A Portulaca plant particularly distinguished by having a cherry red flower color, flower blooming period from spring to fall and a semi-mounding, upright, and vigorous plant growth habit, is disclosed.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct variety of Portulaca plant, botanically known as Portulaca oleracea, and referred to by the variety name 'SAKPOR002'. 'SAKPOR002' originated from a hybridization in Kakegawa, Japan in 2006 between the female Portulaca line 'Mo04-20B-V3', an unpatented proprietary Portulaca breeding line having a red flower color and creeping growth habit, and the male Portulaca line 'BB03-294', an unpatented proprietary Portulaca breeding line with a red flower color and bushy growth habit.
In August 2006, the female parent line 'Mo04-20B-V3' and male parent line 'BB03-294' were crossed and F1 seeds were obtained. In May 2007, the F1 seed was sown in the greenhouse, cultivated and plant lines were produced with red, cherry red, rose, and yellow flowers having a bushy and vigorous plant habit. The plants were evaluated and plant line 'K2008-138' was selected for its cherry red flower color, flower blooming period from spring to fall, and vigorous plant growth habit.
In May 2008, 'K2008-138' was vegetatively propagated, cultivated, and evaluated. In August 2008, 'K2008-138' was confirmed to be fixed and stable. In May 2009, May 2010, and May 2011, 'K2008-138' was vegetatively propagated to reconfirm its stability. 'K2008-138' was subsequently named 'SAKPOR002' and its unique characteristics were found to reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation via vegetative cuttings.


A spark erosion machine tool is equipped with a drive head carrying, at an angle to its moving direction, a plurality of drive slides, with a stationary work piece holder, and with a plurality of movable spark erosion electrode mounting bucks. The drive slides (4) cooperate with the mounting bucks (20) for converting the movement of the drive head into a movement of the spark erosion electrodes. For example, when the drive head is a ring, its axial movement relative to a round work piece, such as a combustion chamber of a jet engine, is converted into radial movements of the erosion electrodes for plunge cutting cooling slots or openings into the outer jacket of the combustion chamber. Thus, many slots can be cut simultaneously. The movable mounting bucks (20) carry electrode holders (16) and the bucks are movably supported on guide rods (25) in the stationary work piece holder. The electrodes with their holders are guided in slots (14) of the work piece holder. The drive slides (4) are guided in slots (15) of the work piece holder (13).

A spark erosion machine tool capable of performing a plunge cut is disclosed on page 25 of a book entitled "Elektroerosive Metallbearbeitung" (Electro-erosive Metal Working) by Manfred Feurer, published 1983, by Vogel Book Publishers, Wuerzburg, Federal Republic of Germany. The cutting of an inner groove is shown in FIG. 2.4. The known machine is capable of plunge cutting an inner groove in a round hollow work piece by means of a single electrode. Such machine tool is not suitable for operating a plurality of electrodes simultaneously.
German Patent Publication (DE-AS) 2,355,373 describes an apparatus for changing the direction of the feed advance motion in machine tools, especially for an electro-erosive or electrochemical working of a work piece. Here again, the known apparatus is capable of operating but one electrode. This known apparatus is not suitable for conversion to use with a plurality of electrodes, nor is it suitable for use on work pieces having a round configuration. The effort and expense for any conversion in this respect would be prohibitive because each electrode would require its own operating mechanism.


Provided are nonvolatile memory devices and methods of operating thereof. The nonvolatile memory devices include: dummy cells connected to a dummy bit line; and a dummy bit line bias circuit providing a dummy bit line voltage to the dummy bit line during a program operation, wherein, due to the dummy bit line voltage, at least one of the dummy cells is programmed with a threshold voltage lower than the top programmed state and higher than an erased state during the program operation.

The present disclosure herein relates to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly, to nonvolatile memory devices and methods of operating thereof.
In general, semiconductor memory devices are largely classified into volatile memory devices and nonvolatile memory devices. The volatile semiconductor memory device has a fast read or write speed but loses its stored contents when external power supply is cut off. On the contrary, the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device retains its stored contents even if external power supply is cut off. Therefore, the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device may be used to memorize the contents that need to be stored regardless of power supply. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory device may include a mask read-only memory (MROM), a Programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), and an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).
Generally, MROM, PROM, and EPROM may have difficulties performing erase and write operations without additional devices and thus general users may have difficulties updating their memory contents. On the contrary, EEPROM is capable of electrically performing ease and write operations and thus becomes extensively applied to system programming or an auxiliary memory device, which requires continuous update. A flash EEPROM (hereinafter, referred to as a flash memory) has a higher degree of integration than a typical EEPROM and thus may be advantageous to an application requiring a high capacity auxiliary memory device. Among flash memories, a NAND type flash EEPROM (hereinafter, referred to as a NAND-type flash memory) has a higher degree of integration than other flash memories.
A flash memory device based on the above-mentioned EEPROM technology may store a large amount of information. Then, the flash memory device may read stored information at any time. Due to a demand for a high capacity of a flash memory device, the degree of integration in memory cells has been increased. Moreover, many efforts are being made to store multi-bit data in one memory cell in order to achieve high capacity.
Furthermore, due to the high capacity, interference between memory cells may increasingly affect performance of the memory cells. Reliability of data is affected by interference between memory cells and dummy cells and between bit lines and dummy bit lines.

Nonvolatile memory devices having dummy cell and bias methods thereof


A method for retroactively recording from a circular buffer comprising the steps of (A) determining a starting point in the circular buffer, (B) generating a linear buffer by breaking the circular buffer before the starting point and (C) appending to an ending point of the linear buffer.

Conventional video cassette recorders (VCRs) can implement a one-time record (OTR) feature where a user starts recording current program material at a current location on the tape cassette. Since conventional VCRs do not buffer program material prior to the activation of the recording feature, material prior to activating the recording is not captured. Consequently the first part of a program is often lost, as the user typically decides to activate a one-time recording after a particular program has begun. Recording only a portion of desired program material is unattractive to the user.
Current hard disk drive based digital video recorder (DVR) or personal video recorder (PVR) products tend to emulate the behavior of a VCR. However, unlike a VCR, some portion of the program material prior to the activation of one-time recording has usually been buffered within the DVR.
A DVR typically has two modes of recording operation (i) time shift mode and (ii) background record mode. The time shift mode entails recording a program currently being broadcast for short term manipulation at the convenience of the user. Examples of short term manipulation include pausing the current program (perhaps in response to an external interruption) or instant replay of a sequence in the current program (perhaps a personalized review of important action in a sporting event).
During time shift, the current program is recorded to a time shift buffer. Since the user may rewind (or review) the program at any time, the current program is always being recorded, even when it is being watched live. When the length of the time shift operation exceeds the length of the time shift buffer, the DVR writes the more recent program material over the oldest material in the time shift buffer. Consequently, the short term manipulation is limited to that portion of the current program material stored in the time shift buffer. The short term manipulation creates a lag between the real time broadcast of the program and the point in the program currently being displayed.
In the case of the pause operation, either the operation may be limited to the length of the time shift buffer, such that the material being displayed when the pause operation was started is overwritten with newer program material when the limit of the time shift buffer is reached, or the operation may cause the time shift buffer to be expanded (subject to available storage space), such that a time-shifted program will have the program material wholly contained within the time shift buffer prior to the pause point and the additional program material recorded between the pause point and the live program broadcast.
The background record mode entails the recording of an entire broadcast program for playback at a later time. Recording is initiated at a fixed time, set by the user either directly by channel, time and duration, or indirectly via an electronic program guide (EPG). The user may watch the program being recorded (in real time, or with some time delay) or watch a different program. During background record, the program is recorded to a linear buffer. The length of the program to be recorded dictates the length of the buffer (assuming sufficient space is available) Normally, the buffer is only overwritten if the program is erased and the space is freed for a later recording.
If the user activates a one-time record, the conventional DVR will switch from time shift mode to background record mode. The DVR will then record to the linear background record buffer in place of the circular time shift buffer. The program material contained in the time shift buffer will not be preserved in a conventional DVR.
It would be desirable to implement a personal video recorder that would retroactively record all or part of a live/time-shifted program after the program has begun.

Method and/or apparatus for retroactive recording a currently time-shifted program


An intermediate support for a retractable roll awning. The support is positioned between two end brackets and provides additional support. The support includes a two support surfaces for supporting the roll awning in two directions. Alternatively, the support may comprise a single curved support surface. The support surface or surfaces include an arrangement for reducing friction.

This invention relates generally to retractable awnings, and more particularly, to an intermediate support for a retractable awning for use with recreation vehicles having retractable slide-out portions.
Typical vehicles which must be transported over the roads, such as travel trailers and motor homes, are restricted in width to about eight feet. Any vehicle having a greater width usually requires a wide load permit. This width limitation severely limits the interior lay-out of the vehicle. Therefore, some recreational vehicles have been provided with retractable structures generally referred to as a xe2x80x9cslide-outsxe2x80x9d or slide-out rooms have been provided in many recreational vehicles. Such slide-outs are generally rectangular, and in some instances, extend lengthwise of the vehicle for substantial distance. Further, because of their size, such slide-outs are generally moved between the retracted and extended position by powered actuators. An example of a slide-out is illustrated in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,132.
It is customary to form the roof of the slide-out as a flat surface extending parallel to the roof of the vehicle. Such slide-out roofs, which are flat and extend horizontally, tend to collect leaves, snow, dirt and other debris. Although seals have been provided for slide-outs to resist the movement of such debris into the vehicle interior when the slide-out is retracted, difficulty is often encountered because such debris is carried past the seal and enters the interior of the vehicle when the slide-out is retracted for road travel.
In order to prevent the collection of debris on the roof of a slide-out, a retractable awning system has been provided in which a retractable awning was mounted so as to cover a substantial portion of the roof of the slide-out when the slide-out was extended. The intention of such awning was to cause any rain, snow, leaves or other debris to collect on the surface of the awning, and not on the roof, per se. The awning is structured so that as the slide-out is retracted, the awning rolls up on a roll journaled at the outer surface of the slide-out and drops the debris harmlessly on the ground. The roll is supported and journaled by a pair of brackets located at either end of the roll. Such a retractable awning is illustrated and described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,687.
For especially long rolls, since they are only supported at their ends, the middle section of the roll may tend to sag or bow. The disadvantage of such sagging is an untidy appearance, as well as diminished shedding of water and debris.
The present invention provides a recreational vehicle comprising a side wall, a slide-out room extendable from the side wall of the vehicle, a roll awning journaled to the slide-out room by a pair of brackets at ends of the roll awning, the roll awning comprising a fabric having one edge secured to the side wall. The recreational vehicle further comprises an intermediate support attached to the slide-out room and comprising a supporting surface that supports the roll awning at a location between the pair of brackets as the slide-out room is being extended from the side wall.

Recreational vehicle slide-out awning with intermediate support


A leak detection and shut-off apparatus for preventing damage from leaking hot water tanks. The invention features a unique three-layered sensor that completes encases the hot water tank thus detecting the occurrence of leaks anywhere on the tank. Circuitry controls the sensor that provides for accurate detection of even small amounts of moisture so that any potential leak problems can be remedied before a major spill occurs. The device also features a water shut off control mechanism plus audible alarm in the event a leak is detected. The unit is powered by connecting it to 110 house current. A 9 volt battery back-up is provided in case of power failures.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a water leak detecting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A long standing problem in the area of containers, particularly hot water tanks, is that if a leak or break were to occur in the tank, no practical means or methods exist for terminating the water input to the tank unless one is physically present at the time the leak initiates. An extended period of leakage may cause substantial damage to carpeting and flooring as well as ceilings, walls and furniture especially if the leak should occur on an upper floor of a multistory structure. Every year millions of dollars are lost in property damages and lost revenue to businesses due to hot water tank leaks.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,533, issued to T. H. Collins discloses an automatic water cut off water heaters that is a mechanical device that is not designed to sense a leak which occurs at the lateral sides or top of the hot water tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,857, issued to Lancia et al., discloses a probe-type liquid detector that has a limited area of sensor sensitivity. It utilizes a probe-type sensor that must rely on the water leakage from the hot water tank to flow where the sensor is place. The detector also has a test operation mode that will test the audible alarm of the detector but does not test the sensor circuitry of the detector.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,297,686, issued to Tom, discloses a water detection device with a combined extended probe liquid detection and shut-off system. A solenoid-type shut-off valve is utilized which is unsuitable for long term, unattended applications due to substantial electrical current drain required. The extended probe requires a slow, steady stream of water to activate the alarm. The probe will not detect small drops of surface water, often an early warning of a hot water tank leak.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,662, issued to Moody, discloses a hot water heater failure protection device with solenoid that senses accumulation of moisture or liquid below the tank, that is, in the so-called drip pan. The device utilizes a ground fault interrupter circuit which for its operation requires that the hot water failure system be continuously powered by a 110 volt alternating current. Accordingly the system presents a potential safety hazard and requires considerable cost in operating power.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,650, issued to Hoiberg, discloses the use of an elongated filament like sensor that is placed around the base of the hot water tank. This type of sensor is susceptible to dirt and dust which can impede the sensitivity. The system must also be turned off when cleaning the area where the sensor is located which requires remembering to turn the unit back on again.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,605, issued to Dowling et al., discloses a fluid vessel overflow system that is powered by an external electrical power source and utilizes a solenoid-type valve which will not function in the event of a power failure. The system does not provide an audible alarm or a visual alarm to notify the owner that water is leaking from the vessel. Since the solenoid is only actuated during a leak, deposits that can accumulate in pipes and valves over a period of time may impede the actuation of the solenoid-type valve and the stepdown transformer may not provide the electrical current required to overcome the impedance that deposits can cause.
A system that automatically detects leaks, activates an alarm in the building or at some other location and shuts off the water supply to the leaking hot water tank is not found in prior art.


A waste heat recovery apparatus for use with an internal combustion engine includes a working fluid circuit having a first heating line and a second heating line parallel to the first heating line, a first heat exchanger in the first heating line operatively connected to transfer heat energy to the working fluid from a waste exhaust flow of an internal combustion engine, a second heat exchanger in the second heating line operatively connected to transfer heat energy to the working fluid from recirculating exhaust gas the internal combustion engine, and a recuperative heat exchanger operatively connected to transfer heat energy to the working fluid in the first heating line from the working fluid at a junction of an expander outlet and condenser inlet.

Waste heat recovery systems can make available for use energy in exhaust gases that would otherwise be lost. When incorporated in a vehicle with an internal combustion engine, waste heat recovery systems add certain advantages. For example, the waste heat recovery system can be designed to recover heat from the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) system, which reduces the cooling load on the engine cooling system.
In addition, a waste heat recovery system can extract useful energy from the exhaust gas exiting the tail pipe or exhaust stack, which would otherwise be lost to the environment.
The invention provides a method and apparatus for improving the recovery of waste heat from an internal combustion engine exhaust. The recovery of additional energy improves efficiency of the system as a whole.
In addition, according to one aspect, the invention improves the operation of the waste heat recovery system itself, by, for example, reducing the cooling load on a waste heat recovery system condenser.
Further, by preheating the working fluid before it enters an exhaust gas heat exchanger, the exhaust gas remains at a higher temperature, avoiding condensation in an exhaust gas flow.
A waste heat recovery apparatus for an internal combustion engine may include a working fluid circuit on which are connected an expander for converting heat energy to mechanical or electrical energy, a condenser, a pump for moving the working fluid through the circuit, and a first heat exchanger for transferring heat from the internal combustion engine exhaust to the working fluid.
According to the invention, the working fluid circuit includes a first heating line and a second heating line in parallel with the first heating line. A first heat exchanger or boiler is connected in the first heating line and operatively connected to an exhaust gas conduit carrying exhaust gas to a stack outlet or tail pipe.
A second heat exchanger is provided in the second heating line by connecting the working fluid circuit to an exhaust gas recirculation cooler configured to transfer heat to the working fluid from the exhaust gas being recirculated to the engine air intake.
A valve downstream of the pump and responsive to an enthalpy demand of the waste heat recovery system controls the flow and distribution of working fluid into the first heating line and second heating line.
Alternatively, a pump may be positioned, on each of the first heating line and the second heating line, both pumps downstream of a junction where the working fluid circuit branches into the two heating lines, each pump being controlled responsive to the enthalpy demand of the system to pump a flow of working fluid into the respective heating line. The pumps may be variable speed or variable output pumps. Alternatively, each of the first heating line and second heating line may include a bypass arrangement, including a bypass line and valve, to carry a portion or all of the pump output and return it to the condenser, the pump inlet, or a reservoir tank.
Enthalpy demand takes into account the output demand of the waste heat recovery system, the available heat energy from the engine exhaust, and internal limitations of the system, such as a temperature limit of the working fluid, heat rejection load on the condenser, and other factors as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
According to another aspect of the invention, a recuperative heat exchanger is operatively connected to transfer heat from working fluid at the junction of the expander outlet and condenser-inlet (a higher-temperature, lower-pressure location) to the first heating line upstream of tire first heat exchanger (a lower-temperature, higher-pressure location).
Advantageously, the recuperative heat exchanger recycles some of the heat that would otherwise be rejected through the condenser as waste heat; thus, an effect of the recuperative heat exchanger is to increase the overall energy-conversion efficiency. In addition, the recuperative heat exchanger removes heat energy from the working fluid that would otherwise have to be removed by the condenser, thus lessening the cooling demand on the condenser.
In the description of the invention, the apparatus and method are described in connection with a Rankine cycle waste heat recovery apparatus, but it should be understood that the invention applies to other waste heat recovery or recuperation devices.

Waste heat recovery system with partial recuperation


A portable endoscope has a pump, a tank that stores liquid, a first coupling tube that spatially connects the pump with a gas supplying tube, a divergent tube that diverges from the first coupling tube and extends toward an inside of the tank, a balloon that is spatially connected to the divergent tube and is expandable and shrinkable in the tank, a second coupling tube that spatially connects the inside of the tank with a liquid supplying tube, and a gas direction controller that selectively directs the gas discharged from the pump to one of the gas supplying tube and the divergent tube. The liquid is stored outside of the balloon. The tank includes a sealing member that hermetically seals the tank.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope with a liquid and gas supply apparatus that supplies liquid and gas such as water and air, to the tip of the endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid and gas supply apparatus, which has a tank and pump, is usually incorporated in a light source apparatus for a fiber-scope or an electronic endoscope system including a video-scope with an image sensor and a video-processor. In the video-scope/fiber-scope, a liquid (water) tube and a gas (air) tube are provided. The tank is spatially connected to the liquid supplying tube and the pump is spatially connected to the gas supplying tube. Generally, water is stored in the tank, whereas the pump takes in and compresses flesh air and sends the compressed air to the tip.
To wash an objective lens provided in the point of the fiber-scope/video-scope, or to remove obstructions on an observed portion, the air or water is discharged from the tip of the fiber-scope/video-scope. When supplying the air, the compressed air flows in the air tube and is then discharged from the tip of the fiber-scope/video-scope. On the other hand, when supplying the water, the compressed air is directed to the inside of the tank, where the water surface is pressed due to the pressure of the compressed gas. Consequently, the water in the tank is pumped out, and flows in the water supplying tube so that the water is discharged from the tip of the fiber-scope/video-scope.
Further, medicinal liquid for inspecting the diseased portion, nitrogen for expanding the inside of the digestive organ, and oxygen for the bronchial tubes are dischargeable via the water supplying tube or the air supplying tube.
In the case of the conventional construction of the liquid and gas supply apparatus, when the tank inclines, water can flow through the air supplying tube and can be unexpectedly discharged from the tip, hence the water is not discharged properly. Especially, the conventional liquid and gas supply apparatus mounted on a desk or table is not suitable for a portable endoscope having an internal light source, because the portablity is reduced.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid and gas supply apparatus that is capable of preventing unexpected discharge of liquid, and provide a portable endoscope with the liquid and gas supply apparatus.
A liquid and gas supply apparatus according to the present invention is applied to an endoscope, and supplies liquid and gas to a liquid supplying tube and a gas supplying tube respectively. The liquid supplying tube and the gas supplying tube are provided in an endoscope (a fiber-scope or a video-scope with an image sensor). The liquid and gas supply apparatus has a pump, a tank, a first coupling tube, a divergent tube, a balloon, a second coupling tube, and a gas direction controller. The pump pumps the gas, and the tank stores the liquid. The first coupling tube spatially connects the pump with the gas supplying tube. The divergent tube diverges from the first coupling tube and extends toward the inside of the tank. The balloon is spatially connected to the divergent tube and is expandable and shrinkable in the tank. The second coupling tube spatially connects the inside of the tank with the liquid supplying tube such that the liquid in the tank flows in the second coupling tube. The gas direction controller selectively directs the gas discharged from the pump to either the gas supplying tube or the divergent tube. For example, a switch button for performing the gas-supply and the liquid-supply is provided on the endoscope, and a flow-controlling member (for example, a valve) that selectively directs the gas to the gas supplying tube or the divergent tube, is connected to the switch button.
In the present invention, the liquid is stored outside the balloon, and the balloon is constructed such that the liquid outside the balloon does not penetrate to the balloon. The tank includes a sealing member that hermetically seals the tank except for the second coupling tube and the divergent tube. When the gas is supplied, the gas flows in the first coupling tube and the gas supplying tube so that the gas is discharged from the tip of the endoscope. On the other hand, when the liquid is supplied, the gas is directed to the inside of the balloon via the divergent tube by the gas direction controller. The balloon expands due to the input of gas, and the liquid in the tank is pressed because the tank is sealed hermetically. Consequently, the liquid flows in the second coupling tube and is discharged from the tip of the endoscope. Since the liquid does not pass through the balloon, the liquid does not flow into the first coupling tube and the gas supplying tube. Thus, the liquid is not erratically discharged from the tip of the endoscope.
For example, the gas is air and the liquid is water. In this case, preferably, the pump takes in flesh air and discharges compressed air. The compressed air directed to the balloon to expand the balloon. The balloon is expandable and shrinkable. For example, the balloon is composed of a rubber elastic member.
A liquid and gas supply apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention has a pump, a tank, a first coupling tube, a divergent tube, a balloon, a second coupling tube, and a gas direction controller. The pump pumps the gas, and the tank stores the liquid. The first coupling tube spatially connects the pump with the gas supplying tube. The divergent tube diverges from the first coupling tube and extends toward an inside of the tank. The second coupling tube spatially connects the inside of the tank with the liquid supplying tube. The balloon is spatially connected to the second coupling tube and is expandable and shrinkable in the tank. The gas direction controller selectively directs the gas discharged from the pump to one of the gas supplying tube and the divergent tube. The tank includes a sealing member that hermetically seals the tank except for the second coupling tube and the divergent tube. In the present invention, the liquid is stored inside the balloon. When the gas is supplied, the gas flows in the first coupling tube and the gas supplying tube so that the gas is discharged from the tip of the endoscope. On the other hand, when the liquid is supplied, the gas is directed to the inside of the balloon via the divergent tube by the gas direction controller. The balloon shrinks due to the increased gas-pressure, and the balloon is pressed because the tank is sealed hermetically. Consequently, the liquid flows in the second coupling tube and is discharged from the tip of the endoscope.
A portable endoscope according to another aspect of the present invention has a gas supplying tube that transmits gas to discharge the gas from a tip of the endoscope, a liquid supplying tube that transmits liquid to discharge the liquid from the tip of the endoscope, a pump that pumps the gas, a tank that stores the liquid, a first coupling tube that spatially connects the pump with the gas supplying tube, a divergent tube that diverges from the first coupling tube and extends toward an inside of the tank, a balloon that is spatially connected to the divergent tube and is expandable and shrinkable in the tank, a second coupling tube that spatially connects the inside of the tank with the liquid supplying tube such that the liquid in the tank flows in the second coupling tube, and a gas direction controller that selectively directs the gas discharged from the pump to one of the gas supplying tube and the divergent tube. The liquid is stored outside the balloon. The tank includes a sealing member that hermetically seals the tank except for the second coupling tube and the divergent tube.
A portable endoscope according to another aspect of the present invention has a gas supplying tube that transmits gas to discharge the gas from a tip of the endoscope, a liquid supplying tube that transmits liquid to discharge the liquid from the tip of the endoscope, a pump that pumps the gas, a tank that stores the liquid, a first coupling tube that spatially connects the pump with the gas supplying tube, a divergent tube that diverges from the first coupling tube and extends toward an inside of the tank, a second coupling tube that spatially connects the inside of the tank with the liquid supplying tube, a balloon that is spatially connected to the second coupling tube and is expandable and shrinkable in the tank, a gas direction controller that selectively directs the gas discharged from the pump to one of the gas supplying tube and the divergent tube. The liquid is stored inside the balloon, and the tank includes a sealing member that hermetically seals the tank except for the second coupling tube and the divergent tube.
A liquid and gas supply apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention has a container that stores liquid, a space divider that divides an inside space of the container into a first space for storing the liquid and a second space such that one of the first space and the second space expands while the other shrinks, a gas transmitting tube that extends to the second space, a liquid transmitting tube that spatially connects the first space with the liquid supplying tube, and a liquid and gas supplier that supplies the gas to the gas supplying tube, and supplies the liquid in the first space to the liquid supplying tube by supplying the gas to the second space and expanding the second space.
A portable endoscope according to another aspect of the present invention has a gas supplying tube that transmits gas to discharge the gas from a tip of the endoscope, a liquid supplying tube that transmits liquid to discharge the liquid from the point of the endoscope, a container that stores liquid, a space divider that divides an inside space of the container into a first space for storing the liquid and a second space such that one of the first space and the second space expands while the other shrinks, a gas transmitting tube that extends to the second space, a liquid transmitting tube that spatially connects the first space with the liquid supplying tube, and a liquid and gas supplier that supplies the gas to the gas supplying tube, and supplies the liquid in the first space to the liquid supplying tube by supplying the gas to the second space and expanding the second space.

Liquid and gas supply apparatus and portable endoscope with the same


A regulator assembly is disclosed. The regulator assembly can include a regulator having a gas inlet and a gas outlet. The regulator assembly can also include an extension pipe having a proximal end and a distal end. The regulator assemble can also include an orifice disposed in the extension pipe for modification of the gas flow.

The disclosed regulator can be used for gas flow control in a variety of settings. In almost all circumstances, gas used to fuel outdoor grilling appliances comes in the form of compressed gas stored in metal storage tanks, or "gas cylinders," "tanks," and/or "bottles." Gas cylinder come in many shapes and sizes, but are most commonly know to come in a "15-pound" or "5 gallon" cylinder or "1-pound" cylinder. Each gas cylinder contains a thick metal body constructed to contain compressed and/or liquefied gas. A release valve is disposed at the top of the cylinder with a threaded connector for transporting gas in and out of the cylinder. In the embodiment(s) described herein, the regulator can be used to control gas such as propane for supply to a burner on a grilling apparatus.
In the standard 15-pound or 1-pound cylinders, the internal pressure can vary depending on several factors but most notably temperature, general effected by outdoor temperature exposure. For instance, the internal pressure of a 15-pound cylinder can range anywhere from 300 pounds per square inch ("psi") on a hot day to as low as low as 40 psi on a cold day. This propane tank pressure must be reduced and be regulated for use in a home, motor home, camper, or an outdoor gas appliance. The regulator attached to the cylinder will restrict the release of that gas to a much lower psi; for use in an outdoor grill that be as low as about ½ psi, or about 11 inch water column. Certain adjustable regulators allow a user to adjust the pressure (or flow) of gas between different predetermined flow rates. For instance, turning from "high" to "medium" to "low" by turning a knob. A problem still exists, however, when the gas flow into a burner needs to be greater than the regulator is designed to provide.
The disclosed regulator provides a user with the means to increase flow rate into a high pressure burner with a lower pressure regulator.

TCG Partners, LLC—Intellectual Property Series


A method is disclosed for imaging within the scope of a radiation therapy. In at least one embodiment, the method includes preparing one or more contrast agent-enhanced x-ray image data records; and using the contrast agent-enhanced x-ray image data record during an irradiation planning and/or during an irradiation session.

Radiation therapy is an established method in which ionizing radiation is used to treat pathological tissue, such as tumor issue for instance. The aim of radiation therapy is to irradiate the tissue to be treated with an adequate therapeutic dose and in the process simultaneously preserve healthy, surrounding tissue. The therapeutic effect is based inter alia on ionizing radiation acting differently on healthy tissue and on pathological tissue.
To ensure that uncertainties in the positioning of the tissue to be treated, which may occur between a planning phase and a treatment phase for different reasons, do not endanger the success of the treatment, safety margins are usually used in order to enlarge the target volume.
Image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) enables uncertainties in the irradiation of the target volume to be reduced. IGRT allows visualization of the target volume, organs at risk (OAR) and healthy, surrounding tissue prior to starting an irradiation so as in principle to enable the target volume to be irradiated more precisely and smaller safety margins to be used.
In order to be better able to determine patient changes between the fractions, a computed tomography recording (also CT for computed tomography) can be produced prior to each irradiation, ideally on the same couch. The position of the tumor can therefore be readjusted.
In order to observe the patient movement during the irradiation, the MV therapy beam can also be used for projection imaging, e.g. for so-called "portal imaging". Furthermore, systems also exist which in addition to the MV therapy beam, also have a further x-ray source and an additional x-ray-sensitive detector. Aside from projective monitoring of the patient movement, a CT imaging can therefore also be operated as a positioning control.
Sectional images are required in order to create irradiation plans for the radiation therapy, said sectional images representing the region to be irradiated in a three-dimensional fashion. To this end, CT images are predominantly used.

Contrast agent-enhanced imaging during radiation therapy


An optical transceiver module includes an optical fiber and an optical fiber positioning structure that fixes the optical fiber. The optical fiber positioning structure includes a first positioning part that fixes the said optical fiber, and a first supporting part that fixes the first positioning part on a case of the optical transceiver module. The first positioning part includes a first end face and a second end face opposite to one another, and a first through-hole that connects the first and second end faces. The inner diameter of the first through-hole is substantially equal to the diameter of the optical fiber, and the optical fiber is fixed within the first through-hole. The first supporting part includes an accommodating portion for accommodating the first positioning part. The first positioning part is fixed in the accommodating portion.

With the development of science and technology, high-speed signal transmission technologies have been widely applied. Compared to electrical transmission, optical connection can transmit signals over a much wider bandwidth and can use signal transmission systems with optical transceiver modules that are much smaller in size and lower in power consumption. Therefore, in the field of high-speed signal transmission technology, attention has been directed to optical connection for signal transmission between devices. Accordingly, optical transceiver modules installed as electric components in computers, automobiles, etc., have been widely used.
When an optical transceiver module is in use, optical fibers need to be coupled with chips, lenses, etc., on the transmitting end and/or receiving end of the optical transceiver module. Accordingly, in order to achieve a better coupling effect, the optical fibers need to be fixed within a specified position within the optical transceiver module. The optical coupling effect is directly affected by whether the optical fibers are fixed precisely in the specified position in the optical transceiver module.
A commonly used optical fiber positioning structure has V-grooves on a substrate. The optical fibers are placed in the V-grooves, which are filled with an adhesive to fix the optical fibers within the grooves. Then, a cover plate is adhered with a curable adhesive onto the surface of the substrate on which the V-grooves are disposed.
In the aforementioned structure, the V-groove is disposed on the substrate. It is very difficult for the V-groove to precisely match the outer diameter of the optical fibers. In addition, it is easy for the optical fibers to fall out of the V-groove in the process of being fixed within position. As a result, it is very difficult to precisely control the position in which said optical fibers are fixed. This leads to reduced precision of the installation of the optical fibers and worsening of the coupling effect for the optical transceiver module.


A robot for emptying a postal machine having a plurality of containers into which the postal items (letters and cards) are delivered and form a substantially ordered stack of items, one on top of another. The robot includes a base structure located on a rectilinear structure arranged parallel to a wall of the postal machine and a columnar structure which is fixed to the base structure and supports a slide slidable vertically on the columnar structure itself. The slide supports a pair of arms which are slidable relative to the slide and have gripper devices at their ends arranged to be introduced into one of the containers to grasp a stack of postal items, to withdraw them from the container and to deposit them on a conveyor belt.

The present invention relates to a postal robot and in particular to a robot adapted to empty a post sorting machine automatically.
Postal machines are known which have a plurality of containers (boxes) which are arranged to contain postal items (letters and cards) delivered into each container by an input system coupled to the container itself and which receives the postal items from a sorting device.
These postal items are arranged on top of each other parallel to a base wall of the container and form a stack of letters and cards.
In known postal machines, the emptying of the containers is effected manually by an operator who removes the stack of items when it has reached a predetermined height, for example, slightly less then the height of the container.


Disclosed herein is a funnel for slim cathode ray tubes. The funnel is constructed such that the deflection angle of an electron beam is 120 degrees or more. On the assumption that, at a top of round (TOR) part located between a body and a yoke part, the thickness of each long side (x-axis) is Tx, the thickness of each short side (y-axis) is Ty, and the thickness of each diagonal part is Td, the following inequality is satisfied: Td>Tx>Ty. The TOR part has a horizontal inner curvature, a horizontal outer curvature, and a vertical outer curvature, which are convex toward the outside of the funnel, and a vertical inner curvature, which is convex toward the inside of the funnel. On the assumption that, at the body from a seal edge, at which the body is joined with a panel, to the TOR part, the thickness of each long side (x-axis) is Bx, the thickness of each short side (y-axis) is By, and the thickness of each diagonal part is Bd, the thickness ratio of the body from the seal edge to the ⅔ point of the body is set such that the following inequality is satisfied: Bx>By>Bd.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a funnel for slim cathode ray tubes, and, more particularly, to a funnel for color cathode ray tubes constructed such that stress is prevented from being concentrated on the funnel when a deflection angle is 110 degrees or more.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a side view, partially cut away, illustrating a conventional cathode ray tube. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional cathode ray tube comprises a panel 1 and a funnel 2, which are joined with each other to constitute a tube part 10.
Inside the panel 1 is disposed a shadow mask 3, which is supported by a frame 4 such that the shadow mask 3 is approximately parallel with the panel 1. The frame 4 is fixed to the panel 1 via a spring 5. Inside the funnel 2 is disposed an inner shield 6 for shielding an external geomagnetic field to prevent the path of an electron beam from being curved by the external geomagnetic field.
In the rear part of the funnel 2 is fitted an electron gun 7 for generating an electron beam. At the outside of a neck part of the funnel 2 is mounted a deflection yoke 8 for deflecting an electron beam approximately 110 degrees or less.
In the conventional cathode ray tube with the above-stated construction, an electron beam emitted from the electron gun 7 is deflected above and below and right and left by the deflection yoke 8, and is then transmitted to the panel 1. Specifically, the deflected electron beam passes through-holes of the shadow mask 3, and is then transmitted to a fluorescent screen 9 coated on the inner surface of the panel 1. At this time, the fluorescent screen 9 is illuminated by the energy of the electron beam. Consequently, a picture is reproduced such that users can see the picture reproduced through the panel 1.
Meanwhile, the panel 1 and the funnel 2 are joined to each other by a frit sealing process, the electron gun 7 is fitted into the rear part of the funnel 2 by a subsequent encapsulation process, and a vacuum is formed in the tube part 10 by an extraction process. In this way, the cathode ray tube is manufactured.
When the tube part 10 is in the vacuum state, considerable tensile and compression stresses are applied to the panel 1 and the funnel 2.
FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the funnel of the conventional cathode ray tube, and FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the funnel of the conventional cathode ray tube. In the past, a yoke part 2y of the funnel 2 was formed in a circular structure. Recently, however, the yoke part 2y of the funnel 2 has been changed into a rectangular structure to increase deflection sensitivity of the deflection yoke. In the case of the rectangular-structure yoke part 2y, it is designed such that an angle of approximately 20 degrees or more is maintained at a top of round (TOR) part of the funnel 2 toward the panel 1.
In the conventional color cathode ray tube, the deflection angle of which is 110 degrees or less, the stress applied to a body 2b of the funnel 2 is less than that applied to the panel 1. Consequently, the stress applied to the body 2b of the funnel 2 does not have a great influence on an explosion-resistance test, which is an endurance test based on external impact.
However, the overall length of the tube part 10 is decreased with the development of a slim color cathode ray tube, and therefore, it is inevitable that the lengths of the panel 1 and the funnel 2 be decreased. As a result, the inner volume of the tube part 10 is also reduced. Consequently, stress applied to the panel 1 and the funnel 2 is increased.
Especially in the case of the funnel 2, it is structurally difficult to reduce the length of the yoke part 2y, at which the deflection yoke is mounted. For this reason, the length of the body 2b is generally reduced to decrease the overall length of the funnel 2. However, due to the reduction in length of the body 2b of the funnel 2, stress is concentrated at the TOR part, where the body 2b and the yoke part 2y are connected to each other. As a result, the explosion-resistance characteristic on the external impact is lowered.
Consequently, it is required that stress be prevented from being concentrated at the part where the body 2b and the yoke part 2y of the funnel 2 is connected although the length of the part at which the body 2b and the yoke part 2y of the funnel 2 is connected is reduced.


A metal coil carrier fixture for mounting an annular field coil has a base and a lid separate from the base. The base has an upstanding tubular wall, a lower annular flange connected to, extending about and projecting outwardly from the tubular wall, and an upper wall disposed within and extending across the tubular wall and connected to an upper edge thereof. The lid has an inner central portion disposed in a substantially flush engaging relation with the upper wall of the base and detachably attached thereto, and an outer annular portion defining an upper annular flange extending about and projecting outwardly from the tubular base wall and spaced above the lower annular flange thereof when the lid is attached on the base. The tubular wall and lower annular flange of the base and the upper annular flange of the lid define an external cavity in which the annular field coil can be confined about the exterior of the tubular base wall and between the lower and upper annular flanges of the respective base and lid and into the from which the field coil can be inserted and removed by detachment of the lid from the base.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to dynamoelectric machines, and, more particularly, is concerned with a coil carrier fixture for mounting a field coil to a rotor of a dynamoelectric machine, such as an AC and DC motor-generator set, and a method of fabricating a field coil carrier assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A secondary power source in the form of a dynamoelectric machine is typically provided in a nuclear submarine to generate reserve power. A nuclear power plant provided in the submarine is the primary power source to power the submarine. It also powers the secondary power source to charge DC batteries. Then, during periods when the nuclear power plant is shut down or knocked off-line, the reserve power of the DC batteries is used to restart the primary source to operate the submarine.
One typical secondary power source used heretofore employs a dynamoelectric machine in the form of an AC and DC motor-generator set in which the AC and DC components are disposed in tandem arrangement on and along a common solid shaft. During periods of nuclear power plant operation, the AC component functions as a motor to rotatably drive the common shaft and thereby run the DC component as a generator to charge the DC batteries. Then, during periods when the nuclear power plant is shut down, the DC batteries operate the DC component as a motor to rotatably drive the common shaft and thereby run the AC component as a generator to operate the submarine.
The AC and DC motor-generator set typically includes AC and DC rotors supported in tandem relationship along a central shaft for rotation therewith. The AC and DC rotors include respective pole body spiders and pole heads fastened on circumferentially spaced outer projections of the pole body spiders. Also, field coils are installed about the spaced projections of the rotor pole body spiders.
The conventional method for mounting a field coil to the rotor is to first wind each coil on a mandrel, next varnish the coil, and then wrap the entire coil with insulation tape. The insulated coils are then slipped onto the projections of the pole body spider of the rotor. Finally, the entire rotor (with coils mounted) is varnished by dipping to ensure a firm fixed fit of the coils to the rotor pole body. The inherent problem with this mounting method is the difficulty of removing and servicing an individual coil once it is varnish glued to the rotor. Also, once the coil is replaced the entire rotor has to be lifted and dipped in varnish to secure the newly added coil.
An alternate method for mounting field coils to the rotor is to wind the individual coils directly on the projections of the rotor pole body spider or on a metal one-piece annular bobbin. This method requires great care to ensure a proper insulation layer on the outer geometry of the pole body/bobbin winding surface to prevent electrical shorting of the coil.
Resin-based, as opposed to metal, bobbins exist which provide an insulated winding surface without the difficulty of having to develop and ensure the integrity of an applied insulation process. However, fabrication of a resin-based bobbin requires relatively expensive mold tooling which is: considered excessive for only low production quantities.
In addition, using a bobbin to mount the field coil to the rotor pole body is tedious and time-consuming. It generally requires extensive custom shimming of the bobbin to provide a satisfactory tight fit of the bobbin to the rotor that is long-lasting and will eliminate the possibility of the field coil rocking during machine operation. Furthermore, a field coil which is tightly shimmed to the rotor to prevent rocking will ordinarily result in a mounted field coil which is difficult to remove for retrofit.
Consequently, a need still exists for another approach to mounting individual field coils to the rotors of a dynamoelectric machine, such as an AC and DC motorgenerator set, so as to avoid the above-described drawbacks of the prior methods.

Coil carrier fixture and field coil carrier assembly


A dishwasher rack assembly includes a first elongated rod extending across the rack bottom in one direction and a second elongated rod extending across the rack bottom and crossing the first rod at an angle. A comb includes a base rod overlying the first elongated rod and a finger projecting outward of the base rod. A connector includes a first pair of spaced apart walls forming a first downwardly open recess receiving the rods in a vertical array; a second pair of spaced apart walls forming a second downwardly open recess receiving the second elongated rod; and a third set of spaced apart walls forming a laterally open recess intersecting the first and second recesses and receiving the finger so that the comb can be moved between a position with the finger extending upward and a position with the finger lying parallel to the first and second rods.

This invention relates generally to rack assemblies for use in domestic dishwashers, that is dishwashers intended primarily for use in homes. Such dishwashers normally include two racks to support items to be washed in such as dishes, glasses, bowls and cooking utensils for example. Often an upper rack is disposed close to the top of the washing chamber and is used to hold glasses, cups and other small items. Typically the lower rack is positioned near the bottom of the chamber and a considerable distance below the upper rack. This provides vertical clearance to place dishes and platters on edge and to place food preparation bowls and pots up-side-down on the lower rack for washing. Each rack normally is supplied with an array of spaced apart, generally vertical tines or fingers which support and separate the individual items. The optimum spacing between adjacent tines for supporting thin items like dishes is much less than for supporting thick items like mixing bowls and pans. Thus any fixed array of tines is less than optimum for all possible combinations of items to be washed.
There have been numerous suggestions for arrangements to provide adjustable tines for user flexibility. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,126,098, 3,269,548, 3,402,975, 3,752,322, 4,046,261 and 4,606,464 are examples of such suggestions.
More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,248 showed and described an arrangement with journals which hold a fence in the upper rack of a dishwasher so that the fence can be moved between a position with its projecting wires vertical and a position with its projecting wires generally horizontal. However, upper racks generally have their base wires bent at various locations along their lengths and the journals of this patent must be mounted at such a bend. In addition, the fence must be moved longitudinally to free the corresponding projecting wires before the fence can be rotated to move the projecting wires from their vertical to their horizontal positions.
The bottom racks of domestic dishwashers tend to be essentially planar with crossing longitudinal and lateral wires or rods forming an open mesh bottom wall. There is a need for a mechanism or assembly which is useful in such generally planar racks and which provides the user with ease of adjustment.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved rack assembly for a dishwasher including connectors that mount to the crossing rods of a planar rack and support a comb withprojecting fingers for simple rotational movement of the comb between a fingers vertical position and a fingers horizontal position.

Dishwasher rack assembly with fold down combs


A luminescent display panel includes a substrate (106), a plurality of first electrodes (102) formed on the substrate (106), and a plurality of insulating films (109) formed on the substrate (106) to cover edge portions of each first electrode (102) and having the central portion thereof exposed. A luminescent layer (103) is formed on exposed portions of the first electrodes (102) and on the insulating films (109), and a plurality of second electrodes (101) are formed on the luminescent layer (103). Each of the plurality of insulating films (109) has a thickness which becomes gradually smaller toward a center line of each adjacent first electrode (102).

The present invention relates to a display panel, particularly to a luminescent display panel containing organic electroluminescence elements.
There have been various kinds of luminescent display panels, the best known of which is a display panel containing organic electroluminescence elements. In detail, such a display panel includes a transparent organic film on which is formed a fluorescent layer. Such a fluorescent layer will emit light if an electric current is flowing therethrough. The organic film and the fluorescent layer together form the organic electroluminescence elements used in the luminescent display panel.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a conventional luminescent display panel which includes a glass transparent substrate 6, a plurality of transparent electrodes 2 made of ITO serving as anodes, an organic layer 3 consisting of a positive hole transporting layer and a luminescent layer, a plurality of metal electrodes 1 serving as cathodes arranged in a direction orthogonal to the transparent electrodes 2. In fact, the transparent electrodes 2, the organic layer 3 and the metal electrodes 1 are successively formed on the substrate 6 by way of vapor deposition, thereby forming a multi-laminated structure In this way, with the organic layer 3 interposed between the transparent electrodes 2 and the metal electrodes 1, a plurality of luminescent sections are thus formed, with each intersection of a transparent electrode 2 and a metal electrode 1 constituting one luminescent unit serving as one picture element.
Further, since the transparent electrodes 2 have a high electrical resistance, a plurality of low resistance bus-lines 7 each consisting of a metal film are interposed between the transparent electrodes 2 and the organic layer 3 so as to compensate the transparent electrodes 2 for their electrical conductivities.
What is used to form a metal electrode 1 is an alloy having a small work function, such as Al alloy, In alloy or Ag alloy. On the other hand, what is used to form a transparent electrode 2 is an electrically conductive material having a large work function, such as ITO (having a work function of about 5.0 eV) or a gold (having a work function of about 5.1 eV). However, when a gold is used to form an electrode, the electrode will become semi-transparent. Further, the bus-lines 7 interposed between the transparent electrodes 2 and the organic layer 3 is made of Cr, Cu, Al, Mo, Ta, or their alloy, Alternatively, such a bus-line 7 may be formed of an Al--Cu--Si alloy.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view partially illustrating the luminescent display panel of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, between picture elements (intersections of the transparent electrodes 2 with the metal electrodes 1) are provided insulating films 9 which are then covered by the organic layer 3. In detail, the insulating films 9 are so arranged that two edge portions of each transparent electrode 2 is covered by the films 9 but the central portion thereof is exposed, resulting in a situation that the two edge portions of each insulating film 9 are suddenly climbing over the transparent electrodes 2.
In this way, by providing an insulating film 9 between every two transparent electrodes 2, it is sure to form a desired insulation between the transparent electrodes 2 and the metal electrodes 1, thereby preventing a possible mistaken light emission on areas other than desired picture elements.
Usually, a luminescent display panel shown in FIG. 3 is manufactured by forming a plurality of transparent electrodes 2 on a glass substrate 6, forming a plurality of insulating films 9 on the glass substrate 6 so as to cover the edge portions of each transparent electrode 2, followed by depositting an organic material and then a metal material to successively form the organic layer 3 and the plurality of metal electrodes 1. However, since two edge portions of each insulating film 9 are formed into vertical walls, presenting a structure which is difficult for the organic material and the metal material to deposit thereon, some areas of both the organic layer 3 and the metal electrode layer 1 will have a smaller thickness X (shown in FIG. 3) than other areas. As a result, these areas of the luminescent display panel fail to give a sufficient luminescent brightness.
Moreover, since some areas of the metal electrodes 1 have only a smaller thickness adjacent to the edge portions of the insulating films 9, it is likely that an outside moisture will invade into the organic layer 3, causing a deterioration in a light emitting quality of the display panel, and causing an increase in non-luminescent area.

Luminescent display panel with insulating films


A method, system, and computer-readable program for creating at least one n-dimensional map by utilizing one or more processors are disclosed. One aspect of the subject matter described can be embodied by a computer-implemented method which utilizes simple and reduced complexity algorithms in which an n-dimensional map, e.g., an EMPT (Entity, Meaning, Place, and Time) map or a language map (e.g., Words map), may be created by integrating the data itself within a special environment and context such that all pedigrees of data, in massive amounts, may be rapidly and accurately correlated and analyzed in unique and new ways.

Currently, much rigor is being spent on creation of analytical tools, each for elements within a broad spectrum of data types and use cases including but not limited to Full Motion Video (FMV), hyper-spectral, motion, audio, signals of all kinds, documents, speech, multilingual, structured and unstructured, social media, human networks, etc. Conventionally, a process is being done to conduct cross pedigree analysis, mostly by integrating the products of these tools, or of integrating the tools themselves. However, as the data types, formats, and use cases differ to such a large degree, it becomes extremely difficult to manipulate many different tools as well as conduct the analysis to identify the critical connections, trends, and indicators within and between data types that reveal important findings. Thus, it would be desirable to have a method and system for processing the large amounts of data in such an environment in a rapid and efficient manner.

Method and system for n-dimentional, language agnostic, entity, meaning, place, time, and words mapping


The current invention relates to a diagnostic kit for a yeast or fungal species comprising at least one oligonucleotide probe capable of binding to at least a portion of the eIF2y gene or its corresponding mRNA.

Yeast and fungal infections represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised patients. The number of immunocompromised patients at risk of yeast and fungal infection continues to increase each year, as does the spectrum of fungal and yeast agents causing disease. Mortality from fungal infections, particularly invasive fungal infections, is 30% or greater, in certain risk groups. The array of available antifungal agents is growing; however, so too is the recognition of both intrinsic and emerging resistance to antifungal drugs. These factors are contributing to the increased need for cost containment in laboratory testing and have led to laboratory consolidation in testing procedures.
Invasive fungal infections are on the increase. In 2003, it was estimated that there were 9 million at risk patients, of which 1.2 million developed infection. Candida spp. and Aspergillus spp. now rank as the most prominent pathogens infecting immunosupressed patients. In particular, infections are common in the urinary tract, the respiratory system and the bloodstream, at the site of insertion of stents, catheters and orthopaedic joints. Approximately, 10% of the known Candida spp. have been implicated in human infection. Invasive candidiasis occurs when candida enters the bloodstream and it is estimated to occur at a frequency of 8/100,000 population in the US with a mortality rate of 40%. Candida albicans is the 4th most common cause of bloodstream infection. Aspergillosis usually begins as a pulmonary infection that can progress to a life-threatening invasive infection in some patients and has a mortality rate of greater than 90%. Emerging mycoses agents include Fusarium, Scedosporium, Zygomycetes and Trichosporon spp. ("Stakeholder Insight: Invasive fungal infections", Datamonitor, January 2004).
Immunocompromised patients, including transplant and surgical patients, neonates, cancer patients, diabetics and those with HIV/AIDs are at high risk of developing invasive fungal infections (Datamonitor report: Stakeholder opinion—Invasive fungal infections, options outweigh replacements 2004). A large number of severe cases of sepsis are reported each year. Despite improvements in its medical management, sepsis still constitutes one of the greatest challenges in intensive care medicine. Microorganisms (bacteria, fungi and yeast) responsible for causing sepsis are traditionally detected in hospital laboratories with the aid of microbiological culture methods with poor sensitivity (25-82%), which are very time-consuming, generally taking from two to five days to complete, and up to eight days for the diagnosis of fungal infections. Definitive diagnosis of infections caused by yeast or fungi is usually based on either, the recovery and identification of a specific agent from clinical specimens or microscopic demonstration of fungi with distinct morphological features. However, there are numerous cases where these methods fail to provide conclusive proof as to the infecting agent. In these instances, the detection of specific host antibody responses can be used, although again this can be affected by the immune status of the patient. Time is critical in the detection and identification of bloodstream infections typically caused by bacteria, yeasts or fungi. Effective treatment depends on finding the source of infection and making appropriate decisions about antibiotics or antifungals quickly and efficiently. Only after pathogens are correctly identified can targeted therapy using a specific antibiotic or antifungal begin. Many physicians would like to see the development of better in vitro amplification and direct detection diagnostic techniques for the early diagnosis of yeast and fungi ("Stakeholder Insight: Invasive fungal infections", Datamonitor, January 2004). Recently Roche™ launched a real time PCR based assay (Septifast™), for the detection of bacterial, fungal and yeast DNA in clinical samples. Therefore, there is a clear need for the development of novel rapid diagnostic tests for clinically significant bacterial and fungal pathogens for bioanalysis applications in the clinical sector. This has led the current inventors to identify novel fungal and yeast nucleic acid targets for application in Nucleic Acid Diagnostics (NAD) tests.
Fungal and yeast nucleic acid based diagnostics have focused heavily on the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, RNA transcripts, and their associated DNA/RNA regions. The rRNA genes are highly conserved in all fungal species and they also contain divergent and distinctive intergenic transcribed spacer regions. Ribosomal rRNA comprises three genes: the large sub-unit gene (28S), the small sub-unit gene (18S) and the 5.8S gene. The 28S and 18S rRNA genes are separated by the 5.8S rRNA and two internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2). Because the ITS region contains a high number of sequence polymorphisms, numerous researchers have concentrated their efforts on these as targets (Atkins and Clark, 2004). rRNA genes are also multicopy genes with >10 copies within the fungal genome.
A number of groups are working on developing new assays for fungal and yeast infections. US2004044193 relates to, amongst a number of other aspects, the transcription factor CaTEC1 of Candida albicans; inhibitors thereof, and methods for the diagnosis and therapy of diseases which are connected with a Candida infection; and also diagnostic and pharmaceutical compositions which contain the nucleotide sequences, proteins, host cells and/or antibodies. WO0183824 relates to hybridization assay probes and accessory oligonucleotides for detecting ribosomal nucleic acids from Candida albicans and/or Candida dubliniensis. U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,699 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,026 relate to a set of DNA primers, which can be used to amplify and speciate DNA from five medically important Candida species. U.S. Pat. No. 6,747,137 discloses sequences useful for diagnosis of Candida infections. EP 0422872 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,726 disclose probes based on 18S rRNA genes, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,693 discloses probes based on 28S rRNA, for diagnosis of a range of yeast and fungal species. U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,366 describes sequences based on chitin synthase gene for use in nucleic acid based diagnostics for a range of Candida species.
It is clear though, that development of faster, more accurate diagnostic methods are required, particularly in light of the selection pressure caused by modern antimicrobial treatments which give rise to increased populations of resistant virulent strains with mutated genome sequences. Methods that enable early diagnosis of microbial causes of infection enable the selection of a specific narrow spectrum antibiotic or antifungal to treat the infection (Datamonitor report: Stakeholder opinion—Invasive fungal infections, options outweigh replacements 2004; Datamonitor report: Stakeholder Opinion-Sepsis, under reaction to an overreaction, 2006). Eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2) is a heterotrimer composed of three subunits eIF2alpha (eIF2α), eIF2beta (eIF2β) and eIF2gamma (eIF2γ). eIF2 is the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2, which is a heterotrimeric G-protein required for GTP-dependent delivery of initiator tRNA to the ribosome. The eIF2 gamma subunit (eif2γ) has a similar amino acid sequence to prokaryotic translation elongation factor EF-Tu which was patented as molecular diagnostics targets for micro-organisms (Alone and Dever, 2006; Dorris et al., 1995; Erickson et al., 1996 and 1997).
There are currently 171 sequences of eIF2γ available in NCBI GenBank database including 3 Candida spp. including 2 annotated eIF2γ sequences for C. albicans and one hypothetical protein for C. glabrata with 78% homology to C. albicans eIF2γ and 6 Aspergillus spp. sequences, 3 annotated as eIF2γ and 3 hypothetical sequences. The published sequences are approximately 1600 base pairs in length providing a number of sequence regions that are suitable for PCR primer and probe design for species identification of Candida and Aspergillus spp. For Candida, the inventors focussed on the region of the eIF2 gamma gene equivalent to base pair (bp) position 718 to by position 1040 in C. albicans. For Aspergillus, the inventors designed primers to amplify the region of the eIF2γ gene equivalent to by position 121 to by position 374 in Aspergillus fumigatus.

eIF2γ gene as a diagnostic target for the identification of fungal and yeast species


The thumb is used on a hydraulic tool arm equipped with a scooping tool for selective co-operation between the scooping tool and the thumb. The thumb has a pair of generally parallel U-shaped lateral forks defining an opening therebetween for engagement of the tool arm between the forks. The forks define an inner end having a transverse coupling member for operative coupling of the thumb to the tool arm for movement of the thumb about the tool arm, and an outer free end opposite the inner end. The forks are significantly curved about a common axis.

The present invention relates to mechanical scooping tool arms such as hydraulic shovels, hydraulic rakes and the like, and more particularly to a thumb for such a scooping tool arm.
Articulated mechanical scooping tool arms are often operatively mounted to a vehicle to allow heavy or large materials to be handled. Such material handling apparatuses include hydraulic shovels, hydraulic rakes, and the like. In all these cases, a scooping tool, such as a bucket or a rake, is provided at the outer free end portion of an articulated boom, and is remotely controlled from the vehicle cab through the instrumentality of hydraulic cylinders. The scooping tool can be used to accomplish a number of different operations, one of them being to scoop up materials to transport them. For example, a bucket can be used to dig a hole in the ground, or to scoop up and lift a heavy container to carry it to a desired destination.
In the cases of vehicles equipped with a scooping tool in the form of a hydraulic shovel, it is known to operatively mount a hydraulically controlled thumb on the tool arm of the vehicle in pivotal facing register with the bucket of the hydraulic shovel, the thumb pivotally co-operating with the bucket of the hydraulic shovel to allow objects to be grasped between the bucket and the thumb, or to be pushed by the thumb into the bucket. However, the known thumbs are cumbersome when they are positioned in a stored condition away from the bucket, and their shapes are not adapted for efficiently handling materials without damaging these materials.
The present invention relates to a thumb to be mounted for relative movement on a hydraulic tool arm equipped with a pivotable scooping tool for selective co-operation between the scooping tool and said thumb, said thumb comprising a pair of generally parallel transversely spaced arcuate U-shaped lateral forks, said forks having inner ends transversely interconnected by an integral transverse coupling member having for operative coupling of said thumb to the tool arm for relative movement thereabout, and outer ends opposite said inner end, said arcuate forks defining a significantly short radius of curvature about a common axis relative to the distance between said inner and outer ends.
In one embodiment, the thumb further comprises a transverse plate integrally linking said forks at said outer ends thereof.
In one embodiment, said coupling member is a pivotal coupling member and defines a pivotal axis.
In one embodiment, said forks define a concave inner surface and a ratio L1:L2 approximately equal to 3:1 is defined on said thumb, where L1 is equal to the length between said pivotal axis and said forks outer ends, and where L2 is equal to the length between (a) a line drawn between said pivotal axis and said forks outer ends, and (b) the most distant point between said concave inner surface of said forks and said line.
In one embodiment, said forks are defined along a major part of their length starting at said outer ends, by a single radius of curvature R1, and a ratio L1:R1 approximately equal to 2:1 is defined on said thumb, where L1 is equal to the length between said pivotal axis and said forks outer ends.
The present invention also relates to a thumb assembly for use on a tool arm equipped with a scooping tool, comprising a thumb for selective co-operation with the scooping tool, said thumb comprising a pair of generally parallel U-shaped lateral forks defining an opening therebetween for engagement of the tool arm between said forks, said forks having inner ends for pivotable attachment to the tool arm and outer ends opposite said inner ends, said forks being significantly curved about a common axis for providing a hollow opening between the scooping tool and said thumb when said thumb forks outer ends engage the scooping tool and for allowing a significant portion of said thumb to be positioned beyond a surface of the tool arm which is in pivotal facing register with a scooping side of the scooping tool when said thumb is pivoted against the tool arm, said thumb assembly further comprising an actuator operatively attached to said thumb for allowing pivotal displacement of said thumb relative to the scooping tool.
The invention also relates to a thumb and scooping tool assembly for operative attachment to a tool arm, comprising:
a) a thumb, said thumb comprising a pair of generally parallel U-shaped lateral forks defining an opening therebetween for engagement of the tool arm between said forks, said forks having inner ends for attachment to the tool arm for relative movement thereabout, and outer ends opposite said inner ends, said forks being significantly curved about a common axis;
b) a scooping tool selectively co-operating with said thumb and comprising an inner end for pivotable attachment to the tool arm, an outer end opposite said inner end, and a scooping side in pivotal facing register with said thumb for grasping objects between said thumb and said scooping tool scooping side;
c) mounting means, for mounting said thumb forks inner ends and said cooping tool to the tool arm for relative movement thereabout;
d) a first actuator operatively attached to said thumb for selective motion of said thumb relative to said scooping tool and to the tool arm; and
e) a second actuator operatively attached to said scooping tool for selective motion of said scooping tool relative to said thumb and to the tool arm.
The invention further relates to a tool arm assembly comprising an elongated tool arm having an outer free end equipped with a scooping tool and a thumb, said thumb comprising a pair of generally parallel U-shaped lateral forks defining an opening therebetween, said forks having inner ends, a pivot member pivotably attaching said forks inner ends to the tool arm outer free end for pivotal movement of said thumb about a pivotal axis, and outer ends opposite said inner ends, said forks being significantly curved about a common axis, said scooping tool selectively co-operating with said thumb and comprising an inner end pivotably attached to said pivot member for pivotal motion relative to said tool arm outer free end, an outer end opposite said inner end, and a scooping side in pivotal facing register with said thumb for grasping objects between said thumb and said scooping tool scooping side, said tool arm assembly further comprising a first power actuator operatively attached to said tool arm and to said thumb for selectively pivoting said thumb relative to said scooping tool and to said tool arm, said tool arm assembly further comprising a second power actuator operatively attached to said tool arm and to said scooping tool for selectively pivoting said scooping tool relative to said thumb and to said tool arm;
wherein said pivot member enables said thumb and said scooping tool to be independently pivotable relative to one another and to said tool arm about parallel axes, and wherein said thumb is pivotable between a first limit position in which said forks outer end engages said scooping tool scooping side, and a second limit position in which said thumb is pivoted away from said scooping tool scooping side and said tool arm is embedded in said opening between said thumb forks, with a transverse hollow opening being defined between said forks and said scooping tool scooping side in said first limit position of said forks for transverse, uncompressed engagement of objects carried therein, and with a significant portion of said thumb extending beyond a surface of said tool arm that is in pivotal facing register with said scooping tool scooping side when said thumb is in said second limit position.
In one embodiment, said thumb and said scooping tool both pivot about said pivotal axis.
In one embodiment, said thumb comprises a transverse plate integrally linking said forks at said outer ends thereof, with said transverse plate being positioned, in all positions of said thumb, between said scooping tool scooping side and said surface of said tool arm that is in pivotal facing register with said scooping tool scooping side.
The invention further relates to a vehicle comprising:
a frame movable over ground;
a boom pivotably attached to said frame;
an elongated tool arm having an inner end pivotally attached to said boom and an outer free end opposite said inner end and equipped with a scooping tool and a thumb, said thumb comprising a pair of generally parallel U-shaped lateral forks defining an opening therebetween, said forks having an inner end pivotably attached to the tool arm outer free end and an outer end opposite said inner end, said forks being significantly curved about a common axis, said scooping tool selectively co-operating with said thumb and comprising an inner end pivotably attached to the tool arm outer free end, an outer end opposite said inner end, and a scooping side in pivotal facing register with said thumb for grasping objects between said thumb and said scooping tool scooping side;
a first actuator operatively attached to said tool arm and to said thumb for selectively pivoting said thumb relative to said scooping tool and to said tool arm;
a second actuator operatively attached to said tool arm and to said scooping tool for selectively pivoting said scooping tool relative to said thumb and to said tool arm;
a third actuator operatively attached to said boom and to said tool arm, for selectively pivoting said tool arm relative to said boom;
a fourth actuator operatively attached to said vehicle frame and to said boom, for selectively pivoting said boom relative to said vehicle;
wherein said thumb and said scooping tool are independently pivotable about parallel axes, and wherein said thumb is pivotable between a first limit position in which said forks outer end engages said scooping tool scooping side, and a second limit position in which said thumb is pivoted away from said scooping tool scooping side and said tool arm is embedded in said opening between said thumb forks, with a transverse hollow opening being defined between said forks and said scooping tool scooping side in said first limit position of said forks for transverse, uncompressed engagement of objects carried therein, and with a significant portion of said thumb extending beyond a surface of said tool arm that is in pivotal facing register with said scooping tool scooping side when said thumb is in said second limit position.
In one embodiment, said scooping tool is a bucket.
In one embodiment, said scooping tool is a rake.


A base ACPI power management state is selected and a feature of a power management state that is to be created is defined. The definition of the power management state to be created is attached to an object of the base ACPI power management state in an ACPI namespace.

The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification is a document that describes ACPI hardware interfaces, ACPI software interfaces and ACPI data structures that, when implemented, enable support for robust operating system (OS)-directed configuration and power management. By using the ACPI specification, various computer systems and components that handle or implement power management states may be made compatible, even if such components are provided by different manufacturers.
Versions 1.0 and beyond of the ACPI specification define a well-known and widely-used set of power management states. State S0 is the "working" state for a computer system, wherein the computer's hardware is generally receiving full power. States S1-S3 are different levels of "sleeping" states where power to certain components is reduced, and context information required to return the system to the S0 state is stored in system RAM. State S4 is a "hibernate" state where the system is largely powered down, and where the context information required to return the system to the S0 state is stored in a hibernation file on some form of non-volatile storage (e.g., hard disk, NVRAM, etc.). State S5 is the "off" state where no context information is kept and the operating system must "boot" in order for the computer to return to the S0 state.
According to the ACPI specification, implementation of a particular system state requires that an object designating the power state exist at the root of the ACPI namespace. The object has the name _Sx, where x is from 1 to 5, thereby referring to the sleep and off states provided by the ACPI specification. For example, \_S3 corresponds to the S3 state. In addition, each object contains a DWORD having 4 bytes, where 2 bytes are reserved, 1 byte represents the command for a PM1a control register and 1 byte represents the command for a PM1b control register. For an operating system to transition the system to a sleep or off system state, the operating system writes the above-mentioned bytes to the appropriate register(s).
While the system state management provided by the ACPI specification is adequate for transitioning a system between any of the above-discussed power management states, it is severely limited in its ability to permit a developer to create new system states or to modify existing states. Developers may wish to design new system states that are a combination of existing states (e.g., a combination of S3 and S4), or a system state that is entirely new. In such a manner, power management can be tailored to advances in device and software development. The current ACPI system state naming scheme (i.e., the namespace) is unable to adequately provide for such new system states, however.
For example, the names of the ACPI states (e.g., S0-5) have a predefined meaning and provide an ordering mechanism to the operating system that the operating system uses to search for the most appropriate state when a system state transition is to occur. As a result, no room has been left in the ACPI system state namespace to add new system states. In addition, the meaning of the ACPI system state must be built into the software that references the state. In other words, the name of the state (e.g., "S3") conveys information to the software instead of any data contained within the ACPI object. Thus, if a developer created a new system state, any software that is to use the system state would have to be updated. With the widespread proliferation of computer systems and software applications, such a solution would be cumbersome and time-consuming. Even if creating new system states (and updating all software that use the new states) were practical, the current ACPI naming scheme, or namespace, could only accommodate 250 new states (i.e., \_S6_to \_SFF), which may not be sufficient for the wide variety of devices and applications that are available currently and in the future.
The ACPI namespace is also limited by a developer's inability to add additional data to an existing _Sx object, because such an object contains a single DWORD. Other than 16 reserved bits within the DWORD that are too small to be of practical value, the object does not contain extra storage space for additional information. Furthermore, the data type of the DWORD cannot be changed without rendering the changed object incompatible with legacy ACPI-compliant operating systems.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mechanism for enabling power management states that are not supported by the ACPI specification while maintaining interoperability with systems that adhere to the specification. The present invention satisfies this need.

Creation of hybrid power management states


A high-definition optical disk device for recording and reproducing data with respect to lands and grooves of an optical disk. The grooves and the lands of the optical disk are wobbled, and address information is embedded in gray code. In the grooves and the lands, both groove track address systems and land track address systems are embedded and form redundant systems. When detecting the address of a land, in addition to demodulation of the address data from the land track address system, the address data is also extracted from the groove track address system. The address data thus extracted is used for verification to detect an error in the demodulated address data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk device, and more particularly to a high-definition optical disk device for using grooves and lands for the recording and reproduction of data.
2. Description of Related Art
Optical disks which achieve higher recording densities by recording data on both grooves and lands, rather than on grooves alone, are conventionally known. When data is recorded on both grooves and lands, it is necessary to detect the addresses correctly in both the grooves and the lands. In DVD-RAM systems, a method called CAPA (Complementary Allocated Pit Address) is used in which a particular signal is inserted for each sector irrespective of data recording with regard to time and the signal is reproduced to detect the address. More specifically, each sector includes, at the leading end thereof, an address region (a header portion) independent of a data region, and a plurality of CAPA signals are inserted in this header portion in such a manner that they are offset to left and right with respect to the grooves and lands in the data region. Thus, the address is detected in the grooves and lands using the fact that different CAPA signals are detected between data recording and reproduction with respect to the grooves and data recording and reproduction with respect to the lands.
The above method, however, has a problem in that, because the address region is provided irrespective of the data region with regard to time, the data capacity of an optical disk is decreased accordingly. In addition, the manufacture of such an optical disk is more complicated because the grooves and the CAPA signals are not aligned in a line. There are also problems that the servo systems or the parameter optimal points of servo or the like differ between the data portion and the header portion when recording or reproducing data.
To deal with the above problems, techniques in which wobbles used for storing the address of grooves are used to determine not only the groove address but also the land address have been proposed.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-312541 considers the fact that when address information is embedded by recording data 0 and data 1 for a groove which is wobbled in phase at 0 degree and for a groove which is wobbled in phase at 180 degree respectively, the land interposed between these grooves does not necessarily have in-phase wobbles and the address of the land cannot be determined even if these two adjacent grooves have in-phase wobbles, and provides a technique in which two addresses are provided and the address of the land is determined by either one of these addresses.
FIG. 10 shows the address format described in the above-noted publication.
The addresses include region addresses and track addresses (track numbers), and the region addresses are identical for the segments arranged in the same direction. FIG. 10 shows the track addresses only. G1, G2, G3, . . . represent grooves and L1, L2, L3, . . . represent lands. The track number is smaller toward the inner periphery of a disk and increases toward the outer periphery thereof. The track number in G1 is n+1, the track number in G2 is n+2, the track number in L1 is n+1, and the track number in L2 is n+2. Each groove is wobbled, as shown in FIG. 11, and "0" is recorded by in-phase wobbles of 0 degree and "1" is recorded by in-phase wobbles of 180 degree.
With regard to G1, L1, and G2, in a typical situation, because the track numbers are different for G1 and G2, the phase of wobbles formed in G1 and the phase of wobbles formed in G2 are reversed. Consequently, in L1 sandwiched between G1 and G2, the wobble of G1 and the wobble of G2 form phases of 180 degree with respect to each other, namely reverse phases, and the address cannot be detected. To address this problem, in Address 1, an identical track number is assigned to G1 and G2, so that L1 sandwiched between these grooves has in-phase wobbles which can determine the track number n+1. In Address 2, on the other hand, because the original track numbers n+1 and n+2 are assigned to G1 and G2, respectively, the address of L1 provided between these grooves cannot be detected and results in "NG".
Further, with regard to G2, L2, and G3, in a normal situation, because the track numbers are different for G2 and G3, the phase of wobbles formed in G2 and the phase of wobbles formed in G3 are reversed. Therefore, in L2 sandwiched between G2 and G3, the wobble of G2 and the wobble of G3 form phases of 180 degree with respect to each other, namely reverse phases, and the address cannot be detected. To address this problem, in Address 2, an identical track number is assigned to G2 and G3, so that L2 sandwiched between these grooves has in-phase wobbles which can determine the track number n+2. In this case, in Address 1, the address of L2 cannot be detected and results in "NG".
It should be noted that, for recording address data on a disk in the form of wobbles, binary data is converted into gray code for recording, gray code being a code wherein, for adjacent binary data, the distance between codes, namely the number of inverted bit, is 1.
FIG. 12 shows a gray code converter 2 for converting binary data to gray code, and FIG. 13 shows a relationship between addresses and gray code strings. The gray code converter 2 includes a plurality of EX-OR (Exclusive OR) gates 1. When an address is 8-bit data, the least significant bit LSB is exclusive ORed with the next higher bit to obtain the least significant bit LSB of gray code. In a similar manner, adjacent address bits are exclusive ORed to obtain gray code. The most significant bit MSB of the address is directly used in gray code. In the exclusive OR operation, two identical inputs result in an output 0 and two different inputs result in an output 1. Accordingly, the binary address data "00000000" is converted to gray code "00000000" for that address. The binary address data "00000001" is converted to gray code "00000001". The binary address data "00000010" is converted to gray code "00000011". As is obvious from FIG. 13, the distance between codes for two consecutive address values is always 1.
As described above, conventionally, the land address and the groove address are detected by providing two addresses, Address 1 and Address 2. However, the conventional method merely uses one of these addresses and does not make effective use of redundant addresses. In particular, because there is a possibility that the detected address is erroneous, it is necessary to verify the detected address in some way.
A parity check, for example, is used for error check of detected data. However, the parity check is not desirable because a parity bit must be added to original data and this causes the distance between codes in gray code to exceed 1.

Optical disk device capable of demodulation and verification of address data from land and groove track address systems