A storage room for storing an attachment unit is provided with a plate for sheltering electrified portions inside the storage room from outside while the attachment unit is not stored in the storage room. A hook is also provided to maintain a state where the plate shelters the electrified portions. While the attachment unit is not stored in the storage room the hook protrudes into the storage room and is positioned at an area over the plate. When an external force is applied to the plate, the hook prevents the plate from being fallen down by the external force by hooking the plate thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus,
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic apparatuses such as computers used in companies, etc. tend to be kept in operation for twenty-four successive hours to meet customer demands. If such apparatus are out of service due to breakdowns, customers may experience serious problems.
Makers of electronic apparatuses deal with the above problem by preparing redundant units for principal attachment units to be attached to electronic apparatuses.
For example, makers design electronic apparatuses so that apparatus bodies can store two of each principal attachment unit. Therefore, even if one of the redundant units is damaged, the electronic apparatus can keep working with the other unit.
In this case, the damaged attachment unit is replaced with a new one while the electronic apparatus is kept working.
After the damaged attachment unit is removed from the body of the electronic apparatus, the location where this attachment unit was stored becomes a hollow slot. Connector pins, circuits, and other electrified portions through which electricity flows are exposed in this hollow slot.
If a replacement worker touches an electrified portion when reaching out his/her hand into the hollow slot, he/she might get an electric shock, or a short-circuit may occur causing malfunctioning of the electronic apparatus, a power-down, etc.
Safety standards organizations such as UL (UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES INC.) in the United States impose regulations against such dangers.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H8-8259 discloses a technique for closing an opening of a hollow slot while an attachment unit is removed from the body of an electronic apparatus.
The technique of the above publication closes an opening 201 of a hollow with a shutter 202, as shown in FIG. 10. And the closing shutter 202 is attracted to the body by a permanent magneto 203.
The permanent magneto 203 is provided to prevent the shutter 202 from swinging due to wind caused by a cooling fan set inside the body. Therefore, the shutter 202 can be easily opened with a hand, and the like,
In other words, even with the use of the technique disclosed in the above publication, the covering of the electrified portions by the shutter 202 can-not be maintained. Accordingly, the technique of the above publication can-not sufficiently prevent a hand or foreign materials from entering the hollow slot.
Thus, the technique of the above publication can-not prevent the occurrence of an electric shock, a short-circuit, a malfunction of the electronic apparatus, a power-down, etc. due to the invasion of a hand or foreign materials into the hollow slot.
The content of the above indicated Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H8-18259 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an electronic apparatus in which attachment units can be replaced safely.
To achieve the above object, an electronic apparatus according to the present invention is an electronic apparatus having at least one storage room for storing an attachment unit, the apparatus comprising:
a shelter structure which shelters an electrified portion which is inside the at least one storage room from outside, in a case where the attachment unit is not stored in the at least one storage room; and
a maintaining structure which maintains a state where the shelter structure shelters the electrified portion, in a case where the attachment unit is not stored in the at least one storage room,
wherein: the shelter structure comprises a plate which is set inside the at least one storage room, for sheltering the electrified portion from outside; and
the maintaining structure prevents the plate from shifting from a sheltering position at which the electrified portion can be sheltered from outside, by an externally applied force.
According to this invention, attachment units can be replaced safely.
The plate may swing on its one side, fall down in a case where the attachment unit is stored in the at least one storage room, and stand in a case where the attachment unit is not stored in the at least one storage room in order to shelter the electrified portion from outside.
The shelter structure may comprise a spring for standing up the plate in a case where the attachment unit is taken out from the at least one storage room.
The shelter structure may comprise a stopper which stops the plate being stood up by the spring at the sheltering position.
The maintaining structure may comprise a book which prevents the plate from being fallen down by an external force by hooking at least a part of the plate thereon.
The hook may be positioned at outside of an area over the plate in a case where the attachment unit is stored in the at least one storage room.
The hook may be set on a one end of a swinging member capable of swinging on its other end, may be positioned at the area over the plate by swinging of the swinging member in a case where the attachment unit is taken out from the at least one storage room, and may be displaced from the area over the plate in a case where the attachment unit is stored into the at least one storage room.
The maintaining structure may comprise a protrusion which is set at the middle of the swinging member, for controlling swinging of the swinging member.
The protrusion may be positioned in a path along which the attachment unit moves, in a case where the attachment unit is not stored in the at least one storage room.
The swinging member may swing when the protrusion is pushed outwardly from inside of the at least one storage room by the attachment unit, and thus cause the hook to be displaced from the area over the plate, in a case where the attachment unit is stored into the at least one storage room.
The swinging member may be formed of a plate spring, and cause the hook to be positioned at the area over the plate by swinging due to its own elasticity, in a case where the attachment unit is taken out from the at least one storage room.
The maintaining structure may comprise a cover plate which covers the protrusion positioned in the path of the attachment unit in order to prevent the protrusion from being pushed by mistake.
The hook may be positioned at the area over the plate after the plate shelters the electrified portion, in a case where the attachment unit is taken out from the at least one storage room.
The plate may be fallen down by the attachment unit after the hook is displaced from the area over the plate, in a case where the attachment unit is stored into the at least one storage room.
The plate may be a meshed plate.


A benzopyran derivative represented by formula (I): ##STR1## wherein R.sub.0 represents an alkyl or alkenyl group having 10 to 20 carbon atoms, R.sub.1 to R.sub.3 each represent a methyl group or a hydrogen atom, and G represents a --CH.sub.2 CH(OH)CH.sub.2 OH or --CH(CH.sub.2 OH).sub.2 group; or a salt thereof, which has a high water-solubility and thus is usable in cosmetics.

Since being found as a murine antisterility vitamin, tocopherol has been importantly used as a substance having pharmacological activities over a wide range not only in the field of medicines but also in the fields of foods, cosmetics, fisheries and livestock industry.
However tocopherol is a viscous, fat-soluble compound and unstable to oxygen, heat, light and alkalis, which restricts application thereof. Thus attempts have been made to solve these problems by using tocopherol in the form of derivatives which are stable to oxygen, for example, esters such as acetate and nicotinate. However, these esters are insoluble in water, similar to tocopherol.
It has been reported that 70 mg of .alpha.-tocopheryl phosphoacetate sodium salt can be dissolved in 1 ml of water (JP-B-45-21711, the term "JP-B" as used herein means an examined Japanese patent application. Characteristics of tocopherol phosphate ethylene glycol derivatives in relation to water are also described in Yakugaku Zasshi, 75 (11), 1322 (1955), and Chem. Pharm. Bull., 19 (4), 687 (1971). However, the former suffers from a disadvantage that the solution becomes turbid under neutral conditions, and the latter exhibits only a low water solubility of 0.02% in the form of diethylene glycol ester. In the latter case, a pentaethylene glycol ester shows a high water-solubility of 9.6%, but it is necessary to use a phosphorylating agent together, the synthesis of which is difficult and requires complicated procedures involving several steps.

Benzopyran derivative, method for producing the same and use thereof


A system (10) implements user programmable addressing modes in response to control information contained within an input address. Encoded control information stored in a plurality of user programmed address permutation control registers (70-72) is used to determine what bit values are used to replace predetermined bits of the input address to selectively create a corresponding permutated address. Since no modification to a processor""s pipeline is required, various permutation addressing modes may be user-defined and implemented using either a general-purpose processor or a specialized processor.

The present invention relates to information processing and, more particularly, to optimization of memory addressing in systems.
Signal processors typically support addressing modes tailored for common signal processing algorithms. For example, digital signal processors commonly include features to optimize the performance of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The Fast Fourier Transform typically uses multiple addressing modes including carry-reverse or bit reverse addressing. Other signal processing algorithms make extensive use of modulo addressing for easy array-based data and coefficient access. These addressing modes are often different than those modes supported in a more general-purpose processor. Often, the addressing modes for a general-purpose processor are based on efficient support for high-level languages like C, C++ and FORTRAN and not necessarily optimized for the operand reference patterns found in signal processing algorithms. In many cases, the entire organization of the processor""s pipeline is structured around the requirements of these basic addressing modes. As a result, many general-purpose processors do not support these advanced addressing modes. Typically, processor architectures are designed specifically to implement DSP-specific functions or general-purpose functions, but not both. Although general-purpose processors implement more than one general type of addressing mode, the addressing modes of such processors are not optimized for use with specialized applications such as digital signal processing, including certain audio processing functions.
As processing functions merge, more specialized functions need to be implemented by general-purpose processors, but most general-purpose processors are not capable of supporting advanced memory addressing modes. Implementing advanced memory addressing modes inside a general-purpose processor typically requires a restructuring of the pipeline architecture before such advanced addressing modes may be implemented.

System having user programmable addressing modes and method therefor


A shield structure for an electronic apparatus includes a frame member and a shield box. The frame member is a conductive frame to which the wiring substrate is attached and covering a back surface of the wiring substrate. The shield box is formed on a front surface of the wiring substrate having an electronic component mounted thereon, to cover an area of a portion of the front surface. The wiring substrate includes a plurality of connecting portions formed thereon that ground the front surface and the back surface to the frame member. On a side on which the wiring substrate protrudes from the shield box, the shield box includes a shield wall member forming a wall surface substantially perpendicular to the wiring substrate. The shield wall member is grounded to at least one location of the connecting portions of the wiring substrate in the vicinity of the wall surface.

The present disclosure relates to a shield structure for an electronic apparatus that shields a wiring substrate attached to an electronic apparatus.
Electronic apparatuses that form images on sheets by electrophotography, including, for example, image forming apparatuses such as a copier and a printer, are provided with a plurality of wiring substrates such as a drive system control substrate and an image processing substrate. Noise radiated from electronic components mounted on each of these wiring substrates causes the problem of malfunction of other electronic components.
Therefore, attempts have been made to shield radiation noise by accommodating, in a sealed space in a body frame made of sheet metal, wiring substrates having mounted thereon electronic components that generate radiation noise so as to shield the wiring substrates.
However, accommodating wiring substrates such as a drive system control substrate and an image processing substrate in the sealed space in the body frame is not easy both in terms of structure and cost.
As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 6, in a known conventional shield structure for a wiring substrate, a housing 101 that encloses a wiring substrate 30 having electronic components 31 and 32 mounted thereon is formed by a body 101A supporting the wiring substrate 30 from the underside and a lid portion 101B covering the body 101A from above. In this case, the lid portion 101B is fixed to the body 101A with a plurality of screws 21 disposed at a pitch interval that inhibits noise radiation. Additionally, a plurality of projection-like connecting portions 13 and 23 protruding toward the wiring substrate 30 side are formed in the body 101A and the lid portion 101B, respectively, and the wiring substrate 30 is sandwiched by the connecting portions 13 and 23. This allows the noise generating from the electronic components 31 and 32 to be fed back to the wiring substrate 30 in a small loop, thus preventing a state in which the housing 101 acts as an antenna to radiate noise.

Shield structure for electronic apparatus


A tube (30) for inducing gases into critically ill patients, in which the distal end (20) is perforated, and covered with an inflatable-deflatable sleeve (36). Gas is pumped into the proximal end of the tube (30), which inflates the sleeve (36) engaging the inner walls of an airway. The gas, typically a mixture of oxygen, subsequently exits the sleeve (36) and enters the airway. Auxiliary accessories (80) can be attached to the tube (30).

Artificial ventilation of critically ill, traumatized, or anesthetized persons is a life-saving procedure. Artificial ventilation may be performed by applying negative pressure around the chest with an "Iron Lung", or by pumping gas at positive pressure into the airways, called "Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation (IPPV)". IPPV may be applied through a tightly fitting face mask, or via a tube inserted into the trachea of the patient, called "Endotracheal Tube (ETT)". In recent years a hybrid method, namely the "laryngeal mask"—a catheter tip pear shape inflatable occluder that fits over the glottis at the entry to the trachea—has gained popularity. In addition to negative pressure ventilation and IPPV other (alternative) modes of ventilation have been described. These include "High Frequency Ventilation (HFV)", jet ventilation, "Constant Flow Ventilation (CFV)", and external chest vibration with tracheal bias flow.
To achieve effective IPPV, a tight seal must be formed between the gas delivery tube, such as the ETT or a tracheotomy tube, and the patient's airway. Thus, when gas (air; oxygen) pressure in the delivery tube rises it flows into, and only into, the person's lungs to induce inhalation. When the pressure in the gas delivery system falls bellow the pressure in the lungs the flow is reversed and CO2-rich gas exits the lung. In conventional IPPV the expiratory outflow from the lung is through the same lumen of the ETT through which the gas flowed into the lung. Therefore, the lumen of the ETT must be as wide as possible to facilitate free exhalation without build-up of excessive intra-thoracic pressure.
When positive pressure ventilation is used, it is usually possible to control the respiratory rate, the volume of each breath (Tidal Volume) and the relative duration of the inspiratory and expiratory phases of each breath (I:E Ratio). It is also usually possible to control or limit the peak pressure during inspiration (PIP) and the minimal pressure at the end of expiration (PEEP). In addition, it is often desirable to facilitate self-triggering of the initiation of the breathing cycle by sensing the patient's brief drop in airway pressure induced by his/her inspiratory effort. This signal is used to actuate the delivery of a breath by the ventilator in tandem with the patient's own inspiratory effort.
While there are many models of ventilators with a variety of features and controls, all IPPV systems are only capable of ventilating the whole lung en bloc, or, at the most ventilating the two lungs with a special, two lumens ETT, using two ventilators. Current technology does not allow ventilation of lobes or segments of the lung individually, despite the substantial inhomogeneity of the disease processes encountered in most lung diseases.
German Patent 2055049 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,593 the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose an endotracheal tube equipped with a cuff balloon that is connected via an accessory channel to an actuating apparatus that rhythmically inflates the sleeve, while a steady flow of air or oxygen is blown through the main lumen of the tube. When the cuff baloon is inflated inside the patient's trachea it occludes the exit of air around the tube and the lungs inflates. When the cuff balloon is deflated, the lungs deflate with gas exiting around the tube, while gas is still flowing into the trachea through the tube's main channel. The lack of control over intra thoracic pressure leading to risk of lung hyperinflation and pneumothorax are major concerns with this method. The invention disclosed herewith describes an improved intra-tracheal ventilation method and tube that overcomes the deficiencies of the previous method.


To reduce a burden imposed on a system administrator in restore operation, there is provided a computer system including at least one storage system, at least one host computer, and a management computer, in which: the storage system includes: a first processor; a first memory; and a disk drive; the host computer includes: a second processor; and a second memory; the management computer includes: a third processor; and a third memory; the second processor executes plurality of applications; the first processor and the second processor create check points to be used to maintain consistency of data at predetermined timing for the respective applications; and a third processor obtains recovery conditions, which are conditions for a check point to be used for a recovery, and identifies a check point, which satisfies the obtained conditions, from the created check points for the respective applications.

This invention relates to a computer system including storage systems, host computers, and a management computer, and more particularly to a technology for restoring backup data.
The computer system which includes the host computers and the storage systems should prevent data loss even when an unexpected accident, disaster, or the like occurs. For that purpose, data in the storage system provided for the computer system are stored in (backed up to) tapes or other storage systems. When a failure occurs, the computer system uses the backup data to recover (restore) data.
It is necessary for the computer system to restore the data with an RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and an RPO (Recovery Point Objective) being reduced.
The RTO refers to a time required for a recovery processing of the computer system. Specifically, the RTO is a difference in time between a time point when the computer system stops and a time point when the computer system is recovered. The RPO is a value indicating freshness of data used to recover the computer system. Specifically, the RPO is a difference in time between a time point when the computer system stops and a check point (CP) to which the computer system is recovered.
JP 2005-18738 A discloses a computer system which is capable of performing restore operation with the reduced RPO and RTO. According to this computer system, a storage system stores journal data each time data to which a host computer has issued a write request is stored in a volume. Then, in the computer system, the journal data stored in the storage system is used to restore the data. According to this configuration, even when an application executed by the host computer does not store journal data, data can be restored in the computer system.

Data recovery method for computer system


If a carryover condition has been satisfied such that the attacks against an enemy character, which are carried out by the player character in a first battle scene against the enemy character that appears in said first battle scene, can be extended to other enemy characters, the carryover processing module sequentially executes a process that uses a first attack value generated as a result of the player character's attacks against the enemy character in the first battle scene to offset defeat parameter values required to defeat enemy characters configured in each of the enemy characters appearing in each battle scene provided subsequent to said first battle scene, skips the appearance of the enemy characters whose defeat parameter values have been reduced to zero and, additionally, causes the subsequently appearing enemy character to appear in a state in which the defeat parameter value of said enemy character has been offset.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a game-providing device and a software program (e.g., non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions stored in a storage and executable on a hardware device). for a game-providing device.
2. Related Art
In a well-known prior-art arrangement, a game device executes a game in which a player character acting according to a player's instructions is pitted against an enemy character, and the character that reduces a predetermined parameter configured in the opponent character to a preset value as a result of mutual attacks is declared the winner. Multiple stages ranging from Stage 1 to Stage n (where n is an integer of 2 or more) are included, and combat with a different enemy character takes place in each of said stages (e.g., see Patent Document 1).

Game-providing device and software program for game-providing device


A vehicle rollover sensor (10) includes an optical transmitter (80) for providing a light beam (86) extending in a first direction (36) and an optical receiver (90) for receiving the light beam. A movable member (40) when in a first orientation enables the light beam (86) from the optical transmitter (80) to be directed to the optical receiver (90). The movable member (40) when in a second orientation prevents at least a part of the light beam (86) from being directed to the optical receiver (90). The movable member (40) is supported on the vehicle for movement between the first and second orientations in a direction transverse to the first direction (36), in response to rolling movement of the vehicle of a predetermined amount relative to the first direction. An inertia mass (60) is connected with the movable member (40) to maintain the movable member in a predetermined orientation relative to the ground surface on which the vehicle is disposed. The operativeness of the sensor (10) can be tested whenever the vehicle is not in a rollover condition.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus for providing a control signal indicative of a rollover condition of a vehicle. The control signal is preferably used to actuate a vehicle occupant protection device, such as a pretensioner for a vehicle seat belt.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to sense movement of a vehicle, such as tilting or rolling movement, for use in automatically actuating a safety device in a motor vehicle.


An integral closure mechanism is described to be used for implantable cuffs of tubular shapes. This mechanism relates to cuffs used to surround internal organ or tissue in animals and human for specific clinical applications or for evaluation purposes in biomedical research. The closure mechanism is designed to provide a safe and reliable way in keeping the cuff in its original dimension around biological tissue, and to assist in surgical implantation by introducing a convenient and less time-consuming method to secure the cuff at the surgical site. To eliminate distortion of the implantable cuff by having an integral closure mechanism, the underlying body tissue is better protected from damages caused by compression of the cuff and from connective tissue overgrowing at the distorted sites. Thus, therapeutic attempts by using implantable cuffs may reach their desired potential in various applications.

Several implantable cuffs have been used in research and very few are used in clinical settings for treatments. Prior cuffs were designed to enclose the tissue and to close with sutures. There are disadvantages from the use of sutures to close the cuff. For instance, suture material either absorbable or non-absorbable can retain contaminants or serve as a focal point for connective tissue to grow around it. Sutures used for implantation has a lifetime of a few months inside a human body to provide a constant tensile strength. Sutures may be required to close the cuffs for an extended period-of-time to prevent re-opening of the cuffs for the clinical applications. Another disadvantage is when sutures do not close the cuff tightly, connective tissue may grow inside the cuff, and this interferes with the interaction at the interface between the cuff and the enclosed tissue. When sutures close the cuff too tightly, it may lead to inflammation at the enclosed site and increase the chance of cuff implant failure. Furthermore, if sutures can not stabilize the dimension of the cuff, the edges of the cuff may overlap each other resulting in tissue damages inside the cuff.
The above disadvantages associated with prior cuff design can be addressed with the closure mechanism in this patent. This closure mechanism can provide a stable dimension for the cuff, and to ensure a smooth continuous outer surface to prevent tissue growing inwardly to the cuff lumen and to eliminate potential focal points created by using sutures. The cuff body and its closure mechanism are made of biocompatible and durable materials that can last minimum of 10 years inside a human body without significant defect. Although to increase number of closing sutures may improve the efficacy of the implantable cuff, it also increases the opportunities of having tissue growth, contaminations, and complications. This is a potential disadvantage of using cuffs in clinical settings. Decreasing the number of closing sutures may save time and simplify the procedure of implantation, but it increases the chance of cuff opening as sutures break down, and complications or failures associated with cuff opening. Reliable sutures used for implantations are relatively inexpensive to obtain and very cost effective for the end users. However, the cost of removing cuffs, procedure failures, risk of sutures break down, complications, recovery, re-evaluation, and re-implantation are fairly expensive to the health care system, insurance companies and end users. The described closure mechanism in this patent is easy to use, non-technique sensitive, not required of specialized skills, and time saving compared to using sutures.
It has been difficult to use cuffs for implantation. It requires specialized tools and surgical procedures may be challenging. To implant around a nerve or tissue of a particular locations may also be risky using a cuff. Many clinicians are reluctant to use cuffs for implantation procedures. It is delicate, time consuming, and skills required to clean out surrounding tissue and to isolate the tissue of interest. There is no simple method to open and orient the cuff during implantation procedures. The body tissue may be compressed or damaged when the cuff is not closed properly or when the surrounding tissue is not cleaned well enough. In case of complication or failures, to remove implanted cuff can be difficult due to connective tissue growth and limited access.

Implantable cuff with an integral closure mechanism


A substantially unitary label suitable for being attached to an object having an outer circumference and including a removable cap for accessing an interior hollow of the object. The label includes: a first substantially planar portion suitable for being substantially permanently affixed about at least a portion of the circumference of the object; a second substantially planar portion longitudinally positioned with respect to the first portion and operable to at least partly overlie the first label portion in a peelable and resealable fashion when the first label portion is affixed about at least a part of the circumference of the object, the first and second label portions having a combined length which is greater than the circumference of the object, and the second label portion having a width less than at least a part of the first portion; and at least one tear strip being positioned so as to be suitable for evidencing removal of the cap when the first label portion is affixed about at least a part of the circumference of the object.

The present invention relates in general to labels and, more particularly, to labels for products and product containers.
Labels, typically in the form of flexible sheet or web material attached to an object, have long been used to identify the object, its contents and/or display other information associated with the object. Such labels, which are normally fabricated from paper or plastic, are usually adhesively secured to the object by a contact or pressure sensitive adhesive material.
Many objects such as jars, bottles, cans and similar receptacles support xe2x80x9cwrapxe2x80x9d labels which cover substantially all of their circumferential side wall surfaces. With these labels, essentially the entire outer surface of the label is available as an indicia bearing surface. A label covering all or nearly all of the circumferential area of an object such as a product container is oftentimes sufficient to convey desired advertising, content information, instructions, warnings, and the like. In many circumstances, however, an object""s physical dimensions detrimentally limit the available print space of the label borne thereby.
A substantially unitary label suitable for being attached to an object having an outer circumference and including a removable cap for accessing an interior hollow of said object, said label comprising: a first substantially planar portion suitable for being substantially permanently affixed about at least a portion of said circumference of said object; a second substantially planar portion longitudinally positioned with respect to said first portion and operable to at least partly overlie said first label portion in a peelable and resealable fashion when said first label portion is affixed about at least a part of said circumference of said object, said first and second label portions having a combined length which is greater than said circumference of said object, and said second label portion having a width less than at least a part of said first portion; and at least one tear strip being positioned so as to be suitable for evidencing removal of said cap when said first label portion is affixed about at least a part of said circumference of said object.

Extended wrap label and method of making same


To allow for switching between a normal display and a zoom display by a simple operation, thereby providing both of a large amount of information by high resolution and high visibility of the display. In a computer system having a display apparatus as output unit, an input section 50 for accepting a user operation to issue a request for changing a display zoom factor, a resolution changer 10 for changing the resolution of the display apparatus in response to the request for changing the display zoom factor issued by the input section 50, and a window resizer 20 for resizing a predetermined window displayed on the display screen 70 of the display apparatus so as to be displayed over almost the entire display screen 70 after the resolution is change by the resolution changer 10.

The resolution of a display, the main output unit in a computer system, is becoming higher year by year, thereby allowing an image to be displayed in greater detail. This is because the performance of a graphics accelerator that is installed in the computer system and the performance of the display is improved.
On the other hand, the size of the display screen of a display apparatus for displaying images cannot unlimitedly be increased because of physical limitations of the display apparatus itself. A flat panel display included in a notebook computer, for example, cannot be much larger than the main unit of the computer because of its notebook shape and therefore the size of its display screen is limited as a necessity. Also a display, especially a CRT display, in a desktop computer, cannot be made unlimitedly larger in terms of its footprint and weight because the display apparatus is placed on a desk.
Conventionally, therefore, dots, which are minimum display units, are made smaller to achieve higher resolution for a display screen of limited size.
While the amount of information displayed on the display screen can be increased by reducing a dot size to provide a higher resolution, the size of an image and character is also reduced by the reduced dot size, thereby degrading the visibility of the content of the display.
A unit for zooming in on a portion of a display screen is provided in most of today's computer systems in order to improve visibility of the display content to visually impaired users. This unit can be used to improve visibility of an image and character the size of which is, as mentioned above, reduced by increased resolution.
Windows 98 and Windows NT, which are operating systems from Microsoft Inc., include a tool called "magnifier" as standard. This tool opens a special window used for displaying an enlarged image, and enlarges and displays a portion in the vicinity of the mouse cursor or key cursor in this special window in real time.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional display image zoomed in by the magnifier on a display screen. In FIG. 1, an area labeled with 401 is the area where an image zoomed in by the magnifier is displayed.
A notebook personal computer from IBM contains, in addition to the above-mentioned tool supported by the OS, its own tool for enlarging an image in a rectangular area in the vicinity of the mouse cursor.
FIG. 2 shows a conventional display image zoomed in by this magnification tool on a display screen. In FIG. 2, an area labeled with 501 is the area where an image zoomed in by the magnifier tool is displayed.
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
Conventionally, when a higher resolution is provided by reducing dot size, the size of an image and a character is also reduced with the reduced dot size, thus degrading the visibility of the content of the display, as described earlier. To solve the problem, a unit for zooming in on a portion of a display screen, which is conventionally provided in a computer system, may be used. However, such a technology cannot provide an environment having adequately high visibility to the user.
That is, such types of technology zoom in only on a predetermined area on a display screen. Therefore when a large window or area in which an enlarged image is displayed is provided on the screen, the other areas on the screen are hidden by the window or area to degrade the visibility of the display.
Furthermore, because all of these technologies use software to zoom the image, significant CPU overhead is introduced, thus limiting the size of the area that can be zoomed, and reducing the display speed when a large area is zoomed in.
It is an object of the present invention to allow for switching between a normal display and a zoom display by a simple operation, thereby providing both of a large amount of information achieved by high resolution and high visibility of the display.
It is another object of the present invention to zoom in on a display screen by using hardware unit without placing stress on a user.

Computer system, display control apparatus, display apparatus, display control method, recording medium, and program transmission apparatus


A method for printing contacts utilizes photolithographic pattern reversal. A negative of the contact is printed on a resist layer. Unexposed portions of the resist layer are stripped to expose a first layer. The first layer is etched to remove exposed portions of the first layer not covered by the negative of the contact and to expose a second layer. A pattern reversal is performed to cure exposed portions of the second layer not covered by the first layer.

As the feature size of integrated circuits continues to decrease, it becomes more difficult to fabricate certain structures than others. For example, when feature sizes are reduced in size by 70 percent, the two-dimensional dimensions (such as the surface area) of contacts and other structures are actually reduced by 50 percent. Extremely small (ultrasmall) contacts and other structures can be very difficult to create due to difficulties that may arise in creating an appropriate photomask that can be used to print the ultrasmall contacts. When creating ultrasmall contacts, for example, extremely small pinholes need to be created in the photomask, which can lead to imaging difficulties. Furthermore, if the ultrasmall contacts need to be placed close together, their close proximity may cause imaging problems.
A technique that can be used to create the ultrasmall devices involves the use of charged particle and other exotic lithography techniques. These techniques can permit the creation of the desired devices.
One disadvantage of the prior art is that the use of exotic lithography techniques can significantly increase the fabrication costs when compared to standard (and well known) lithography techniques. Since the exotic lithography techniques are not as well tested or developed to help reduce costs, this can increase the overall cost of the integrated circuitry.
Yet another disadvantage of the prior art is that multiple exposures may be needed to print the ultrasmall devices, which can increase the fabrication time and result in reduced production numbers as well as increased costs.

Method for printing contacts on a substrate


In a flat cable including fused portions and twisted pair portions, the length of the twisted pair portions being not constant, the twist pitch of the twisted pair portions being substantially constant independently of the length of the twisted pair portions, some of the twisted pair portions being constituted by S twists with the other twisted pair portions being constituted by Z twists, the next twisted pair portion is twisted in such a manner that, when the number of twists in the S twisted pair portions in the longitudinal direction of the flat cable is added as "plus (+)" value with the number of twists in the Z twisted pair portions being added as "minus (-)" value, the twist sense in the next twisted pair portion is Z twist sense if the integrated value of the number of twists is plus (+) while the twist sense in the next twisted pair portion is S twist sense if the integrated value of the number of twists is minus (-). By virtue of the above constitution, a flat cable with the spacing of fused portions being not constant can be produced without requiring any twist back mechanism.

In commercially available flat cables comprising fused portions and twisted pair portions, the fused portions to be connected to a connector are disposed at equal spacings with each of the fused portions being sandwiched between the twisted pair portions.
In the twisted pair portions in this type of flat cables, adjacent twisted pairs are twisted in directions opposite to each other from the viewpoint of preventing crosstalk. When attention is drawn to one twisted pair, however, in some of this type of flat cables, the twisted pair portions sandwiching the fused portion are twisted in directions opposite to each other, while in the other flat cables of this type, the twisted pair portions sandwiching the fused portion are always twisted in the same direction. This difference is attributable to a difference in the production system.
An example of the construction of the system for producing flat cables will be explained.
A system for producing a flat cable comprises: a feeder for delivering insulated conductors for a flat cable at even tension; a twister for twisting two insulated conductors to each other to form a twisted pair; a fusing device for fusing all the insulated conductors to one another to form a fused portion with the insulated conductors being juxtaposed to each other; a take-up unit for taking up at a constant speed insulated conductors that have been subjected to pair twisting and fusing; a coiler for winding the cable around a bobbin; a controller for controlling the operation and stopping of the twister and for controlling the operation and stopping of the fusing device; and the like.
In the flat cable wherein the twisted pair portions sandwiching the fused portion are twisted in directions opposite to each other, during the formation of a certain twisted pair portion, twist is accumulated in the insulated conductors between the twister and the feeder. Since, however, twisting is carried out in the opposite direction in the formation of the next twisted pair portion, the accumulation of the twist is eliminated. On the other hand, in the flat cable wherein the twisted pair portions sandwiching the fused portion are always twisted in the same direction, the twist between the twister and the feeder is increasingly accumulated. The twist cannot be infinitely accumulated in the insulated conductors between the twister and the feeder. Therefore, a twist back mechanism for eliminating the twist should be provided at the delivery portion.
The twist back mechanism should be provided in number equal to the number of pairs. In some of actual flat cables, the number of pairs is 50 or 100. This incurs very high cost for the provision of the twist back mechanisms.
The conventional flat cables described above are produced on the premise that the mounting spacings of the connector are constant. In recent years, however, there is a demand that the connector is provided at different mounting spacings in one cable, for example, at mounting spacings of 125 mm, 250 mm, 325 mm and the like. In order to meet the above demand, when a cable with the fused portions being provided at spacings of 125 mm and 250 mm is taken by way of example, if the length of the fused portions is 50 mm with the pitch of the twisted pairs being 25 mm, the number of twists is 3 in the portion having a fused portion spacing of 125 mm and 8 in the portion having a fused portion spacing of 250 mm. In the production of a cable wherein the portion with the number of twists being 3 is provided alternately with the portion with the number of twists being 8, when the twist sense is changed for the formation of each of the fused portions as described above, twist is increasingly accumulated between the feeder and the twister. This ultimately requires the provision of twist back mechanisms.

Flat cable and process for producing the same


A system and method for scrubbing data to be shared between organizations to test a joint solution, and for preventing the introduction of unscrubbed data. Each organization captures a subset of data, which may be customer data from a line of business. The first organization scrubs its data according to scrubbing rules, and then passes the scrubbed data to its test environment, while the second organization passes its unscrubbed data to its test environment. The scrubbed data is communicated to the second organization and is applied to the unscrubbed data in order to scrub it, and then communicate it to the first organization. Both organizations use the scrubbed data in their respective test environments to test the joint solution or joint testing. Scrubbing the data may involve scrubbing only specific data fields containing sensitive information.

Organizations sometimes conduct joint actions, such as testing organizational products, services, or other solutions, which require an exchange of data and maintenance of common data that is sourced, updated, and used by both organizations. In such situations, it may be desirable for an organization to scrub its data of sensitive information prior to making it externally available, and to prevent the introduction of unscrubbed data into the organization. However, each organization involved in the joint action may have its own process for scrubbing its own data, and these processes may be incompatible to varying degrees. Further, some needs may require scrubbed data while other needs may require unscrubbed data. For example, a simulation operation may require one organization to provide another with unscrubbed data for a line of business being tested, a conversion operation may require the organization to provide a test environment with unscrubbed data for the line of business, and an integration operation may require the organization to provide the test environment with scrubbed data while still maintaining the integrity of the common data.

System and method for scrubbing data to be shared between organizations

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company


A heat sink uses a pump assembly to generate a magnetic field. Flow directions of electrically and thermally conductive liquid flowing through multiple pipes that go through the pump assembly are dependent on an orientation of the magnetic field and/or the direction of electrical current induced across flowing fluid in the magnetic field. In such a manner, cool liquid may be directed toward a heat source and warmer liquid may be directed to flow away from the heat source, where heat transfer occurs between the liquid and the heat sink. Additional pump assemblies that generate separate magnetic fields may be used to increase fluid flow volume, thereby increasing heat transfer away from the heat source.

A computer system 10, as shown in FIG. 1, includes several components that are collectively used by a user to perform various functions such as, for example, preparing and generating a document with a word processor application. With the computer system 10, the user may input data to a computing portion 12 using peripheral devices such as a keyboard 14 or a mouse 16. Data may also be provided to the computing portion 12 using data storage media (e.g., a floppy disk or a CD-ROM (not shown)). The computing portion 12, using memory and other internal components, processes both internal data and data provided to the computing portion 12 by the user to generate data requested by the user. The generated data may be provided to the user via, for example, a display device 18 or a printer 20. The computing portion 12 of a computer system typically includes various components such as, for example, a power supply, disk drives, and the electrical circuitry required to perform the necessary and requested operations of the computer system.
As shown in FIG. 2, the computing portion 12 may contain a plurality of circuit boards 22, 24, 26, 28 (e.g., printed circuit boards (PCBs) or printed wiring boards (PWBs)) on which various circuit components are implemented. For example, a computing portion designed to have enhanced sound reproducing capabilities may have a circuit board dedicated to implementing circuitry that specifically operate to process data associated with the reproduction of sound.
In FIG. 2, the components of exemplary circuit board 22 are shown. A crystal oscillator 30 provides a reference of time to various integrated circuits (ICs) 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42 (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), microprocessors, logic gates) that are connected to the circuit board 22. The integrated circuits 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42 communicate with one another, i.e., pass data, using wires or traces of conductive material (e.g., copper (shown, but not labeled)) embedded in the circuit board 22.
In operation, an integrated circuit, such as those shown in FIG. 2, dissipates heat as a result of work performed by the integrated circuit. Energy that is needed by the integrated circuit for work is not consumed with 100% efficiency, thereby resulting in excess energy that is released, among other things, as heat. As integrated circuits become more dense (i.e., more transistors per unit area) and faster (i.e., higher operating frequencies), they generate more heat. As excessive heat is damaging to an integrated circuit both in terms of performance and component integrity, an important design consideration involves ensuring that heat dissipated by an integrated circuit is sufficiently drawn away from the integrated circuit, where the efficiency of drawing away heat from the integrated circuit is expressed in terms of what is referred to as the "heat transfer rate."
"Heat sinks" are devices that are commonly used to cool integrated circuits. FIG. 3 shows a heat sink 50 as used with an integrated circuit 52 housed in a package 54 atop a substrate 56. The heat sink 50 is made of a high thermal conductivity metal (e.g., copper or aluminum). A "high thermal conductivity metal" is one that allows heat to pass through it because it contains many free electrons.
A base of the heat sink 50 is secured over the integrated circuit 52 by, for example, a retention clip (not shown) or an adhesive or thermal interface material (shown, but not labeled). During operation of the integrated circuit 52, the temperature of the integrated circuit 52 increases due to increased particle movement resulting from a build-up of excess energy. The increased integrated circuit temperature results in an increase in the temperature of the package 54, and consequently, of the heat sink 50. The increased temperature of the heat sink 50 results in an increase in the temperature of the air around the heat sink 50, whereby the heated air rises and effectively draws heat away from the integrated circuit 52. This process is referred to as "convection."
The removal of heat dissipated from an integrated circuit by a heat sink is dependent on numerous factors. For example, the thermal resistance of the package that houses the integrated circuit affects how much heat transfers from the integrated circuit to the heat sink. Also, the effectiveness of the adhesives between the integrated circuit and its package and the package and the heat sink affects how much heat transfers between these components. Moreover, the conductivity of the materials used in the package and the heat sink has a direct bearing on the amount of heat that is transferred away from the integrated circuit. The surface area of the heat sink is also important as more surface area results in more air being heated, thereby resulting in more heat being drawn away from the integrated circuit by the rising heated air.


Graphs are powerful structures made of nodes and edges. Information can be encoded in the nodes and edges themselves, as well as the connections between them. Graphs can be used to create manifolds which in turn can be used to efficiently train more robust AI systems. Systems and methods for graph-based AI training in accordance with embodiments of the invention are illustrated. In one embodiment, a graph interface system including a processor, and a memory configured to store a graph interface application, where the graph interface application directs the processor to obtain a set of training data, where the set of training data describes a plurality of scenarios, encode the set of training data into a first knowledge graph, generate a manifold based on the first knowledge graph, and train an AI model by traversing the manifold.

Graphs are a collection of nodes and the edges that connect them. Graphs can be used to represent data by encoding information within nodes and edges. A graph data structure is an implementation of the mathematical concept of a graph, which is a representation of a set of objects where some pairs of the objects are connected by links. Graphs can be undirected, where an edge indicates a relationship between two nodes within the graph. Graphs can also be directed, where an edge indicates a relationship between a first node and a second node within the graph, but not the corresponding relationship between the second node and the first node.
Neural networks are a class of machine learning technique which is often utilized for "artificial intelligence" tasks. Neural networks utilize a set of artificial neurons (or "nodes") which are linked, often in different sets of layers. Neural networks can be trained by providing a set of training data that provides a matched set of inputs and desired outputs. Neural networks can change the weights of connections between its nodes. A successfully trained neural network is capable of outputting a desired output based on an input sufficiently similar to the training data.


A window for automobiles or the like, including a frame member which is composed of a thermoplastic synthetic resin material and formed integrally with a window plate. The frame member includes a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional portion formed of lip and web sections which are spaced from and opposed to each other on outer and rear surfaces of the window plate, respectively, and connected with each other by a bridge section having a continuous hollow inner space therein. The frame member is formed by injecting into a mold cavity a relatively small amount, as compared with the volume of the mold cavity, of molten thermoplastic synthetic resin material, and by injecting compressed gas into the resin material to urge the resin material against inner surfaces of the mold defining the cavity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a window for automobiles or the like, including a window plate and a frame member composed of a thermoplastic synthetic resin material and provided integrally with the window plate, and also to a method of manufacturing such windows.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automobile windows wherein a window plate is integrally provided with a frame member composed of a thermoplastic synthetic resin material is advantageous in that, since it is not necessary to prepare a window molding member as a separate component from the window plate, the number of components and assembly steps can be reduced to realize an improved manufacturing productivity in the assembly lines of automobile factories.
There is disclosed, e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,234 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication Nos. 56-99,817 and 57-1,737, a method of manufacturing such automobile windows wherein the peripheral edge of a window plate is placed in an injection mold including upper and lower mold halves, and a molten thermoplastic synthetic resin material is injected into the cavity space between the upper and lower mold halves through at least one gate. While the above-mentioned method permits formation of an integral frame member along the edge of the window plate, a number of problems are left still unsolved, which are as follows.
First of all, thermoplastic synthetic resin material may have a relatively high viscosity during the injection into the mold cavity, which depends upon physical and/or chemical properties of the material. Then, the injection has to be carried out at an elevated temperature of the mold to lower the viscosity of the resin material and to avoid premature cooling of the resin material before it has been completely distributed within the mold cavity has to be carried at and under a relatively high injection pressure to realize a uniform distribution of the resin material throughout the entire cavity space. The elevated temperature to which the mold has to be heated necessarily requires a longer time until completion of the injection and cooling of the resin material, and makes it difficult to achieve an improved manufacturing productivity. Furthermore, the relatively high injection pressure often results in undesirable formation of burrs or flushings along the parting surface of the mold halves or results in damage to the window plate due to a higher tightening force applied from both sides by the mold halves for withstanding the injection pressure. Also, when the frame member is provided with an integral, strip-like ornamental element applied on its outer surface with clips or with the like fitting elements partly embedded in the synthetic resin material by a so-called insert-molding process, these elements may be deformed or subjected to dislocation by the injection pressure.
Secondly, the frame member placed to cool is more or less accompanied by shrinkage, thereby subjecting the window plate to a severe compression stress. Thus, when the window plate is composed of a brittle glass plate, it is not always possible to prevent formation of cracks in the window plate. Particularly, when the window plate has a surface curvature, the window plate is often subjected to a substantial bending stress, and the curved surface of the window plate undergoes an undesirable deformation. These problems are more significant when the window plate is composed of a transparent synthetic resin material with a relatively lower structural rigidity than inorganic glass. Moreover, the frame member is generally formed to surround the edge of the window plate from both sides thereof, and thus includes a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional portion formed of relatively thin lip and web sections on the outer and rear surfaces of the window plate, respectively, and a relatively thick bridge section for connecting the lip and web sections with each other. The material thickness of the frame member with such a sudden change results in a retarded cooling rate of the thick bridge section and results in a resultant formation of sink mark on its outer surface.
Finally, in addition to the above, the window A plate is accompanied by certain dimensional fluctuation which are due to practical difficulties in preparing window plates of a satisfactorily constant shape, while the volume of the mold cavity remains always constant. An optimum amount of thermoplastic synthetic resin material to be injected into the mold cavity thus varies for each window plate, depending upon the length with which the window plate is inserted into the mold cavity. From practical viewpoint, however, it is not very appropriate to individually adjust the amount of the resin material for each shot, and it has thus been a general practice to inject into the mold cavity a substantially constant amount of resin material, without regard to dimensional fluctuation of the window plate at all. It is of course that injection of an excessive amount of resin material into the mold cavity, too, results in formation of burrs or flashings along the parting surface of the mold halves, while insufficiency in the injected amount of the resin material gives rise to a undesirable tendency of the sink mark to appear on the outer surface of the frame member.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved window for automobiles or the like, which includes a frame member formed integrally with the window plate and composed of a thermoplastic synthetic resin material and which can be readily manufactured without the above-mentioned drawbacks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved method of manufacturing windows for automobiles or the like, including a frame member formed integrally with the window plate and composed of a thermoplastic synthetic resin material, by which the windows can be readily manufactured without the above-mentioned drawbacks.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a window for automobiles or the like, including a window plate, and a frame member which is composed of a thermoplastic synthetic resin material and formed into an integral structure with the window plate along at least one edge thereof, wherein said frame member includes a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional portion comprising lip and web sections which are spaced from and opposed to each other on outer and rear surfaces of the window plate, respectively, and a bridge section connecting the lip and web sections with each other, wherein said bridge section has a longitudinally continuous hollow inner space.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing windows of the above-mentioned structure, comprising the steps of:
(A) preparing a window plate;
(B) preparing a mold having surfaces defining a cavity of a predetermined volume therein, said cavity being of a configuration which corresponds to said frame member;
(C) placing at least one edge of the window plate in the mold cavity;
(D) injecting into the mold cavity a predetermined amount of thermoplastic synthetic resin material in its molten state, said amount being smaller than said volume of the cavity;
(E) injecting compressed gas into the synthetic resin material in said cavity to urge said synthetic resin material against said surfaces of the mold defining the cavity; and
(F) placing said synthetic resin material under cooling and solidification in said mold cavity, thereby to form a frame member which is integral with said window plate along at least one edge thereof, and which includes a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional portion formed of lip and web sections which are spaced from and opposed to each other on outer and rear surfaces of the window plate, respectively, and a bridge section connecting the lip and web sections with each other and having a longitudinally continuous hollow inner space.
The window according to the present invention, including a frame member which is integral with the window plate and whose bridge section connecting the lip and web sections with each other has a longitudinally continuous hollow inner space, and serves to effectively protect the window plate from damages or deformation upon shrinkage of the frame member after it has been formed, without being subjected to severe compression and/or bending stress, due to the deformability of the hollow inner space in the bridge section of the frame member.
Furthermore, in the method of manufacturing the windows according to the present invention, the frame member is formed by injecting into the mold cavity a relatively small amount of thermoplastic synthetic resin material as compared with the volume of the cavity and by injecting the compressed gas into the synthetic resin material in the cavity. Thus, even a synthetic resin material with a relatively high viscosity can be uniformly distributed throughout the cavity without application of a higher injection pressure as is the case in conventional injection process. Moreover, the synthetic resin material in the mold cavity can be sufficiently urged by the injected compressed gas against the surfaces of the mold defining the cavity to realize a desired configuration of the frame member without an undesirable sink mark.

Method of manufacturing windows having an integral hollow body frame member


A hair restoration caring device includes a treatment hood, a suspension member and a hair caring device. The treatment hood is to be disposed over a user's head. The suspension member is fastened to the treatment hood. The hair caring device is attached to the suspension member and is movable with respect to the user scalp. The hair caring device includes an outer casing mounted slidably on the suspension member, and has several downward combing projections and several light emitters installed above the combing projections respectively for radiating light waves. Each combing projection is aligned with a respective light emitter and is formed with an axial passage to permit past through of light waves of the respective light emitter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hair restoration caring device, more particularly to a hair restoration caring device, in which a plurality of light emitters are applied for radiating light waves toward a user's scalp, thereby enhancing hair restoration at the balding portion of the user's scalp.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several treatments have been proposed or developed in order to solve the baldness at human scalp due to hair loss. One method is to apply a medication lotion over the balding part of a user's scalp. The medication lotion may consist of some expander to prevent blood cells called platelets from clumping together at the terminating ends of the blood vessels, thereby enhancing blood circulation and nutrition supply leading to hair restoration at the balding part of the user's scalp. Oral suspension is recommended as another method in order to control the balance of sex hormones and to prevent depauperation of the cell follicles. However, there exist some side effects when oral suspension is recommended, which and brings an unfavorable health condition to the user. Hair transplant surgery is suggested as a third method, which can restore one's initial hair style at the balding part but loss of hairs at the other part of the user's head may continue to occur. Hair grafting surgery is tremendously expensive and beyond the reach of an ordinary person.
Presently, a new hair treatment method has been developed, in which, a ray of 650 nm is applied to radiate at the user's scalp in order to enhance the blood circulation thereat such that blood cells are supplied with sufficient nutrition to enable hair regrowth at the balding part of the user's scalp. It is noted that the above-stated method is low in cost and does not bring side effects to the user.
Presently available infrared therapy apparatus for hair loss treatment is in a hood configuration, and generally includes a plurality of ray emitters distributed at an interior thereof. The hood must be disposed over the user's head, thereby covering the entire scalp such that the entire scalp is under the radiation of the ray emitters. The user may feel stuffy or discomfort when his entire scalp is constantly covered by the hood. In addition, the user may feel unwell if the entire scalp is put under the radiation for a long period of time.
A conventional infrared therapy apparatus is proposed, which includes a comb structure that needs to be gripped by the user's hand for disposing the ray emitters over the balding part of the user's scalp. After a period of gripping the comb structure for an extended period, the user may get fatigued so that he has no desire to repeat the combing operation, thereby rendering the conventional infrared therapy apparatus less useful.


An ejector handle mounted to an electronic circuit card provides leverage to assist in engaging and disengaging the electronic circuit card from engagement with an electronic shelf. The ejector handle transmits light, such as by using light pipes, from an end of the handle adjacent to the faceplate of the electronic circuit card to a distal end of the handle where the transmitted light exits for viewing by maintenance personnel. A visual indicator assembly on the electronic circuit card supplies the sources of light that are coupled to and transmitted through the ejector handle. Indicia on the surface of the ejector handle identifies the corresponding function of the lights.

This invention relates generally to electronic circuit cards (boards) and more specifically relates to visual indicators that provide information concerning the status of conditions or functions of an associated electronic circuit card.
Electronic circuit cards are generally well known. One common type of electronic circuit card is designed to be inserted into an electronic rack or shelf and has rear edge connectors that engage corresponding connectors on a backplane. Because of the force that must be applied to the electronic circuit card to disengage its rear edge connectors, various types of ejector handles mounted to a front panel of the electronic circuit card have been utilized to provide additional mechanical leverage. A substantial number of electronic circuit cards are typically contained in a shelf. An enclosure may contain a plurality of shelves thereby holding a large number of electronic circuit cards.
An important design consideration of electronic circuit cards is the ability to convey to maintenance personnel information concerning the status of conditions and/or functions of the electronic circuit card. This information is typically conveyed by the use of visual indicators, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), mounted to the front panel of the electronic circuit card. Some cards may also utilize front panel mounted connectors used to connect the card via a multiple wire cable to other electronics. The front panel may also contain a plurality of switches, jacks, and openings to permit adjustments and selections to be made by maintenance personnel. The various status indicators and controls must be highly visible and unambiguous in order to reduce the chances of craft errors, such as removing the wrong card, from adversely affecting system reliability.
The front panels of some electronic circuit cards are becoming congested. The use of mezzanine boards, also known daughter boards, places additional demands on the need for the faceplate space of the electronic circuit cards. The increasing congestion places constraints on the number of visual indicators that can be accommodated and on locations where the visual indicators can be placed. An additional consideration associated with the visual indicators is the text or symbol that serves as a label and is normally screen printed on the front panel adjacent each indicator. The label may occupy more area on the front panel than the indicator itself. Various identifying labels containing information about manufacturers, model numbers, serial numbers, and barcodes further congest the front panel. With increasingly less space available on the front panel of electronic circuit cards, there exists a need for better utilization of space used for visual indicators.
It is an object of the present invention to satisfy the need for better utilization of space for visual indicators associated with electronic circuit cards.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an ejector handle adjacent to the front of the faceplate mounted to an electronic circuit card transmits light received at an end of the handle adjacent the faceplate to a distal end of the handle that is disposed to be seen by maintenance personnel with the electronic circuit card in operation. The light may be transmitted by a first light pipe that terminates at the distal end of the handle at a lens or frosted end of the light pipe to enhance the visibility and/or dispersion of transmitted light A second light pipe aligned to transmit light to the first light pipe couples light emitted from a light source on the printed circuit card. A plurality of first and second light pipes permits the ejector handle to carry a plurality of visual indicators. Labels associated with the visual indicators can be placed on a surface of the ejector handle in proximity to the visual indicator.

Electronic circuit card ejector handle that provides visual status indicia


A docking station for a mobile robot comprising a base portion that is locatable on a floor surface and a rear portion that is pivotable with respect to the base portion, thereby permitting a user to place the docking station on the floor in an unfolded configuration but to store the docking station in a folded configuration.

It is becoming commonplace for mobile robots to be used around the home. For example, there are mobile robots that are designed specifically for vacuum cleaning and also ones which are designed for floor mopping. Also, mobile robots may be used in the home as mobile sentries. Such mobile sentries are equipped with suitable sensor suites to enable them to navigate a household, or office space, autonomously and detect abnormal conditions such as elevated heat levels or intruders into the area.
Common to such mobile robots is the requirement for them to move autonomously and so they are typically equipped with a rechargeable power source in the form of a battery pack in order to decouple the robot from dependence on wall-mounted power sockets. Typically the robot will be configured with an internal power monitoring routine so that it has a level of self-awareness relating to the level of electrical power that remains. When power levels are low, the robot is able to make its way back to a docking station with which the robot can connect in order to replenish its battery pack.
Mobile robot docking stations principally are provided with an electrical charging system having a set of contacts. The contacts are engageable with complementary contacts on the robot in order to provide an electrical charging current to the robot. However, docking stations may also have the facility to provide radio signals or other emissions in order to assist the robot in locating the docking station. Still further, in some robotic vacuum cleaner applications, the docking stations are equipped with dust extracting devices which are able to empty the dust bin of the mobile robot when it becomes full, thereby removing this frequent task from the user so as to increase the autonomy of the robot.
However, with such complexity come drawbacks. Often, mobile docking stations are large bulky items which need to be placed close to a power socket in a room of a home. Their physical presence has a significant visual impact and this detracts from the overriding principle of mobile robots that they should minimize impact on the user.
It is with these issues in mind that the invention has been devised.


A toroidal type continuously variable transmission intended to prevent an increase in weight of the rear end portion when constructing a automobile transmission and restrain vibrations and noised during an operation. An input shaft is rotated by a crankshaft of an engine through a gear transmission mechanism provided at the front end. The rotations of this input shaft are transmitted to input disks via a driving gear, a driven gear, an external rotary cylinder, cam plates and rollers. Power rollers rotate with rotations of the input disks. The rotations of the power rollers are transmitted to an output shaft via output disks, whereby the output shaft is rotated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toroidal type continuously variable transmission utilized as a transmission for, e.g., an automobile.
2. Related Background Art
There has been pursued the use of a toroidal type continuously variable transmission illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 as a transmission for an automobile. In this toroidal type continuously variable transmission, as disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Application No. 62-71465, an input disk 2 is supported concentrically with an input shaft 1, and an output disk 4 is fixed to the end of an output shaft 3. A casing encases the toroidal type continuously variable transmission. A support bracket is provided on the inner surface of the casing or inwardly of this casing. The support bracket is provided with trunnions 5, 5 each swinging about a pivot disposed in a twist position with respect to the input shaft 1 and the output shaft 3 as well.
Each of the trunnions 5, 5 is composed of a metal material exhibiting a sufficient rigidity. The pivots are provided on the external surface at both ends thereof. Power rollers 7, 7 are rotatably supported on the peripheries of displacement shafts 6, 6 provided at the central parts of the respective trunnions 5. Each of the power rollers 7, 7 is interposed between the input and output disks 2, 4.
Inner surfaces 2a, 4a of the input and output disks 2, 4 are disposed in a face-to-face relationship and concaved in a circular arc in section, with the pivots being centered. Then, peripheral surfaces 7a, 7a of the power rollers 7, 7 are spherically convexed and come into contact with the inner surfaces 2a , 4a.
A loading cam type pressure unit 8 is interposed between the input shaft 1 and the input disk 2. This pressure unit 8 elastically thrusts the input disk 2 toward the output disk 4. The pressure unit 8 is constructed of a cam plate 9 rotating together with the input shaft 1 and a plurality (e.g., four pieces) of rollers 11, 11 held by a holder 10. A cam surface 12 concaved and convexed in the peripheral direction is formed on one surface (right surface in FIGS. 2 and 3) of the cam plate 9. Further, a similar cam surface 13 3) is formed on an external surface (left surface in FIGS. 2 and of the input disk 2. Then, the plurality of rollers 11, 11 are rotatable about the axes in the radial directions with the input shaft 1 being centered.
With rotations of the input shaft 1 constituting a part of the toroidal type continuously variable transmission described above, the cam plate 9 rotates. Then, a cam surface 12 presses a plurality of rollers 11, 11 against a cam surface 13 formed on the outer surface of the input disk 2. As a result, the input disk 2 is pressed against the plurality of power rollers 7, 7. Simultaneously, the input disk 2 rotates when the pair of cam surfaces 12, 13 engage with the plurality of rollers 11, 11. Then, the rotations of this input disk 2 are transmitted to the output disk 4 via the plurality of power rollers 7, 7. The output shaft 3 fixed to this output disk 4 is thereby rotated.
In the case of changing the ratio of revolutions between the input shaft 1 and the output shaft 3, when effecting at first a deceleration between the input shaft 1 and the output shaft 3, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the trunnions 5, 5 are swung about pivots. The displacement shafts 6, 6 are tilted so that the peripheral surfaces 7a, 7a of the power rollers 7, 7 are brought into contact with the closer-to-center part of the inner surface 2a of the input disk 2 and with the closer-to-outer-periphery part of the inner surface 4a of the output disk 4.
Reversely, when performing an acceleration, the trunnions 5, 5 are swung as shown in FIG. 3. The displacement shafts 6, 6 are tilted so that the peripheral surfaces 7a, 7a of the power rollers 7, 7 come into contact with the closer-to-outer-periphery part of the inner surface 2a of the input disk 2 and with the closer-to-center part of the inner surface 4a of the output disk 4.
Tilt angles of the displacement shafts 6, 6 are set intermediate between those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, thereby obtaining an intermediate transmission gear ratio between the input shaft 1 and the output shaft 3.
Further, for enhancing the power transmittable by the toroidal type continuously variable transmission that is constructed and acts as described above, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. 2-163549, the arrangement has hitherto been proposed, wherein a pair of toroidal type continuously transmissions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are disposed in tandem in the power transmitting direction. FIG. 4 illustrates a structure in which the pair of toroidal type continuously variable transmissions are disposed in tandem.
A needle bearing 22 is provided between the inner peripheral surface of one end (left end in FIG. 4) of a circular-tube torque transmission shaft 14 and the outer peripheral surface of the end of the input shaft 1. The torque transmission shaft 14 is disposed concentrically with the input shaft 1. The input shaft 1 and the torque transmission shaft 14 are rotatable independently of each other.
A pair of input disks 2, 2 spaced away from each other are provided on the periphery of the torque transmission shaft 14. Ball splines 15, 15 are formed between the inner peripheral edges of the input disks 2, 2 and an outer peripheral surfaces 14a of the torque transmission shaft 14. The input disks 2, 2 are so supported on the torque transmission shaft 14 as to be impossible of rotating about this torque transmission shaft 14 but shiftable in the axial directions (right-and-left directions in FIG. 4) of the torque transmission shaft 14. Further, inner surfaces 2a, 2a of the input disks 2, 2 are each concaved in a circular arc in section.
Moreover, a pair of output disks 4, 4 are so provided between the pair of input disks 2, 2 as to be rotatable about the torque transmission shaft 14 and shiftable in the axial directions thereof. Inner surfaces 4a, 4a (inner surfaces of the disks 2, 4 imply the side surfaces of the disks 2, 4 that are disposed in a face-to-face relationship with each other in this specification) are concaved in the circular arc in section.
A ring-like output gear 18 is provided between the output disks 4, 4. This output gear 18 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of a mid-portion of a cylindrical sleeve 19. Then, this sleeve 19 is so supported on the outer peripheral surface of a mid-portion of the torque transmission shaft 14 as to be rotatable about the torque transmission shaft 14 and shiftable by a small quantity in the axial directions thereof. Further, the pair of output disks 4, 4 are spline-engaged with the outer peripheral surfaces of both ends of the sleeve 19.
The cam plate 9 is rotatably supported on one end of the torque transmission shaft 14 through a thrust ball bearing 16. This cam plate 9 is connected via a flange plate 17 to the input shaft 1 and thereby rotate integrally. Then, a plurality of rollers 11 rotatably held by a holder 10 are interposed between the cam surface 12 and the cam surface 13. The cam surface 12 is formed on the inner surface (right surface in FIG. 4) of the cam plate 9. The cam surface 13 is formed on the outer surface of one input disk 2 (left in FIG. 4). Constructed in this way is a pressure unit 8 for thrusting this one input disk 2 in such a direction as to get apart from the cam plate 9 in the axial direction of the torque transmission shaft 14.
Besides, a stopper 20 and a flat plate spring 21 are provided between the torque transmission shaft 14 and the other input disk 2 (right in FIG. 4) which does not face to the pressure unit 8. Constructed in this manner is a stopper means for restricting this input disk 2 from moving in such a direction as to get away from the pressure unit 8.
Furthermore, the trunnions 5 and the plurality of power rollers 7 are provided between the inner surfaces 2a, 2a of the pair of input disks 2, 2 and the inner surfaces 4a, 4a of the pair of output disks 4, 4. The trunnions are swung about the pivots existing in the twist positions with respect to the torque transmission shaft 14. The power rollers 7 have spherically concaved peripheral surfaces 7a and rotatably supported on the displacement shafts 6 retained by the trunnions 5. Then, the peripheral surfaces 7a of the power rollers 7 are brought into contact with the inner surfaces 2a, 4a of the input and output disks 2, 4 by dint of a pressing force of the pressure unit 8.
Based on the structure wherein the pair of toroidal type continuously variable transmissions constructed as mentioned above, a rotational torque inputted from the single input shaft 1 is transmitted to one input disk 2 via a flange plate 17, the cam plate 9 and the pressure unit 8. The input disk 2 rotates with the torque transmission shaft 14. Then, with the rotations of the torque transmission shaft 14, the other input disk 2 rotates in synchronization with one input disk 2.
The rotary motions of the pair of input disks 2, 2 rotating synchronously through the torque transmission shaft 14 are transmitted respectively via the plurality of power rollers 7 to the pair of output disks 4, 4. The sleeve 17 spline-engaged with the two output disks 4, 4 is thereby rotated. Subsequently, the rotary motion of this sleeve 19 is taken out by means of the output gear 18.
When incorporating the transmission into a front-engine rear drive vehicle, it is preferable that:
(1) the rear end of the crankshaft of the engine and the front end of the propeller shaft be located on substantially the same straight line; and PA1 (2) the components of the transmission be disposed substantially uniformly in the circumference of the straight line described above.
On the other hand, the pair of toroidal type continuously variable transmissions shown in FIG. 4 are disposed in tandem. In the case of this structure, it is impossible to, if left as it is, place the input shaft 1 connected to the crankshaft and the output shaft connected to the propeller shaft on the same straight line. Namely, a take-off shaft to which a gear meshing with the output gear is fixed inevitably deviates sideway from the line of extension of the input shaft 1 by a distance measured as a total of a radius of the output gear 18 and a radius of the above-mentioned gear. Consequently, if the take-off shaft is employed directly as an output shaft, it is impossible to locate the rear end of the crankshaft of the engine and the front end of the propeller shaft on the same straight line.
For this reason, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-2041, the input shaft 1 and the output shaft are concentrically disposed. At the same time, the front end of this output shaft is connected via the gear to the rear end of the take-off shaft. More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5, two lengths of take-off shafts 23, 23 are disposed in parallel with the input shaft 1 in a side-by-side relationship. Simultaneously, gears 24, 24 fixed to the front ends of the take-off shafts 23, 23 mesh with the output gear 18.
On the other hand, gears 25, 25 fixed to the rear ends of the take-off shafts 23, 23 mesh with a gear 27 fixed to the front end of an output shaft 26. With the construction described above, the rotating force can be transmitted between the input shaft 1 and the output shaft 26 disposed concentrically with each other.
In the case of the structure shown in FIG. 5, however, the rear end of the transmission is provided with the transmission mechanism consisting of the gears 25, 27. Therefore, a weight of the rear end portion of the transmission inevitably increases. When mounting the transmission in the automobile, the front end of this transmission is connected to the rear end of the engine. Hence, the rear end of the transmission serves as a free end. If the weight of this rear end portion increases, however, the vibrations and noises tend to undesirably augment during an operation of the engine. Besides, in the structure illustrated in FIG. 5, it is difficult to make the centers of the input disks 2, 2 and the output disks 4, 4 coincident with the centers of the power rollers 7, 7. A sufficient transmission efficiency can not be necessarily obtained.
That is, the rollers 11, 11 thrust the outer surfaces of the output disks 4, 4 upon an operation of the transmission. At this moment, the input disk 2 and the output disk 4 that are provided on the left side in FIG. 5 slightly move to the left hand in the same Figure. As a result, the centers of curvatures of the inner surfaces 2a, 4a of the two disks 2, 4 deviate from the center of curvature of the power roller 7 the peripheral surface 7a of which comes into contact with the two inner surfaces 2a, 4a. This results in a deterioration in state of the contact between the surfaces 2a, 4a, 7a. This further worsens the efficiency of transmission between the input disk 2 and the output disk 4.
Further, it is required that the input disk 2 constituting the toroidal type continuously variable transmission be impossible of relative rotations about the shaft member which supports this input disk but be so supported as to be shiftable in the axial directions. For this purpose, female splines 25 are, as illustrated in FIG. 7, formed over the entire length of the inner peripheral surface of the input disk 2 incorporated into the conventional toroidal type continuously variable transmission shown in FIG. 4.
When the female splines 25 are, as described above, formed over the entire length of the inner peripheral surface of the input disk 2, the working does not particularly become troublesome. The costs for manufacturing the input disks do not therefore increase.
On the other hand, the present inventors have devised the toroidal type continuously variable transmission (see FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of this invention) for the purpose of restraining small the vibrations and noises caused when used. In the case of this transmission, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the female splines 25 are formed not over the entire inner peripheral surface of the input disk 2 but partly in the axis direction thereof. Besides, it is required that a minor diameter R of this female spline 25 be set larger a minor diameter r (R>r) of the central hole 26 formed in the input disk 2.
The above-mentioned working of the input disk 2 shown in FIG. 8 is difficult. A problem expected is that the costs for manufacturing the input disks 2 augment if left as it is.

Toroidal type continuously variable transmission


An image processing apparatus having a first area judgment unit for judging whether an inputted pixel is an edge pixel of a character image, a second area judgment unit for judging whether the pixel in a edge area having an intensity variation level equal to, or grater than an intensity variation level of a halftone image edge area, a natural image edge selection unit for specifying an edge pixel of a halftone image based on judgments of the first area judgment unit and second area judgment unit, and a first correction unit for conduction edge enhancement processing on edge pixels of a character image, and a second correction processing unit for conducting sharpness enhancement processing on edge pixels of a halftone image.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and an image processing method, and especially to an edge processing technique.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In practice employed in an image forming apparatus such as a digital color copier, an original image obtaining by reading a document is subjected to so-called edge enhancement processing in order to increase the density of edge areas (for example, boundaries between a character image and a background image) before such an image is formed on a recording sheet. Such edge enhancement processing is carried out by an image processing apparatus installed in an image forming apparatus in order to sharpen boundaries and thus to improve visibility of, for example, characters by widening the difference in density between edge areas and background.
A conventional image processing apparatus calculates the degree of variations in intensity (density) between a target pixel, i.e., a pixel currently subjected to processing, and pixels surrounding the target pixel. The target pixel is judged to be in an edge area when the calculation results in a value equal to, or greater than a predetermined threshold value. Each pixel judged to be in an edge area is processed so as to increase or decrease the density.
This processing sharpens a boundary between a character image and a background image, so that the character image becomes more legible.
Incidentally, recent development in reprography technology has resulted in higher-resolutions employed both at a reading end and output-end, which raises the following problem. When reading and outputting an image at high-resolution, an edge area of halftone image, such as a black outline against a gray background appears poorly in contrast. One specific example is an image of a black hair against the background of a dark-haired head highlighted under illumination.
When reading and outputting an image at relatively low-resolution, in most cases, the background image and the hair is properly distinguished and separated without loss of contrast. Now, as higher-resolutions become available, quality of the sort of images as described above has now started to be checked more severely.
The above-mentioned problem is ascribable to that a document image is reproduced too faithfully when processed at higher-resolutions. Owing to characteristics of human visual system, such type of images appear higher quality to human eyes, if edge areas (outlines) as above are enhanced (corrected) in some degree to be more prominent.
A conventional image processing apparatus, however, dose not determine pixels in outline areas of a halftone image as edge pixels because an intensity of such a pixel does not differ so greatly from the surrounding pixels. In addition, although a conventional image processing apparatus manages to judge such pixels as edge pixels, the problem remains unsolved. If edge pixels of a halftone image are subjected to similar enhancement processing the one for edge areas of a character image, the halftone edge areas are excessively enhanced, and thus the resulting image appears awkward, which only ends up in image quality reduction.

Image processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, and image processing method


A handy terminal has a housing, a secondary battery embedded in the housing, and a terminal portion including a charging terminal for charging the secondary battery, and is used by gripping the housing with one hand, wherein: the housing is provided with a grip assumed region extending, within a predetermined range, upward from the lower end of the front surface, the back surface, the left-side surface, and the right-side surface in a vertical direction and capable of being touched by one gripping hand of an operator during operation; and the terminal is provided outside the grip assumed region in the right-side surface.

An order entry system which is a sort of a POS (Point Of Sale) system and which is used in a restaurant or the like has a handy terminal (mobile terminal) for a shop staff member to enter an order of a customer.
For example, a handy terminal of the type mentioned above is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The handy terminal disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a left door-like member having a touch panel display and a right door-like member having a keyboard. The left door-like member is provided with a charging terminal formed on a lower side surface thereof. The touch panel display is provided with a numeric keypad as software buttons formed in an area close to a bottom of the left door-like member. When a shop staff member (operator) enters an order of a customer, he/she grips the left door-like member with one hand in the vicinity of the area where the numeric keypad is formed and performs an operation for order entry with the other hand.
Another example of the handy terminal is illustrated in FIG. 10 at (a) and (b). In the handy terminal 80, a pair of charging terminals 85 are formed at left and right ends of a lower side surface 81hl of a left door-like member 81. In the figure, a reference numeral 70 represents a strap.

Handy terminal and handy terminal charging system capable of reducing possibility of contaminating charging terminal by operator's hand


There is provided a method and system for generating a program. The method includes detecting a number of steps for performing a task on a computing device and detecting an example relating to each of the steps, wherein the example includes input data and corresponding output data relating to the step. The method also includes, for each example, determining a rule that transforms the input data to the corresponding output data based on cues including textual features within the input data and the corresponding output data. The method further includes generating a program for performing the task based on the rules.

Users of computing devices often encounter situations in which it is desirable to perform unique data manipulation tasks. Such data manipulation tasks may involve manipulating or performing computations on specific input data to produce desired output data. However, writing computer programs to automate such data manipulation tasks may be difficult and time-consuming. Moreover, due to the potentially large quantity and complexity of the input data, performing such data manipulation tasks manually may not be feasible.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Generating programs using context-free compositions and probability of determined transformation rules