An easy to manufacture and install sound dampening pad for a printing blanket sleeve is provided. The pad effectively attenuates noise emanating from the sleeve during air pressurized mounting and dismounting of the blanket sleeve to an underlying cylinder. The sound dampening pad is fabricated from a flexible polymeric material and has a generally J-shaped configuration with inner and outer surfaces. At least a portion of the inner surface of the J-shape includes a pressure sensitive adhesive thereon to secure the pad to the inner surface of the sleeve.

The present invention is directed to printing sleeves for offset or flexographic printing, and more particularly to printing sleeves having a sound dampening feature that attenuates noise during mounting and dismounting of the sleeve from a support cylinder.
An offset printing unit has a plurality of rotatable cylinders, including at least one plate cylinder and at least one corresponding blanket cylinder. The plate cylinder carries a printing plate having a surface on which an inked image is defined. The blanket cylinder carries a printing blanket. The plate on the plate cylinder transfers the inked image to the blanket on the blanket cylinder at a nip between the plate cylinder and the blanket cylinder when the cylinders rotate. The blanket on the blanket cylinder subsequently transfers the inked image to the material being printed, such as a web of paper.
Printing blankets have conventionally been formed as flat sheets which are then mounted on a blanket cylinder by wrapping the sheet around the blanket cylinder. More recently, printing blankets in the form of hollow tubular sleeves have become more prevalent. Such sleeves are mounted on a blanket cylinder by sliding the sleeve telescopically over the blanket cylinder. The sleeve and the blanket cylinder are designed so that the sleeve is receivable over the blanket cylinder with an interference fit.
The blanket cylinder is equipped with air flow passages and openings to direct a pressurized flow of air over the blanket cylinder. When the sleeve is located over the air flow openings in the blanket cylinder, the pressurized flow of air expands the sleeve diametrically. The expanded sleeve can be moved axially onto, or off of, the blanket cylinder when in its expanded condition. When the pressure is relieved, the sleeve contracts diametrically against the blanket cylinder and thus establishes an interference fit with the blanket cylinder. Flexographic printing sleeves have also been developed and are mounted onto and dismounted from support cylinders in much the same manner as offset sleeves.
One problem with such sleeves is that the compressed air that is used in mounting and dismounting the sleeves from the cylinders can create a whistle or other loud noise during the procedure. The sleeve ends may also vibrate causing additional noise to emanate during mounting and dismounting. In some instances, press operators may need to don ear protection gear to avoid injury. One solution to the problem has been proposed by Vrotacoe et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,013. Vrotacoe et al describe a blanket sleeve having a damping ring made of a resinous material that is adhered to the interior wall of the sleeve near and end thereof. The ring is designed to reduce vibrations caused by the flow of pressurized air and attenuate noise associated with mounting and dismounting of the sleeves.
Another solution has been proposed by Boucher et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,586 B1. Boucher et al adhere a sound dampening material on the outer surface of the blanket cylinder such that the material engages the interior wall of the printing sleeve during mounting and dismounting thereof. The preferred material for use is a non-woven, fibrous material such as the xe2x80x9chookxe2x80x9d portion of a VELCRO(copyright) closure.
However, the proposed solutions have not been entirely successful in solving the problem. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a printing sleeve having a sound dampening feature that attenuates noise during mounting and dismounting of the sleeve from a support cylinder.
The present invention meets the need in the art by providing an easy to manufacture and install sound dampening pad for a printing blanket sleeve that effectively attenuates noise emanating from the sleeve during air pressurized mounting and dismounting thereof.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a printing blanket sleeve for mounting onto an underlying cylinder using a pressurized flow of air through at least one flow opening in said cylinder is provided. The sleeve comprises a cylindrical base having first and second ends and at least one additional layer on the base having a printing surface. As is typical in this art, the blanket sleeve may include additional reinforcing, stabilizing, and/or compressible layers. The sleeve base has an inside diameter that is less than the diameter of the underlying cylinder but which is expandable under the influence of pressurized air such that the inside diameter of the sleeve base temporarily has a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the underlying cylinder.
The printing blanket sleeve includes a sound dampening pad mounted on at least one of the ends of the printing blanket sleeve for attenuating noise associated with the mounting and dismounting of the printing blanket sleeve. The sound dampening pad comprises a flexible material extending around substantially the inner circumference of the sleeve base and over an end of the printing blanket sleeve.
In a preferred form, the sound dampening pad has a generally J-shaped configuration, in which the inner radius of the xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d is in contact with the inner circumference of the sleeve base and an outer surface of an end of the sleeve. Generally, the shorter leg of the xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d has a thickness that is less than the overall thickness of the printing blanket. Also, the longer leg of the xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d is not so long as will interfere with the end of the blanket cylinder onto which the blanket sleeve is mounted. A suitable thickness for the legs of the sound dampening pad is from about 0.03 to about 0.05 inches (0.76 to about 1.27 mm), and most preferably about 0.042 inches (1.07 mm).
The sound dampening pad may be comprised of natural or synthetic rubber or a thermoplastic polymer having the requisite flexibility for installation of the pad. In a preferred form, the sound dampening pad includes an adhesive on an inner surface thereof to secure the pad to the printing blanket sleeve. In one embodiment, the adhesive is a pressure sensitive adhesive in the form of a double-sided adhesive tape.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a sound dampening pad is provided and comprises a flexible polymeric material having a generally J-shaped configuration and inner and outer surfaces. At least a portion of the inner surface of the J-shape includes a pressure sensitive adhesive thereon. Preferably, the sound dampening pad comprises natural or synthetic rubber or a thermoplastic polymer having the requisite flexibility for mounting it in the sleeve.
In a preferred form, the pressure sensitive adhesive comprises a double-sided adhesive tape in which the exposed surface of the double-sided adhesive tape includes a release liner thereon. In another embodiment, the double-sided adhesive tape includes a foam core.
In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a method for mounting a sound dampening pad to a printing blanket sleeve is provided. The method comprises providing a sound dampening pad comprising a flexible polymeric material having a generally J-shaped configuration and inner and outer surfaces with at least a portion of the inner surface of the J-shape including a pressure sensitive adhesive thereon, adhering the inner surface of the sound dampening pad to the inner surface of the printing blanket sleeve such that the sound dampening pad extends substantially about the inner circumference of the sleeve and over the end of the sleeve.
In a preferred form, the sound dampening pad is in the form of a length of material and the pad is cut to have a length of substantially the inner diameter of the sleeve prior to installation. Preferably, the inner radius of the J-shaped configuration is placed in contact with the inner circumference of the base and an outer surface of an end of the sleeve and secured thereto. The sound dampening pad provides the additional advantages of aiding in the installation of the blanket sleeve. The edges of the pad overlap the sharp edge of the base of the sleeve and provide protection to an operator""s hands as the sleeve is pushed onto and pulled off of the cylinder.
Accordingly, it is a feature of the present invention to provide an easy to manufacture and install sound dampening pad for a printing blanket sleeve that effectively attenuates noise emanating from the sleeve during air pressurized mounting and dismounting thereof. Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

Printing blanket sleeve having sound dampening feature


An oilless toner including at least (A) a cyclic olefin resin; (B) a resin having one or more carbon-carbon double bonds therein; and (C) a wax.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner for electrophotography, and more particularly to a toner widely usable for copiers, printers, facsimiles, color copiers, color laser printers and electrophotographic high-speed printers, etc. using a heating roller fixer.
2. Discussion of the Background
In accordance with rapid technological innovation, copy images having high quality, good fixability and offset resistance in electrophotographic copiers and printers are demanded more than ever.
For example, International Laid-Open Patent Publication No. WO98/29783 discloses using an olefin polymer having a ring structure and high viscosity as a toner binder, and a wax selected from the group consisting of amide waxes, carnauba waxes, higher fatty acids and their esters, higher fatty acid metal soaps, partially-saponified higher fatty acid esters, higher aliphatic alcohols, polyolefin waxes and paraffin waxes for offset resistance. However, this is unpractical because of having a non-offset fixing temperature range of from 30 to 40° C.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-066438 discloses a toner including a combination of a polar wax and a non-polar wax. However, the toner is unsatisfactory in fixing using a teflon roller.
Because of these reasons, a need exists for a toner having improved fixability in high-speed copying as well as at a low temperature and pressure, good transparency and suitability for color copies.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An apparatus and method for receiving a signal waveform representing a signal-under-test (SUT), and a noise waveform representing noise measured in the absence of the SUT. An environment waveform is derived from the noise waveform and the signal waveform, and a jitter spectrum is computed from the environment waveform. An environment spur is detected, where the environment spur includes a spur in the jitter spectrum of the environment waveform. A jitter spectrum of the signal waveform is computed, and one or more signal spurs are detected, where the one or more signal spurs include one or more spurs in the jitter spectrum of the signal waveform. A measure of jitter for the SUT is derived from the one or more signal spurs after reducing the presence of at least one of the one or more signal spurs in response to detecting the environment spur.

The accuracy of an electrical measurement may be affected by the environment in which the measurement is made. Ground loops, vibration, temperature drifts, electrical crosstalk, thermal noise, shot noise, flicker noise, electromagnetic radiation, and test-equipment noise are examples of noise that may be present in the environment during a measurement that can alter, distort, or interfere with a desired signal to obscure its useful information. The measurement equipment itself can be a source of noise in the environment that is measured along with the desired signal. Achieving accurate measurement results may become more difficult as the strength of the signal to be measured decreases, particularly in the presence of an influential environment.

Analyzing jitter with noise from the measurement environment


The present disclosure relates to an ultrasonic touch device and a method. The ultrasonic touch device is disposed at a periphery of a display area of an electronic equipment. The ultrasonic touch device includes an ultrasonic ranging module. The ultrasonic ranging module includes a plurality of ultrasonic ranging units detected. The ultrasonic touch device includes a first position determining unit configured to determine a distance between a touch object and the ultrasonic ranging module, and determine a position of the touch object in a first coordinate direction of the display area according to the distance. The ultrasonic touch device includes a second position determining unit configured to determine a position of the touch object in a second coordinate direction of the display area according to a position of an ultrasonic ranging unit that receives the reflected ultrasonic waves in the ultrasonic ranging module.

A touch screen is an inductive display device that can receive input signals such as touch. When a conductor touches a graphic button (icon) on the screen, an on-screen tactile feedback system can trigger different control commands according to a pre-programmed program, to replace mechanical button panels.
With rapid development of smartphones and tablets, touch screens have been widely used in daily life. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for direct touch control of electronic equipment.
It should be noted that the information disclosed in the foregoing background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure and therefore may include information that does not constitute related art that is already known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Ultrasonic touch device and MEl'hod, display device

Hefei BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


A method and apparatus for forming a beverage using a beverage formation device. Opening of a brew chamber may automatically enable the provision of beverage precursor liquid from a reservoir to a heating tank that is used (heated or not) to form a beverage. For example, opening of the brew chamber may cause a valve to be opened or otherwise permit flow of beverage precursor liquid from the reservoir to the heating tank. The valve may open simultaneously and automatically with a brew chamber lid, and may close when the brew chamber lid is closed.

Some types of beverage forming devices, such as coffee brewers, use a cartridge containing a beverage medium, e.g., ground coffee, to form a beverage. In coffee brewers of this type, water is heated by the brewer and introduced into the cartridge. The water infuses with the coffee in the cartridge, and the beverage formed is removed from the cartridge for consumption. Many coffee brewers of this type commonly require a user to provide water to the machine that is used to form the beverage.

Method for beverage formation with automated water delivery to heating tank


A new cultivar of Hibiscus named ‘Aarticus’ that is characterized by its variegated foliage with green and creamy white to gold, its double flowers that open lavender in color and ages to violet blue, and its compact and rounded plant habit; reaching 0.9 to 1.2 m in height and spread.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hibiscus plant of hybrid origin, botanically known as Hibiscus syriacus 'Aarticus' and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, 'Aarticus'. 'Aarticus' is a new cultivar of Hibiscus grown for use as a landscape and container plant.
The Inventor discovered the new cultivar in spring of 2003 as a naturally occurring branch mutation of Hibiscus syriacus 'Ardens' (not patented) that was growing in a container outdoors in a production block at a nursery in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by stem cuttings in Grand Rapids, Mich. in July of 2004 by the Inventor. Asexual propagation by stem cuttings has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.


The invention provides polypeptide and polynucleotide splice variants of the mouse Mdm2 gene, including Mdm2-b, which is homologous to the human Hdm2-b variant, as well as host cells, vectors and transgenic mice comprising the variants, and methods for the use thereof.

The mouse double minute-2 gene (Mdm2) was initially identified in a screen for genes amplified on double minute chromosomes found in spontaneously transformed BALB/c 3T3 cells (Cahilly-Snyder et al., Somat. Cell Mol. Genet. 13:235-244 (1987)). When overexpressed, the Mdm2 has been demonstrated to immortalize rodent primary fibroblasts, to increase the rate of cellular proliferation, and to induce cellular transformation (Finlay, Mol. Cell Biol. 13:301-306 (1993)).
The human homolog, Hdm2, is an oncogene that is amplified in approximately one-third of human sarcomas and is overexpressed in a wide variety of other human cancers, including osteosarcomas, malignant fibrous histiocytomas, rhabdomyosarcomas, liposarcomas, leiomyosarcomas, glioblastomas, astrocytomas, myeloid leukemias, B-cell lymphomas, and oral squamous cell carcinomas (Oliner et al., Nature 358:80-83 (1992), Reifenberger et al., Cancer Res. 53:2736-2739 (1993), Bueso-Ramos, Blood 82:2617-2623 (1993), and reviewed in Bartel, Cell 2:9-15 (2002)). Given that p53 is perhaps the most commonly mutated gene in human cancers, and the absence of p53 mutations in many sarcomas that display Hdm2 amplification (Oliner et al., supra), it is likely that Hdm2-mediated inhibition of p53 is an important mechanistic step in the generation of these tumors, and overexpression of Hdm2 serves to inactivate p53 function in these tumors. Tumors have been identified that have both Hdm2 amplification and p53 loss (Cordon-Cardo et al., Cancer Res. 54: 794-799 (1994)). These rare sarcomas are much more aggressive than those tumors with alterations in only one of Fdm2 or p53, suggesting a p53-independent role for Hdm2 in these tumors.
Previous reports of analysis of a variety of human tumors that overexpress Hdm2 describe multiple, alternatively spliced forms of the Hdm2 message (Bartel et al., Int. J. Cancer 95:168-175 (2001)). In some cases, the presence of these spliced Hdm2 forms has been correlated with a more aggressive disease state (Matsumoto et al., Cancer Res. 58:609-613 (1998); Bartel et al., Cancer Cell 2:9-15 (2002)). Some of these transcripts encode Hdm2 proteins that lack the p53-binding domain and are incapable of complexing with p53, yet can induce foci formation in 3T3 cells in culture, suggesting that these tumor-isolated Hdm2 isoforms may contribute to transformation in a p53-independent manner (Sigalas et al., Nat. Med. 2:912-917 (1996)). Several spliced isoforms of Mdm2 and Hdm2 transcripts isolated from mouse or human tumors have been characterized, and many of these isoforms appear to inhibit cell proliferation, though the precise mechanism of growth inhibition remains unclear (Dang et al., Cancer Res. 62:1222-1230 (2002); Evans et al., Oncogene 20:4041-4049 (2001)).


A printer reduces the amount of ink wastefully consumed by purging bubbles from the ink supply path. The printer has a bubble collection unit 35 that holds bubbles in the ink supply path 21 and has at least two ink paths, a first channel 26 and second channel 27, formed in the ink supply path 21 through which ink flows to the nozzles that eject ink droplets. A bubble detection unit 37 detects if the amount of bubbles in the bubble collection unit 35 has reached a specific level. A bubble discharge unit 41 discharges bubbles from the bubble collection unit 35 based on the detection result from the bubble detection unit 37. When the bubble detection unit 37 discharge bubbles from the bubble collection unit 35, ink flows through both the first path and the second path. When printing on a print medium, ink only flows through the first path.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printer that prints by ejecting ink droplets onto a print medium.
2. Related Art
Inkjet printers that print by ejecting ink droplets from a printhead having an arrangement of plural nozzles onto printing paper or other print medium are known from the literature. See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. JP-A-2008-87217. In order to prevent dropped dots, faint printing, and other problems caused by bubbles in the ink supply path, the inkjet printer taught in JP-A-2008-87217 has a bubble detection means that detects bubbles in the ink supply path. The bubble detection means in this inkjet printer is disposed to the joint connecting the ink supply tube and the printhead, and when the bubble detection means detects a bubble passing through the joint, ink is suctioned from the nozzles at a specified time and the bubbles are discharged from the ink supply path.
When a bubble passing the joint is detected in the inkjet printer taught in JP-A-2008-87217, ink is suctioned from the nozzles at a specified time and the ink supply path is purged of bubbles. The frequency of the ink suction operations performed to purge bubbles from the ink supply path therefore increases in this type of inkjet printer. A specific amount of ink is also consumed and wasted each time ink is suctioned to purge bubbles from the ink supply path. This means that when ink is suctioned more frequently to purge bubbles from the ink supply path as happens with the inkjet printer taught in JP-A-2008-87217, the amount of ink wastefully consumed to purge bubbles from the ink supply path increases.


A sample ampoule for calorimetric measurements includes a vial, a lid and a sealing member. The vial, lid and sealing member are adapted to form a hermetically sealed sample ampoule. The vial has a first contact surface and the lid has a second contact surface, the first and second contact surfaces are in contact with each other in a sealed position of the ampoule, and the vial and lid are formed out of materials with different strength.

Using hermetically sealed sample ampoules is a prerequisite for correct measurement of thermal flow in isothermal calorimetry. Any leakage of gas and/or vapor will decrease the accuracy of the measurement.
Sealing of sample ampoules typically involves some combination of a gasket or O-ring seal with a tightening solution e.g. threaded lid or cap.

Sample vial for calorimetric measurements


A method for planning the robot path includes forming a shape space that includes a start point, a goal point, and obstacle information so as to generate a moving path of the robot, generating one or more moving paths of the robot within the shape space, and storing the generated moving paths in a database, selecting a specific path that has a minimum operation range of the robot and a minimum constraint caused by the obstacle from among the stored moving paths, and planning the selected path, enabling the robot to perform motion along the planned path, and pre-planning a path for a next motion of the robot while the robot performs the motion. The apparatus or method for planning the robot path can reduce a time from an end time of one motion to the start time of the next motion, thereby performing a smooth motion.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus and method for planning a robot path so as to rapidly plan a smooth path of a robot using a parallel algorithm and a variable motion database.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a mechanical device which performs motion similar to human motion using an electrical or magnetic mechanism is called a robot. Most early robots served as manipulators used for automated or unmanned tasks in manufacturing plants or industrial robots such as transfer robots, such that they can perform dangerous tasks, simple and repeated tasks, and tasks requiring high power on behalf of a human being. In recent times, a humanoid robot, which has articulated joint structures similar to that of a human being, and which coexists with a human being so as to support human lives, residential living services, and human activity in other daily lives, has been developed.
The humanoid robot performs a given task using a manipulator which performs motion similar to those of arms or hands of a human being according to electrical and mechanical mechanisms. Most manipulators are configured by interconnecting a plurality of links. The connection part between individual links is called a joint, and motion characteristics of the manipulator are determined according to the geometric relationship between links and joints. A numerical expression of the above geometric relationship is called kinematics. Most manipulators move an end effector of the robot in a direction (goal point) along which a task is performed with kinematic characteristics.
In order to enable the manipulator to perform a given task (e.g., grasping an object), it is necessary to create the moving path of the manipulator from an initial position (start point) before the execution of the task to the final position (goal point) where the robot can grasp the object. There are a variety of Sampling Based Path Planning (SBPP) methods in which the manipulator satisfies a constraint condition such as collision avoidance so that the manipulator does not collide with an obstacle within an operation region. A representative example of an SBPP method is a Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT) algorithm.
The RRT algorithm uses a shape that is randomly sampled within a Configuration Space (C-Space) in which the manipulator or the humanoid robot performs an operation. One example of the RRT algorithm extends the tree by repeating a process of selecting a node closest to the initial start point such that it searches for the moving path to the final goal point. The exemplary RRT algorithm selects a node having the smallest goal score from among the tree using the distance from the goal point to the end effector and a goal function composed of direction-vector functions, such that it can extend the tree.
However, the conventional RRT algorithm has to search the entire space when generating the path, such that a long period of time is needed to plan the final path. In addition, a large number of calculations are needed for implementation of high dimension, so that a long period of time is needed to plan the final path.

Apparatus for planning path of robot and method thereof


The present invention provides a method of producing a baked product having reduced crumb elasticity, said method comprising adding a raw starch degrading alpha-amylase, a lipase and a phospholipase to dough ingredients comprising flour, water, and yeast and mixing to prepare a dough; leavening the dough; and baking the dough to obtain the baked product.

Anti-staling enzymes have been successfully used in the baking industry for over 20 years (WO 1991/04669). Addition of a recommended dosage of an anti-staling enzyme slows the rate at which bread crumb becomes firmer and less elastic. These benefits have made anti-staling enzymes an almost ubiquitous ingredient in breads made by industrial bakeries today.
While the perception of what constitutes bread with a fresh texture is connected to the firmness of its crumb, this is not necessarily connected to the elasticity of its crumb. That is, a fresh bread is characterized by having a crumb of low firmness (as determined by compression tests) but not or not necessarily by the degree of elasticity of its crumb. Anti-staling enzymes thus impart the crumb softening effect, and a side effect, the ability to increase or maintain crumb elasticity on storage. However, in many bread applications today, bread is formulated with the bakery emulsifier sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL), or calcium stearoyl lactylate (CSL), or distilled monoglycerides (DMG) which has the ability to lower bread crumb elasticity. Chemical emulsifiers in general and SSL/CSL and DMG in particular are commonly used in the industrial manufacture of bread chiefly because of their ability to improve handling and process-ability and machinability properties of bread dough but also because of their ability to improve bread appearance and bread crumb structure. The SSL/CSL and DMG emulsifiers impart a decrease in crumb elasticity and an increase in crumb melting and mouth-feel scores. Given that industrially manufactured bread commonly contain both an anti-staling amylase and a bakery emulsifier, such bread can be characterized as having crumb with low firmness and with low elasticity during its shelf life.
However, most common emulsifiers are chemical substances and are not tolerated by all people. Such emulsifiers may result in allergies or incompatibility reactions. In the field of organic bakery products emulsifiers are generally regarded as critical and are widely rejected. Another disadvantage is that the emulsifiers tend to clump if they are improperly stored, e.g. at increased temperatures.
Therefore, there is a need for methods for the production of baked products that are free or essentially free of emulsifiers, but nevertheless have the desired effects of the emulsifiers, i.e. improved eating properties, such as decreased elasticity of the crumb.

Method of producing a baked product with alpha-amylase, lipase and phospholipase


Description and specifications of a new and distinct cultivar of blackberry plant named ‘APF-268’ which originated from seed produced by a hand-pollinated cross of Arkansas selections ‘APF-45’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,449) x ‘APF-158’ (non-patented, unreleased genotype) is provided. This new cultivar of blackberry plant can be distinguished by its large fruit with consistent size and sweet flavor. The plants have consistently good plant health and primocane-fruiting habit.

The new primocane-fruiting blackberry plant called 'APF-268' is described herein. The new plant originated from a hand-pollinated cross of Arkansas selections 'APF-45' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,449) x 'APF-158' (non-patented, unreleased genotype) made in 2008. The seeds resulting from this controlled hybridization were germinated in a greenhouse in the spring of 2009 and planted in a field near Clarksville, Ark. (West-Central Arkansas). The seedlings fruited in the summer of 2010 and one seedling, designated 'APF-268' was selected. It was selected for its mid to late fruiting season, consistently large fruit with balanced flavor, good plant health, and heavy primocane-fruiting potential.

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS


A sheet-feeding apparatus comprises sheet-feeding rollers for advancing sheets, one at a time, from a stack of sheet material. The sheet-feeding rollers are supported by a drive shaft which is mounted for movement toward and away from the sheet stack so that the feed rollers may be selectively displaced from the stack, for example, to effect sheet replenishment. A cam surface associated with a slidable stack support cooperates with a cam-follower associated with the roller shaft to effect displacement of the feed rollers from the stack during sliding movement of the stack support. A pair of one-way clutches and a rack and pinion arrangement cooperate to allow the sheet-feed rollers to rotate freely during initial contact with the top sheet in the stack, thereby avoiding premature feeding of such sheet during a stack reloading process.

The present invention relates to improvements in apparatus for feeding sheet material in sheet utilization devices, such as printers and document copiers. The invention addresses the technical problem of loading and unloading sheet cassettes from such devices without having the sheet-feeding mechanism of such devices disturb the alignment and registration of sheets contained by the cassette.
In printers and document copiers, it is common to sequentially feed cut sheets of material (e.g., film or paper) from a sheet supply station to an image recording or transfer station where image information is produced on the individual sheets. In many such devices, the cut sheets are stacked in a sheet supply tray or cassette which can be readily removed from the sheet-feeding station for purposes of reloading the cassette with additional sheets or for substituting a different cassette containing sheets of a different size. Typically, the sheet-feeding stations of the printer or copier includes one or more sheet-picking rollers (e.g., scuff rollers) which, when positioned to engage the topmost sheet in the stack and suitably driven, serve to advance such sheet along a desired sheet path.
Prior to unloading a sheet cassette from a sheet supply station, it is common practice to displace the sheet-feeding roller from the topmost sheet in the stack. Otherwise, frictional engagement between the feed roller and the topmost sheet will act to upset the alignment of the sheets in the stack during removal movement of the cassette from the sheet-feeding station. If unnoticed and uncorrected, such misalignment of the sheets can ultimately produce paper jams, either in the sheet supply station, or further downstream along the sheet-feeding path.
Heretofore, it has been common to use some sort of electromechanical mechanism to achieve the desired spacial relationship between the sheet-feeding roller and the sheet stack prior to unloading the sheet cassette from the printer or copier. Such mechanism usually serves either to lower the sheet stack with respect to the feed roller, or to raise the feed roller with respect to the sheet stack. Electromechanical mechanisms which incorporate solenoids and motors are often used to achieve such lowering or raising functions. Such mechanisms, of course, not only add significant cost to the equipment, but also have an adverse impact on its reliability.

Sheet-feeding apparatus with one-way clutch to avoid premature sheet-feed during sheet reloading


A device for anchoring a post to a supporting surface is disclosed. In one embodiment, the device comprises a base member and post mounting plate, the post mounting plate comprising a post-facing seat, the base member and post mounting plate comprising a plurality of first openings, each such first opening for accepting and accommodating a fastener for attaching the device to a post, and a plurality of second openings, each such second opening for accepting and accommodating a fastener for attaching the device to a supporting surface. Each first opening is disposed to accept a fastener, such as a screw, at an upwardly inclined angle and, further, at a laterally displaced offset angle. The device orients and positions a plurality of fasteners within the post in a configuration wherein the fasteners are disposed angularly about, and offset from, a central, vertical axis in a preferably non-intersecting arrangement.

In deck, fence, balcony, and railing applications, vertical posts are affixed to an engineered or otherwise stabilized, horizontal surface. Such vertical posts, in the case of deck, balcony, and railing applications, are designed to carry, support, and/or affix safety elements such as hand rails, spindles, balusters, newel posts, and the like, along with decorative items, such as finials. In fence applications, vertical posts typically carry and/or support gates and transverse support members, to which are attached fence boards, and/or other appropriate fence constructs.
In deck, balcony, and railing applications, it is readily apparent that such vertical posts must be stiff, strong, and stable, in order to support and protect persons relying upon the posts and their associated structures for personal safety and protection. In fence applications, it is equally readily apparent that such vertical posts must be stiff, strong, and stable, in order to support attached structures, to prevent impact penetration, and the like.
In order to prevent or mitigate catastrophic failures of deck, fence, balcony, and railing structures, wherein lives may be lost, personal injuries suffered, and/or significant property damage may be caused, the mechanical, structural junction between the vertical post and the mounting surface is critical. This junction must also be stiff, strong, and stable, so that structural failure does not occur at the junction. Unfortunately, such junctions are often cited as points of catastrophic failure.
In an effort to mitigate such failures, prior art devices have endeavored to strengthen such junctions. Some representative, prior art devices make use, for example, of a base plate member, to which is affixed a tubular structure that is disposed to be captured within a bored-out, or otherwise cylindrical, region of a post. Not only may such bored-out or cylindrical region reduce the strength of the post by reducing its cross-sectional area, but the tubular member itself may not be strong enough to counteract the significant bending moments that such junctions encounter; and, ultimately, failure may result in the post material, the junction, or both.
Other representative, prior art devices make use, for example of a base plate member, through which are disposed a plurality of vertically-oriented screw fasteners. The screw fasteners penetrate the end of the post and rely upon axially constrained compressive forces to affix the post to the base plate member. Again, this type of joint often is not itself strong enough to counteract the significant bending moments that such junctions encounter; and, again, ultimately, failure may result in the post material, the junction, or both.
Therefore, what is needed, but which has not heretofore been available, is a novel device for anchoring a post to a supporting surface, wherein the device comprises a base member and a post mounting surface, the post mounting surface comprising a post-facing seat, the base member and post mounting surface comprising a plurality of first openings, each such first opening for accepting and accommodating a fastener for attaching the device to a post, and a plurality of second openings, each such second opening for accepting and accommodating a fastener for attaching the device to a supporting surface. Each first opening is disposed to accept and orient a fastener, such as a screw, at an upwardly inclined angle and, further, at a laterally displaced offset angle. Such a device would obviate or reduce the above-discussed problems and disadvantages found within the prior art. Such a novel device is, accordingly, described herein.

Deck mounting components for attachment of posts and the like


In order to effectively reduce disk flutter in a disk drive by using simple structures and efficient manufacturing techniques, a disk drive, in one embodiment, includes a base, a spindle motor coupled to the bottom of the base, a disk coupled to and rotated by a rotational shaft of the spindle motor, an airflow reduction plate coupled inside the base and positioned opposite to and away from a main plane of the disk, and a sidewall section inside the base which is positioned opposite to an outer edge of the disk and has a form along the outer edge of the disk. A first gap between at least one half of a part positioned opposite to the sidewall section in an outer edge of the airflow reduction plate and the sidewall section is smaller than a second gap between the sidewall section and the outer edge of the disk.

Data storage devices using various kinds of media, such as optical disks and magnetic tapes, have been known in the art. In particular, hard disk drives (HDDs) have been widely used as storage devices for computers and have been one of the indispensable devices used in current computer systems. Moreover, the HDDs have found widespread application in motion picture recording/reproducing apparatuses, car navigation systems, cellular phones, mobile media players, digital video recorders, etc., in addition to computers, because of their outstanding performance characteristics.
Magnetic disks used in current HDDs have multiple concentric data tracks and servo tracks provided discretely in the disk circumferential direction. User data are recorded in units of data sectors and a data sector is recorded between servo sectors. A swing actuator moves a head slider above a spinning magnetic disk. A head element portion of a head slider accesses a desired data sector in accordance with position information indicated by servo data to write data to the data sector or to read data from the data sector.
The head element portion is fixed to a slider to constitute a head slider. The head slider is secured to a swing actuator. The slider flies above a spinning magnetic disk and the actuator positions the head slider (head element portion) to a desired radial position on the magnetic disk. In reading data, the signal read from the magnetic disk by the head element portion undergoes predetermined signal processing such as waveform shaping and decoding with a signal processing circuit and then is transmitted to a host. The transfer data from the host undergo predetermined processes by the signal processing circuit and then are written to the magnetic disk.
In a HDD, airflow generated by the spin of a magnetic disk creates numerous problems. For example, the airflow may cause the actuator to sway, which disturbs accurate positioning of the head. In addition, vibrations of the magnetic disk (disk flutter) caused by the turbulence of the airflow generated by the magnetic disk's spin causes writing and reading errors. The disk flutter disturbs accurate positioning of the head to a track as well as the head's sway. Such vibrations caused by airflow are called flow induced vibration (Fly).
For HDDs, suppression of the FIV has been consistently used to increase head positioning accuracy. In particular, as recording density in a magnetic disk increases to attain higher tracks per inch (TPI) in order to store more information on a smaller area, more accurate head positioning is required. Therefore, even small disk flutters are becoming problematic in advanced HDDs having higher TPI's.
To improve the FIV characteristic in a HDD, a disk damper plate, which is a plate facing a disk mounted in the HDD, has been considered as a way to lessen FIV. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Pub. No. 2008-152891 proposes a HDD in which an airflow guide plate (according to the term used in the reference) is provided upstream of the actuator. The airflow guide plate is mounted by being inserted in a groove in a shroud formed on a sidewall section of the base.
A disk damper plate weakens airflow above a magnetic disk toward the actuator in order to reduce turbulence vibrations of a magnetic head. In addition, the disk damper plate weakens the airflow above the magnetic disk to suppress disk flutter. The effect of a disk damper plate to suppress disk flutter depends on the reduction in the amount and the speed of the airflow.
Spin of a magnetic disk generates airflow above the main plane (the plane vertical to the rotational axis) of the disk. If a disk damper plate is inserted between magnetic disks or between a magnetic disk and the top cover, the volume of the space decreases, so the amount of flow decreases. With respect to the cross-section in a direction of the rotational axis, the disk damper plate blocks the airflow, so the speed of the airflow decreases.
In this way, the disk flutter suppression effect of the disk damper plate is attained by restricting the airflow parallel to the main plane of the magnetic disk. However, the airflow caused by the spin of the magnetic disk is not only the airflow parallel to the main plane of the magnetic disk. There exists airflow caused by disk spin in the direction vertical to the main plane of the magnetic disk, too. There is a gap between the magnetic disk and the inside sidewall of the base. The air flows upward or downward in the gap.
Disk flutter includes vibrations of a magnetic disk parallel to the rotational axis, and is caused by the air flowing between the outer edge of the magnetic disk and the inside sidewall of the base. Accordingly, it is desirable to restrict the airflow vertical to the main plane of the magnetic disk in addition to the airflow parallel to the main plane of the magnetic disk.
In the HDD disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Pub. No. 2008-152891, the airflow guide plate is inserted in a groove of a shroud formed on the sidewall of the base. Thus, the path between the magnetic disk and its base mount is blocked by the airflow guide plate, so an effect is expected that restricts airflow upward or downward on the outer edge of the magnetic disk.
However, shaping a shroud groove on the inside sidewall of the base requires time and effort, which is not preferable for the manufacturing efficiency and costs of HDDs. Further, a manufacturing step of inserting the airflow guide plate into the shroud groove is required, which degrades the manufacturing efficiency of the HDDs. In addition, as indicated in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Pub. No. 2008-152891, friction in inserting the airflow guide plate into the shroud groove may produce dusts and/or debris. Accordingly, a technique that restricts air flowing upward or downward between the outer edge of the magnetic disk and the inside sidewall of the base, which also alleviates the inefficiencies associated with current techniques, is desirable.

Disk drive using an airflow reduction plate and methods of manufacturing thereof


A coding system includes a first coding part, a second coding part, a switch selecting one of the first and second coding parts, a multiplexer generating a multiplexed signal from a coded signal input via the switch, and a buffer memory temporarily storing the multiplexed signal. The coding system includes a controller which generates an invalidation signal, a reset signal and the select signal when the controller is notified of the occurrence of an error and which outputs the invalidation signal, the reset signal and the select signal to the multiplexer, the buffer memory and the switch. The select signal causes the switch to select the second coding part instead of the first coding part. The invalidation signal invalidates the coded signal supplied from the first coding part to the multiplexer before the coded signal from the second coding part is input to the multiplexer via the switch. The reset signal causes the multiplexed signal stored in the buffer memory to be erased.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a coding system compressing video data and sending compressed video data to a transmission channel, and more particularly to such a coding system having a data controlling mechanism which is activated when an error is detected.
In a video conference system or a video phone system, it is required that the quantity of information to be transmitted be reduced. Normally, an interframe predictive coding procedure is used to compress video data to be transmitted. When a system as described above is activated, or when a scene changes, video data is compressed and transmitted by an intraframe coding procedure. This intraframe coding procedure is also activated when the coding system is notified of the occurrence of error.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conference room (terminal) A and a conference room (terminal) B are coupled with each other via a communication channel, and communicate with each other. Information composed of video data and speech data is transmitted from the terminal A to the terminal B, so that a speaker and a display device of the terminal B are driven by the received information. Meanwhile, information composed of video data and speech data is transmitted from the terminal B to the terminal A, so that a speaker and a display device of the terminal A are driven.
If an error ERR occurs in the transmission channel from the terminal A to the terminal B, the terminal B detects the error ERR, and sends a coding mode change request signal REQ to the terminal A. This coding mode change request signal REQ is superimposed on information to be sent to the terminal A. Upon receiving the coding mode change request signal REQ, the terminal A sends intraframe-coded data D2 to the terminal B.
FIG. 2 shows a transmit/receive part of each of the terminals A and B. A video signal S1 input via a preprocessing circuit (which digitizes an analog video signal from a video camera into a digital video signal for every block) is input to an interframe coding unit 11 and an intraframe coding unit 12, both of which code the input video signal S1 by the respective coding procedures. A switch SW is provided on the output sides of the interframe coding unit 11 and the intraframe coding unit 12. Normally, the switch SW is switched to the interframe coding unit 11. Thus, video data coded by the interframe coding frame 11 passes through the switch SW and is supplied to a multiplexer 13, which multiplexes the coded video data with control data, such as auxiliary information about coefficient data with a run-length coding used. Multiplexed data generated and output by the multiplexer 13 is buffered in a buffer memory 14, and then sent to the other party's terminal via the transmission channel.
Meanwhile, multiplexed data $2 sent from the other party's terminal via the transmission channel is buffered in a buffer memory 15, and then applied to a demultiplexer 16, which separates the superimposed control data from the received multiplexed data S2. The video data and the control data are separately supplied to a decoding unit 18, which decodes the separated video data to thereby reproduce the original video data. The control data is also supplied to a coding mode controller 17. The reproduced video data is supplied to a display device and a speaker (not shown).
When the error ERR occurs and the terminal B detects the error ERR, it superimposes the coding mode change request signal REQ on part of the control data, which is normally composed of a plurality of bits. That is, the multiplexed data S2 includes the coding mode change request which is part of the control data and which is represented by one or more bits. The separated coding mode change request signal REQ is input to the coding mode controller 17, which waits for the completion of coding a frame (which corresponds to one picture plane) being processed. When it is recognized that the coding of the frame being processed is completed, the coding mode controller 17 instructs the switch SW to select the intraframe coding unit 12. Thus, the multiplexer 13 receives intraframe-coded data regarding the next frame via the switch SW, and multiplexes the received intraframe-coded data with the control data.
The interframe-coded data is obtained by encoding a difference between the current frame and the immediately previous frame, and it is thus impossible to reproduce the original picture plane (video signal) from a piece of interframe-coded data itself. Meanwhile, the intraframe-coded data is obtained by encoding data within a frame, so it is possible to reproduce the original video signal. Thus, even when an error takes place during communication, the original picture plane can be reproduced from the intraframe-coded data instead of the interframe-coded data.
One picture place consists of, for example, 525 scanning lines, and the video signal of each scanning line is digitized. During the coding procedure, one block of data amounting to 8.times.8 pixels is defined, and the video signal is digitized for every 6 blocks. The signal transmitted between the terminals A and B has a format in which one frame forms one picture plane. More specifically, the format is defined in, for example, the CCITT Recommendation H.261. According to this recommendation, each frame corresponding to one picture plane has a picture start code (PSC) at the beginning thereof, subsequent control bits and video data.
When the coding mode change request REQ is received, the switch SW is switched to the intraframe coding unit 12 from the interframe coding unit 11. At this time, normally, the interframe-coded data amounting to one or two frames remains in the buffer memory 14. Thus, the intraframe-coded data cannot be sent to the destination terminal until the interframe-coded data is completely read out from the buffer memory 14. Further, although not shown, the multiplexer 13 has internal buffers. Thus, it is necessary for data in the internal buffers to be completely read out therefrom before the intraframe-coded data is sent to the destination terminal. Moreover, the switch SW is switched to the intraframe coding unit 12 after the interframe coding procedure on the frame being processed is completed, so that the interframe-coded data is continuously output to the destination terminal before the switch SW is switched, although the destination terminal has already sent the coding mode change request signal REQ to the source terminal. Thus, it is impossible to send the intraframe-coded data to the destination terminal immediately after the switch SW is switched, so it takes a long time for the destination terminal to receive the intraframe-coded data and reproduce the normal picture planes therefrom.

Coding system having data controlling mechanism activated when error is detected


A method of universal communication, comprising: (1) assigning user phone numbers each representing a user; (2) providing user verification and user digital signature service; (3) providing a handheld personal communication device for user verification and digital signature; (4) dynamic binding of a user phone number to a physical phone number by a database. A universal communication system comprises a handheld personal communication device as the controller for each user, a database system as the intelligent center, and communication adaptors. As a result of the separation of the user phone number from the physical phone number and the related verification and digital signature service, a common interface is provided for various physical communication systems. This allows the various physical communication systems to develop independently and at the same time work together to meet the ever increasing communication demand. This also allows service providers to develop convenient, secure, and cost-effective services. Therefore, a people oriented universal communication system is provided with flexibility, scalability, security, affordability, and efficiency.

The present invention relates to a method of communication system and related devices. More specifically, it relates to a method of universal communication and related devices for the exchange of voice, data, and business transactions.
A commonly used communication system is the telephone system. Although the telephone system was initially intended for voice communication, today it is used for communication in a variety of media, such as fax document and digital data. Actually the sending or receiving device is not necessarily a traditional phone, and it can be a fax machine, or a computer, or some other device. The connection can be optical fiber or wireless, instead of the traditional metal wires. Computer controlled Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) is gradually added to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Such functions as caller ID, call waiting, call forwarding, voice mail, auto attendant, and interactive voice response are available.
Cellular phones provide an even more convenient tool for mobile communication. However, there are a few limitations on the use of cellular phones. At certain locations the radio frequency communication may be blocked. At certain environment the radio frequency communication may cause interference to other equipment. The voice quality and reliability still need improvement to reach the level available from a fixed line connection. There are also some health concerns about frequent exposure to radio.
The telephone numbering system currently used is mostly a physical location oriented system. For example, the standard format for telephone numbers in the United States is NPA-XX-)XXXX. The first three digitals specify the area code, the next three digitals the local exchange, and the last four digitals the specific subscriber line in the local exchange. A few exceptions include the N11 format for special services (411 for directory assistance and 911 for emergencies) and the 800 toll-free numbers. The location-oriented numbering system was a natural choice for the automation of the telephone exchange system, but it poses limitations today with the increasing communication demand. For example, when people change their offices, they have to either change their phone numbers or wait for the rearrangement of connections. With the development of more and more communication devices, it is troublesome to keep track of all the phone numbers. Moreover, when we want to call somebody, we need to try these numbers and hopefully one of them will get us to the receiver. There will be also a shortage of available phone numbers. There is a need for a people-oriented communication system.
There are several existing and proposed methods to overcome some of the limitations of the location-oriented system. For example, call forwarding is available to redirect phone calls to a new location. Several schemes are proposed to provide local phone number portability (U.S. Pat. No. 562,568, 5,717,748, 5,717,749, 5,867,570, 5,910,981, 5,949,865, 5,960,340, and 5,966,435). U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,870 by Pershan et al. proposed a multiple redirection design in an Advanced Intelligent Network platform. Some programs in the telephone industry, such as the xe2x80x9cFollow Mexe2x80x9d service offered by ATandT (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,340 by Fuentes), permit an individual be reached at a single subscriber number for all the telephone calls. All these schemes provide certain people-oriented functions at the receiving side. At the calling side the present communication system is basically location-oriented. The xe2x80x9ccaller IDxe2x80x9d offered by the industry is actually a xe2x80x9ccaller location IDxe2x80x9d. For example, when a man calls his wife from his office, the caller ID is the office telephone number with the company name. Later he calls his wife at a public pay phone, the caller ID is the pay phone number with no meaningful name. Then he calls his wife from a bar and the caller ID will be the telephone number of the bar with perhaps the name of the bar owner. In situations where people share a telephone, it is difficult, if not impossible, to tell who is who at both the receiving side and the calling side.
Voice telephone communication is the major contributor to communication traffic due to its characteristic of direct interaction between people. People use telephone to interact with one another. Conversation is one of the basic interactions between people and that is why voice communication constitutes a major part of telecommunication. Another area of people interaction is business transactions. Although the telephone network is used by point-of-sale transaction systems for communication with the central database, the transaction process is carried out mostly by card-form media. A people-oriented communication system will incorporate this important area of communication.
In addition, people""s communication needs become more and more versatile with the development of technology. The telephone network is no longer limited to voice communication. It also provides services such as internet, business transactions, and multimedia communication. This will present challenges to the telephone network in all its elements: station apparatus, transmission, switching, and signaling. An effective communication system will depend on the performance of the individual elements and more importantly on how they work together as a system to provide a variety of services to its users.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of universal communication, comprising: (1) Assigning user phone numbers, which represent users and are independent of physical phone numbers; (2) User verification and user signature service; (3) Dynamic binding of a user phone number to a physical phone number by a database.
A user phone number is a phone number representing a particular user, which can be used to uniquely identify an individual or organization. A physical phone number is a phone number corresponding to a particular physical location or physical device. A physical phone number can be used directly by the switch system to connect to a telephone or other communication device. For example, a user phone number is assigned to John Doe, the numbers of his office telephone, home telephone, fax machine, and mobile phone are physical phone numbers. Here the user phone number is preferably in the format of numerical numbers, but it can also be alphabetical text and other characters. The physical phone number is not restricted to telephone communication and it is used to mean other addresses to physical communication devices.
The separation of the user phone number from the physical phone number will provide flexibility and scalability of the telephone network. From a functional point of view, the user phone number is people oriented and the physical phone number is location oriented. One user phone number can be related to a number of physical phone numbers of the particular user. Therefore, the system is ready for the increase in communication devices. The user phone number will be primarily used in people-oriented services, while the physical phone number will be primarily used in the efficient switching of the network. The numbering system for the user phone number adopts the existing format, thus providing back compatibility and a common interface in the telephone network. This allows the independent development in different areas of the network system. Implementation of new technology can be isolated at a chosen level and the modification is transparent to users in both the new system and old system. The combination of the two phone numbers then provides flexibility in the design of systems and services.
The user verification and signature service are two essential aspects of the proposed universal communication system. As a result of separation of the user phone number and the physical phone number, it is necessary to verify the identification of a user for billing and other functions. Digital signature will provide a method of transaction verification. Although virtual phone numbers are used in some prior art phone number portability schemes, it is the user verification and signature service that gives the user phone number the identification feature in a people-oriented universal communication system. Without the user verification and signature service, a virtual phone number, such as subscriber number and directory number, is simply a substitute for the corresponding physical phone number. This may cause problems in certain occasions. For example, an email may be sent out using the email address of another person and this can be frustrating for the receiver and the true owner of the email address.
When a user phone number is assigned, the user verification and signature service are established, but the corresponding physical number or numbers are not necessarily known. The user is given the flexibility to establish such a binding at their discretion. In fact, a user phone number without any associated physical numbers can still perform many communication functions. This is different from the prior art phone number portability schemes where the binding relation is known when the subscriber number is assigned. To use an analog in object-oriented programming languages like lava and C++, the binding according to the present invention is called dynamic binding or late binding. The binding relations are stored at a database system. The database system keeps track of the versatile physical communications associated with the user.
The method according to the present invention enables the user to send and receive information at any place where there is a phone connection, thus providing a universal communication system. In contrast, the prior art methods only provide a call forwarding function at the receiving end.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a phone call includes the following parts: [Receiver phone number]+[Caller phone number and verification]+[Message type]. The message type is voice by default. It can be fax, text, credit card, music, movie, secured information, etc. The message signal may be transmitted in a different order or format as long as the information can be obtained in the communication system.
In the prior art calling system, the calling party dials the phone number of the receiver and the caller ID is provided by the central office through a digital signal. The proposed calling structure provides more information for the switching system to handle the message efficiently when different media are transmitted in the telephone network. This also gives the user the flexibility to handle different communication media. When the additional information is missing, it is taken as a default telephone calling. This provides back compatibility with the present telephone system and at the same time offers more functionality to areas where the advanced intelligent network is available.
The use of user phone number in the calling structure gives the receiver the true identification of the caller instead of the physical location provided by the caller ID in the prior art system. Therefore, the true caller identification can be provided regardless of the location of the originating call. This will avoid some of the privacy concerns in the use of caller ID. Generally speaking, people would like to identify themselves in a telephone conversation but may have reservation in revealing the physical location in certain circumstances.
It should be noted that in the numbering system of mobile telephone communication an internal number known as International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) is used, which may corresponds to more than one dialed number such as voice, fax, and data. The dialed number is called Mobile Station Integrated Services Digital Network number (MSISDN). In addition, an International Mobile Equipment Identity number (IMEI) is used to identify the mobile phone. However, the operation is just the opposite of the method used in the present invention. In the prior art, different dialed numbers are converted to an internal number, but in the present invention a single number will be dialed to reach different physical communication devices.
According to another aspect of the invention, the physical numbering system can be in a format for the efficient operation of the switching system for different message type and it is not restricted by the current numbering system. For example, broadband communication and internet data communication may use different addressing systems than the physical number system of voice communication. As the universal communication method according to the present invention provides a common interface for all communication media, independent physical dialing systems can be used in different areas. Therefore, advanced systems can be first adapted in certain areas with great communication demand with full compatibility across the public switched telephone network.
According to still another aspect of the invention, physical dialing is available as an alternative when the purpose is to reach a specific location. The physical dialing number may be of the following format:[physical dialing mode indicator]+primary node number+[node separator]+secondary node number+[node separator]+third node number+ . . . . The series can continue until the intended location is identified. This is similar to the addressing system in the computer directories and files. Short forms can also be used, such as one leading node separator for the current node and two leading node separator for the immediate upper node. The choice of physical dialing format can be local and message type specific.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a message in message communication mode is provided. During the communication in one type of message, another type of message can be transmitted and displayed properly. For example, during a normal telephone conversation, one can provide her telephone number and address in the text form and the other party can see the information on a display device, thus increasing the efficiency and avoiding possible errors in recording such information. Although simultaneous data and voice communication are possible in Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the difference is that the second message is built upon communication parameters of the first message.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a handheld personal communication device is provided in the universal communication system, comprising: (1) A CPU for processing data and a nonvolatile memory coupled with said CPU for storing data and programs for user phone number verification and signature service; (2) Memory for storage of data; (3) A display device such as a LCD device; (4) A phone device for sending and receiving information, and providing input through the keyboard of the phone device; (5) A short-distance wireless communication device such as an infrared transceiver; (6) Data connection to connect the CPU with the memory, the display device, the phone device, and the short-distance wireless communication device. The short distance in this context is normally within a few meters but may extend to around 100 meters in some situations. This shortdistance communication device is especially useful for communication with electronic devices such as computers and payment systems.
This device acts as the personal controller in the universal communication system. It is the primary link between the user and the database. This device is the controller for the user to update the binding relationship of the user phone number and the physical phone numbers. Since its identification feature can uniquely identify the user, it can serve as a general identification. Moreover, the digital signature feature can be used in business transactions such as reservations, mail orders, on-spot transactions, vending machine payments, and ticket payments. As a universal communication tool, it provides better security, lower cost and more convenience than the card form media such as credit card and debit card. Information stored in the card form media can be stored in this device.
According to still another aspect of the invention, an adaptor is provided at the user end for the control of communication, comprising: (1) A CPU for processing-data and a nonvolatile memory coupled with said CPU for storing data and programs; (2) Memory for storage of data; (3) Circuit to detect control signals; (4) Switches; (5) Means for connecting to communication devices. The adaptor will deliver the incoming communication media to the intended user and physical devices. This will offer more control and flexibility in communication at the user end.
The present invention provides user phone numbers that uniquely identify the users and a universal communication system that accommodates versatile communication needs. It provides a unified communication system with flexibility for the development of the physical switching system, the software system, and user control. For the discussion below, the universal communication system according to the present invention will be termed xe2x80x9cUphone systemxe2x80x9d, the handheld personal communication control device will be termed xe2x80x9cUphonexe2x80x9d, the user phone number will be termed Uphone number, and the adaptor will be termed xe2x80x9cUphone adaptorxe2x80x9d.

Method of universal communication and devices thereof


There is provided an OLED array substrate, a production method thereof, and a display apparatus. This OLED array substrate comprises: a substrate; a plurality of pixel defining layers which are provided at intervals on the substrate; and a conductive structure which is at least partly located in at least one of the plurality of pixel defining layers.

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays are one of hot spots in the research area of current flat panel displays. Compared to liquid crystal displays, OLED displays have the advantages of low energy consumption, low production cost, self light emission, wide view angle, high response speed, and the like. At present, in the area of display for cell phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), digital cameras, and the like, OLEDs have begun to substitute for traditional LCDs. As the size of an OLED display increases, the requirements for the precision of touch control are also increasing.

OLED array substrate, production method thereof, and display apparatus


A high-density plasma source (100) is disclosed. The source includes an annular insulating body (300) with an annular cavity (316) formed within. An inductor coil (340) serving as an antenna is arranged within the annular cavity and is operable to generate a first magnetic field within a plasma duct (60) interior region (72) and inductively couple to the plasma when the annular body is arranged to surround a portion of the plasma duct. A grounded conductive housing (400) surrounds the annular insulating body. An electrostatic shield (360) is arranged adjacent the inner surface of the insulating body and is grounded to the conductive housing. Upper and lower magnet rings (422 and 424) are preferably arranged adjacent the upper and lower surfaces of the annular insulating body outside of the conductive housing. A T-match network is in electrical communication with said inductor coil and is adapted to provide for efficient transfer of RF power from an RF power source to the plasma. At least one plasma source can be used to form a high-density plasma suitable for plasma processing of a workpiece residing in a plasma chamber in communication with the at least one source.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to plasma processing systems and methods, and in particular relates to inductively coupled high-density plasma sources suitable for use in a plasma processing system.
2. Background of the Invention
Ionized gas or "plasma" may be used during processing and fabrication of semiconductor devices, flat panel displays and other products requiring etching or deposition ("plasma processing") of materials. Plasma may be used to etch or remove material from semiconductor integrated circuit wafers, or sputter or deposit material onto a semiconducting, conducting or insulating surface. Creating a plasma for use in manufacturing or fabrication processes typically is done by introducing a low-pressure process gas into a chamber surrounding a workpiece, such as an integrated circuit (IC) wafer, that resides on a workpiece support member, more commonly referred to as a "chuck." The molecules of the low-pressure gas in the chamber are ionized into a plasma by a plasma source after the gas molecules enter the chamber. The plasma then flows over and interacts with the workpiece, which may be biased by providing RF power to the chuck supporting the workpiece.
To be most effective in plasma processing, the plasma preferably has a high-density (measured as the number of electrons or ions per cubic centimeter) and is uniform. High-density plasma processing can increase throughput and therefore increase production in semiconductor manufacturing. Furthermore, the plasma preferably has a small volume (thin and flat) so that the radicals in the process system have a short residence time. A short radical residence time permits control of the proper dissociation of radicals in the plasma volume for achieving high rate, selective etch in high aspect ratio etch features.
One type of plasma source that has been developed and commonly used is a parallel-plate, capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) source. Such a source uses radio-frequency (RF) power sources to generate the plasma through gas discharge. These power sources typically operate at 13.56 MHz, but can operate at other frequencies. Parallel-plate plasma sources usually have small gap spacing and small plasma volume. However, they typically generate low-density plasmas of less than 1011 ions/cc which limits the etch rate.
Another type of plasma source is an electron cyclotron resonance ("ECR") source, which uses microwave (2.45 GHz) energy sources to generate a plasma having relatively high densities, on the order of 1011-1012 ions/cc and greater. Although an ECR source provides a relatively high plasma density and good control of ion energy, it requires in the plasma source a significant magnetic field, which is normally undesirable in the processing reactor. In addition, difficulties arise in generating uniform plasmas over large wafer areas.
A third type of plasma source is an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source, which uses an inductively coupled radio-frequency power to generate the plasma This type of plasma source provides for a relatively high plasma density (1012 ions/cc or greater) and operates with a radio-frequency source (typically 13.56 MHz). However, a shortcoming of conventional inductively coupled plasma sources is a non-uniform plasma density in the region above the substrate. The plasma volume is also very large, resulting in very long residence times for the radicals, which limits the etch rate.
A fourth type of plasma source is the Helicon plasma source, which uses a relatively constant volume magnetic field. It is capable of generating a very high density (1013 ions/cc) and operates with a radio-frequency source (typically 2-30 MHz). The Helicon source requires propagation and damping of the low frequency whistler wave in a system with minimum length greater then one half of the propagating wavelength. In short systems, the plasma generating efficiency is usually reduced drastically.
For those prior art systems capable of producing a high-density plasma (in excess of 1012 ions/cc), efficiency is generally sacrificed in producing plasma in a small volume. This inefficiency makes high-density plasma processing a costly proposition for manufacturing purposes.

Inductively coupled high-density plasma source


An extension assembly for a rotor system for rotating a plurality of rotor blades about a rotor axis with a central rotor hub that defines the rotor axis includes a beam assembly and a first bearing assembly. The beam assembly is configured to attach to the central rotor hub and is positioned at least partially within a corresponding one of the plurality of rotor blades. The first bearing assembly is configured to be fastened to the beam assembly and to at least one of a leading edge or a trailing edge of the corresponding one of the plurality of rotor blades.

Rotor systems of rotary wing aircraft typically have elastomeric bearings to react to blade root movements. The amount of radial loads (relative to the bearing) determines the size of the bearings. Some rotor systems have addressed this issue by using a flexible beam (a flexbeam) design to share load with the bearings.
Other rotor systems increase the spacing of the bearings to reduce the load magnitude. In particular, a spindle nose or cylindrical extension may be added to a frame structure which mounts the pitch bearing (that is used to react blade bending induced radial loads). The spindle nose is used to increase the spacing between the pitch bearings.
Conventional rotor systems (in particular coaxial rotor systems) are limited by stiffness and stress, which may affect the overall aircraft performance.


Disclosed are various embodiments for a universal aerator removal and installation tool, which may include a tool for rotationally engaging and turning an aerator coupled to a faucet spout. The tool may include a tool body having a first end and a second end and various keys positioned at the first end of the tool body. Each of the keys may include projections configured to rotationally engage and turn a different type of aerator. One or more aerator wrenches may be positioned at the second end of the tool body, where the aerator wrenches may project from the tool body and be configured to rotationally engage and turn different types of aerators.

Most faucets include an aerator, also referred to as a faucet aerator or a tap aerator, that mixes air and water coming out of the faucet to provide a softened stream of water that reduces splashing. The aerator is often found at the tip of modern indoor water faucets. For instance, most aerators are able to be screwed into a delivery end of a water faucet spout. Some aerators include small openings about its perimeter that draw air into the water that flows through the aerator. The water is thereby delivered having small air bubbles contained within the stream. Different types of aerators offer different flow rates to suit different applications and are often constructed different based on its manufacturer. Accordingly, a tool for removing or installing an aerator is often required that is specific to a particular manufacturer.

Universal aerator removal and installation tool


An information processing apparatus includes an antenna having a variable Q value, the antenna being used for performing communication with an external apparatus in a noncontact manner by using a carrier of a predetermined frequency and charging a battery in a noncontact manner by using the carrier, an obtaining unit configured to obtain information about charging of the battery, a determining unit configured to determine whether charging of the battery is to be performed or not on the basis of the information obtained by the obtaining unit, and a setting unit configured to selectively set the Q value of the antenna to a first value or a second value in accordance with a determination result generated by the determining unit, the second value being larger than the first value.

The present application relates to an information processing apparatus, a program, and an information processing system.
In recent years, mobile information processing apparatuses, such as mobile phones, having a noncontact communication function have been widely used.
A mobile information processing apparatus and a reader/writer or the like communicate with each other by using a magnetic field (carrier) of a specific frequency, such as 13.56 MHz. More specifically, the reader/writer transmits a carrier containing a carrier signal, and the mobile information processing apparatus that has received the carrier by using its antenna transmits a response signal to the received carrier signal by using load modulation, whereby the reader/writer and the mobile information processing apparatus communicate with each other.
Concerning information processing apparatuses that perform communication in a noncontact manner, various technologies for efficiently using electric power have been developed. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-339327 discloses an information processing apparatus that performs communication in a noncontact manner. In this information processing apparatus, electric power supplied to an antenna coil in order to detect another information processing apparatus is reduced to be lower than electric power supplied to the antenna coil during information communication that is performed after the other information processing apparatus has been detected.

Information processing apparatus, program, and information processing system


This invention relates to a semi-batch process for preparing low viscosity polyoxyalkylene polyether polyols (P) that have a narrow molecular weight distribution. This process comprises reacting a H-functional starter substance (Si), a H-functional starter substance (Sx) and a H-functional starter substance (Sc) with one or more alkylene oxides in the presence of a double metal cyanide (DMC) catalyst. The resultant polyoxyalkylene polyols (P) have a functionality of 2 to 8 and a hydroxyl number of 5 to 35 mg KOH/g polyol. In addition, the polyoxyalkylation can be completed with a low continuous addition of starter (CAOS) cap.

A challenge with the commercial production of DMC catalyzed polyols is the inability to directly use low equivalent weight substances such as propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol and glycerin as the main component of the starter mixture. These low equivalent weight starter substances inhibit the catalytic activity of the DMC catalyst when present as the main component of the starter mixture for the production of a semi-batch DMC catalyzed polyether polyol. Starting a reaction with such low equivalent weight starter substances also requires special commercial equipment as the amount of starter required to make higher equivalent weight products is small. For example, when making a 500 equivalent weight propylene glycol started polyether polyol, 7.5 weight percent propylene glycol is required as the low equivalent weight starter. However, when making a 4000 equivalent weight propylene glycol started polyether polyol, only 0.95 weight percent propylene glycol is required as the low equivalent weight starter. Therefore, the preparation of a 4000 equivalent weight propylene glycol started polyether polyol requires a large reaction build ratio. The reaction build ratio is defined as the product equivalent weight divided by the starter equivalent weight. Thus, for a propylene glycol started 500 EW polyether polyol, the reaction build ratio would be 500/38 or 13.2. By comparison, in the case of a 4000 EW polyether polyol the build ratio would be 4000/38 or 105. This large reaction build ratio would require special reaction equipment to handle the low amount of starter required at the start of the process. The minimum reactor charge is dictated by the mixing configuration (i.e. touching or covering lowest most agitator blade) and the heating requirements (i.e. covering sufficient surface area for jacketed or internal heating/cooling systems or filling the external recirculation loop for external heating/cooling systems). The industry has overcome this challenge of the commercial production of products having a wide range of equivalent weights by making and storing starter polyether polyols that can cover the whole range of products to be made. Typically, this may require more than one starter polyether polyol be stored. One starter polyether polyol to make low to intermediate equivalent weight products (i.e. those having hydroxyl numbers of 112 to 28 mg KOH/g polyol) and another starter polyether polyol to make higher equivalent weight products (i.e. those having hydroxyl numbers of <28 mg KOH/g polyol). As one skilled in the art will recognize, these starter polyether polyols, referred to herein as low equivalent weight starter polyether polyols, are lower in equivalent weight than the targeted polyether polyol product but higher in equivalent weight than the initial low equivalent weight starter substance (i.e., propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, glycerin, etc.) and are initially charged to the reactor to provide the minimum charge required for the reactor configuration. The storage of these low equivalent weight starter polyether polyols and preparation of them in the reactor systems takes away from resources to make the finished products. Therefore, there is a need to eliminate these low equivalent weight starter polyether polyols.

Product-to-product process for preparation of low viscosity polyoxyalkylene polyether polyols


A friction transmission belt has a belt body made of a rubber composition and wrapped around pulleys to transmit power. The belt includes a thermoplastic resin film provided to coat a pulley contact surface of the belt body, and a powder layer comprised of reduced friction coefficient powder particles provided on a surface side of the thermoplastic resin film. The powder layer includes powder particles buried in the thermoplastic resin film, powder particles carried and exposed on the surface of the thermoplastic resin film, and powder particles agglomerated and adhering to the powder particles carried and exposed on the surface of the thermoplastic resin film.

The present disclosure relates to friction transmission belts and methods for fabricating the friction transmission belts, and belt transmission systems.
It is well known to use friction transmission belts, such as a V-ribbed belt and a V belt, as a means for transmitting rotational power of an engine and a motor. It is also well known that when the friction transmission belt gets wet during its running, a so-called stick-slip phenomenon occurs on a pulley, and that noise is caused by the stick-slip phenomenon. Various measures have been taken to reduce such noise.
For example, Japanese Translation of PCT International Application Publication No. 2009-533606 discloses a V-ribbed belt with its V-ribbed surface coated with a low molecular-weight polyethylene resin film which contains fluorine particles.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-101489 discloses a V-ribbed belt in which a V-ribbed surface coated with a cover such as woven fabric is covered with a barrier layer made of a thermoplastic material, and at least the cover on a flank is partially incorporated in part of the thickness of the barrier layer.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-122187 discloses a V-ribbed belt in which a V-ribbed surface is coated with woven fabric, etc., and a thermoplastic resin layer is provided between a belt body and the woven fabric.

Friction transmission belt and method for fabricating same, and belt transmission system


A polymer composition is disclosed composed of morpholino subunit structures which are linked together by uncharged, achiral linkages. These linkages are one to three atoms in length, joining the morpholino nitrogen of one subunit to the 5' exocyclic carbon of an adjacent subunit. Each subunit contains a purine or pyrimidine base-pairing moiety effective to bind by hydrogen bonding to a specific base or base-pair in a target polynucleotide.

Polymers which are designed for base-specific binding to polynucleotides have significant potential both for in vitro detection of specific genetic sequences characteristic of pathogens (Lerman) and for in vivo inactivation of gene tic sequences causing many diseases--particularly viral diseases (Belikova, Summerton).
Standard ribo- and deoxyribonucleotide polymers have been widely used both for detection of complementary genetic sequences, and more recently, for inactivating targeted genetic sequences. However, standard polynucleotides suffer from a number of limitations when used for base-specific binding to target oligonucleotides. These limitations include (i) restricted passage across biological membranes, (ii) nuclease sensitivity, (iii) target binding which is sensitive to ionic concentration, and (iv) susceptibility to cellular strand-separating mechanisms.
In principle, the above limitations can be overcome or minimized by designing polynucleic acid analogs in which the bases are linked along an uncharged backbone. Examples of uncharged nucleic acid analogs have been reported. Pitha et al (1970a, b) have disclosed a variety of homopolymeric polynucleotide analogs in which the normal sugar-phosphate backbone of nucleic acids is replaced by a polyvinyl backbone. These nucleic acid analogs were reported to have the expected Watson/Crick pairing specificities with complementary polynucleotides, but with substantially reduced Tm values (Pitha, 1970a). One serious limitation of this approach is the inability to construct polymers by sequential subunit addition, for producing polymers with a desired base sequence. Thus the polymers cannot be used for base-specific binding to selected target sequences. Polynucleotide analogs containing uncharged, but stereoisomeric, methylphosphonate linkages between the deoxyribonucleoside subunits have been reported (Miller, 1979, 1980; Jayaraman; Murakami; Blake, 1985a, 1985b; Smith). More recently a variety of analogous uncharged phosphoramidate-linked oligonucleotide analogs have also been reported (Froehler, 1988). These polymers comprise deoxynucleosides linked by the 3'OH group of one subunit and the 5' OH group of another subunit via an uncharged chiral phosphorous-containing group. These compounds have been shown to bind to and selectively block single-strand polynucleotide target sequences. However, uncharged phosphorous-linked polynucleotide analogs of the type just described have limitations, particularly the cost and difficulty of preparing the polymers.
More recently, deoxyribonucleotide analogs having uncharged and achiral intersubunit linkages have been constructed (Stirchak 1987). Since these polymers are stereo-regular, all polymers having a given subunit sequence will have the same Tm value for a given target nucleotide sequence, thus avoiding some of the limitations inherent in chirally-linked polymers. These uncharged, achiral deoxyribonucleoside-derived analogs, however, are limited by relatively high cost of starting materials.

Uncharged morpholino-based polymers having achiral intersubunit linkages


An external rear view mirror assembly to be fitted to a motor vehicle is disclosed. The assembly comprises: a mirror base mountable to a vehicle; a mirror head frame rotatably mounted to the base for rotation about a mirror head axis; a detent operably interposed between the base and the frame; a spring acting between the frame and the base in a direction parallel to the axis, the spring for holding the detent engaged; and a power fold mechanism operably interposed between the base and the frame, the power fold mechanism having a drive train and a clutch mechanism, the clutch mechanism comprising a pair of axially spaced apart clutching faces, connecting the drive train to the base when the drive train is driving, the clutch mechanism arranged and constructed such that forces are not transmitted from the frame to the drive train when the drive train is not driving.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to power fold mechanisms for external rear vision mirrors of motor vehicles.
2. Background of the Invention
Motor vehicles typically have two external rear vision mirror assemblies. The mirror assemblies typically have a mirror head that is designed to rotate about a substantially vertical pivot axis in both forward and rearward directions. The mirror head is typically held in its driving position by a detent which allows manual movement of the mirror head to a parked position and manual movement to a forward position. There are a number of reasons for this. One reason is safety. By having a mirror that can "break away" to move from a deployed position to a parked or forward position, injury to people can be minimised. Furthermore, damage to the mirror head can be minimised by allowing it to move when it hits obstructions. It is also useful to have a mirror head that can be parked, that is rotated to a position substantially parallel to the side of the vehicle, so as to narrow the effective width of the vehicle. This is particularly useful when the vehicle is parked in or is travelling along narrow or congested roadways. It is also useful for loading vehicles onto trucks for transport to be able to park the mirror heads.
Modern external rear vision mirrors, in addition to having a detent mechanism to hold the mirror head in a deployed position while at the same time enabling forward folding and rearward folding of the mirror head, also have electric drive systems to allow the operator to drive the head at least to its parked position. Some external rear view mirror assemblies have more sophisticated electric systems that allow the operator to redeploy the mirror head to a drive position after it has been manually pushed forward or rearward. These mirror systems are typically referred to as power fold mirrors.
Power fold mirrors typically employ power fold mechanisms that hold the mirror head against rotation in one direction with respect to the mirror base. This is usually achieved using a non-back-drivable gear train (such as a gear train employing a worm gear). As a result, the gear train is subject to significant forces and or torques resulting from wind, road and static forces. Thus, the power fold mechanism must be strong, rigid and have a good fastening system to both the mirror base and to the mirror frame. These requirements increase complexity and cost. They also mean that the mirror assembly must be specifically designed as a power fold mirror assembly with many different components to a non-power fold system.
An external rear view mirror for automobiles is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,113 (Stolpe et al). The rear view mirror disclosed by that US patent has a non-back-drivable worm gear that locks a gear wheel in place. The gear wheel can be driven by the worm gear but cannot drive back through the worm gear. Thus, the gear wheel can be used (and is used) as a stop, holding the drive housing 4 and hence the mirror head against fold path limiter stop cams on the mirror base 2. As a result, the gear train is subject to significant forces resulting from wind, road and static forces while it is held in the drive position. These forces are transmitted from the mirror head 3 to the powerfold housing 4 via a case frame in the mirror head. The force is then further transferred through the worm and gear teeth to the detent system on the bottom of the gear. Here it meets the reaction force provided by the spring that clamps the system. If the force supplied is great enough, the detent system will disengage compressing the spring and allowing the mirror head to manually rotate it to the parked position.
As should be apparent from the above, with the mirror described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,113, the powerfold housing 4, the drive train including gear wheel 6 and worm gear 11 are subject to significant forces and must be strong and rigid. Furthermore, the mirror of U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,113 cannot really be modified to become a non-powerfold mirror assembly.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved power fold mechanism that overcomes at least some of the problems outlined above or at least offers a useful choice.