-treated; then the bore is turned, thus obtaining at least one cylindrical turned portion of the bore, and then the concave race is turned, holding the disc blank locked on the lathe by means of jaws engaging on the machined cylindrical portion, using this turned cylindrical portion as a reference surface for turning of the concave race.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,107 discloses a method of manufacturing a variator disc having a concave race on one of its faces to be engaged by rollers and a splined central bore for engaging a splined shaft. This method comprises the steps of:
forming a concave race with a machining allowance on a face of an annular blank;
forming said splined bore through the blank providing the race;
heat-treating the blank to harden it, and
in a condition in which the blank is retained on the shaft which engages the splined bore after heat-treating the blank, performing a finishing step on an outer periphery of said disc by using the shaft as a reference for the finishing. The finishing of the race is then performed using the outer periphery as a reference for machining. A variant of the method provides that, after the heat-treatment, the finishing of the flanks of the grooves is performed by means of a broach, and then the race is finished by using the sides of the grooves as a reference for machining.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present invention is directed to manufacturing a toroidal disc which provides a race machined with the highest possible accuracy.
This object is achieved, in accordance with the present invention, by a manufacturing method comprising steps including:
obtaining a steel disc blank of steel with a machining allowance, the disc blank having a first face with a concave race, a second face opposite the first face, a through central bore extending between the first and the second faces, and an outer peripheral edge;
heat treating the disc blank;
turning the concave race on a lathe;
wherein the phase of turning the concave race is preceded by a phase of turning the bore, thereby obtaining at least a turned cylindrical portion of the bore, and
the phase of turning the concave race is carried out while the disc blank is locked on the lathe by means of jaws which engage the turned cylindrical portion, using this turned cylindrical portion as a reference surface for turning the concave race.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.

Method for manufacturing a variator disc for use in a toroidal continuously variable transmission