To be able to secure a bone screw, in particular one that can be aligned polyaxially, especially fixedly and nevertheless easily and detachably in an osteosynthesis plate or a comparable implant, a clamping bore is proposed in addition to a receiving bore, whereby the receiving bore holds a bone screw directly or indirectly, and the clamping bore runs essentially perpendicular to the osteosynthesis plate or parallel to the receiving bore, and with a recess in the area of the bores, preferably between the bores, being arranged in relation to the receiving bore in such a way that widening of the clamping bore results in a constriction of the receiving bore.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an osteosynthesis plate or a comparable implant plus a ball socket for such an implant.
2. The Prior Art
A problem frequently encountered in orthopedic surgery is that bone fragments which have been separated due to a fracture must be joined together for the purpose of support and/or healing. Osteosynthesis plates and comparable orthopedic implants have proven suitable for this purpose. They have specially designed receiving bores to receive bone screws. The implants are intended in particular for fixation of unstable fractures of large or small tubular bones as well as compact bones such as vertebral bones, wrist bones or ankle bones.
Numerous implants of the generic type in question have been proposed; they can be divided into roughly three groups:
First, traditional osteosynthesis plates with a spherical or conical screw seat or a spherical sliding seat for dynamic compression are known. These are simple plates made of a biocompatible metal into which bone screws can be screwed through predetermined holes in the bones. The holes in the plates are shaped in different forms and have countersunk bores in the form of spherical or conical round bores or spherical sliding holes for centering the screw heads. When the screw is tightened in the bone, the plate is tightened and secured against the bone.
Such plate-screw joints allow almost exclusively the transfer of tensile forces in the direction of the screw axis as well as transverse forces. However, there is no angular stability with this type of plate-screw joint. Therefore, the elementary prerequisite for the use of traditional osteosynthesis plates is an adequate gripping strength of the screw thread in the bone, which makes it possible to secure the plate tightly enough against the bone. In particular in osteoporosis and in the joint area of tubular bones, however, it is often impossible to achieve adequate holding forces of the screw thread in the bone. Then the screws may become loosened and the bone fragments may become tilted, resulting in failure of the implant.
In addition, there are known monoaxially stable plate-screw joints, where bone screws are screwed into the bone through bores in the osteosynthesis plate at a certain angle that is predetermined by the structure. These bores are designed so that the screws are secured in the osteosynthesis plate at this predetermined angle. This makes it possible to hold even compact bone fragments at a fixed angle in relation to the bone plate in the case of periarticular fractures without having to secure the plate against the bone. The periosteum is advantageously protected in this way. Such implants are known from U.S. Pat. 5,053,036, U.S. Pat. 6,468,278 B1 and German Patent DE 43 41 980 A1, for example.
However, one disadvantage of the monoaxially stable plate-screw joint is that the osteosynthesis plate must be aligned very accurately on the bone because of the fixed plate-screw angle. Even minor misalignment of the plate can cause misalignment of the screws that cannot be corrected.
Finally, various embodiments of polyaxially stable plate-screw joints are known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,036, French Patent 2,790,198, U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,722, U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,690 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,426. The bone screws here are screwed into the bone through bores in the osteosynthesis plate at an angle that can be selected within certain limits of freedom. Since the screws do not naturally have any angular stability at first, they are secured at the previously set angle by means of lockable split taper sockets, which are between the screw and the bore in the plate. The outside surface of the split taper socket and/or the outside surface of the screw head has a spherical shape to ensure free angular mobility.
An alternative approach to free angular mobility without the need for split taper sockets is described by Wolter, Schumann, Seide (1999): The Universal Titanium Fixator; Trauma Berufskrankheiten [Trauma, Occupational Diseases] 1, 307-19. A thread is created in the bore by a tool without creating chips and a bone screw is then screwed through this bore. However, the final direction of the screw is defined without any play when the thread is created.
With the known implants, a fundamental distinction must be made between those that can exert tensile forces on the bone and those that are merely screwed into the bone. With many indications, it is important for the fracture position to secure the bone fragment by tightening the bone screw against the osteosynthesis plate in a targeted manner to thus achieve an anatomically correct position of the respective bone fragments predetermined by the shape of the plate. Of the embodiments cited, this is possible only with the implants according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,690 and the very similar U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,426. However, the implants proposed there have a relatively great structural height in the area of the screw head due to the design, so that the use spectrum is limited, in particular in cases of unfavorable soft tissue coverage.
For fixation of bone screws in any directions, European Patent 0 201 024 A1 discloses an arrangement in which a first plate is in contact with the bone and receives a bone screw polyaxially in a receiving bore, whereby the receiving bore is dimensioned in relation to the head of the bone screw so that the head projects above the first plate. After tightening the bone screw, a cover plate is to be placed on this projecting head and tightened by screwing it against the first plate. Due to the pressure of the head of the bone screw through the cover plate, this creates a frictional engagement between the head of the bone screw and the first plate, causing a directionally rigid connection according to the statements in this document. Here again, however, a relatively great structural height is unavoidable due to the design. Furthermore, this design is relatively complicated and is therefore expensive to manufacture.
The object of the present invention is to design an implant—without restricting the freedom in the angle of the bone screws—i.e., without restricting the conventional use of a particular type of implant—so that the bone screws can be secured particularly reliably and nevertheless easily with the smallest possible plate thickness and the smallest possible total structural height in the area of the bone screws. An example of a conventional use of a type of implant should also include in particular the possibility of being able to exert tensile forces on the bone when the bone screw is screwed into the bone so that the osteosynthesis plate can be tightened against the bone and thus a secure fixation between the bone and the osteosynthesis plate can be achieved.
This object is achieved by an osteosynthesis plate or a comparable orthopedic implant with a receiving bore and a clamping bore, whereby the receiving bore is oriented for holding a bone screw directly or indirectly, and the clamping bore runs essentially perpendicular to the osteosynthesis plate or parallel to the receiving bore. A recess is arranged in the area of the aforementioned bores, preferably between the bores, in relation to the receiving bore and to the clamping bore such that widening of the clamping bore causes a constriction of the receiving bore. Directly holding the bone screw is understood to mean that no split taper socket is arranged between the bone screw and the receiving bore, but instead the two are in direct contact. When it is held indirectly, however, the bone screw is inserted into a clamping screw, which in turn sits in the receiving bore.

Osteosynthesis plate or comparable implant plus ball socket


A manual override mechanism is presented for a motor driven rotary actuator that allows the output of the actuator to be manually positioned. Once positioned, the output of the actuator may be locked by a locking mechanism to prevent this output from rotating to its quiescent position. When incorporated in a spring return rotary actuator, the manual override may be used to apply a preload on the spring before the driven device is connected. When the actuator is used to drive a valve or damper, the preload applies a positive closing force on the damper in its zero position to ensure a tight closure of the valve or damper. The locking mechanism engages the gear train and opposes the closing force applied by the spring return of the actuator. To disengage the locking mechanism automatically, the motor applies a forward kick to the gear train. Manual disengagement is also provided.

The present invention relates generally to motor driven reversible actuator mechanisms, and more particularly to mechanisms that allow the manual setting of the position of motor driven reversible actuator mechanisms.
Motor driven actuator mechanisms for use in controlling the position of valves, dampers, etc. typically include a motor that drives an output coupling in one direction through a gear train to position the valve, damper, etc. in a desired position. Spring type or fail safe actuator mechanisms also typically include a torsion spring coupled to the gear train that is wound during energization of the motor. In this way, energy for rotating the shaft in the other direction when the motor is de-energized is stored in the spring. Upon loss of power to the motor, the torsion spring unwinds, driving the gear train to position the valve, damper, etc. in a desired or fail safe position. Such actuator mechanisms are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,021, entitled Motor-Driven, Spring-Returned Rotary Actuator and U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,081 entitled Reversible Rotary Actuator With Spring Return, both of which are assigned to the assignee of the instant application, the teachings and disclosures of which are incorporated in their entireties herein by reference thereto.
In such rotary actuators the motor rotates the output shaft and winds the spring by way of a gear train which substantially reduces the speed and substantially amplifies the torque of the motor. When the spring unwinds to rotate the output shaft, the spring acts reversely through the gear train and backdrives the motor shaft. An actuator of this type is frequently used to drive a utilization device such as a damper in the duct of a heating, ventilating and cooling system. When the motor is de-energized, the spring drives the output shaft in a direction moving the damper to a closed position against a fixed stop. The effectiveness of the seal of the damper against this fixed stop is somewhat a function of the amount of spring force remaining in the torsion spring when the damper encounters the stop. If this position is reached when the spring has released all of its stored energy, the quality of the seal against the stop is determined solely on the quiescent mechanical contact between these two surfaces, taking into account the mechanical connection to the motor through the gear train.
While such contact between the damper and the fixed stop may be adequate to stop flow through the damper for many installations, certain installations may require that the seal between the damper and the stop be positively held. That is, there are some installations that require that the damper be able to remain positively closed with increased pressure. Such positive closing force against the fixed stop is particularly desirable in higher pressure installations and in valve operations. Indeed, nearly all installations could benefit from such a positive closing force imparted by the spring to ensure the integrity of the closed position.
To provide such a positive closing force on the damper, valve, etc. driven by the spring return actuator, the output coupling of the actuator is often rotated a few degrees before being connected to the drive shaft of the driven device (e.g., damper, valve, etc.). Such rotation of the output coupling winds the spring to establish a preload. Once a spring preload is established, the output coupling of the actuator is connected to the drive shaft of the driven device that is positioned in its closed or failsafe position (referred to herein as the zero position). Once connected, the spring impart the positive preload force on the driven device at its zero position.
Unfortunately, since the output coupling of the actuator is coupled through a torque multiplying gear train, rotation of this output coupling by hand is somewhat difficult. Further, since the return spring also acts through the torque multiplying gear train, holding the output coupling at the preload position while trying to connect this output coupling to the drive shaft of the driven device is also quite difficult.
In view of the above, the present invention is directed to a new and improved spring return rotary actuator that includes a manual override that allows the imparting of a preload on the return spring in a simple and effective manner. Further, the invention is directed to a new and improved spring return rotary actuator having such a manual override that includes a locking mechanism capable of locking the output coupling from rotating under influence of the return spring.
A rotary actuator in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention comprises a motor, a gear train, and an output coupling driven by the motor through the gear train. The gear train multiplies the torque of the motor to drive the output coupling. A manual override mechanism having a user accessible interface is also included. The manual override mechanism operates in conjunction with the gear train to allow manual positioning of the output coupling. Further, a manual locking mechanism having a user accessible interface is also included. This manual locking mechanism engages the gear train to prevent rotation of the output coupling in a first direction.
Preferably, the actuator further comprises a spring return mechanism including a torsion spring coupled to the gear train. This torsion spring is wound upon energization of the motor driving the output coupling in a second direction and is unwound upon de-energization of the motor to drive the output coupling through a portion of the drive train in the first direction. The manual override mechanism is coupled through the torsion spring such that operation of the manual override to effect a rotation of the output coupling in the second direction winds the torsion spring. In a preferred embodiment the manual locking mechanism includes a segment gear head having a toothed portion and a smooth portion on its face. The segment gear head is rotatable between a locked position wherein the toothed portion engages the gear train preventing rotation of the output coupling in the first direction, and an unlocked position wherein the smooth portion is positioned in association with the gear train and the toothed portion is disengaged from the gear train.
Further, the manual locking mechanism preferably includes a reset lock spring operatively coupled to the segment gear head to bias the segment gear head to the unlocked position. The segment gear head also includes a slot adapted to accommodate a stop pin. This stop pin abuts against a first end of the slot in the unlocked position and against a second end of the slot in the locked position. Rotation at a point of engagement with the locking mechanism of the gear train under influence of the torsion spring is in a direction to rotate the segment gear head against the reset lock spring force. This maintains the manual locking mechanism in the locked position. Rotation at a point of engagement with the locking mechanism of the gear train under influence of the motor is in a direction to rotate the segment gear head in accord with the reset lock spring force. This aids the manual locking mechanism to achieve the unlocked position. Preferably, the motor drives the output coupling in a second direction to disengage the locking mechanism from the gear train to allow rotation of the output coupling in the first direction.
In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a locking mechanism for a motor driven rotary actuator having a gear train drivably coupling a motor to an output coupling to drive a device is provided. This locking mechanism comprises a segment gear head having a toothed portion and a smooth portion on its face. The toothed portion is configured to engage a gear in the gear train. The segment gear head is positioned in relation to the gear such that rotation of the segment gear head between a locked position and an unlocked position results in engagement of the toothed portion with the gear in the locked position and disengagement of the toothed portion in the unlocked position. The segment gear head further includes a slot adapted to accommodate a stop pin, and is positioned in the segment gear head such that the stop pin abuts against a first end of the slot in the unlocked position and against a second end of the slot in the locked position. A reset lock spring is operably coupled to the segment gear head to bias the segment gear head to the unlocked position. Further, a user interface is coupled to the segment gear head to rotate the segment gear head between the locked and the unlocked positions.
In a preferred embodiment the toothed portion of the segment gear head occupies approximately 25xc2x0. Further, the toothed portion is preferably positioned in relation to the slot such that rotation of the gear train at a point of engagement with the locking mechanism is in a direction to rotate the segment gear head such that the stop pin engages the second end. Additionally, the reset lock spring preferably is positioned such that engagement of the toothed portion of the segment gear head with the gear train when the actuator is driving the device to a closed position results in rotation of the segment gear head against the bias applied by the reset lock spring.
In yet a further alternate embodiment of the present invention, a spring return, motor driven rotary actuator for driving a flow control device to an open position under power and to a closed position upon loss of power is presented. This actuator comprises a motor, a speed reducing, torque multiplying gear train drivingly coupled to an output of the motor, and an output coupling drivingly coupled to the gear train. This output coupling is driven in a first direction by the motor. A spring return mechanism including a torsion spring coupled to the gear train is also included. The torsion spring is wound upon energization of the motor driving the output coupling in the first direction, and unwinds upon motor de-energization to drive the output coupling through the drive train in a second direction. A manual override mechanism having a first user accessible interface is provided that operates in conjunction with the spring return mechanism to allow manual positioning of the output coupling and winding of the torsion spring. Finally, a manual locking mechanism having a second user accessible interface is also provided. This manual locking mechanism engages the gear train to prevent rotation of the output coupling in the second direction.
In one embodiment the manual locking mechanism includes a segment gear head having a toothed portion on its face, and is rotatable between a locked position wherein the toothed portion engages the gear train preventing rotation of the output coupling in the second direction, and an unlocked position wherein the toothed portion is disengaged from the gear train. The manual locking mechanism further includes a reset lock spring operatively coupled to the segment gear head to bias the segment gear head to the unlocked position. Additionally, the segment gear head includes a slot adapted to accommodate a stop pin, which abuts against a first end of the slot in the locked position to prevent further rotation of the segment gear head. Further, rotation of the gear train at a point of engagement with the locking mechanism under influence of the torsion spring is in a direction to rotate the segment gear head against the reset lock spring force thereby maintaining the manual locking mechanism in the locked position. Rotation of the gear train at a point of engagement with the locking mechanism under influence of the motor is in a direction to rotate the segment gear head in accord with the reset lock spring force thereby aiding the manual locking mechanism to achieve the unlocked position. Preferably, the motor kicks the output coupling in the first direction to disengage the locking mechanism from the gear train to allow rotation of the output coupling in the second direction.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Manual override and locking mechanism and actuator including same


In a magnetic recording medium to detect tracking error signals optically where an optical head and a magnetic head scan different tracks, two signals having phases different by xcfx80/2 are generated and added or subtracted. By changing the amplitude of the two signals with a changeable gain amplifying means, a phase of a tracking error signal is changed so that the servo operation is conducted at the middle of the amplitude of the tracking error signal to keep the magnetic head on track.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information recording media which comprise a high density information recording means such as an optical information recording medium including an optical disk or a magnetic information recording medium including a fixed magnetic disk or a floppy disk, a tracking error signal detection apparatus for the information recording media, and an information recording apparatus which can precisely record, reproduce and erase information on the information recording media using the tracking error signal detection apparatus, and also relates to methods of adjusting an information recording apparatus.
2. Disclosure of the Prior Art
A track pitch of a conventional magnetic recording media on which information is recorded, such as a floppy disk. Therefore, the track pitch is much wider than that of an optical disk, which is about 1.6 xcexcm. Accordingly, a rough track location using a mechanical method such as a stepping motor has been sufficient. However, in order to realize a magnetic recording medium having a larger capacity, a track pitch from several xcexcm to several tens xcexcm m is required. In this case, a precise track location becomes necessary.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a conventional magnetic recording apparatus which detects a tracking error signal by using light. In FIG. 1, a linearly polarized divergent beam 70 radiated from a semiconductor laser light source 10 is converted to a parallel beam by a collimator 20 and the parallel. beam enters a polarizing beam splitter 30. All the parallel beam 70 entering the polarizing beam splitter 30 passes through the polarizing beam splitter 30 and enters a xc2xc wavelength plate 31. The parallel beam 70 is converted to a circularly polarized beam by passing through the xc2xc wavelength plate 31 and is focused on a magnetic recording medium 40 by an object lens 21.
FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the magnetic recording medium 40 and the focused light beam 70. The magnetic recording medium 40 has tracks Tnxe2x88x921, Tn, Tn+1 . . . , which include the area on which information is recorded or reproduced by a magnetic head 99 with a certain pitch pt (approximately 20 xcexcm). Further, discrete guiding grooves Gnxe2x88x921, Gn, Gn+1 . . . , which enable the optical detection of a signal synchronizing A tracking error signal and which enables rotations of the magnetic recording medium 40, are formed in the middle of adjacent tracks.
The beam 70 reflected and diffracted by the magnetic. recording medium 40 passes through the object lens 21 again, and enters the xc2xc wavelength plate 31. By passing through the xc2xc wavelength plate 31 again, the beam 70 is converted to a linearly polarized beam having a 90xc2x0 phase change of the light source 10. All the beam passing through the xc2xc wavelength plate 31 is reflected by the polarizing beam splitter 30 and enters a photodetector 50. The incident light beam is converted into an electric signal by the photodetector 50 and inputted to a signal processing portion 80.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the photodetector 50 has two light sensing portions 501, 502. Signals outputted from the light sensing portions 501, 502 are converted to voltage signals by current-voltage (I-V) converting portions 851, 852 respectively, and inputted to a differential operation part 871. The differential operation part 871 subtracts the two voltage signals outputted from the I-V converting portions 851, 852.
When a beam 70 from the optical system has a displacement x from the center of a guiding groove such as Gn on a magnetic recording medium 40, voltage signals v21, v22 outputted from the I-V converting portions 851, 852 become sine waves having opposite phases which can be approximately represented by the below mentioned formulae (1) and (2). The signals v21, v22 can be illustrated as FIG. 3(a) and (b).                     v21        =                                                            -                A                            ·              sin                                                  xe2x80x83                                                  (                              2                                                  xe2x80x83                                                π                                                  xe2x80x83                                                                  x                  /                  pt                                            )                                +          B                                    (        1        )                                v22        =                                            A              ·              sin                                                  xe2x80x83                                                  (                              2                                                  xe2x80x83                                                π                                                  xe2x80x83                                                                  x                  /                  pt                                            )                                +          B                                    (        2        )
In the formulae (1) and (2), A is an amplitude and B is a DC component.
A signal v23 outputted from the I-V converting portion 871 can be represented by the below mentioned formula (3) and outputted from a terminal 801 as the tracking error signal.
v23=2xc2x7Axc2x7sin(2xcfx80x/pt)xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
The signal v23 can be illustrated as FIG. 3(c). The tracking error signal v23 outputted from the terminal 801 is inputted to a driving portion 90 to adjust relative positions of a magnetic recording medium 40 and a base 95 including a tracking error signal detection optical system 100 and a magnetic head 99 for recording and reproducing information so as to form a desired track on the magnetic recording medium 40. The tracking error signal detection method is known as the push pull method.
(First Problem)
In a conventional magnetic recording apparatus using a magnetic head 99 for recording and reproducing information, and an optical system 100 for the detection of a tracking error signal, a distance d between a point S1 at which the magnetic head 99 contacts a magnetic recording medium 40 and a focal point S2 of a beam 70 from the optical system needs to be at least several hundred xcexcm to several mm. That is, the point S1 at which the magnetic head 99 contacts the magnetic recording medium 40 and the focal point S2 of the beam 70 scan different tracks on the magnetic recording medium 40.
In assembling a magnetic recording apparatus, the distance d is adjusted so as to have the working point of the tracking servo at the midpoint S3 of the signal amplitude of the tracking error signal v23 as illustrated in FIG. 3(c) when the point S1 is on a track of the magnetic recording medium 40. However, temperature or humidity change causes expansion or contraction of the magnetic recording medium 40 and the track pitch pt changes accordingly. Therefore, in the tracking operation at the point S3 using the tracking error signal v23 obtained from the optical system 100, the point S1 becomes off track and thereby drastically deteriorates the information reproduction characteristics.
In this case, for example, if a point S4 is the working point on the tracking error signal when the point S1 is on the track, a tracking servo can be enabled by applying an offset voltage to the tracking servo. However, the dynamic range of the orientation illustrated by the arrow D1 lowers and thereby deteriorate the followability in the case disturbance generates. Further, as the point S4 moves farther from the point S3, the servo gain of the tracking operation lowers. When the point S4 eventually reaches the point S5, a new problem occurs that the servo gain of the tracking becomes 0 thereby completely losing the tracking servo.
On the other hand, in an optical disk apparatus where the beam used to detect tracking error signals and the beam used to record information on the information recording medium are identical, a configuration forming a track on or between the guiding grooves so as to record and reproduce information with a further high density is proposed. However, in this configuration, when the relationship pt greater than xcex/NA is satisfied where xcex is a wavelength of the beam radiated from the light source, NA is an numerical aperture of the object lens at the information recording medium side, and pt is a cycle of marks or guiding grooves formed on the information recording medium to enable the detection of the tracking error signals, a problem similar to the above mentioned problem occurs when the predetermined angle between the beam focused by the object lens and the information recording medium can not be sustained.
Specific examples include the case having a wavelength xcex of 650 nm, a numerical aperture NA of 0.6, a cycle pt of marks or guiding grooves of 1.48 xcexcm, and a substrate thickness for the information recording medium of 0.6 mm.
(Second Problem)
Dusts or flaws on the magnetic recording medium 40 change the reflection ratio of the magnetic recording medium 40 and the intensity of a light beam 70 reflected thereby accordingly. In this case, a problem occurs in that an offset occurs in the tracking error signal, and thus the magnetic head 99 can not be controlled on a desired track of the magnetic recording medium 99.
(Third Problem)
Moreover, as in the above mentioned prior art, if a stepping motor is used in the tracking driving portion 90 for a magnetic recording medium having a track pitch of several xcexcm to several tens xcexcm for seeking tracking error signals using a light beam, an off track generates which depends on the step width of the stepping motor. By making the step width narrower to reduce the off track amount, a problem occurs in that the time for detecting tracks becomes longer. These two problems can be solved by the use of a DC motor instead of a stepping motor in the tracking driving system. However, since mechanical positioning can not be controlled if a DC motor is employed in a tracking driving portion 90, a new problem occurs in that information can not be recorded or reproduced in a magnetic recording medium having a track pitch of 188 xcexcm, which is now widely used.
(Fourth Problem)
Further, an optically optimum value for a numerical aperture NA of the object lens 21 for a magnetic recording medium having a track pitch of 50 xcexcm is about 0.017. However, when an angular dislocation xcex8 exists between the beam 70 focused by the object lens 21 and the magnetic recording medium 40, the beam 70 reflected by the magnetic recording medium 40 can not enter the aperture. Therefore a problem occurs in that the quantity of the light beam introduced to the photodetector 50 decreases and thus the tracking operation becomes unstable. The relationship between a performance function Ev with respect to the angular dislocation xcex8 (Ev=0.5xc2x7tan(2xc2x7xcex8)/NA) and a quantity of light I of the beam 70 introduced by the photodetector 50 is shown in FIG. 4. With a numerical aperture NA for the object lens 21 of 0.017, the angular dislocation xcex8 is 0.97 when the quantity of light I of the beam 70 on the photodetector 50 is 0, namely, the performance function Ev is 1. In this case, the tracking error signal can not be obtained at all.
A first object of the present invention is to provide a tracking error signal detection apparatus which can realize a tracking servo operation with a constant stability without deteriorating the dynamic range or the gain of the tracking error signal.
That is, a first tracking error signal detection apparatus of the present invention comprises a light source to radiate a light beam, a converging optical system to converge the light beam radiated from the light source on a reflecting body in a minute spot, a beam splitting means to split the light beam reflected and diffracted by the reflecting body, a photodetector to sense the beam splitted by the beam splitting means and output a signal according to the quantity of light, a first arithmetic means to process a signal outputted from the photodetector, a changeable gain amplifying means to change the intensity of the signal outputted from the arithmetic means and output at least two signals, and a second arithmetic means to add or subtract the two signals outputted from the changeable gain amplifying means.
In the above mentioned configuration, the movement of the working point in the tracking error signal can be detected as the phase change of the signal outputted from the second arithmetic means by processing the two signals outputted from the changeable gain amplifying means by the second arithmetic means. In this case, by sustaining the amplitude of the tracking error signal at a certain level and operating the tracking servo operation at the middle of the amplitude of the tracking error signal, the magnetic head can be positioned properly on the track.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a tracking error signal detection apparatus which is not liable to generate the offset in the tracking error signal even when a reflection ratio of the information recording medium changes partially.
That is, a second tracking error signal detection apparatus of the present invention comprises a light source to radiate a light beam, a converging optical system to converge the light beam radiated from the light source on a reflecting body in a minute spot, a beam splitting means to split the light beam reflected and diffracted by the reflecting body, a photodetector to sense the beam splitted by the beam splitting means and output a signal according to the quantity of light, and a signal processing portion to process the signal outputted from the photodetector to generate a tracking error signal, wherein a cyclic physical change which changes the reflecting ratio is formed on the reflecting body so as to have a magnitude of a light beam in the orientation parallel to the physical change larger than the magnitude of the light beam in the orientation orthogonal to the physical change.
In the above mentioned configuration, the change of the beam intensity depending on the partial reflecting ratio change of the reflecting body can be reduced by enlarging the magnitude of the beam focused on the reflecting body. Thus a tracking error signal having little offset can be detected.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic recording apparatus which can detect a tracking error signal on either a magnetic recording medium having a track pitch of several xcexcm to several tens xcexcm or a magnetic recording medium having a track pitch of 188 xcexcm.
In order for the third object, a first magnetic recording apparatus of the present invention comprises a light source to radiate a light beam, a first converging optical system to converge the light beam radiated from the light source on a first reflecting body in a minute spot, a second converging optical system to converge the light beam radiated from the light source on a second reflecting body in a minute spot, a beam splitting means to split the light beams reflected and diffracted by the first and second reflecting bodies, an photodetector to sense the beams splitted by the beam splitting means and output signals according to the quantity of light, a magnetic head to record information on the information recording medium or to reproduce information on the information recording medium, a signal processing portion to generate a tracking error signal from a plurality of signals outputted from the photodetector, and a control means to control the tracking of the magnetic head with respect to the information recording medium based on the tracking error signal, wherein a cyclic physical change is formed on the first and second reflecting bodies, and the cycle of the physical change formed on the first reflecting body and the cycle of the physical change formed on the second reflecting body are different.
In the above mentioned configuration, since a tracking error signal can be generated using a light beam reflected by the first reflecting body for a magnetic recording medium having a track pitch of several xcexcm to several tens xcexcm, and a tracking error signal can be generated using a light beam reflected by the second reflecting body for a magnetic recording medium having a track pitch of a 188 xcexcm, a tracking operation can be conducted on magnetic recording media having different tracking pitches.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic recording apparatus which can detect a tracking error signal stably even when an angle dislocation xcex8 exists between the beam 70 focused by the object lens 21 and the magnetic recording medium 40, and an adjusting method thereof.
That is, a second magnetic recording apparatus of the present invention comprises a light source to radiate a light beam, a converging optical system to converge the light beam radiated from the light source on a reflecting body in a minute spot, a beam splitting means to split the light beam reflected and diffracted by the reflecting body, an photodetector to sense the beam splitted by the beam splitting means and output a signal according to the quantity of light, and a magnetic head to record information on the information recording medium or to reproduce information on the information recording medium, wherein a cyclic physical change which changes the reflecting ratio is formed on the reflecting body and further comprises any of the belong mentioned components (1) to (3):
(1) two mirrors formed integrally on a common supporting body to change the orientation of a beam on the optical path extending from the light source to the reflecting body,
(2) a converging optical system having an aperture in the second orientation larger than an aperture in the first orientation with the premise that the orientation of the cyclic physical change of the reflecting body is the first orientation and the orientation orthogonal to the first orientation is the second orientation, and
(3) a converging optical system having a diffraction element formed in the vicinity thereof.
An adjusting method in assembling a magnetic recording apparatus of the present invention wherein the magnetic recording apparatus comprises a light source to radiate a light beam, a converging optical system to converge a light beam radiated from the light source on a reflecting body in a minute spot, a beam splitting means to split the light beam reflected and diffracted by the reflecting body, a photodetector to sense the beam splitted by the beam splitting means and output a signal according to the quantity of light, and a magnetic head to record information on the information recording medium or to reproduce information on the information recording medium, wherein the light source is located in a position orthogonal to the optical axis of the converging optical system so as to have a predetermined angle formed by the beam focused by the converging optical system and the reflecting body.
By having the component (1), an angle dislocation between the optical axis of the beam focused by the converging optical system and the magnetic recording medium caused by the installation error of the mirror used for reducing the area occupied by the optical system can be prevented since the movement of a mirror can be offset by the movement of another mirror.
By having the component (2), since an numerical aperture NA in the second orientation becomes larger, the effect of the vignetting of the light beam in the converging optical system caused by an angle dislocation between the optical axis of the beam focused by the converging optical system and the magnetic recording medium can be avoided.
By having the component (3), since a light beam in the converging optical system which moves depending on an angle dislocation between the optical axis of the beam focused by the converging optical system and the magnetic recording medium can be guided to an sensing element by the diffraction element, a vignetting of the light beam in the converging optical system can be prevented.
Accordingly, in any case, a magnetic recording apparatus which can stably detect a tracking error signal stablly can be provided.
Moreover, since an angle dislocation between the optical path of the light beam focused by the converging optical system and the magnetic recording medium caused by the installation error of elements comprising the magnetic recording apparatus can be compensated in the above mentioned adjusting method, a light beam reflected by the reflecting body can always return to enter the aperture of the lens, and thus a tracking error signal can be detected stably.

Tracking error signal detection system for optical recording medium

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Generally, this disclosure describes technologies for securely storing and using biometric authentication information, such as biometric reference templates. In some embodiments, the technologies include a client device that stores one or more biometric reference templates in a memory thereof. The client device may transfer such templates to an authentication device. The transfer may be conditioned on verification that the authentication device includes a suitable protected environment for the templates and will execute an acceptable temporary storage policy. The technologies may also include an authentication device that is configured to temporarily store biometric reference templates received from a client device in a protected environment thereof. Upon completion of biometric authentication or the occurrence of a termination event, the authentication devices may delete the biometric reference templates from the protected environment.

For the purpose of security and other reasons electronic devices, systems, and services may be protected by one or more authentication protocols such as a password authentication protocol. In an example password authentication protocol, an individual may supply a username and password to a service provider (e.g., his or her email provider). The service provider may store this information in association with the individual's account. When the individual wishes to access the account, he/she may log in to the service by providing his/her user name and password through a relevant portal such as a website or other application.
Although password authentication protocols are useful, they are becoming increasingly cumbersome as the number of user accounts and the need to use secure (e.g. complex and/or hard to remember) passwords increases. Such protocols also frequently require the storage of a username and password combination on a third party system such as an authentication server. Because authentication servers often store copious amounts of user account information, they may be considered a prime target for attack by malicious software and/or a hacker. If either or both of those entities successfully attack and gain access to the authentication server, the usernames and passwords stored in the server may be compromised.
Biometric authentication protocols have been considered as an alternative to password authentication protocols for user identity verification. Although useful, existing biometric authentication protocols may require users to provide reference templates including samples of their biometric information to a remote authentication agent such as an authentication server operated by an enterprise or third party authentication service. This may raise the same concerns as some password authentication protocols, in that a user's biometric reference templates may be compromised by a hacker or malicious software targeting the authentication server.
In addition, when a user provides a biometric reference template to a service provider, he/she may lose some or all control over that template and the information contained therein. Indeed, once reference biometric information is provided to a service provider, it may be difficult to for a user to revoke or otherwise delete that information from the service provider's systems. This may give rise to privacy and/or other concerns, particularly as the biometric information in a reference template may be considered personal private information of the user.
Local biometric authentication protocols have also been considered an option to password authentication protocols. In an example local biometric authentication protocol, authentication is performed by a local (client) device based on biometric reference templates stored in its memory, rather than on a centralized authentication server operated by a service provider. In such instances, the local device may attempt to verify user identity by comparing biometric test information obtained from the user with sensors available to the local device, and comparing the biometric test information against the biometric reference templates stored in the memory of the local device.
While local biometric authentication protocols are useful, such systems may still require substantially permanent storage of biometric reference templates in the client device. As a result, such systems may suffer from the same privacy concerns as a biometric authentication protocol that leverages a remote authentication server. These privacy concerns may be elevated in instances where the device performing the authentication may be easily lost and/or shared amongst multiple users, such as may be the case with mobile or other electronic devices that may be rented. Moreover, a client side biometric authentication protocol may not be capable of identifying a user unless the user has previously provided a biometric reference template to the client device performing the protocol.
Although the following detailed description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications, and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Technologies for secure storage and use of biometric authentication information


Uses media, for example audio, video or text performances that were integrated into an online community for feedback determinative of outcome, for digital distribution. Apportions compensation for a selected artist from revenue that may be generated through one or any combination of advertisement, services associated with artist's performance, and media sales. The media may include singing, instrumental music, rhythmic music, videos, and writings.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of computer software and is more particularly, but not by way of limitation, directed to a system and method for selecting an artist meeting a certain threshold of votes and apportioning revenue derived from services associated with artist's performance data, and distribution of advertisement and artist's media content.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are numerous online social networking and communities that provide users with an interface for interacting with other users. In some cases, online social networking is combined with offline elements such as face-to-face events. The ability of users to buy products, obtain information from online services is revolutionizing the way business is done. The importance of the Internet as a tool of electronic commerce cannot be overstated.
Although the existing social networks are powerful tools for interacting with people who have similar interests, such communities are not organized for users who hold themselves out as having artistic talent to receive a part of revenue generated derived from byproducts of their artistic talent and popularity. There is a need for a system to select artists meeting a certain threshold of feedback and apportioning revenue derived from services based on network traffic associated with artist's performance data, and distribution of advertisement and artist's media content. Embodiments of the invention enable an opportunity for the independent community to utilize a platform that allows for monetization despite the impossible threshold of penetration into the major label and studio system that is run by a few tastemakers who select content for the masses. This allows a platform for independent artists to exploit their art and have a community of consumers/end users democratically determine what content they want to see more of. Hence, embodiments of the invention benefit the consumer and the independent artist, not the major labels and studios. Although a small percentage of artists are successful in penetrating the major label/studio system, embodiments of the invention provides a system that allows all artists to avail their content for the actual consumer to say yes or no and actually monetize immediately as opposed to waiting and hoping that an executive at one of the majors thinks they have what it takes. For at least these reasons, there is a need for a system for apportioning revenue for media content derived from an online feedback community.

System for apportioning revenue based on content delivery by an online community


There is provided a solid electrolytic capacitor, including: a condenser element including a chip body molded by sintering, a positive electrode terminal contact layer formed on one area of the chip body to be exposed to the outside, an insulating layer formed in the entire area or some area other than one area in which the positive electrode terminal contact layer is formed, and a negative electrode layer stacked on the insulating layer; a negative electrode extracting layer stacked to be electrically connected with the negative electrode layer; a negative electrode terminal stacked on the negative electrode extracting layer; a positive electrode terminal stacked on the positive electrode terminal contact layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a condenser element, a solid electrolytic capacitor, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a solid electrolytic capacitor is one of various electronic parts used to block DC current and pass AC current, in addition to storing electricity. As a representative solid electrolytic capacitor, there is a tantalum condenser contained therein.
The tantalum condenser has been used for general industrial instruments and application circuits operated in the range of a low rated voltage. In particular, the tantalum condenser has been frequently used to reduce noise from circuits or portable communication devices with a problem in frequency characteristics.
The above-mentioned solid electrolytic capacitor is manufactured by inserting a positive electrode wire into a central portion, or portions other than the central portion, of a condenser element made of tantalum and bending the inserted positive electrode wire at the outside of the condenser element.
That is, in order to electrically connect the positive electrode terminal to the condenser element, the positive electrode wire should be inserted and mounted in the central portion of the condenser element and the inserted positive electrode wire should be bent at the outside of the condenser element.
As a result, there is a problem, in that the solid electrolytic capacitor includes an area in which the volumetric efficiency of the positive electrode part is reduced due to the positive electrode wire. In other words, the solid electrolytic capacitor includes an inner space that is not used by the positive electrode wire, which causes a problem in reducing the volumetric efficiency of the positive electrode part.
In addition, since the positive electrode wire inserted into the condenser element is electrically connected to the positive electrode terminal, there is a limitation in improving electrical resistance characteristics, due to limitations in the thickness of the positive electrode wire. In other words, there is a problem in that electrical resistance characteristics are deteriorated due to the positive electrode wire.

Condenser element, solid electrolytic capacitor and method for manufacturing the same


Inflation pressure of an inflated article, e.g. a wheel tire 12, is measured by pressure sensing apparatus 10 located on the inflated article. Portable apparatus 20 is brought into proximity with the sensing apparatus 10 and a power signal is transmitted for the portable apparatus to energise the sensing apparatus. The portable apparatus acquires pressure data signals output by the sensing apparatus, processes these data signals and displays an inflation pressure value. The power signal and pressure data signals are transmitted by engaging a probe 24 provided as part of the portable apparatus with a cylindrical body member 13 of the sensing apparatus. A particular advantage of the portable apparatus is in acquiring and displaying inflation pressure values of aircraft undercarriage wheel tires because the aircraft power does not have to be switched on and the cockpit entered to obtain inflation pressure readings.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pressure measurement apparatus and is more particularly concerned with portable apparatus which may be used external of an inflated article to acquire and display an inflation pressure value from a pressure sensing apparatus located on the article.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The task of checking wheel tire inflation pressures on multi-wheel undercarriages of large aircraft using a conventional pressure gauge connected to a tire inflation valve is a difficult and tiresome task for ground crew. Systems have been proposed which provide for pressure values output by a pressure sensor located on the wheel to be transmitted to the aircraft for display at the flight station in the aircraft cockpit. An advantage of such systems is that they allow tire pressures to be monitored by aircrew at any time during a flight operation, including when the aircraft is taxiing for takeoff and prior to landing. A disadvantage of such systems is their high cost and that tire pressure values can only be read in the cockpit so that when the aircraft is being serviced by groundcrew it is necessary for the aircraft electrical power system to be switched on and for a groundcrew member to enter the cockpit in order to read tire pressure values.
Disclosures of such systems, which display inflation pressure values internally of a vehicle, are to be found, for example in US-A-4845649; US-A-4891973, US-A-4909074; US-A-5140851 and GB-A-2251947.
US-A-4308520 discloses a tire pressure indicator having a wheel mounted pressure transponder unit and a hand-held interrogator unit which can be positioned for coupling with the transponder unit. The transponder unit returns signals to the interrogator unit in accordance with the pressure in the tire mounted on the wheel. When the tire pressure is above a predetermined safe level, a "safe" light on the interrogator is illuminated, and when the pressure is below the safe level a "low" light is illuminated. Thus, this apparatus does not provide a read-out of the tire pressure value.
One aim of the present invention is the provision of portable apparatus, such as may be held in the hand and used to acquire and display an inflation pressure value from pressure sensing apparatus located on an inflated article.
Another aim of this invention is the provision of such a portable apparatus for use in acquiring and displaying an inflation pressure value from pressure sensing apparatus located on a vehicle wheel, e.g. an aircraft undercarriage wheel, without the vehicle power system being switched on or entry having to be made into the vehicle.

Portable apparatus for measurement and display of internal pressure of tires


Disclosed are a powder kneading method and apparatus, in which a vermicelli-forming powder for the production of vermicelli or buckwheat vermicelli, a bread-forming powder or a soil powder for a soil paste for the production of a ceramic ware or the like is uniformly mixed with fine particulate ice, the ice in the powder/ice mixture is melted in an atmosphere maintained at a temperature higher than 0.degree. C. and a pressure is applied to the mixture to remove air contained in the interior of the mixture during or after the melting. Only by such simple operations, the powder can be uniformly kneaded with water, and a vermicelli or buckwheat vermicelli dough or a soil paste for a ceramic ware or a tile can be easily prepared in a very short time.

A dough of vermicelli, buckwheat vermicelli or bread is prepared by kneading a starting powder such as wheat flour or buckwheat flour sufficiently with predetermined amounts of water and additives. As the conventional method for kneading such a powder with water, there is generally adopted a method in which predetermined amounts of the starting powder, water and additives are changed in a kneading vessel and the mixture is then kneaded manually or by using a machine.
In this conventional kneading method, kneading should be conducted for a long time in order to obtain a good dough having a softness resembling that of the earlobe, and especially in case of the manual operation, a considerably long time is required for kneading and the quality of the formed dough differs according to the manner of applying the force even if the kneading operation is conducted for the amount of time.
Furthermore, in the production of a ceramic ware or tile, the step of kneading soil with water for forming a starting soil paste is included, and as in the production of a dough of vermicelli, buckwheat vermicelli or bread, a considerably long time is required for kneading soil with water.
The present invention has been completed under this background, and it is therefore a primary object of the present invention to knead a powder with water easily in a very short time and obtain a high-quality dough or soil paste which is substantially uniform in the quality.

Method and apparatus for kneading powder, and kneaded material


A bone grafting and/or shaping instrument includes a handle portion, a collection chamber and a blade. Features on the blade cooperate with features on the collection chamber to secure the blade to the collection chamber. A flexible joint between the collection chamber and the handle portion allows the user to orient the cutting edge of the blade in any desired position relative to the handle portion.

The present invention relates to the field of surgery. The invention has particular utility in connection with the removal and collection of bone from the surface of one or more donor sites, and the preparation and placement of the autogenous bone material at a second location in the patient, e.g. for use in grafting bone to osseous deficiencies, such as periodontal and dentoalveolar defects, bone deficiencies around dental implants, and numerous orthopedic applications that require grafting, and will be described in connection with such utility, although other utilities are contemplated.
Many reconstructive procedures used in medicine and dentistry involve the manipulation and healing of bones. Such procedures may involve changes in the position, orientation, shape and size of skeletal structures. A problem that is commonly encountered during such procedures is a lack of bone graft material. Bone graft material may be used in several applications, such as to fill between sections of bone that have been repositioned, to change surface geometry, or to add bone to an area that is deficient, such as in conjunction with periodontal surgery or dental implants in the patients"" jaws.
The need to harvest small bone grafts from intraoral sites has been common in periodontal surgery to restore bone defects around teeth. In the case of dental implant surgery, bone grafts may be needed to augment atrophic alveolar ridges of the maxilla and/or mandible and the sinus floor to increase the dimension of these bone sites to accommodate and totally cover the endosseus portion of implant fixtures. Bone grafts also are used in conjunction with guided tissue regeneration; a technique that uses a membrane to isolate hard tissue from soft tissue sites and potentiates hard tissue healing.
It is often difficult to harvest adequate amounts of autogenous bone from intraoral sites. Therefore, clinicians often rely on non-autogenous sources of graft material, such as bone from cadaver sources (homologous or allogenic grafts), animal sources (heterogenous or xenogeneic grafts), or synthetic bone substitutes. However, healing of non-autogenous material grafts is not as extensive or predictable as healing of autogenous bone; plus there is the additional cost of such non-autogenous graft materials, which can be significant.
Clinicians use several techniques to remove bone for grafting for intraoral procedures. In one such technique rotary instruments, such as side cutting burrs or trephines, are used to remove a piece or section of cortical bone from a local intraoral site in the maxilla or mandible. The cortical bone is often morsalized into a particulate form, either manually with a rongeur like instrument or in a bone mill. The particulate bone is then combined with blood to form an osseous coagulum, which is then positioned and packed into the osseous defect around the teeth or implant. See Robinson, R.E. xe2x80x9cOsseous Coagulum for Bone Inductionxe2x80x9d, J. Periodontology 40:503(1969). Suction devices with filters have been fabricated and manufactured to collect the bone dust from rotary instruments. See Hutchinson, RA xe2x80x9cUtilization of an Osseous Coagulum Collection Filterxe2x80x9d, J. Periodontology 44:668(1973). See also Goldman, et al., xe2x80x9cPeriodontal Therapyxe2x80x9d, pp 994-1005, C.V. Mosby Co., (1980); and Haggarty, et al., xe2x80x9cAutogenous Bone Grafts: A Revolution in the Treatment of Vertical Bone Defectsxe2x80x9d, J. Periodontology 42:626(1971). While such techniques are widely used by clinicians, the techniques have limitations, since sites to harvest sections of intraoral bone are limited in number and extent because of limited intraoral access, proximity to tooth roots, nerve structures and sinus cavities, and thin plates of bone.
Other techniques for harvesting bone include using chisels or osteotomes to remove and manually collect shavings from the surface. These instruments must be very sharp and the process is often awkward and time consuming. Other manual instruments such as bone files and rasps also remove bone. However, the efficiency of cutting and the ability to use the removed bone is greatly limited. Another technique is to collect bone dust generated by twist drills or taps used to prepare the sites for implant placement. However, much of the bone material may be lost while the site is being irrigated to cool the cutting instrument. When larger amounts of bone are needed for major reconstructive procedures, other sites such as the hip (anterior or posterior ilium), tibia, ribs, or the calvarium often are used. However, using such other sites necessitates a second surgical site, which may require postoperative hospitalization, and thus is less amenable, e.g. in the case of an out-patient dental procedure.
Various surgical devices have been proposed and/or are in use to harvest bone marrow samples for biopsy or devices such as rongeurs or bone cutters or punches to remove sections or convex edges of bone. Surgical devices also are in use in arthroscopy and endoscopy for cutting or drilling bone or tissue and removing the tissue fragments. Ultrasonic devices to cut bone also are in use; however, such devices require the removal of the irrigant and debris liberated by the apparatus. Each of these methods and/or devices, however, suffers from one or more deficiencies as applied to the collection of bone for grafting.
Yet other patented devices have been proposed; each of these, however, suffers from one or more deficiencies:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,403,317 and 5,269,785 to Bonutti show a method and apparatus for the percutaneous cutting and removal of tissue fragments from human. The Bonutti device removes the tissue fragments by suction where it can be collected and then placed elsewhere in the patient from where originally obtained. Bonutti employs a flexible drill, and suction to remove the debris to an externally placed collection reservoir, where it is compressed before being replaced into the patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,526,662 to Hipps discloses a bone meal extractor apparatus for mechanically removing bone meal from a donor bone site through a small percutaneous site using a drill. The drill shavings, which comprise primarily sub-surface bone, are then evacuated into an open cut that the drill passes through, for collection.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,213 to Doppelt teaches a device for obtaining a bone biopsy for diagnosis of various bone diseases. The Doppelt device is intended to remove a core of bone using a tubular drill, while maintaining the architecture of the tissue. The sample is obtained from the marrow space and not intended from re-implantation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,359 to Kedem shows a hard tissue biopsy instrument in which samples are taken using a rotatably driven hollow needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,822 to Altshuler discloses a method and apparatus for bone marrow cell separation and analysis. The Altshuler apparatus collects bone marrow cells in a filtration chamber on a filter interposed between a needle directed into the bone marrow site and an aspirator or vacuum source, i.e. using negative pressure to withdrawal marrow cells through a needle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,411 to Schoolman teaches, a vacuum barrier attachment for shielding the operator of a medical tool from harmful aerosols and blood, etc. created by drilling, sawing types of actions, etc. The Schoolman device requires vacuum and is not intended for harvesting tissue for re-implantation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,338 to Wright et al. discloses a device instrument for removing bone that uses a shearing action similar to a rongeur to cut bone, with means for collecting fragments of bone as they are removed. The Wright et al. device reportedly is used mainly for the removal of projections or edges of bone using a shearing mechanism without the intent of harvesting the bone for grafting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,024 to Falk teaches an arthroscopy hook-clippers device that allows the unobstructed removal of tissue or bone with removal of the fragments by suction. The Falk device is intended for arthroscopy applications and with the removal of projections of tissue or bone and not specifically for the harvest of tissue for grafting.
Yet other prior art devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,429 to Loscher et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,064 to Thimsen et al.
The foregoing discussion of the prior art derives from my earlier PCT Application No. WO 97/11646, which describes a hand-held surgical instrument for the cutting, removal, and storage of bone surface shavings for use as autogenous bone grafts. The instrument is comprised of a blade mounted in a handle for holding and supporting said blade. The blade has a cutting structure adjacent its distal end. In a preferred form, the handle cooperates to provide a storage space adjacent the distal end of the blade for receiving harvested bone from the cutting structure. The instrument is held at an acute angle to the bone, and with minimal downward pressure, is drawn across the bone surface to cut and collect a thin shaving of bone. The blade is preferably retractable to allow the clinician access to harvested material. A plunger preferably is incorporated into the handle to serve both as a locking mechanism to secure the blade and as a means to advance and consolidate the bone in the distal aspect of the instrument.
The present invention provides enhanced functionality and reduced cost over the surgical instrument described in my aforesaid PCT Application No. WO 97/11646.
The invention is directed to a hand-held surgical instrument for the cutting, removal, and storage of bone surface shavings for use as autogenous bone grafts. The instrument is comprised of a blade and storage compartment coupled to a handle. The blade may be made from a section of metal that is oriented relative to a longitudinal axis of the handle to allow the operator to more easily cut or scrape and accumulate bone. The blade preferably is slid into place over a collection chamber and secured to prevent accidental removal. The collection chamber includes storage space adjacent the cutting edge of the blade for receiving harvested bone from the blade. The collection chamber may be coupled to a handle portion at a joint. The joint allows the user to orient the blade relative to the handle in order to access hard to reach locations. A pry bar may be employed to assist in removal of the blade from the collection chamber. The pry bar may be stored within the handle portion.
In use, the blade and collection chamber is held at an acute angle to the bone and the user applies a minimal downward pressure as the tool is drawn across the bone surface. Thin shavings of bone are cut by the cutting edge and collected in the collection chamber. The clinician can view the amount of harvested material through an opening, preferably a slot, provided in the blade.
In a preferred embodiment, the blade is removable and replaceable, while the handle is reusable.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the handle has an area of reduced mechanical strength or a flexible joint displaced from the cutting edge, the area of reduced mechanical strength allowing the cutting edge to be angularly positioned relative to a longitudinal axis of the blade.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent in the following detailed description thereof when read in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein the same reference numerals denote the same or similar parts, and wherein:

Apparatus and method for harvesting bone


A media object authentication system uses layers of security features based on digital watermarks embedded in media objects. The system generates a first digital watermark with a message payload carrying data about the object, such as a hash of text data printed on the object. The first digital watermark is combined with a content signature derived from features of the media object, such as frequency domain attributes, edge attributes, or other filtered version of the media signal (e.g., image photo on a secure document) on the media object. This combination forms a new digital watermark signal that is embedded in the host media object. To verify the object, the digital watermark payload is extracted and compared with the data about the object. The combined digital watermark and content signature is also evaluated to authenticate the media signal on the media object.

Digital watermarking is a process for modifying physical or electronic media to embed a hidden machine-readable code into the media. The media may be modified such that the embedded code is imperceptible or nearly imperceptible to the user, yet may be detected through an automated detection process. Most commonly, digital watermarking is applied to media signals such as images, audio signals, and video signals. However, it may also be applied to other types of media objects, including documents (e.g., through line, word or character shifting), software, multi-dimensional graphics models, and surface textures of objects.
Digital watermarking systems typically have two primary components: an encoder that embeds the watermark in a host media signal, and a decoder that detects and reads the embedded watermark from a signal suspected of containing a watermark (a suspect signal). The encoder embeds a watermark by subtly altering the host media signal. The reading component analyzes a suspect signal to detect whether a watermark is present. In applications where the watermark encodes information, the reader extracts this information from the detected watermark.
Several particular watermarking techniques have been developed. The reader is presumed to be familiar with the literature in this field. Particular techniques for embedding and detecting imperceptible watermarks in media signals are detailed in the assignee's application Ser. No. 09/503,881 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,614,914) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,403, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
One application of digital watermarking is for the authentication of physical and electronic media objects, like images, video, audio, and printed media. There are a variety of ways to authenticate these objects. One way is to embed a predetermined watermark in the object. If a reader detects this watermark in an object, then the detection of the watermark is an indicator of its authenticity.
Another way to authenticate the object is to embed information about the object or the bearer of the object (e.g., in photo ID or other secure documents). If the reader extracts this information from the watermark, and it matches information on the object or about the bearer, then the comparison this information is an indicator that object is authentic and/or the bearer of the object is valid.
To undermine the authentication function of the digital watermark, a hacker might try to re-create the watermark in a fake media object.
The invention provides a method for authenticating electronic or physical media objects using digital watermarks.
One aspect of the invention is a method for creating a media object for authentication. This method computes a hash of information on the object, and generates a pattern from the hash. It also computes a content signature from a media signal in the media object. It then combines the content signature and the pattern to form a content dependent pattern. Finally, the method embeds the content dependent pattern as a digital watermark into the media object.
One specific application of this method is to create secure documents that may be authenticated automatically. For example, the media object may comprise a photo ID or other secure document, where the hash is computed from data on the document and the content signature is derived from features of the photo or other image on the document. The method applies to other physical and electronic media objects. The hash may be computed from information in the media object, which is easily interpreted by a viewer or listener of the rendered object, or may be computed from information relating to the media object.
Another aspect of the invention is a related method of authenticating a media object using a digital watermark embedded in the media object. This authentication method providing a first pattern, either from an external source (e.g., user input, system memory, etc.) or derived from a digital watermark embedded in the object. The method also derives a content dependent signature from a media signal in the media object. It then combines the content dependent signature and the first pattern to form a content dependent pattern. Finally, it measures the content dependent pattern embedded as a digital watermark in the media signal to provide a measurement of authenticity of the media signal.
Further features will become apparent with reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Layered security in digital watermarking


A process for producing a high quality silicone foam by free foaming, in which a two-component addition crosslinking system is used, comprised of a component A which contains a silicone polymer having at least two double bonds per molecule, preferably vinyl groups, a complexed organo-platinum for example with butanol, fumed silica, and water, as well as further additives, if appropriate, and a component B which contains a silicone polymer having at least two double bonds per molecule, preferably vinyl groups, fumed silica, and polydimethyl hydrogen siloxane as SiH crosslinking agent. The two components A and B are mixed, and the reaction mixture is subsequently pressurized, preferably using compressed air or nitrogen, in a storage vessel over several hours so that the gas is present in the mixture in a dissolved form. Subsequently, the reaction mixture is heated and made to react, preferably by applying it over an area and with a desired thickness, which results in the formation of a fine pored homogenous silicone foam.

The invention relates to a process for producing a fine pored silicone foam by free foaming the two-component foam reaction mixture in which the reaction component A, a silicone composition, contains a silicone polymer having at least two double bonds per molecule, preferably vinyl groups, an organo-platinum catalyst, fumed silica, water, and if appropriate, further additives (alone or in combination) such as color pigments, foam regulators flame retardants, fillers and the like. The crosslinking component B is polydimethyl hydrogen siloxane. Compared to other known foams, such as polyurethane foam, PVC foam, or chloroprene foam, silicone foams exhibits a number of favorable properties which make a wide application range of these foams possible. These properties include above all: UV resistance, resistance to salt water, physiological harmlessness, odor free, high comfort of wear, when used as or in items of clothing chemical resistance, resistance to aging, tightness with respect to fluids, breathability or gas permeability, low combustibility and low foam density.
EP 0 416 229 A2 discloses a process for producing a fine pored, soft-elastic, sealing foam for lid, casing and cavity seals, in which the reaction components of the foam are processed in a low pressure, two-component meter mixing machine and made to foam in a free rise process without the addition of heat. One reaction component contains a silicone polymer having at least two double bonds in the molecules, preferably vinyl groups, and an organo-platinum catalyst, as well as further additives, if appropriate, The other component is formed from hydrogen siloxane as the crosslinking agent. A small amount of water being added to component A as an additional crosslinking agents and as a blowing agent. The addition of water causes the hydrogen siloxane to react almost completely during the foaming of the silicone composition so that a highly hydrogen blowing effect is obtained. A post reaction, having detrimental effects on the quality of the silicone foam is avoided.

Process for producing a fine pored silicone foam

H. B. Fuller Licensing & Financing, Inc.


A shielded signal pass-through or via structure integral with an electronic circuit board is described. The structure includes a rigid inner generally cylindrical conductor; at least a semi-rigid intermediate annular dielectric surrounding the conductor; and a rigid outer annular conductor surrounding the dielectric material. Also described is an interconnect device that presents a contact array in a boss region of a unitary embossed printed circuit board (PCB) optionally equipped with one or more such shielded vias.

Signal pass-through holes are annularly plated with a conductive material, e.g. copper, to form vias for connecting a first with another set of two identical signal net signatures in a printed circuit board (PCB). As PCB signal routing density increases, so does the spacing density of such vias. With increased density, the vias typically get smaller, which changes their electrical characteristics such as high- and low-frequency signal conductivity, impedance characteristics, etc. Some such vias form connections to signal grounding planes clad within one or more laminar PCB interior surfaces or one or more outer surfaces thereof, and provide for a common ground reference for plural separate signals conveyed by other vias also extending at least partway through the PCB.
Conventionally, an intermediate PCB is provided between a test board and an integrated circuit for temporarily mating the two. Most such intermediate PCBs require soldering of a multi-contact connector array to one or both sides of the intermediate PCB. Problems with such an intermediate PCB include the fact that a PCB's laminar structure including often large clad land areas representing signal routes and/or ground and/or power planes and/or the connector array itself tends to act as a heat-sink (characterized by having a relatively high thermal resistance) during the required soldering step. This either requires higher solder bath temperatures than are desired in manufacture or results in so-called cold solder joints or otherwise unreliable electrical mating characteristics in use. Indeed, the extra interconnect even if improbably but completely formed by soldering nevertheless adds a level of interconnection and thus reduces through-signal integrity and reliability.
Typically, so-called "pogo" pins, coil- and C-spring (or another form of leaf spring) probes, or other suitably compliant contacts are maintained in suitable compression (to ensure a reliable electrical/physical connection) between the via pads on the opposing surfaces of the intermediate PCB and the corresponding pads of the test board and processor mounted typically above and below the intermediate PCB. Exemplary ones of such pogo pins and spring probes are described in High Performance Spring Probe Connector and Test Socket Solutions at http://www.ardentconcepts.com/RC.html (2010) and in Land Grid Array Socket System at http://www.lgasockets.com/desc/defaultt.htm (2008). Familiarity by those of skill in the art with such prior art compliant contact systems is assumed.
In the very remotely related data/video transmission field, coaxial cables conventionally are used in long-distance, high-frequency signal conveyance applications such as video or other high-bandwidth data transmission between remote devices. Such cables typically include a flexible central conductor such as a copper wire, a flexible annular insulator, and a flexible annular outer shield including thin braided or woven conductors. Coaxial cables typically have threaded fasteners on either end for forming a suitably variable length connection between data communication equipment (DCE) and/or data terminal equipment (DTE), e.g. between a computer and a router, a digital video recorder (DVR) and a television (TV), a cable port and a cable modem, a video generator and a video monitor, etc.
Recently, coaxial cable launches have been designed for low-profile electronic circuit board mounting, with discrete solder connections at each coaxial wire-pair terminus. Such is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,857,898 B2 entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LOW-PROFILE MOUNTING OF A MULTI-CONDUCTOR COAXIAL CABLE LAUNCH TO AN ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT BOARD, issued Feb. 22, 2005. This recent patent is commonly owned by the assignee of the present invention. The patent teaches the use of conventional flexible coaxial cable wires extending within a flexible ribbon cable featuring conventionally soldered connections for low-profile input/output (I/O) signal routing. The electronic circuit board is routed to thin its terminal edge, thereby creating a pocket or recess to receive the cable wires.

Controlled-impedance electronic board vias, method of forming the same, and unitized PCB incorporating the same


Disclosed herein is a device (100) for making an object. The device (100) comprises a vessel (44) for receiving a radiation hardenable material (42). The device (100) comprises a fabrication platform assembly (7) comprising a fabrication platform (8) and having a first mode in which an orientation of the fabrication platform (8) is adjustable and a second mode in which the orientation of the fabrication platform (8) is fixed, and configured for positioning at the vessel (44) in the second mode to form a layer of the radiation hardenable material when so received between the fabrication platform (8) and a wall (46) of the vessel (44). The device (100) comprises a radiation source (48) arranged to illuminate the layer of radiation hardenable material when so formed to form one of a plurality of layers of the object. The device (100) comprises a guide (28) configured to receive the fabrication platform assembly (7) in the first mode and orientate the fabrication platform (8) when so received with respect to the guide (28). Also disclosed herein is a method for making an object.

A three dimensional object can be built up one section at a time, that is layerwise. A planar layer of material is solidified in contact with the fabrication platform in the shape of a section through the object. Solidification is achieved by the application of radiation, such as electromagnetic radiation or an electron beam ("actinic radiation"). Once the section is formed, another is formed in contact with the previously formed section. Repetition of this process allows multi-laminate objects to be fabricated. This is the basis of additive fabrication techniques such as stereolithography and selective-laser-sintering.
The process requires the shaping member and the fabrication platform to be parallel and a known distance from each other. This ensures that layers of raw material, particularly the first several layers used to form an object, are of even thickness and not wedge shaped. Overly thick layers, or wedge shaped layers, may be too thick in some parts to cure throughout. Uncured layers may not attach to the fabrication platform. This may cause the fabrication process to fail.
The process also requires the shaping member and fabrication platform to be aligned to the apparatus, in particular, the radiation source. This ensures that layers of raw material are formed at the focal plane of the radiation source. Out-of-focus projection of the radiation source results in loss of fabrication tolerances and may cause the process to fail.
Known approaches to the alignment of critical components rely on dial-indicator tools or feeler gauges to measure spacing at several points. Known approaches may be iterative and error prone.

Device for making an object and a method for making an object


This application discloses a human attribute recognition method performed at a computing device. The method includes: determining a human body region image in a surveillance image; inputting the human body region image into a multi-attribute convolutional neural network model, to obtain, for each of a plurality of human attributes in the human body region image, a probability that the human attribute corresponds to a respective predefined attribute value, the multi-attribute convolutional neural network model being obtained by performing multi-attribute recognition and training on a set of pre-obtained training images by using a multi-attribute convolutional neural network; determining, for each of the plurality of human attributes in the human body region image, the attribute value of the human attribute based on the corresponding probability; and displaying the attribute values of the plurality of human attributes next to the human body region image.

Human attribute recognition is the recognition of the gender and age of a person and the type and color of clothes that the person wears, and can be widely applied to fields such as the locking of a target person in dangerous behavior warning, traffic violation monitoring, and industrial security and at public places such as a vending machine, an automatic teller machine (ATM), a shopping mall, and a station.
Although there have been great achievements in current human attribute recognition technologies, a plurality of human attributes cannot be simultaneously recognized.

Human body attribute recognition method, apparatus, and device and medium

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


A method for adhesively bonding a metallic substrate and a component together includes treating the metallic substrate to form an oxide layer thereon, treating the oxide layer with a conversion coating solution to form a bond promoter coating on the oxide layer, and depositing an adhesive material on the bond promoter coating to bond the component and the metallic substrate together.

This disclosure relates to adhesively bonded joints. Assembled components, such as aircraft components, may utilize an adhesive material to hold two or more sub-components together. Typically, at least one of the sub-components is metallic. A primer layer may be applied to at least one of the sub-components to help form a strong bond. The primer layer may contain hexavalent chromium to protect the metallic sub-component from corrosion and provide a strong bond.

Hydration inhibitor coating for adhesive bonds


A down-hole drilling apparatus includes a bearing housing defining a longitudinal axis and upper and lower portions. The upper portion of the bearing housing is configured for connection to a drill string, and at least one annular bearing package disposed within the bearing housing. A drill bit is coupled to the bearing housing and rotatable with respect to the longitudinal axis. The drill bit includes a leading body supporting a plurality of cutters thereon for engaging a subterranean rock formation, a shank portion projecting from the leading body, and a mandrel portion engaging the shank portion and defining an inseparable connection therewith. The mandrel portion extends longitudinally into the bearing housing and through the at least one annular bearing package.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to rotary drill bits. In particular, a drill bit of the present disclosure may be employed, e.g., in a drilling apparatus for drilling a borehole into the earth.
2. Description of Related Art
Often when drilling a borehole into the earth, a down-hole drilling motor is suspended from the lower end of a drill string. A drilling fluid may be transmitted through the drill string and circulated through the drilling motor to induce rotation of a drill bit, and the rotating drill bit engages a subterranean rock formation to produce a borehole therein. In some instances, directional drilling may be desirable, i.e., it may be desirable to produce a borehole that deviates from a vertically oriented path.
Some mechanisms employed for this purpose include a bent subassembly, integrated in the down-hole drilling motor, typically between the power section of the motor and the bearing assembly. A bent subassembly generally includes a bent or bendable structural component that supports the bearing assembly, and a drill bit at its lower end, at a slight angle to the direction of the drill string above the bent subassembly. The bent subassembly may define a fixed angle, or the angle may be adjustable. When it is desired to drill in a generally straight path, the entire drill string may be continuously rotated from the surface, and the motor may or may not be activated. When it is desired to cause the path of the borehole to diverge in a given direction, continuous rotation of the drill string is stopped, and the drill string, bent subassembly, motor and bit are oriented to in the desired direction of divergence. The upper part of the drill string is held in this position and the down-hole motor is started. This causes the borehole to diverge in the desired direction. A minimum turning radius of these mechanisms may be limited in part by a "bit-to-bend" length that may be generally described as the distance from a fulcrum point of the bent subassembly to leading face of the drill bit.
Another type of drilling apparatus that may be employed for directional drilling is a rotary steerable system (RSS). Generally, a rotary steerable system provides some mechanism for steering the drill bit in a desired direction, usually without requiring continuous rotation of the drill string from the surface to be stopped. Many rotary steerable systems include a mechanism for providing a radial or sideways-direction force relative to the lower end of the drill string to steer the drill bit on a path that diverges from a straight path.
The drill bits employed for vertical drilling and/or directional drilling may need to be replaced for a number of reasons including wear or breakage of the surfaces contacting the subterranean rock formation. Often, drill bits are provided with a threaded interface, or another repeatable coupling, on a shank portion thereof to permit decoupling of a broken or worn drill bit from a lower portion of the motor, and replacement with a new or refurbished bit.
Advancements made in the design and usage of drill bits have made it possible to extend the expected life of a bit beyond the expected need for the bit for a particular application or project. Thus, it is now possible for a user to rent a drill bit for use on a project, and return the bit for subsequent use by another user on another project. This increase in the usable life of drill bits has affected the design considerations made in the manufacture of drill bits for down-hole drilling motors.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.