A drive reads and/or writes data from/on an optical data storage medium, including first and second data storage layers stacked in this order toward the depth thereof, by radiating light through the surface. The drive includes a light source, a lens, a light detector, and a layer sensor. The light source emits the light. The lens produces a focal spot. The light detector includes at least one photodetector for receiving the light and generating a light quantity signal. The photodetector is used as a layer-sensing photodetector not receiving the light from the second data storage layer when the focal spot is located on the first data storage layer and receiving the light from the first data storage layer when the focal spot is located on the second data storage layer. The layer sensor determines, by the light quantity signal, where the focal spot is now located.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical head for optically reading and/or writing data from/on an optical data storage medium (such as an optical disc) including multiple data storage layers and also relates to a read/write drive including such an optical head.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical disc is known as a typical optical data storage medium from/on which data is optically read/written. An optical disc drive including an optical head is used to read and/or write data from/on an optical disc. Specifically, in reading and writing data from/on a given optical disc, the optical disc drive gets the optical disc irradiated with a certain quantity of light by the optical head and then detects the light that has been reflected from the optical disc. In this case, the optical disc drive controls a position of a focal spot of the light beam not only perpendicularly to the optical disc (i.e., a focus control) but also in the radial direction of the optical disc (i.e., a tracking control). The focus control is needed to focus the light beam right on a data storage layer, while the tracking control is needed to make the spot of the light beam always follow the target track on the data storage layer.
Recently, a variety of optical discs on the market often include a number of data storage layers to increase the maximum storage capacity. To read and/or write data from/on such an optical disc, a specially designed optical head and an optical disc drive including such an optical head are reported in various documents. If a given optical disc includes a number of data storage layers in this manner, the optical disc drive has to determine whether or not the data storage layer on which the focal spot of the light beam is currently located is the target layer to read data from and/or write data on.
For example, the optical disc drive disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 9-259456 carries out a tracking control operation on an optical disc with two data storage layers by a three-beam technique that uses one main beam and two sub-beams on the right- and left-hand sides of the main beam. The optical disc drive also senses, by using these sub-beams, on which data storage layer the focal spot is currently located. Hereinafter, that focus finding operation performed by this optical disc drive will be described.
First, referring to FIG. 14A, illustrated is a state in which the focal spot of light 111 is located on the deeper one (L0) of the two data storage layers L0 and L1 of an optical disc 105. The light 111, which has been emitted from a light source included in the optical head (not shown) of an optical disc drive, passes through an objective lens 110 to be incident onto the optical disc 105. In the example illustrated in FIG. 14A, the two data storage layers are respectively identified by the reference numerals L1 and L0 in the order in which the light 111 passes and will be simply referred to herein as the "layer L1" and "layer L0", respectively. After having been incident onto the layer L1, the light 111 is then reflected by the layer L0 and follows the same optical path in the opposite direction so as to be incident onto the objective lens 110 again and then detected at the light detector of the optical head.
FIG. 14B shows the light detector 112 of the optical head and the light that has been reflected from the layer L0 and then received at the light detector 112. This optical disc drive uses the three-beam technique. Accordingly, at this point in time, the reflected light 111 has already been split into a main beam and two sub-beams.
The light detector 112 includes a quadrant photodetector 112a for receiving the main beam, two photodetectors 112b and 112c for receiving sub-beams to detect a tracking error signal, and another two photodetectors 112d and 112e for receiving sub-beams to find on which layer the focal spot is now located. In the example illustrated in FIG. 14A, the light 111 is focused on the layer L0. Accordingly, the light that has been reflected from the layer L0 (i.e., a layer L0 main beam and two layer L0 sub-beams) is incident onto the photodetectors 112a, 112b and 112c to form beam spots that do not exceed the outer edges of the photodetectors 112a, 112b and 112c. On the other hand, the light that has been reflected from the layer L1 (i.e., a layer L1 main beam and two layer L1 sub-beams) have expanded beam shapes, and the gap between the two sub-beams broadens. In FIG. 14B, the beam shapes of the layer L1 main and sub-beams received are indicated by the dashed circles. As shown in FIG. 14B, the layer L1 main and sub-beams are all greater in cross-sectional area than the photodetectors 112a, 112b and 112c. Looking at the other two photodetectors 112d and 112e, it can be seen that the light that has been reflected from the layer L1 is received in the greater quantity by the photodetector 112e than by the photodetector 112d.
On the other hand, FIG. 15A illustrates a state in which the focal spot of the light 111 that has passed through the objective lens 110 is located on the shallower one (L1) of the two data storage layers L0 and L1 of the optical disc 105. In this case, the light that has been reflected from the optical disc 105 is received as shown in FIG. 15B. FIG. 15B shows the light detector 112 of the optical head and the light that has been reflected from the layer L1 and then received at the light detector 112. The light detector 112 shown in FIG. 15B has the same arrangement as the counterpart shown in FIG. 14B. In the example illustrated in FIG. 15A, the light 111 is focused on the layer L1. Accordingly, the light that has been reflected from the layer L1 (i.e., a layer L1 main beam and two layer L1 sub-beams) is incident onto the photodetectors 112a, 112b and 112c to form beam spots that do not exceed the outer edges of the photodetectors 112a, 112b and 112c. On the other hand, the light that has been reflected from the layer L0 (i.e., a layer L0 main beam and two layer L0 sub-beams) has expanded beam shapes, and the gap between the two sub-beams narrows. In FIG. 15B, the beam shapes of the layer L1 main and sub-beams received are indicated by the dashed circles. As shown in FIG. 15B, the layer L0 main and sub-beams are all greater in cross-sectional area than the photodetectors 112a, 112b and 112c. Looking at the other two photodetectors 112d and 112e, it can be seen that the light that has been reflected from the layer L0 is received in the greater quantity by the photodetector 112d than by the photodetector 112e.
Accordingly, by comparing the quantities of light received by the photodetectors 112d and 112e with each other, the optical disc drive can determine whether the focal spot is located on the layer L0 or on the layer L1. More specifically, if the quantity of light received by the photodetector 112d is greater than that of light received by the photodetector 112e, then it can be seen that the focal spot is currently located on the layer L1. On the other hand, if the quantity of light received by the photodetector 112e is greater than that of light received by the photodetector 112d, then it can be seen that the focal spot is currently located on the layer L0.
However, the conventional layer sensing method adopts the three-beam method that uses sub-beams, and therefore, is never applicable for use in any optical head that adopts a single-beam method using no sub-beams or a read/write drive including such an optical head. This is not advantageous because the three-beam method is much more complicated in required arrangement and processing than the single-beam method. Thus, there is a lot of demand for the technique of locating the focal spot accurately by the single-beam method that uses a simpler arrangement.

Optical head and read/write drive including the optical head

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


This invention relates to a microwave radiator for warming therapy inserted into a human body to cure focuses of the body such as tumors. It has a first and second high-frequency coaxial cable. The second high-frequency coaxial cable has an inner conductor and a plurality of ring conductors disposed at the outer periphery of the inner conductor via a dielectric. The second high-frequency coaxial cable is inserted into the focuses of the body, and warming therapy can be conducted using radiated electromagnetic waves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave radiator for warming therapy, particularly, to a microwave radiator for warming therapy directly inserted into an affected part.
2. Description of the Prior Art
This kind of applicator for warming therapy has been previously developed as is shown in Prior Art FIG. 14 (1) (2) and, Prior Art FIG. 15 (1) (2).
An example of the conventional art, shown in FIG. 14 (1), is of the same kind as a monopole antenna, and is constructed similarly to an applicator in which the outer conductors in the tips of the coaxial cables are removed. More specifically, it has a central conductor 40, and an outer conductor 42 provided around a dielectric 41. The tip of the outer conductor 42 is removed a distance equal to the predetermined length of an A part.
This kind of applicator for warming therapy, as shown in FIG. 14 (2), has the skirt 43 added to it, the base end of which is short-circuited. This prevents a current from flowing on the surface of the conductor of the coaxial cables, thereby stopping overheating of the normal tissues of a human body in the vicinity of the conductor.
The example of a conventional applicator shown in FIG. 15 (1) is characterized in that a band-like conductor 50 is wound helically around the outer surface of the dielectric 41 of the example of the conventional applicator shown in FIG. 14 (1) described above, and thus a helical slit 51 is formed.
The example of the conventional applicator shown in FIG. 15 (1) is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 61-33961 as being a body cavity insertion type. The applicator of this Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 61-33961 can be used for inserting into the tissues of a focus and for warming it by making it smaller.
However, the above described example of the conventional applicator has significant disadvantages concerning the function of warming the focuses.
This disadvantage will be concretely described below.
First, in the examples of the conventional applicators shown in FIG. 14 (1) (2) and FIG. 15 (1) (2), the length A of the central conductor protruding from the coaxial cable B is basically a wavelength about 1/4 the frequency in use. More specifically, when the frequency to be used in the muscular tissues of a human body is set to 400 MHz, the following lengths are needed: 2.0 cm at 400 MHz, 5.5 cm at 100 MHz, and 8.5 cm at 60 MHz. When the length is shorter than these, the input impedance matching becomes poor, and radiation efficiency weakens.
On the other hand, in the warming therapy, it is desirable to be able to warm and cure an extensively affected part with one microwave radiator. This is important from the viewpoint of softening the pain of a patient, caused by many microwave radiators being inserted into the body.
By the way, the tissues of the body can be handled as a kind of dielectric-lost material including tissues of a malignant tumor. For this reason, in the case of electromagnetic waves, the lower their frequencies are, the better osmotic permeability they have.
For example, when microwaves are radiated and propagated from the surface of the body to the muscular tissues, the osmotic depth at which the power is reduced by half is as follows: about 1.0 cm at 400 MHz, about 1.4 cm at 200 MHz, about 2.2 cm at 100 MHz, and about 3.0 cm at 60 MHz. This indicates that in the warming therapy in which those applicators shown in FIG. 14 (1) (2) are used, the frequency need be selected depending on the depth from the surface of the body.
Therefore, the selection of the frequency to be used is irrespective of the extent of the affected part in the horizontal direction.
For this reason, for an affected part which is flat and extending in the horizontal direction, an applicator that operates at a high frequency must be used. Since high frequency microwaves have a poor osmotic permeability for tissues, many microwave radiators are needed. This led to inconveniences such that patients suffer much pain from the many insertions.
The applicator of FIG. 15 (1) is, originally, of the body cavity insertion type, and can also be used as an insertion type as described above.
The applicator of FIG. 15 (1) is one in which a consecutive helical slit 51 is provided on the outer conductor 42 of a high-frequency coaxial cable or equivalent, and its tip is short-circuited to the inner conductor 40.
The objective of the microwave radiator shown in FIG. 15 (1) is to warm by means of leak waves from a helical slit 51. However, actually, it does not operate in such a way.
That is, the helical slit 51 provided in a very thin coaxial cable for high frequency as compared with its wavelength results from forming a helical antenna, whose length of one helical winding is very short.
It is generally well known that this helical antenna does hardly match coaxial cable and radiation efficiency is poor.
In this case, the inner conductor of a high-frequency coaxial cable lies at the position of the helical axis, so this structure causes even waves whose phase speed is very close to the light speed (3.times.10.sup.8 m/sec) to propagate. That is, the surface waves propagate. In this structure, the input impedance matching is improved to some extent, as compared with the case of only a very small helical antenna compared with the above described wavelength. The reason is that the presence of the inner conductor serves as a surface wave transmission path. However, this surface wave weakens rapidly away from the axis (the inner conductor) of the transmission path (see FIG. 15 (2)). For this reason, the warming area is limited to the transmission path, i.e., the area most close to the microwave radiator. For this reason, the example of the conventional art shown in FIG. 15 (1) is limited to the applicator having the same effect as that shown in FIG. 14 (1) (2).


A spectral encoder includes a thin layer of lossy dielectric material whose thickness varies transversely from 0 to a thickness of about λ/4n (e.g., <100 nm), where λ is the wavelength of incident radiation and n is the dielectric material's refractive index. The dielectric layer reflects (and/or transmits) light at a wavelength that depends on the layer's thickness. Because the dielectric layer's thickness varies, different parts of the dielectric layer may reflect (transmit) light at different wavelengths. For instance, shining white light on a dielectric layer with a linearly varying thickness may produce a rainbow-like reflected (and/or transmitted) beam. Thus, the spectral encoder maps different wavelengths to different points in space. This mapping can be characterized by a transfer matrix which can be used to determine the spectrum of radiation incident on the spectral encoder from the spatial intensity distribution of the radiation reflected (and/or transmitted) by the spectral encoder.

Optical coatings, which include one or more films of dielectric or metallic materials, are widely used in both research and commercial applications from mirrors to eyeglasses to photography lenses. Many conventional dielectric coatings rely on Fabry-Perot-type interference, involving multiple optical passes through transparent layers with wavelength-scale thickness to achieve effects such as anti-reflection, high-reflection, and dichroism. Highly absorbing dielectrics are generally not used because wavelength-scale propagation through such media may limit coherent optical effects.
Conventional optical coatings generally comprise some combination of thin metallic films serving as partial and full reflectors, and wavelength-scale dielectric films which rely on Fabry-Perot-type or "thin film" interference—the same effect that is responsible for colorful patterns on oil films and soap bubbles. Common examples include anti-reflection (AR) and high-reflection (HR) coatings, which are often made by stacking layers of dielectrics with quarter-wave thickness (λ/4n, where n is an index of refraction of the material). These interference effects rely on multi-pass light circulation within the optical cavities formed by the films, and are typically very sensitive to the angle of incidence. By engineering multi-layer dielectric stacks, more complex and robust devices, such as omni-directional reflectors may be created—e.g., optical coatings are primarily designed and optimized by computer software. However, such a design may be time and cost intensive both to design and to fabricate.

Ultra-thin optical coatings and devices and methods of using ultra-thin optical coatings

PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE


The present invention relates to a catalyst for selective hydrodesulphurization of cracked naphtha streams in the form of an extrudate, which comprises a support based on an inorganic oxide and an outer layer bound to the support, wherein the outer layer comprises desulphurization metals dispersed therein forming a crown, the desulphurization metals being cobalt and molybdenum. The present invention also relates to the preparation of said catalyst by the incipient wetness impregnation method and to the process for selective hydrodesulphurization of cracked naphtha employing same.

Environmental legislation that aims to restrict the emission of atmospheric pollutants has been the motivation for continuous technological development of processes that reduce the levels of precursors of pollutants in streams derived from petroleum. Among the compounds usually present in petroleum and petroleum derivatives, those containing sulphur are one of the main targets of the environmental restrictions.
In this context, the already established technologies of hydrotreating, which are responsible for the decrease in sulphur content mainly in diesel, making a gradual decrease in sulphur content in diesel possible, reaching 10 ppm and even 5 ppm in some countries, deserve special mention. In the case of gasoline, the tolerance is between 50 ppm and 30 ppm.
Sulphur is removed by hydrodesulphurization (HDS) of the sulphur compounds, a reaction that occurs in the presence of hydrogen and a catalyst and involves a series of parallel reactions, such as hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) and hydrogenation of olefins and aromatics (HYD).
Considering the specific case of gasoline, consisting of a set of naphtha streams produced in the refinery, the contribution of the sulphur content of each stream must be taken into account, but there are other quality parameters that must also comply with the specification, for example the octane rating. The octane rating of gasoline is an important specification that is directly related to its efficiency as a fuel for the Otto cycle engine. In this case, the olefins typically present in the naphtha stream produced by Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) are mainly responsible for the octane rating of gasoline, with an average content of olefinic compounds of up to 40% and about 1500 ppm of sulphur.
Therefore during the process of HDS of naphtha from FCC, the parallel reaction of HYD is undesirable, since in this reaction the olefins are hydrogenated, lowering the octane rating of the naphtha stream that will constitute gasoline. For this to be possible, selective catalysts are used, capable of combining a high degree of conversion of sulphur compounds by HDS and a low degree of conversion of olefins by HYD.
The catalysts employed in these processes are preferably sulphides and those of molybdenum (Mo) promoted by cobalt (Co), supported on alumina, aluminas doped with alkali metals or a support with basic characteristics, produced by the method of incipient wetness impregnation. The aim of these catalysts is to remove the sulphur compounds with the minimum hydrogenation of olefins (HYD), so as to limit the loss of octane rating in the treated product.
In this direction, the prior art states that hydrodesulphurization catalysts and processes for desulphurizing naphtha streams endeavour to minimize the saturation of the olefinic compounds.
Documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,132,632 and 4,140,626 propose selective CoMo catalysts supported on oxide containing at least 70% of magnesium oxide. Documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,340,466, 5,441,630 and 5,459,118A are the first patents with CoMo catalysts using supports based on hydrotalcites of Mg and Al with high specific surface area and pore volume. These catalysts proved to be more selective than CoMo/alumina or CoMo/magnesia-alumina in tests with a model feed. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,382, CoMo/hydrotalcite catalysts containing K2O are prepared in a single step, by mixing the active phase and the support, and are then extruded. These catalysts were found to be more selective than the CoMoK/hydrotalcite+alumina catalysts of the earlier patents. The feed contained about 28% of olefins, 1500 ppm of total sulphur and 20 ppm of total nitrogen compounds. In the patents, the hydrotalcites consist of a divalent metal (Mg) and a trivalent metal such as Al. Examples cited were hydrotalcites of MgAl, CaAl, ZnCr, NiAl, MgFe, NiMg, with carbonate, sulphate or nitrate as the compensating ion. Then catalysts of NiMo and CoMo with a Co(Ni):Mo ratio varying from 1 to 9 were presented in document U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,633, and CoMo catalysts supported on alumina containing group I alkali metals or lanthanides and carbonaceous material in document U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,976. U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,928 claims the production of selective catalysts incorporating manganese and an alkali metal in the extruded CoMo catalyst supported on alumina, silica, titania and mixtures thereof. According to the authors, impregnation with the alkali metals after incorporation of the active phase would be more efficient for neutralizing the more hydrogenating active sites. In fact, addition of alkali metals to the finished catalyst resulted in poisoning of the catalytic sites. In other words, part of the metal added loses its function. The finished catalyst must have specific surface area of not less than 225 m2/g, average pore diameter from 4 to 8 nm, abrasion loss of 2%, and mechanical strength of not less than 3.6 daN for cylindrical extrudates of 1.3 mm.
Patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,635 describes a two-stage process for obtaining naphtha with low sulphur content and minimum hydrogenation of olefins. In this process, the catalyst may be a CoMo sulphide supported on alumina, silica, silica-alumina, titania, magnesium oxide or zinc oxide and mixtures thereof, with specific surface area between 25 and 350 m2/g.
Patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,985,136 and 6,013,598 claim the production of a selective CoMoS catalyst, supported on alumina, silica or silica-alumina with properties defined as average pore size between 6 and 20 nm, controlled dispersion of Mo that must comply with a distribution between 0.5 and 3.10−4 g MoO3/m2, with distribution of sites, measured by chemisorption of O2 with values between 800 and 2800 micromoles of O2/g of MoO3.
It can be deduced from the foregoing that the use of catalysts for hydrodesulphurization of cracked naphtha requires a differentiated formulation, with high selectivity for the reactions of removal of sulphur at the expense of the hydrogenation of olefins. Control of the quantity and type of active sites, as well as of the properties of the supports for these catalysts, are extremely important for this.
Although commercially successful catalysts for hydrodesulphurization are available nowadays, there is still a need for improved catalysts that are able to combine a high level of desulphurization with a minimum of saturation of olefins.
As will be described in more detail below, the present invention meets this existing demand of the prior art in a practical and efficient manner.

Catalyst for selective hydrodesulphurization of cracked naphtha streams, method of preparation thereof, and process for selective hydrodesulphurization of cracked naphtha


The subject invention relates to the design of a compact imaging spectrometer for use in thin film measurement and general spectroscopic applications. The spectrometer includes only two elements, a rotationally symmetric aspheric reflector and a plane grating. When employed in a pupil centric geometry the spectrometer has no coma or image distortion. Both spherical aberration and astigmatism can be independently corrected. The invention is broadly applicable to the field of optical metrology, particularly optical metrology tools for performing measurements of patterned thin films on semiconductor integrated circuits

The subject invention relates to the design of a broadband imaging spectrometer for use in thin film measurement and general spectroscopic applications. The invention is broadly applicable to the field of optical metrology, particularly optical metrology tools for performing measurements of patterned thin films on semiconductor integrated circuits.
The use of thin film measurement technologies such as spectroscopic ellipsometry [SE], broadband reflectometry [BBR] and visible light reflectometry [VR] is well established. These technologies typically use a spectrometer to simultaneously gather information about the sample under test at different wavelengths. Examples in the prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,519 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,842 incorporated herein by reference. For optical wafer metrology the wavelength region of interest spans the vacuum ultra-violet [VUV] and near infrared [NIR].
Ideally the spectrometer has the following characteristics:
a) High efficiency over the desired wavelength range. This implies large dynamic range and high wafer throughput. This may permit low power light sources to be used reducing thermal loading of the optical system permitting a simplified design for the thermal management system and the optical mounts. All of these effects combine to improve metrology system performance at reduced cost of ownership.
b) Low spatial distortion. This implies that the detected light comes to sharp focus and forms a small spot size on the detector. Low spatial distortion implies good chromatic separation. This in turn helps minimize xe2x80x9ccross-talkxe2x80x9d between detected wavelengths and improves the accuracy and resolution of the spectrometer.
c) Low chromatic distortion. Low chromatic distortion implies the spot size is consistently small over the desired wavelength range typically from VUV to IR. This minimizes the potential for xe2x80x9ccross-talkxe2x80x9d between detected wavelengths and improves the accuracy and resolution of the spectrometer.
d) Low scatter. Scatter modifies the spatial dependence of the optical intensity striking the detector. Light is removed from one spectrally separated channel (channel A) and is, potentially, deposited into an adjacent channel (channel B). This artificially reduces the channel A signal and artificially increases the channel B signal. This acts to wash-out the chromatic separation and produces measurement error.
e) The spectrometer design should employ a small number of individual components that are maintained in a robust arrangement that is easy to align optically. This insures high performance, simplifies fabrication, minimizes required maintenance and reduces capital costs.
It is a challenge to design a spectrometer that meets all of these requirements. There are three notable prior art spectrometer designs that do not meet all of the above listed requirements but satisfactorily address at least a subset of the requirements.
The simplest of the prior art designs forms the spectrometer with a single element. The most common implementation employs holographic techniques to form the grating on a concave, usually spherical, surface. In these systems the grating has two functions since it focuses and diffracts the incident light. Since the design has a single element it is relatively easy to align. But, the design suffers from high spatial and chromatic distortions over the wavelength range of VUV to IR.
FIG. 1 illustrates another prior art design, the Fastie-Ebert spectrometer 40 that uses two elements, one large spherical mirror 30 and one plane diffraction grating 32 to focus and disperse the light. Different portions of the mirror 30 are used to (1) reflect and collimate light entering the spectrometer onto the plane grating and (2) focus the dispersed light, diffracted from the grating, into chromatically separated images of the entrance slit in the spectrometer exit plane. It is an inexpensive and commonly used design, but exhibits limited ability to maintain off-axis image quality due to system aberrations including spherical aberration, coma, astigmatism, and a curved focal field.
FIG. 2 illustrates another prior-art design, the Czemy-Turner (CZ) spectrometer 50, that is an improvement over the Fastie-Ebert design. The CZ spectrometer employs three elements, two concave mirrors, 33 and 35, and a single plane diffraction grating 32. The two mirrors function in the same separate capacities as the single spherical mirror of the Fastie-Ebert configuration, i.e., mirror 33 collimates and reflects light entering the spectrometer onto the diffraction grating 32, and mirror 35 focuses the dispersed light diffracted from the grating into chromatically separated images of the entrance slit in the spectrometer exit plane, but the geometry of the mirrors in the Czerny-Turner configuration is flexible. By using an asymmetrical geometry, the Czemy-Turner configuration may be designed to produce a flattened spectral field and good coma correction at a single wavelength. However, spherical aberration and astigmatism will remain at all wavelengths. The design has the further advantage that it can accommodate very large optics.
Each of the three elements in the Czemy-Turner spectrometer must be aligned precisely. In designs that utilize off-axis aspheric mirrors, alignment can be a daunting task. Furthermore, conventional optical fabrication methods cannot be used to fabricate off-axis aspherics. More complex and less robust optical fabrication techniques must be employed which can both increase fabrication costs and reduce performance. For example, diamond turning as the preferred method for manufacturing off-axis aspherics. Diamond turned optics exhibit higher optical scatter than conventionally figured surfaces.
Accordingly it would be desirable to provide a compact spectrometer employing the minimum number of elements exhibiting low optical scatter, reduced spatial distortion and reduced chromatic distortion over the wavelength range spanning the VUV-NIR.
A design for a compact imaging spectrometer for use in thin film metrology and general spectroscopic applications is described. In comparison to prior art designs the spectrometer has reduced spherical aberration, coma and astigmatism. The spectrometer includes an entrance aperture arranged to receive light, a wavelength dispersive element, a single, axially rotationally symmetric, aspheric mirror, a detector and a processor. The use of an aspheric mirror permits the correction of spherical aberration. Coma is corrected by system symmetry. The plane of the detector may be tilted to substantially compensate for residual astigmatism.
Diamond turning is a popular method for fabricating off-axis aspheric surfaces. However, unwanted surface features generated in the diamond turning process limit the optical performance of diamond turned optics. Axially rotationally symmetric aspheres, however, can be fabricated using conventional optical polishing techniques. These techniques produce low scatter surfaces at lower cost than diamond turning. Consequently, the spectrometer of the present invention offers enhanced optical performance at reduced cost.


Embodiments include methods, systems, and computer program products for remediating a color vision deficiency. Aspects include receiving a user profile. Aspects also include receiving a real time location image including a plurality of objects. Aspects also include determining an image context. Aspects also include generating a situational notification based at least in part upon the user profile, the real time location image, and the image context.

The present invention relates to color vision deficiency, and more specifically, to cognitive and situation-aware systems and methods for assistance with color vision deficiencies.
Vision deficiencies, such as color deficiencies including color blindness, can impair or prevent a person's ability to distinguish different colors. Different types and degrees of color vision impairment exist, ranging from an impaired ability to distinguish between two different colors to complete inability to perceive color. For instance, reading traffic lights, distinguishing between different types of signs, and discerning different objects from each other frequently depend on color distinctions that can be difficult or impossible to perceive for affected individuals. Color vision deficiencies can not only be inconvenient and impose difficulties in daily life, but can also be hazardous to affected individuals and the public at large.

Cognitive situation-aware vision deficiency remediation

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A vehicle seat having a seat part and a backrest that can be inclined relative to the seat part to allow transfer between an in-use position and a stowed position includes structure that causes the length of the backrest to change during the transfer. In a particular embodiment, the length of the backrest is greater in the in-use position than in the stowed position to provide satisfactory comfort and safety to an occupant seated in the vehicle seat when it is in the in-use position and to provide a compact arrangement in the stowed position.

The present disclosure relates generally to a vehicle seat having a seat part and a backrest, the inclination of backrest relative to the seat part is adjustable between an in-use position and a stowage position and vice versa. The present disclosure generally further relates in particular to a middle seat of a row of seats.
Such vehicle seats are sufficiently well known from the prior art and are described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,934, issued Jun. 6, 2000, in the name of Shaefer et al, DE 3507894 C2, published Oct. 3, 1985, in the name of Siebler; DE 60 2004 002 914 T2, published Apr. 12, 2007, in the name of Combeau; as well as in DE 10 2007 013 376.8.


The present embodiments relate to machine learning for multimodal image data. By way of introduction, the present embodiments described below include apparatuses and methods for learning a similarity metric using deep learning based techniques for multimodal medical images. A novel similarity metric for multi-modal images is provided using the corresponding states of pairs of image patches to generate a classification setting for each pair. The classification settings are used to train a deep neural network via supervised learning. A multi-modal stacked denoising auto encoder (SDAE) is used to pre-train the neural network. A continuous and smooth similarity metric is constructed based on the output of the neural network before activation in the last layer. The trained similarity metric may be used to improve the results of image fusion.

An effective measure of the similarity between multi-modal medical images is important in many clinical applications, such as for multi-modal image registration. Universal similarity metrics are used to estimate the similarity between different unimodal image data sets based on the statistics of the image intensity distribution, such as using local cross-correlation (LCC), mutual information (MI), entropy correlation coefficient (ECC), cumulative residual entropy correlation coefficient (CRECC) or the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence between the observed and a prior learned joint image intensity distribution. Universal similarity metrics have been successfully used for unimodal image analysis where the different unimodal image data is similar in terms of both intensity and texture. However, universal similarity metrics are insufficient to describe the complex relationship between different imaging modalities that have very different underlying imaging physics.
To overcome this insufficiency, supervised similarity metric learning was developed. In contrast to the universal similarity metrics discussed above, supervised learning optimizes a similarity metric, usually in a parametric form, using a set of training data. The similarity metric is trained for a specific application. One approach uses a support vector machine (SVM) based method and joint kernel maps for modeling nonlinear dependencies between image patches from different modalities. Another approach uses similarity sensitive hashing for embedding image data of different modalities into a common metric space. The common metric space is then used to parameterize a multimodal similarity metric.
Data representation is important to machine learning algorithms because different data representations signify very different factors that explain the variation in the image data. Hand-engineered image features, however, are not guaranteed to work well for all image data. Therefore, learning based methods have been developed to learn (shared) feature representation for unimodal data, for data from different imaging modalities, and different data sources (e.g., image and audio).

Deep similarity learning for multimodal medical images


A drive-wheel suspension mechanism for a smart movable device and a smart movable device, include a drive wheel bracket, a gearbox and a resilient reset member. The drive wheel bracket is provided with at least one set of sliding slot assembly arranged oppositely. The sliding slot assembly includes two first sliding slots arranged opposite to each other, and the first sliding slot extends rearward and an included angle between the first sliding slot and a horizontal plane is greater than or equal to 0 degree.

For more intelligent cleaning, a robot vacuum cleaner appears in the market. The robot vacuum cleaner can separately complete the cleaning without an operator. In order to enable the robot vacuum cleaner to be steady and capable of crossing a small obstacle during operation, the robot vacuum cleaner in the related art adds a lifting wheel design for a drive wheel apparatus. The robot vacuum cleaner crosses the obstacle by a lifting change of the drive wheel when encountering the obstacle.
There are two main designs for the existing drive wheel suspension:
1) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a drive wheel suspension in the related art. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a tire shaft bracket 10′ is provided with a spring 20′ thereon, a lower end of the tire shaft bracket 10′ is connected to a tire shaft 30′, a drive wheel 40′ is mounted on the tire shaft 30′, if the drive wheel 40′ encounters an obstacle during movement, the tire shaft 30′ and the tire shaft bracket 40′ move upward due to resistance of the obstacle, the spring is stressed and deformed, and the tire shaft 30′ drives the drive wheel 40′ to move upward so as to cross the obstacle.
2) FIG. 2 is a schematic view of another drive wheel suspension in the related art. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a tension spring 60′ is mounted between a drive-wheel front fixed end 50′ and a drive-wheel fixing frame 70′, and a drive wheel 90′ is mounted on the drive-wheel fixing frame 70′. When the drive wheel 90′ is subjected to resistance by encountering the obstacle during movement, the drive wheel 90′ swings upwards from an initial position about an inner rotation fulcrum 80′, the corresponding drive-wheel front fixed end 50′ swings downwards, and in this case, the tension spring 60′ deforms. When the resistance applied to the drive wheel 90′ becomes smaller, the tension spring 60′ pulls the drive-wheel front fixed end 50′ up, and the drive wheel 90′ moves downwards to the initial position.
When the existing robot vacuum cleaner encounters the obstacle during movement, the whole machine is subjected to the impact, the robot vacuum cleaner will decelerate rapidly, and the vibration generated by the impact will bring harm to performance of the whole machine.

Drive-wheel suspension mechanism for smart movable device and smart movable device


Nylon fibers of cationic-dyeable nylon are dyed with an acid or premetalized acid dye and heatset to impart stain and bleach resistance. Stain and bleach resistant nylon carpets prepared from these fibers are also described.

My earlier U.S. Pat. 5,085,667 describes stain-resistant nylon carpet made from cationic-dyeable carpet nylon which is dyed with an acid dye or premetalized acid dye. This carpeting is highly resistant to stains compared to previously available solution dyed nylon and acid dyeable (not modified with sulfonate containing compounds) nylon carpeting, particularly acid-type stains such as beverages containing FD & C No. 40 red and similar acid-based household stains. The disclosure of this patent is hereby incorporated by reference.
Although this product has excellent stain resistant properties I have now discovered and hereby disclose a manner to improve the resistance of this carpeting to household-type chlorine-based bleach products, typically laundry bleach based upon oxidative solutions of sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, sodium hydrogen sulfite, chlorine water and hydrogen peroxide. Household bleaches are typically based upon sodium hypochlorite in aqueous solution and have a pH of about 10. These bleach products readily oxidize the dye in non-solution dyed nylon carpets and thus present a staining or color removal problem.
Prior proposals to protect fibers and articles from attack by bleaching solutions include providing a protective coating of a guanidine compound as described in published European application 0 297 748. Other proposals include imparting stain resistance to polyamide fibers and textiles by treating them with a fluorocarbon composition and subsequently a stain blocker as described in published European application 0 353 080.
Published European application 0 421 971 describes fibers prepared from a pigmented nylon polymer that has been modified to contain aromatic sulfonated units as an integral part of its polymer chain. Pigments are added to the polymer to impart color to the fibers prior to fiber extrusion as fibers made from the modified nylon polymer cannot be dyed with acid dyes by conventional techniques, according to this disclosure. The aromatic sulfonated units are incorporated into the polymer to improve the fiber's resistance to stains, acid dye food colorants, coffee and other food products. Pigmented yarns so prepared were heatset, tufted and tested for resistance to stains. Pigmented fibers of this type are limited to the producer-determined shades and cannot be dyed with acid dyes by conventional techniques. Resistance to acid-type stains derives from the presence of aromatic sulfonated units integrated in the nylon polymer chain and not by fiber processing or carpet-constructing procedures employed.
I have discovered and hereby disclose a more convenient and reliable process to achieve fiber and fabric protection and resistance to staining caused by aqueous solutions containing peroxygen groups, hypochlorite groups or mixtures of the two in which cationic-dyeable nylon fibers are dyed with an acid dye or premetalized acid dye at a pH of from about 4.0 to less than 7 in order to fix the dye into the fibers and, thereafter, subjecting the fibers to heatsetting for a period of time and at a temperature sufficient to impart the requisite degree of stain resistance to the nylon fibers.
Heatsetting closes the crystalline structure of the nylon fibers imparting further stain resistance. Specifically, heatsetting closes the fiber structure thus preventing or substantially reducing bleach access to the dye within the fiber protecting the dye from oxidation by the bleach. An open fiber structure allows bleach to enter the fiber and oxidize the dye contained in it. Heatsetting is accomplished using times and temperatures consistent with the physical properties and characteristics of the nylon fibers employed. It is important that the heating temperature stay below the softening/melting point of the nylon as established by the fiber producer's data specific to fiber type. As an illustration, for type 66 nylon the softening/melting temperature is in the 240.degree. C. to 255.degree. C. range and a range of 208.degree. C. to 212.degree. C. for type 6 nylon. Preferably a maximum heating temperature is chosen to be about 20.degree. C. below the softening/melting point of the fiber used. Heating times are selected to avoid fiber yellowing leading to change of shade, loss of fastness to light and reduced performance while the time the fibers are exposed to heat must be sufficient to close the fiber's crystalline structure. Heating times are related to heating temperatures and these two variables are selected such that during heatsetting operations the fiber reaches a temperature not exceeding its melting/softening point. Preferably heating times of about one minute, plus or minus 20 seconds at the temperature ranges noted above is sufficient to achieve bleach resistance while maintaining the other desired properties of fastness to light, resistance to acid-type stains, shade consistency and the like. Shorter times and lower temperatures reduce the effectiveness of the heatsetting treatment in closing the crystalline structure of the nylon fibers.
The nylon yarns are heat set under dry or very low moisture conditions in contrast to wet heatsetting procedures such as an autoclave or a Superba unit which use pressurized steam atmospheres. Dry air assures closing the fiber's crystalline structure while heatsetting in a moist environment opens the fiber's crystalline structure. Dry circulating air is preferred. Heated drums or rolls may be used but they tend to polish or partially remove crimp from the fibers.
Heatsetting is accomplished at temperatures in the range of about 160.degree. C. to about 220.degree. C. for a period of time of from about 40 seconds to about 80 seconds, generally about 1 minute. Type 66 cationic dyeable nylon is preferably heatset at temperatures in the range of about 195.degree. C. to about 220.degree. C. and for type 6 cationic dyeable nylon temperatures in the range of about 160.degree. C. to about 180.degree. C. Preferably the heatsetting is conducted in dry circulating air. Products so produced are tested for acceptance by soaking them in undiluted household bleach (Clorox.RTM.) solution and then assessing the change in color, if any, after a period of four hours.
Nylon carpet fiber is generally classified as to type, depending upon its receptivity to acid dyes and basic or cationic dyes. Cationic dyeable nylons contain SO.sub.3 H groups or COOH groups within the polymer structure in an amount sufficient to render the nylon fiber dyeable with a cationic dye which groups are receptive to cationic or basic dyes. Acid dyeable nylons are essentially conventional nylons, such as polyhexamethylene adipamide and polycaprolactam. Acid dyeable nylons vary as to type and are characterized as being weakly dyed with acid dyes, average dyed with acid dyes, or deeply dyed with acid dyes.
Cationic dyeable nylons generally exhibit inherent stain resistant properties, especially to acid-type stains, as compared to other nylon types used for carpet. Cationic dyeable nylons are dyeable with selected cationic dyes, but suffer from poorer lightfastness, especially in light shades, than do comparable shades dyed on acid dyeable nylon using monosulfonated or premetalized acid dyes. This has resulted in the the under-utilization of cationic-dyeable nylon as a carpet fiber. The fiber's inherently useful properties which otherwise make it attractive as a carpet fiber previously have not been fully realized.
This invention includes a procedure for dyeing cationic-dyeable nylon with acid and premetalized acid dyes resulting in nylon carpet having improved stain resistance and fastness properties.
The preferred techniques for practicing the invention include exhaust dyeing, pad/steam dyeing, continuous carpet dyeing and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,667 provides an extensive list of acid dyes and premetalized acid dyes suitable for use in the present invention and a disclosure of this patent is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,667 at column 10, lines 21-25 reported poor resistance of the product to bleach discoloration when compared with solution dyed nylon carpet. The procedures of the present application provide nylon carpet exhibiting resistance to bleach discoloration in a manner approaching that of solution dyed nylon carpet.
The procedures of the present invention serve to render the cationic-dyeable nylon resistant to bleaches with the heatsetting operation conducted at temperatures significantly higher than those used to exhaust dye the cationic-dyeable nylon alone. Compare exhaust dyeing temperatures as high as 212.degree. F. (100.degree. C.) to values nearly twice this amount using the heatsetting operation of the present invention. Moreover, the heatsetting operation is preferably conducted using dry or extremely low humidity circulating air.

Chlorine resistant cationic dyeable carpet yarn


An intelligent outdoor pet feeder includes an outer shell, a bottom shell, a water storage module, a control module, a water adding module, a biological sensing module, a water volume sensing module, and a power supply module. The water storage module is disposed inside the outer shell, the biological sensing module is disposed on the outer shell, the water adding module is disposed inside the outer shell, the control module is disposed inside the outer shell, and the water volume sensing module is disposed inside the water storage module. The intelligent outdoor pet feeder identifiers the pet body by the biological sensing module, identifies a change of water volume inside the water storage device combining with the water volume sensing module, and further controls operation of adding water of the water adding module.

As people's living standards constantly improve, raising pets has become a fashion trend of modern people. However, drinking water for pet must be solved when people are raising pets, especially when pets are kept outdoors. Thus, a wide variety of pet drinking devices have been developed on the markets.
One type of pet drinking device on the market is an integrated one where a water containing basin of the pet drinking device and a base of the pet drinking device are integrated together. Because these pet drinking devices are placed outdoors, the containing basins are easy to become dirty and breed bacteria and moss, so that the containing basins require to be frequently cleaned. Moreover, the pet drinking devices usually require pet owners to timely add clean water. There is another type of the pet drinking devices, which pre-stores clear water by a large water storage device. When a water level in the water containing basin decreases, the water storage device adds clear water into the water containing basin, so that volume of the clear water in the water containing basin is always kept in balance. And also because the water containing basins are placed outdoors, the water containing basins are easy to become dirty.
The water contained in the two types of the pet drinking devices described above are easily contaminated and the water containing basins are difficult to clean. Moreover, because the clear water is always pre-added, the clear water cannot be kept fresh for a long time. Thus, the clear water is required to be frequently replaced, which is extremely inconvenient.


A method is provided for production of a medical marker (4) made of an X-ray-opaque material, including the following steps:                a) photolithographic application of a mask (31) on a substrate (1);        b) deposition of the X-ray-opaque material (40) of the marker (4) on the substrate (1);        c) removal of the mask (31); and        d) elimination of the substrate (1).

The present invention relates to annular or tubular markers for catheters and to preferred production methods.
Markers are used for easier location of catheters in human or animal bodies and for this reason are generally opaque to X-rays. In this way, catheters or vessel supporting devices (stents), which are becoming smaller and smaller, can be more easily located. Typical markers have an outer diameter of approximately 100 to 600 μm, an inner diameter of approximately 40 to 500 μm, and a length of 0.5 to 2 mm.
From International application publication WO 2007/140635 A1, the use of markers for determining the position of catheters is known. In the distal end region of the catheters sit one or more radio-opaque, in, particular X-ray-opaque, sleeve-like markers on the wire shaft, which have essentially two functions. First, when the catheter is being used, the position of the guide wire tip should be easily recognizable in an X-ray imaging device—for example by an elongated marker coil directly on the distal end of the guide wire. Second, with the help of several markers arranged, for example, equidistant in front of the distal end, a length measurement of a stenosis to be treated could be performed on the X-ray imaging device. For this purpose, the markers must have an X-ray-opaque material, in order to achieve outstanding X-ray visibility. With known catheter guidance wires, there is the problem that, on the one hand, the wire should be as flexible as possible particularly on its distal end, in order to guarantee the most atraumatic insertion of the wire as possible into heart vessels and thereby an easy passage through narrow points and bends in the vessel course to be traversed.
Preferably, markers are placed on the catheters as rings or tubules. Such rings or tubules are cut from a long tube. Consequently, however, the dimensions are also limited. In order to achieve markers with smaller dimensions, small bands are placed around the catheters, whose mounting is, however, complicated as a result.
From the state of the art it is known to produce such markers either by drawing or cutting lengths of tubes or fusing foils. Fusing foils has proven to be disadvantageous, in particular because the fused connection is produced only unreliably. Cutting lengths of tubes comes up against mechanically feasible limits for wall thicknesses of less than 30 μm. Such types of production-limited wall thicknesses, however, run diametrically counter to the requirement for the thinnest possible diameter of the distal end of the catheter.
According to European published patent application EP 1 813 367 A2, markers are alternatively formed by metal injection. For this purpose, the X-ray-opaque metals are dispersed in the melt.

Method for production of a medical marker


The present invention relates to a method for the early diagnosis of carcinomas and their preliminary stages, which comprises determining the overexpression of a cell cycle regulatory protein in a solubilized body sample. The present invention is particularly directed to a method for detecting cervical carcinomas, cervical intraepithelial neoplasias, or cervical carcinomas in-situ from a solubilized cervical body sample of a human subject, by solubilizing the cervical body sample in a lysis buffer, and determining the overexpression of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor p16 in the solubilized cervical sample. The invention also concerns a test kit usable for this purpose as well as an in-vitro diagnostic device.

Preventive programs have been offered for the most differing carcinomas since the middle of the fifties. Regarding cervical carcinomas, they are based mainly on the morphological and cytological examination of cytosmears of the cervix uteri, what is called the Pap test, which is made on the basis of gynecological routine examinations at regular intervals in women from the 20th year on. By means of the morphology of the cells, the smears are divided into various intensity degrees of dysplastic cellular changes. According to Pap I-V, these intensity degrees are referred to as normal, mild dysplasia, fairly serious dysplasia, serious dysplasia and invasive carcinoma, respectively. If the Pap test leads to a striking result, a small biopsy will be taken and subjected to a histopathologic examination, by which the kind and intensity of the dysplasia are determined and classified as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CINI-III).
In spite of all preventive programs, cervical carcinomas that lead to 400,000 new cases per year are the most frequent carcinomas in women. This is inter alia due to the fact that up to 30% of the results of the Pap test are false-negative.
In conventional screening for cervical carcinoma, swabs are used for detection of neoplastic lesions of the cervix uteri. In the screening procedure, different kinds of lesions have to be distinguished. Causes for lesions may for example be inflammations (due to infectious agents or physical or chemical damage) or preneoplastic and neoplastic changes. In morphological examinations the lesions of different characteristics are sophisticated to distinguish. Thus, for examination of swabs cytologists and pathologists have to be especially trained, and even experienced examiners have a high inter- and intra-observer variance in the assessment of a diagnosis based on cytological specimens. In general, the result of the examination is based upon the subjective interpretation of diagnostic criteria by the examining pathologist/cytologist. As a result, the rate of false positive and false negative results in the screening tests remains unsatisfying high.
However, the reproducibility of the examination results may be enhanced by the use of supporting molecular tools. Yet the problem with the preservation and preparation of the samples may not be overcome by just additionally using molecular markers. One further complication when performing cytological or histological examinations for screening purposes and especially when applying methods for the detection of molecular markers originates from strict precautions in preserving the samples from causing artifacts or improper results.
This is in part due to the instability of the cell-based morphological information and in part to the instability of the molecular markers to be detected during the tests. If the samples are not prepared, transported or stored in an appropriate manner, the cell-based information, or even the molecular information may be lost, or may be altered. So the diagnosis may be impossible, or may be prone to artifacts. For example, the interpretation of biopsies or cytological preparations is frequently made difficult or impossible by damaged (physically or bio-/chemically) cells. Furthermore regarding tissue samples or biopsies, the preservation of molecular constituents of the samples, which are subject to a rapid turnover, is sophisticated due to the time passing by until penetration of the total sample by appropriate preservatives.
As shown above, the morphologically supported diagnostic methods performed routinely in the art show two major disadvantages. Firstly, the methods are highly dependent on individual perception of the examiners. Secondly, the morphological information is quite sensitive to decay processes and thus to production of artifacts after preparation of the samples. Both aspects contribute to improper reproducibility of the results.
Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to provide a method by which cervical carcinomas can be diagnosed early and reliably. In addition, a differentiation should be possible by this method with respect to benign inflammatory or metaplastic changes from dysplastic preneoplasias. Moreover, the present invention provides methods for the detection of carcinomas on a biochemical basis from solubilized samples.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for detecting carcinomas in a solubilized cervical body sample


To provide a ceramic heater that has high durability by increasing the bonding strength between the lead member and the brazing material, the ceramic heater comprises a ceramic base, a heating resistor embedded in the ceramic base, an external electrode that is disposed on side face of the ceramic base and is electrically connected to the heating resistor, and a lead member brazed onto the external electrodes, wherein the distance between a point in the brazed portion of the periphery of the lead member and a center of the lead member is smaller than the distance between an another point in the brazed portion and the center, in a section of the lead member perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the lead member.

Ceramic heaters are used in such applications as heat source for starting an engine, auxiliary heat source for room air heater and heater of air-fuel ratio sensor. An example of ceramic heater used in these applications is a ceramic heater 101 that has such a constitution as shown in FIG. 7, where a heating resistor is embedded in a ceramic base 103, and a lead member 111 is connected via a brazing material 109 to an external electrode 107 (electrode pad) that is electrically connected to the end of the heating resistor (Patent Document 1). FIG. 7 is sectional view showing the ceramic heater of the prior art in a section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the lead member.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2005-331502

Ceramic heater, oxygen sensor and hair iron that use the ceramic heater


A container system which is environmentally controlled for the packaging and shipment of vegetables, and particularly of lettuce, such as iceberg lettuce. The packaging relies upon a reusable paperboard container which is of a polygonal shape, such as an octagonal shape, providing a large number of corner margins which afford strength in stacking of like containers on pallets. A plastic liner is disposed within the paperboard container and receives the vegetables such as the heads of lettuce. This liner is evacuated through a small incision made in the liner and the liner is sealed, or the former air atmosphere is replaced with a modified atmosphere, such as a high carbon monoxide concentration or nitrogen atmosphere, and thereafter, the opening is sealed. The modified atmosphere precludes the oxidation and deterioration of the lettuce or other vegetable product. In a more preferred embodiment, a pair of plastic liners, comprising inner and outer liners, are employed. When the inner liner is filled, the pair of liners are then rolled over and sealed. A small incision is made in the inner liner in order to evacuate the air from the environment in which the lettuce is held. Thereafter, the small opening used for evacuating the air is sealed. The same procedure takes place with the second or outer liner in that it is evacuated and charged with a modified carbon monoxide or nitrogen atmosphere and the opening thereof sealed. In this way, if there is a leak in the inner liner, the lettuce or other vegetable will only be exposed to the modified carbon monoxide or nitrogen atmosphere and not oxygen which causes a very rapid deterioration of the vegetables. Leakage through the outer liner will not injure the vegetables as long as the inner liner remains secure and intact.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in container systems for the storage and transport of vegetables and, more particularly, to a container system which utilizes a reusable outer shell and at least one inner liner which contains a modified atmosphere for preserving the vegetables.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
While watermelons and fruits of a substantial weight are shipped in polygonal paperboard containers, such as octagonal containers, vegetables such as lettuce heads, are conventionally shipped in disposal paperboard containers which are of a rectangular construction.
Lettuce heads contain large amounts of entrained water which often leaves the head in the form of sap, or through evaporation from the leaves. This moisture penetrates the paperboard containers and can further harbor and promote bacterial growth. The entrained water in the lettuce heads causes some deterioration of the paperboard container during transit and shipment, and therefore, the containers themselves must be of a fairly thick and substantial construction. This results in a fairly significant cost for each container which thereby adds to the overall cost of shipping lettuce and similar good products.
In many cases, the lettuce and similar food products must be shipped for some substantial distance and, as a result, the containers are required to maintain their structural integrity for the transit period, which could be as much as four to six days. Since the containers are usually penetrated by water and/or sap at their destination, they are no longer available for reuse and must be destroyed.
In the prior art, when rectangularly-shaped shipping containers are taken out to a field and filled with lettuce, they usually assume a substantial weight in the range of several hundred pounds or more. Consequently, each of these containers must be sturdy and moreover, they must be located on wooden pallets for purposes of moving the same. Usually, the pallets are moved by forklift trucks. Furthermore, the container ends are sealed with staples. As a result, the containers themselves are often punctured by nails on the pallets and clearly the staples which secure the container ends may project into the interior space of the container. Since the containers are often moved from trucks to processing stations, there is a substantial amount of handling involved in the processing and transport of these containers of lettuce. This continuous handling and rough treatment lends to the early fatigue of the paperboard container, further militating against its reuse.
It is well known that the heads of lettuce deteriorate rapidly in the presence of oxygen. It would therefore be desirable to store and transport the lettuce in an oxygen-free environment. There have been attempts to package heads of lettuce in relatively small quantities (e.g. six heads of lettuce) in a plastic bag which is sealed with an inert atmosphere, such as carbon monoxide and placed in a rectangular cardboard container for shipping.
While this packaging of a small quantity of lettuce is effective for six or eight heads in a plastic bag, it has not been applicable to shipment of lettuce in large quantities as, for example, a transport container in which several hundred heads of lettuce may be stored in a single container. It was always assumed and correctly so, that the rough handling to which the large transport containers are subjected would quickly damage any plastic bags if the staples of the containers themselves did not damage and rupture the plastic bag.
When lettuce reaches its destination, as for example, a regional processing facility, the lettuce must again be peeled so that the outer layers or leaves are removed. Usually, the outer layers, when contacted by air, turn brown or wilt and dehydrate fairly quickly. After several days of exposure, many of the outer leaves are unusable and have an unsightly appearance. Consequently, these outer leaves must be manually removed. It has been estimated that as much as one-third of each head of lettuce is removed before it is rendered usable, either by the processor, a restaurant or for display in a grocery store or other location. Consequently, it is reasonably for one-third of the cost of the lettuce is wasted, not to mention the cost of the transport for that wasted lettuce.
Closely related to the problem of wasted lettuce leaves is the attendant labor costs required for removing the outer leaves of each head of lettuce. In some locations, there is an abundance of available low-cost labor, such as in farm communities where the lettuce is processed and packaged. However, when the outer leaves of the lettuce are manually removed at a different site, as for example, in a city, labor cost is substantially higher. As a result, in many cases, high-cost labor is used to perform the menial task of removing leaves of lettuce from each of the heads.
Many institutions such as regional salad processing facilities or restaurants would desire heads of lettuce which are totally usable in a form as packaged. Consequently, it would be desirable to "core" the lettuce, that is to remove the lettuce core before shipping. Again, coring of the lettuce at a farm-site community results in a much lower labor costs than which would be incurred for coring of the lettuce at a destination. Nevertheless, even when the lettuce is cored, the necessity of removing the outer leaves still arises. There is a substantial need for some means to ship lettuce in an environmentally protected container such that the lettuce will not deteriorate even when stored or transported for four to six days or more.

Method of packaging lettuce for storing and shipping


The processing application includes numerous jobs for performing processing operations on computing objects. Whereas previous systems log job information on a per job basis, the apparatus and method includes generating application messages. These application messages are generated based on events in the operation of the application and the messages include predefined event information. The application messages are processing and filtered by a central logging device, which may be in response to customization properties. From this central logging device the filtered messages are centrally stored in an application log database, thereby providing a central depository and formatting of previously incongruent job-specific logging data.

The present invention relates generally to the logging of processing operations performed on one or more processing objects and more specifically to logging and centrally storing log messages associated with these operations across a multi-operation processing application.
Computer applications that process large volumes of transactional data are often designed according to a defined business process that comprises any number of multiple process steps. The objects to be processed in the application are processed in various steps. Within each step, different events can be logged in a job log in order to document the processing operations. Within each step, typically one or more events are tracked in an application.
In existing processing environments, applications compile and maintain operation logs individual to specific tasks or jobs. These logs including information relating to various processing steps for that job. For example, in a payment processing application, a first portion of the application may include receiving an initial electronic payment. The application may log the initial receipt of this electronic payment.
As the application executes additional steps in the processing operations, different steps are individually logged as they occur in different processing jobs. Logging various operations is very well known and commonly found in many processing operations. This logging technique allows additional levels of redundancy and security, by denoting when various operations occur. These logs can provide feedback information, for example indicating how many objects are processed in a set period of time.
High volume processing computer applications that are processing millions of transactions (objects) are often designed in a way that the single process steps are controlled by a central job-control mechanism. Within each job that is launched from the job-control, one or more process steps are processed for multiple objects.
Although, the existing systems are restricted by the per-job nature of the logs. As it currently stands, each different job in the processing application generates its individual log. This is due, in part, to the general nature of the applications themselves. In order to optimize the overall performance of the application, one or more steps are processed for multiple objects through a job control application that triggers batch jobs that execute the various steps. Often each of these jobs is divided into several work processes running in parallel in order to maximize the overall performance of the application and the number of objects that can be processed on the given hardware platform.
When multiple separate jobs process multiple objects through multiple process steps, the logging of messages or events within each process step is done in job-specific logs. These logs only document the messages or events that occur in the process steps performed by the specific job. This means that the logging of messages or events during the process is documented in multiple job logs.
These job logs have various problems and disadvantages. For one, each job log contains information on each object. If an object-orientated reporting of the information in the job logs is required, a user of the application must search in multiple logs in order to find the relevant information. An end-to-end event reporting for a specific object is extremely difficult due to the singular nature of the logs. Another problem is that the various job logs are typically not standardized regarding the logged content. This makes the complexity of the analysis of the different logs even higher. Additionally, the decision on which events or messages are to be stored in the database must be made at each job's runtime. For high-volume processing applications, the logging of messages or events is performance-critical, such that only the absolute necessary events or messages are to be stored within the log.
Therefore, the existing system uses a multi-step processing application having various jobs, where each job logs its specific job messages. This per job logging limits these existing systems from benefits of analyzing logging information across different jobs within the application itself as well as complicates the logging of the proper information.


An outboard motor comprising a lower unit, a propeller shaft rotatably supported by the lower unit and adapted to support a propeller, and an internal combustion engine supported by the lower unit and drivingly connected to the propeller shaft, the internal combustion engine including an engine block defining at least one cylinder and having a lifting hook integrally formed on the engine block.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to internal combustion engines, and more particularly to internal combustion engines having lifting hooks, and even more particularly to outboard motors including internal combustion engines having lifting hooks.
2. Background Information
In the handling of outboard motors, and of internal combustion engines in general, it is often desirable to suspend the outboard motor or engine by a chain or some similar member. In order to facilitate the suspension of outboard motors or internal combustion engines from a chain, it is known to provide various bracketry which can be fastened to the outboard motor or to the engine and to which the chain can be attached. For example, known suspension bracketry includes bracket plates which can be bolted to the engine block and which can thereafter be attached to a chain. In the case of outboard motors, it may be further desirable to suspend the outboard motor in an upright position, i.e., wherein the crankshaft of the engine extends generally vertically. Known suspension bracketry used to suspend an outboard motor in an upright position includes hooks which can be screwed into the upper end of the crankshaft, or which can be hooked onto a flywheel mounted on the upper end of the crankshaft. The hooks can then be attached to a chain to suspend the outboard motor in an upright position. Such known bracketry in the form of either plates or hooks requires mounting of the bracketry on the outboard motor o engine before the suspension thereof.

Integral lifting hook for an outboard engine


An apparatus for feeding paper in a printer adapted to utilize both fan fold paper and cut sheet paper includes a push tractor for feeding fan fold paper. A print head is positioned downstream of the push tractor along the paper path. A paper feed roller is positioned intermediate the push tractor and the print head. The feed roller selectively feeds paper towards the print head. A discharge roller is positioned downstream of the print head for feeding paper. The apparatus detecting the type of paper being fed and varying the pressure utilized by the feed roller to feed the paper in response thereto.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for feeding both cut-sheet and fan fold sheet paper within a printer, and in particular to preventing the slack formed in paper fed in a printer.
A conventional paper feeding apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 includes a print head 106. A push tractor 101 feeds fan fold paper 102 downstream in the direction of arrow G to print head 106. A pair of feed rollers 103 are positioned on the downstream side of print head 106. Cut sheet paper is fed by feed rollers positioned upstream of print head 106 in conjunction with feed rollers 103.
The conventional paper feeding apparatus has been satisfactory. However, there is a large space between push tractor 101 and feed rollers 103 to allow for feeding a cut sheet to print head 106. Therefor, when fan fold sheet 102 is fed by push tractor 101, as fan fold paper 102 travels in the direction of arrow G toward feed rollers 103 slack is likely to occur in the paper. This results from the fact that the paper travels such a large distance unsupported. This slack does not become removed until fan fold paper 102 has been fed for several lines to as many as ten lines after the leading edge of fan fold paper 102 has reached feed rollers 103. Because the paper feed rate fluctuates due to the slack, the printing dot produced on the paper by print head 106 cannot be located accurately on fan fold paper 102 during this slack and slack recovery period. As a result, high precision printing cannot be guaranteed.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a paper feeding apparatus which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art device described above by providing an intermediate paper feeding structure to eliminate slack during the feeding of fan fold paper.

Apparatus for feeding both cut sheet and fan fold paper in a printer


A cluster mount, formed of a bearing plate, a bracket that engages with the bearing plate by means of fasteners, and resilient retention clips that are permanently secured to the cluster mount at positions for snugly retaining associated connecting links in place once the cluster mount components are assembled, to provide a cluster mount of a required circumferential dimension to be accommodated upon utility poles of varying sizes, after adjustment of the cluster mount components together during assembly. Connecting links are disposed for inserting through shaped slots furnished in the flanges of the bearing plate that provide adequate clearance for adjustment of each connecting link when assembled into the cluster mount.

Various styles of cluster mounts have been available for the installation and supporting of electrical instrumentation upon utility poles, whether it be transformers, or other electrical instrumentation. Generally, these various styles of cluster mounts have been fabricated of lightweight aluminum, but due to their unique designs, and interengagement, for their mounting high upon the pole, they yet sustain sufficient strength to hold very heavy objects, such as transformers, permanently in place, and over a lengthy period of time.
Examples of the type of cluster mounts can be seen in various patents held by the assignee of this current application, and for example, one such transformer mounting device is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,978. In addition, an electrical equipment cluster mount is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,927. In addition, the interegaged component electrical equipment shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,250, has likewise been designed of interconnected components, that mount directly to the utility pole, and for the attachment and support of various electrical devices. In addition, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,856, shows an electrical equipment cluster mount, having various shaped components, that are interconnected together, and in this particular instance, for supporting three heavy transformers high up upon the utility pole, rather stably in place.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,978, upon the transformer mounting device and method, it can be seen that these types of cluster mounts not only can be configured for interconnection of their various components together, but they even attain some adjustability, for size requirements, which when assembled, included a variety of connecting links, as can be seen, which incorporate integral hook portions, that provide for the fabrication of their transformer supporting components into various circumferences, so that the cluster mounting device can be preassembled, on the ground, to the approximate desired size, and then raised up on the pole for securement through tightening of its threaded fastener and bolt, as can be noted.
These types of mounting devices, of the cluster mounting configuration, have worked very well for the assignee, and its utility customers, over the years. One of the elements has been helpful in the stability of this device, and that is the application of a spring clip at the vicinity where the hook connecting links secure through the corresponding slots of the associated bearing plates, when the cluster mounts are assembled. These clips slide into the remaining space provided through the slots, adjacent the connecting links, to assure that they remain interconnected, during assembly, conveyance, and when installed. Spring clips of these types can be seen in the Canadian patent No. 67938.
One of the minor drawbacks of these various earlier cluster mounts has been in the design of the cluster in the vicinity where the connecting links secure through the bearing plate slots, and are held therein by means of a spring clip, since on occasion the spring clips are jarred free or become loose, which can cause a band failure, when the bands are overstressed while not fully engaged in their installed engaged positions. The current invention provides further modifications and improvements to such cluster mounts, so as to assure that the mounts retain their integrity once assembled and installed, any function fully effectively for holding such heavy electrical instruments high upon utility poles for the duration of their usage, which may be for extended periods.
This invention relates generally to improvements to configured band type of cluster mounts, for use in holding various styles of electrical instruments, including transformers, up upon a utility pole.
This invention contemplates the adaptation of various changes to electrical equipment cluster mounts that make the mounts function more effectively for sustained periods of time, and prevent untimely disconnection of its various assembled components, or their dislodgment from upon the utility pole once installed, but at the same time allows for very quick adjustment simply through elementary manual manipulations of its interconnecting components, to furnish size adjustments or further modifications to the cluster mount once assembled. These changes in design include the use of a particularly designed and shaped retention spring, that when in its steady state configuration and form, continuously biases the various extruded components fabricated into the cluster mount, into a tightly interconnected relationship, without further effort. At the same time, such mounting clips can be instantaneously freed from the biasing force against the mount components to allow the components to be readjusted into their perimeter configuration, designed for encircling the type of utility pole upon which the cluster mount is intended to be secured. All that need be done is to simply pull back on the retention clip, against its inherent resiliency, to remove it from its force exerting position upon the cluster mount components during adjustment. Furthermore, the slots within the bearing plates and through which the connecting links locate, are designed of a specific angular configuration to provide just enough adequate clearance for the connecting links to be adjusted between their various integral hooks, when embracing the bearing plate, as when the cluster mount is adjusted into a particular circumferential configuration. This not only allows for the connecting links to be adjusted, but also furnishes just enough clearance so as to prevent the untimely dislodgment of the connecting links when adjusted into a particular dimensional pattern as the cluster mount is being assembled for installation to the utility pole. The interface design contours between these formed slots, and the connecting links, allows adequate clearance for the bands to rotate freely while maintaining full bearing contact with the utility pole, but yet, does not provide so much clearance that the components will freely disengage once assembled. These features, in combination with the newly designed retention clip, add desirably to the functionality of the cluster mounts, when assembled and when installed by an individual utility man, upon the supporting pole.
More specifically, the slots provided through the outwardly extending flanges of each bearing plate are angularly oriented, for the purpose of providing just enough clearance to facilitate the shifting of the connecting links to enable engorgement between the bearing plates and various connecting link hooks, depending upon the circumferential size of the cluster mount required, which is dictated by the diameter of the pole upon which it is to be secured.
In addition, the retention clip of this invention is designed for more permanent installation than those previously used in the prior art, and therefore, cannot fall or break free from its retention, once installed. In addition, the clips, due to their peculiar shape, and their fabrication from resilient material, such as metal, or perhaps even a plastic, constantly bias against the connecting links to keep them into engagement with their associated bearing plates, but at the same time, can be easily shifted to furnish clearance for movement of the connecting links into a tighter configuration, or extended for expanding the circumferential size of the cluster mount during assembly.
It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention to provide a cluster mount that may be more facilely assembled, adjusted, and installed by a single worker, upon a utility pole.
Another object of this invention is to provide a regulation of the dimensions of the various components for the cluster mount of this invention, so that they may be easily adjusted and have adequate clearance to facilitate their shifting when differing sized cluster mounts may be required for installation.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a retention clip that is a more permanent installation, and therefore cannot break free or fall from the assembled cluster mount, while the worker takes it up upon the utility pole for installation.
Another object of this invention is to provide a retention clip that may be easily manipulated, single handily by the installing worker, to provide for varying adjustments to the cluster mount, even when the worker is high up upon the utility pole.
These and other objects may become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the summary of this invention, and upon undertaking a study of the description of its preferred embodiment, in view of the drawings.


A cabinet includes a housing, two first rails, two pairs of pivoting elements, and two second rails. The housing includes two doors pivotably mounted to opposite sides of a front end of the housing. The first rails are respectively fixed to opposite internal sides of the housing. First ends of a pair of pivoting elements are pivotably connected to an inner side of each of the doors, and second ends of the pair of pivoting elements of each of the doors are pivotably connected a corresponding one of the second rails. When the doors are opened parallel to the first rails, the second rails are operable to move relative to the corresponding doors and aligned with the corresponding first rails to form two extended sliding rails.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a cabinet for electronic equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
To assemble electronic equipment, such as a server to a cabinet, two slide rails are often provided. Each slide rail includes a first rail and a second rail slidably connected to the first rail. The first rails are respectively fixed to opposite inner sides of the cabinet, and the second rails are respectively fixed to opposite sides of the server. Thereby, the server is slidable inward and outward relative to the cabinet. However, this procedure is laborious and troublesome.


A method and receiver for reducing a signal (B) interfering with a broadband spread-spectrum signal (A) reaching a receiver (100), the receiver (100) including an interference signal (B) reduction system (20) incorporating an automatic gain controller (21), said method characterized in that the controller (21) continuously carries out a normalization (B′) of an instantaneous peak amplitude of the signal (B), wherein said instantaneous peak amplitude is constant in time for the signal thus normalized (B′).

The known GPS (or GNSS) localization principle uses measurements of radio signals received from a constellation of satellites.
The considerable distance of the satellites from the Earth, as well as the spread-spectrum techniques used, result in the radio signals received at the surface of the Earth having very low power (−130 dBm, or 10−16 Watts).
GPS signals are therefore very sensitive to interference (intentional or not) from other radio equipment.
The interference can for instance be the out-of-band emission of a television transmitter within the GPS frequencies, or a high-level jammer in a military operations area.
At present, known techniques exist for improving the interference tolerance of GPS receivers.
Among the known techniques, there are analog techniques or 1-bit digitizing techniques, but the most advantageous is two-bit digitizing, also called non-uniform conversion.
Two-bit digitizing makes it possible to receive GPS signals despite the presence of interference in the form of sine waves or "continuous wave" (CW) according to the terminology generally used by the person skilled in the art.
Here the implementation of two-bit digitizing is explained.
As shown in FIG. 1, a GPS localization receiver 100 is conventionally mainly constituted of three components, that is to say:                an antenna 1,        a radio frequency module 2, and        a digital module 3.
Radio frequency module 2 is located between antenna 1 and digital module 3.
Radio frequency module 2 generally includes an interference reduction system 20.
As shown in FIG. 2, the aforementioned two-bit digitizing consists of creating, by thresholding, two bits from a scrambled GPS signal consisting of GPS signal A and interference signal B.
The first bit is called the "sign bit" and is referred to as S.
The second bit is called the "amplitude bit" and is referred to as M.
The M bit's threshold is adjustable according to the type of signal A.
As shown in FIG. 3, when signal B is of the CW type, continuous digitizing makes it possible to recover signal A from signal A+B, due in particular to the creation of bit M.
Digitizing using more than two bits is also known.
The known technique of conversion using at least two bits has advantages.
Under a strong CW type interference, and compared with an analog solution, one-bit digitizing can degrade the signal-to-noise ratio by nearly 7 dB.
On the contrary, under the same CW jammer, two-bit digitizing allows the signal-to-noise ratio to be significantly improved. The signal-to-noise ratio is then optimal if the samples for which bit M is not activated are ignored at the bit converter output, which amounts to digitizing the signal using only 1.5 bits. Thus, under a strong CW type interference, and compared with an analog solution, 1.5-bit digitizing can improve the signal-to-noise ratio by more than 10 dB, when the duty cycle of bit M is set, for example, at 20%.
Further, under gaussian interference and compared with an analog solution, two-bit digitizing allows the degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio to be limited to less than 0.6 dB, as opposed to 1.96 dB for one-bit digitizing.
Two-bit digitizing does have disadvantages, however.
There is in fact a more subtle way to jam GPS signals than to jam them with a CW type signal, whose energy forms a line in the reception spectrum of GPS signals, and whose amplitude peak is also constant. Thus one jamming solution is to adopt a gaussian jammer in a broadened hand. The energy of the jamming signal will thus spread itself through the reception spectrum of the GPS signals, with rapid fluctuations in the peak amplitude of the jamming signal, and will thus be more difficult to reject.
A technique for rejecting CW type jamming signals is known from U.S. Pat. No. 7,324,037. But this technique does not allow processing of gaussian type interference.

Interference signal reduction method and receiver


A portable, hand held camera has at least one area image sensor for imaging a scene and a processor for processing said image in accordance with a set of programmable rules. An internal printer prints out said processed image on media stored in a detachable module inside said camera.

Not applicable.
The present invention relates to an image processing method and apparatus and, in particular, discloses a Digital Instant Camera with Image Processing Capability.
The present invention further relates to the field of digital camera technology and, particularly, discloses a digital camera having an integral color printer.
Traditional camera technology has for many years relied upon the provision of an optical processing system which relies on a negative of an image which is projected onto a photosensitive film which is subsequently chemically processed so as to xe2x80x9cfixxe2x80x9d the film and to allow for positive prints to be produced which reproduce the original image. Such an image processing technology, although it has become a standard, can be unduly complex, as expensive and difficult technologies are involved in full color processing of images. Recently, digital cameras have become available. These cameras normally rely upon the utilization of a charged coupled device (CCD) to sense a particular image. The camera normally includes storage media for the storage of the sensed scenes in addition to a connector for the transfer of images to a computer device for subsequent manipulation and printing out.
Such devices are generally inconvenient in that all images must be stored by the camera and printed out at some later stage. Hence, the camera must have sufficient storage capabilities for the storing of multiple images and, additionally, the user of the camera must have access to a subsequent computer system for the downloading of the images and printing out by a computer printer or the like.
The present invention relates to providing an alternative form of camera system which includes a digital camera with an integral color printer. Additionally, the camera provides hardware and software for the increasing of the apparent resolution of the image sensing system and the conversion of the image to a wide range of xe2x80x9cartistic stylesxe2x80x9d and a graphic enhancement.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable hand held camera comprising at least one area image sensor for imaging a scene, a camera processor means for processing said imaged scene in accordance with a programmable scene transformation requirement, a printer for printing out said processed imaged scene on print media, said print media and printing ink being stored in a single detachable module inside said camera, said camera comprising a unit for the image of scenes by said area image sensor and printing said scenes directly out of said camera via said printer.
Preferably the camera includes a print roll for the storage of print media and printing ink for utilization by the printer, the print roll being detachable from the camera. Further, the print roll can include an authentication chip containing authentication information and the camera processing means is adapted to interrogate the authentication chip so as to determine the authenticity of said print roll when inserted within said camera.
Further, the printer can include a drop on demand ink jet printer and guillotine means for the separation of printed photographs.

Digital instant printing camera with image processing capability

Abstract: Preferable, the internal printer is an ink jet printer and the detachable print media module incorporates an ink supply and a chip to identify the module as authentic.