A method for facilitating users to provide web content to the public from computers connected to a public network through a Network Address Translation (NAT) gateway. The system includes a rendezvous server to provide NAT traversal to enable direct connections between client computers and host computers behind a NAT gateway by receiving data relating to host computers; determining whether NAT gateways associated with host computers are traversable; receiving requests from client computers to access the host computers; determining open ports of the NAT gateways; and transmitting data to the client computers such that the client computers are able to initiate direct connections with the host computers. A computer program product for implementing the aforementioned method includes appropriately communicatively connected hardware components.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the fields of web hosting, particularly to computer implemented systems and methods for facilitating web hosting from computers behind a Network Address Translation (NAT) gateway.
2. Description of Related Art
Since the Internet has gained vast appeal, various forms of web pages have been produced. Although there are numerous websites, only a small portion are built by owners due to the time consuming nature and complexity of the tasks involved in setting one up. Most websites are built by web hosting companies, even though individual website owners already have the resources, such as computers and network connections, to build and host their own websites.
In order to begin web hosting, various demanding tasks are required, such as setting up an HTTP server, registering a URL (uniform/universal resource locator) and obtaining a static (public) IP address. Further, creating a web site using HTML and other script languages is a burdensome task for most people and small businesses in terms of time and money. For those who have built their own websites, it might still be a daunting task to introduce and advertise that website to the public.
For this reason, most individuals use services such as blogs or homepage builders provided by portal sites or social networking sites rather than creating their own personal websites and homepages. Small businesses usually create and maintain their websites through web hosting companies instead of doing it themselves.
However, the services of large internet companies and web hosting firms are not the best solutions for individuals and are not always beneficial for small companies. If someone has his or her private blog hosted on an internet company's servers, the sites will be inflexible because those services generally provide narrow choices and limited freedom for individuals to design their own style of website. Additionally, unnecessary add-ons provided by some service providers, such as advertisements placed on the website, are often unavoidable. Creating an account and storing personal information on a company's servers cannot be free from the risk of leaking personal information. Further, for small companies and local businesses, the indirect way to maintain their websites with a hosting company can make the website difficult to maintain. All updates and changes could take a long time and could be a burden in terms of cost if all changes have to go through a hosting company. Although DIY web page building sites provide ways for users to build homepages for small businesses, all contents (i.e., pictures, documents and other files) must still be stored on the web hosting companies' servers, which makes building web pages slow and increases the cost of building the website. Moreover, internet browsers are often the sole tool for users to communicate with the web hosting company or service.
NAT is the most universal technology developed for resolving the issues caused by the lack of IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. NAT allows stations behind a NAT gateway (also referred to as a NAT, a NAT translator, a NAT device or a NAT application) to share a public IP address with a specific port number which is used to distinguish the station from others.
Such a method, being used by a NAT, does not cause any problems when stations behind a NAT attempt to connect to hosts outside of the NAT. However, when hosts outside the NAT attempt to connect to stations behind that NAT, such a connection is impossible because the IP addresses used by the stations behind the NAT are only available within the private network of the NAT. In addition, any outside attempts to connect to a station behind a NAT with a private address may lead to a wrong or failed connection. Moreover, when stations outside of the private network attempt to communicate with the stations behind the NAT, they must pass through the NAT. However, as NAT only remembers specific port numbers and allocates relevant packets for those ports to the stations behind the NAT upon their connection attempt, it does not allow the packets which originated from the connection attempt from outside the private network without the request of the stations within the private network (behind the NAT).
NAT technology allows stations to reliably share IP addresses and to block unnecessary connection trials from the outside, having the advantage of preventing extraneous intrusion. However, if both stations are behind their own NAT, neither station will be able to connect to each other, resulting in serious problems for games and VoIP programs where peer-to-peer connections are required.
For such reasons, several NAT traversal techniques have been introduced and, among them, the most commonly used method is STUN (Simple Traversal of UDP Through Network Address Translation Devices). Also called Hole Punching, this technology takes advantage of a principle which allows packets to pass through a NAT upon the connection attempt of the other station by sending additional packets.
In applications using UDP, Hole Punching technology is relied upon for business applications, owing to its extremely high success rate. However, such a method is not readily applicable to programs using TCP (transmission control protocol).
For instance, assuming that user A is behind NAT A and user B is behind NAT B, in the case that UDP is used, if user A sends a packet to user B in advance, NAT B will not allow user A's packet to pass and it will be discarded. If the packet is sent directly from user B to user A, NAT A, since it remembers the packet sent by user A, will allow user B's packet to pass and user A will be able to receive user B's packet, and such a packet exchange will be continued. However, in the case that TCP is used, when user A sends a packet, a SYN number is also sent, randomly allocated by the operating system, and user B must send a value to which 1 is added. But, because NAT B drops the first-sent packet, user B will be unable to identify a correct SYN number, resulting in difficulty establishing a connection.
Owing to such difficulties, the case of TCP is more complicated that that of UDP NAT traversal. There are four well known representative methods of TCP NAT traversal.
1. Simple Traversal of UDP Through NATs and TCP Too (STUNT #1)
Using a Low TTL (Time To Live) technique, which involves making a packet bypass its own NAT and expire before reaching its destination by setting a low TTL value, user A sends SYN to user B. Because this SYN has a TTL value just high enough to pass through NAT A, it will be returned with an ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) message before it reaches NAT B. At this time, if user A sends the SYN value to the server, which has a public address, referring to the returned ICMP, the server will send user A a correct SYN value along with SYNACK after changing it to user B's address. At the same time, user B also sends SYN to user A and carries on communication after establishing a connection by extracting a SYN value from the ICMP in the same way.
2. Simple Traversal of UDP Through NATs and TCP Too (STUNT #2)
Like STUNT #1, user A sends SYN using a Low TTL technique. This SYN opens a specific port while it is passing through NAT A. After it passes through NAT A, it will be returned again, generating an ICMP message before reaching NAT B. Then, user B sends a new SYN and NAT A, even though it expects SYNACK because SYN has gone to user B, allows SYN in consideration of simultaneously opening TCP, which is designed to allow them to establish the connection when user A and user B send SYN at the same time, and the connection will be reestablished by the SYNACK (the reply of SYN) sent by user A.
3. NAT Blaster
As is the case with the above STUNT #1 method, users A and B send SYN to each other using a Low TTL technique. If the SYNs sent by the users are returned, the necessary value will be extracted from the SYNs and the value will be sent through an auxiliary communication channel using a medium such as an intermediary server. User A and user B send each other SYNACK, referring to SYN and SEQ, and they establish a connection while sending ACK.
4. Peer to Peer NAT
Peer to Peer NAT is a way of establishing a connection, dependent upon the simultaneous opening of TCP without using Low TTL and, in this case, user A and user B simultaneously send SYN to each other. At this moment, as both NATs have already sent an outbound SYN, they will be able to accept an inbound SYN. As a result, each user can establish connections while continuing SYNACK.
According to the Characterization and Measurement of TCP Traversal through NATs and firewalls, the success rate of each case is as follows: STUNT #1 (75˜87%), STUNT #2 (68˜86%), NAT Blaster (70˜83%) and Peer to Peer (NAT 45˜85%). Although these methods may seem to show a high success rate, a failure rate higher than 10% is unacceptable for business purposes. Further, in many cases, reading a SYN value upon receiving an ICMP message (as used for NAT Blaster) is impossible depending on the operating system of the relevant user. Therefore, it is inapplicable and the Low TTL technique, used for STUNT #1, STUNT #2, and NAT Blaster, is also not free from the probability of failure because the response of NAT to ICMP error message can be varied. In addition, now that the acceptable range of Raw Socket Programming may vary according to operating system, its application may be subordinate to the type of operating system.

System and method for web hosting behind NATs


At a sending electronic device, from a remote location, an indication is received of an environment at a receiving mobile electronic device to which the sending electronic device is to send a message. It is determined how to send the message from the sending electronic device to the receiving mobile electronic device, based on the indication of the environment at the receiving mobile electronic device. The message is sent from the sending electronic device to the receiving mobile electronic device in accordance with the determining step.

The present invention relates to electronic communication, and more specifically, to mobile communication and text messaging.
Mobile devices are ubiquitous, with a significant portion of communication comprising the sending and receiving of text messages from a sender to a receiver (recipient). However, some types of messages destined for the receiver that may be appropriate in some receiver environments may not be appropriate or desirable in other environments. For example, the intended receiver may be in a public setting so that it would be inappropriate for the sender to send confidential messages that could readily be understood by the general public.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Mobile device sending format translation based on message receiver's environment

International Business Machines Corporation


Methods and systems are disclosed for distributed storage systems. For example, a device can receive a read request for a first file, where the read request is generated by a host device. The read request is configured to access a file on the host device. The device can access mappings to identify a first mapping. The device can identify a first file on a mobile device based on the first mapping. The device can access the first file, where the accessing uses the first mapping. The device can access the first file by communicating with the mobile device to read the first file. The device can then return the first file.

1. Field of the Invention
This application is related to storage systems. Particularly, this application relates to using various connectivity options with distributed storage systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various media host devices, such as TVs and car stereos, include USB connectivity options for accessing media stored on communication devices. These media host devices can access data stored on the communication devices that are directly attached. For example, both the media host device and the communication device are typically required to implement proprietary driver and storage protocols. Furthermore, there are limited, if any, options available for media host device for accessing data located on devices not directly attached (e.g., via USB) to that media host device. It would be advantageous to provide an easier and more flexible access between media host devices and any such mobile devices.


A load distribution device for a vehicle configured to distribute loads in the event of a collision involving the vehicle, the load distribution device comprises: an upper beam extending in a transversal direction and connectable to at least one upper load path of the vehicle; a lower beam extending in the transversal direction and arrangeable at at least one lower load path of the vehicle; and an interconnecting portion connecting the upper beam and the lower beam, wherein the upper beam, the lower beam, and the interconnecting portion are made in a single piece.

Conventional bumpers mounted at the front and rear of vehicles function to withstand at least minor impacts. The bumpers are often attached to the lower frame beam rails of the vehicle and are configured to absorb the impact energy for protection of the self-vehicle and its passengers. The conventional bumpers often include energy absorbing beams that are configured to deform in the event of a crash impact.
In a frontal collision the bumper and other energy absorbing parts of the so-called crumple zone of the vehicle absorb a portion of the energy from the impact. This may protect the self-vehicle but does not traditionally take into account the safety of the opposing vehicle in the impact. In other words, the functionality of conventional bumper systems is first and foremost intended to protect the self-vehicle.
More recently, focus has been shifted to concern also the opposing vehicle in the impact. This is particularly important when a lighter vehicle collides with a heavier vehicle. As can be understood from the principle of conservation of momentum, the lighter of the two vehicles has to withstand a higher load than the heavier vehicle.
Accordingly, there is a desire to better distribute the load in a head on collision between two vehicles.


An optical lens for eyewear for correcting severe myopia molded from a lens blank having an outer perimeter portion and an inner central portion, and having an inside and outside surface, the inside and outside surface of the outer perimeter portion being without prescription and the inner central portion having a discontinuous inside surface with a raised beveled section around an inner concave section having a corrective curvature for myopia vision.

This invention relates to an optical lens and in particular to a high power molded lens for use in eyewear for correction of severe myopia. The lens configuration disclosed relates to the compound lens construction of my prior application Ser. No. 318,956 filed Mar. 6, 1989 entitled LENTICULAR EYEWEAR AND METHOD OF FABRICATION.
In correction of severe myopia, the conventional lens is constructed with a relatively flat outer face and an inner face having an extreme curvature which results in a lens that is very thin at the center and very thick at the outer periphery where the lens engages the frame. The resulting lens is therefore exceptionally heavy and generally unattractive. While the use of lighter weight plastics can relieve some of the weight, plastics generally have a smaller coefficient of refraction than do speciality glass substances. To compensate for the lower refraction coefficient, the inner curvature must be further accentuated. It has been found, that individuals with severe myopia tend to look through only a small central area of each lens and, while conscious of peripheral images, tend to move their head to focus on such images instead of shifting their eyes to view through the periphery of the lenses.
In order to accommodate the desire for light weight lenses that can be used in large attractive frames, the discontinuous lens configuration of this invention was devised. The lens configuration can be inexpensively manufactured in any conventional mold system that is customarily employed in the manufacture of polymer lens blanks. The fabricated lens blank is preferably of conventional diameter with a substantial perimeter portion that is of conventional thickness and curvature and can be trimmed and fitted to the full range of frames that are ordinarily available to user's of eyewear requiring little or no correction.


An apparatus for separating piled iron sheets one by one has a plurality of magnets arranged vertically with the same magnetic poles thereof facing each other. Magnetic fluxes generated from the magnets react with each other at a position between the magnets and flow horizontally and then vertically, with the result that opposite, vertically separating forces act on two superposed iron sheets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for separating piled iron sheets one by one, and more particularly to a separating apparatus using a magnetic force.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A sheet feeder adapted to remove piled iron sheets (blanks) one by one from an accommodating section (stocker) and to feed them to a press machine is provided for a press machine, for example. This sheet feeder is constituted by the aforementioned separating apparatus which separates piled iron sheets one by one and a conveyor for conveying the iron sheets separated from the separating apparatus. As a separating apparatus, one which uses a magnetic force (e.g. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 165847/1984) tends to be used widely since its structure is simple.
FIG. 8 shows a conventional separating apparatus which makes use of such a magnetic force. A separating apparatus which is denoted by reference numeral 1 contains in a rectangular parallelepiped-shape case 2 a permanent magnet 3 in such a manner that the north and south poles (N and S poles) are arranged horizontally. If this separating apparatus 1 is brought into contact with piled iron sheets 4a, 4b, ..., a flow of a large magnetic flux is generated in end portions of the iron sheets 4a, 4b, i.e., portions in the vicinity of the contacting portions, as shown by an arrow A with a dotted line, so that the N pole and the S pole are led to portions of the iron sheets corresponding to the N pole and the S pole of the magnet 3, respectively. Consequently, reactionary forces are generated at a position between the adjacent iron sheets 4a, 4b, ... owing to the same polarity, and the iron sheets 4a, 4b, ... are separated from each other, as shown in the drawing. Incidentally, the separated iron sheets are removed consecutively as each of them is lifted up by a vacuum cup or a magnet plate (neither are shown).
However, with the above-described separating apparatus, as shown in FIG. 9, horizontal sucking forces Fp' acting toward the side of the separating apparatus 1 act on the iron sheets 4a, 4b, ... in addition to vertically separating forces Fs'. In addition, this suction force Fp' is generally greater than the separating force Fs'. For this reason, at the time when the uppermost iron sheet 4a is lifted up, a large frictional force acts between the case 2 of the separating apparatus 1 and the iron sheet. Consequently, there have been cases where the iron sheet 4a drops from the vacuum cup or the magnetic plate.
In addition, the separating force Fs' is very small unless the iron sheets 4a, 4b, ... abut uniformly against the case 2 of the separating apparatus 1. Accordingly, a special guide for positioning and guiding the iron sheets into the stocker has been required. In addition, the external configuration of the separating apparatus has been restricted to a square type, so that the separation of iron sheets having a different configuration has been impossible. Thus, there have been drawbacks in that numerous restrictions are imposed in practical use.


An optical filter includes: a first substrate; a second substrate opposed to the first substrate; a first reflecting film provided to the first substrate; a second reflecting film provided to the second substrate and opposed to the first reflecting film; a first electrode provided to the first substrate in a peripheral area of the first reflecting film; a second electrode provided to the first substrate in a peripheral area of the first electrode; a third electrode provided to the second substrate and opposed to the first electrode; and a fourth electrode provided to the second substrate and opposed to the second electrode.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an optical filter, an optical filter module, an analytical instrument, and an optical apparatus.
2. Related Art
An interference filter has been proposed that has a variable transmission wavelength (See JP-A-11-142752). As shown in FIG. 3 of JP-A-11-142752, there are a pair of substrates held in parallel to each other, a pair of multilayer films (reflecting films) formed on the pair of substrates so as to be opposed to each other and have a gap with a constant distance, and a pair of electrostatic drive electrodes for controlling the gap. Such a variable wavelength interference filter generates electrostatic attractive force in accordance with a voltage applied to the electrostatic drive electrodes to control the gap, thereby making it possible to vary the center wavelength of the transmission light beam.
However, it is difficult for such a variable wavelength interference filter to obtain a gap amount with accuracy due to a variation in the drive voltage caused by noise or the like.

Optical filter including ring-shaped electrode having a slit


An on-vehicle navigation apparatus in which destination coordinate data stored in a memory is erased when the distance from the present location to a destination is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value at the time the engine of a vehicle is started. The destination coordinate data will not therefore be erased while the vehicle is actually running toward the destination. The arrangement prevents display of navigation information such as the direction and distance from being stopped before the vehicle arrives at the destination.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an on-vehicle navigation apparatus which displays navigation information, such as the distance and direction from the present location of a vehicle to a destination.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is an on-vehicle navigation apparatus known which has map information including road data acquired by digitization of individual points on roads or streets on a map stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, reads from the storage medium a group of map data of a certain area containing the present location of a vehicle, while tracking the present location, and shows the data as a map around the present vehicle location on a display as well as automatically displays the present vehicle location on the map. This the of prior art is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Provisional Patent Publication No. 63-12096.
This on-vehicle navigation apparatus computes the direction and distance from the present location to the destination to be reached, on the basis of the outputs of sensors such as a direction sensor and distance sensor to display the information on a display. The destination data is input by a user such as the driver operating keys to be stored as destination coordinate data in a memory. As long as this destination coordinate data is present in the memory, the direction and distance from the present location to the destination can be computed in accordance with the destination coordinate data and displayed on the display. Therefore, when the vehicle starts traveling toward a new destination after arriving at the destination indicated by the data stored in the memory, unless the destination coordinate data was erased from the memory, the direction and distance to the previous destination would be computed. This requires a troublesome operation for the user to perform a key operation to erase the destination coordinate data from the memory. As a solution to this problem, there has been proposed an apparatus designed such that when the distance from the present location to the destination becomes equal to or smaller than a predetermined value while the vehicle is running, the destination coordinate data will automatically be erased from the memory. This prior art apparatus will however give rise to new shortcomings such that the destination coordinate data may not be erased even when the vehicle has arrived at the destination if the destination is a wide parking area, and that the destination coordinate data may be erased, stopping the display of the direction and distance, even when the vehicle has not yet arrived at the destination if the destination is a building-concentrated area.

On-vehicle navigation apparatus with automatic re-initialization function


A dielectric block has opposing open and closed end faces extending between opposing top and bottom surfaces thereof. An outer conductor is formed on an outer surface of the dielectric block including the top and bottom surfaces and the closed end face thereof. A plurality of plated through holes extend from the front to the rear face of the dielectric block, the plated through holes having respective internal conductors formed thereon. The internal conductors are conductively coupled to the outer conductor at the closed end face of the dielectric block. An excitation hole extends from the open to the closed end face of the dielectric block and has an inside electrode formed thereon. The inside electrode is conductively coupled to the outer conductor at the open end face thereof. An input-output electrode extends over the open end face of the dielectric block and the mounting surface and is conductively coupled to the inside electrode. Various structures are built into the dielectric block to the ground current flowing through the outer conductor located on the open end surface of the dielectric block from the inside electrode of the excitation hole to the top and mounting surfaces of the dielectric block.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integral dielectric filter and dielectric duplexer using a dielectric block and communications equipment provided with the filter and duplexer, which are mounted on mobile communications devices, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
The construction of a prior art dielectric filter is described with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8C.
A dielectric block 1 in the form of a substantially rectangular solid is provided with the through holes 2a to 2c on which respective internal conductors 3a to 3c are formed to define respective resonant cavities. Excitation holes 9 and 10 also extend through the dielectic block 1 and have respective internal electrodes formed thereon. An external conductor 4 is formed on the substantially entire outside surface of the dielectric block 1. Internal-conductor-free portions 33a to 33c are provided in the through holes 2a to 2c to define open ends of the resonant cavities. The side surface shown in FIG. 8c is referred to hereinafter as the open end surface of the dielectric block (because it is adjacent the conductor-free portion 33a-33c). The internal conductors of the other end of the resonant cavities are coupled to the external electrode 4 to form short-circuited sides of the resonant cavities. The side surface of the dielectric block 1 shown in FIG. 8a will be referred to hereinafter as the closed side surface. Each of the through holes 2a to 2c is constructed as a stepped hole in which the inner diameter on the open circuited side of the cavities is different from the inner diameter on the side of the short-circuited side thereof.
A pair of external-conductor-free portions 7 and 8 extend from the closed side surface to the bottom or mounting surface of the dielectric block 1 to define input-output electrodes 5 and 6 which are conductivity coupled to one end of the internal electrodes of the excitation holes 9 and 10. The other end of the inside electrode of the excitation holes 9 and 10 is conductivity coupled to the external conductor 4.
An integral dielectric filter using a dielectric block is constructed such that the input-output electrodes 5 and 6 provided with the excitation holes 9 and 10 are electromagnetically coupled to the resonator cavities defined by the internal conductors 3a to 3c.
However, this filter exhibits the following problems.
FIG. 9 shows the grounding current on the open end surface of the dielectric block. When a signal is input to the dielectric filter, the TEM mode as a basic mode is resonated and propagated. Because of this signal, a ground current flows from each of the internal conductors and the inside electrodes formed in the excitation holes to the external conductor which acts, as a grounding electrode.
The grounding current flowing from the inside electrode of the excitation hole 9 to the external conductor flows from the opening end of the excitation hole 9 toward the mounting (lower) surface and its opposite (upper) surface as shown in FIG. 9.
On the other hand, since the external-conductor-free portions 7 and 8 surrounding the input-output electrodes 5 and 6 extend over the mounting surface, the electromagnetic field distribution becomes asymmetrical on the mounting surface and its opposite surface of the dielectric filter. As a result, TE modes having TE101 mode, having a component of electric field perpendicular to the mounting surface and its opposite surface and revolving when seen from the mounting surface, as a main component are excited. As a result, the attenuation and spurious characteristics around the passband of the dielectric filter are greatly worsened.
It is an object of the present invention to construct a dielectric filter and dielectric duplexer of a simple construction having excellent spurious characteristics by reducing unnecessary modes except TEM mode as a basic mode and communications equipment provided with the dielectric filter and duplexer.
To this end, the invention comprises:
a dielectric block having opposing open and closed end faces extending between opposing top and bottom surfaces thereof;
an outer conductor formed on an outer surface of the dielectric block including the top and bottom surfaces and the closed end face thereof;
a plurality of plated through holes extending from the front to the rear face of the dielectric block, the plated through holes having respective internal conductors formed thereon, the internal conductors being conductively coupled to the outer conductor at the closed end face of the dielectric block;
an excitation hole holes extending from the open to the closed end face of the dielectric block and having an inside electrode formed thereon, the inside electrode being conductively coupled to the outer conductor at the open end face thereof;
an input-output electrode extending over the open end face of the dielectric block and the mounting surface of the dielectric block, the input-output electrode being conductively coupled to the inside electrode; and
ground current setting means for controlling the ground current flowing through the outer conductor located on the open end surface of the dielectric block from the inside electrode of the excitation hole to the top and mounting surfaces of the dielectric block.
In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention, the outer conductor is located on the open end face of the dielectric block and the ground current setting means is an electrode-free portion provided on the open end face at a location between one end of the excitation hole and the top and/or mounting surfaces.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the invention, the ground current setting means is the difference in the distance of the excitation hole from the mounting surface at the open end face relative to the distance of the excitation hole from the mounting surfaces at the closed end face, the distances being measured in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the invention, the ground current setting means is a recess formed in the open end face of the dielectric block in the area surrounding the end of the excitation hole which opens at the open end face. In one embodiment, the recess extends at an oblique angle to the mounting surface so as to be deeper at the top surface of the dielectric block than at the mounting surface thereof.
The invention is further directed towards a dielectric duplexer containing the foregoing dielectric filters.
The invention is further directed towards communications equipment containing the foregoing dielectric filters and duplexers.

Dielectric filter, dielectric duplexer, and communications equipment


The image sensor of the linear type includes a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements, switching elements each having an input terminal connected to each photoelectric conversion element and an output terminal for reading out a detection signal produced from the corresponding photoelectric conversion element, and a scanning circuit for sequentially driving the switching elements. A first common line is connected to output terminals of odd-numbered switching elements. A second common line is connected to output terminals of even-numbered switching elements. A first reading gate has an output terminal and an input terminal connected to the first common line. A first reset gate has an output terminal and an input terminal connected to the first common line. A second reading gate has an output terminal and an input terminal connected to the second common line. A second reset gate has an output terminal and an input terminal connected to the second common line. A third common connecting line is connected between the output terminals of first and second reading gates and a signal output terminal for outputting the detection signals. A reset power source terminal is connected to the output terminals of the first and second reset gates. A control circuit operates with the sequential driving of the switching elements for controlling the first and second reading gates and the first and second reset gates so as to output the detection signals while sequentially resetting the photoelectric conversion elements.

The present invention relates to a linear image sensor suitable for an image scanner to effect reading of image, used in a facsimile machine for transmitting image information and in a desk-top-publishing machine.
Recently, there have been marketed various types of information processing instruments such as facsimile machine for transmitting image information and desk-top-publishing machine for editing image. In order to expand market for consumer use, it is necessary to reduce cost of the image sensor used in these instruments.
As shown in FIG. 3, the known image sensor in the prior art is comprised of a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements S.sub.n, S.sub.n+1 --for converting image information into electric signals switching elements SW.sub.n, SW.sub.n+1 --for feeding outside the electric signals obtained from the respective photoelectric conversion elements, reset gate elements RG.sub.n, RG.sub.n+1 --each coupled to the corresponding photoelecric conversion element for resetting the same to the initial state after feeding out the electric signal representative of image information, and a scanning circuit composed of flipflops FF.sub.n, FF.sub.n+1 -- for sequentially driving these switching elements and the reset gate elements.
As noted above, the demand for cost reduction increases while image information processing instruments have been widely spread. Especially, it is most necessary to reduce the cost of image sensor which constitutes the image information input unit of these instruments.


A printing apparatus comprises a printing roller (1) provided with a profile which containing (8) raised and lowered (9) parts in circumferential direction, a printing belt (3) provided at one side with a complementary profile, and an opposite roller (2) which together with the printing roller (1) determines a nip through which the printing belt (3) runs, in such a way that its profile side interacts with the printing roller, and its printing side interacts with the impression roller, which printing belt (3) is composed of an interlocked strip of plate material which is flexible as regards bending and is rigid as regards deformations in its plane, on one side of which a profiling of another, for instance rubbe-like, material is provided. Preferably, the profiling is carried out in the form of conical projections (6) distributed at regular intervals over the plate surface in question, and the printing roller (3) is provided with complementary recesses (9) distributed in a corresponding manner over its surface.

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus with a printing roller provided with a profile which comprises raised and lowered parts in circumferential direction, a printing belt provided at one side with a complementary profile, and an opposite roller which together with the printing roller determines a nip through which the printing belt runs, in such a way that its profile side interacts with the printing roller, and its printing side interacts with the opposite roller.
Such a printing apparatus is known from Dutch Application 8700431. In the case of this known printing apparatus the printing belt is made of a flexible, rubber-like material on which printing plates containing the printing image are placed. The flexible belt is provided with teeth running in the crosswise direction which interact with complementary teeth provided on the printing roller. The purpose of these interacting teeth is to position the printing plates correctly with the web of paper to be printed, which must also be guided through the nip between printing roller and impression roller.
This known printing apparatus has various disadvantages. The first disadvantage is that the flexible printing belt has a varying flexural rigidity, viewed in its lengthwise direction. At the position of the teeth the printing belt is thicker and therefore more rigid than at the places between the teeth. This means that the printing plates do not run in an accurate circular shape around the printing roller and through the nip, but at the position of the teeth are more flattened than at the places between the teeth. This leads to imperfections in the image printed on the web of paper.
A further disadvantage of this known printing belt arises from the fact that it is made of relatively flexible material. As a result of the undercut, in other words the distance over which the impression roller presses in the printing belt, a certain displacement of the flexible material occurs at the position where it is pressed in. This displacement manifests itself in a widening of the pressed-in material, which leads to the image on the printing plates also being widened. A point in the image to be printed, for example, acquires greater dimensions as a result, which adversely affects the printing obtained on the paper web.

Printing apparatus for offset printing, printing belt and printing roller therefor, and method for the manufacture of such a printing belt and printing roller


Systems and methods for using quantitative ultrasound (“QUS”) techniques to generate imaging biomarkers that can be used to assess a prediction of tumor response to different chemotherapy treatment regimens are provided. For instance, the imaging biomarkers can be used to subtype tumors that have resistance to certain chemotherapy regimens prior to drug exposure. These imaging biomarkers can therefore be useful for predicting tumor response and for assessing the prognostic value of particular treatment regimens.

The field of the invention is systems and methods for quantitative ultrasound ("QUS"). More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for using quantitative ultrasound to generate imaging biomarkers from which tumors can be classified based on a prediction of the tumor's response to different treatment regimens.
QUS techniques examine the frequency-dependent backscatter of tissues independent of the instrument settings. Based on data acquired using these techniques, quantitative parameters including mid-band fit ("MBF"), spectral slope ("SS"), spectral 0-Mhz intercept ("SI"), spacing among scatterers ("SAS"), attenuation coefficient estimate ("ACE"), average scatterer diameter ("ASD"), and average acoustic concentration ("AAC") can be computed.
There is a current desire for the discovery of imaging biomarkers that allow early prediction of tumor response to therapy.

Systems and methods for prediction of tumor treatment response to using texture derivatives computed from quantitative ultrasound parameters


A vibration reduction (VR) human support has exactly two paths to ground in each degree of VR: one provided by respective displacement actuators (DAs) for active VR, the other by one or more elastomeric damping bodies (EDBs). These paths extend from a frame for carrying a support structure for a live human, to a grounding for fixing the VR system in a vibrating environment. Each EDB is composed of a material having a dynamic Young's Modulus of 0.1-2.5 MPa, and a resilience test rebound height less than 40, and is positioned between the grounding and frame to provide elastic restorative forces and damping in each of the respective directions. The use of EDBs simplifies construction, and allows for a more compact arrangement, without reducing VR efficiency.

Vibration is a known problem for human operators, users, passengers, etc. of equipment and vehicles. It is known to dampen vibration with passive, active, or semi-active damping techniques. These techniques have different merit for different problems, but generally, for high levels of vibration reduction, active control is required. This is essentially because passive damping generally lacks sufficient absorption efficiency, even over a narrow range of frequencies and moderate amplitudes. Passive damping also lacks adaptivity: a mass and spring of a given frequency, cannot adapt itself to an input force of changing frequency. Semi-active solutions are adaptive to changing frequencies, but generally reduce vibration less than desired, even if feedback and control are perfectly tuned.
Systems for vibration suppression of rotary-wing aircraft are specifically discussed in the literature. A variety of active or semi-active and passive systems are known. Helicopter vibration control has been examined at the source (rotor) with passive and active blade vibration control, as well as local solutions with passive damping and semi-active damping of seats. The vibration control of local structures such as the trim panels, seat structures and the seat cushions are tempting because these systems are subject to fewer certification requirements, offering easier implementation, as well as lower weight penalties [9] than rotor-local vibration suppression strategies.
Neck strain and back injuries are common health problems among, for example, the pilots and co-pilots of rotary-wing aircraft [1, 8]. Vibration from the blades through the fuselage to the human body has been found to create a wide range of health issues: from short term effects such as discomfort and fatigue to long term effects like chronic pain and spinal misalignment [1, 8].
All vibration frequencies are not equally harmful for humans, and it is far easier to design a system that improves a narrow range of vibration frequencies, than one that suppresses vibrations effectively across a wide spectrum. For instance, Hiemenz et al. [7] integrates two MagnetoRheological Fluid (MRF) dampers on the side columns of a SH-60 Seahawk crew seat. MRF dampers are "semi-active" vibration control systems, because they are given feedback to respond to current load conditions, but do not supply any force to counter the vibration in response, but rather change the damping properties of the dampers to increase the absorption of the materials given the current dynamics. MRF dampers rely on a material that is sensitive to magnetic field changes, and a field generator. While MRF dampers generally have lower energy consumption than active control strategies, they may be wanting in efficiency of damping.
Using experimental test results, Hiemenz et al. shows that the new system reduced the dominant rotor-induced vertical vibration (4/rev) by 76% for a 50th percentile male aviator. However, the 76% reduction in the 4/rev component does not result in a desired level of improvement on the pilot's comfort or well-being, mainly because the human body is less sensitive to the 4/rev component than lower harmonics, especially 1/rev. Although the transmissibility of the modified Seahawk seat is considerably reduced for medium and high frequency ranges (above 8 Hz) such as 4/rev component, it does not show significant improvements for the lower frequency range (between 0.5 Hz to 8 Hz) where the 1/rev excitation is expected. In some cases, the transmissibility of the modified seat is even higher than the unmodified seat in the lower frequency range. Furthermore, it should be noted that integrating the MRF dampers into the structure of the seat requires modification and certification of the existing seats for every type of helicopter.
As another example in the helicopter vibration context, consider various pilots with different weights using a same seat cushion system. Chen et al. [2, 3] evaluate the performance of different seat cushion materials for mitigating whole body vibration (WBV) exposure in a Bell-412 helicopter. It is demonstrated that the use of a meticulously designed cushion reduces the vibration level by 24.9% in terms of health risk for a 50th percentile pilot, but it only reduces vibration level by a value of 0.2% for a 85th percentile co-pilot. While this study was limited to a passive system, it illustrates the difficulties inherent in the problem.
Active control feedback systems have known advantages in terms of damping efficiency, and rely on sensors, feedback electronics and a power supply. The main function of active systems is to add energy to the system by applying a time varying force, with a same magnitude as an observed force, but opposite in phase. The applied forces are usually generated using such active elements as pneumatic, hydraulic, piezo-electric or electromechanical actuators, and they require a relatively large amount of power to operate compared with passive or semi-active devices. While the design of active control systems is research-intensive and costly, it demonstrates a better performance than passive or semi-active control systems.
Chen et al. [4-6] integrated two types of actuators into the helicopter seat structure to dampen unwanted vibration: an electromechanical motor and a piezo-electric actuator. In both cases, significant reduction in vibration level is achieved, for instance, in the latter case, it is reported that overall 26% vibration reduction at the pilot helmet location is achieved. Despite the fact that the active seat performance showed improvement in the overall vibration, major areas of improvement were identified:                The active control results did not show any appreciable reduction to the low frequency vibration, namely, 1/rev harmonic.        The active seat design does not comply with the crashworthiness requirements of helicopter seats.        The piezo-electric actuator lacked a displacement suitable to cancel vibration amplitudes observed.        The bulky size of the electromechanical motor was an undesirable aspect of this type of actuator, and is better suited to lab testing than deployment in aircraft.
US2013/0180350 to Kraus et al. teaches an active bearing for vibration reduction. The active bearing preferably includes a support element for supporting a static load transfer. The support element "typically comprises a suspension spring element or a plurality of suspension spring elements" that is "preferably produced from a material with small damping capacity so that the best possible insulation effect is enabled between vibrating load 8 and support unit 6 at high excitation frequencies". In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the support element is an elastomer molded body that acts as a spring. It is understood that some elastomeric materials behave as springs in their response, while other elastomers are much more like dampers, and visco-elastic materials are somewhere between these extremes. The teachings here suggest the substitution of a suspension spring element with an equivalent elastomeric spring. A dashpot or damper is used to decouple the support element 3 from the dynamic load bearing (force path II). The encasing of an active element for counteracting a dynamic load, with a passive element for transmitting a static load, is shown in FIG. 4.
US 2013/0328253 (253) is addressed not to a support for specifically suppressing 0.5-8 Hz vibrations, but to a system for suppressing all vibrations that interfere with atomic force microscopes, electron microscopes, etc. The teachings include an intermediate mass that is isolated in 6 DoF, and has a plurality of voice coil motors, passive dampers, and springs along different axes to isolate an intermediate mass from the sprung mass and the floor, in order to improve vibration reduction at the sensitive equipment. "Voice coil motors" include a very wide range of devices, from devices in headphones to devices that simulate vibrations of rockets. Given that '253 is directed to avoiding the "small payload vibrations" to which such instruments are "very sensitive" (clearly nobody would put such sensitive equipment in a high amplitude vibration environment that would be of any concern to a human occupant), and given that a "small and inexpensive actuator" is preferred, it is submitted that a small voice coil motor is inherent to this application. At [0006] the patent does not indicate that the extremely small displacement of piezoelectric actuators is problematic, but that voice coil motors can be used unlike the suggestion in U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,255 to reduce cost. Small and inexpensive voice coil motors are beneficially compact, but are not powerful enough to effectively drive higher amplitude vibrations encountered in many applications, even if such voice coil motors are likely sufficient to cancel noise in a generally quiet lab for operating such scientific equipment. The addition of an intermediate mass, with clearances required for its movement, and the multiplication of joints, makes compactness a problem, even if the design could be modified to provide the force and actuation length required for application in noisier environments.
Patent applications, such as US 2014/0263932 and US 2013/0092814 show active vibration cancellation systems with a spring and an actuator with suitable linkages that appear to be compact and suitable for deployment under a seat. Suitability for suppressing 0.5-8 Hz vibrations is not considered or discussed, and is not inferable.
In rotorcraft seats, as in many stations for operating, monitoring, or supporting people near, vibrating equipment, there is a need for a compact, lightweight, active system for cancelling vibrations.

Compact vibration reducing human support


There is provided a conductive film, a production method thereof, and a display apparatus. The conductive film comprises: nanometal as a filling material; and oxidized nanocellulose as a matrix material. The nanometal/oxidized nanocellulose composite conductive film may be used in flexible display.

As electronic products are developed in a trend of being lighter and being foldable, flexible transparent conductive films based on flexible base substrates have broad application prospects in the field of flexible display. Transparent flexible conductive films, which are much researched and used at present, are classified into oxide-based films, metal-based films, polymer-based films, and the like, according to their conductive layers. A flexible transparent conductive film not only requires a high light transmittance, a good thermal stability, and a good conductive property, but also requires bendability and a certain mechanical strength.

Conductive film, production method thereof, and display apparatus

Beijing BOE Technology Development Co., Ltd.