A present invention provide a lithium ion storage device capable of reliably doping a negative active material of a negative plate with lithium ions generated through dissolution of a lithium metal plate disposed in an electrode group. A conductive shielding member includes a current collecting metal foil and a negative active material layer formed on at least one surface of the current collecting metal foil. The conductive shielding member is provided between a lithium metal plate and a positive plate such that the lithium metal plate is sandwiched between the negative plate and the negative active material layer formed on the current collecting metal foil of the conductive shielding member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithium ion storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lithium ion storage devices such as lithium ion capacitors and lithium ion batteries advantageously have a high energy density, a low self-discharge rate, and good cycle performance. Therefore, in recent years, it has been expected to increase the size and the capacity of non-aqueous electrolyte storage devices to use such storage devices as power sources for automobiles such as hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. In some lithium ion storage devices, a negative plate is doped with lithium ions in advance (lithium pre-doping) to expand the voltage range of use and to increase the capacity.
One method for doping a negative plate with lithium ions in advance is, for example, to place a lithium metal plate in an electrode group before doping, dissolve the lithium metal plate to generate lithium ions, and dope a negative active material of the negative plate with the generated lithium ions. However, if the folded lithium metal plate is wound in an electrode group, a part of the lithium metal plate may pierce a separator to contact a positive plate, which may cause a short circuit between the lithium metal plate and the positive plate.
In a conventional lithium ion storage device as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-212266 (JP2010-212266A) a lithium metal plate is held on a metal foil which is a conductive shielding member to prepare a layered member. A positive plate is divided into two pieces, which are arranged with a predetermined gap therebetween. The layered member holding the lithium metal plate is disposed at a position corresponding to the gap between the two positive plate pieces. That is, the layered member is disposed at a position not facing the two positive plate pieces.
In the conventional structure, the two positive plate pieces are disposed with a predetermined gap therebetween, that is the lithium metal plate is disposed between the positive plate pieces or at a position not facing the positive plate pieces, a portion of the lithium metal plate will not pierce or pass through the separator and will not contact the positive plate pieces, thereby preventing short circuit between the lithium metal plate and the positive plate. However, it is difficult to dispose the lithium metal plate at a position not facing the two positive plate pieces. In addition, burrs produced at cut end surfaces of the two divided positive plate pieces may pierce the separator to contact the negative plate, which may cause a short circuit.


Techniques for improving the capacity of a wireless communications system using interference cancellation (IC). In an early decoding and IC aspect, a frame transmitted from a user to a base station may be decoded prior to the entire frame being received by the base station. The remaining portion of the frame may then be re-constructed at the base station prior to its reception, and cancelled from the receive signal to reduce the interference to frames received from other users. In a power control aspect for early decoding and IC, the power control target level at a local base station may be adjusted in response to successfully early decoding a frame, without affecting the overall outer loop power control operation. Further aspects include late decoding techniques for utilizing the IC of other users' signals to improve the probability of decoding a given user's frames, as well as techniques for traffic channel demodulation using channel re-estimation.

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication such as voice, packet data, and so on. These systems may be based on code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or other multiple access techniques. Such systems can conform to standards such as Third-Generation Partnership Project 2 (3gpp2, or "cdma2000"), Third-Generation Partnership (3gpp, or "W-CDMA"), or Long Term Evolution ("LTE"). In the design of such communications systems, it is desirable to maximize the capacity, or the number of users the system can reliably support, given the available resources.
In an aspect of a wireless communications system, transmissions between two units often employ a degree of redundancy to guard against errors in the received signals. For example, on a reverse link (RL) transmission from an access terminal (AT) to a base station (BS) in a cdma2000 wireless communications system, redundancies such as fractional-rate symbol encoding and symbol repetition may be employed. In a cdma2000 system, encoded symbols are grouped into sub-segments known as power control groups (PCG's) and transmitted over the air, with a fixed number of PCG's defining a frame.
While signal redundancy such as that employed in cdma2000 may allow accurate recovery of transmitted signals in the presence of noise, such redundancy may cause unnecessary interference to other users of the wireless communications system, e.g., to other AT's communicating with the BS on other reverse links. This interference may undesirably decrease the system capacity.
It would be desirable to provide techniques to improve the efficiency of digital communications systems employing redundancy.
In a further aspect of a wireless communications system, transmissions between two units may include a traffic signal and a pilot signal having known data content. While the pilot signal may aid the receiver, e.g., a BS, in recovering data from the traffic signal, the pilot signal sent by one AT may undesirably cause interference to the traffic and pilot signals sent by other AT's to the BS. It would be desirable to provide techniques to improve the accuracy of demodulating and decoding traffic signals in the presence of pilot interference.

Interference cancellation for wireless communications


A transmission request for encoded data necessary to obtain a desired image is received (S801). It is determined whether the upper limit value of the data quantity of encoded data of a tile to be sent back in response to the transmission request is designated (S802). When the upper limit value is designated, encoded data of tiles to be sent back are referred to in a desired tile order. Of data of logical units which form the encoded data of a tile to be referred to, data of a logical unit corresponding to the transmission request and header data of the logical unit are output to a memory. The data size is counted in an output order, and a data group which is output until the counting result exceeds the upper limit value is sent back (S806 and S807).

On the Internet, users actively access WWW servers from Web browsers, which are running on client terminals, to browse document data, image data, and the like on the client terminal side via the Web browsers. Each WWW server saves a document called a home page, which is prepared by describing information to be disclosed in HTML. The Web browser on the client terminal side accesses such home page and displays it on the display screen of a display device of the client terminal. Also, when the user designates a link in the home page displayed on the display device, the Web browser on the client terminal side can acquire required information by tracing a link destination indicated by the link.
Furthermore, as a method of downloading files managed by the WWW server, a method called "File Transfer Protocol" (to be abbreviated as "FTP" hereinafter) is known. The FTP is a scheme for transferring the contents of a file on the WWW server to the client computer at a time via a network.
One of techniques for transferring the whole image file at a time is to control the order of transmission data on the server side (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-50261). In this case, some regions are set as important regions on the server side, and pieces of information in these regions are encoded in order before the remaining pieces of region information. The client can determine on an early stage of transmission whether the current image is necessary or unnecessary, and can interrupt reception of the data in the middle of the operation.
As a protocol for fragmentarily accessing and displaying an image data file, Flashpix/IIP is known. This Internet imaging protocol (IIP) is optimal to the image data file format "Flashpix", and makes partial access to image data for respective tiles of Flashpix. Some conventional techniques that use this IIP protocol have been disclosed (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-49514).
With any protocol, the client terminal cannot transmit to the server side a request to limit the size of response data.
As of June, 2003, JPEG2000 image coding system—Part 9: Interactivity tools, APIs and Protocols (to be abbreviated as JPIP hereinafter) has been examined as a protocol for fragmentarily accessing and displaying a JPEG2000 file. JPEG2000 and JPIP enable access to a partial region of an image and selection of the resolution, similar to Flashpix and IIP. Also, a change of the image quality, color/monochrome switching, and setting of the size limitation of response data can be easily achieved in accordance with client requests. When JPEG2000 image data is fragmentarily transmitted using JPIP, the client must cache received fragmentary encoded data so as to decode the image. This is because encoded data of each JPEG2000 layer/level is difference data from data one layer/level lower than that layer/level.
According to the technique of setting a predetermined region as an important region on the server side, like Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-50261, the server must set and encode again an important region every time the server receives a request. Thus, the server cannot cope with various requests (e.g., a request of a partial region of an image and requests to switch the resolution, image quality, and color/monochrome) from the client using interactive image communication protocols such as IIP and JPIP.
When the response data size receivable or cacheable on the client side is limited, the client may stop reception of data by the limited size. If the server transmits data in a preset transmission order without considering the size limitation of reception data on the client side, the client may display only some of requested regions at a high definition upon decoding the received data, and may not display the remaining data. Alternatively, the client may display only some of display regions at a very high definition, and display adjacent regions unnaturally at a very low resolution.

Image processing method and image processing apparatus


A method, an apparatus and a computer-readable medium for processing seismic data are provided. The method includes selecting well-imaged areas of a sediment-to-salt interface, and performing (1) a dual-flood RTM with prismatic waves to identify new areas of the sediment-to-salt interface, and (2) one or more RTM to identify other new areas of the sediment-to-salt interface or of a salt-to-sediment interface.

In the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) (and in other locations around the world) millions of years ago, a thick layer of salt that can be thousands of feet deep was deposited by desiccation of sea water. Layers of sediment were deposited and compacted on top of the salt. Unlike sedimentary layers, salt behaves more like a fluid than a solid, changing its shape in response to surrounding sediment deposits and creating complicated fluid-like geometries. The salt present in the subsurface of the Gulf of Mexico has the appearance of solidified lava, with irregular structures of varying depth, as shown in FIG. 1. Also, unlike most sedimentary layers, which become denser with depth, salt maintains a nearly constant density at any depth. Accurate salt geometry definitions are needed for imaging sedimentary layers beneath salt.
Lately, with increasing speed and complexity of the computing resources, the imaging of geological structures under salt based on data acquired using seismic methods has become possible. Reverse-Time Migration (or RTM), which handles complex wave propagations in any direction without dip limitation, is now the standard imaging algorithm in seismic exploration. Conventional RTM salt model building is a top-down approach which consists of various steps of migration and interpretation: sediment-flood RTM and picking the top of salt (TOS), salt-flood RTM and picking the base of salt (BOS), and overhang RTM and interpretation as needed. However, in areas with complex salt geometry, such as a narrow mini-basin, the conventional approach may not be conducive to a correct salt body interpretation and can lead to poor images of formations under the salt.
Wave-fields undergo strong distortion when they propagate through the salt. Furthermore, in narrow mini-basins, the propagating wave-field becomes more complex due to multiple bounces at the sediment/salt interfaces. Ray-based migration cannot handle geological complexities, and one-way wave equation migration cannot properly handle turning and prismatic waves (i.e., waves that reflect at least twice before reaching the receiver). Although RTM provides a natural way to image prismatic waves, imaging salt surfaces around narrow mini-basin areas (i.e., deep "valleys" of sediment surrounded by the salt) can be quite difficult and ambiguous with conventional top-down salt model building. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates an image of formation layers underneath line A-A1 in FIG. 1, using conventional seismic data processing. The regions 210, 220, 230 and 240 in FIG. 2 emphasize fuzzy portions of the image due to ambiguous imaging of narrow mini-basins.
Therefore, more accurate methods for reconstructing shapes of salt based on seismic data are desirable.

Apparatus and method for reconstructing complex salt geometry using dual-flood RTM with prismatic waves


A case image search apparatus according to the presently disclosed subject matter includes: an input unit for inputting a diagnostic object image group from an imaging apparatus; an estimation unit for estimating attributes of a diagnostic object image included in the diagnostic object image group on the basis of the diagnostic object image; a calculation unit for calculating a first feature amount which is a feature amount of the diagnostic object image corresponding to the attribute estimated by the estimation unit; and a search unit for searching a database for a similar case image group similar to the diagnostic object image group by comparing the first feature amount with a second feature amount which is a feature amount of a case image included in the case image group stored in the database corresponding to the attribute estimated by the estimation unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a technique of retrieving and presenting a case image similar to an image of a diagnostic object (a diagnostic object image) on the basis of a feature amount extracted from the diagnostic object image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-217362 discloses a method of searching for a similar case concerning a liver. The method includes the steps of searching for a similar image imaged under the same imaging condition with respect to each of the imaging condition in an investigation of the liver; and displaying an image of a case having high degrees of similarity with respect to all the imaging conditions as the similar image.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-250449 discloses a technique of searching for material having a similar feature on the basis of supplementary information of an image and the feature of the image.
Japanese Patent No. 3766033 discloses a technique of recognizing a positional relationship (imaging direction) of a human body or recognizing an imaging direction and an imaged region (part).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-230086 and Japanese Patent No. 2845995 disclose a technique of recognizing blood vessels and organs on the basis of a feature amount such as contours of an image and pixel values.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2005-198887 and 2005-246032 disclose a method of automatically extracting a lesion region.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-257292 discloses a technique of searching an image concerning a similar case.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-245719 discloses a technique of extracting a lesion region on the basis of positional information of a region of interest.
T. F. Cootes, G. J. Edwards, and C. J. Taylor "Active Appearance Models", In Proc. 5th European Conference on Computer Vision, Springer 1998, vol. 2, pp. 484-498, discloses a technique of calculating a feature amount of an image in a region of interest of the image.

Case image search apparatus, method and computer-readable recording medium


A sealing member for reducing or preventing loss of air from a multi-cyclone dust separating apparatus in a vacuum cleaner is provided. A sealing member comprises an inner sealing portion for maintaining sealing between a first cyclone unit and second cyclone units, an outer sealing portion for reducing or preventing the inflow of air to the cyclone dust separating apparatus from its exterior, and a cyclone receiving portion connected to the inner and outer sealing portions by a connecting member. The cyclone receiving portion includes holes in which at least portions of the second cyclone units are respectively received.

1. Field
The following description generally relates to a sealing member for a multi-cyclone dust separating apparatus, and more particularly, to a multi-cyclone dust separating apparatus in a vacuum cleaner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vacuum cleaners having various structures and shapes have been developed and used. Vacuum cleaners having a cyclone dust separating apparatus have been increasingly used. Here, the cyclone dust separating apparatus is used to centrifugally separate dust or dirt from an air stream.
The air suction power may be maintained by a driving motor so that air sucked by a driving motor maintains a flow path in a dust separating apparatus, and dirt and/or dust is collected through the centrifugal force by rotating the air in a cyclone unit. In certain cases, more than one cyclone unit may be provided. Here, sealing is required to prevent air from being leaked between the respective cyclone units in the dust separating apparatus.
However, when sealing is performed with respect to the combination part of each of the cyclone units, for which the sealing is necessary, separate sealing members are individually manufactured, and therefore, cost and failure rate may be increased. Further, vibrations generated when driving the motor may be delivered to some of the sealing members, so that the sealing members may be detached. Therefore, the reliability of the sealing is reduced.

Sealing member for dust separating apparatus


This invention relates to composite materials for restorative dentistry. More particularly, it relates to new components for dental composites, which impart an attractive combination of good mechanical properties and low shrinkage.

In recent years, composite materials comprising highly filled polymers have become commonly used for dental restorations. Current composite materials contain crosslinking acrylates or methacrylates, inorganic fillers such as glass or quartz, and a photoinitiator system suitable for curing by visible light. Typical methacrylate materials include 2,2′-bis[4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropyl)phenyl]propane ("Bis-GMA"); ethoxylated Bisphenol A dimethacrylate ("EBPDMA"); 1,6-bis-[2-methacryloyloxyethoxycarbonylamino]-2,4,4-trimethylhexane ("UDMA"); dodecanediol dimethacrylate ("D3MA"); and triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate ("TEGDMA"). The structural formulae for these are shown below.

Dental composite materials offer a distinct cosmetic advantage over traditional metal amalgam. However, they do not offer the longevity of amalgam in dental fillings. The primary reason for failure is excessive shrinkage during photopolymerization in the tooth cavity, which can cause leakage and bacterial reentry. Another reason is they have inadequate strength and toughness, as reflected in the measured properties of flexural strength and fracture toughness. Hence, there is still a need for new monomers and new monomer combinations which, when polymerized, impart high fracture toughness and flexural strength in the resulting composite. It is also highly desirable to have low shrinkage stress on polymerization.
One of the more common commercially used monomers is Bis-GMA. However, it is highly viscous at room temperature and difficult to work with. It is therefore diluted with a second, lower viscosity polymerizable component ("fluidizer"), a methacrylate monomer, such as TEGDMA, tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate, or docecanediol dimethacrylate. However, while providing low viscosity, lower viscosity components (generally low molecular weight monomers) can contribute to increased shrinkage. Increasingly, Bis-GMA and TEGDMA have been combined with UDMA and EBPDMA, but shrinkage remains high enough that improvement is desirable.
A more efficient and effective fluidizing monomer that would allow dental composites to be formulated with higher proportions of the high-viscosity monomer while not compromising the mechanical properties or polymerization shrinkage of the system is a desirable invention. An effective fluidizing monomer could also allow the composite to be formulated at a higher filler level, further lowering shrinkage.
(Meth)acrylated adducts of caprolactone and tricyclodecanemethylol have been described as resinous coating materials for optical fibers in U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,111, but not for dental composite applications.
An adduct prepared by reaction of cyclohexanedimethanol mono(meth)acrylates with lactones has been described in JP 2000016967 for coating systems, but not for dental composite applications.
Adducts prepared by reaction of cyclohexanedimethanol with caprolactone and subsequently (meth)acrylated have been described in JP2000169431 for inks, but not for dental composite applications.
Adducts of 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol and caprolactone, not (meth)acrylated, have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,047 for coating systems, but not for dental composite applications.
A copolymer of adipic acid (erroneously translated from the Japanese as "acrylic acid" in Chemical Abstracts 136:233450), ε-caprolactone, and 2-methyl-1,1-cyclohexanedimethanol has been described in JP 2002069163 as a precursor to spandex filaments, but not for dental composite applications.
There thus remains a need for efficient and effective fluidizing monomers for dental composite materials that combine reduced shrinkage with sufficiently low viscosity, high polymerization rate, and acceptable mechanical properties.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Materials leading to improved dental composites and dental composites made therefrom


A contact device includes a housing having a housing interior, a screw having a screw head and a shaft connected to the screw head, the shaft extending along a screw axis and having a first thread, a screw locking device connecting the screw head to the housing by a force-based and/or an interlocking engagement, and a first contact element for contacting a second contact element of a further contact device. The first contact element and the screw are arranged in the housing interior.

A contact system having a contact device and a further contact device is known, wherein the contact device has a first contact element and the further contact device has a second contact element. In order to secure the first contact element to the second contact element, the contact device can have a screw and the further contact device can have a threaded bush, wherein the screw is screwed with a shaft into the threaded bush. The screw presses the first contact element against the second contact element.
This configuration is suitable in particular for high-current contact devices in motor vehicles. However, the screw can unintentionally come loose over the lifetime of the motor vehicle as a result of vibrations in the motor vehicle, and it is difficult to secure the screw against the loosening.

Contact device, contact system and method for assembling such a contact system


An electromagnetic engine has an inner rotor and an outer rotor having magnets of opposite polarity mounted thereon. Output is taken from the inner rotor, which is free to rotate in a single direction. The outer rotor is caused to oscillate, the force of magnetic repulsion between the magnetic fields of the inner and outer rotors driving rotation of the inner rotor. The outer rotor may be held stationary by solenoids and holding gears when the inner and outer magnetic fields are closely adjacent in order to maximize the force of repulsion. The timing of the oscillation and pausing of the outer rotor may be controlled by EPROM circuitry and a timing sensor mounted on the output shaft or gear.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to engines and, more particularly to an electromagnetic engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Engines are well known in the art and have been used for many years to power machinery and a variety of vehicles. Many engines use fuel as a source of energy that, when combusted, drives various mechanisms in the process of outputting power. Mechanisms are concerned with kinematics of the movement of elements, including linkages, cams, gears, and gear trains. For example, a common application of a slider-crank mechanism is in the internal combustion engine. A slider-crank mechanism includes a stationary frame, a crank, a connecting rod, and, in the internal combustion engine, a piston. Another type of mechanism used in vehicle engines is a cam and a cam follower. The cam rotates at a constant angular velocity, and the follower moves up and down. On the upward motion the follower is driven by the arm, and on the return motion by the action of gravity or a spring. In vehicle engines, two cams are used per cylinder to operate the intake and exhaust valves. One primary deficiency of typical engines is the efficiency of the engines. A constant and never-ending need exists in the engine art to provide an engine that provides increased efficiency. As such, it would be desirable to provide an electromagnetic engine that excels in operational efficiency.
Thus, an electromagnetic engine solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


A reproducing laser output can be adjusted to an optimal level. To this end, a magneto-optical disk device includes a differential amplifier and a shortest recording mark identifier that detects a shortest recording mark reproducing signal corresponding to a component of a shortest recording mark in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing a magneto-optical disk. In addition, an envelope detector detects an amplitude level of the shortest recording mark reproducing signal, a comparator compares the amplitude level with a reference voltage outputted from the reference voltage source, and a drive control section adjusts the reproducing laser beam to an output level at which the amplitude level is equal to or higher than the reference voltage, based on a comparison result from the comparator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical output adjustment apparatus and an optical output adjustment method for adjusting an optical output level of a reproducing laser used for reproducing a record mark recorded on a magneto-optical recording medium.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, attention has been paid to a magneto-optical disk as a high-density recording medium which enables rewriting of information signals. For example, the Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 6-290496 (hereinafter called a reference 1) discloses a magneto-optical reproducing method which utilizes a point that a magneto-optical disk including at least three layers of a displacement layer, a switching layer, and a memory layer as magnetic layers are used so that the size of magnetic sectors recorded on the memory layer is substantially magnified on the moving layer. For example, the magneto-optical reproducing method is a so-called DWDD (Domain Wall Displacement Detection) in which a reproducing laser beam is irradiated during reproducing such that an area in the switching layer is set to a curie temperature or more, and magnetic connection between the memory layer and the displacement layer, which corresponds to the area, is disconnected to detect a magnetic wall which moves within the area of the moving layer corresponding to an area where the magnetic connection is disconnected. In this manner, the size of the magnetic sectors recorded on the memory layer is substantially magnified on the displacement layer to enlarge the reproducing carrier signal.
In the magneto-optical reproducing method based on this DWDD, i.e., in a so-called magnetic wall displacement detection reproducing method (hereinafter called a DWDD reproducing method), it is possible to reproduce a very large information signal even from an optical limit resolution of a reproducing laser, so the recording density can be heightened without changing the wavelength of the reproducing laser beam and the numerical aperture NA of the objective leans.
Meanwhile, in the DWDD reproducing method, the output level of the reproducing laser beam must be set to a certain level which causes magnetic displacement. However, no optimal output level for the reproducing laser beam has been known. This is because the optimal output level differs depending on the conditions such as a peripheral temperature change, variants of sensitivity of between magneto-optical disks, and the like. However, if the optimal value of the output level of the reproducing laser beam cannot be grasped and the output level of the reproducing laser beam is too large, record marks recorded on adjacent recording tacks may be deteriorated.
Hence, the present invention has been made in view of the above situation and has an object of providing an optical output adjustment apparatus and an optical output adjustment method which are capable of adjusting the reproducing laser beam to an optimal output level.
To achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as an apparatus for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data.
The optical output adjustment apparatus comprises: a light source for emitting the reproducing laser beam; reproducing signal detector means for detecting a shortest recording mark reproducing signal corresponding to a component of a shortest recording mark in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium; signal amplitude level detector means for detecting an amplitude level of the shortest recording mark reproducing signal; comparator means for comparing the amplitude level with a predetermined threshold value; and optical output control means for adjusting the reproducing laser beam to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
In the optical output adjustment apparatus having the structure as described above, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a shortest recording mark reproducing signal corresponding to a component of a shortest recording mark in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment method according to the present invention is a method for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data, characterized in that, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a shortest recording mark reproducing signal corresponding to a component of a shortest recording mark in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as an apparatus for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data.
The optical output adjustment apparatus comprises: a light source for emitting the reproducing laser beam; first reproducing signal detector means for detecting a first recording mark reproducing signal corresponding to a component of a first recording mark in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium; second reproducing signal detector means for detecting a second recording mark reproducing signal corresponding to a component of a second recording mark in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium; first signal amplitude level detector means for detecting a first amplitude level of the first recording mark reproducing signal; second signal amplitude level detector means for detecting a second amplitude level of the second recording mark reproducing signal; difference value calculator means for calculating a difference value between the first and second amplitude levels; comparator means for comparing the amplitude level with a predetermined threshold value; and optical output control means for adjusting the reproducing laser beam to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value.
In the optical output adjustment apparatus having the structure as described above, based on a comparison result between a threshold value and a difference value between first and second amplitude levels of first and second recording mark reproducing signals corresponding to components of first and second recording marks having lengths different from each other in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment method according to the present invention is a method for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data, characterized in that, based on a comparison result between a threshold value and a difference value between first and second amplitude levels of first and second recording mark reproducing signals corresponding to components of first and second recording marks having lengths different from each other in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as an apparatus for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data.
The optical output adjustment apparatus comprises: a light source for emitting the reproducing laser beam; reproducing signal detector means for detecting a high-frequency reproducing signal consisting of a high-frequency component in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium; signal amplitude level detector means for detecting an amplitude level of the high-frequency reproducing signal; comparator means for comparing the amplitude level with a predetermined threshold value; and optical output control means for adjusting the reproducing laser beam to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
In the optical output adjustment apparatus having the structure as described above, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a high-frequency reproducing signal of a high-frequency component in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, an optical output adjustment method according to the present invention is a method for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data, characterized in that, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a high-frequency reproducing signal of a high-frequency component in a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as an apparatus for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data.
The optical output adjustment apparatus comprises: a light source for emitting the reproducing laser beam; differentiator means for differentiating a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium, thereby to output a differential signal; signal amplitude level detector means for detecting an amplitude level of the differential signal; comparator means for comparing the amplitude level with a predetermined threshold value; and optical output control means for adjusting the reproducing laser beam to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
In the optical output adjustment apparatus having the structure as described above, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a differential signal obtained by differentiating a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, an optical output adjustment method according to the present invention is a method for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data, characterized in that, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a differential signal obtained by differentiating a reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the magneto-optical information recording medium, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as a method for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded on a data area by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method and a reproducing power adjustment repetitive pattern constructed only by shortest marks is written in a reference area, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data.
The optical output adjustment apparatus comprises: a light source for emitting the reproducing laser beam; reproducing signal detector means for detecting a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment repetitive pattern; signal amplitude level detector means for detecting an amplitude level of the power adjustment reproducing signal; comparator means for comparing the amplitude level with a predetermined threshold value; and optical output control means for adjusting the reproducing laser beam to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
In the optical output adjustment apparatus having the structure as described above, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment repetitive pattern, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment method according to the present invention is a method for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded on a data area by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method and a reproducing power adjustment repetitive pattern constructed only by shortest marks is written in a reference area, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to-perform reproducing of the data, characterized in that, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment repetitive pattern, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as an apparatus for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded in a data area by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method and a reproducing power adjustment pattern constructed only by first and second marks having different lengths is written in a reference area, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data.
The optical output adjustment apparatus comprises: a light source for emitting the reproducing laser beam; first reproducing signal detector means for detecting a first mark reproducing signal corresponding to a component of the first mark in a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment pattern; second reproducing signal detector means for detecting a second mark reproducing signal corresponding to a component of the second mark in a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment pattern; first signal amplitude level detector means for detecting an amplitude level of the first mark reproducing signal; second signal amplitude level detector means for detecting an amplitude level of the second mark reproducing signal; difference value calculator means for calculating a difference value between the first and second amplitude levels; comparator means for comparing the difference value with a predetermined threshold value; and optical output control means for adjusting the reproducing laser beam to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value.
In the optical output adjustment apparatus having the structure as described above, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and a difference value between first and second amplitude levels of first and second mark reproducing signals corresponding to components of the first and second marks obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment pattern.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment method according to the present invention is a method for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded in a data area by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method and a reproducing power adjustment pattern constructed only by first and second marks having different lengths is written in a reference area, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data, characterized in that, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and a difference value between first and second amplitude levels of first and second mark reproducing signals corresponding to components of the first and second marks obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment pattern.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as an apparatus for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded on a data area by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method and a reproducing power adjustment repetitive pattern is written in a reference area, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data.
The optical output adjustment apparatus comprises: a light source for emitting the reproducing laser beam; reproducing signal detector means for detecting a high-frequency component in a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment repetitive pattern; signal amplitude level detector means for detecting an amplitude level of the high-frequency reproducing signal; comparator means for comparing the amplitude level with a predetermined threshold value; and optical output control means for adjusting the reproducing laser beam to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
In the optical output adjustment apparatus having the structure as described above, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a high-frequency reproducing signal consisting of a high-frequency component in a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment repetitive pattern, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment method according to the present invention is a method for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded on a data area by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method and a reproducing power adjustment repetitive pattern is written in a reference area, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data, characterized in that, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a high-frequency reproducing signal consisting of a high-frequency component in a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment repetitive pattern, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment apparatus according to the present invention is constructed as an apparatus for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded on a data area by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method and a reproducing power adjustment pattern is written in a reference area, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data.
The optical output adjustment apparatus comprises: a light source for emitting the reproducing laser beam; differentiator means for differentiating a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment pattern, thereby to output a differential signal; signal amplitude level detector means for detecting an amplitude level of the differential signal; comparator means for comparing the amplitude level with a predetermined threshold value; and optical output control means for adjusting the reproducing laser beam to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
In the optical output adjustment apparatus having the structure as described above, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a differential signal obtained by differentiating a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment pattern, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.
Also, to achieve the above object, an optical output adjustment method according to the present invention is a method for adjusting an output level of a reproducing laser beam, in a signal reproducing device which adopts a magnetic wall movement detection reproducing method, irradiates the reproducing laser beam onto a magneto-optical information recording medium on which data is recorded on a data area by recording marks having different recording lengths according to a predetermined modulation method and a reproducing power adjustment pattern is written in a reference area, and magnifies a magnetic sector by magnetic wall movement, thereby to perform reproducing of the data, characterized in that, based on a comparison result between a predetermined threshold value and an amplitude level of a differential signal obtained by differentiating a power adjustment reproducing signal obtained by reproducing the reproducing power adjustment pattern, the reproducing laser beam is adjusted to an output level which makes the amplitude level equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value.
By the reproducing laser beam whose output level is thus controlled, it is possible to obtain a reproducing signal with a lowered jitter.

Optical output adjusting apparatus based on shortest recording marks


The preferred embodiment of the putting target includes a rectangular base portion, a circular center depression, a center fencing wall, at least one overrun depression, and at least one overrun fencing wall. The circular center depression is formed in a raised upper surface of the base portion and simulates an actual golf hole. The center fencing wall, overrun depression or depression and overrun fencing wall or walls act to affect and collect golf balls that have been putted toward the putting target with the incorrect speed or precision. The putting target may be included in a kit that includes one or more putting mats with each putting mat defining a putting surface and each putting surface defining a selected texture to simulate actual putting conditions. The putting target may also be used to play a competitive putting game.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf accessories, and more specifically to a golf putting target.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of practice putting devices has become an increasingly popular means for a golfer to practice his putting away from the golf course. Learning to control the ball when putting is extremely difficult. Each green on a golf course is typically configured to challenge the golfer. When using a practice putting device, it is desirable that the device simulate a golf course putting green as closely as possible. For example, the texture of the practice putting surface should be similar to that of a typical putting green. Further, the practice putting device should have a topography that simulates the actual contours and other conditions that affect a golf ball around a golf hole and provide a variety of challenging putts.
What is needed is a golf putting practice device that can be used on a variety of different surfaces and can accurately simulate putting conditions that are most commonly seen on actual golf courses. It is desirable that the device be available as part of a kit along with one or more putting mats with putting surfaces that simulate actual putting greens. It is also desirable that the device provide a means for playing a competitive putting game. Thus, a putting target solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


Provided is an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a recording medium capable of reproducing a plurality of copies of a document bundle while reducing the storage capacity of a storage device. In the image processing apparatus, a number of copies of a document bundle to be a reading target by an image reading unit that reads image data from each of the documents included in one or a plurality of copies of a document bundle is specified. Then, in a case where the specified number of copies of the document bundle is plural, document bundle image data corresponding to one copy of the document bundle of the image data read by the image reading unit, and specification information including at least the number of copies of the document bundle specified by the specification processing unit are correlated and stored.

The present disclosure relates to an image processing apparatus that reads image data from a document.
In an image processing apparatus having an image reading function such as a scanner, a copier, a multifunction machine and the like, it is possible to read image data from each document included in the document bundle and store the image data in a storage device. This makes it possible to read the image data once read from the storage device and execute a printing process for reproducing the document bundle. Note that there is also known a technique of storing the image data in the storage device when the image data of the same document is read for the second time based on additional information added to the document.

Image processing apparatus that reads image data from documents, image processing method, and recording medium


The present invention provides a water-insoluble ink receptive coating comprising a gelatin, a water-insoluble quaternary cationic polymer, which are crosslinked together by a multifunctional cross-linking agent to form a water-insoluble ink receptive coating layer for ink jet recording. The ink receptive coatings can additionally contain a pigment to make a matte or glossy medium with no tacky feel.

The quality of waterfastness is of primary importance for today's ink jet media products. The term "waterfast" may be defined as the quality of being impervious to the effects of water. Products normally used out of doors, such as billboards, signs, etc., require protection from typical outdoor moisture sources such as rain, humidity, etc. Traditionally, non-waterfast ink jet film products have been laminated at high cost in order to enable outdoor usage. Ink jet office products also require waterfast properties to protect the printed image from typical indoor moisture sources such as humidity or the occasional spilled cup of coffee, etc.
Previous efforts to prepare waterfast ink jet film media involved mixing water-soluble polymer binders with water-soluble dye-fixing agents in an ink-receptive coating layer for an ink jet medium. While this approach can impart a certain amount of dye-fixing capability to the media, it does not give a substantially waterfast media. This is because most of the polymer binders and dye-fixing agents are water-soluble and do not give good wet adhesion to the base substrate. As a result, when contacted with water, these coatings swell and come off the substrates.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,739 discloses an ink jet recording medium comprising a support and at least one ink jet receiving layer, said ink receiving layer comprising a water-soluble polymer obtained by co-polymerizing 10-50 parts by weight of a quaternary salt monomer, 1-30 parts by weight of an amino group containing monomer or a carboxyl group containing monomer and 20-80 parts by weight of a monomer selected from acrylamide, methacrylamide, N,N-dimethacrylamide, N-isopropylacrylamide, diacetone acrylamide, N-methylolacrylamide, 2-hydroxyethyl-(meth)acrylate, and N-vinylpyrrolidone, and 0.1-30 parts by weight of a cross-linking agent.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,472,789 and 5,389,723 disclose a liquid-absorbent composition comprising a blend of (a) at least one polymeric matrix component comprising a cross-linkable polymer derived from .alpha., .beta.-ethylenically unsaturated monomers, (b) at least one polymeric liquid-absorbent component, (c) polyfunctional aziridine as a crosslinking agent, said composition capable of forming semi-interpenetrating networks wherein said at least one polymeric matrix component is crosslinked and said at least one liquid-absorbent component is uncrosslinked, said uncrosslinked liquid-absorbent component being able of being dissolved in the liquid that it is capable of absorbing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,064 claims an ink-receiving layer containing (a) a hydrophilic cross-linkable film-forming material which is crosslinked to a degree sufficient to render it waterfast, while permitting it to rapidly absorb a water-based ink, (b) a crosslinking agent that is capable of crosslinking a cross-linkable colorant/resin composition in a water-based liquid ink.
WO 96/18496 discloses a water resistant ink jet receiving medium comprising an ink receptive layer of a crosslinked vinyl amide acrylic acid or methacrylic acid or ester thereof random copolymer and a cationic resin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,064 discloses an ink-absorption layer having crosslinked gelatin in admixture with an amide in low concentration, generally less than approximately 1% or 2% by weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,837 discloses an ink-receiving layer mainly containing a water-soluble polymer and a crosslinking agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,071, entitled "Archivable Ink Jet Recording Media," discloses film media that are useful in ink jet printing, and which comprise a transparent, translucent or opaque substrate, having on at least one side thereof a water-insoluble, water-absorptive and ink-receptive matrix, said matrix comprised of a hydrogel complex and a polymeric high molecular weight quaternary ammonium salt.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,843 and WO 95/16561 disclose an ink-accepting coating layer containing (a) a water-soluble mordant that forms an insoluble compound with, and immobilizes the dyestuffs of, the ink jet inks, (b) a water-absorbing solid polymer, wherein said polymer has been rendered insoluble in water at room temperature by chemical hardening of said polymer at elevated temperature in an aqueous coating solution prior to coating of said coating solution, and (c) non-porous polymer beads dispersed in said water-absorbing polymer in an uppermost layer of said ink-accepting composition.


A light emitting element array chip includes first and second light emitting element rows including light emitting elements that are arranged in a main scanning direction in a zigzag, a first light emission signal line transmitting a light emission signal for allowing the light emitting elements forming the first light emitting element row to emit light, and a second light emission signal line transmitting a light emission signal for allowing the light emitting elements forming the second light emitting element row to emit light, wherein the first light emission signal line or the second light emission signal line is arranged in the main scanning direction between the first light emitting element row and the second light emitting element row and is provided in regions between the light emitting elements forming the first light emitting element row and between the light emitting elements forming the second light emitting element row.

(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a light emitting element array chip, a light emitting element head, and an image forming apparatus.
(ii) Related Art
In electro-photographic image forming apparatuses, such as printers, copying machines, and facsimiles, an optical recording unit irradiates a uniformly charged photoconductor with light including image information to obtain an electrostatic latent image, toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image to obtain a visible image, and the visible image is transferred and fixed onto the recording sheet, thereby forming an image. In recent years, as the optical recording unit, the following units have been used: a light-scanning-type optical recording unit that uses a laser, scans the photoconductor in the main scanning direction with laser light, and exposes the photoconductor; and an optical recording unit that uses an LED head including plural LED (Light Emitting Diode) array light sources arranged in the main scanning direction.

Light emitting element array chip, light emitting element head, and image forming apparatus


An LCD panel for a multi-display includes main electrodes disposed on an image display region and include liquid crystals that react to a voltage applied between the main electrodes, and dummy electrodes disposed on regions outside the image display region to prevent the distortion of electric fields of adjacent main electrodes. The dummy electrodes have a width of approximately 5 to 50% of a width of the main electrodes. The dummy electrodes are disposed along edges of the main electrodes in a single row.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display ("LCD") panel for a multi-display, and more particularly, to an LCD panel for a multi-display that can reduce the size of a seam in a non-image display region.
2. Description of the Related Art
A multi-display realizes a large screen by connecting multiple display panels. In earlier stages of display technology, the large screen was realized by connecting multiple Brown tubes, such as in a large television, as a display. Apparatuses that realize the large screen by connecting flat display panels such as LCDs have been made to meet the requirements for a large screen in small mobile devices such as personal digital assistants ("PDAs").
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a multi-display having a conventional LCD panel. As depicted in FIG. 1, the multi-display is realized by connecting unit panels 10. However, a black matrix 11 surrounds edge portions of the unit panel 10. Therefore, when the edges of the unit panels 10 are connected to each other, a seam where images are not seen continuously due to the black matrix 11 is formed, that is, images divided by the two panels look disconnected. Accordingly, to realize a smooth image the width of the edges of the unit panels 10 must be reduced as much as possible to minimize the size of the seam.
The edge portions of the unit panels 10 are surrounded by the black matrix 11 due to the following structural characteristics of the LCD panel. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an LCD panel for explaining a principle of distortion of an electric field between electrodes 12 of the LCD panel. As depicted in FIG. 2, in the LCD panel, liquid crystals 13 are filled between both electrodes 12 disposed in a sub-pixel unit. The LCD panel has a structure where an arrangement of the liquid crystal molecules 13 changes when a voltage is applied to the electrodes 12 from a power source 14 to selectively transmit light from a light source (not shown).
However, the electric field formed at a central portion has a different electric field than formed at end portions when a voltage is applied between both electrodes 12. That is, the electric field is formed in a straight line between both electrodes 12 at the central portion, but the electric fields formed at the end portions bend outwards. The tendency of the electric field between electrodes in regions except the end portions of the LCD panel is offset by the electrodes 12 disposed to adjacent electrodes 12, but the electric fields at the end portions of the LCD panel where there are no adjacent electrodes 12 curvedly bend outwards (as illustrated by the dotted arrows in FIG. 2). When the electric field bends, the liquid crystals at the region where the electric field bends is arranged abnormally according to the shape of the electric field. Accordingly, the transmittance of light in this region cannot be controlled as desired. A brightness deviation occurs since the brightness of the corresponding region is not displayed as desired.
To address the above-mentioned problem, as depicted in FIG. 3, multiple rows, such as two to three (2-3) rows of dummy electrodes 15 are further disposed on edge regions of the unit panel 10 where the liquid crystal 13 is not filled in order to reduce or effectively prevent the distortion of the electric field. Upper parts of the dummy electrodes 15 are covered by the black matrix 11 since the upper parts of the dummy electrodes 15 are non-image display regions. Because the dummy electrodes 15 reduce or effectively prevent the distortion of the electric field of the electrodes 12 disposed at end portions of the LCD panel that do not contribute to display image, a much lower voltage may be applied to the dummy electrodes 15 than a voltage applied to the electrodes 12. Alternatively, the dummy electrodes 15 may be left floating.
However, when a multi-display is realized using the LCD panel on which connecting edges are surrounded by the black matrix 11, an image discontinuity region is too large. That is, the black matrix 11 blocks the leakage of light at the dummy electrodes 15 which do not contribute to display image. The dummy electrodes 15, like other electrodes 12, have a size equal to a sub-pixel, and are arranged in multiple rows to affect the electrodes 12 disposed at edges of the LCD panel with a low voltage. Therefore, an overall width of the dummy electrodes 15 reaches from 200 microns (μm) to 300 microns (μm). Accordingly, when attaching the widths of the dummy electrodes 15 to form a screen, the image discontinuity region may approximately reach a total of about 400 μm to 600 μm, thereby generating very unstable images.
Accordingly, to realize a smooth multi-display image, the development of an LCD panel that can reduce the seam in the non-display region of the LCD panel is required.

Liquid crystal display panel for multi-display


An actuator and integral position sensor has increased reliability with a fail-safe mode. The actuator and sensor assembly includes a rotary actuator that has a driving shaft. A sensor rotor has the driving shaft mounted in a bore. A contactor is mounted to an outer edge of the rotor. The contactor is engaged with a resistor film as the rotor rotates. A driven shaft is mounted to the rotor in another bore. The rotor couples the driving shaft and the driven shaft together.

The present invention relates to actuators in general and in particular to a rotary actuator with an integral position sensor.
Prior actuators combined with position sensors have sensed the position of the actuator and not the device that is to be moved by the actuator. Unfortunately, in the case where there is a failure in the mechanical link between the actuator and the driven device, the position of the driven device is unknown. The position sensor coupled to the actuator will continue to report the position of the actuator even when the driven device is in a different location. Such a situation is undesirable and can be dangerous in certain applications.
An unmet need exists for an actuator with an integral position sensor that has increased reliability and is fail safe.


An irradiation apparatus particularly well suited to the irradiation of food at or near the point of consumption includes an irradiation chamber, one or more ionizing radiation sources such as x-ray tubes, and a rotating food support. In one embodiment, one or more x-ray sources are disposed axially in relation to the support. In another, one or more x-ray sources are disposed radially in relation to the support. The position of the x-ray sources in relation to the food may also be varied depending on the size of the food.

The present invention relates to the irradiation of food products using ionizing radiation such as x-rays. The invention is also applicable to irradiation in industrial, medical, sterilization or other fields in which efficient irradiation of materials is desired.
Diseases caused by contaminated food are one of the most widespread health problems in both the developed and developing countries throughout the world. The majority of these diseases, caused by biological agents such as bacteria, parasites and viral agents, are manifest by symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. The Center for Disease Control estimates that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths annually in the United States (Food-Related Illness and Death in the United States, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999.) More alarming is the fact that many of the pathogens of real concern today were not even recognized as causes of foodborne illness just twenty years ago.
These and other issues have been addressed by irradiation. The amount or dose of radiation to which food is exposed is a function of the duration of exposure to radiation, the density of the food, and the energy emitted by the irradiator. Relatively low doses can control trichnia in pork, inhibit ripening and extend shelf life of fruits and vegetables, and control insects and other pests. Higher doses control bacteria in poultry and other foods. Still higher doses control microorganisms in herbs, spices, teas, and other dried vegetables.
The following is exemplary of pathogen sensitivity in meat:
D10 values represent the x-ray dose that will result in a ten-fold reduction in pathogen concentration. Considering E. coli bacterium, the above chart shows that an irradiation dose of 4.5 kGy would ensure at least a ten billion-fold or 10 log reduction (log reduction column in the foregoing table) in concentration.
Over forty governments have established regulations permitting the irradiation of a wide variety of foods. Within the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of ionizing radiation for pathogen reduction, food preservation and disinfection for approximately 80% of the food supply. Applications now under consideration for ready-to-eat foods and shellfish will, if approved as expected, allow for irradiation of virtually all foods excepting fin fish. Regulations governing the irradiation of food are published at 9 CFR 179.26. Exemplary doses for certain foods are summarized below:
The FDA has granted clearance for food irradiation using ionizing radiation from three sources that have been shown to produce equivalent pathogen reductions. The approvals cover gamma rays from radioactive cobalt-60 or cesium-137, linear accelerators producing electrons at energies below 10 million electron volts, and x-rays generated from machine energies of less than 5 million electron volts.
While there are a number of large scale facilities in the United States that employ radiation technology for sterilizing of a range of products such as medical supplies, only a fraction are dedicated to food products. Common characteristics of these systems are their bulk size, scale and cost. Another common characteristic is a continuous conveyor system that supplies the food product into the irradiation chamber. Examples of such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,281 to Bosshard, entitled Irradiation Plant; U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,856 to Bidnyy, et al., entitled Conveyor-Type Unit for Radiation Sterilization; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,652 to Ransohoff, entitled Irradiation Device.
Capital costs for large, production scale systems are substantial. Furthermore, the radiation sources must be shielded, often by several feet of concrete, and still provide access for food products delivered on the continuous conveyor system. To minimize per pound irradiation costs for food products, the units are often operated continuously with the typical capability to process one hundred thousand pounds of food daily. To achieve these efficiencies, the units must be located in central food processing or distribution centers that are remote from the consumer.
Machines utilizing electrons to sterilize food such as manufactured by BioSterile Technology, Inc. of Fort Wayne, Ind. are the most compact of these large production scale systems as a result of the limited penetration capability of its charged electrons. In this instance the irradiation chamber with a volume of 3.3 cubic feet is but a small component of the overall system dimensions. Nonetheless, even with a relatively small irradiation chamber, the overall size and cost of such systems remains substantial.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,255 to Kirk, entitled System for X-Ray Irradiation of Blood describes a smaller scale, batch irradiator for x-ray beam irradiation of blood contained within a transfusion bag. The bag is placed within a 15.5xc3x9712xc3x974 cm canister which limits the bag to a maximum thickness of 4 cm. A first x-ray tube is positioned to irradiate the bag from a first side, and a second tube is positioned to irradiate the bag from the opposite side. An alternate embodiment includes a single x-ray tube, which is used to irradiate the first side of the bag for a preselected time period. Thereafter, the bag is rotated, and the opposite side is irradiated for an equal period of time. In either embodiment, the distance from the output port of the x-ray tube(s) to the near side of the bag is 23 cm, and the beam geometry is selected so that the beam diameter is at least 15.5 cm at this distance. Accordingly, the extent of the x-ray beam is sufficient to irradiate the entire 15.5xc3x9712 cm extent of the bag. One disadvantage of such a system is its bulk, as the distance between the output ports of the two x-ray tubes is some 50 cm. Of this distance, the blood to be irradiated occupies at most only 4 cm, with the remainder being air. As the intensity of the x-radiation received by the blood is inversely related to the square of the separation, the intensity of the radiation received by the bag is also relatively small. Moreover, a substantial portion of the x-rays does not impinge on the blood and therefore does not contribute to its irradiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,951 B 1 to Joehnk, et al., entitled Process for Irradiating Producing Constant/Depth Dose Profile discloses an apparatus for irradiating a target material wrapped around an annular reel. The reel is rotated about an axis perpendicular to the sweep of a beam of ionizing radiation. The objective of the arrangement is to create either a constant or a linear relationship between the depth of the target material and the received dose. Joehnk teaches that the perpendicular relationship been the axis of rotation of the reel and the direction of beam sweep is critical to the function of the invention. The electron beam source is located at a distance from the target material such that beam extent is greater than the target material extent. In addition, the target material must be wrapped around the reel and occupies only a portion of the reel""s diameter. In one exemplary embodiment, a material having a thickness of 1.5 inches (3.81 cm) is disposed on a 10 inch diameter (25.4 cm) core; in another a material having a thickness of 1 inch (2.54 cm) disposed on an 8 inch (20.3 cm) diameter core. These factors likewise decrease the efficiency and increase the relative size of the apparatus.
Aspects of the present invention address these matters, and others.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a food irradiation apparatus includes an x-ray source which generates and x-ray beam, and a rotating support disposed in proximity to the x-ray beam. Rotation of the support causes successive portions of the food to be exposed to the first radiation beam.
According to a more limited aspect of the invention, the x-ray source is disposed axially in relation to the food.
According to a more limited aspect of the invention, the apparatus includes a second x-ray source disposed on a side of the support opposite from the first x-ray source. According to a still more limited aspect of the present invention, the support rotates about an axis of rotation and the x-ray sources are equidistant from the axis of rotation. According to another more limited aspect of the invention, the support is disposed between the first x-ray source and the food and the second x-ray source is disposed in relation to the food such that rotation of the support causes successive portions of the food to be exposed to the second radiation beam. The distance between the second x-ray source and the support may be adjustable.
According to another more limited aspect of the present invention, the support rotates about an axis of rotation and the relative distance between the axis of rotation and the support is adjustable.
According to another more limited aspect of the invention, the x-ray source is disposed radially in relation to the food. In a still more limited aspect, the support rotates about an axis of rotation and the distance between the first x-ray source and the axis of rotation is adjustable. The relative positions of the food and the radiation source in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation may also be adjustable.
According to another more limited aspect of the invention, means for determining a dimension of a container supported by the support is included.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an irradiation apparatus includes a rotating support for supporting an objected to be irradiated and a first source of ionizing radiation. The source is disposed axially in relation to the object. Rotation of the support improves a uniformity of the radiation dose received by the object.
According to a more limited aspect of the invention, the radiation source is offset from the axis of rotation of the support. According to another more limited aspect of the present invention, the apparatus includes means for varying a position of the radiation source in at least one of an axial or radial direction. According to another more limited aspect, a sensor for determining a dimension of the object may be provided.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a batch irradiation apparatus includes an irradiation chamber and a door which provides access to the chamber for selectively inserting and removing the object. The apparatus also includes an x-ray source which generates a radiation beam that impinges on a portion of the object and a means for varying the relative positions of the x-ray source and the object so that the radiation beam impinges on successive portions of the object.
According to a more limited aspect of the invention, the object comprises food and the apparatus includes an operator input device for identifying the type of food.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for irradiating a quantity of food typically encountered in the home includes inserting the quantity of food into an irradiation chamber through an access port, turning on an x-ray source, varying the relative positions of the x-ray source and the food such that successive portions of the food are exposed to the x-rays generated by the source, turning off the x-ray source, and removing the quantity of food from the irradiation chamber through the access port.
One advantage of the present invention is that an apparatus and method particularly well suited to irradiating food at or near the point of use may be provided. Another advantage is that quantities of food as are typically encountered in residential and residential/small scale commercial environments may be economically irradiated.
Another advantage is that a relatively small and economical irradiation apparatus may be provided.
Still other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be understood by those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the attached description.


A tool for machining parts and particularly surfaces of parts includes a machining head and a main, supporting body (3) made of carbon fibers bonded by a polymer binder and additionally contains polyhedral multilayer carbon nanostructures of the fulleroid type having e.g. a layer-to-layer distance of 0.34-0.36 nm, taken in a quantity of 0.05-50 wt % of the mass of the polymer binder. The main body thereby obtains an increased stiffness and strength.

A tool for machining surfaces of parts usually comprises a main body and a cutting, milling, or polishing edge or head. An insufficient rigidity of the main body of such a tool and the vibrations resulting therefrom when the tool is used can result in a reduced efficiency of and a reduced accuracy of the machining operation and also heating of the main body, can require a higher driving power, and the operation of such a tool may also be accompanied with considerable noise. To adapt the tool to the operation conditions, various additional devices can be used which reduce the vibration of the main body and which thus can be called vibration damping, shock-absorbing or vibration attenuating devices.
A tool for cutting material, including a main body configured as a metal rod and a cutting edge, is disclosed in the published International patent application WO 02/45892, where the main body is fitted with several damping elements. The damping elements are made of the same metal as that of the main body or of another metal and are designed as variously shaped plates that are mounted to the surface of the main body.
Separate damping plates, however, may create difficulties in the balancing of the tool and may be unreliable in operation.
In the published European patent application 1266710 a tool for machining is disclosed having a main body comprising two parts. The upper part has a cylindrical recess and the lower part has a cylindrical protrusion fitting in the cylindrical recess of the upper part with a gap. A pad made from viscous elastic material is inserted into the gap. It is stated that the pad absorbs vibration without causing heating.
Such a structure, however, may not ensure a sufficient rigidity and allows the tool to be damped only in the region of low frequencies; and therefore, the cutting rate/speed and the finish quality cannot be increased.
Another tool for machining surfaces of parts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,077 and includes a main body and a machining head, the main body being substantially made from a composite high-rigidity material including e.g. carbon fibres bonded with high molecular-weight polymer fibres, or generally "carbon fibres, kevlar fibres, glass fibres, synthetic material fibres, plastic materials enriched with extremely hard substances (silicates), sheets of carbon fibres arranged alternately with glass fibres or also sintered carbon". The tool is designed for cutting, polishing and other machining of surfaces of glass, wood, brick, ceramics, granite and similar materials. Pieces of a composite material may generally have a vibrating and damping effect when machining such materials.
When machining metal parts, however, the rigidity and elasticity of the tool should be higher than when polishing, particularly, parts of materials such as stone, ceramics, glass, etc.


A continuous oven comprising cascading conveyors. In one embodiment the oven comprises an oven floor, a ceiling, a left panel, and a right panel. The oven floor and ceiling are attached by the left and right sides defining an oven cavity. Located inside the oven cavity is at least one cascading conveyor. Also within the oven cavity is a partition which separates the oven into an upstream end and a downstream end.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a convection oven.
2. Description of Related Art
Convection ovens are used in the art to heat or dehydrate products. FIG. 1 illustrates a rear end review of a prior art convection oven 101. The oven 101 has a conveyor 105 upon which product 106 rests. The width of the conveyor 105 is illustrated. The conveyor 105 travels in the direction perpendicular to the width. The oven has a plenum 102 through which heated air is supplied to the oven. The plenum 102 directs air above and below the conveyor. Air is introduced to the product 106 through nozzles 104.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the conveyor 105 and the nozzles 104 need to be frequently inspected, cleaned, and repaired. Currently, this is accomplished by removing access panel 103. Access is not provided through the plenum 102 as this would require completely disassembling many parts of the oven 101. Consequently, access is limited to the access panel 103 which can only be reached after removing the oven shell 120. As can be seen, accessing nozzles 104 as well as the conveyor 105 located on the left of FIG. 1 is very difficult, particularly for wide and long industrial sized ovens. Thus, it is desirable to provide an oven with increased accessibility for cleaning and repairs while maintaining operating conditions in the oven.

Continuous oven with a cascading conveyor


A surgical instrument system for ophthalmic surgery in an eye is provided, comprising: an OCT apparatus including an interferometer; an optical fiber coupled to the OCT apparatus and extending a probe arm of the interferometer; a hand tool comprising: a hand piece, a tube extending away from the hand piece and comprising a distal end portion having a longitudinal axis, wherein a distal portion of the optical fiber is received within the tube; a beam emitter coupled to a tip end of the optical fiber and configured to emit an OCT measuring beam into an emission direction; and an actuator configured to change the emission direction of the OCT measuring beam relative to a tip end of the distal end portion.

In a cataract surgery, a phacoemulsification needle is inserted into the capsular bag of a patient's eye through the cornea and the anterior chamber. Ultrasonic energy is supplied to the needle to emulsify the crystal lens of the eye. Emulsified pieces of the crystal lens are aspirated by the needle, and viscoelastic fluid is supplied through the needle into the capsular bag. An intraocular lens (IOL) is inserted into the capsular bag after the crystal lens has been removed by such processing.
In other techniques of eye surgery, a phakic intraocular lens (PIOL) is inserted into the anterior chamber of the eye or into the posterior chamber of the eye, without removing the crystal lens of the eye.
To obtain an optimal result in such surgery, where an intraocular lens is implanted into the anterior chamber, the posterior chamber or the capsular bag, it is important to select an intraocular lens of a size suitable for a patients eye. Lens sizes for anterior chamber phakic intraocular lenses and for posterior chamber phakic intraocular lenses have commonly been estimated by adding 0.5 to 1.0 mm to the horizontal white-to-white corneal diameter. However, the white-to-white corneal diameter is not a reliable indicator for the angle diameter of the anterior chamber and the sulcus diameter, also referred to as sulcus-to-sulcus diameter, of the posterior chamber. In particular, it is difficult to determine the sulcus diameter and the diameter of the capsular bag from outside of the eye since the iris prevents optical measurements of the corresponding tissue portions of the eye.
It is desirable to provide methods and systems suitable for measuring geometries of eye tissues.


An overlay mark for checking alignment accuracy between a former layer and a later layer on a wafer is described, including a former pattern as a part of the former layer, and a later pattern as a part of a patterned photoresist layer defining the later layer. The former pattern has two parallel opposite edges each forming a sharp angle α with the x-axis of the wafer. The later pattern also has two parallel opposite edges each forming the sharp angle α with the x-axis of the wafer.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to integrated circuit (IC) fabrication, and particularly to an overlay mark for checking the alignment accuracy between a former layer and a later layer on a wafer, and a method of checking alignment accuracy with the overlay mark.
2. Description of Related Art
Overlay marks are generally formed on a wafer to check the alignment accuracy between a former layer and a later layer. Currently, the most popular type of overlay mark is the so-called box-in-box (BIB) overlay mark.
FIG. 1 shows a top view of a prior art BIB overlay mark together with patterns in a device region. The BIB overlay mark typically includes, in an overlay mark region 14 usually in the scribe line region (not shown) of a semiconductor wafer, a square-ring pattern 100b as a part of a former layer, and a box pattern 110b as a part of the patterned photoresist layer defining a later layer formed after the former layer is patterned. The pattern 100b is defined together with the pattern 100a of the former layer in the device region 12. The pattern 110b is defined together with the pattern 110a of the later layer in the device region 12, and is surrounded by the ring pattern 100b. It is expected that the x- and y-shifts of the box pattern 110b relative to the ring pattern 100b reflect the x- and y-directional overlay errors between the former layer 100a and the later layer 110a in the device region 12.
However, when the device patterns are not oriented in the x- or y-direction of the wafer, the conventional overlay mark does not have the same response as is the patterns in the device region and hence can no longer reflect the behaviors of the device features. A reason causing this problem is that the rotated patterns in combination with the illumination source induce various aberrations to which the device patterns and the above overlay mark have different responses. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the box pattern 110b in the overlay mark region 14 may be shifted to the opposite direction in the x-axis direction in relation to the shifted pattern 110a of the later layer in the device region 12. The positional shift of the box pattern 110b in the x- or y-direction may be different from that of the pattern 110a in the device region 12 due to aberrations.