A make-break device includes a first component having at least one engaging member, the engaging member presenting first and second orthogonally disposed edges, each edge being defined at the intersection of a respective pair of chamfered face and a second component having at least one engaging member, the engaging member presenting first and second orthogonally disposed edges, each edge being defined at the intersection of a respective pair of chamfered faces, where the first component first edge and the second component first edge cooperatively act to assist in facilitating radial meshing engagement of the first and second components and where the first component second edge and the second component second edge cooperatively act to assist in facilitating axial meshing engagement of the first and second components. A cannon employing the make-break device and a method of selectively coupling/decoupling stationary electric drive assemblies from associated shiftable driven assemblies are included.

While cannon of only a few decades ago were largely mechanical devices in which the crew performed the breech locking and unlocking operation and the ammunition loading and unloading operations, modern cannon are much more automatic in operation. Such automatic operations are necessary to achieve the rapidity of fire that is desired in modern cannon. In order to effect this rapidity of fire, electric and electronic devices perform many of the operations that were previously manually performed by the cannon crew. A problem that has arisen however is isolation of the electric and electronic devices from the severe acceleration affects of recoil of the cannon that occurs during firing of munitions from the cannon.
An exemplary modern cannon is disclosed in the related application noted above. This cannon requires electrical drives to raise the breech carrier and to operate the breech plug to both lock/unlock the breech plug and to translate the breech plug. The breech carrier and the breech plug lowers and raises for loading/unloading operations and then recoils aft when the cannon is fired. This creates two orthogonal axes of motion. The raising and lowering of the breech carrier is orthogonal with respect to the bore axis of the cannon. The recoil motion is parallel to or coincident with the bore axis of the cannon.
The electric drive assemblies (typically gearboxes) necessary to raise and lower the breech carrier and to operate the breech plug cannot long survive accelerations generated by the recoil of the cannon. Accordingly, it is desirable that the electric motors of the electric drive assemblies be mounted to the non-recoiling gun mount of the cannon as distinct from the recoiling breech carrier. In order to provide such isolation for the electric motors, the electric motors must include a device that readily disconnects the electric motor from the respective drives that are mounted on the breech carrier. The disconnect must be operable both axially and radially in order to accommodate both the raising and lowering of the breech carrier and the recoil of the breech carrier during gun firing. After a disconnect, the electric motor and its associated drive mechanism must then be readily and repeatably mated again for successive operations of the cannon.


A phosphorescent metal complex is provided, which comprises a metallic central atom M and at least one ligand coordinated by the metallic central atom M, wherein the one metallic central atom M and the ligand form a six-membered metallacyclic ring. Additionally specified are a radiation-emitting component comprising a metal complex, and a process for preparing the metal complex.

For radiation-emitting components, for example organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic materials which emit colored light are used. To date, there is a multitude of materials which emit red or green light. However, existing methods have been unable to prepare stable materials which emit deep blue, light blue or blue-green light.

Phosphorescent metal complex compound radiation emitting component comprising a phosphorescent metal complex compound and method for production of a phosphorescent metal complex compound


Disclosed herein is a video signal process circuit that includes a control circuit having a level detection circuit and a dynamic range switch circuit. In the control circuit and a microcomputer, an average luminance of an image displayed on a liquid crystal panel via a liquid crystal driver circuit is detected. When the average luminance is equal to or over a level YSmax, an upper limit of the dynamic range is expanded, so that a signal level of a composite video signal in which white blur can occur can be digitized to a digital signal without being limited by the upper limit gradation, reducing the white blur of the image to improve the quality of the image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal television apparatus. Particularly, the present invention relates to a liquid crystal television apparatus for inputting a video signal formed of an analog signal and displaying an image based on a digital signal to which the video signal is converted.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional liquid crystal television apparatuses, when a computer is connected with a display, a level width of an analog video signal a outputted from the computer is registered in a memory. For example, even when the level width is other than 0.7 V and 1.0 V, a value of a contrast control signal outputted from a microcomputer is adjusted so that a white level of an analog signal b, to which the analog video signal a set to a white level is amplified by a video amplifier, is equal to an optimum white level of the analog video signal b, the optimum white level being registered in the memory and adapted for a characteristic of the display. Then, in accordance with relationship between a level width of the analog video signal a and a level width of the analog video signal b, an adequate contrast image is displayed on the display (for example, see patent Document 1). An apparatus similar to the liquid crystal television apparatuses is disclosed in JP-A No. 188195/1992.
Patent Document
JP-A No. 177903/1999
In the conventional liquid crystal television apparatuses, the contrast is adjusted in accordance with the white level, so that this adjustment is in accordance with a test image of one screen having only white. After the adjustment using the test image, the contrast control signal is fixed. Therefore, when a video can be changed, dynamic image quality adjustment adapted for the video is impossible.


A scupper plug with a one-way valve is provided. The scupper plug permits one-way flow of water through a scupper drain so that water will drain through the scupper drain but not flow back up through the drain and into the passenger area of a water vessel. The scupper plug has a frame that carries a valve structure. A valve member is mounted to the valve structure. The valve member sealingly engages the frame to form a seal therewith.

Recreational watercrafts such as kayaks continue to grow in popularity. As such, there have been various efforts to maximize the safety, comfort, and control of these watercrafts to accommodate various uses and operating environments. One particular type of recreational watercraft, the sit on top kayak, has gained popularity and recognition for enhanced safety.
As its name suggests, the sit on top kayak differs from other kayaks in that the user sits in a depression forming a seating area on top of the kayak, as opposed to sitting inside, as in traditional kayaks. As a result, it is generally easier for a user to quickly escape a capsized sit on top kayak than it is to escape a capsized sit inside kayak because the user does not have to attempt to escape from an interior of the kayak while underwater.
Unfortunately, the depression forming the seating area can easily collect water therein due to its open design, thereby creating an uncomfortable ride. To reduce the amount of water that collects within this depression, sit on top kayaks often incorporate drains called scuppers that allow water to drain out of the depression thereby keeping the seating area generally dry. The scupper is typically a tube that extends from the depression, through the hull of the kayak, to an opening on an underside thereof.
Unfortunately, when the sit on top kayak is overloaded by personnel or gear, water can enter the seating area through the scupper, thereby negating the purpose of the scupper entirely. To solve this problem, the scupper can be plugged, but this has the undesirable effect of prohibiting the scupper from draining any water that later enters the depression.
In view of the above, it is therefore desirable for a scupper plug that alleviates the above noted deficiencies. The invention provides such a scupper plug. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.


A method for managing data includes obtaining a workload generation request, wherein the workload generation request specifies a security compliant rule, in response to the workload generation request: selecting a first set of resource devices using a resource allocation master list, initiating a security compliance test on the first set of resource devices to obtain a security compliance result, making a first determination, based on the security compliance result, that the first set of resource devices meet a security compliance criterion, and in response to the first determination: storing a virtual certificate in a security compliance database based on the security compliance result, and allocating the first set of resource devices to a workload based on the workload generation request.

Computing devices may include any number of internal components such as processors, memory, and persistent storage. Each of the internal components of a computing device may be used to generate data. The process of generating, storing, and transferring data may utilize resources of the computing devices such as processing and storage. The utilization of the aforementioned resources to generate, store, and transfer data may impact the overall performance of the resources.

Method and system for generating a data-compliant workload in a composable infrastructure


A compound transmission comprises two simple type transmissions, each having a mainshaft to provide a main transmission section and an auxiliary transmission section interconnected end-to-end by an interposed, dividing wall, which may be in the form of an adaptor plate. A power input drive leads into the free end of the main transmission section, while a power output tailshaft leads from the free end of the auxiliary transmission section. The mainshaft of the main transmission section extends through the dividing wall, is journaled therein, and terminates within the auxiliary transmission section as an auxiliary power input drive therefor. The auxiliary transmission section is provided with speed change gears that may be selectively employed with selected ones of normal speed change gears provided by the main transmission section to multiply the number of normal speed change gears available in the compound transmission, the power input speed ratio between the main transmission section and the auxiliary transmission section being such that the speed change gears added by the auxiliary transmission section are able to utilize the peak power range of any engine with which the compound transmission is used.

1. Field
The invention is in the field of automotive transmissions and particularly of so-called "compound" transmissions which utilize a main transmission and an auxiliary transmission in combination.
2. State of the Art
Compound transmissions for increasing the range of available speeds are old in the art, but, as heretofore constructed, have been for use in heavy duty trucks. These have motors of low RPM requiring almost stopping of the vehicle to change gears if usual "jamming" is not successfully accomplished. To adapt this type of transmission for use in what are generally recognized as light duty trucks, namely, pick-up trucks or other trucks of up to two ton class, planetary gearing has been used to conserve space so the compound transmission will fit into the usual envelope space provided by the truck. This, however, results in undesirable sacrifice of structural strength for the transmission.
Some attempts have been made to obtain a greater range of available speeds without compounding transmissions, as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,807 issued to E. J. Barth and Carl J. Gustaffson on Jul. 31, 1962 for a "Double Countershaft Multispeed Transmission". However, the transmission of that patent is for use in heavy duty vehicles.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,949 of May 8, 1979 issued to John R. Vandervoot and Alan R. Davis on May 8, 1979 for an "Extended Range Transmission", the transmission is of so-called "simple" type having a one-piece main shaft. It is not a compound transmission combining main and auxiliary transmissions, and, again, it is for use in heavy duty vehicles.

Compound automotive transmission for light trucks


Discloses is: (i) a molding-system lock, (ii) a molding system having a molding-system lock, and/or (iii) a method of a molding-system lock, amongst other things.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,153 (Inventor: Choi; Published: 1998 May 19) discloses a control system for clamp-up and mold-break operations of a tie-bar clamping mechanism. The control system can determine and adjust a starting position of a securing/clamping mechanism and a movable mold after each molding operation to achieve greater accuracy.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,050 (Inventor: Wohlrab; Published: 1998 Jun. 30) discloses a tool-closure system for an injection-molding machine that uses a threaded spindle to open and close tools, and piston and cylinder units for applying a high-pressure clamping force.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,372 (Inventor: Schad; Published: 1999 Jul. 13) discloses a molding-machine platen clamping system that includes columns fixed to a moving platen with teeth at remote end engaged by a hydraulic clamping system (this U.S. patent was reissued on 3 Sep. 2002 as patent U.S. Pat. No. RE 37,827).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,770 (Inventor: Ziv-Av; Published: 2001 Feb. 13) discloses a clamping assembly for an injection-molding machine that includes a pair of tie bars with threads which engage with threaded bushings in platens by relative rotation of the tie bar and the platens generated by an actuation system.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,123 (Inventor: Mailliet et al; Published: 2001 Mar. 13) discloses a hydraulic-closure unit, in e.g. a pressure injection-molding machine that combines double-acting annular cylinder with breech-action locking which allows relative sliding of a pressure rod and turns to engage inner and outer threads, taking up play and arriving at a force transmission position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,144 (Inventor: Mailliet et al; Published: 2001 Apr. 3) discloses a closure unit for a pressure injection-molding machines, in compact arrangement which also allows free sliding of a moving platen. The closure unit includes double-acting hydraulic cylinders on a fixed platen which act through locking bushes onto tie rods with interrupted threads which are engaged whilst taking up backlash by turning.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,905 (Inventor: Mailliet et al; Published: 2001 Jun. 26) discloses a compact injection-molding machine closure unit that has locking bushes on tie bars between fixed and moving platens which engage with threads on bars to absorb backlash and to transmit a closure force from double-acting hydraulic cylinders.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,875 (Inventor: Morita et al; Published: 2002 Aug. 27) discloses a clamping apparatus for an injection-molding machine that includes a mechanical ram and a piston between which a chamber is defined for pressure exertion so as to drive the mechanical ram to obtain a mold-locking force.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,553 (Inventor: Hehl; Published: 2004 Apr. 13) discloses a slide-bar or C-frame pressure injection molding machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,821,463 (Inventor: Di Dio et al; Published: 2004 Nov. 23) discloses clamping of molds in an injection-molding press by supporting tie rods sliding with respect to platens, providing locking bushes for tie rods, a moving platen, and inter-engaging screw-threaded portions of the tie rods and the locking bushes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,884,057 (Inventor: Dantlgraber; Published: 2005 Apr. 26) discloses an electromechanical tensioning unit that includes two tensioning jaws, a pushing-gear mechanism, and primary and secondary cylinders for moving the tensioning jaws.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,984,121 (Inventor: Fischbach et al; Published: 2006 Jan. 10) discloses a mold-clamping plate for an injection molding machine, that includes a central plate with sleeves at its corners which surround bores for spindles of a spindle drive, and the sleeves are only partially connected to plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,237 (Inventor: Geiger; Published: 2005 Dec. 6) discloses a servo-actuator for selectively controlling movement of an output member in two directions relative to a frame in a plastic-molding machine, that includes a motor-driven actuator with hydraulic force amplification.
United States Patent Application Number 2005/0170037 A1 (Inventor: Koike et al; Published: 2005 Aug. 4) discloses a die-clamping unit for an injection-molding machine that has a control device that: (i) drives a half-nut positioning servo-motor with the half-nut and a tie bar engaged with each other by an engaging mechanism and that (ii) controls a hydraulic-die clamping unit.
Prior art molding systems require a clamp piston to actively position interrupted teeth of a tie bar for locking and unlocking the tie bar to a platen, and this arrangement may require additional molding-system cycle time, increased cost and increased complexity of individual control valves for each clamp piston. If stroking of a clamp piston is used for positioning interrupted teeth for locking and unlocking a tie bar to a platen, a volume of hydraulic fluid in a clamp cylinder may be more than required for actual clamping stroke and therefore this arrangement may require more hydraulic fluid flow and energy to compress during a clamp-up phase.
It appears that most prior-art molding systems use at least three separate mechanisms, which are: (i) a lock for locking and unlocking a tie bar with a platen, (ii) a mold shut-height adjustment mechanism to adjust for a mold-shut height position when exchanging one mold for another mold, and/or (iii) a clamp piston that is stroked to accommodate the mold shut-height position within a range of a tooth pitch of interrupted teeth of the tie bar. Disadvantageously, by using each of the separate mechanisms in the prior-art molding systems, the following setbacks may be experienced: (i) increased cost, (ii) increased complexity, (iii) reduced reliability and/or (iv) increased cycle time of the molding system.


A compact, inexpensive antenna sharing device meeting requirements in terms of transmitter distortion characteristic and ESD characteristic is provided which separates and combines signals transmitted and received in first to third signal bands and which thereby enables an antenna terminal to be shared as a common terminal. It includes a diplexer realizing an attenuation characteristic for protection against ESD, a compound semiconductor switch with an IIP3 of 66 dBm or more, and an inexpensive PIN diode switch.

An antenna sharing device for use with a dual-mode mobile phone compatible with GSM and W-CDMA systems has been known in which: a diplexer separates a frequency band for GSM and a frequency band for W-CDMA; transmit and receive signals in the GSM band are separated using a high-frequency switch for GSM; and transmit and receive signals in the W-CDMA band are separated using a duplexer for W-CDMA (see, for example, U.S. patent application Publication No. 2004/0240420 A1).
Another antenna sharing device has been known in which, in order to use frequency bands for GSM, DCS, PCS, and W-CDMA: a diplexer separates a low-frequency band in which GSM transmit and receive signals are included and a high-frequency band in which DCS, PCS and W-CDMA transmit and receive signals are included; the GSM transmit and receive signals are separated using a first high-frequency switch; and the DCS and PCS transmit signals, the DCS and PCS receive signals, and the W-CDMA transmit signal are separated using a second high-frequency switch (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-40322). There has also been a wireless telephone terminal having a high-frequency signal processing circuit in which, in order to use frequency bands for EGSM, GSM850, GSM, DCS, and PCS: switching elements included in a switching circuit on the high-frequency side for handling high-frequency signals separated, by a diplexer, from low-frequency signals are made of high-frequency compound semiconductor transistors and switching elements included in a switching circuit on the low-frequency side for handling low-frequency signals separated, by the diplexer, from the high-frequency signals are made of PIN diodes (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-193866). There has also been a high-frequency device in which a varistor and an inductor are connected in parallel with a signal line between an antenna terminal and a diplexer (see, for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0087286 A1).

Antenna sharing device and wireless communication terminal using the same


A system for thermally protecting an amplifier driving a capacitive load may include a low-pass filter configured to filter, with a variable cutoff frequency, an input signal to generate a filtered input signal, wherein the amplifier is configured to receive the filtered input signal and amplify the filtered input signal to generate a driving signal to the capacitive load and a controller configured to receive a real-time estimate of a temperature associated with the amplifier and vary the variable cutoff frequency as a function of the temperature.

In many applications, an amplifier may be used to drive a capacitive load. An example of a capacitive load is a piezoelectric transducer. A piezoelectric transducer may have many uses, including in surface audio applications, wherein a piezoelectric actuator is mechanically coupled to a surface such as the screen of a smartphone, tablet, personal computer, or other device. The vibrational transducer may, in response to an input signal received by the vibrational transducer, generate vibrational energy to vibrate the surface to generate sound.
It is known that impedance of a capacitive load monotonically decreases with a frequency of a signal driven to a capacitive load, meaning that maintaining voltage signal across a capacitive load requires increasing current as the frequency of the voltage signal increases. In many applications, it is common to test devices using sinusoidal tones of constant peak voltage at various frequencies. This may pose a challenge to amplifiers driving capacitive loads when high-frequency sinusoidal tones are tested, as the current demands from the amplifier at such frequencies may cause excessive heating in the amplifier, leading to damage. Even in normal usage, for example when playing audio content to a piezoelectric transducer, high-frequency content may be present (e.g., cymbal crashes and/or synthesized sounds in music content) that may cause excessive amplifier heating.

Thermal protection of an amplifier driving a capacitive load


A rotary bearing has a pair (32,40) of bearing members, one of which has convex (34) and planar (36) surface portions, and the other of which has concave (42) and planar (44) surface portions. The convex and concave surface portions and the planar surface portions of the two bearing members bear against each other via an interstitial bearing medium of air, with the axial forces between the convex and concave surfaces counteracting the axial forces between the planar surface portions. When incorporated into a drive mechanism, one of the bearing members is connected to a drive shaft via a first torsionally stiff flexible diaphragm (130), and the other bearing member is mounted to a motor (50) (which rotates the drive shaft) via a second torsionally stiff flexible diaphragm. During operation, flexing of the diaphragms (110,130) accommodates eccentricity in the mounting of the motor (50) without transmitting unwanted loads to the bearing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotary bearing, and to a mechanism which may be used to provide drive for a rotary bearing.
A rotary bearing and/or a drive mechanism may be used in an articulating probe head for a coordinate positioning machine, such as a coordinate measuring machine. Such a probe head may be mounted to the movable arm of e.g. a Cartesian coordinate measuring machine to enable orientation of an inspection probe relative to a part under inspection with two rotational degrees of freedom.
2. Description of Related Art
An articulating probe head employing a rotary bearing and drive mechanism is known from, for example, EP 317397, EP 317397 or counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,877.


An illumination assembly includes a light-emitting element that emits light over a light-source numerical aperture and an elongated light-guiding element including opposed incident and emission ends between which ends light propagates by total internal reflection. The light-guiding element includes along a portion of its length a numerical-aperture alteration taper having opposed small and large ends exhibiting, respectively, a small-end numerical aperture and a large-end numerical aperture lower in magnitude than the small-end numerical aperture. The alteration taper is oriented such that the small end is more proximate the incident end than the large end. The incident end is in light-collecting proximity and alignment with the light-emitting element such that light emitted from the light-emitting element over the small-end numerical aperture and received into the small end of the alteration taper is emitted from the emission end of the light-guiding element at an emission numerical aperture lower in magnitude than the small-end numerical aperture.

1. Field
Although not so limited in its utility or scope, implementations of the present invention are particularly well suited for use in vehicle headlamps.
2. Brief Description of Illustrative Environments and Related Art
Manufacturers of automotive headlamps have begun considering the use of arrayed light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in place of conventional light bulbs as a light source within headlamp assemblies. LEDs exhibit, among other advantages over conventional light bulbs, high illumination, reliability and long life. Moreover, LED's are easily handled in automated fabrication processes resulting in LED arrays. One drawback of LED technology is that the closeness with which the LEDs can be spaced is limited by the packaging surrounding each LED. As a consequence of LED-packaging limitations, the constituent LEDs of an LED array cannot be brought into sufficiently close mutual proximity to provide the light intensity (i.e., illumination per unit area) required of devices such as automobile headlamps. Another obstacle to the application of LED technology in headlamps is that a typical LED emits light over a much greater numerical aperture (e.g., "half angle") than is desired or, indeed, permissible for a headlamp.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an illumination assembly that efficiently collects, concentrates, transmits and contiguously and uniformly projects the light emitted from an arrangement of discretely arrayed light-emitting elements such as LEDs.

Illumination assembly including a rigid light-guiding element incorporating a numerical-aperture alteration taper


A single pin oscillator which consists of first and second transistors (17, 18) whose collectors are connected, via respective collector resistances (19, 20), to the positive pole of a DC source U.sub.V and whose emitters are connected to the negative pole thereof via respective emitter resistances (21, 22). The collector of each transistor is connected to the base of the other transistor. A quartz crystal (12) or a series resonant circuit is connected to the emitter of one transistor (17) and parallel to the corresponding emitter resistance (21). A driver circuit (23) is provided for an oscillator voltage which can be coupled out to an external low-ohmic, highly capacitive load connected to the emitter of the other transistor (18) and parallel to the corresponding emitter resistance (22).

The present invention relates to an oscillator and more particularly to an oscillator of the type that includes two directly cross-coupled inverters each of which comprises a transistor connected between a first and second resistor and with a frequency-determining element connected in parallel with one of the resistors in one of the inverters.
From DE-OS No. 31 04 849, which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,933 (5/21/85), a quartz oscillator is known which comprises one connection pin for a quartz crystal, two transistor pairs, and a transistor which is connected as an emitter follower and which serves for connection to a power supply voltage. The emitter-connected transistor is preceded by a bias voltage generator with a diode series connection or the like. The collectors of one transistor pair are connected, via a respective collector impedance, to the emitter of the transistor which serves for the supply of power and also to a respective base of a transistor of the other transistor pair whose collectors are also connected to the emitter of the aforesaid power supply transistor. The oscillator voltage can be coupled out between the emitters of this transistor pair. These emitters are also connected to a respective base of a transistor of the former transistor pair, each of the emitters of which has an emitter impedance connected to the negative pole of the power supply voltage. A capacitor is connected parallel to one emitter impedance and a series connection of a quartz crystal and a capacitor is connected parallel to the other emitter impedance. Even tough the integrated circuit version of this oscillator requires only one connection pin for the quartz crystal, the circuit, inter alia, is very intricate and not suitable for driving an external load without using an additional output driver stage. It also requires a large chip surface area because of the large number of components and exhibits, as tests have shown, comparatively large frequency variations in dependence on the power supply voltage.


The present invention provides a method and system for stage evaluation of a state machine model. Two types of transitions are used: first-stage transitions and second-stage transitions for a two-stage evaluation. In one embodiment, top-down processing and bottom-up processing may be combined using a two-stage evaluation. First-stage transitions are used with top-down processing while second-stage transitions are used with bottom-up processing. Certain conditions are used to determine if a switch from one type of stage processing to another type of stage processing is needed.

A finite state machine is a representation of an event-driven (reactive) system. In a finite state machine, a system makes a transition from one state to another provided that the condition defining the transition is true. A finite state machine may be described using a state transition table. A state transition table is a truth table describing the relationships among the inputs, outputs, and states of a finite state machine. Hence, the state transition table describes the behavior of a system given specific inputs. Alternatively, the behavior of a system may be described in terms of transitions among states. A state's activity is determined based on the occurrence of certain events under certain conditions. Additionally, a finite state machine may be graphically represented by a state diagram. A state diagram is a directed graph that illustrates transitions of one state to another. Stateflow® of MathWorks, Inc. from Natick, Mass. is an example of a technical computing software application that utilizes state diagrams to represent a finite state machine.
Stateflow® is an interactive simulation and code generation tool for event-driven systems. Stateflow® enables the representation of hierarchical states. States may be organized within other higher-level states forming a parent/offspring structure that may be used to describe complex systems. Additionally, Stateflow® allows the representation of parallel states. Hence, two or more states within the same hierarchy level may be active at the same time. Stateflow® further provides the functionalities to specify a destination state of a transition based on historical information. Stateflow® processes states and events in a top-down processing manner. In other words, Stateflow® processes states and events from the top of the hierarchy and works its way down the hierarchy. A state is processed only if it is active. If a state is active, its superstate (parent state) must also be active as well.
In Stateflow®, events drive the Stateflow® diagram execution. The occurrence of an event causes the status of the states in the Stateflow® diagram to be evaluated and often causes a transition to take place. Specifically, an event may be broadcast to trigger a transition to occur. Additionally, the broadcast of an event may also trigger an action to be executed. An action may be a function call, a broadcast event, a variable assignment, etc. An action may be executed as part of a transition from one state to another, or based on a status of a state. A transition can have either a condition action or a transition action. A condition action is executed as soon as the condition is evaluated to true but before the transition takes place. A transition action is executed after the transition takes place.
As mentioned above, Stateflow® uses a top-down processing scheme to process events and states. Specifically, when an event occurs, Stateflow® processes from the top or root of the Stateflow® state diagram down through the hierarchy of the diagram. A disadvantage of the current top-down processing implementation of Stateflow® is that it may encounter certain cyclic behaviors. An example is given with respect to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 illustrates a state chart 100 containing state 102 and state 104. State 104 further contains state 106 and state 108. Transition 100a is the default transition into state 102, which is taken when state chart 100 first becomes active. Transition 100c is the default transition into state 106, which is taken when state 104 first becomes active. Transitions 110b, 110d, and 110e are transitions from one state to another. At a certain point in time, assuming that state 108 broadcasts an error event to its parent state 104 using a send ( ) function call and because Stateflow® utilizes top-down processing, the processing of the send ( ) function call starts at state 104 as opposed to starting with state 106 or state 108. If state 104 does not know how to process the error event sent by the send ( ) function call, then state 104 passes the error event to its active child state 108. However, state 108 cannot process this error event, and state 108 again sends the error event via a send ( ) function call to its parent state 104. A cyclic behavior hence occurs. A method is needed to avoid cyclic behavior, especially when a parent state asks its child state to handle an event that the child state already knows it cannot handle. Therefore, Stateflow®'s top-down approach does not always make a finite state machine model work as expected. However, Stateflow®'s top-down approach simplifies the Stateflow® diagram by looking at the transitions out of the superstate without considering all the details of its substates and their transitions.
The Unified Modeling Language™ of Object Management Group® allows one to generate models using state diagrams. UML processes states and events in such state diagrams in a bottom-up processing manner. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that bottom-up processing performs error handling better than top-down processing. However, for a superstate to make a transition to another state in a bottom-up processing environment, all the substates and their transitions must be evaluated and considered before the superstate may make a transition. Hence, some processing power is wasted on unnecessary executions of substates and transition or an undesirable transition may be made by a substate.


A reproduction apparatus includes a reproduction unit configured to reproduce a moving image signal from a recording medium, a reception unit configured to receive an instruction for switching between a normal reproduction mode and a highlight reproduction mode for reproducing a plurality of highlight reproduction periods in the moving image signal recorded in the recording medium, and a control unit configured to determine a reproduction start position of the moving image signal in response to the reception of the instruction for switching to the normal reproduction mode during reproduction of the moving image signal in the highlight reproduction mode, and control the reproduction unit to reproduce the moving image signal in the normal reproduction mode from the determined reproduction start position. The control unit determines a head position for the highlight reproduction period which includes a reproduction position of the moving image signal when the switching to the normal reproduction mode is instructed, as the reproduction start position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reproduction apparatus, and more particularly, to highlight reproduction of a moving image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, recording apparatuses, such as hard disk drive (HDD) recorders for recording TV broadcasting are well known. Among the recorders, a recorder has a function for partly reproducing a moving image or sound in a recorded broadcasting program, as a digest (highlight) (refer to, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-306311).
A conventional video camera is known, which shoots an image of an object and records a moving image or sound of the object. Recently, a home video camera appears to record the moving image or sound in a recording medium with a large capacity capable of random access, e.g., a memory card or HDD, and is in widespread use in a typical household.
In the conventional highlight reproduction, a part of the recorded moving image or sound is selected and reproduced. Therefore, when a user wants to view all moving images during reproducing the highlight, the highlight reproduction needs to suspend and an instruction for normal reproduction needs to be given.
After the user switches the highlight reproduction to the normal reproduction, he/she needs to search for a desired reproduction position. It is greatly troublesome.


A process for cationically polymerizing 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene to produce a polymer which is predominantly a polyindane is disclosed. The resulting polyindanes are novel compounds useful as low dielectric constant coatings. Compositions containing 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene and cationic photoinitiators, and optionally containing a polyindane useful for preparing coatings, are disclosed as are processes for coating substrates using the compositions.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for polymerizing 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene, to polyindanes resulting from the process, to compositions for preparing low dielectric constant coatings, comprising polyindanes in admixture with 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene and to processes for coating substrate with the low dielectric coatings.
2. Information Disclosure
Low dielectric constant insulators are critical components in on-chip interconnect and first lever package integrated circuit applications. Such materials fulfill several functions. First, they provide electrical and electronic isolation of one discrete chip component from another and permit high component densities by eliminating crosstalk between the discrete components. Second, they function to planarize the topography of a chip during many fabrication steps. Lastly, they act as barriers to contaminants and corrosive agents and to low energy .alpha.-particle penetration. Because of their importance, much research has been directed towards the development of novel low dielectric constant insulators in general and to organic dielectric materials in particular. The focus on organic dielectrics has derived mainly from the ability of these materials to be easily prepared and applied using solution or vapor deposition techniques. Besides having a low dielectric constant, an organic dielectric must also possess good thermal stability, a low coefficient of thermal expansion, good adhesion to various substrates, low water absorption and a high glass transition temperature.
Few organic dielectric materials have all of the desired properties. For example, polyimides show excellent processibility, thermal and adhesion properties, but have dielectric constants in the range of 3.5-3.6 (as compared to polystyrene which has a dielectric constant of 2.55). Furthermore, polyimides absorb water, a phenomenon which gives rise to even higher dielectric constants when polyimides are stored under conditions of high relative humidity. As the dielectric constant increases, the density at which elements can be packed on a chip decreases. For the past two decades, the trend has been toward increasing density of discrete devices as the size of the devices shrinks. Consequently, polymeric alternatives to polyimides with lower dielectric constants are being sought.
Colvin and Muse (Chemtech 1986, 500-504) have disclosed the cationic polymerization of 1,4-diisopropenylbenzene using a proprietary catalyst. The products of the polymerization using the undisclosed catalyst were stated to have a high glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) and good thermal stability. However, 1,4-diisopropenylbenzene is a solid and cannot be directly spun onto a silicon wafer or photopolymerized without the use of a solvent.
D'Onofrio [J Appl. Polym. Sci. 8, 521 (1964)] has also reported the cationic polymerization of 1,4-diisopropenylbenzene, but Colvin and Muse indicate that the resulting polymer had a low softening point and contained a large amount of HCl which was slowly released on standing.
In contrast to 1,4-diisopropenylbenzene, 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene is a free-flowing, colorless, mobile liquid with a high boiling point (231.degree. C.). If it could be efficiently polymerized and if the product were a low dielectric, thermally and dimensionally stable polymer, a most useful process would be provided.
Lutz et al. [Makromol. Chem. 183, 2787-2797 (1982)] reported that when 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene was polymerized with an anionic organometallic initiator, the reaction led initially to a polymer that appears to be predominantly a polypropylene with pendant isopropenyl phenyl residues: ##STR1## The polymer depolymerizes at slightly above room temperature to revert to the monomer. When allowed to stand at -30.degree. C. the linear polypropylene begins to crosslink, but no polymer that is stable at room temperature is described. p The use of 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene as a comonomer in cationic polymerizations is known ("see European published applications 449,453 and 466,305). There is an early reference to the cationic polymerization of "diisopropenylbenzenes" and an implication that 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene forms polymers that contain indane structures. [Brunner et al. J Polym. Sci 28, 629-631 (1958)]. The polymers are said to be soluble in a wide range of solvents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,378 (Crivello) suggests a long list of possible monomers that might be polymerized by the process of the patent, but, although 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene is listed, there is no indication that such a reaction was actually tried and no characterization of either the product of such a reaction or of its particularly and unexpectedly useful properties.

Photocurable compositions of polyindane and 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene, and coating process


The present invention is constituted such that a motor is small in size and can be mounted simply, with a sure electrical connection by means of power terminals. There is provided a terminal seat made of insulating resin fitted and fixed to one end of a motor housing, a pair of support pins are held by the terminal seat so as to project in a direction approximately parallel to a surface of a circuit board and in a cylinder axial direction of the motor housing from the end surface of the terminal seat, respective leads of a motor drive circuit are provided in a plane direction perpendicular to the cylinder axial direction of the motor housing so as to come out from the terminal seat, and there are provided a pair of torsion coil springs as the power terminals that have central spirals fitting over the axes of support pins, ends projecting outward from the terminal seat as points of contact with power supply lands, and opposite ends connected to leads.

It has previously been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-136901) that the method of electrically connecting the power supply lands on the circuit board of a small-seized motor using leads that extend from the motor housing side be replaced by the method of attaching to the exterior of the motor housing leaf-spring power terminals that apply pressure to the power supply lands of the circuit board.
That small-sized motor has, as shown in FIG. 26, a motor housing 1, a brush holder 2 that is fitted and fixed in the open end of the motor housing 1, a bracket 3 that is mutually fixed with the brush holder 2, and a power terminal 4 that consists of a leaf spring bent at an obtuse angle (as shown in the drawing). One end 4a of the power terminal 4 is sandwiched between the brush holder 2 and the bracket 3 where the brush holder 2 is fitted and fixed in the open end of the motor housing 1, and the other end is configured of a free portion 4b that extends down at an angle from the bracket 3 so as to contact and apply pressure to the power supply land on the circuit board.
The power terminal made of leaf spring will not have the necessary characteristics for practical use if the free portion that is pressed against the power supply land on the circuit board is not long enough relative to the width. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 27, the long part of the free portion 4b that is pressed in contact with the power supply land R of the circuit board P must be mounted so that the motor itself floats above the surface of the circuit board P; it is therefore to maintain a considerable allowance in the mounting height of the power terminal 4. This puts constraints on the ability to reduce the mounting height, and prevents efforts to miniaturize the motor itself and the equipment in which it is mounted.
Additionally, using a power terminal made of leaf spring, there is the risk that when it applies pressure on the board, torsion will cause the two power terminals to bend toward each other. Moreover, the pressure applied on the power supply land on the circuit board depends on the springiness of the leaf spring. Therefore, unless the motor is mounted at the proper height to accurately maintain pressure between the free portion of the leaf spring and the power supply land of the circuit board, there is the danger that poor contact will occur in connection with vibration of the small-sized vibrating motor or the like.
In order to supplement the pressure contact between the power supply land of the circuit board and the leaf spring, it has been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-78790) that a flexible pressure body, to hold back the tip of the free portion, be installed between the motor housing and the free portion of the leaf spring. However, even with this proposal there is a height restraint equal to the thickness of the flexible body, and so efforts to miniaturize the motor itself and the equipment in which it is mounted are prevented.
The present invention has an object of providing a small-sized motor and a small-sized vibrating motor in which the motor itself is small in size and can be mounted simply, with a sure electrical connection by means of power terminals.
The present invention has another object of providing a smaller equipment in which the small-sized vibrating motor is mounted, and thus providing portable information equipment of high reliability in which the motor is electrically connected by power terminals.

Small-sized motor, small-sized vibration motor, and portable information device

Namiki Seimitsu Houseki Kabushiki Kaisha


This invention relates to a tubular cracking furnace, especially an ethylene cracking furnace, which comprises a convection section and a or dual radiant section(s), at least one heat transfer intensifying member arranged in at least one pass each radiant tube in said radiant section, said at least one heat transfer intensifying member comprises a first heat transfer intensifying member, which is arranged at a location between 10D and 25D upstream of the extreme point of said at least one pass radiant tube metal temperature, wherein D is the inner diameter of the radiant tube having heat transfer intensifying members. The present invention could achieve the best enhanced heat transfer result with given number of heat transfer intensifying member, by optimizing the locations of heat transfer intensifying members in the radiant tube.

The pyrolysis of hydrocarbons is performed in a tubular cracking furnace industrially. As well known, theoretically the chemical reaction of the pyrolysis of hydrocarbons is a strong endothermal reaction, including a primary reaction and a secondary reaction. General speaking, the primary reaction relates to reactions in which big hydrocarbon molecules become smaller molecules, i.e., linear hydrocarbons are dehydrogenated and chain broken, and naphthene and arene are dehydrogenated and ring broken, thus ethylene and propylene and the like are produced in the primary reaction. The secondary reaction relates to reactions in which the products of the primary reaction, namely, olefins and alkynes, are performed to polymerization, dehydrogenating condensation, as well as naphthenes and aromatics are performed to dehydrogenating condensation and dehydrogenating fused cyclization and so on. The secondary reaction would not only greatly decrease the yield of target products, but also produce coke seriously. The coke would deposit on the inner wall of radiant tube. The formation of coke on the inner wall of the radiant tube is greatly disadvantageous for the regular operation of cracking furnace. The coke adhered on the inner wall of the radiant tube would increase heat conducting resistance and stream resistance of reactant fluids in whole reactive system. The increase of both heat conducting resistance and stream resistance will be against primary reaction.
Industrially, cracking furnace decoking has to be performed periodically due to the coking on cracking furnace. The interval between decoking is called "run length". Usually, at the end of the every "run length", due to the coke layer, tube metal temperature (TMT for short) would tend to exceed the maximum (generally 1125° C.) of tube material requirement.
Therefore, it will help to lengthen the "run length" and increase the cracking furnace's processing load, if the coking in the cracking furnace is suppressed. To suppress coking, it is necessary to decrease the secondary reaction as much as possible while maintaining the primary cracking reaction in radiant tube. Therefore, it should be avoided to unnecessarily heat the product of the primary reaction above the highest temperature of cracking temperature range and to retain excessive reaction time in the radiant tube. In addition, a contrary restrict factor is that lower pressure is helpful for the primary reaction, since pyrolysis is a reaction of volume increasing.
Chinese patent CN1133862C discloses a twisted-tape tube (please see attached FIGS. 4 and 5), wherein said twisted-tape tube is arranged in the radiant tube at regular intervals. The operating principle of "twisted-tape tube" could be described briefly as follows: As is well known, heat transfer process of radiant section in ethylene cracking furnace may include following steps. At first, the gas inside hearth transfers heat into the outer wall of radiant tube through radiation and convection, and then the outer wall transfers heat to inner wall and the likely existent coke layer by wall heat conduction, finally heat is transferred to internal fluid from inner wall by convection. According to the boundary layer theory of Prandtl, when the fluids flow along a solid wall surface, a thin fluid layer near the wall surface will be adhered on the tube wall surface without slipping, thus a flowing boundary layer is formed. Because the boundary layer transfers heat by conduction, its heat resistance is very high although the boundary layer is very thin. Then heat is transferred to the center of turbulent flow through the boundary layer by convection. According to above analysis, the most resistance of tube heat transfer is on the boundary layer and the coke layer adhered on tube inner wall surface. If the resistance by the boundary layer could have been reduced, heat transfer efficiency will be greatly intensified. The twisted-tape tube in CN1133862C is developed base on such principal. The twisted-tape tube arranged in the radiant tube will force to change fluids flow from plug flow to turbulent flow. Thereby the fluids will have a strong traversing flush effect on the tube wall, thus the boundary layer will be destroyed and got thinner. As a result heat transfer resistance nearby flowing boundary layer is decreased, and heat transfer efficiency is intensified.
In this invention the "twisted-tape tube" and related members are all called with general name of "heat transfer intensifying member", this term refer to all members arranged in the radiant tube that be able to force to change fluids from plug flow to turbulence flow and thus to destroy and thin the boundary layer. It is not only restricted to "twisted-tape tube".
Although heat transfer between radiant tube and inner fluids could be intensified by arranging twisted-tape tube and alike member, it does not necessarily mean the more the better. The reason is that, when the members are arranged in the radiant tube, the pressure drop would be increased accordingly in tube. Also as mentioned above, the pressure drop increase is adverse to perform the cracking reaction.
Therefore considering tube pressure drop, the twisted-tape tube could not be arranged as more as possible. This invention is to address this confliction, i.e. to arrange certain number of twisted-tape tubes to maximize heat transfer and restrain coking at the farthest, thus to greatly enhance processing load and extend run length before decoking.

Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation


A method for the simulation of a photolithographic process for generating a wafer structure includes providing an aerial image of a region of a mask that includes the mask structure, prescribing a range of intensities, determining auxiliary or potential wafer structures for different threshold values within the range of intensities, determining the number of structure elements for each of the auxiliary or potential wafer structures, determining a stability range consisting of successive threshold values from the threshold values that were used for the determination of auxiliary or potential wafer structures, within the stability range the number of structure elements of the auxiliary or potential wafer structures remaining constant or lying within a prescribed range, and determining the wafer structure on the basis of the aerial image and a threshold value within the stability range. A microscope for carrying out the method is also provided.

For producing semiconductors, silicon wafers are coated with a light-sensitive lacquer, which is referred to as a resist. The structure to be provided on the wafer is created on a mask (photomask or reticle) and projected as an image into the light-sensitive layer of resist by exposure by use of a lithographic scanner. Microscopes are used to check masks for defects. These microscopes are designed in such a way that the aerial image recorded corresponds with great accuracy to the image that is generated on the wafer by the scanner. These microscopes are also referred to as mask inspection microscopes. The use of mask inspection microscopes allows masks to be checked (mask review) without it being necessary to carry out exposure of a wafer for checking a mask.
A mask inspection microscope is used to record the aerial image of a region of a mask. To investigate the behavior of mask structures, the aerial images of a mask may be simulated on the basis of the prescribed structure. Corresponding computer programs for the simulation of aerial images are known.
In order to obtain from the aerial image of a mask the expected structure that is obtained on the wafer, the contrast-enhancing effect of the resist, the light-sensitive layer, must be simulated. This is achieved in an easy way by the fixing of an intensity threshold value (also referred to hereinafter simply as the threshold value) and application of this threshold value to the aerial image. The threshold value may be specified as a proportion of the maximum intensity value of an aerial image. This method is referred to hereinafter as the threshold value method.
The threshold value discussed here is, to a good approximation, a measure of the dose. If the mask is used in a scanner for exposing a wafer, the illumination intensity in the exposure, the dose, is adapted in such a way that the structure depicted as an image in the resist corresponds to the prescribed dimensions within the tolerance limits.
The operation that is performed when exposing the resist and its subsequent development can be simulated with great accuracy. In addition to the threshold value or the dose, a number of parameters that describe the resist used are prescribed for this purpose. These parameters are then taken into consideration in the determination of the wafer structure from the aerial image. Such computer programs are known and are referred to as resist simulators, the method as resist simulation. Such a method is disclosed for example in the German laid-open specification DE19757696.
For the determination of a wafer structure from an aerial image, a threshold value or a dose must be prescribed. Until now, for this a threshold value has been chosen arbitrarily. When choosing this threshold value, it is not known whether it will lead to the desired structure.

Method and device for the simulation of a photolithographic process for generating a wafer structure


A holster includes a quick release withdrawal restraint and is constructed of an inner and outer sidewall joined together along a front and back to define an inner cavity with an open top shaped to fit a handgun. The quick restraint includes a mechanical blocking element located in the inner cavity to engage a portion of the handgun adjacent the ejection port to inhibit withdrawal upwardly prior to rearward movement of the handgun. A second mechanical blocking element is also provided adjacent the rear of the trigger guard that is biased into a first position to prevent rearward movement of the gun and a second position that allows for rearward movement of a gun when the second blocking element is moved by pressure on a thumb or finger ledge. A third mechanical blocking element is provided to prevent motion of a handgun when holstered in a manner to cause movement of the second blocking element from the first position.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to handgun holsters and more particularly a holster with improved features to prevent inadvertent dislodgement, rotation, or withdrawal of the handgun from the holster. The holster is designed to retain the handgun securely and yet to permit rapid withdrawal when required.
2. Prior Art
Most attacks on police officers by assailants trying to remove officer""s handguns from holsters have come from the front or side of officers and not from the rear. It is obvious that an assailant has more mechanical leverage as well as an unobstructed path by simply pulling forward and up on the handle of the weapon while standing in front facing the officer or facing him at his side.
Most securing straps of holsters might become unlocked in a violent attack. Because of this possibility, an internal locking method is incorporated in some of the prior art holsters to make it more difficult for the attacker to remove the handgun from the holster in an attack from the rear of the officer. Generally, the internal locking means engages the back recurve of the trigger guard or the top ledge of a cylinder of a revolver. In more recent times the popularity of the semiautomatic pistol has posed a problem in the design of a secure holster because this type of handgun has no cylinder ledges nor trigger guard recurves to serve as a locking point. An attempt to lock upon the forward portion of the trigger guard is not preferred because only a few models of semiautomatics offer a flat ledge at the forward portion of the trigger guard necessary for the locking action.
What is needed is an improved handgun holster which overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art, and is designed to provide a holster which secures the handgun from withdrawal by any but the wearer and yet permits a fast withdrawal upwardly by one trained in using the holster. Further, a holster is needed that provides obstacles to one attempting an unauthorized withdrawal of the handgun from the front or side of the holster.
In addition, an improved holster requires a locking mechanism that prevents rotation of a weapon in the holster, which could dislodge the locking action therein.
In addition, a need exists for apparatus that provides a way to allow a user to rapidly reholster a gun securely and quickly if it is not needed in a particular circumstance. For example, a user may draw a gun and find that deadly force is not required and that hand-to-hand action will suffice against a criminal suspect. A user would then need to rapidly reholster the gun without looking but still have the gun secured by a fast acting, self-locking apparatus in a manner that greatly inhibits its grasp by an assailant.
In one aspect of the present invention there is provided an automatic locking holster comprising a quick release withdrawal restraint, an inner and outer sidewall joined together along front and back portions and sidewalls having interior surfaces defining an inner cavity having an open top shaped to fit a handgun holsterable therein. The restraint includes first blocking means located in the inner cavity to engage a portion of a handgun in the holster to inhibit withdrawal of a handgun upwardly prior to rearward movement of a handgun and second blocking means mounted adjacent the rear portion movable between a first position that engages a portion of a handgun to inhibit rearward movement of a handgun and a second position that permits rearward movement of a handgun to withdraw same from the holster. There is third blocking means located in the cavity adjacent a handgun holstered therein to prevent movement of a holsterable handgun to cause movement of the second blocking means from the first position.
The third blocking means includes a blocking member located between one of the interior surfaces and a portion of a holsterable handgun. The third blocking means also includes biasing means located between one interior surface and the second blocking means for maintaining the second blocking means in the first position until the second blocking means is selectively moved. The biasing means includes spring means to apply force to the second blocking means to bias the second blocking means in the first position. The second blocking means includes a body member and the spring means is located between one of the interior surface of one of the sidewalls and the body member.
The third blocking means includes a horizontally disposed post having opposite end portions located between one of the interior surfaces of one of the sidewalls and a portion of a holsterable handgun. Alternatively, the third blocking means may include an elongate post having an elongate body member and a planar head portion, the head portion being adjacent one of the interior surfaces of one of the sidewalls, the third blocking means further including a spring having opposite end portions and a hollow therein, the spring being located between the head portion and the second blocking means. The post is located inside the hollow of the spring for locating the post closely adjacent a portion of a holsterable handgun. One end portion of the spring is engaged with the head portion of the post to bias the head portion against one interior surface of one sidewall. In addition, the body member of the second blocking means is disposed between the one interior surface of one sidewall and a handgun holsterable in the holster, and having an opening extending therethrough to accommodate the post and to permit contact between one of the end portions of the post and a portion of a handgun holsterable in the holster.
In another aspect of the invention, there is provided an automatic locking holster comprising a quick release withdrawal restraint, an inner and outer sidewall joined together along front and back portions, the sidewalls having interior surfaces defining an inner cavity having an open top shaped to fit a handgun and its trigger guard holsterable therein, the restraint including first blocking means located in the inner cavity to engage a portion of a handgun in the holster to inhibit withdrawal of a handgun upwardly prior to rearward movement of a handgun, second blocking means mounted adjacent the rear portion movable between a first position that engages a portion of a handgun to inhibit rearward movement of a handgun and a second position that permits rearward movement of a handgun to withdraw same from the holster. The second blocking means includes a body member having a portion generally parallel to one of the interior surfaces of the inner sidewall, the portion of the body member and one of the interior surfaces of the outer sidewall forming a channel for receiving a trigger guard of a holsterable handgun. Third blocking means is located in the cavity adjacent a trigger guard of a handgun holstered therein to prevent movement of such handgun to cause movement of the second blocking means from the first position. The third blocking means includes a blocking member located between one interior surface and a portion of a holsterable handgun. The third blocking means includes biasing means located between one interior surface and the second blocking means for maintaining the second blocking means in the first position until the second blocking means is selectively moved.
The holster further includes an elongated restraining strap having opposite ends and a medial portion bridging the sidewalls across the open top, means for pivotal attachment of the opposite ends of the strap to the respective sidewalls to permit movement of the strap from a position across the open top to restrict handgun withdrawal to a position generally forwardly of the holster to permit handgun withdrawal, the means for pivotal attachment for preventing forward pivotal movement of the restraining strap until the strap is moved at the means for pivotal attachment in a predetermined direction. There is also selectively operable blocking means attached to the holster movable between a first position to prevent forward pivotal movement of the strap after the strap has first been moved in the downward direction and a second position to allow forward pivotal movement of the strap after the strap has been moved in the downward direction. The third blocking means includes a horizontally disposed post having opposite end portions located between one interior surface of one of the sidewalls and a portion of a holsterable handgun. The third blocking means may also include an elongate post having an elongate body member and a planar head portion, the head portion being adjacent one of the interior surfaces of one of the sidewalls, the third blocking means further including a spring having opposite end portions and a hollow therein. The spring is located between the head portion and the second blocking means, the post being located inside the hollow of the spring for locating the post closely adjacent a portion of a holsterable handgun. One end portion of the spring is engaged with the head portion of the post to bias the head portion against the interior surface of one sidewall. The third blocking means includes a blocking element positioned horizontally between one interior surface of one sidewall and a trigger guard of a handgun.
The first blocking means includes stop means including an inwardly disposed boss having a front-end portion and a rear end portion. The front-end portion of the boss is shaped to engage an inner surface of an ejection port of a handgun to inhibit upward movement of a handgun.
In a further aspect of the present invention there is provided an automatic locking holster comprising a quick release withdrawal restraint, an inner and outer sidewall joined together along front and back portions, the sidewalls having interior surfaces defining an inner cavity having an open top shaped to fit a handgun having a trigger guard holster therein. The restraint includes first blocking means located in the inner cavity to engage a portion of a handgun in the holster to inhibit withdrawal of a handgun upwardly prior to rearward movement of a handgun, second blocking means including a body member mounted adjacent the rear portion movable between a first position that engages a portion of a handgun to inhibit rearward movement of a handgun and a second position that permits rearward movement of a handgun to withdraw same from said holster. The body member has a channel therein for locating a portion of a trigger guard of a handgun holsterable in the holster to prevent removal of a handgun holstered in the holster unless the body member is in the second position. A third blocking means is located in the cavity adjacent a handgun holstered therein to prevent movement of a handgun in a manner to cause movement of the second blocking means from the first position.


A front-serviceable appliance of the type requiring removal of a cabinet top for servicing. The invention permits the use of a horizontally sliding cabinet top. The appliance includes resilient retaining clips that secure the cabinet top and simultaneously prevent accidental disconnection of a cabinet-top actuated electrical connection. Also included in a mounting for a water-inlet vacuum-break that allows the vacuum-break to pivot downwardly to provide clearance for sliding of the cabinet top for removal or replacement. The sliding cabinet top reduces vertical space required to gain service access, while the electrical connection eliminates the need for a separate fastener, thus greatly simplifying cabinet top actuation.

This invention relates to front-serviceable appliances of the type requiring removal of a cabinet top for servicing.
In the field of appliances in general, and domestic laundry appliances in particular, the desirability of conserving floor space while optimizing the proximity of load openings in a washer-dryer combination is well known. Towards this end, the vertical stacking of washers and dryers has been employed with the usual arrangement placing the dryer on top. Although relatively space-efficient, such vertical stacking requires that damp, heavy laundry be lifted from the washer and raised to the height of the dryer load opening. Additionally, the mounts used to achieve vertical stacking interfere with servicing, since they prevent or make awkward the removal or displacement of service panels, such as cabinet tops. Furthermore, previously-known mounts makes it difficult to gain access to electrical connections for panel-mounted components, (e.g. power interrupting lid-open switches).
A coupling device for vertical stacking of laundry appliances is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,535 to Wassilak, et al the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The coupling device of this patent permits the removal of a cabinet top, but no details of such removal are disclosed. In most front-serviceable appliances, service panels or housings are hinged to the cabinet and secured into position by retaining clips (see, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,618,193 to Cuthbert, et al, 4,572,596 to Weir, et al, or 4,268,098 to Kretchman, et al). Pivoting of the panels or housings provides a clearance for internal components such as water-inlet vacuum-breaks, but requires vertical space over and above the height of the washer, thus significantly increasing the liftover height in a vertically stacked arrangement. The retaining clips of these arrangements are regularly attached to a rear panel of the appliance, which may also contribute to increased liftover height.

Removable cabinet top for front-serviceable appliance


A draw press die assembly includes an upper die, a lower die positioned beneath the upper die, a blankholder for supporting an associated workpiece, and a blankholder drive mechanism connected with at least one of the upper die and the blankholder. The blankholder drive mechanism is configured to provide a pulsating movement of the blankholder with respect to the upper die.

Some metals, such as aluminum or high strength steel, are less formable in a conventional forming press as compared to mild steel. Deep drawing of such metals to form deep drawn parts, such as vehicle door inner panels and body side panels, presents many challenges. Some vehicle manufacturers have more than four press stages in manufacturing lines, some including two draw stages, which improves the ability to form deep drawn parts when compared to a single draw stage. Increasing the press stages, however, results in additional capital costs and more time and energy required to manufacture these deep drawn parts.

Draw press die assembly and method of using the same


Existing methods of extrusion and other techniques to compound host and additives material uniformly disperse the additive in the host. This innovation uses ball milling to a coat a host particle with an additive dramatically reducing the additive required to achieve a percolative network in the host.

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with additives.
Carbon black when used as an additive has been shown to enhance mechanical, chemical, thermal, gas barrier, electrical, flame retardant and other properties of a host. Improvement in the physicochemical properties of the host depends on: 1) a uniform distribution and entrainment of the carbon black, 2) optimizing the interfacial bonding between the carbon black and host's matrix, 3) removal of gasses entrained in the host during processing, 4) optimizing the additive's innate properties, e.g. functionalization of the surface 5) optimizing the loading of the additive in the host.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with composite materials. Carbon black is a common additive used to enhance strength, electrical and thermal conductivity of a host. Because of the abundance of low cost carbon black, it has driven the electrical, thermal and mechanical benchmark specifications for carbon-filled composites.
The traditional method of compounding carbon black in a host is to melt-mix in an extruder. The extruded composite is then cut into pellets. These pellets are in general <5 mm long by <4 mm wide by <1 mm thick. These pellets can be further used for injection molding, powder coating or as a masterbatch. A masterbatch is a solid or liquid additive used to impart coloring or other properties to the host. A masterbatch is a concentrated mixture of additives encapsulated during a heating or extruding process into a host resin, which is then cooled and cut into a pellet and then ground/machined into a granular shape. Masterbatching is an economical method to store and then deliver an additive to a host during the manufacturing process.
The masterbatch preparation process yields a compounded composite that has a resistivity of ˜100 kΩ*cm to 200 kΩ*cm at an ultimate carbon black loading of ˜3% to 4% by mass relative to the host resin as a powder coated film. The masterbatching processing technique is designed to produce a cost effective material for storage and compounding and not for optimizing the additive's performance in a host. This dispersion/compounding process uniformly distributes the carbon black throughout the volume of the host artificially increasing the loading necessary to achieve a percolation threshold or an adequate electrical conductivity for a given application. Alternatively, non-random distributions of carbon filler in a polymer matrix are ideal for many applications as exemplified by unidirectional or woven carbon fiber composites.

Additive coated particles for low cost high performance materials


A method and system for providing a magnetic element is described. The magnetic element includes a pinned layer, a spacer layer, and a free layer. The spacer layer is nonferromagnetic and resides between the pinned layer and the free layer. The free layer includes a first magnetic layer and at least one of a second magnetic layer and an intermediate layer. The intermediate layer would reside between the first and second magnetic layers. The free layer also includes at least one domain wall therein during switching. In addition, the magnetic element is configured to allow the free layer to be switched at least in part due to spin transfer when a write current is passed through the magnetic element.

Magnetic memories, particularly magnetic random access memories (MRAMs), have drawn increasing interest due to their potential for high read/write speed, excellent endurance, non-volatility and low power consumption during operation. An MRAM can store information utilizing magnetic materials as an information recording medium. Typically, a conventional magnetic element is used for storing data in such magnetic memories.
FIG. 1 depicts a conventional magnetic element 10, which may be a conventional magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) or a conventional spin valve. The conventional magnetic element 10 may be used in a conventional magnetic memory. The conventional MTJ 10 typically resides on a substrate (not shown), uses seed layer(s) 11 and includes a conventional antiferromagnetic (AFM) layer 12, a conventional pinned layer 14, a conventional barrier layer 16, a conventional free layer 18, and a conventional capping layer 20. The conventional pinned layer 14 and the conventional free layer 18 are ferromagnetic. The ferromagnetic layers 14 and 18 typically include materials from the group of Ni, Co, and Fe and their alloys, such as CoFe, CoFeNi, which are low-moment ferromagnetic materials. For example materials such as FeCoB, FeCoTa, and FeCoBTa, with B from five through thirty atomic percent and Ta from five to twenty percent are used. Although depicted as simple (single) layers, the pinned layer 14 and free layer 18 may include multiple layers. For example, the pinned layer 14 and/or the free layer 18 may include two ferromagnetic layers antiferromagnetically coupled through a thin Ru layer via RKKY exchange interaction—forming a synthetic antiferromagnetic (SAF) layer. For example, a layer of CoFeB separated by a thin layer of Ru may be used for the conventional pinned layer 14 and/or the conventional free layer 18. The thin layer of Ru may, for example be between three and several tens Angstroms thick. The conventional free layer 18 is typically thinner than the conventional pinned layer 14, and has a changeable magnetization 19. The saturation magnetization of the conventional free layer 18 is typically adjusted between four hundred and one thousand four hundred emu/cm3 by varying the composition of elements. The magnetization 15 of the conventional pinned layer 14 is fixed, or pinned, in a particular direction, typically by an exchange-bias interaction with the AFM layer 12. Further, other versions of the conventional magnetic element 10 might include an additional pinned layer (not shown) separated from the free layer 18 by an additional nonmagnetic barrier or conductive layer (not shown).
Binary coded information, "1" or "0", typically corresponds to the magnetization 19 of the free layer 18 and the magnetization 15 of the pinned layer 14 being parallel or anti-parallel, respectively. Thus, data are written by setting the magnetization direction(s) of the free layer(s) 18 in a specified cell. This is typically accomplished either by applying an external field, for example using a recording head (not shown) or using the spin transfer effect. To change the magnetization state of the free layer 18 using the spin transfer effect, a current is driven in a current-perpendicular to the plane (CPP) direction (i.e. the z direction in FIG. 1) through the conventional magnetic element 10 having a small enough size.
If a magnetic field is used to switch the magnetization state of the free layer 18, such a magnetic field is generated by current driven through conductive lines (not shown), such as a bit and digit lines (not shown). However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the currents required to write to the conventional magnetic element 10 do not scale down as the size of the magnetic memory cell using the conventional magnetic element 10 decreases. Because of this, a relatively high current may be needed to generate a magnetic field sufficient to switch the state of the conventional magnetic element 10. Consequently, power consumption of the MRAM using the conventional magnetic element 10 increases and the high more reliability issues may be encountered. Such a write scheme may thus be unsuitable for use at higher densities.
In contrast, the spin transfer effect is used to provide current based switching, the conventional magnetic element 10 may be written by driving a current through the conventional magnetic element 10. For spin transfer based switching to become important is switching the magnetization state of the conventional magnetic element 10, the lateral dimensions of the magnetic element 10 may be small, for example in the range of a few hundred nanometers or less, in order to facilitate current-based switching through the spin transfer effect.
In a conventional magnetic memory employing the conventional magnetic element 10 and utilizing spin transfer, the current required to switch the free layer 18 decreases as the magnetic memory density grows (which corresponds to a decrease in the lateral dimensions of the magnetic element 10). In particular, current may scale down in a manner comparable to the semiconductor or CMOS technology evolution. Consequently, the conventional magnetic element 10 has potential for use in higher density magnetic memories.
Although current density scales down with increasing densities for memories using the conventional magnetic element 10, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that there are still barriers to using the conventional magnetic element 10. In particular, a lower current is desired. The current density for spin-transfer switching to occur (switching current density) is in general greater than 107 A/cm2. For sub-micron lateral dimensions of magnetic cells, this high switching current density implies a high switching current (current at which spin transfer switching occurs) and thus a high bias current. For example, the bias current, Ic, may be greater than two mA for a conventional magnetic element having lateral dimensions on the order of ˜0.1×0.2 μm2).
This high bias current is undesirable for a number of reasons. A high bias current implies that the magnetic memory using the conventional magnetic element 10 has a higher power consumption during writing. Lower power consumption is generally desirable. In addition, each cell in a magnetic memory typically includes at least one conventional magnetic element 10 and at least one isolation transistor. The transistor size is proportional to the saturation current. In order to support a higher bias current, the isolation transistor would thus have larger dimensions. Larger dimensions of the isolation transistor would result in a larger memory cell size and a memory having lower density. Thus, a lower switching current corresponding to a lower bias current, a lower transistor size, and a higher density are desired. In addition, if a barrier layer is used for the layer 16 (making the conventional magnetic element 10 a conventional MTJ), a voltage across the layer 16 that is than dielectric breakdown voltage of the layer 16 is required to ensure that the conventional magnetic element 10 does not fail. Thus, a smaller current passing through magnetic element 10 cell for a given RA (resistance-area product) is desired. For the above reasons, a smaller switching current is desired for spin transfer based switching of the conventional magnetic element 10.
In order to determine the switching current density, modeling behind the spin transfer model may be used. According to a prevalent spin transfer model ("Current-driven Excitation of Magnetic Multilayers," Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, vol. 159, p. L1-L5 (1996).), the switching current density can be expressed for the films having in-plane dominant anisotropy asJc∝αMstF(Heff+2πMs)/g  (1)where α is the phenomenological Gilbert damping constant, tF and Ms are the thickness and saturation magnetization of the free layer, respectively. The effective field Heff includes the in-plane uniaxial anisotropy field, the shape anisotropy field, the external magnetic field, and the dipolar and exchange coupling fields between the free layer 18 and the other multilayers in the magnetic element 10, g corresponds to an efficiency of spin transfer effect. In equation (1), the demagnetizing field 2πMs term dominates because 2πMs>>Heff for a typical ferromagnetic material (such as Co, Fe, Ni and their alloys). To reduce magnetization Ms of the free layer is an efficient way to reduce Jc, since Jc is proportional to Ms2. On the other hand, reducing the magnetization Ms results in the decrease of shape anisotropy and magnetic energy barrier which leads to the thermally-activated loss of the stored information. Consequently, without more, a reduction of the magnetization is not desirable for reducing the switching current of the conventional magnetic element 10.
Consequently, although the conventional magnetic element 10 has a possibility of being used in higher density memories, a lower switching current density is desired. Accordingly, what is needed is a method and system that may improve performance of the current-based switching of the conventional magnetic element 10. The method and system address such a need.

Method and system for providing domain wall assisted switching of magnetic elements and magnetic memories using such magnetic elements


A computerized lottery (or wagering) system that permits players to select game parameters from remote locations, transfers the selected parameters to a game generator and broadcasts the lottery game on television for public viewing. The broadcasted game may be a race and the game parameters are numbers associated with the participants in the race. Examples of the games contemplated include horse races, dog races, car races and motorcycle races. At a predefined time of day, selection of the game parameters is ended and the game is then broadcast on television so that the players can watch the game and root for their selections. In addition, the system of the present invention determines which players are eligible for a grand prize pool and after the broadcast of the game announces the grand prize winner.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to computerized wagering systems, and more particularly to lottery or wagering games wherein the winners are announced live to a television audience.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many states have used lottery or on-line games, such as number games and "instant winner" games, as an added source of revenue. These games have become quite popular and successful.
One type of numbers game involves the use of numerous remote computer stations located in stores throughout the state which communicate with a central computer. A customer seeking to play the game marks the numbers he wishes to enter as his choices in a computer scannable or readable entry form. The customer pays the entry fee, usually no more than a few dollars, and the store clerk feeds the entry form into a card reader controlled by the computer, which registers the numbers selected and an ID number in the central computer. After wagering has been closed to new entries, a carefully monitored selection committee chooses the winning numbers. This may involve for example, operating a machine loaded with balls having eligible numbers marked thereon to select at random the appropriate number of balls. This selection process often is broadcast on local television stations so that contestants can watch to see if their numbers have been selected. While many varieties of such games exist, examples of patents relating to this general scheme include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,689,742 (Troy) and 4,494,197 (Troy).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,422 (Berman) appears to discuss an interactive game show which seeks to allow home viewers to select an outcome from a number of possible choices and to share in the prizes awarded on the show. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,734 (Van Kohorn) discusses an interactive television wagering system whereby audience members can enter a response to a situation presented on television by entering a response on a keyboard. According to the patent, lottery games may be played by entering numbers at remote stations and stored in a central computer. The winning numbers are selected and presented at a remote station, following which winners can redeem their tickets.
Another computerized lottery wagering system is apparently discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,416 (Scangelli). This system appears to direct a telephone caller with an automatic call director through a number of selections to assist the caller in placing a bet; the cost of the bet is charged to a credit or debit card. The system assigns an associated ticket number to each customer.
Each of the above-identified patents is incorporated by reference herein in their entirety as illustrative of the background and state of the art of the present invention.
While the foregoing patents attempt to make lotteries more accessible to bettors, they do not vary much from standard on-line games. It appears that states and other entities running such lottery games have experienced some difficulty in increasing the number of interested day-to-day participants, and in maintaining the day-to-day interest of those who do participate on a regular basis.
As a result, a need exists for a lottery game which enhances the intrinsic excitement of the game to maintain and preferably increase the interest of those who do not play often, as well as the interest of everyday players.