The invention concerns the recycling of waste paper in a deinking process with flotation with at least one other cleaning stage downstream. According to the invention, selective flotation is performed in multiple stages. After no more than a third flotation stage, the flotation foam collected up to that point is removed and purified by means of flash flotation, which produces sludge, clear water and separated foam that contains the contaminants from the waste paper feed. Subsequently, the sludge is removed from the paper recycling process. Large impurities are removed from the sludge (foam) (except for the foam from up to the three last stages) in up to two washing units (including thickeners) or screen units. The fibers are then separated from the relatively fine contaminants, and these contaminants are primarily removed as sludge from the resulting low-fiber fractions by flash flotation. The fiber-containing fraction and the clear water from flash flotation is recycled to a point prior to the selective flotation system.

The invention is directed to a method of recycling waste paper in a deinking process with flotation and at least one additional downstream cleaning step. A variety of such deinking processes are known in the art.
An essential component of modern deinking systems is selective flotation, which results in extensive removal of printing inks from the fiber suspension formed during flotation with minimal loss of fibers. However, this step yields foam that is highly contaminated with printing inks and also has a considerable reusable fiber content. Workup of this foam is an important problem of deinking plants.
According to the processes described in German Patent Nos. 15 17 227 (Jul. 17, 1975) and 26 10 581 (Aug. 11, 1977), such foam is purified in a centrifuge to produce relatively clear water and sludge. The sludge is discarded and the clear water, although still highly contaminated, is purified in a clarification system in the paper plant. Naturally, this leads to a great burden on the clarification system. The loss of fibers can be minimized only by performing so-to-speak fractionation (i.e. purification) of the foam of preceding flotation stages in secondary cells. However, this does not avoid a heavy burden on the clarification system.


A fluent container and a method of using the fluent container are provided to fixedly and safely secure the discharge fitting of the bag and, therefore, the bag which contains the fluent material, to the bottom of the container. The container has a pre-use configuration convenient for storage which includes a flattened side member and nested cover and bottom members with the bag contained therebetween.

Cardboard or fiberboard containers for fluent material are known. The containers are commonly placed on a pallet before being filled. The containers commonly have a plastic or otherwise impervious lining bag with an opening at the top and a discharge fitting near the bottom which protrudes from an opening in near the bottom of the container. When the bag is filled, it is closed at the top. A cover is usually placed thereover. The container may or may not be further strapped and retained to the pallet.
Problems with known containers for fluent material include the difficulty of storage of the big empty containers and the securing of the discharge fitting of the liner bag so that it is not stressed relative to the bag during shipping thereby causing ripping or other failure.
Although U.S. Pat. No. 1,883,323 shows a large, octagonal folding box wherein the side member folds flat and the cover fits over the bottom, the box is not designed for containing fluent material. There is no liner and, consequently, no provision for discharge of such material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,506 is directed toward containing fluent material. An octagonal container is shown such that three different side members can be folded flat and the lining bag can be folded between top and bottom plates. The cover is a separate member. The bottom plate includes a flap having an opening for receiving the discharge fitting and shows a tab for pressing against it. Although this container is directed to containing fluent material, it requires a large number of separate pieces which can be troublesome with respect to storing, locating in a warehouse environment and making proper assembly.


A generator has a voltage regulator that includes a first control unit for lowering an output voltage of the generator when a first maximum value is exceeded and a second control unit for lowering the output voltage either when a first maximum value is exceeded or when a second maximum value that is different from the first maximum value is exceeded.

It is common to use generators for providing electrical energy in motor vehicles. The generator converts mechanical energy, which is supplied from the drive motor of the vehicle via a belt pulley, into electrical energy. The torque driving the generator is thus a function of a state of the internal combustion engine.
Generators are generally coupled to a voltage regulator, which is supplied with power from the generator's own voltage and/or from the vehicle electrical system. Control devices are generally used in this generator, usually in the form of integrated circuits that are designed with a power electronics system. The control devices set the current that is required in the electrical system of the vehicle, depending on the requirements of the electrical consumers and the charging strategies of the battery of the vehicle. For this purpose, the vehicle electrical system voltage is used as a control variable and is continuously compared to a setpoint voltage. A vehicle electrical system voltage is in particular identical to an output voltage of the generator.
In particular, a voltage regulator is known from EP 1 675 245 A2. This voltage regulator includes two switches. A first switch ensures that a vehicle electrical system voltage is maintained in the event of slight variations. If the vehicle electrical system voltage increases sharply due to various circumstances, such as in particular switching off an energy-intensive consumer, the second switch is used to rapidly lower the generator voltage. Thus, a threshold value at which the second stage becomes active must be significantly above the threshold value of the first stage. This has the disadvantage that in the event that a defect occurs at the first switch and it can no longer carry out its control tasks, the second switch can only hold the vehicle electrical system voltage at a higher level. This can potentially result in damage within the vehicle electrical system.


The device according to the invention detects deterioration of a catalytic converter disposed in an exhaust passage of an internal combustion engine based on output signal response curves of the air-fuel ratio sensors disposed in the exhaust passage upstream and downstream of the catalytic converter, by determining that the catalytic converter has deteriorated when relationship of a ratio of the lengths of the output response curves of the upstream and downstream air-fuel ratio sensors and a ratio of the areas bounded by the output signal response curves and reference lines satisfies predetermined conditions during air-fuel ratio feedback control of the engine; to eliminate errors the detection during a transition of the operating condition of the engine, the device also determine a degree of transition of the operating condition of the engine, for example, by detecting number of reversals of the output signal of the upstream air-fuel ratio sensor, and corrects the value of the ratio of the areas of the output signal response curves in accordance with the degree of the transition of the operating condition of the engine; thus the deterioration of the catalytic converter is detected accurately both in the transition operating condition and in the stable operating condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air-fuel ratio control device for an engine that controls an air-fuel ratio of the engine based on at least an output of an air-fuel ratio sensor disposed in the exhaust passage upstream of a three-way catalyst. More specifically, the present invention relates to an air-fuel control device that is able to detect deterioration of the three-way catalyst based on output signals of air-fuel ratio sensors disposed in the exhaust passage upstream and downstream of the three-way catalyst even during a transition of the operating condition of the engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
An air-fuel ratio control device for controlling the air-fuel ratio of an engine by feedback control based on an output of one air-fuel ratio sensor (such as an O.sub.2 sensor) disposed in an exhaust passage upstream of a catalytic converter is known as a single O.sub.2 sensor system. The single O.sub.2 sensor system is used to control the air-fuel ratio of the engine at a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio to thereby improve the condition of exhaust emissions by utilizing the ability of the three-way catalytic converter to a maximum degree.
Also, to compensate for the individual difference among cylinders or changes due to aging of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor, a double O.sub.2 sensor system using two O.sub.2 sensors has been developed(U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,614). In the double O.sub.2 sensor system, O.sub.2 sensors are disposed upstream and downstream of the catalytic converter in the exhaust passage, and the air-fuel ratio control is carried out based on the output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor as well as the output of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor.
Nevertheless, even in the double O.sub.2 sensor system, if the catalyst in the catalyst converter deteriorates, the condition of the exhaust emissions such as HC, CO, NO.sub.x deteriorates. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the deterioration of the catalyst accurately.
To detect the deterioration of the catalyst in the catalytic converter, various methods and devices have been proposed.
For example, the deterioration of the catalyst can be determined by detecting a reduction in the O.sub.2 storage capacity of the catalyst. That is, the catalyst has an ability to adsorb oxygen from the exhaust gas when the air-fuel ratio is lean compared to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio (i.e., the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas is higher than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio), and to release said oxygen when the air-fuel ratio is rich compared to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio (i.e., the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas is lower than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio). This capacity, i.e., the O.sub.2 storage capacity of the catalyst, falls as the deterioration of the catalyst proceeds. Therefore, when the catalyst is in a normal condition, the fluctuation of the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas downstream of the catalytic converter is small, and consequently, the fluctuation of the output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor also becomes small even if the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas oscillates between a rich air-fuel ratio and a lean air-fuel ratio. On the contrary, if the catalyst has deteriorated, the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas downstream of the catalytic converter oscillates in a manner similar to the oscillation of the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas upstream of the catalytic converter due to the deterioration of the O.sub.2 storage capacity of the catalyst, and the output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor also fluctuates as the output of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor fluctuates. Therefore, when the catalyst has deteriorated, the interval between reversals of the output signal of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor (i.e., the period between changes of the output signal of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor from a rich air-fuel ratio signal to a lean air-fuel ratio signal, or vice versa) during air-fuel ratio feedback control becomes shorter (in other words, the number of the reversals of the output signal of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor within a predetermined time becomes larger), and the amplitude of the fluctuations in the output signal of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor becomes larger at the same time.
In the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,614, it is determined that the catalyst has deteriorated when the ratio of the intervals between the reversals of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor T.sub.1 to the intervals between the reversals of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor T.sub.2, i.e., T.sub.1 /T.sub.2 becomes larger than a predetermined value (or, alternatively, when the interval T.sub.2 of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor becomes smaller than a predetermined value).
However, in the above system, if the center value of the air-fuel ratio feedback control deviates from the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, the reversal of the output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor does not cross the stoichiometric line, and oscillates in a small amplitude on a rich side or a lean side of the air-fuel ratio. In this case, deterioration of the catalyst cannot be detected by the intervals or the number of the reversals of the output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor. Also, it is not possible to detect deterioration from the amplitude of the oscillation of the output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor since the amplitude of the output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor becomes very small regardless of the deterioration of the catalyst in this case.
Further, if the downstream O.sub.2 sensor itself has deteriorated, the amplitude of the output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor becomes smaller regardless of the deterioration of the catalyst. Therefore, it is sometimes very difficult to detect deterioration of the catalyst accurately based on the intervals or the number of the reversals as well as the amplitude of the output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor.
To solve above-mentioned problems, the copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 957,041 proposes a method for detecting deterioration of the catalyst based on a ratio of the lengths of the output signal response curves of the upstream and downstream O.sub.2 sensors and a ratio of the areas bounded by the output signal response curves and reference lines.
When the catalyst is in normal condition, the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas downstream of the catalytic converter fluctuates in a small amplitude about the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio due to the O.sub.2 storage capacity of the catalyst even when the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas upstream of the catalytic converter oscillates between a rich side air-fuel ratio and a lean side air-fuel ratio. In this case, the fluctuation of the output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor is smaller compared to the fluctuation of the output of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor. Therefore, the length LVOS of the output signal response curve of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor becomes smaller compared to the length LVOM of the output signal response curve of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor. Consequently, the ratio of the lengths LVOS/LVOM also becomes small when the catalyst is in normal condition.
On the contrary, when the catalyst has deteriorated, the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas downstream of the catalyst converter oscillates in a similar manner as the oscillation of the air-fuel ratio upstream of the catalytic converter due to reduction of the O.sub.2 storage capacity of the catalyst. In this case, the length LVOS of the output signal response curve of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor increases since the amplitude and the frequency of the fluctuation of the output signal of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor increase, though the length LVOM of the output response curve of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor stays same. Therefore, the value of the ratio of the lengths LVOS/LVOM increases, and approaches to 1.0 as the deterioration of the catalyst proceeds. Thus, deterioration of the catalyst can be detected by monitoring the value LVOS/LVOM as far as the O.sub.2 sensors are not deteriorated.
However, if either of the O.sub.2 sensors has deteriorated, deterioration of the catalyst cannot be detected accurately by the value of the ratio LVOS/LVOM any more.
When deteriorated, the amplitude of the output of the O.sub.2 sensor becomes smaller. This causes a decrease in the length of the output signal response curve of the deteriorated O.sub.2 sensor. Therefore, for example, if the downstream O.sub.2 sensor has deteriorated, the length LVOS does not increase largely even if the catalyst has deteriorated. In this case, a deteriorated catalyst may be incorrectly determined as being normal since the increase in the ratio LVOS/LVOM is relatively small.
On the other hand, if the upstream O.sub.2 sensor has deteriorated, the length LVOM becomes smaller regardless of the deterioration of the catalyst. In this case, a normal catalyst may be incorrectly determined as being deteriorated since the ratio LVOS/LVOM increases.
To prevent such an incorrect determination, the method proposed by the copending U.S. application Ser. No. 957,041 uses the ratio of the area AVOS bounded by the output signal response curve of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor and a reference line, and the area AVOM bounded by the output signal response curve of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor for detecting deterioration of the catalyst in addition to the ratio of the lengths LVOS/LVOM.
FIGS. 22 and 23 show the changes in the values of the ratio of the lengths LVOS/LVOM and the ratio of the areas AVOS/AVOM in accordance with the deterioration of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor and downstream O.sub.2 sensor when the catalyst is normal (FIG. 22), and when the catalyst has deteriorated (FIG. 23). In FIGS. 22 and 23, the columns with a .smallcircle. mark indicate waveforms of the output signal response curves of O.sub.2 sensors in normal condition, and the columns with a x mark indicate waveforms of the output signal response curves of deteriorated O.sub.2 sensors.
As seen from FIGS. 22 and 23;
(1) The output of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor is only affected by the deterioration of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor itself. Namely, if the upstream O.sub.2 sensor is not deteriorated, both the length LVOM and the area AVOM are large regardless of the deterioration of the catalyst (FIG. 22, (1), (2) and FIG. 23, (5), (6))). If the upstream O.sub.2 sensor has deteriorated, both the length LVOM and AVOM become small regardless of the deterioration of the catalyst (FIG. 22, (3), (4) and FIG. 23, (7), (8)).
(2) The output of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor is affected by both the deterioration of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor itself and the deterioration of the catalyst.
Namely, If the catalyst is not deteriorated;
1 The length LVOS is small regardless of the deterioration of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor (FIG. 22, (1) through (4)); PA1 2 The area AVOS is large when the downstream O.sub.2 sensor is not deteriorated (FIG. 22, (1) and (3)), and is medium when the downstream O.sub.2 sensor has deteriorated (FIG. 22, (2) and (4)). PA1 1 Both of the length LVOS and the area AVOS are large when the downstream O.sub.2 sensor is not deteriorated (FIG. 23, (5) and (7)); PA1 2 The length LVOS is medium and the area AVOS is small when the downstream O.sub.2 sensor has deteriorated (FIG. 23, (6) and (8)).
And, if the catalyst has deteriorated;
Accordingly, the ratio of the lengths LVOS/LVOM and the ratio of the areas take the values as shown in the right side columns of FIGS. 22 and 23. It will be understood that in the cases of FIG. 22, (3) (the catalyst is normal, the upstream O.sub.2 sensor has deteriorated) and FIG. 23 (6) (both the catalyst and the downstream O.sub.2 sensor have deteriorated), deterioration of the catalyst can not be determined by the ratio LVOS/LVOM only since LVOS/LVOM becomes medium in both cases in spite of the difference of the presence of the catalyst deterioration.
Even in these cases, the value of the ratio AVOS/AVOM is very large when the catalyst is not deteriorated (FIG. 22, (3)) and is small when the catalyst has deteriorated (FIG. 23, (6)). Therefore, by using the ratio AVOS/AVOM in addition to the ratio LVOS/LVOM, the deterioration of the catalyst can be detected even in these cases. In the method proposed by copending application Ser. No. 957,041, deterioration of the catalyst is detected based on the relationship of LVOS/LVOM and AVOS/AVOM explained above, i.e., for example, it is determined that the catalyst has deteriorated when the values LVOS/LVOM and AVOS/AVOM fall in the hatched area in the map shown in FIG. 24.
However, in the method explained above, the degree of the deterioration of the catalyst is not taken into consideration. Since the deterioration of the catalyst proceeds gradually, the catalyst still maintains sufficient capacity for removing some pollutants in the exhaust gas even though deterioration has already started. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish these catalysts still having sufficient capacity (hereinafter, called "catalysts with a medium level of deterioration") from the catalysts in which deterioration proceeds largely and the capacity for removing pollutants becomes insufficient (hereinafter, called "catalysts with a high level of deterioration").
In the method explained above, it is found difficult to distinguish the catalyst with a medium level of deterioration from the catalyst with a high level of deterioration under some operating condition. This problem is explained with reference to FIGS. 1A through 3B in detail.
FIG. 2 shows examples of changes in the values of the ratios LVOS/LVOM and AVOS/AVOM in accordance with the level of the deterioration of the catalyst (medium level of deterioration or high level of deterioration), the condition of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor (normal or deteriorated), and the operating condition of the engine (stable or transient), but, in all cases shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the upstream O.sub.2 sensor is not deteriorated.
Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6 in FIG. 2 show the cases of transient operating condition of the engine such as during acceleration or deceleration, and Nos. 3, 4, 7, 8 show the cases of stable operating condition of the engine such as during constant load and constant speed operation, and the values LVOS/LVOM and AVOS/AVOM of these cases are shown in the right side of corresponding columns in FIG. 2. FIG. 3A indicates values LVOS/LVOM and AVOS/AVOM of cases 1 through 8 of FIG. 2 on the map of FIG. 24 used in U.S. application Ser. No. 957,041.
As seen from FIG. 3A, the values LVOS/LVOM and AVOS/AVOM of the catalyst with a high level of deterioration (cases No. 1 to No.4) are always in the hatched area of the map (i.e., determined as being deteriorated) regardless whether the operating condition of the engine is stable or transient. However, the values of the catalyst with a medium level of deterioration (cases No. 5 to No. 8) fall in different areas on the map depending on whether the operating condition of the engine is stable or transient.
For example, both No. (5) and No. (7) in FIGS. 2 and 3A represent the combination of a catalyst with a medium level of deterioration and a normal downstream O.sub.2 sensor. However, when the operating condition of the engine is stable, the catalyst is determined as being deteriorated (FIG. 3A, No. (7)), though the same catalyst is determined as being normal when the operating condition is transient (FIG. 3A, No. (5)).
Also, in the cases No. (6) and No. (8) in FIGS. 2 and 3A (i.e., the combination of a catalyst with a medium level of deterioration and a deteriorated downstream O.sub.2 sensor), the same catalyst is determined as being deteriorated when the operating condition is stable (FIG. 3A, No. (8)), and determined as being deteriorated when the operating condition is transient (FIG. 3A, No. (6)).
This means that, when the detection of deterioration of the catalyst is carried out in a stable operating condition, the catalyst with a medium level of deterioration, which still maintains practically sufficient capacity for removing pollutants in the exhaust gas, is determined to be in the same condition as the catalyst with a high level of deterioration which must be replaced as soon as possible.
The above difference in the result of the determination occurs because the value of the ratio of areas AVOS/AVOM tends to decrease during the stable operating condition of the engine (in other words, the ratio AVOS/AVOM increases during the transient operating condition) compared to the value during the transient operating condition. The reason why the ratio of the areas decreases during the stable operating condition is explained by referring FIGS. 1A through 1D.
FIGS. 1A through 1D show the waveforms of the output signal of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor (FIGS. 1A and 1C) and the downstream O.sub.2 sensor (FIGS. 1B and 1D) when the catalyst with a medium level of deterioration is used. Further, FIGS. 1A and 1B show the case when the operating condition of the engine is stable, and FIGS. 1C and 1D show the case when the operating condition of the engine is transient.
When the operating condition of the engine is transient, i.e., when the engine speed is accelerated or decelerated, the center value of the air-fuel ratio feedback control tends to deviate from the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio to the lean air-fuel ratio side (during acceleration) or the rich air-fuel ratio side (during deceleration). Consequently, it takes longer to adjust the center value to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio by air-fuel ratio feedback control during the transition of the operating condition. This causes the period of the air-fuel ratio feedback control (represented by T in FIGS. 1A and 1C) to become longer. Also, the air-fuel ratio of the engine tends to deviate considerably from the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio during the transition of the operating condition (FIG. 1C). In this case also, the period of the fluctuation in the output signal of the O.sub.2 sensor downstream of the catalyst with a medium level of deterioration becomes longer, and the output signal of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor tends to deviate from the reference value corresponding to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio (FIG. 1D).
On the other hand, when the operating condition of the engine is stable, the center value of the air-fuel ratio feedback control is easily adjusted to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio and the air-fuel ratio of the engine oscillates regularly between the lean air-fuel ratio and the rich air-fuel ratio. Also, the period of the air-fuel ratio feedback control becomes shorter. In this case, the output signal of the O.sub.2 sensor downstream of the catalyst with a medium level of deterioration fluctuates near the reference value corresponding to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, and the period of the fluctuation also becomes small.
In other words, the area AVOS of the output signal response curve of the downstream O.sub.2 sensor in the normal operating condition decreases largely from the area in the transient operating condition (refer to FIGS. 1B and 1D), though the decrease in the area AVOM of the output signal response curve of the upstream O.sub.2 sensor is relatively small (refer to FIGS. 1A and 1C).
This causes the ratio of the area AVOS/AVOM to become smaller in the stable operating condition than in the transient operating condition even though the level of the deterioration of the catalyst is the same (i.e., medium). On the other hand, the value of the ratio of the lengths LVOS/LVOM are maintained substantially the same in the stable operating condition and the transient operating condition, since both the length LVOS and LVOM equally increase when the operating condition becomes stable.
Though the above explanation is given for the case in which the downstream O.sub.2 sensor is not deteriorated, the same phenomena occur also in the case of the combination of the deteriorated downstream O.sub.2 sensor and the catalyst with a medium level of deterioration.
Therefore, during the stable operation of the engine, a problem occurs in that the catalyst with a medium level of deterioration is detected as being deteriorated in a similar manner as the catalyst with a high level of deterioration.

Device for detecting deterioration of a catalytic converter for an engine


Intelligent hardware token processors (5) are capable of sending and receiving encrypted messages. Generic initialization with non-user-specific certificates comprising public and private keys allows a certificate authority (210) to securely communicate with the hardware token. New users enrolling with the certificate server (210) have their hardware tokens securely reprogrammed with user specific certificates.

1. Technical Field
The present invention pertains to the authentication of users needing access to commonly accessible data and users engaged in transactions completed over a computer network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The traditional method of limiting access to information has relied on a password mechanism. In order to access data in a common database or data that is accessed over a network, a user must be first identified and then authenticated. Identification has normally consisted of a user name and authentication was accomplished by a password known only to the user. The security of these prior-art password based mechanisms could easily be breached if the password was compromised in some manner. Passwords could be compromised by observing the user as the user entered the password. Password are even more vulnerable to compromise through monitoring of the computer network used to convey the password back to the information source.
Other prior art protection technologies included the use of digital certificates. As sophisticated and versatile as digital certificates are, they are commonly protected by simple passwords. Again, these passwords can be captured over the network or captured through keyboard sniffers. Once the password is compromised, a file-based certificate is vulnerable to theft through innumerable means. Stealing a user's certificate and the accompanying password allows imposters to read encrypted electronic mail, access private files and engage in monetary transaction over a computer network.
Passwords have also been used to protect automation accounts that are used to provide information or perform automated tasks. These "robot accounts" are routinely used to disseminate critical information to privileged employees and agents in large companies, governmental agencies and other institutions. As such, automation accounts must be protected from compromise at all costs. In the present day, password protection mechanisms fall intolerably short of the security levels modern institutions demand.
One technique that can enhance the security aspects of user authentication is the use of hardware tokens. Traditionally, a hardware token was little more than a glorified password mechanism. The hardware token contained a non-volatile certificate that was accessed by specialized hardware connected to a user's computer. When the user needed to authenticate her identity, the hardware token was coupled to the hardware reader, the computer read the certificate, and then passed that along to the source computer.
In known hardware-based token approaches, the certificate can be protected so long as the user's computer is trustworthy Authentication credentials could still be compromised if the token is attached to a machine with inadequate host-based security. Rogue processes can infiltrate the machine and compromise the credentials. One example of this type of process is the so-called "Trojan Horse", a process that electronically mails the certificate to hundreds of users if the token is in an "unlocked" state.
Registering the hardware token is also a cumbersome task. In order to ensure the fidelity of the authentication credentials stored therein, the hardware token must be initialized by a central credential authority (CA) and then securely delivered to the user. Any other means, such as electronically delivering the certificates to the user or even postal delivery of the initialized hardware device are susceptible to compromise.
What is needed, then, is a digital certificate infrastructure that is easy to use, easy to administer and is impervious to network-based attacks such as Trojan horses and viruses. Obviously, use of a hardware-based token to store certificates provides inadequate security where host systems are not trustworthy. The digital certificate infrastructure must provide for a more resilient means not only to store the certificates, but a means to ensure security in uncontrolled environments. Finally, associating a hardware token and the certificate therein must be a distributed affair that does not rely on user specific token initialization and the inherent security risk of disseminating initialized tokens to the end users. Certificates must be initialized in an automated and encrypted manner that ensures secure identification of the user.

AOL, LLC a Delaware limited liability company


A method, system and program product are described for specifying a selection of content segments stored in different formats. The invention involves receiving specification of a plurality of portions of first content stored in a first format, the specification identifying beginning and ending frames for each portion, and building a list comprising a starting mark and ending mark for each selected portion of first content, the list for use in accessing corresponding portions of the same content stored as second content in a second format.

Players in the multimedia industry such as producers of news or entertainment programs may have thousands of hours of video content at their disposal. For example, a well-known television entertainment program reports possession of 100,000 hours of video content and adds approximately 60 hours per week.
Such programming often demands that the video content be available for editing in a very short timeframe. For example, a first segment of an entertainment television program may already be airing while a second segment is still in production. In this fast-paced environment, fast access to the information becomes critical.
Unfortunately, video content currently exists on videotape in either analog or serial digital format, hampering efficient access and review of the video's contents. The degradation of the original analog recordings is an even greater concern. Storing the information in a digital archive permits faster access to the information and reduces the problem of degradation.
To meet production quality, the information must be digitized at a high or broadcast resolution. At high resolution, more bandwidth is required to retrieve information from the archive, resulting in a slower and/or costlier retrieval system. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a digitally based video editing system that permits quick access to content for editing, yet provides a high quality content stream suitable for televising.
Currently, there are various solutions available to provide some of the functions necessary to create a compilation of existing video content. However, no single solution exists to provide the functions of digitizing an existing video archive for preservation, segmenting the video to create storyboards for review, accessing the content efficiently for viewing and selection purposes, creating edit decision lists of video source, and producing production quality content from the created lists. Additional desirable features include augmentation of existing descriptive information of the content, and storage of descriptive information (a.k.a. metadata) for efficient searching.
It is also desirable to provide a web-based video editing system readily accessible to users.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for specifying a selection of content segments stored in different formats

International Business Machines Corporation


A texture repository is provided for use with an image manipulation application. The texture repository provides a canvas to the image manipulation application for use with an image filter. The texture repository may provide an existing canvas matching the request from the image filter, or the texture repository may generate a new canvas for the request. The generated canvas may be procedurally generated to match the request, or the generated canvas may be resized from an existing canvas stored in a non-volatile storage or a cache.

This invention relates generally to image processing, and more particularly to managing textures used for image processing applications. Image processing techniques use a variety of methods for manipulating a target image. One image processing technique modifies the target image by applying a texture image to the target image. For example, to provide a "grainy" look to the target image, the image processing application selects a grainy texture and applies the grainy texture to the target image by blending the two together pixel by pixel. The textures may be applied to the entire target image, or may be applied to only a portion of the image. For example, a watermark or copyright notice is applied to a portion of the target image. An instance of the texture fixed to a particular resolution is referred to herein as a canvas.
In typical image processing systems, a canvas is stored as an image file, such as "texture1.bmp." To apply the texture to an image, the image processing system resizes the standard canvas for the texture to the resolution needed for manipulating the target image. The image resizing process can be expensive, both in memory usage and in processing power. Image processing systems implemented on a mobile device often face hardware constraints on the mobile device's processing and memory relative to other hardware.

Texture repository for image processing applications


In a method of coupling an optical fiber to an optical component on the same substrate, eccentricity of the core of a coupling fiber is exploited to adjust the vertical position of the core by rotation of the fiber about its axis. This adjustment is carried out with the fiber held in contact with a horizontal reference surface of a substrate also carrying a laser diode constituting the component to which the fiber must be coupled. The method can be used to implement transmission headers for optical fiber telecommunication systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns coupling an optical fiber to an optical component such as a semiconductor laser diode or a photodiode on the same substrate to form an optical send or receive header.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A first problem to be overcome in making any such coupling is to achieve low coupling losses. This requires extremely accurate location.
In a known coupling method the component is fixed to the substrate first, typically by soldering it in place. In this way its active area is located at a predetermined height above a reference surface of the substrate. This height is as closely equal as possible to that assumed by the core of a coupling optical fiber at one end of this fiber when a cylindrical manipulation surface attached to the fiber is brought into bearing engagement with this reference surface.
This manipulation surface is provided by a cylindrical ferrule in the shape of a body of revolution. The fiber is disposed in the ferrule parallel to its axis but off-center. This enables adjustment of the vertical position, i.e. correction of any height difference between the active area of the component and the core of the fiber. This is simply achieved by rotating the ferrule about its axis in contact with the reference surface. Given the positional accuracy required for good coupling the ferrule must be accurately manufactured.
Transverse and longitudinal adjustments are effected by movement of the ferrule in contact with the reference surface before the coupling fiber is fixed once and for all to the substrate.
The coupling fiber is typically short to facilitate the various adjustments and other manipulations. After it is fixed to the substrate its other end is welded to a longer fiber to be coupled. Known welding processes are such that the resulting weld introduces only low light losses.
A second problem that usually has to be overcome in making any such coupling is to make the optical header which contains the component, a section of the coupling fiber and the components needed for coupling them as small as possible. To this end a small substrate is used.
One object of the present invention is to enable good coupling between an optical component and a coupling fiber within in a compact and low-cost optical header.

Method of coupling an optical fiber to an optical component on the same substrate


The invention provides a reagent reservoir system and disposable reaction cassettes using the same. In one aspect, such system comprises a chamber in which dried reagent, particularly lyophilized reagent, is constrained to remain in a defined region of the chamber by a retaining member that obstructs passage of such reagents to other regions of the chamber where they may escape hydration or activation.

Many important assays involve the use of labile reagents, such as peptides, enzymes, antibodies, or other compounds that are readily degraded outside narrow environmental ranges. Such assays include enzyme-based nucleic acid amplification assays, immunoassays, enzyme substrate assays, and the like. The sensitivity of these reagents not only makes routine handling and transport more difficult, but also often limits the application of such assays outside of research settings, since opportunities are not available to provide fresh reagents or to monitor the properties or activities of the reagents. These are significant limitations in view of the great interest in using these assays for a host of important monitoring tasks, frequently in outdoor settings, where transport, environmental control, and ready access to instrumentation used with the assays may be limited or unavailable. Examples of such monitoring applications include bio-defense monitoring, agricultural and livestock monitoring, pathogen testing, acute care medical applications, and the like.
Some problems related to the lability of protein assay reagents have been addressed by lyophilization, or freeze-drying, e.g. Franks et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,893; Cole, U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,788; Shen et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,771; Treml et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,157; De Rosier et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,365; Buhl et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,732; and the like. However, when freeze-dried reagents are used as powders or other small particulates, difficulties can arise in controlling their disposition in containers or reaction chambers because of static charges carried by the particulates, e.g. Matsusaka et al (2002), Advanced Powder Technol., 13: 157-166. This is particularly troublesome in disposable plastic or solid polymer cartridges that are pre-loaded with such particulates or powders and can easily lead to cartridge-to-cartridge measurement variability because the lyophilized particulates become inappropriately dispersed and are not rehydrated completely.
It would be useful if reagent storage components or cartridges were available that could be pre-loaded with lyophilized particulates, or like materials, and that would permit complete re-hydration of reagents in desired concentrations and amounts with minimum possibility of being dispersed to areas out of contact with a re-hydrating or activating solution.

Reagent reservoir system for analytical instruments


An apparatus and method for auto-focusing in a mobile terminal having a camera module which can automatically photograph an image in optimum focus when the camera function is used are provided. The apparatus and method comprise detecting the subject by performing a preview mode in a camera mode; detecting and storing a focus value while moving the lens by increasing/decreasing electrical current in stages based on a focus characteristic of the detected subject, determining based on a presently-detected focus value and a previously-stored focus value if a slope has changed, and detecting an optimum focus value from a focus value at which the slope has changed; and performing a tracking mode to track a focus in a predetermined zone which includes the detected focus value at a center of the zone. Therefore, the value of electrical current, which is applied to the camera module including the lens that moves to perform the auto-focusing for photographing an image in optimum focus, is controlled according to a distance between a subject and a lens so that the occurrence of unwanted sound caused by motion of the lens can be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an auto-focusing method in a mobile terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for auto-focusing in a mobile terminal comprising a camera module which can automatically photograph an image in optimum focus when the camera function is used.
2. Description of the Related Art
A camcorder, which is a representative photographing device, functions as a camera for photographing a subject and also as a video recorder.
It is necessary that the photographing device such as a camcorder performs appropriate exposure and focusing operations in order to sufficiently reproduce the image of a subject and to satisfactorily capture a momentary image. The focusing operation of the conventional photographing device such as a camera or camcorder will now be described.
A variety of focusing methods have been widely used according to systems utilized for measuring a distance between a camera and a subject. These systems are classified into an active system and a passive system. Also, the active system is further classified into an ultrasound focusing system and an infrared focusing system, and the passive system is further classified into a contrast recognition focusing system and an eye-controlled auto-focus system.
First, the active system will now be described.
The ultrasound focusing system measures a time delay from an ultrasound transmission time to its echo reception time in order to calculate a distance between a camera and a subject, and automatically adjusts a lens based on the calculated distance in order to perform a focusing operation. The infrared focusing system moves a lens to enable the infrared beam to be reflected from a subject in a scanning mode, and performs a focusing operation using a trigonometric measurement scheme.
The passive system will now be described.
According to the contrast recognition focusing system, both a mirror cooperating with a lens and a fixed lens project an equal image on a visitronic module, the images are added to focus the images on the lens, and a shutter closes. According to the eye-controlled auto-focus system, five focusing points are horizontally arranged in a finder so that a photographer can see and select one of the focusing points at which a desired target subject is focused.
When photographing a moving image, the photographer focuses using the above-mentioned auto-focusing function, and can adjust a zoom-in key and a zoom-out key to capture an image of a main subject currently in motion while constantly maintaining the size thereof, so that the photographer can photograph the main subject while maintaining the size thereof. Therefore, the photographing device such as a camera or camcorder can take a photograph in optimum focus using the auto-focusing systems when photographing a still image or a moving image.
Such a photographing device contains a system having the auto-focusing function to photograph an image through a camera module, while recording an audio signal input through a microphone.
Recently, a mobile terminal having a camera module to photograph a still image and a moving image has been developed. In addition, the mobile terminal having a camera module can record sound using a microphone thereof simultaneously while photographing an image. In such a mobile terminal, a high-performance microphone is built to receive even a very low audio signal.
However, the conventional mobile terminal supports only a normal photographing function to photograph a still image and a moving image, but does not support the auto-focusing function. Therefore, there is a need to have an auto-focusing function in the mobile terminal.
However, in the mechanical assembly of mounting a microphone and a camera module having the auto-focusing function on the conventional mobile terminal, a noise caused by the motion of a lens during the operation of the auto-focusing function may be input through the microphone.
Therefore, there is a problem in that a camera module having the auto-focusing function must be placed away a microphone as far as possible so that the input of a noise can be prevented. Also, such a limitation in a mechanical construction causes another limitation in constructing the interior circuit thereof.

Apparatus and method for auto-focusing in a mobile terminal


A liquid absorption member includes a jointed body in which a plurality of cells are provided between partition members by jointing a plurality of the partition members with each other, and a liquid holding material which is filled into the cell and holds liquid. A plurality of diffusion paths in which attached liquid is diffused and flows are configured in the partition member, and a density of the partition member is a lower density than a density of the liquid holding material.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid absorption member and a printer including the liquid absorption member.
2. Related Art
In general, for example, a waste liquid tank which stores ink discharged from a print head is provided in a printer. There are many types including a liquid absorption member which retains the ink in the inner portion of the waste liquid tank. As the liquid absorption member, for example, there are liquid absorption members disclosed in JP-A-2000-135797 and JP-A-2008-213467. In JP-A-2000-135797, a liquid absorption member in which synthetic fiber sheets are configured so as to be laminated to one another in layers is disclosed, and in JP-A-2008-213467, a liquid absorption member in which porous materials having lower density than the substrate sheet are fitted is disclosed.
However, in recent years, in printers, there has been a printer of the type which uses a pigment ink. Compared to a dye ink which uses dye, generally, permeability and diffusibility of the pigment ink with respect to a liquid absorption member are more deteriorated. Thereby, when the pigment ink is attached onto the surface of the liquid absorption member, there is a case where some of the attached pigment ink does not permeate into the inner portion and the state where the ink is attached on the surface is maintained. In this case, the pigment ink is solidified on the surface of the liquid absorption member, and there is a problem in that diffusion of the ink is inhibited.
In addition, also in the inner portion of the liquid absorption member, the pigment ink which is held by the liquid absorption member is solidified; accordingly, in some cases, there is a problem in that diffusion of the ink is inhibited. However, even though referring to technologies described in JP-A-2000-135797 and JP-A-2008-213467, it is difficult to secure permeability and diffusibility of the pigment ink.

Liquid absorption member and printer including liquid absorption member


A nonlinear optical device having an optical medium and an optical element including a polarizer, an optical resonator and a reflector is provided. The optical medium includes an organic nonlinear optical material represented by a formula: ##STR1## wherein each of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 is an alkyl group having 2 to 6 carbon atoms or a hydroxyalkyl group having 2 to 6 carbon atoms, R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 being same or different groups; or R.sub.1 is an ethyl group and R.sub.2 is an acryloyloxyethyl group (CH.sub.2 .dbd.CH--COO--CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 --) or a methacryloyloxyethyl group (CH.sub.2 .dbd.C(CH.sub.3)--COO--CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 --); and each of X.sub.1, X.sub.2, X.sub.3, and X.sub.4 is individually a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, an alkyl ester group, or an alkylamide group, where X.sub.1, X.sub.2, X.sub.3 and X.sub.4 may be the same or different groups.

1. Field of Art
The present invention relates to organic nonlinear optical materials and nonlinear optical devices in which nonlinear refractive indices of the organic nonlinear optical materials are utilized.
2. Prior Art
Third-order nonlinear optical materials attract attention as important materials for optical devices in the future because they exhibit frequency conversion functions due to third harmonic generations (hereinafter referred to as THG) and additionally they are applicable for optical switching and optical memory while making use of their optical bistable behavior. Particularly, organic nonlinear optical materials have the following advantages superior over the known inorganic materials. Initially, when compared with crystalline inorganic ferroelectrics such as KDP (potassium dihydrogenphosphate), KH.sub.2 PO.sub.4 and LiNbO.sub.3 (lithium niobate), the organic nonlinear optical materials have larger nonlinear optical coefficients showing the second order nonlinear characteristics. Secondly, when compared with an inorganic semiconductor such as gallium arsenide (Ga-As), the organic nonlinear optical materials have ultrafast response times. Thirdly, different from copper(I) chloride (CuCl) exhibiting a fast response and being capable of operating at room temperature, but being hardly fabricated in a thin film with a thickness of micrometer order, the organic nonlinear optical materials can be easily fabricated into thin films with the thickness of micrometer order. The organic nonlinear optical materials have the possibility of satisfying all requirements which have not been satisfied by the known materials, and thus eager investigations of such materials are continued. For example, the following references disclose organic nonlinear optical materials.
J. L. Oudar, J. Chem. Phys., Vol 67, No. 2, pp 446 to 457 (1977), "Optical Nonlinearities of Conjugated Molecules. Stilbene Derivatives and Highly Polar Aromatic Compounds." This reference discloses the results of studies on the second- and third-order hyperpolarizabilities .beta. and .alpha. of 4-dimethylamino-.beta.-nitrostyrene in addition to the derivatives of stilbene. Another reference is G. I. Stegeman and C. T. Seaton, Proceedings of SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering, 682, pp 179 to 186 (1986), "Third-order Nonlinear Guided-Wave Optics."
The known third-order nonlinear optical materials include the following two groups of materials. The first group includes .pi.-conjugated polymers, the typical being polydiacetylene, particularly 2,4-hexadiyne-1,6-bis(p-toluenesulfonate) and polyacetylene. The second group includes low molecular weight compounds each having substituents disposed asymmetrically to serve as a donor and an acceptor, the typical being aminonitrostilbene, particularly 4-(N,N-diethylamino)-4'-nitrostilbene. In these compounds, the dimethylamino and diethylamino groups serve as the donors and nitro and cyano groups serve as the acceptors.
The optical nonlinearies of the .pi.-conjugated polymers are based on the polarization of free electrons in the valence electron band, and thus the .pi.-conjugated polymers have the disadvantage resembling that of inorganic semiconductor materials in that the response time is delayed by the resonance effect due to a narrow band gap. Moreover, a .pi.-conjugated polymer that is superior over PTS (2,4-hexadiyne-1,6-bis(p-toluenesulfonate)) has not yet been found.
Since the low molecular weight compounds having asymmetrically disposed substituents serving as a donor and an acceptor exhibit nonlinear optical effects superior over that of 4-(N,N-diethylamino)-4'-nitrostilbene, it have been tried to introduce a longer .pi.-conjugated chain in the compound and to introduce a more active donor-acceptor pair in the compound. However, torsion of the .pi.-conjugated chain is induced as the length of the .pi.-conjugated chain in the compound is increased, leading to the result that the effective length of the .pi.-conjugated chain (i.e. the effective length of delocalized electrons) is decreased. On the other hand, when a more active donor-acceptor pair is introduced in a compound, spontaneous polarization is enhanced leading to the result that the difference in dipole moment between the ground state and the excitation state cannot be increased so large as expected. In addition, deterioration of the material due to absorption of light and delay in response time is accerelated. As the molecular size becomes larger and the spontaneous polarization of the nonlinear optical material becomes extremely enhanced, the solubility in a solvent or a high polymer matrix is lowered and crystallization property is deteriorated to have poor processibility for the preparation of an optical element therefrom.
However, the compounds having substituents disposed asymmetrically and serving as a donor and an acceptor are important organic materials for eager investigations since they exhibit high speed and highly efficient nonlinear optical responses although they have the aforementioned complicated problems.

Organic nonlinear optical material and nonlinear optical device

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


An irreversible continuous pivotal connection between a fixed part and a movable part includes a fixed side plate fixed with respect to the fixed part and having an arcuate array of teeth, as well as a movable side plate fixed with respect to the movable part and having an arcuate array of teeth. The movable side plate is mounted parallel to the fixed side plate for rotation about a fixed common axis. A planet gear is positioned between the fixed and movable side plates, and has two external arcuate arrays of teeth with different diameters and locally meshing with the arcuate arrays of teeth of the fixed and movable side plates. An eccentric member is mounted for rotation about the fixed axis and presses on the planet gear so that rotation of the eccentric member in one direction causes epicyclic rotation of the planet gear in another direction. A locking disk is rotatably fixed relative to the eccentric member and is positioned between the planet gear and one of the fixed and movable side plates, so that a torque applied to the movable side plate with respect to the fixed axis causes a wall of the planet gear facing that of the locking disc to rock from an initial plane by an amount sufficient to come into locking contact locally against the wall of the locking disc.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns pivotal connections which are used primarily for adjustment of the angle of inclination of the backrest part of a seat with respect to the seat part. It is applied in particular to vehicle seats, for example those which are used in motor vehicles.
2. Background of the Related Art
Different types of pivotal connections which involve continuous adjustment are known, in particular those described in French Pat. No. 1.590.551. That document describes three embodiments of continuous pivotal connections comprising a planet gear which cooperates by meshing engagement with two ring gears. One of the ring gears is fixed with respect to the backrest part of the seat by way of a suitable fitting and the other is fixed with respect to the seat part, also by means of another fitting. A control member drives the planet gear by way of a shaft which rotates an eccentric and the planet gear rotates the movable ring gear which is fixed with respect to the backrest part, relative to the fixed ring gear which is fixed with respect to the seat part. That thus provides for adjustment of the inclination of the backrest part.
It is stated in said document that with the use of an epicyclic train means, the continuous pivotal connection described is irreversible, that is to say, it is not possible to cause rotary movement of one of the ring gears with respect to the other, without acting on the control member which actuates the eccentric. That means that if an attempt is made to turn the movable ring gear by acting for example on the backrest part, the pivotal connection is automatically locked. It has been found that two embodiments described in that document are in fact irreversible. The pivotal connections corresponding to those two embodiments have the common characteristic that the planet gear comprises a single tooth array, the teeth of which are of a sufficient width to mesh at the same time with the two tooth arrays of the ring gears which are disposed in side-by-side relationship, in the meshing zone. Thus, a couple, i.e., a rotating torque, which is applied to the movable ring gear, for example by virtue of a thrust applied to the backrest part, creates at the single tooth array of the planet gear a drive couple which is opposed by a resisting couple which is equal and opposite, being produced at that same tooth array of the planet gear by the fixed ring gear.
Experience has shown however that the two pivotal connection constructions comprising a planet gear with a single tooth array suffer from disadvantages. In fact, the first embodiment uses two rings gears which are mounted on a common axis having tooth arrays of the same diameters but with different numbers of teeth which mesh with the single tooth array, and that gives rise to play and wear. In the second embodiment the diameters of the tooth arrays of the ring gears are different but one of the two is driven by an eccentric about the axis of the other in such a way that, in the meshing zone of the planet gear, the single tooth array thereof does in fact co-operate with the two tooth arrays of the ring gears. This substantially increases the degree of complexity of the pivotal connection and also gives rise to increased wear and play. In the third embodiment described in the above-indicated document the two ring gears are mounted on a common axis and have inwardly directed tooth arrays of different diameters. The planet gear has two tooth arrays which are disposed in side-by-side relationship, which are of different diameters and which are directed outwardly, the dimensions thereof being such that, under the action of the eccentric, they simultaneously mesh with the corresponding tooth arrays of the two ring gears.
The last-mentioned embodiment of the continuous pivotal connection for a seat has advantages in terms of simplicity of design in comparison with those described above, but, contrary to what French Pat. No. 1.590.551 states, it is not irreversible if the difference in diameter between the two tooth arrays of the planet gear becomes appreciable. It will be appreciated that the drive torque which is possibly applied by the movable ring gear is in fact no longer balanced by the resisting torque opposed by the fixed ring gear, the lever arms with respect to the common axis being different.
The degree of reversibility of this last-mentioned embodiment increases in proportion to an increasing ratio between the diameters of the two tooth arrays of the planet gear. In practice, it may be an attractive proposition to increase that ratio so as to permit relatively rapid adjustment of the angle of inclination of the backrest part, which does not require a large number of turns of the eccentric. In practice also, in order to reduce the force which has to be applied to the means for actuating the eccentric with a rotary movement, it is often necessary to reduce the amount of friction between the components of the pivotal connection. That is achieved by lubrication and also by using ball-type or roller-type rolling bearings. All those measures increase the degree of reversibility of the pivotal connection and the consequence thereof is that a thrust applied to the backrest part of the seat with a sufficient force causes the planet gear to be driven in rotation with rotary movement of the eccentric about their common axis and angular displacement of the movable ring gear and the backrest part. This is a major disadvantage, in particular in regard to a vehicle seat, as in the event of a violent impact there is the risk of the backrest part pivoting abruptly in one direction or the other. The fact that the assembly can go out of adjustment in that way, which can also be a progressive procedure by virtue of the force applied to the backrest part by a seated person and/or due to vibration from the road, is in itself a nuisance and a possible cause of accidents.

Irreversible continuous pivotal connection


Provided are a color-matching apparatus and a color-matching method for a repair paint capable of sufficiently supporting a color-matching operation that has been conventionally performed by experience and intuition, mainly at an automobile repair shop. The color-matching apparatus and the color-matching method for a repair paint calculates, for each coordinate axis, an error between colorimetric data of a painting object portion and colorimetric data of a painting plate (S3), retrieves, for each coordinate axis, a mixed paint having characteristic information acting in a direction of reducing the error as a color-matching candidate (S5), calculate a basic amount of the color-matching candidate corresponding to an amount of the repair paint used for painting the painting object portion (S7), calculate, for each coordinate axis, an error rate by dividing the error by a reference value corresponding to the colorimetric data (S8), and calculate a color-matching amount for each color-matching candidate by multiplying the basic amount of the color-matching candidate by the error rate (S10).

When partial painting is performed on an automobile brought in for repair, it is necessary to perform matching of a color (color-matching) of a repair paint in accordance with a paint color of a painting object portion of a repair vehicle.
Automobile manufacturers specify color codes for each automobile and provide information regarding mixed paints and mixing values of paints used for painting. Paint manufacturers provide, for each of the specified color codes, information (master color data) regarding paints to be mixed (paint codes), a mixing value (mixing ratio) of each mixed paint, and the like for preparation of the repair paint by use of paints manufactured and sold by each paint manufacturer.
Meanwhile, there are various methods of storing and using a vehicle by vehicle purchasers, and aged deterioration of painting of the repair vehicle differs for each vehicle and each portion thereof. In addition, in some cases, there is a difference in painting of the vehicle from a manufacturing stage due to differences in a painting method, a painting environment, and the like at an automobile manufacturing line (so-called lot-to-lot variation). As described above, since a paint color on the repair vehicle varies, even if the color code of the automobile is the same, it is not possible to prepare a repair paint conforming to the painting object portion of the repair vehicle merely by blending the paints in accordance with the master color data provided by the paint manufacturer.
Accordingly, even if it is possible to prepare a repair paint which is approximate to the paint color of the repair vehicle to a certain extent by performing blending in accordance with the master color data, it is generally necessary to perform a color-matching operation for each painting object portion of the repair vehicle. Conventionally, this color-matching operation has been performed depending on experience and intuition of an operator while using a color sample book. In recent years, however, there are cases where a colorimeter is introduced to perform the color-matching operation. Several paint manufacturers have provided color-matching support systems with a computer color searching (CCS) function or a computer color matching (CCM) function.
In a presently provided color-matching support system, a large number of pieces of master color data is put into a database, and master color data for which a color difference from colorimetric data (for example, L*a*b* value) of the repair vehicle measured by the colorimeter is the smallest is retrieved and displayed (for example, see paragraph [0038] of Patent Literature 1). In many cases, however, painting cannot be performed without color-matching, merely by retrieving and displaying the master color data for which the color difference is the smallest. To address such a problem, the paint manufacturers are trying to enrich the database by creating a plurality of color variations made by slightly changing the color of one color code, and registering these variations in the database as variations that can be used for painting on the repair vehicle, such that a candidate for a color that minimizes the color difference is selected as much as possible. As long as a search target is limited to information registered in the database, however, the problem that the paint conforming to the painting object portion of the repair vehicle is not always retrieved and displayed cannot be solved. For this reason, the operator's color-matching operation has not been sufficiently supported, and at a painting site, the operator often had to find a paint and a color-matching amount to be added from among many paints, depending on his/her experience and intuition.
In addition, a painting state changes according to a painting method such as a distance between a spray gun used for painting and the painting object portion, and speed at which the spray gun is moved, a painting tool used for painting, and painting skill, a habit, and the like of the operator. Accordingly, even if exactly the same paint is used, there will be a difference in a shade and a color tone after painting is performed. It is practically impossible to prepare a repair paint that can deal with all of the above-mentioned matters and put such a repair paint in a database. In the color sample book used at the painting site, painting plates prepared by the paint manufacturer on the basis of the mixed paints and the mixing values of the color codes. Since, however, the painting method by the paint manufacturer and the painting environment are not the same as those at each painting site, it is not always possible to reproduce the same shade and color tone expressed in the color sample book. For this reason, the operators' color-matching operation has not been sufficiently supported, and at the painting site, the operator often had to find a paint and a color-matching amount to be added from among many paints, depending on their experience and intuition.
Currently applicable colorimeters irradiate the painting object portion with light at constant luminance to measure its reflected light. Since, however, reflectance or absorptance of light varies depending on an object color, if the luminance is kept constant, an original color of the painting object portion cannot be measured accurately. In particular, a luster pigment (luster material) such as an aluminum flake pigment (metallic painting) and a pearl pigment (pearl painting, mica painting) is often added to a paint for an automobile, and these additives produce multiple reflection gloss due to difference in refractive index. Accordingly, the original color of the painting object portion cannot be measured accurately if the color is measured always at a constant luminance.

Color-matching apparatus and color-matching method for repair paint


An improved method for making a semiconductor device is described. That method includes forming a first dielectric layer on a substrate, then forming on the first dielectric layer a second dielectric layer. The second dielectric layer is made from a material that is more sensitive to radiation of a specified wavelength and energy than is the material from which the first dielectric layer is made. After the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer are exposed to radiation of a specified wavelength and energy, a portion of the first dielectric layer is removed to form a via, and a portion of the second dielectric layer is removed to form a trench. The via and trench are then filled with a conductive material.

The present invention relates to a method for making semiconductor devices, particularly those that include a dual damascene interconnect.
Dual damascene interconnects may enable reliable low cost production of high speed semiconductor devices that have gate lengths of 0.18 micron or less. A conventional process for making devices that include such an interconnect includes the following steps. A first barrier layer, e.g., one containing silicon nitride, is formed on a substrate to prevent copper from diffusing into a dielectric layer, which is subsequently deposited onto the barrier layer. A via and trench are then etched into the dielectric layer. A second barrier layer, e.g., a metal based layer, is formed to line the via and trench, followed by filling the via and trench with copper. This metal based barrier layer prevents copper from diffusing into the dielectric layer. After applying a chemical mechanical polishing (xe2x80x9cCMPxe2x80x9d) step to remove copper from the surface of the dielectric layer, the process is repeated with a diffusion barrier layer being deposited on the copper and the dielectric layer, followed by forming another dielectric layer on top of that barrier layer, and so on.
When certain low-k materials are used to form the dielectric layer, these conventional dual damascene processes may require a hard mask to be formed on the dielectric layer to protect it when the trench and via are formed. In addition, separate photoresist patterning and etching sequences are required to create the via and trench. Such extra process steps increase process complexity and cost.
Accordingly, there is a need for a less complicated and less expensive process for making a semiconductor device that includes a dual damascene interconnect. There is a need for such a process that forms such an interconnect within a low-k dielectric material. The present invention provides such a process.

Method of making a semiconductor device that includes a dual damascene interconnect


An electrical connection box includes: a casing that has an opening portion open upwardly, a recessed portion recessed downwardly from an upper edge portion of a side wall; and a slidable cover configured to close the recessed portion. A first thin portion is formed at a side edge portion of the recessed portion of the casing. A second thin portion is formed on the slidable cover. The first thin portion and the second thin portion overlap each other when the slidable cover is fitted into the recessed portion. The first thin portion is includes a chamfered portion where a boundary between an opening edge portion of the first thin portion and the side edge portion is chamfered. A contact portion is configured to be brought into contact with the chamfered portion.

JP 2010-41808A is known as a conventional electrical connection box that is to be mounted on a vehicle, to supply power to on-board electrical components such as a lamp and a heater. This electrical connection box turns ON and OFF a current that is supplied to the on-board electrical components, by using a relay that is housed in a casing, for example.
As shown in FIG. 3 of JP 2010-41808A, a cutout portion is formed in a side wall of the casing. The cutout portion is open in the thickness direction of the side wall. As shown in FIG. 4 of JP 2010-41808A, this cutout portion is closed by a slidable cover during the process of assembling the electrical connection box.
According to conventional technology, an outer rib and an inner rib that are formed on the slidable cover are respectively housed in an outer groove and an inner groove that are formed in the casing. Thus, a complex structure (a so-called labyrinth structure) is formed between the outer rib and the outer groove and between the inner rib and the inner groove. As a result, the space between the casing and the closure cover is waterproofed.
JP 2010-41808A is an example of related art.
However, in the above-described configuration, the outer groove, the outer rib, the inner groove, and the inner rib are sequentially arranged in the thickness direction of the side wall of the casing, and there is the problem of the casing being large in size.
To solve this problem, it is possible to make the outer rib or the inner rib thinner. However, there is the concern that simply making the outer rib or the inner rib thinner will lead to a decrease in the strength of the outer rib or the inner rib.
The technology disclosed in the present specification has been completed based on the above-described situation, and aims to provide an electrical connection box that has a slidable cover with improved strength.


The invention provides new biotinylated compounds and methods for their use.

The bacterial signaling molecules cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP, 6a) and cyclic diadenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP, 6b) are both key second messengers (Gomelsky, M., cAMP, c-di-GMP, c-di-AMP and now cGMP: Bacteria use them all, Mol. Microbiol. 2011, 79, 562-565; Römling, U., Great times for small molecules: c-di-AMP, a second messenger candidate in bacteria and archaea. Sci. Signal. 2008, 1, pe39). Because of their critical functions in essential bacterial pathways, c-di-GMP and c-di-AMP have major implications for human health. However, in spite of advances in the identification of proteins and RNA to which c-di-GMP and c-di-AMP bind, a great many additional receptors remain unknown (Galperin, M. Y.; Higdon, R.; Kolker, E., Interplay of heritage and habitat in the distribution of bacterial signal transduction systems. Mol. BioSyst. 2010, 6, 721-728). New tools are needed to determine the roles c-di-GMP and c-di-AMP have in human health.

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey


In a liquid crystal display device, the reduction of power consumption is realized by reddening a backlight while maintaining a white balance. An aperture ratio of a red subpixel and an aperture ratio of a blue subpixel are set such that, in a state where an aperture ratio of a green subpixel in each pixel of a liquid crystal panel is fixed to a desired value, white brightness efficiency takes a maximum value which is set based on a balance between light emission efficiency which is increased corresponding to lowering of a color temperature of the backlight and transmissivity of the pixel which is decreased corresponding to the increase of the aperture ratio of the blue subpixel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly to a liquid crystal module including a liquid crystal panel and a backlight.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, along with the increase of interest among people on environmental problems, there has been a demand for electric appliances of low power consumption. A liquid crystal television receiver set is not an exception. In a liquid crystal module which constitutes a display part of a liquid crystal display device such as a liquid crystal television receiver set, most of power is consumed by a backlight. Accordingly, in an attempt to reduce power consumption, the enhancement of light emission efficiency of the backlight per se and the enhancement of transmissivity of the liquid crystal panel are effective.
In this respect, JP 2000-187231 A discloses a technique which enhances the light emission efficiency of a backlight by lowering color temperature of the back light. JP 2000-187231 A also discloses that when the aperture ratio of a blue subpixel is set larger than the aperture ratios of other subpixels among red, green and blue subpixels which constitute each pixel of the liquid crystal panel, a favorable white balance can be acquired due to lowering of color temperature of the backlight. JP 2000-187231 A also discloses that the liquid crystal panel has a weak transmissivity for the blue light.
In reducing the power consumption of the backlight by lowering a color temperature, when the aperture ratio of the blue subpixel is increased to acquire the white balance, the transmissivity of the liquid crystal panel is lowered as a whole. Accordingly, in an attempt to acquire desired white brightness, due to a trade-off between the enhancement of the light emission efficiency of the backlight and the lowering of transmissivity of the liquid crystal panel, there exists a drawback that it is not always possible to acquire the desired reduction of power consumption and the desired white display.

Liquid crystal display device with red, green and blue subpixels having different aperture ratios


Described herein are solid solution composites that are used as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The solid solution composite of α LiMVO4-βLiNi1-x-yCoxMnyO2, in which LiMVO4 has cubic close-packed structure, LiNi1-x-yCoxMnyO2 has hexagonal layered structure, and both share an oxygen lattice fully or partly. The new solid solution materials have advantage for lithium-ion batteries that the working voltage of the composite is adjustable by controlling the molar ratio of α and β and have higher working voltage than current secondary battery materials.

Alkali-ion secondary (rechargeable) batteries, such as rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, as high-capacity batteries have been used as the most promising portable energy storage system for a broad range of areas. Lithium-ion battery can not only offer energy densities 2-3 times and power densities 5-6 times higher than Ni—NH, Ni—Cd, and Pb acid batteries but also has many advantages such as long cycle life, low self discharge, high operating voltage, wide temperature window, and no "memory effect", while cathode materials have hindered the development of lithium-ion battery. The layered transition metal oxide LiNi1-x-yCoxMnyO2 has drawn significant attention as a nee cathode material of lithium-ion battery. The study shows that the layered transition metal oxides have many advantages such as higher theory reversible capacity, good structural flexibility and stability, fast Li ion diffusion, long cycle life, improved safety, high operating voltage, low cost, and environmental benignity. However the energy density of lithium-ion battery is low at the present, which cannot satisfy the electric vehicle's requirement in energy density. Therefore, developing a new material with high energy density for lithium-ion battery is an urgent task.

Solid solution composite LIMVO4-LINI-X-YCOXMNYO2 material for rechargeable lithium ion batteries

Abstract: Also described herein are methods of preparing such composite.

NINGBO INSTITUTE OF MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


In a device and a method for a tree harvester head for trimming tree trunks, the device includes a frame (1) supporting feed rollers (2), one or more trimming knives (4) that pivot towards and away from the tree trunk, as well as a trimming knife (6) permanently fixed to the frame (1) and with a radius of curvature that is essentially equivalent to the radii of curvature of the pivoting trimming knives (4). A complementary trimming knife (7) is arranged in a displaceable manner at the frame and affected by a force of spring tension (9) in a direction towards the tree trunk that is to be worked, whereby the complementary trimming knife (7) has an area of grip around the tree trunk that is significantly less than the area of grip of the pivoting trimming knives (4) or the fixed trimming knife (6) when working the butt end of the trunk, and an area of grip around the tree trunk that is greater than the area of grip of the pivoting trimming knives (4) or the fixed trimming knife (6) when working the top end of the trunk for trimming the trunk from its butt end to its top end.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for trimming when using tree-processing machinery.
2. Description of the Background Art
When processing trees, trimming the tree trunks constitutes a large part of the tree-processing time, whereby a problem is to make the trimming process as efficient as possible, i.e. to achieve as xe2x80x9ccleanxe2x80x9d a trunk as possible. The actual tree harvesting machinery in the form of a felling head or working-up machinery for tree trunks normally includes two pairs of gripping arms, of which at least one pair acts as trimming knives where the arms grip hold of the tree trunk and hold it up against a stop on the tree harvester. To achieve as complete a trimming as possible, this stop can be designed as a third trimming knife that is fixed in position or spring-cushioned against the tree trunk. The gripping arms and the trimming knives of the tree harvester have a radius of curvature sufficient to be able to grasp the sizes that are found, i.e. tree trunks with diameters of about 60 cm. As the diameter of the trunk decreases during the course of the travel of the trunk through the machinery, the trunk will certainly be lifted up against the third knife with the help of the gripping arms but, due to their relatively large radius of curvature that is normally adapted to the thicker part of the trunk, the trimming will become less effective the more the diameter of the trunk decreases.
The aim of the invention is to achieve effective trimming even of the narrower part of the tree trunk, which is possible through the invention having the characteristics stated in the claims.

Device and method in a tree harvester head


The rotatable support for inclinable masts of drilling machines includes a connecting element connected to the lifting mechanism of a drilling machine, and including two essentially parallel planar elements having an essentially triangular or trapezoidal shape, on the vertex of which a coupling element configured for bearing the mast is connected. The coupling element is rotated by two pistons, and is coupled to the connecting element by two hinges having a common rotational axis and spaced one from the other, in order to allow the passage of the piston rods between the hinges.

Drilling machines fit for obtaining vertical or inclined holes in the ground are known.
Said machines are provided with a drilling head that, through the dragger under the head, tows the drilling rod and the covering pipe, also known as jacket.
The drilling head is assembled on a carriage that slides on a vertical or inclinable guide-rail.
A cable or chain is connected, in the upper and in the lower part, with the carriage of the drilling head and slides on two pulleys positioned at the ends of the guide-rail. Said cable or chain is closed as a ring around the guide-rail, around the pulleys and around the carriage of the drilling head and is operated by a proper hydraulic motor and piston.
The sliding of said cable or chain causes the sliding of the carriage and of the drilling head along the guide-rail and consequently the lowering of the drilling head, in order to perform the drilling of the ground, or the lifting of said head in order to extract the drilling rod or in order to realize maintenance operations.
The assemblage of carriage, head, guide-rail is commonly called mast.
The mast, in turn, is constrained by the self-propelled carriage of the machine through a proper support that allows two inclinations:
the inclination of the mast around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the advance direction of the self-propelled carriage;
the rotation of the mast on an axis generically oriented towards the advance direction of the self-propelled carriage.
In short, the support allows the forward inclination of the mast, in order to perform vertical drillings in front of the self-propelled carriage, or inclined perforations in front of the self-propelled carriage even different from a horizontal direction, or the lateral rotation of the mast on the generically vertical plane perpendicular to the advance direction of the self-propelled carriage.
Some drilling machines are provided with a mast support that allows a small lateral translation of the mast itself.
The drilling machines are also provided with levers, mechanism or other device fit for lifting and lowering the mast support, and thus the mast itself, by a short amount.
In some field situations, due to the presence of obstacles and to ground configuration, it is not possible to properly position the self-propelled carriage but it is necessary to utilize supporting structures of the mast equipped on purpose in the site.
There are machines provided with devices for the rotation of the mast about its main axis.
Said machines have the support divided in two parts hinged one to the other on a vertical axis and rotated by two axial and opposed pistons without transmission levers.
The rotation of the mast on said vertical axis is limited at 20-25° on each side because the vertical hinge hinders the extendible rod of the thrusting piston.
When it is desirable to exceed said angle of rotation it is necessary to unconstrain one of the two stems in order to allow the other stem to rotate the system by about 90°.
Said unconstraining action causes a loss of stability and precision in the rotation of the system.

Rotatable support for inclinable masts of drilling machines


A table includes a support member having a work surface with an opening extending through the support member and the work surface. A first mechanism for mounting a router with the support member is provided. A router bit extends generally vertically through the opening and beyond the work surface. A second mechanism for mounting the router with the support member is provided so that the router bit extends generally parallel with the work surface. A mechanism for adjusting the dimension between the router bit and the work surface when the router is mounted with the second mechanism is also provided. The support member has a recess for receiving at least a portion of the router bit below the level of the work surface when the router is mounted with the second mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a wood-working apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for cutting various types of joints, shapes, and articles from wooden workpieces.
2. Description of Related Art
A router is a commonly used machine with a rapidly revolving vertical spindle and cutter for milling out the surface of wood. The cutter typically includes a router bit which cuts the radius of a particular workpiece. As with a great many power tools, great care must be taken when using a router in order to maximize safety. Improper or careless use of a router may result in serious injury.
Applicant is aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,465, which issued to Donald Strong on Aug. 7, 1979, for an Apparatus For Cutting Dovetail Joints. Strong relates to means for cutting close-fitting joints in wooden workpieces, and to an apparatus for supporting a router on a support plate for adjustment along a pair of slide bars such that a dovetail cutting tool can be employed for cutting close-fitting dovetail tongue and groove joints.
Strong relates generally to a device that may be used in wood-cutting endeavors but differs both in structure and operation from the present invention. Applicant is unaware of any prior art that accomplishes the objects of the present invention. Consequently, a need exists for a device accomplishing the objects of the present invention.

Multi-purpose support table for a router