A switch unit, preferably implementing a circuit breaker, includes a contact slide unit formed by a contact slide, a fixed contact piece and a moveable contact piece), and a short-circuit release that acts to displace the moveable contact piece by means of a tappet in the event of a short-circuit. A moveable braking device is configured and arranged such that, following circuit opening displacement of the moveable contact piece in response to a short-circuit, the moveable brake device dampens the return, rebound movement of the moveable contact piece to reclose the circuit.

The functions of switch units, and more particularly those forming circuit breakers, include the provision of a safe breaking function for, in the event of a short-circuit, protecting both consumers and installations. Electrical or mechanical switch units are also suitable for the in-service manual switching of consumers, and for the safe isolation of an installation from the power grid for conduct of maintenance work or modifications to the installation. Electrical switch units are often electromagnetically operated.
Switch units of this type are accordingly highly-engineered electric switching devices with integrated protection for motors, cables, transformers and generators. They are employed in functional locations where a low frequency of switching is required. In addition to short-circuit protection, switch units of this type are also suitable for providing overload protection.
In the event of a short-circuit, an electrical switch unit safely disconnects an electrical installation. Fuse protection against overload is also thereby provided. Every conductor in which an electric current flows will heat up, to a greater or lesser extent. Such heating-up is dependent on the ratio of the current rating to the conductor cross-section, i.e., the "current density". The current density must not be excessively high, or excessive heat-up would otherwise result in charring of the conductor insulation or the possible start of a fire. In order to protect electrical installations against these damaging effects, switch units are employed as overcurrent protection devices.
Circuit breakers are provided with two independently-acting release mechanisms for overload and short-circuit protection, connected in series. Short-circuit protection is assumed by a virtually instantaneously-acting electromagnetic release. In the event of a short-circuit, the electromagnetic release immediately releases a latching mechanism of the circuit breaker. A switching armature separates the contact piece before the short-circuit current can reach its maximum value.
Known switch units comprise a contact slide unit with a contact slide and a moveable contact piece. The moveable contact piece is furthermore provided with electrical contacts. Switch units of this type are additionally provided with first contacts to a current conductor. In its closed state, the electrical contacts of the moveable contact piece are in contact with the fixed contacts of the switch unit. In the event of a short-circuit, the electrical contacts of the moveable contact piece are released from the fixed contacts, thereby interrupting the flow of electric current. The moveable contact piece is thus released or disengaged from the fixed contacts. In the event of short-circuit tripping in a switch unit, however, the moveable contact piece may be caused to rotate about its longitudinal axis after the moveable contact piece is released. Where the moveable contact piece rotates about its longitudinal axis, it is designated a rotating bridge element. In other words, following its rotation, the moveable contact piece does not return to its original position, but instead remains in its rotated position.
In many cases, known contact slides of contact slide units are provided with two guide systems, namely, an internal guide system and an external guide system. The external guide system is employed where the switching process, i.e. the making or breaking operation, is executed by means of a latching mechanism of the switch unit. In this case, no rotating bridge element results. The internal guide system is employed in the event of a short-circuit, if the switching process is executed by means of a switching armature, generally a tappet, on the switch unit. This means that, in the event of disconnection in response to a short-circuit, the moveable contact piece precedes the contact slide along the internal guide system, rebounds against the impact surfaces provided in the lower part of the switch unit and is then propelled back along the internal guide system. Accordingly, it is propelled in the opposing direction relative to the switching armature or tappet of the switch unit. It is therefore possible that the moveable contact piece and the tappet engage outside their respective mid-lines, thereby resulting in the rotation of the moveable contact piece around its longitudinal axis.
Upon the next switching operation of the switch unit, if the moveable contact piece remains in its rotated position, the contacts, specifically silver contacts of the moveable contact piece, will no longer engage with the fixed contacts of the switch unit, thus resulting in malfunctions. This means that the contact piece remaining in a rotated position is disadvantageous, in that the switch unit will then no longer be serviceable. A non-functioning contact piece and a non-functioning switch unit are disadvantageous for both the electrical consumer and the installation in which the switch unit is installed.
A further problem arises where, in the event of a short-circuit, the circuit breaker does not sufficiently rapidly interrupt the short-circuit current. Three time-staggered contact-opening mechanisms are employed for this purpose. A short-term and transient opening of contacts in response to a current flow is effected, first, by the application of current loop forces on the contact position between the fixed and moveable contact pieces and, second, by means of a pin that is electromagnetically driven by the short-circuit release. The permanent opening of contacts is effected by a disengageable mechanical kinematic chain, in combination with a switching lever.
It is accordingly problematic that if such high short-circuit currents occur, the time sequence of the contact-opening mechanisms no longer functions. In this case, the very high current loop forces present result in correspondingly rapid acceleration of the moveable contact piece, which will then rebound so rapidly from the limit stop of the housing that the contact will be reclosed before the latching mechanism can be maintained in the permanently open position by means of the switching lever. The destruction of the device may then ensue.

Switch unit, in particular a circuit breaker


A three-dimensional photonic crystal of the present invention has a complete photonic band gap in a wide wavelength region and that can be easily produced. A three-dimensional photonic crystal in which a plurality of layers including a periodic-refractive-index structure are periodically stacked includes, a first layer having holes provided at lattice points of a first rectangular lattice and a second rectangular lattice, a second layer having columnar structures at lattice points of a face-centered rectangular lattice, a third layer having a periodic structure the same as that of the first layer and disposed at a shifted position, and a fourth layer having a periodic structure the same as that of the second layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three-dimensional photonic crystal including a three-dimensional refractive index periodic structure and to a functional device including the three-dimensional photonic crystal, such as for example an optical waveguide, an optical resonator, an optical filter, and a polarizer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Yablonovitch has proposed the concept that the transmission and reflection characteristics of an electromagnetic wave can be controlled using a structure smaller than the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave (Physical Review Letters, Vol. 58, pp. 2059, 1987). According to this document, the transmission and reflection characteristics of the electromagnetic wave can be controlled with a periodic structure smaller than the wavelength.
In particular, when the wavelength of electromagnetic waves is reduced to about the wavelength of visible light, transmission and reflection characteristics of the visible light can be controlled. Such a structure is known as a photonic crystal. It has been suggested that a reflecting mirror having a reflectance of 100% in a certain wavelength region can be manufactured.
Thus, a certain wavelength range in which a reflectance of near 100% can be realized may be referred to as a photonic band gap, as compared to the energy gap in a semiconductor.
Furthermore, a three-dimensional fine periodic structure can provide a photonic band gap for incident light from any direction. This is hereinafter referred to as a complete photonic band gap.
The complete photonic band gap can have various applications (for example, reduced spontaneous emission in a light-emitting device). A structure that can achieve a complete photonic band gap in a wider wavelength region can facilitate extending the operating wavelength region of such a functional device.
Some structures having a complete photonic band gap have been proposed (see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,335,240, 5,440,421, and 6,597,851).
FIG. 14A shows a woodpile structure proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,240. In this structure, a plurality of columnar structures disposed in parallel are stacked, the alignment of each layer rotated by 90 degrees with respect to that of adjacent layers.
FIG. 14B is a schematic view of a structure exhibiting a photonic bandgap disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,421. In this structure, a plurality of holes have been made in a direction perpendicular to a plurality of columnar structures that are disposed in parallel so that parts of the columnar structures overlap in the stacking direction.
FIG. 14C is a schematic view of a structure exhibiting a photonic bandgap disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,597,851. In this structure, layers having holes provided in the form of a triangular lattice and columnar structures provided in the form of a triangular lattice are stacked with a shift of ⅓ of the fundamental period between adjacent layers.
In the woodpile structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,240, since four layers constitute one period, the structure is simple and is easily produced. However, the structure has a strong anisotropy, resulting in a strong directional dependence of the photonic bandgap.
The structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,421 also has a complete photonic bandgap. However, a plurality of very deep holes must be formed, and it is very difficult to produce the structure.
The structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,597,851 has an anisotropy smaller than that of the woodpile structure and has a relatively large photonic bandgap. However, since six layers constitute one period, the fabrication process is complex, for example, high accuracy is necessary for the alignment of layers. Thus, it is difficult to produce the structure.

Three-dimensional photonic crystal and functional device including the same


The present invention relates to a biopolymer based barrier coating composition wherein said biopolymer based barrier coating composition comprises a plasticizer, a nano-sized clay and a biopolymer comprising a native starch and/or a de-graded starch and/or a chemically modified starch. The present invention also relates to a method for preparing the biopolymer based barrier coating composition as well as to a method for coating a cellulose based substrate with the biopolymer based barrier coating composition. Finally, the present invention relates to a cellulose based substrate coated with said biopolymer based barrier coating composition.

Barrier coatings are used in paper and paperboard packaging to provide barrier properties to paper and paperboard by reducing or eliminating the permeability of gases through the material and/or the absorption of liquids in the fiber structure.
Barrier coatings are required to prevent the egress from the package of flavors, aromas and other ingredients of the packaged product as well as to prevent the ingress into the package of oxygen, moisture, grease and other contaminants that might deteriorate the quality of the packaged product. Oxygen and water vapour are the gases for which barriers are normally tested but the barriers are useful for other gases as well, including carbon dioxide.
Various coatings have been applied to paper or paperboard substrates to provide composite materials that may be used for various purposes. Polymer dispersions or latexes have become attractive in recent years as a replacement for petroleum-based plastics for use as barrier materials. Barrier dispersions can be applied using conventional coating techniques, both online and off-line. Common applications of dispersion coatings are corrugated board, sacks, disposables, frozen and chilled food cartons, ream wrappings for copy paper, electronic packages and wallpaper base. The most commonly used latexes consist of polymers or copolymers of styrene, butadiene, acrylates, vinyl acetate and polyolefins dispersed in water. Several additives are used to reach the desired level of consistency, durability and runnability, e.g. colloidal stabilizers, thickeners, waxes, antifoaming agents, biocides and pesticides.
There is a need for biopolymer based barrier-coating compositions which are easy and inexpensive to produce, which have good barrier properties with respect to moisture, gas and grease and which have low brittleness. There is also a need for barrier coating compositions which can easily be separated from the cellulose fibres in recycling and repulping processes.
Natural polymers or biopolymers that come from renewable sources show many interesting properties in terms of film forming ability and resistance to oxygen and grease. However, the moisture sensitivity of biopolymers makes them inappropriate as barrier films for food packaging applications.
Another disadvantage of barriers based on natural polymers is the brittleness of the coatings, i.e. the sensitivity of barrier properties to mechanical stress applied in converting operations. Cracking of the barrier film causes the barrier properties to be lost.
The patent document WO 00/40404 describes coated films with improved barrier properties and relates to coating compositions which use a polymeric binder and a nano-scale particle size additive to provide improved moisture barriers. The area concerned is thermoplastic films and the coating compositions are suited for application to polypropylene and polyethylene films in order to improve the barrier characteristics of said polypropylene and polyethylene films and thereby making them acceptable for food packaging applications. The polymers used are not biopolymers and the intention is not to replace petroleum-based plastic films with more environmentally friendly coatings that provide sufficient barrier protection to paper or paperboard.
The patent document EP 1 736 504 describes improvement of barrier properties of a water soluble gas barrier material by adding nanoparticles of calcium carbonate. The polymers used are synthetic polymers and not biopolymers and the purpose is to improve oxygen barrier properties, not water vapour barrier properties.
The patent document WO 03/078734 describes a composition for surface treatment of paper by use of nanoparticles of synthetic layered silicates or precipitated calcium carbonate in a carrier fraction comprising plate-like pigment particles (talc and/or kaolin) and a binder such as a polymer latex (styrene-butadiene). The purpose is to improve the printing properties of paper, not to provide paper with improved barrier properties. Starch is mentioned as a surface sizing agent in order to improve the strength of the paper surface.
A study by Thang, X, Alavi, S and Herald, T, (Carbohydrate Polymers 74 (2008) 552-558 [available online 22 Apr. 2008]) considers corn starch with glycerol (0-20 wt %), urea (15 wt %) or formamide (15 wt %) as plasticizer. Montmorillonite clay is added to 6 wt %. Both the plasticizer and especially the clay concentrations are lower than in our 'most preferred' formulation. Furthermore, the materials were mixed by a twin-screw extruder, followed by grinding and dispersion of the ground material in water. Finally, the water dispersion was cast to self-supporting films. The WVTR was measured at 25° C. and 75% RH.
A study by Kampeerapappum, P, Aht-ong, D, Pentrakoon, D and Srikulkit, K, (Carbohydrate Polymers 67 (2007) 155-163 [available online 23 Jun. 2006]) refers to cassava starch in combination with chitosan (0-15% of the dry amount of starch). Chitosan is used as a compatibilizing agent to get a homogeneous dispersion of montmorillonite clay in the starch matrix. Clay was added at a concentration of 0-15 wt % of the dry amount of starch. Glycerol was used as a plasticizer. Self-supporting films with a thickness of about 70 μm were cast from the aqueous dispersion. WVTR was measured at 38° C. and 90% RH and values of 1000-2000 g/m2·d were reported. These values are 10-20 times higher than for paper coatings, measured under the same conditions (Example 6 below).
In a study by Cyras, V P, Manfredi, L B, Ton-That, M-T and Vázquez, A, (Carbohydrate Polymers 73 (2008) 55-63 [available online 22 Nov. 2007]) native starch (not chemically modified) is used in combination with 0-5 wt % Na-Cloisite. Self-supporting films were cast from water solution and the resulting film thickness was 250 μm. The equilibrium water uptake and water absorption rate was measured, but the article do not report any measurement of water vapour barrier properties.

Barrier material and method for making the same


A default setting, associated with speculative transfers of information from a main memory to a cache memory, is selected for a system based on the number of CPUs and the size of instruction and/or data caches included in the system. A matrix relating the number of processors and the size of the memory caches may be stored in a system BIOS and used to aid in determining whether the speculative transfers should be enabled or disabled by default. In general, speculative transfers will be enabled by default if system performance is more likely than not to be enhanced by using speculative transfers. Speculative transfers will be disabled if system performance is likely to be degraded by use of speculative transfers.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Processors in many of these systems have the ability to obtain instructions or data from a main memory and place the instructions or data into a cache memory before the processor actually requires the instructions or data. Most processors can access information from cache memory much faster than from main memory. Improved system performance often results, because the faster access to information stored in cache memory can reduce the number of processor cycles wasted waiting for information to be retrieved from an associated main memory.

Configuration aware pre-fetch switch setting by BIOS based on the number of CPUs and cache size


An input circuit for an integrated circuit furnishes a level shifting buffer portion adjacent a respective bond pad carried at the margin of the substrate while furnishing a clocked or latched portion adjacent the internal circuit of the integrated circuit. A lead extending from the level shifting or buffer portion to the clocked or latched portion carries the external signal applied to the bond pad and level shifted by the level shifting or buffer portion. The lead is subject to the parasitic resistance and capacitance of the integrated circuit. A multiplexer can be used to select among the level shifting portions for applying a single signal to the clocked portion and the clocked or latched portion can be part of a larger latch that receives plural signals for transmission to the internal circuit at appropriate times.

This invention relates generally to electronic circuits carried on substrates of semiconductor materials and relates specifically to an input circuit used in such integrated circuits.
Integrated circuits comprise a substrate of semiconductor material that is processed to form electronic components in the top layers of the semiconductor material and with leads extending between the electronic components for desired interconnection. Interconnection to the integrated circuit is by way of wires attached to bonding pads carried on the substrate at the margin of the substrate. Electrical leads extending from the electronic components to these bonding pads to complete the circuits. These bonding pads occur at the periphery of the substrate.
As the area of the top surface of the integrated circuit increases and as designers try to make each integrated circuit directly compatible with more than one package option, a problem arises in that bonding pads can be displaced quite far from the input circuitry where these signals are used. This can create problems relating to electrical noise immunity, signal rise and fall times, nonuniformity of timing of received input signals and added capacitance at the bond pad.
In some cases, this problem has been attempted to be corrected by extending a metal or polysilicon connection from the bonding pad to the internal circuit where the signal is used. This arrangement becomes susceptible to noise due to the length of the metal or polysilicon lines because the TTL (transistor-transistor logic) signal traveling on this connection or lead can be bounced around by capacitive coupling from the substrate which lies directly underneath this line or from any other signal line located close to this line. This can cause an input stage or buffer to misread the logic level of the TTL level signal especially since the input stage typically is a CMOS stage trying to decipher the sometimes smaller voltages of a TTL level signal.
Regarding signal speed, since the signal traveling on the extended metal or polysilicon lead is at TTL voltages, the time for this signal to propagate to the input stage and then be detected can be considerably longer than if the signal was at CMOS logic levels. This can occur for TTL levels where the switching point may be a high percentage, such as 95%, of the entire transition of the received signal due to process variations when the circuit is being fabricated that can significantly raise or lower the trigger point. Faster recognition of the change in logic level signals would occur for CMOS logic levels where the transition would be approximately only 50% of the total transition, therefore requiring only 50% of the transition time. This stands as one good reason for not running TTL level signals long distances in CMOS logic circuitry.
Another problem is nonuniformity in signal timing. Different pads become located at different positions at the peripheral margin of the chip and, in the case of addresses, the input signals from these pads must all go to approximately the same location. These differences in propagation delays due to the difference in lead lengths causes non-uniformity in the times at which the address signals reach their input circuits. This becomes an undesirable situation that can greatly affect the set up and hold times of the address signals, which ideally, should be uniform. In particular this problem occurred on a 256K NMOS dynamic RMA.
Extending the metal or polysilicon connection from the bonding pad to the input circuit adds to the parasitic capacitance of the pad. This undesirable situation slows the charging and discharging of the pad by the address signal and the propagation of that signal to the input circuit. It also adds capacitance to the load that external circuitry must drive when using the chip.
Another arrangement for avoiding these problems is to move the entire input circuit next to its related bonding pad. This overcomes some problems and causes others. If the input circuit requires several other signals to control it then all of these signals must run to this circuit which is now located next to the bond pad. This will slow these signals because of the extra parasitic resistance and capacitance caused by the extra length in the clock leads. The extension of these clock signals leads also consumes area of the substrate surface. In the case of address leads, several clock signal leads need to be extended to each of the address signal receiving bond pads.

Integrated circuit furnishing a segmented input circuit


A network system is constructed for operating a music apparatus having a function as an electronic musical instrument under control by a local terminal which is communicable with a host computer through a network. In the system, the host computer is installed with a capability utilized to compute data effective to extent the function of the electronic musical instrument. The local terminal is connectable to the host computer through the network to remotely control the capability of the host computer so as to compute the data prepared for the music apparatus. The local terminal downloads the computed data from the host computer into the music apparatus through the local terminal. The music apparatus operates according to the downloaded data to extend its own function as the electronic musical instrument. Further, the capability itself can be transferred from the host computer to the music apparatus through the local terminal.

The present invention generally relates to a network system constructed by a host computer and local terminals. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method of extending a capability of a music apparatus equipped in the local terminal in the form of an electronic musical instrument or a personal computer having function of an electronic musical instrument.
In the field of electronic musical instruments, various capabilities have been conventionally realized, including a timbre synthesis capability for synthesizing timbres and an automatic accompaniment capability for performing automatic accompaniment by reproducing play data of an accompaniment pattern. Some of these capabilities are initially provided on electronic musical instruments, while others are not. It would be convenient if the capabilities not inherently provided in an electronic musical instrument can be subsequently added thereto. It is desired to provide a service for implementing such addition of the various capabilities. The same is true for a personal computer having function of an electronic musical instrument realized by an application software.
Most of the above-mentioned capabilities are conventionally implemented by microcomputer-based data processing. Electronic musical instruments themselves are also controlled by a microcomputer. This makes it possible to use, via a network, programs and other software resources that can implement various capabilities, thereby extending capabilities of the electronic musical instrument and personal computer having the electronic musical instrument function. p Meanwhile, use of the software resources reserved in a host computer by local terminals such as personal computers is conventionally practiced by connecting these local terminals to the host computer through a network. A procedure most frequently used in such a configuration is downloading of application programs from the host computer into the local terminals.
However, In the above-mentioned conventional procedure, the local terminal cannot execute a downloaded program if hardware resources of the local terminal is not enough for executing the downloaded program. Another problem with the conventional procedure is that local terminals of some types cannot install the application program due to incompatibility of their operating system or else. Still another problem is that, if the size of a program to be used is huge, a local terminal must download the program while consuming a considerable time without recognizing advantage and performance that the program will provide until the downloading is finished.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to achieve, by focusing on a network constituted by a host computer and local terminals, an extension of capabilities of a music apparatus such as an electronic musical instrument and a personal computer having function of an electronic musical instrument without any restriction from a local terminal to which the music apparatus is connected.
A first aspect of the invention is directed to a method of operating a music apparatus to function as an electronic musical instrument under control by a local terminal which is communicable with a host computer through a network. The inventive method comprises the steps of installing the host computer with a synthesizer capability utilized to computer timbre data, connecting the local terminal to the host computer through the network to remotely control the synthesizer capability of the host computer so as to compute the timbre data prepared for the music apparatus, downloading the computed timbre data from the host computer into the music apparatus through the local terminal so as to set a desired timbre of a musical tone, and operating the music apparatus to function as the electronic musical instrument to generate the musical tone having the desired timbre set by the downloaded timbre data.
According to the music apparatus capability extending method configured as mentioned above, the synthesizer capability or timbre synthesis capability is provided on the host computer of a network system. The timbre synthesis capability generates by computation timbre data to be handled by the music apparatus having the electronic musical instrument function. The local terminal networked to the host computer is connected to the music apparatus such as the electronic musical instrument and the personal computer having the electronic musical instrument function. From the local terminal, the timbre synthesis capability of the host computer is controlled remotely. A result of the timbre data computation by the host computer is sent to the music apparatus via the local terminal. Based on the received computation result, the music apparatus sets its own timbres of music tones. Therefore, even if the timbre synthesis capability is not provided on the music apparatus itself, timbres can be set in the form of data that can be handled by the music apparatus having the electronic musical instrument function.
A second aspect of the invention is directed to a method of operating a music apparatus to function as an electronic musical instrument according to song data representative of a desired song under control by a local terminal which is communicable with a host computer through a network. The method comprises the steps of installing the host computer with a sequencer capability utilized to time-sequentially process the song data to compute automatic play data, connecting the local terminal to the host computer through the network to remotely control the sequencer capability of the host computer while supplying thereto the song data so as to compute the automatic play data prepared for the music apparatus, downloading the computed automatic play data from the host computer into the music apparatus through the local terminal, and operating the music apparatus to function as the electronic musical instrument to undergo an automatic play of the desired song according to the downloaded automatic play data.
According to the music apparatus capability extending method configured as mentioned above, the sequencer capability or automatic accompaniment capability is provided on the host computer of a network system. The automatic accompaniment capability generates play data that can be handled by the music apparatus having the electronic musical instrument function. The local terminal networked to this host computer is connected to the music apparatus such as the electronic musical instrument and the personal computer having the electronic musical instrument function. The automatic accompaniment capability of the host computer is remotely controlled by the local terminal. In response to command information from the music apparatus, the host computer executes the automatic accompaniment capability. The play data generated by the automatic accompaniment capability of the host computer is sent to back the music apparatus via the local terminal. Based on the received play data, the music apparatus generates music tones to sound an automatic accompaniment. Therefore, even if the automatic accompaniment capability is not provided on the music apparatus itself, the automatic accompaniment can be performed by the play data that can be handled by the music apparatus having the electronic musical instrument function.
A third aspect of the invention is directed to a method of operating a music apparatus to function as an electronic musical instrument under control by a local terminal which is communicable with a host computer through a network. The inventive method comprises the steps of installing the host computer with an emulator capability utilized to emulate an operation of the electronic musical instrument, connecting the local terminal to the host computer through the network to remotely control the emulator capability of the host computer so as to compute operation data indicative of the operation of the electronic musical instrument upon emulation thereof, downloading the computed operation data from the host computer into the music apparatus through the local terminal, and virtually operating the music apparatus to function as the electronic musical instrument to investigate performance thereof according to the downloaded operation data without actually operating the music apparatus.
According to the music apparatus capability extending method configured as mentioned above, the emulator capability or electronic musical instrument simulating capability is provided on the host computer of a network system. The electronic musical instrument simulating capability simulates operation of an electronic musical instrument to generate by computation the operation data indicating the result of the simulation. The local terminal networked to this host computer is connected to the music apparatus such as an electronic musical instrument and a personal computer having an electronic musical instrument function. The electronic musical instrument simulating capability of the host computer is remotely controlled by the local terminal. The operation data obtained based on the result of the computation by the electronic musical instrument simulating capability of the host computer is sent to the music apparatus via the local terminal. On the music apparatus, the operation according to this operation data is performed. This electronic musical instrument simulating capability performs simulation on the network with respect to how the music apparatus such as the electronic musical instrument and the personal computer having the electronic musical instrument function operates according to particular settings. This allows the user to make familiar with or learn the specifications, capabilities, and handling of a particular music apparatus such as the electronic musical instrument and the personal computer having the electronic musical instrument function.
A fourth aspect of the invention is directed to a method of extending a desired capability of a music apparatus having function of an electronic musical instrument under control by a local terminal which is communicable with a host computer through a network. The method comprises the steps of installing the host computer with a program composed of a function module which is executable to provide the desired capability and a first interface module which interfaces the function module with the local terminal through the network when the local terminal remotely executes the function module installed in the host computer, preparing in the host computer a second interface module which is specifically designed to adapt the function module to the music apparatus, connecting the local terminal to the host computer through the network to download a set of the function module and the second interface module into the music apparatus by means of the local terminal, and allowing the music apparatus to internally execute the downloaded function module through the downloaded second interface module to thereby extend the desired capability as the electronic musical instrument.
According to the music apparatus capability extending method configured as mentioned above, the application program and the second interface module prepared for the music apparatus are provided on the host computer of a network system. This program is composed of the function module executable for providing the desired capability associated with the music apparatus and the first interface module generally designed for interfacing this function module with the network. The second interface module prepared for the music apparatus corresponds to the function module of the application program. The local terminal networked to the host computer is connected to the music apparatus such as an electronic musical instrument and a personal computer having an electronic musical instrument function. Then, the function module of the application program stored in the host computer and the second interface module for the music apparatus stored also in the host computer are sent to the music apparatus via the local terminal. This allows installation of a new capability associated with the music apparatus by the function module via the second interface module for the music apparatus as well as upgrading of the existing capabilities.
A fifth aspect of the invention is directed to a music apparatus attachable to a local terminal which is communicable with a host computer through a network for extending a desired capability of the music apparatus having function of an electronic musical instrument, the host computer being installed with a program composed of a function module which is executable to provide the desired capability and a first interface module which interfaces the function module with the local terminal through the network when the local terminal remotely executes the function module installed in the host computer, the host computer further being installed with a second interface module which is specifically prepared to adapt the function module to the music apparatus. The inventive music apparatus comprises means for commanding the terminal apparatus to communicate with the host computer through the network to download a set of the function module and the second interface module from the host computer, means for storing the set of the function module and the second interface module downloaded by the local terminal, and means for internally executing the stored function module through the stored second interface module to thereby extend the desired capability as the electronic musical instrument.
The music apparatus configured as mentioned above is connected to one local terminal of a network system composed of a host computer and local terminals. This music apparatus stores the function module initially provided in the host computer and the second interface module prepared for the music apparatus as a set into an internal storage. This allows installation of a new capability associated with the electronic musical instrument function of the music apparatus by the function module via the second interface module for the music apparatus as well as upgrading of the existing capabilities.
In the above-mentioned inventive methods of extending music apparatus capabilities according to the first, second and third aspects, each capability to be executed on the music apparatus only needs to be remotely controlled by the local terminal, leaving actual data computation to the host computer. Therefore, desired capabilities are available to the user without restriction imposed by the scale of the user local terminal. In using the music apparatus associated with the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, the function module of the application program and the second interface module prepared for the music apparatus are downloaded as a set to the music apparatus, thereby allowing implementation of desired capabilities regardless of the setting of the local terminal and the characteristics of the operating system used in the local terminal.
The invention further covers various machine readable media. A first machine readable medium is for use in a local terminal which has a CPU and which is communicable with a host computer through a network, the host computer being installed with a synthesizer capability utilized to compute timbre data. The first medium contains program instructions executable by the CPU for causing the local terminal to operate a music apparatus equipped therein to function as an electronic musical instrument by the steps of connecting the local terminal to the host computer through the network to remotely control the synthesizer capability of the host computer so as to compute the timbre data prepared for the music apparatus, downloading the computed timbre data from the host computer into the music apparatus through the local terminal so as to set a desired timbre of a musical tone, and operating the music apparatus to function as the electronic musical instrument to generate the musical tone having the desired timbre set by the downloaded timbre data.
A second machine readable medium is for use in a local terminal which has a CPU and which is communicable with a host computer through a network, the host computer being installed with a sequencer capability utilized to time-sequentially process song data representative of a desired song to compute automatic play data. The second medium contains program instructions executable by the CPU for causing the local terminal to operate a music apparatus equipped therein to function as an electronic musical instrument by the steps of connecting the local terminal to the host computer through the network to remotely control the sequencer capability of the host computer while supplying thereto the song data so as to compute the automatic play data prepared for the music apparatus, downloading the computed automatic play data from the host computer into the music apparatus through the local terminal, and operating the music apparatus to function as the electronic musical instrument to undergo an automatic play of the desired song according to the downloaded automatic play data.
A third machine readable medium is for use in a local terminal which has a CPU and which is communicable with a host computer through a network, the host computer being installed with an emulator capability utilized to emulate an operation of an electronic musical instrument. The third medium contains program instructions executable by the CPU for causing the local terminal to operate a music apparatus equipped therein to function as the electronic musical instrument by the steps of connecting the local terminal to the host computer through the network to remotely control the emulator capability of the host computer so as to compute operation data indicative of the operation of the electronic musical instrument upon emulation thereof, downloading the computed operation data from the host computer into the music apparatus through the local terminal, and virtually operating the music apparatus to function as the electronic musical instrument to investigate performance thereof according to the downloaded operation data without actually operating the music apparatus.
A fourth machine readable medium is for use in a local terminal which has a CPU and which is communicable with a host computer through a network for extending a desired capability of a music apparatus which is equipped in the local terminal and which has a function of an electronic musical instrument, the host computer being installed with a program composed of a function module which is executable to provide the desired capability and a first interface module which interfaces the function module with the local terminal through the network when the local terminal remotely executes the function module installed in the host computer, the host computer further being installed with a second interface module which is specifically prepared to adapt the function module to the music apparatus. The fourth medium contains instructions processed by the CPU for causing the local terminal to operate the music apparatus by the steps of communicating with the host computer through the network to download a set of the function module and the second interface module from the host computer, storing the set of the function module and the second interface module downloaded by the local terminal into a storage provided in the music apparatus, and allowing the music apparatus to internally execute the stored function module through the stored second interface module to thereby extend the desired capability as the electronic musical instrument.
A fifth machine readable medium is for use in a music apparatus which has a CPU and which is attachable to a local terminal communicable with a host computer through a network for extending a desired capability of the music apparatus having a function of an electronic musical instrument, the host computer being installed with a program composed of a function module which is executable to provide the desired capability and a first interface module which interfaces the function module with the local terminal through the network when the local terminal remotely executes the function module installed in the host computer, the host computer further being installed with a second interface module which is specifically prepared to adapt the function module to the music apparatus. The fifth medium contains instructions processed by the CPU for causing the music apparatus to perform the steps of commanding the terminal apparatus to communicate with the host computer through the network to download a set of the function module and the second interface module from the host computer, storing the set of the function module and the second interface module downloaded by the local terminal, and internally executing the stored function module through the stored second interface module to thereby extend the desired capability as the electronic musical instrument.

Method of extending capability of music apparatus by networking


Apparatus and method for allowing fine adjustment of a diffraction grating within an optical wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) device and for maintaining the grating in near-littrow alignment (i.e., to within an accuracy of +/xe2x88x920.003 degrees) over the device""s operating temperature range. Precise alignment is maintained by use of a 0.3 PPM/xc2x0 C. xe2x80x9csuper invarxe2x80x9d material in a wedge-shaped grating mount to eliminate an angular shift of the grating over typical operating temperatures. The wedge-shaped grating mount and thereby the orientation of the surface of the grating are adjusted precisely and maintained in position over the operating temperatures via a dual flexure structure wherein four precision adjustment screws with jeweled contact tips are tightened to achieve the desired orientation and stiffen the structure and then locked via locking nuts to prevent slippage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical communications and, more specifically, to precision mechanical mounting mechanisms for optical components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) (also known as dense-wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM)) has been shown as a promising approach for increasing the capacity of existing fiber optic networks. A communications system employing WDM uses multiple optical signal channels, each channel being assigned a particular channel wavelength. In such a WDM system, optical signal channels are typically generated, multiplexed to form an optical signal comprised of the individual optical signal channels, transmitted over a waveguide, and demultiplexed such that each channel wavelength may be individually routed or switched.
One demultiplexing technique involves the use of an optical diffraction grating to separate the wavelengths of an incident optical signal into its constituent channels. Such a technique is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,657 (herein xe2x80x9cthe ""657 patentxe2x80x9d), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
As described the ""657 patent, relative alignment of various optical components within the device including the optical grating is important to proper operation of the device. The ""657 patent discusses techniques for relative adjustment of these components, maintenance of reasonable relative alignment between the components over temperature, and aspects of the design that afford tolerance to misalignment. However, as the wavelength spacing between channels in WDM systems decreases, the tolerance of the grating angle with respect to the incident light also decreases. Additionally, as optical components (e.g. micro-mirror arrays) and the devices that incorporate them are made smaller and smaller to accommodate more channels in less space, the linear distance associated with the angular tolerance of the grating location also decreases. These trends lead to the need for increasingly more accurate adjustment and temperature compensation, maintenance, and athermalization mechanisms.
Problems in the prior art are addressed in accordance with principles of the invention by an apparatus and method for enabling coarse and fine alignment adjustment of a diffraction grating within an optical wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) device and for maintaining the diffraction grating in near-littrow alignment (e.g., to within an accuracy of +/xe2x88x920.003 degrees) over the device""s operating temperature (e.g., xe2x88x925.0xc2x0 C. to 65xc2x0 C.).
In a preferred embodiment, precise grating alignment is maintained in a WDM device by use of a 0.3 parts-per-million per degree centigrade (PPM/xc2x0 C.) Super Invar alloy (e.g., 63Fe-32Ni-5Co) in a wedge-shaped grating mount for the optical grating to eliminate an angular shift of the grating over temperature that is typical in the prior art due to use of other materials such as Invar (e.g., 64Fe-36Ni).
The grating mount is affixed to a first platform whose angle along a first axis is adjustable relative to a second platform. The first platform is attached to the second platform via a first flexure spring oriented parallel to the first axis and the angle is adjusted using first and second adjustment screws. The screws are threaded through the second platform on opposing sides of the first flexure spring and the tips of the screws make contact with the first platform to adjust the angle. The second platform is attached to a base platform (i.e., the grating assembly mounting base) via a second flexure spring oriented parallel to a second axis, the second axis being substantially orthogonal to the urst axis. The angle between the second and base platforms is adjusted using third and fourth screws. In one or more embodiments, adjustment screws are tipped with a jeweled or other low-friction element and mated to their respective platforms via a ball-and-socket arrangement that prevents incremental slippage of the contact over time and temperature and thus prevents minor changes in the angle between the platforms.


The voltage between two objects is measured utilizing an electro-optic crystal exhibiting birefringence in two axes (slow and fast) mutually orthogonal to an optic axis extending between the two objects. Two collimated light beams polarized at an angle to the slow and fast axes is passed through the crystal parallel to the optic axis with one of the collimated light beams retarded relative to the other by about 1/4 wave. The two beams emerging from the crystal are passed through a polarizer and converted to phase shifted electrical signals by photo diodes in electric circuits which regulate the sources of the light beams to maintain the peak magnitudes of the two electric signals constant and equal. As another feature of the invention, a stairstep output waveform representative of the measured waveform is generated in a digital computer from a bidirectional cumulative count of zero crossings of the two electric signals which is incremented or decremented depending upon which of the two electrical signals is leading. Improved accuracy of the output signal is achieved by adjusting the stairstep waveform by the magnitude of the smaller of the two electrical signals, with the sense of the adjustment determined by the relative polarities of the two electrical signals.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to deriving a representation of an ac waveform from two electrical signals in quadrature utilizing a digital computer.
2. Background Information
Electro-optical systems for measuring electric voltages are known. For instance, devices known as Pockel cells utilize certain crystals which exhibit birefringence, that is a difference in the index of refraction in two orthogonal planes, in the presence of an electric field. Some of these crystals, such as, for example, KDP (potassium dihydrogen phosphate), have a fourfold axis of rotary inversion. Such materials have the property that in the absence of an electric field the index of refraction for light propagating along the fourfold axis is independent of the plane of polarization of the light. However, if an electric field is applied parallel to the direction of the light, the index of refraction for light polarized in one direction transverse to the fourfold axis, known as the fast axis increases and that in an orthogonal direction, also transverse to the fourfold axis, and known as the slow axis, decreases by an amount which is proportional to the strength of the electric field. In such Pockel cell devices, if light is polarized in a plane which forms an angle to these transverse axes, the component of the polarized light in the direction of the slow axis with the decreased index of refraction is retarded with respect to the other component. If the crystal is aligned with its fourfold axis extending between the objects between which the voltage is to be measured, and the polarized light is directed parallel to the fourfold axis, the total retardation will be proportional to the total voltage differential between the two objects. This retardation is typically measured in wavelengths. The retardation is detected in an analyzer and converted to an electrical signal for producing an output representative of the magnitude of the voltage generating the field. Due to the cylic nature of this electrical signal, the output is only unambiguous for voltages producing a retardation which is less than the half wave voltage for the crystal. In KDP, this half wave voltage is about 11300 volts. This type of device is therefore not suitable for measuring transmission line voltages which can be 100,000 volts rms and more.
Other types of crystals used in Pockel cells respond to an electric field in a direction perpendicular to the direction of propagation of light through the cell. Such cells only provide an indication of the potential at the intersection of the beam with the field. Thus, a single cell cannot integrate the potential over the full space between two objects, and therefore these devices do not provide an accurate measurement of the voltage between the two objects. Systems using this type of Pockel cell commonly either, (1) measure the potential at one point and assume that the potential at all other points between the two objects can be derived from this single measurement, or (2) provide some sort of voltage divider and apply a fixed fraction of the line voltage to the cell in an arrangement which maintains the field within the cell constant. The problem with the first approach is that except for low impedance paths, the field along a path is sensitive to the location of any conducting or dielectric bodies in the vicinity of the path. Thus, if this type of Pockel cell is mounted on the surface of a conductor and the field measured, the reading would depend on the size and shape of the conductor, on the distance from the conductor to ground, on the location and potential of any nearby conductors, on the location of any insulating or conducting bodies near the sensor or on the ground beneath the sensor, and on the presence of any birds, rain droplets or snow between the sensor and ground. Thus, only under very ideal circumstances would accurate measurements be possible with such a system. The problem with the second approach is in providing an accurate stable voltage divider.
Optical voltage measuring systems are desirable because they provide good isolation from the voltage being measured. Through the use of optic fiber cables, it is possible to easily and conveniently provide remote indicators which are not subject to the electrical disturbances which remote indicators fed by electrical signals must contend with.
There remains, however, a need for an optical system for accurately measuring very large voltages such as, for example, those present in electrical transmission systems without the use of a voltage divider.
Subordinate to this need is a need for such an optical system which can integrate the field over the entire space between the objects, such as in the case of the electrical transmission system between line and ground.

Method of deriving an AC waveform from two phase shifted electrical signals


A magnetoresistive device includes a first shield layer and a second shield layer disposed at a specific distance from each other, an MR element disposed between the first and second shield layer, and an underlying layer disposed between the first shield layer and the MR element. The underlying layer, the MR element and the second shield layer are stacked on the first shield layer. The underlying layer includes a first layer having a bottom surface that is in contact with the first shield layer, and a second layer having a bottom surface that is in contact with a top surface of the first layer and a top surface that is adjacent to the MR element with a conductive layer disposed in between. The first layer is made of a material including at least one of Ta, Ti, W, HF and Y. The second layer is an alloy including Ni and Cr.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetoresistive device comprising a magnetoresistive element for reading magnetic signals and a method of manufacturing such a magnetoresistive device, and to a thin-film magnetic head, a head gimbal assembly and a hard disk drive each including a magnetoresistive device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Performance improvements in thin-film magnetic heads have been sought as a real recording density of hard disk drives has increased. Such thin-film magnetic heads include composite thin-film magnetic heads that have been widely used. A composite head is made of a layered structure including a write (recording) head having an induction-type electromagnetic transducer for writing and a read (reproducing) head having a magnetoresistive (MR) element for reading.
MR elements include: anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) elements utilizing an anisotropic magnetoresistive effect; giant magnetoresistive (GMR) elements utilizing a giant magnetoresistive effect; and tunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) elements utilizing a tunnel magnetoresistive effect.
High sensitivity and high output capability are required as characteristics of a read head. GMR heads incorporating spin-valve GMR elements have been mass-produced as read heads that satisfy such requirements. In this type of GMR head the GMR element is inserted between a bottom shield layer and a top shield layer. Each of the top and bottom shield layers is made of a magnetic metal material such as NiFe or FeAlSi.
Conventional GMR heads have a structure in which a current used for detecting magnetic signals (that is hereinafter called a sense current) is fed in the direction parallel to a plane of each film making up the GMR element. Such a structure is called a current-in-plane (CIP) structure. In the GMR head having the CIP structure, the GMR element is insulated from each of the top and bottom shield layers by an insulating film. As a result, there arises a problem that, if the space between the top and bottom shield layers is reduced to enhance the linear recording density of the GMR head having the CIP structure, the above-mentioned insulating film is made thin and it is difficult to maintain the insulation between the GMR element and each of the shield layers.
The heads proposed to solve such a problem are GMR heads having a structure in which a sense current is fed in the direction perpendicular to a plane of each film making up the GMR element. Such a structure is called a current-perpendicular-to-plane (CPP) structure. It is not necessary to insulate the GMR element from each of the shield layers for the GMR head having the CPP structure. Therefore, the GMR head having the CPP structure is free from the above-mentioned problem. A TMR head incorporating a TMR element has the CPP structure, too.
The characteristics of an MR element are affected by the crystallinity and orientability of the films making up the MR element. Therefore, an underlying layer is often provided under the MR element for the purpose of improving the crystallinity and orientability of the films making up the MR element. When such an underlying layer is provided in a head having the CPP structure, the films making up the MR element are formed on the underlying layer provided on the bottom shield layer made of a magnetic metal material.
GMR heads having the CPP structure are disclosed in the Published Japanese Translation of PCT International Publication for Patent Application Heisei 11-509956 (1999) (hereinafter referred to as "JP-A-H11-509956") and the Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application 2003-60262 (hereinafter referred to as "JP-A-2003-60262"). In the GMR head disclosed in JP-A-H11-509956, a conductor layer is formed directly on the bottom shield layer or formed on an insulating gap layer that is provided on the bottom shield layer, and a spin-valve GMR element is formed on the conductor layer. The conductor layer is made of a material including any of Rh, Al, Au, Ta and Ag, or an alloy of these elements.
In the GMR head disclosed in JP-A-2003-60262, a spin-valve GMR element is formed on a bottom metal layer that is provided on the bottom shield layer. The bottom metal layer is made up of a Ta layer and an NiFe layer formed on the Ta layer, for example.
As disclosed in JP-A-H11-509956, when the MR element is formed on the single conductor layer made of a material such as Rh, Al, Au, Ta or Ag that is provided on the bottom shield layer, it is difficult to form films having excellent crystallinity and orientability as the films making up the MR element. The reason would be that the surface of the above-mentioned conductor layer has a poor wettability.
Furthermore, in the head having the CPP structure, as disclosed in JP-A-2003-60262, when the MR element is formed on the bottom metal layer made up of the two layers of Ta and NiFe provided on the bottom shield layer, it is possible to form films having excellent crystallinity and orientability as the films making up the MR element. In this case, however, it is difficult to improve the characteristics of the MR element such as an MR ratio (a ratio of magnetoresistive change to the resistance).

Magnetoresistive head having an MR element between a pair of shields and including first and second underlayers


A bomblet projectile includes a projectile body, a fuse housing on the body at the rear end thereof; and an unwindable stabilization band for stabilizing the position of the projectile while dropping. The band forms, in the deployed state, a loop having leg portions terminating in fastening regions secured to the fuse housing and a dome portion flanked by the leg portions. The band has a length and different widths along the length. The band has its greatest width in the dome portion and its smallest width in the leg portions, externally of the fastening regions.

The present invention relates to a bomblet projectile having an unwindable stabilization band arrangement fastened to the rear of the projectile for stabilizing the flight position of the projectile while falling.
Such a bomblet projectile is disclosed, for example, in German Offenlegungsschrift 3,506,226. The stabilization band arrangement disclosed therein may be a single stabilization band in the form of a simple loop, or it may include perpendicularly crossing stabilization band loops. In either case the band or bands are wound up and their ends fastened to the fuse housing of the bomblet projectile. Each band has a constant width over its entire length. It is a drawback of this arrangement that when the projectile is deployed and the band unwinds, it is able to effect only a slight deceleration of the fall of the projectile and a slight stabilization of the flight position (attitude) since, in its forward region adjacent the fuse housing, the band is exposed to a considerable air stream which presses the band inwardly, preventing it from properly unfolding (opening) which causes it to flutter and possibly interfere with the detonating and activating mechanism which must be enabled during the falling phase.
Prior art stabilization bands of uniform width therefore do not provide good stabilization of the projectile's position. The fluttering of the band has the result that the decelerating (pull-back) force is not constant and undesirable transverse forces are generated. Consequently, the flight behavior of the bomblet is unsatisfactory.
Submunition of artillery projectiles, such as bomblets, must be decelerated and stabilized after deployment (ejection) in order to realize the desired effect in the target. The bomblets should hit the target perpendicularly with their shaped charge cone pointed downward. The more the flight position of the bomblet is inclined to the vertical at the point of impact, the greater is the chance of it failing to detonate.

Bomblet projectile including a stabilization band


A bicycle rim is provided with an annular tire mounting part, an annular spoke mounting part, at least one spoke attachment member and an orientation maintaining structure. The annular spoke mounting part includes a plurality of spoke openings a circumferential spaced along the annular spoke mounting part. The spoke mounting part extends from the annular tire mounting part to define an interior space containing the spoke attachment member. The orientation maintaining structure is dimensioned with respect to the interior space to form an orientation maintaining arrangement such that the spoke attachment member is slidably disposed within the interior space in a circumferential direction of the bicycle rim to selectively align with one of the spoke openings while also maintaining an orientation of the spoke attachment member within the interior space to align with the one of the spoke openings.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a bicycle rim. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bicycle rim for tensioned spokes.
2. Background Information
Bicycle wheels are continually undergoing design modifications to make them easier to manufacture and assemble, as well as stronger, lighter and more aerodynamic. Various types of bicycle wheels are being sold on the market at present. Many bicycle wheels include a hub, a plurality of spokes and an annular rim. The hub is rotatably mounted to a part of the bicycle frame. The inner end of each spoke is connected to the hub and the spokes extend outward from the hub. The annular rim is connected to the outer ends of the spokes and includes an outer circumferential part that supports a pneumatic tire.
In general, the spokes of a bicycle wheel are thin wire spokes. A flange that connects the spokes to the hub is normally formed at both ends of the hub. Specifically, for example, holes are formed in the hub flanges for receiving the inner ends of the spokes. The interior end of each spoke is supported in a hole formed in one hub flange. In general, the outer end of each spoke is threaded such that the outer end can engage with a spoke nipple that secures the outer end of the wire spoke to the rim hole. In order to make the bicycle wheel as lightweight as possible, the rim is usually made of aluminum alloy, and is sought to be made as thin as possible. However, making the rim thin results in a reduction in strength, particularly in the relatively high-stress areas around each spoke hole. Thus, aluminum rims are often reinforced with either single eyelets or double eyelets to distribute the stress of the spoke. A single eyelet reinforces the spoke hole much like a hollow rivet. A double eyelet is a cup that is riveted into both walls of a double-walled rim.


An adjustable child safety seat assembly comprises a base, a seat adjustable between a plurality of angular positions relative to the base, and a latch mechanism provided between the base and the seat and operable to detachably lock the seat on the base at any one of the angular positions. The latch mechanism comprises a sliding element movable relative to the base and the seat, and at least one resilient arm joined with the sliding element, wherein the resilient arm has a distal end provided with a latching portion. The sliding element is movable in a first direction to drive the resilient arm in movement and displace the latching portion in a second direction for locking the seat with the base.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a child safety seat assembly, and more particularly to a seat assembly having an adjustable seat portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a conventional automobile seat adjustment mechanism 1. Such mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,762, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The seat adjustment mechanism 1 includes a sliding piece 11 that can be guided in movement by guide posts 12 relative to the fixed base 14. While it slides lengthwise, the sliding piece 11 drives two opposite locking rods 15 to move along inclined slots 17. The sliding engagement between the locking rods 15 and the slots 17 causes each of the locking rods 15 to also shift laterally, such that a distal end of each locking rod 15 can disengage from corresponding recesses on the seat portion (not shown). The seat portion is thereby unlocked, and can be adjusted to a desired recline position.
In the aforementioned mechanism, the lengthwise movement of the locking rods 15 guided by the slots 17 can result the distal ends of the locking rods 15 being urged in contact against the recesses on the seat portion, which increases movement resistance exerted on the locking rods 15 relative to the base 14. As a result, the operation for unlocking the seat portion may not be as smooth as desired. Moreover, the mechanism 1 is relatively complex to assemble, increasing the fabrication cost.
Therefore, there is a need for an adjustable child safety seat assembly that can be manufactured in a cost-effective manner, and prevent address at least the foregoing issues.


A semi-automatic food cooking apparatus comprising: a control unit; a communication unit; and a cooking compartment comprising: a movable press; and a movable cooking base; wherein the movable press and moveable base are configured to form a moveable ensemble together with a cooking cartridge and a lid of the cooking cartridge.

Food cooking is a tedious process that involves multiple steps and skills. Professional chefs can create delicious meals from creative uses of ingredients (e.g. herbs, spices, and condiments) and food items (e.g. meats, and vegetables). Consumers usually cook meals by following recipes.
Food cooking processes usually involves the following steps: (1) preparing food items into desired shapes and sizes, (2) assembling all food items and ingredients into desired amounts, and (3) cooking the prepared food items and ingredients with some form of heating by adding the prepared items in a certain sequence. In step (1), food items are washed, cut and chopped into desired sizes. In step (2), all the required ingredients are brought together in certain quantities to create tasty meals. In step (3), the prepared items are put together manually. This step involves mixing the prepared items in a cooking medium such as pan or pot.
There exist cooking devices that can cook certain recipes with minimum effort. For example, slow cookers can reduce work in step (3). But, only certain types of meals can be cooked with slow cookers. There exist programmable slower cookers that allow for the setting of cooking temperatures and times. Cooking with slow cookers still requires the execution of steps (1) and (2).
Also available are convenient pre-cooked and frozen food packages. This form of food cooking removes steps (1) and (2) from the process as the food items are already prepared. Step (3) may be partially completed before a package is made available to consumers. Food items in the package may be pre-cooked. As a result, cooking requires minimum efforts and less time. However, nutritional value and taste degrade with this form of cooking. Most prepackaged food contains preservatives. Partially cooked food that is stored for a lengthy period of time tends to lose nutrients and is characterized by a degraded flavor.
There also exist fully automatic commercial- or industrial-style cooking devices that can perform all steps (1), (2) and (3) or steps (2) and (3) in an automated manner. However, such devices tend to be unnecessarily complicated. They are not suitable for consumer use and do not add convenience, and most of them are impractical.


A position measurement system includes a photographing unit and an arithmetic processing unit. The photographing unit has a lens and a light-receiving element. The lens forms an optical ring image from light from a light source through spherical aberration. The light-receiving element detects the optical ring image formed by the lens. The arithmetic processing unit measures a distance to the light source on the basis of the quantity of light of the optical ring image detected by the light-receiving element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a position measurement system which measures a distance to a light source by detecting an optical ring image formed from light originating from the light source, by spherical aberration of a lens.
2. Description of the Preferred Embodiments
In relation to a technique for measuring a three-dimensional position of a light source with high accuracy and high resolving power, various methods have hitherto been proposed. For instance, one method employs a camera having an auto-focusing mechanism. This method requires two cameras, which in turn adds to cost, or suffers a problem of difficulty in speeding up measurement because focusing action involves consumption of time. Another method utilizes a laser beam as a light interference method. This technique uses a laser beam, and hence entails a problem of a necessity for safety precautions, or the like. Moreover, the so-called light interference lens method presents a problem of computation for measuring a position from an interference pattern being complicated.
JP-A-2004-212328 has been proposed as a measure for solving these problems. This technique is to measure the position of a light source (a point source of light) by utilization of spherical aberration of the lens. Specifically, according to this method, the light emitted from the light source; e.g., an LED, is converted into an optical ring image (a light-concentrated area) by spherical aberration of the lens. This optical ring image is detected by a CCD sensor, and the position of the light source is measured on the basis of detection information about the thus-detected optical ring image (e.g., the diameter of the optical ring).


An engine controller equipped with a device for judging occurrence of knocking of the engine, having a sensor for sampling a vibration based on an internal pressure vibration arisen in a cylinder of the engine and a knocking detecting means for judging the occurrence of the knocking by obtaining at least two frequencies contained in an output from the sensor, obtaining a knocking judgement index from two vibration power factors corresponding to the two frequencies and comparing the knocking judgement index with a threshold value. As being judged from the knocking judgement index, the occurrence of the knocking is accurately detected when the background vibration is great at the time of the high load high speed operation.

This invention relates to an engine controller equipped with knocking detection means and more particularly to an engine controller which is controlled by judging occurrence of knocking using a knocking judgement index based on a vibration power spectra of resonance frequencies.
When knocking occurs in a engine, a vibration having specific resonance frequency components occurs. Detection of occurrence of knocking is attained by separating vibration resulting from the occurrence of knocking from background vibration, in the vibration which constitutes the overall engine vibration detected by a vibration sensor.
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 58-45520 (1983) a conventional knocking detector preliminarily selects and separates a single resonance frequency component within the range of 5 to 10 KHz from the engine vibration by use of a bandpass filter and judges the occurrence of knocking by judging whether or not this resonance frequency component is greater than a predetermined level.
Since the prior art technique described above judges the existence of occurrence of knocking by use of only the single frequency component contained in the output of the vibration sensor, the deviation of background vibration becomes greater than the vibration due to the occurrence of knocking at the time of a high load, high speed operation where the background vibration becomes great. Accordingly, the vibration due to the occurrence of knocking and the background vibration cannot be effectively separated from the output of the vibration sensor, and so the detection of the occurrence of knocking cannot be made.

Engine controller equipped with knocking detector


A method includes forming elongate structures on a first substrate, such that the material composition of each elongate structure varies along its length so as to define first and second physically different sections in the elongate structures. First and second physically different devices are then defined in the elongate structures. Alternatively, the first and second physically different sections may be defined in the elongate structures after they have been fabricated. The elongate structures may be encapsulated and transferred to a second substrate. The invention provides an improved method for the formation of a circuit structure that requires first and second physically different devices to be provided on a common substrate. In particular, only one transfer step is necessary.

Monolithic integration may be not feasible because it may be either technically not possible or not cost effective.
An example where the monolithic integration may not be a cost-effective option is the monolithic integration of a Complementary-Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) interface on a MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical) sensor, which often requires running through a costly CMOS process which won't cover the entire substrate area.
The monolithic integration may be technically not viable because either the substrate onto which the devices are to be integrated cannot withstand the process conditions (e.g. high temperature steps), the required material cannot be deposited with sufficient quality onto the foreign substrate (e.g. due to structural incompatibilities) or the process flow may be incompatible with devices previously fabricated on the receiver substrate (e.g. high temperature steps after metallisation of previous devices or contamination issues).
Display technologies are an example where the structural incompatibilities in conjunction with the low thermal budget of the glass substrate inhibit the formation of single-crystalline semiconductors on amorphous glass substrate and where it is advantageous to integrate high performance semiconducting devices with differing functionality. Examples of such devices include npn transistors and pnp transistors (e.g. to form CMOS circuits), pressure sensors (e.g. for haptic interfaces), light sensors (e.g. for adapting the display to the ambient lighting conditions) and last but not least red, green and blue Light Emitting Devices (LEDs) (e.g. for emissive displays) on a transparent substrate such as a glass substrate or plastic substrates which may be flexible.
These devices may contain elongate low dimensional structures, which are formed onto a suitable substrate but can be subsequently transferred onto a different substrate. Examples of devices which may contain elongate low dimensional structures are npn transistors, pnp transistors, sensors, capacitors, red, green and blue LEDs. The bulk of the receiver substrate may consist of glass, polymers, metals, or semiconductors.
Where physically different structures consisting of or containing low dimensional structures are formed on a formation substrate and are transferred to a target substrate, it is desirable to be able to exercise a degree of control over the arrangement of these devices on the target substrate after transfer/re-orientation, both with respect to predefined features on the target substrate and with respect to each other.
The term "low dimensional structure" as used herein refers to a structure that has at least one dimension that is much less than at least a second dimension.
The term "elongate structure" as used herein refers to a structure having at least two dimensions that are much less than a third dimension. The definition of an "elongate structure" lies within the definition of a "low dimensional structure", and a nanowire is an example of a structure that is both a low dimensional structure and an elongate structure.
Low dimensional structures that are not elongate structures are known. For example, a 'platelet', which has two dimensions of comparable magnitude to one another and a third (thickness) dimension that is much less than the first two dimensions constitutes a "low dimensional structure" but is not an "elongate structure".
For the avoidance of any doubt, the term "physically different" means in this context that those sections of the elongate low dimensional structure which determine the device performance differ in at least one of the following points:
1. material composition—e.g. doping concentrations, doping type (p and n doped regions), semiconducting material with different band gaps;
2. material composition profile—e.g. doping profiles along the structure and/or presence of heterojunctions;
3. cross-sectional geometry—e.g. different side facets at different sections along the low dimensional elongate structures;
4. density of elongate low-dimensional structures—e.g. the elongate low-dimensional structures may branch into several elongate low-dimensional structures, or some of the elongate low-dimensional structures may be shorter than others;
5. orientation of elongate low-dimensional structures—e.g. the elongate low-dimensional structures may change their orientation at well defined positions along their lengths (kinks); and
6. cross-sectional dimensions of elongate low-dimensional structures—e.g. different cross sectional areas of the elongate low dimensional structures.
Additionally, the physically different sections may also differ in their length.
Methods are known for transferring structural features from a first substrate to a second substrate. However, at present no suitable techniques are available for applying a high density of structural features with an elongate/low dimensional geometry to a receiver substrate such that all of the following desiderata can be met:
1. The elongate features consist of at least two different segments/regions, which are distinguishable from each other by different variations in their material composition along their longest dimension.
2. The elongate features are transferred to a target substrate with one and only one transfer step.
3. The spatial arrangement and spacing of the elongate/low dimensional structures within devices defined on the target substrate can be substantially controlled.
4. The elongate low dimensional structures are oriented on the target substrate such that any arbitrary symmetric or asymmetric distribution of the material composition progresses along their longest dimension in the same manner for all structures.
5. At least one edge of the elongate low dimensional structures is aligned with one or more common planes.
6. Physically different devices containing the same number of elongate low dimensional structures with cross sections which scale in a substantially similar manner can be obtained in close proximity independent of yield and reproducibility issues related to the fabrication of the elongate low dimensional structures.
Control over one or more (and preferably all) the factors set out above is necessary to permit the use of such elongate or low dimensional structures to improve existing and develop new nanotechnologies.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,067,328 discloses a method for transferring nanowires from a donor substrate (for example the substrate on which they are formed) to a receiver substrate. This is achieved by disposing an adhesion layer on the receiver substrate, and mating it with the donor substrate. A degree of alignment and ordering of the nanowires on the receiver substrate is achieved by moving the donor substrate and receiver substrate relative to one another while they are in contact.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,872,645 teaches a method of positioning and orienting elongate nanostructures on a surface by harvesting them from a first substrate into a liquid solution and then flowing the solution along fluidic channels formed between a second substrate and an elastomer stamp. The nanostructures adhere to the second substrate from the solution with a preferred orientation corresponding to the direction of fluid flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,120 discloses a process in which a liquid material is disposed on a population of nanowires that are attached to a first substrate with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to the plane of the first substrate. The material is then processed in order to cause it to solidify into a matrix that is designed to adhere to the nanowires and act as a support for the nanowires during the process of separating the nanowires from a first substrate and transferring them to a second substrate. Optionally, once the composite of nanowires embedded in the matrix material has been successfully transferred to the second substrate the matrix material can be removed to leave only the nanowires.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,120 also discloses an extension to this process whereby the composite of nanowires embedded in the matrix material is lithographically patterned into blocks. The blocks are then applied to a second substrate such that the embedded nanowires are aligned with their longitudinal axes parallel to the plane of the second substrate.
In one embodiment of the method of U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,120 the composite material is formed by unidirectionally disposing the matrix material on an ordered or random arrangement of nanowires. The directional flow of the matrix material induces the nanowires to orientate within the composite material parallel to the plane of the first substrate.
The method of U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,120 has a number of disadvantages, as follows:                Deposition of the matrix as a liquid may disturb the alignment/orientation of the elongate nanostructures on the donor substrate. Hence, it is challenging to control the arrangement and/or orientation of the elongate structures contained in each block relative to the external dimensions of the block.        The absolute dimensions and aspect ratio of the composite blocks are limited by the resolution, alignment accuracy and anisotropy of the lithographic and etch processes used to pattern the blocks (generally, only blocks with a low aspect ratio can be obtained). Consequently, it is difficult to control the number of elongate structures contained in each block or, again, the arrangement of elongate structures contained in each block relative to the external dimensions of the block.        The method does not easily enable nanostructures to be reoriented from a perpendicular orientation relative to the first substrate to a parallel orientation relative to the second substrate.
US patent application No. 2004/0079278 discloses a method of forming a composite material comprising an array of isolated nanowires and a matrix that fills in the gaps between the materials. This method is designed to fabricate monolithic photonic band gap composite structures that cannot easily be transferred between different substrates.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,068,898 discloses a composite structure comprising nanostructures dispersed in a polymer matrix with random and 'less random' orientations. The application is directed to light concentrators and waveguides that take advantage of the anisotropic emission pattern to ensure light is redirected in the guide or concentrator as desired.
Small, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 142 (2005) describes how three LEDs were fabricated using one uniformly p-doped nanowire which is crossed by three identical n-doped nanowires forming three pn junctions. Each pn junction emits light at the same wavelength. This publication suggests the assembly of three pn junctions each emitting light at different wavelength by replacing the three identical n-doped nanowires with nanowires consisting of three different suitable materials (GaN, CdS, and CdSe). The same approach of assembling crossing nanowires is used to demonstrate the integration of one LED with one FET, where the difference in functionality is solely achieved by using different operation conditions (voltages). Science, Vol. 294 p. 1313 (2001) uses the same assembly approach as Small, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 142 (2005) to realise logic gates.
In both cases, the technology described requires two assembly steps to fabricate a cross-bar arrangement. Even if one could envisage a similar approach by replacing the p-doped bottom nanowire with patterned p-doped Si, the transfer and assembly technology described (a fluid assembly method) would not allow to obtain devices consisting of different material compositions in well defined spots using only one transfer step. Furthermore, it would be impossible to assemble nanowires with asymmetric doping profiles with identical orientation. Therefore, the device performance of each group of devices can't be optimised independent of each other unless several transfers are performed. Also, the method is not suited to assemble nanowires with asymmetric doping profiles which are often desired if the operating conditions (voltages) are asymmetric as in the case of transistors.
Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 93, No. 7, p. 1357 (2005) describes a logic gate realised by using a single, uniformly doped nanowire. Similar to the method described in Small, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 142 (2005), the logic operation requiring different devices (e.g. resistor and transistor) is achieved by applying different operating conditions (voltages) to different segments of the nanowire. This approach suffers from the same drawbacks described in the previous publications as far as the device optimisation by different and asymmetric doping profiles is concerned.
Co-pending UK patent application No. 0620134.7 (UK patent application publication No. GB2442768A) describes a method of making encapsulated low dimensional structures such that they are suitable to be transferred to a different substrate. During the transfer the number of elongate structures, their alignment, spacing, and their orientation are maintained. Furthermore, these structures can be subsequently processed into devices using conventional lithographic methods in combination with subtractive (e.g. dry etching) and additive techniques (e.g. metal deposition). The number of elongate structures within each device is well controlled. It is possible to divide each group after the transfer into smaller segments to yield multiple identical devices out of each group (e.g. several npn transistors).
US2005/0180194 discloses a "nano tube cell" containing alternating regions of p-type doping and n-type doping. This cell may be incorporated in a structure such that two PNPN diode switches are defined in the tube cell. US2005/0180194 does not describe in detail how the structure is fabricated. The structure shows a symmetric IV curve, which implies that the two diode switches are identical to one another.
US2007/0102747 relates to a carbon nano tube FET (CNTFET) structure, and proposes a structure incorporating an n-type FET and a p-type FET. However, the two FETs are physically identical, and the n-type FET and p-type FET are obtained by applying different gate voltages to the two structures.
US2003/0089899 describes formation of regions of different doping type in a nanoscale wire to produce a single device.


A bowstring release device is disclosed which provides greater ease, control and accuracy in the shooting of a bow and arrow. The structure and action of the device inhibits and prevents premature release of the bowstring while being drawn, and enables a smooth, natural and accurate release once the archer has taken aim. The device includes a housing having two members. One member contains holding and release means for the bowstring while the other member includes finger recesses for gripping by the archer. The two members naturally assume a first position relative to one another while the bowstring is being drawn, and this first position prevents release of the bowstring. Once the bowstring is drawn, the archer effectuates release by pivoting the finger grip member of the housing relative to the release member.

The present invention relates to a mechanical release device for an archery bow to provide greater ease, control and accuracy in the shooting of a bow and arrow. Such release aids are relatively common, enjoying use by both competition archers and hunters alike.
In general, archery release aids have evolved so as to be characterized as either "trigger" or "triggerless" releases Examples of trigger releases include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,316,443 (Giacomo), 4,391,263 (Dodge), and 4,062,339 (Wilson) (FIGS. 1-4). A general problem with trigger releases is that they require the dexterity and movement of an additional finger (other than the ones used to draw the bowstring) which usually involves an awkward or at least distracting movement on the part of the archer.
In general, triggerless releases offer improved accuracy and ease of use with respect to trigger releases One such improved release is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,111 (Stanislawski et al.) which utilizes a one-piece grip member which is pivoted to release the bowstring. A general problem with one-piece triggerless releases, however, is that they usually require the archer to move his hand into an unnatural or awkward position to effectuate release. Another specific problem with one-piece pivoting releases is that the release mechanism often exerts a tangential force on the bowstring which adversely affects the archer's accuracy. In an attempt to obtain a "cleaner" release, free from tangential force components, Wilson discloses a two-piece pivoting triggerless release in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,339 (FIG. 6). The two-piece release of Wilson enables a more natural hand position for the archer and also enables a cleaner, smoother release, free from tangential force components since one piece (extension 31) of the release is always pointed straight toward the target. Unfortunately, the release disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,339 (FIG. 6) is also inherently unstable, and requires a safety device to prevent premature release. Moreover, the Wilson release offers no means for adjusting the sensitivity of the release (i.e., the amount of pivoting necessary to effectuate release).
Thus, a need has existed for an archery release device which is natural to hold and use, inherently stable while the bowstring is being drawn (i.e., prevents premature release), and provides greater ease, control and accuracy in the shooting of a bow and arrow.