A cable retention structure defining a castellated fiber cable clamping surface. The castellated surface has a series of alternating small and large cavities distributed along the axial direction. The small cavities are sized such that when the castellated surface is pressed against the buffer jacket exterior of the fiber cable, the small cavities will be able to clamp the fiber cable jacket within its full dimensional tolerance range. The large cavities are sized to provide sufficient clearance to accommodate the relatively soft material of the cable jacket which cannot be accommodated by the small cavities. The cable jacket is securely held by the retention structure to prevent slipping. Accordingly, fiber cables having buffer jackets with large dimensional variations can still be securely retained by the castellated retention structure in accordance with the present invention.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical fiber connectors, in particular optical fiber cable retention structures in optical fiber connectors.
2. Description of Related Art
There are many advantages of transmitting light signal via optical fiber waveguides, and the use thereof is diverse. Single or multiple fiber waveguides may be used simply for transmitting visible light to a remote location. Complex telephony and data communication systems may transmit multiple specific optical signals. These devices couple fibers in an end-to-end relationship, with the coupling being one source of light loss. Precision alignment of two polished ends of fibers is needed to ensure that overall optical loss in a fiber link is equal or less than the specified optical connector loss budget for a system. For single-mode telecommunication-grade fiber, this typically corresponds to connector fiber alignment tolerances that are less than 1000 nm. This means that in both parallel fiber and single fiber links, operating at multi-gigabit rates, the components applied to align the fibers must be assembled and fabricated with sub-micron precision.
In an optical fiber connection, an optical fiber connector terminates the end of a cable that contains one or multiple fibers, and enables quicker connection and disconnection than splicing. The connectors mechanically couple and align the cores of fibers so that light can pass end-to-end. Better connectors lose very little light due to reflection or misalignment of the fibers. Connectors, in both parallel/multiple fiber and single fiber links, operating at multi-gigabit rates must be assembled with subcomponents fabricated with sub micron precision. As if producing parts with such precision levels were not challenging enough, for the resulting end product to be economical, it must be done in a fully automated, very high-speed process.
Current optical fiber connectors have not changed in basic design for many years. The basic connector unit is a connector assembly. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an optical fiber connector 1400 for a cable 1410 containing optical fibers 1412, which is commercialized by US Conec Ltd. The connector includes an assembly of components consisting of a ferrule 1402, a ferrule housing 1404, a cable boot 1406, alignment guide pins 1408, and other hardware provided within or outside the housing (e.g., cable strain relief, crimp, biasing spring, spacer, etc.). The ferrule 1402 and the terminating end faces of the fibers 1412 are polished. The ferrule 1402 in the optical fiber connector 1400 is spring-loaded to provide an axial bias to press together the polished end faces of the fibers in two connectors in an end-to-end configuration. In most cases, the intent is to establish physical contact between coupled fibers to prevent loss of light. Physical contact avoids a trapped layer of air between two fibers, which increases connector insertion loss and reflection loss. An adaptor, not shown, is required to securely couple the ferrules of two connectors (the ferrule housing 1404 of each connector is plugged into the adaptor).
The optical fiber connector illustrated in FIG. 1 manufactured by US Conec Ltd. is purportedly in accordance with the structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,730, which is assigned to Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. As illustrated in the '730 patent, the optical fiber connector receives a optical fiber ribbon cable having a plurality of individual optical fibers and maintains the individual optical fibers in a predetermined relationship. The optical fiber connector can be mated with another optical fiber connector (e.g., using an adaptor) so as to align the plurality of individual optical fibers of one optical fiber connector with the plurality of optical fibers of the other optical fiber connector.
The ferrule 1402 from US Conec Ltd. is generally in the form of a plastic block having a series of over-sized through-holes that provide sufficient clearance for inserting the terminating ends of optical fibers 1412 and alignment pins 1408 into the block. The ferrule 1402 is formed by molding of a plastic polymer that is often reinforced by glass particles. To insert the terminating ends of the multiple optical fibers 1412 through the holes in the ferrule block 1402, the protective buffer jacket (resin) layers of the optic fibers are stripped off to expose the cladding layer near the terminating ends, and the cladding layer is coated with a layer of epoxy. The terminating ends of the optical fibers are then threaded into the over-sized holes in the ferrule. The ends of the optical fibers 1412 are securely held in the ferrule 1402 upon curing of the epoxy. Similarly, the alignment pins 1408 are retained with epoxy after inserting into the oversized holes in the ferrule 1402 provided for the pins.
The above described ferrule has several significant drawbacks. The injection molded structure inherently does not hold tolerance well. The polymer is not rigid and deforms when loads (forces or moments) are applied to the fiber cable or connector housing. Polymers are also susceptible to creep and thermal expansion/contraction over longer periods of time. The clearance in the over-sized holes in the ferrule further affects tolerance of end-to-end alignment of fibers. The epoxy shrinks upon curing, which leads to bending of the plastic ferrule. Further, epoxy creeps over time, leading to pistoning or retracting of the optical fiber ends (which are pushed against the ends of adjoining fibers) within the holes in the ferrule under the applied axial bias of the spring-load in the connector. This compromises the integrity of the surface contact interface of opposing fiber end faces. These and other deficiencies result in poor resultant tolerance that is more to be desired for modern day optical fiber applications.
Currently, it is generally accepted that fiber connectors cost too much to manufacture and the reliability and loss characteristics are more to be desired. The tolerance of the fiber connectors must improve, and the cost of producing fiber connectors must decrease if fiber optics is to be the communication media of choice for short haul and very short reach applications. The relatively widespread and ever increasing utilization of optical fibers in communication systems, data processing and other signal transmission systems have created a demand for satisfactory and efficient means of inter joining fiber terminals.
To address those needs, the Assignee of the present invention developed a series of optical fiber connector designs, which overcome many of the drawbacks of the prior art. Some of these designs are directed to various improvements to ferrule designs (e.g., ferrules with open grooves and ferrules having alignment structures with open grooves), which can be more cost effectively manufactured and result in optical fiber connectors that are more reliable compared to the prior art optical fiber connectors noted above.
To further push the envelope in optical fiber connector designs, it is further desirable to improve on other aspects of optical fiber connectors beyond ferrules designs. One aspect that can be improved is the retention structure for the fiber cable to prevent breakage of the fiber and retraction of the optical fiber from the ferrule. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,311,449, FIGS. 38 and 39 refers to a crimping member attached to a fiber ferrule. A fiber strength member extends from the crimping member, which supports the fiber cable and maintains the longitudinal position of the fiber relative to the ferrule. The fiber strength member provides strain relief for the fiber cable. It is noted that given the soft materials of the buffer jacket of an optical fiber cable, the overall outer diameter (O.D.) of the fiber cable does not have a tight dimensional tolerance. For example, according to a particular specification for tight buffer optical fiber cables published by Corning Cable Systems in April 2012, the external diameter of the thermoplastic buffer coating shall be 900±50 μm. Heretofore, retention structures for the fiber cable have not been designed to effectively accommodate the relatively large ±50 μm variation of the buffer jacket.
What is needed is an improved optical fiber connector having an improved fiber cable retention structure, which accommodates large variations in overall fiber cable external diameter, and further improves manufacturing, ease of use and reliability at reduced costs.

Castellated optical fiber cable retention structure


A detector to indicate if a telephone call was answered by an answering machine or a live person includes (to analyze frames): a click detector; a ring detector; a voice detector; an energy detector; and a controller. The controller routes to: a voice analyzer if voice occurred; a ring analyzer if ring started, continues, or ended; a noise detector if there is neither ring nor voice; a click analyzer if a click occurred; an answer analyzer if ring did not start in the frame; and a silence analyzer. The noise detector detects noise; the ring analyzer detects start time, end time, and length of ring; the click analyzer detects click time; the answer analyzer detects call answer time; the silence analyzer detects silence and the time of predetermined lengths of silence; and the voice analyzer detects the first frame of voice and routes to an on-first voice analyzer or to an after-first voice analyzer. Lastly, the on-first voice analyzer determines if the call was answered by an answering machine and routes to a reporter and the after-first voice analyzer determines if the telephone call was answered by an answering machine or a live person and routes to the reporter.

It is known in the art that automated systems have been developed for use in telecommunications applications wherein the automated systems will place a telephone call for the purpose, for example, of connecting a business agent at one end with a member of the public at the other end. However, it is becoming increasingly more common for members of the public to utilize machines such as answering machines to respond to incoming calls for the purpose of screening calls, taking messages, blocking calls, and so forth. As those in the art readily appreciate, if the automated system connects a business agent to a machine, there is a great loss in efficiency in the use of the services of the business agent.
Thus, there is need in the art for method and apparatus for detecting whether a telephone call set up by an automated telephony system has been answered by a machine and, in particular, by an answering machine.


A post stabilizer is provided and consists of a collar placed around a post. Telescopic support legs are pivotly mounted to the collar to properly elevate the collar. Stakes through feet of the legs secure the legs to the ground for stabilizing the post.

The instant invention relates generally to holders and more specifically it relates to a post stabilizer.
Numerous holders have been provided in prior art that are adapted to furnish firm bases for christmas trees or any pole-like objects which are required to stand on end. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,551,093; 1,689,050 and 2,485,819 all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they would not be as suitable for the purpose of the present invention as heretofore described.


An bipolar electrosurgical tool (10) for cauterizing or ablating tissue. The tool has a nose cone (12) which serves as a handle. A conductive shaft (14) extends from the nose cone. A tip assembly (18) with an active electrode (20) is mounted to the shaft. A circuit board (78) is mounted in the nose cone. Conductive traces that forming contact pads (96, 102) are formed on the circuit board. A web (108) formed from a single piece of elastomeric material is seated over the opening in which the printed circuit board is mounted to seal the opening shut. Integrally formed with the web are buttons (116, 118) that are in registration over the contact pads. The buttons can be depressed downwardly towards the contact pads. When a button is so depressed, a conductive landing pad (120) integral with the button closes the connection between the traces that form the contact pad. Thus, the tool of this invention is provided with switches. The circuit board also has two conductive traces (92, 104a) that run in parallel. If there is a leak into the nose cone, a connection is established across these traces and shorts out a resistor (105). The shorting out of this resistor provides a control console (22) with an indication that there is a leak. The electrode is formed from a single piece of tantalum. The electrode has a head formed with a hole (172) trough which fluid flows. The electrode is seated in a sleeve (136b) provided with a through bore (177) in registration with the electrode hole.

Electrosurgical tools have been used for a number of years to cut and shape tissue at the surgical sites to which these tools are applied. A typical electrosurgical tool has an elongated shaft, sometimes called a "probe," with a handle at one end and a tip at the opposed end. One type of electrode surgical tool available to surgeons is referred to as a bipolar electrosurgical tool. An active electrode is fitted into the tip of this tool. The shaft of the bipolar electrosurgical tool functions as the return or reference electrode. The tool is applied to a surgical site at which there is a saline solution, a conductive fluid. A voltage is applied at a very high frequency, 50 k Hz to 10 M Hz, from the active electrode to the adjacent end of the shaft. This signal flows through, arcs through, the saline solution and the body tissue against which the tip is applied. When the signal is at a relatively low power, typically under 40 Watts, the signal can coagulate fluid such as blood to seal the tissue closed. When the signal is at a relatively high power, typically 20 Watts or more, it vaporizes the tissue to which it is applied so as to ablate, remove, the tissue. The overlap in the power ranges between the coagulation and ablation modes of operation is due to the fact that, for a given power setting, whether or not a particular electrode coagulates or ablates tissue is also a factor of the size and shape of the head of the electrode. Often, when an electrosurgical tool is used to ablate tissue, it is considered to be operated in the "cutting" mode.
Many currently available electrosurgical tools are designed so that mounted to the handles are switches for regulating the on/off state of the tool and the mode in which the tool is operated. The mounting of these switches to the tool handle makes it possible for the surgeon to, with a single hand, control both the position of the tool and the operation of the tool. The switches are typically mounted to the tool handle in liquid-tight seal assemblies. This mounting is necessary to prevent the conductive liquid that is often present in a surgical environment from entering the handle and shorting out any electrical components therein.
Presently available electrosurgical tools work reasonably well for the purposes for which they are designed. However, there are still some limitations associated with the currently available tools. Some of these limitations are due to the fact that, when an electrosurgical tool is operated in the ablation mode, bubbles form on the surface of the active electrode. One reason these bubbles form is that the electrical energy discharged by the electrode heats the conductive saline solution that surrounds the electrode. The heating of this solution causes it to vaporize and form bubbles. Initially, when relatively low levels of heat are present, the fluid immediately adjacent the surface of the electrode is subjected to thin film boiling and transitional boiling. In this type of vaporization, relatively small bubbles of gaseous state solution form.
However, when additional thermal or electromagnetic energy is radiated from the surface of the active electrode, the adjacent saline solution is subjected to rapid nucleate boiling. During nucleate boiling, relatively large bubbles of vaporized solution form on the surface of the electrode. These bubbles are sometimes referred to as gas pockets. Moreover, during some high powered cutting modes of operation, the electrical current applied to the solution and surrounding tissue causes electrochemical processes to occur in this tissue and liquid. These electrochemical processes produce gaseous state products that contribute the formation of large bubbles and the gas pockets.
At a minimum, these bubbles are a nuisance. The presence of these bubbles interferes with the surgeon's view of the surgical site. This is especially a problem when the electrosurgical tool is employed in an endoscopic surgical procedure. In an endoscopic procedure, the electrosurgical tool is applied to the surgical site through a small opening formed in the patient's body known as a portal. The surgeon views the surgical site through an endoscope that is directed to the surgical site through another portal. An advantage of an endoscopic surgical procedure in comparison to a conventional surgical procedure is that it requires less of the patient's body to be opened up in order to gain access to the surgical site. However, when a conventional electrosurgical tool is employed in an endoscopic surgical procedure, the bubbles generated in the relatively small confines of the space of the surgical site can significantly block the surgeon's view of the site.
Moreover, these bubbles are electrically and thermally insulating. The large bubbles that form gas pockets during high powered cutting can inhibit the flow of new solution that rewets the electrode. Consequently, the bubbles reduce the extent to which current can arc through the tissue that is to be ablated. Sometimes, these bubbles significantly reduce current flow through the tissue. The current flow stays in the reduced state until the bubbles collapse or move away and the saline solution or body fluid flows back into the space between the electrode and the shaft. Thus, sometimes when a presently available electrosurgical tool is actuated, the current only flows in a pulse pattern through the tissue to be ablated.
Moreover, many current electrosurgical tools are provided with wire wound electrodes. It is difficult to form wire wound electrodes so that they have heads with shapes that are especially useful for performing electrosurgical procedures.
Providing a seal around the handle switches can significantly add to the overall cost and assembly of the tool.
Also, sometimes, even with the best seals, there may be liquid leakage into the handle of an electrosurgical tool. This leakage, if not promptly detected, at a minimum, can lead to the degradation of the tool performance. In a worse case scenario, this leakage can cause a conductive path to develop along the outer surface of the handle. If this occurs, the personnel handling the tool may be subjected to electrical shock.
Still another method by which an electrosurgical tool is employed to shape, remove very selected amounts of tissue is by a capsulary shrinkage procedure. In a capsulary shrinkage procedure, the cells forming soft tissue are desiccated, reduced in size. In this type of procedure, as a result of the heating of the active electrode, there is a conductive transfer of the heat from the electrode to the location at which the capsulary shrinkage of tissue is to occur. The thermal energy applied to the site causes the cells forming the tissue at the site to undergo capsulary shrinkage. This process is referred to as a thermally capsulary shrinkage procedure.
In a presently available electrosurgical tool, internal to the tip or distal end of the shaft there may be a small thermistor or other temperature-sensitive transducer. This transducer monitors the temperature of the active electrode to inferentially provide an indication of the temperature of the surgical site. This temperature data is very important because there is a limited temperature range to which tissue can be heated in order to foster its shrinkage without causing damage to the tissue. More particularly thermal capsulary shrinkage of tissue is best performed by heating the tissue to a temperature between 60 and 70° C. If the tissue is heated to a temperature above this range, it may suffer damage. More particularly, the cells forming the tissue may die if heated to a temperature above 70° C. Therefore, when a thermal capsulary procedure is now performed, the temperature of the active electrode is monitored in order to regulate the application of an energization voltage to the electrode. Specifically, the application of the energization voltage to the active electrode is controlled to maintain its temperature within the range at which the thermal capsulary shrinkage process can best occur and to prevent it from rising to level at which cell death or damage can occur.
One disadvantage of the presently available electrosurgical tools is that the transducer internal to the tool only measures the temperature of the adjacent active electrode. This temperature measurement is only an approximate measurement of the temperature at the site to which the electrode is applied. Given the presence of fluids and other material around the active electrode and, more particularly, between the transducer and the surgical site, this measurement may not accurately represent the temperature at the site to which the electrode is applied.
Still another disadvantage associated with the currently available electrosurgical tool relates to the fact that often an AC signal is used to energize the active electrode. This signal generates stray electromagnetic waves. These electromagnetic waves interfere with the generation of the output signal generated by the transducer. Accordingly, it is now common practice to energize an electrosurgical tool in an on/off/on/off pulsed pattern. During time periods when the energization signal is pulsed on, the transducer signal is not employed as a feedback signal since it is adversely affected by the stray electromagnetic waves. Only during the time periods at which the energization signal is pulsed off, and the transducer signal is relatively noise free, is the signal then employed by the downline components as the input signal for regulating the application of energy to the active electrode.
One disadvantage of this mechanism is that the pulsing of current through the active electrode may stress the material from which the electrode is formed. Another disadvantage of this process is that the pulsing causes the thermal energy generated by the electrode to itself be generated in an on/off/on/off pattern. The cyclic generation of this heat can cause it to be unevenly applied to the surgical site. The uneven application of this heat can in turn both make it difficult to control the application of heat and lengthen the time it takes to perform the desired thermal capsulary shrinkage procedure.

System and method for regulating an amount of thermal energy generated by an electrosurgical tool


Apparatus (20, 22) and a method for mechanically joining a steel sheet portion (28 or 32) of advanced high strength steel to a metallic sheet portion (30 or 34) is performed to a light-safe extent by a detector assembly (106) during the mechanical joining that may be clinching, clinch riveting, full-punch riveting or self-piercing riveting.

As disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,770 Durandet et al., lasers have previously been used for joining metals, such as magnesium and/or aluminum, using self-piercing rivets with preheating. Durandet et al. also discloses that the mechanical fastening method may be suitable for a clinching-type process or a press-joining process.
When lasers are utilized, work must be carried out in a light-safe manner so that no undue amount of scattered radiation from an intense laser beam causes damage. Previously such processing has been performed in an enclosed processing station that is secured against operator access during use so there is no exposure of operators to laser emissions.

Apparatus and method for mechanically joining advanced high strength steel


An information processing device includes a disparity information input unit configured to acquire disparity image data indicating a disparity image including a disparity; a V map generating unit configured to generate a V map indicating a frequency of the disparity for each of coordinates of the disparity image by voting the disparity at a position corresponding to the coordinate of each of pixels of the disparity image based on the disparity image data; a shape estimating unit configured to estimate a road surface shape based on the V map; a height table generating unit configured to generate a height table indicating a relationship between the disparity and a height of a road surface based on the estimated road surface shape; and a correcting unit configured to correct, based on rolling information on rolling of a stereo camera that acquires the disparity, information used to generate information indicating the road surface shape so as to cancel out an influence of the rolling.

Conventionally, for the safety of automobiles, automotive body structures or the like have been developed in terms of how to save a pedestrian and protect an occupant when the pedestrian and an automobile crash into each other. However, in recent years, with the advancement of an information processing technology and an image processing technology, a technology to detect a person and an automobile at a high speed is being developed. By applying these technologies, an automobile that prevents an occurrence of a crash by automatically putting a brake before the automobile hits an object has already been developed. In automatic vehicle control, it is necessary to accurately measure a distance to an object, such as a person or some other vehicle; therefore, distance measurement using a millimeter wave radar or a laser radar, distance measurement using a stereo camera, and the like have been put to practical use. To put the above-described automatic vehicle control to practical use, it is necessary to detect objects that appear on a screen and perform control for each of the objects based on information obtained through the distance measurement using the above-described device. For example, it may be possible to change control depending on whether a detected object is a pedestrian or a vehicle.
If a distance is measured by using a stereo camera, it is possible to generate a disparity image based on an amount of deviation (disparity) between local areas captured by left and right cameras, and measure a distance between a subject vehicle and an object ahead of the subject vehicle. Then, through a clustering process of detecting a group of disparity pixels located at similar distances (with similar disparity values) as a single object, it becomes possible to detect the shape of a road surface on which the subject vehicle is running and an object (a person, a vehicle, a structural object, or the like) to be a target for crash avoidance or the like.
As an object recognition apparatus that estimates the shape of a road surface by using a disparity image, there is a disclosed structure that, to eliminate an influence of pitching, rolling, or the like of a subject vehicle, includes: a measuring means that divides an image obtained from a stereo camera into windows and measures a distance to an object for each of the windows; an estimating means that estimates an inclination of a road surface relative to the vehicle based on a distance of the road surface imaged by the stereo camera; a determining means that determines whether an imaging object is an obstacle or a character or a mark on the road surface for each of the windows based on the estimated inclination of the road surface; and a recognizing means that recognizes the object based on a determination result obtained by the determining means. In the structure, a distance from the subject vehicle to the road surface (a flat road surface) is calculated in advance and a distance is calculated for each of the windows based on the assumption that the road surface is flat (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-091217).

Information processing device, imaging device, apparatus control system, information processing method, and computer program product


Upon receiving a keystroke indicator signal from a remote control device, a key code generator device identifies a codeset usable to communicate with a selected consumer device. The keystroke indicator signal contains an indication of a pressed key, which corresponds to a function of the selected consumer device. Using the identified codeset and the key indication, the key code generator device generates a key code and modulates that key code onto a radio frequency carrier signal, thereby generating a first key code signal. The remote control device receives the first key code signal from the key code generator device and modulates the key code onto an infrared frequency carrier signal, thereby generating a second key code signal. The remote control device relays the key code to the selected consumer device in the second key code signal. The key code causes the selected consumer device to perform the desired function.

Most households today possess multiple types of electronic consumer devices, such as televisions, stereo radios, digital video disk players, video cassette recorders, set-top cable television boxes and set-top satellite boxes. Manufacturers of such electronic devices typically supply a remote control device along with each electronic device. It is, therefore, common for a consumer who has multiple electronic devices to have multiple remote control devices.
A remote control device typically controls a selected electronic consumer device by transmitting infrared key code signals to the selected electronic consumer device. The infrared signals contain key codes of a codeset associated with the selected electronic consumer device. Each key code corresponds to a function of the selected electronic device, such as power on, power off, volume up, volume down, play, stop, select, channel up, channel down, etc. In order to avoid the situation where a remote control device unintentionally operates an electronic consumer device that is associated with a different remote control device, manufacturers sometimes use distinct codesets for the communication between various electronic consumer devices and their associated remote control devices. The codesets can differ from each other not only by the bit patterns assigned to various functions of the associated electronic consumer device, but also by the timing information that describes how the key codes should be modulated onto carrier signals to generate key code signals.
Consumers may find it inconvenient to operate their electronic devices using multiple remote control devices. Thus, a consumer may wish to operate multiple electronic consumer devices using a single remote control device. A single remote control device can store many codesets so that the remote control device can control a corresponding large number of different electronic consumer devices. There are, however, thousands of codesets in use in electronic consumer devices today. Manufacturers of remote control devices, however, may wish to limit the memory on their remote control devices to a size that is insufficient to store the thousands of existing codesets.
A system is sought for enabling a remote control device to control a selected one of multiple different electronic consumer devices without requiring the codeset associated with the selected electronic consumer device to be stored on the remote control device.

Relaying key code signals through a remote control device


A method, computer program product, and computer system for identifying, by a computing device, a list of objects containing a plurality of physical layer blocks (PLBs). One or more next PLBs of the plurality of PLBs may be allocated from a selected free object of the list of objects. One or more additional free objects from the list of objects may be generated. Garbage collection may be performed between an inactive object of the plurality of objects and the selected free object.

For NVMe SSDs, especially QLC SSDs, there is a tremendous variance between random write performance and sequential write performance (e.g., by a factor of 10). Some storage systems are writing data to disk in a log structure with relatively big block sizes (e.g., 2 MB Physical Layer Blocks (PLBs)), but they generally will eventually write in a random way rather than sequential, as they are trying to write the freest (most empty) PLB. This means they are bound to the drive's random performance. One of the reasons that random performance is lower than sequential, is that once preconditioned, the drive typically needs to work harder to free full erase blocks that can be erased and overwritten, as it needs to move data from one block to others (e.g., garbage collection).

System and method for improving write performance for log structured storage systems


Novel salicyl alcohol derivatives having valuable cosmetically and pharmaceutically useful properties, such as prostaglandin synthesis inhibition, corresponding to the formula (I):

This invention relates to new salicyl alcohol derivatives, to processes for their preparation and to cosmetic and/or pharmaceutical preparations containing these compounds.
Many naturally occurring alkyl and phenol glucosides show antiviral, antimicrobial and, in some cases, anti-inflammatory effects (S. Matsamura, K. Imai, K. Kawada and T. Uchibori, Surface activities, biodegradability and antimicrobial properties of n-alkyl-glucosides, mannosides and galactosides, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc. 67, 996-1001 (1990); T. Hedner and B. Everts, The early clinical history of salicylates in rheumatology and pain, Clin. Rheumatol. 12, 17-25 (1998)). Above all, aqueous extracts of willow bark (Salix alba, purpurea or fragilis) and poplar are known to have anti-inflammatory activity. Accordingly, corresponding extracts are used in medicinal teas and in cosmetic products, for example to reduce irritation of the skin, as described in German patent application DE 196 15 577. Important ingredients of willow bark include salicin and salicylic acid (o-hydroxybenzoic acid), salicortin (2-[[[(1-hydroxy-6-oxo-2-cyclohexen-1-yl)-carbonyl]oxy]methyl]phenyl-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside) and fragilin (acetyl salicin) while the bark of poplars contains populin (benzoyl salicin). In the main, salicylic acid and its derivatives, such as acetyl salicylic acid, have been very thoroughly investigated for anti-inflammatory activity. As non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), they inhibit prostaglandin synthesis (J. R. Vane, Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis as a mechanism of action of the aspirin-like drugs, Nature, 231, 232-235 (1971)).
Prostaglandins are formed as a reaction to various exogenous cell-specific stimuli by deoxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, more particularly arachidonic acid, catalyzed by the enzymes prostaglandin-synthase-1 and -2 (PGHS-1 and -2). As autocrinal and paracrinal tissue hormones, they are formed to a greater extent in cases of injury or skin irritation, in wound healing processes and in inflammatory reactions.
Normal epidermis already contains significant quantities of prostaglandins which are evidently formed by PGHS-1 because PGHS-2 is not expressed. In irritated skin, prostaglandins (above all PGE2 and PGF27 from the keratinocytes) as local inflammation mediators promote both the dilation (widening) and also greater permeability of blood vessels and are thus involved in the reddening, heating and swelling of the skin typical of inflammation reactions (G. Fxc3xcrstenberger, Role of eisosanoids in mammalian skin epidermis, Cell. Biol. Rev. 24, 1-90 (1990); G. Fxc3xcrstenberger, V. Kinzel, M. Schwarz and F. Marks, Partial inversion of the initiation-promotion sequence of multistage tumorigenesis in the skin of NMRI mice; Science 230, 76-78 (1985)) and in the development of a regenerative epidermal hyperplasia. Prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors are capable of preventing these unwanted effects.
Besides the salicin derivatives occurring in willow and poplar mentioned at the beginning, the isolation of benzoyl salicin from plants is known from the literature (L. van Hoof et al., Plant viral agents, VI. Isolation of antiviral phenolic glucosides from Populus cultivar Beaupre by droplet counter-current chromatography, J. Nat. Prod. 52, 875-878 (1989)) as is the enzymatic production of phenyl butyryl salicin (R. T. Otto, U. T. Bornscheuer, C. Syldatk and R. D. Schmid, Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of arylaliphatic esters of D(+)-glucose, alkyl- and aryl-glucosides and characterization of their surfactant propeties; J. Biotechnol. 64, 231-237 (1998)).

Abstract: a method for producing the same and their utilization in cosmetics and pharmacy.


Method for installing a hollow concrete tower comprising the following steps: a) arranging a platform on a site; b) arranging on said platform at least one partial full-segment mould in a position such that the segment axis of the segment being cast in said mould is substantially vertical; c) pouring concrete inside said arranged partial mould(s); d) allowing the poured concrete to set to working strength, generating corresponding segment(s); e) removing the arranged mould(s) with concrete set to working strength, to leave the corresponding segment(s) exposed; f) assembling said corresponding exposed segment(s); and g) optionally, repeating steps b)-f) at least once.

Various systems are known for installing hollow concrete towers. These installation systems mainly differ in the processes executed from the time of pouring the concrete used to make the tower itself until the tower reaches the shape and strength required to install the wind turbine.
Prior to installing a hollow concrete tower, corresponding foundations must be installed. Foundations installation may be supplemented within a same process with a stage actually belonging to the tower installation, namely a base segment assembly stage directly on the site, resting on the foundations (see for example DE 102009058124 A1). The present invention relates to a method for installing a hollow concrete tower, and does not include stages relating to the installation of corresponding foundations.
For sake of clarity, some concepts will be defined as follows for the purposes of the present specification:                Site: The ground surface area occupied by the vertical projection of the shaft of a hollow concrete tower once installed. The site therefore defines a site axis, essentially vertical, along which the shaft of the corresponding hollow concrete tower extends.        Platform: The working area located immediately adjoining or surrounding the site, excluding the site itself, in which various activities are performed in order to install a hollow concrete tower.        Part: Each one of the elements integrating the shaft of a hollow concrete tower. Due to the extremely large dimensions of current hollow concrete towers, the latter are generally made from a plurality of parts.        Segment: A part or group of parts that form a complete horizontal cross-section of the shaft of a hollow concrete tower but only part of the height thereof. When installed, each segment therefore has a segment axis, substantially vertical, that is coaxial with the site axis. Due to the extremely large dimensions of current hollow concrete towers, these segments are generally made from a plurality of parts. Of the segments that make up an hollow concrete tower, the bottom segment will be referred to herein as the base segment and the remaining segments will be referred to herein as elevation segments.        Factory: The auxiliary infrastructure used to precast concrete parts for a hollow concrete tower.        Transportation: The transport of parts from a factory to a platform by means of a motor vehicle.        Assembly: The process performed using a crane placed on the platform to handle parts in general, placing the parts in their installed position in a hollow concrete tower.
The above terms are used to differentiate the following installation systems for hollow concrete towers intended to be industrial wind turbine concrete towers:
A) Towers Precast at a Distance From Site Cleared by Means of Transportation
In this case the tower is made of different parts precast in moulds in a factory. This factory can be located at a far or near distance from the site, therefore requiring a transportation stage from the location where the parts are cast to the installation location.
The importance of the transportation operation will depend on the distance from the factory, from both a logistical standpoint and with respect to the costs of installing the tower. With regard to this distance, completely opposite situations can exist: short distances in which a factory is installed in the wind farm itself, or large distances requiring a complex logistical chain and even including a combination of ground and maritime transport in case of being in different continents.
With this installation system, the parts finally arrive at the site on a truck, and subsequently enter the corresponding assembly.
It should be noted that the transportation stage is a limiting factor in the design of the tower, as depending on the transportation constraints (regarding both national regulations and the available units) it may be necessary to make larger or smaller parts, correspondingly including more or fewer joints in both of the main dimensions of the tower, that is, horizontal joints at a specified height or vertical joints at a specified azimuth.
In addition, the existence of the transportation stage makes it advisable to minimise the volume of concrete used in the tower, thereby requiring stronger concrete, and in some cases even requiring that the tower be built with high-strength concretes that are both more expensive and more difficult to obtain or produce depending on the geographical location of the wind farm. In addition, the presence of horizontal and, if applicable, vertical joints requires significant wall thickness values in order to house the kits that provide load continuity at the joint. This in turn requires over-dimensioning the wall thickness, at least in the areas near the joints, with the resulting increase in cost, particularly for expensive concretes. Moreover, the joints themselves require a mortar that is generally more expensive than the concrete employed. If entire segments will be transported, the conventional diameters of the lower heights of the towers (typically greater than 6.5 m) make the segments essentially incompatible with the track gauge for logistical reasons. Similarly, maximum height clearances for conventional road transportation require using parts with small dimensions, which implies a large number of operations in the assembly process. For example, normal transportation regulations imposing maximum dimensions of 2.4 m×12 m and loads of 25 t per truck mean that for a tower with height of 120 m it could be necessary to transport and assemble over 40 parts.
Furthermore, in the transportation stage the parts are handled during loading and unloading and usually deposited in temporary storage locations. During these manoeuvers and deposits the parts are often supported horizontally, which may place demands on the parts that are above the design specifications thereof in the installed condition; this may in turn require over-dimensioning certain part parameters in order to withstand said demands, such as the reinforcement. In addition, this situation may require installing bushings in the parts for anchoring to the means used to support the parts in a horizontal position, which requires not only using said subsequently superfluous bushings but often also requires subsequent rendering work to hide said bushings. This also increases the complexity of the design of each part.
Indeed, particularly when there are vertical joints, a preassembly stage is occasionally performed between transportation and assembly to form segments from several parts, lengthening the installation method and again potentially placing demands on the parts greater than the design specifications thereof for the installed condition.
Consequently, this installation system requires both transportation and assembly.
See for example WO 2012/168467 A2.
B) Towers Erected on Site
These are towers in which the concrete is cast in formwork placed such that the concreted element obtained after hardening is a part in installed condition, that is, the tower is moulded directly on site in its entire vertical extension, pouring the concrete in the same location. In this case no parts are manufactured in a factory, nor is it necessary to transport or assemble (or preassemble) any parts, as the parts themselves form the tower in the installed condition as they are made.
However, with regard to towers which can reach heights over 100 m, in practice it is not possible to concrete the entire tower all at once. One of the problems involves handling the full vertical length of the formwork, and particularly carrying the concrete to the height of the top of the formwork to allow pouring said concrete into the formwork. To minimise this problem, partial formworks are used with a height that is a fraction of the full height of the tower, which are then carried upward as the concreted parts set. Normally the partial formworks have a configuration defining a full segment. Concentrating all the production processes (casting, reinforcing and concreting) in the same vertical line conditions the production rate and complicates the industrialisation of the installation method, resulting in long installation times for a tower due to the time required for the concrete to set between one segment and the next, as well as the removal and positioning of the formwork in order to move it upward. The installation of a tower over 100 m high using this system generally lasts at least 20 days, using formwork with 6-metre self-hoisting climbing plates. In addition, the installation of a plurality of towers is either extremely slow if performed in series, moving the formwork consecutively from one site to another, or very expensive if performed in parallel at several sites, as it is necessary to have as many formworks as there are simultaneous sites. See for example EP 0960986 A2.
High-tech hoisting or sliding formworks have been designed which speed up the process but imply high complexity of the formwork, specially for conventional towers, as these towers have a shape that tapers vertically which requires changing the morphology of the formwork as it is moved upward.
Consequently, in this installation system there is no transportation or assembly.
An special system to erect on site a tower comprises extrusion of the shaft of the tower. The system comprises installing a single segment, in particular a base segment, with a closed lower rim and an open upper rim, wherein concrete is injected into said base segment until overflowing beyond said open upper rim. This concept implies injection being performed at a certain speed suitable for the concrete overflowing beyond the open upper rim of the base segment to set up to an extent so as to maintain a cylindrical shape. However, this is not a wide-spread system actually, mainly due to the fact that building specially high towers, such as industrial wind turbine concrete towers, requires an extremely high power consumption in order to pump concrete up to heights over 100 m and very long installation times as the concrete setting rate leads to inject concrete at a correspondingly low rate. See for example WO 2007/025555 Al and GB 619048.
In any case, it remains that in this installation system there is no transportation or assembly.
C) Combined Towers
It is possible to combine the aforementioned techniques, particularly for tapered towers, forming the bottom parts of the tower on site and the rest of the tower using prefabricated parts. On one hand the complexity of the hoisting formwork is reduced, as the need to modify the morphology of the formwork is limited, since the more distant positions in which the formwork will be used require dimensions that are more similar to one another, while at the same time the limitations resulting from the transportation of the parts are reduced, since the rings of the tower with the largest diameter is formed on site. It is even possible to manufacture the tower on site to a height such that it is technically and legally possible to transport the remaining parts in the form of segments.
However, a person skilled in the art will understand that this system has the drawbacks of both of the aforementioned systems, albeit reduced, as one stage is cumbersome and slow due to the formwork-pouring-setting process for previous segments and the other stage requires transporting objects with a large size or in great number.

Method for installing a hollow concrete tower made from more than one segment and corresponding hollow concrete tower


A method and apparatus for leak testing a hollow body wherein the hollow body is placed in a test chamber. A prechamber is brought to a desired pressure, then connected with the test chamber. The pressure in the test chamber is stored at a certain point in time on an input side of a differential pressure sensor and then the course of the test chamber pressure is compared with reference pressure thus formed. Any pressure compensation which occurs if leaks are present in the hollow body is recorded as an indication of such leakage.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for testing tightness of at least one hollow body and for detecting a change in volume caused by pressure stress applied to walls of the hollow body such as, for example, a flexible hollow body such as a coffee package.
In the packaging of certain foodstuffs such as sweeteners and coffee or also medications such as, for example, effervescent tablets, it is essential that the packaging containers are sealed tight against the environment in order to prevent the packaged goods from becoming contaminated by, for example, atmospheric humidity. The goods are sometimes packed in containers such as cans or pouches. These containers are generally dimensionally stable or flexible hollow bodies which are fitted with lids or closable sections which can be opened, but which in the closed state are intended to tightly seal the interior of the hollow body.
Various procedures, for example, welding, are used in the manufacture of such containers. In addition to the tightness of such hollow bodies, also the rigidity of the walls of the dimensionally stable containers, especially in the area of junction points, is an essential criteriion determining their useability. Excessively rigid or excessively weak sections such as weld seams, may result in cracks forming when the container is in use, for example, in areas where parts of different rigidity are joined.

Method and apparatus for leak testing a hollow body


The toner of the present invention includes toner particles containing polyester resins A and B and a colorant, the A has a polyester portion including a portion capable of forming a crystal structure and a crystal nucleating agent portion, which is bonded to an end of the polyester portion, the B is free from any portions capable of forming a crystal structure, in a chart obtained as a result of GPC of a THF-soluble matter of the B, a ratio of a component having a molecular weight of 1500 or less in the B is 5.0 to 15.0% by area, and when an SP value of the polyester portion of the A is represented by Sa ((cal/cm3)1/2) and an SP value of the B is represented by Sb ((cal/cm3)1/2), the SP values Sa and Sb satisfy the following relationships:9.50≦Sa≦11.00−0.65≦Sb−Sa≦0.70.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner for use in electrophotography, an image forming method for visualizing an electrostatic charge image and a toner jet.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a general electrophotographic method, a method for obtaining a copied image by forming a latent image on an image carrier (a photosensitive body), visualizing the latent image by supplying a toner thereto, transferring the resulting toner image onto a transfer material such as paper and then fixing the toner image on the transfer material with heat/pressure is known.
In order to reduce the power consumption and shorten the wait time of an electrophotographic apparatus, an on-demand type fixing apparatus obtained by combining a ceramic heater with a small thermal capacity and a film has been put to practical use as a fixing apparatus.
In such a fixing apparatus, attempts have been made to reduce a fixing nip internal pressure thereof from the viewpoint of elongation of the lifetime and applicability to a variety of media.
Furthermore, according to recent increase in a print speed, time when a toner and a medium such as paper pass through a nip of a fixing apparatus has become shorter year by year.
Moreover, there are recently increasing opportunities for a user to output, by using an image forming apparatus such as a laser beam printer (LBP), a graphic image with a high coverage rate such as image data taken through a digital camera, a portable terminal or the like, or a poster.
In this context, there is a demand for a toner capable of showing an excellent low temperature fixing property even under severer fixing conditions, for example, conditions for forming an image with a high coverage rate in a short period of time with a low nip internal fixing pressure.
In order to achieve low temperature fixation by such a fixing apparatus, it is necessary to attain better low temperature fixation of a toner than that of a conventional toner, and there are a large number of reports on use, as a binding resin, of not only an amorphous rein but also a crystalline resin for this purpose.
It is known that a crystalline resin is abruptly molten in the vicinity of its glass transition temperature and can be improved in the low temperature fixing property by increasing compatibility with an amorphous resin (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-102058).
When the compatibility therebetween is too high, however, there arises a problem in which the resulting toner is degraded in a heat-resistant storage property and crystallizability on the contrary.
In contrast, when the compatibility between an amorphous resin and a crystalline resin is lowered, the crystal of the crystalline resin is liable to be easily formed, but these resins are hard to be compatible with each other even at a temperature over melting points thereof, and hence, it is difficult to improve the low temperature fixing property particularly when a fixing time is short or a nip internal pressure is low.
Meanwhile, it is known that the fixing property and the resistance to deterioration of a toner can be improved by reducing the content of a low molecular weight component in a resin (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-84226).
If the fixing pressure is low, however, a sufficient fixing property cannot be attained merely by providing a sharp melt property to the resin.
In order to solve this problem, it is known that the low temperature fixing property and glossiness can be improved by causing a toner to contain amorphous polyester including a small amount of low molecular weight component and crystalline polyester (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-21595).
If the toner merely contains the amorphous polyester and the crystalline polyester, however, the amorphous polyester and the crystalline polyester become compatible with each other when the toner is molten in a fixing step. As a result, the toner present in a fixed image becomes more plasticized than necessary, and the toner image resulting from fixing may be blocked in some cases under a severe environment of a high temperature and high humidity.
In this manner, there still remains a large number of technical problems for attaining both an excellent low temperature fixing performance and long-term storage stability of a fixed image under a high temperature environment, and there still is room for further improvement.


A coiled spring making apparatus is provided, including a coiling section for forming coiled springs and a progressive forming section for progressively feeding the coiled springs formed at the coiling section to a plurality of stages on which the coiled springs are held and successively formed into the desired shape. The coiling section is of a bending die system of coiling section at which the coiled springs are formed with their axes kept vertical, and is mounted on a movable table which is movable to any position horizontally or transversely with respect to the progressive forming section and fixed there.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for making coiled springs.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
Conventional coiled spring making apparatuses rely upon one of two basic systems for forming coiled portions.
According to one system called the core shaft type system, a wire is held around a core shaft including lugs thereon, which is then turned simultaneously with its axial movement to wind up the wire in a close- or pitch-coiled manner, and arms extending from both ends of the coiled portion are formed by a tool at the forming section, followed by winding-off into the coiled spring product.
According to another system referred to as the bending die system, feed rollers with a wire held therebetween are rotated to continuously feed out the wire through a wire guide and force it upon a bending die for coiling to form the coiled spring product. Alternatively, before or after that, the wire is intermittently fed out to form an arm or arms extending from one or both ends of the coiled portion by a tool at the forming section, thereby making the coiled spring products.
Most of conventional coiled spring making apparatuses substantially follow such basic systems. In general, however, the ends of coiled springs are processed into desired shapes at a forming section arranged in such a form as surrounding a coiling section before and/or after the forming of the coiled portions. In recent years, coiled spring making apparatuses numerically controlled in various forms have been developed and are now prevailing as main installations throughout the industry. Currently available are, for instance, an apparatus with built-in single spindle numerical controls wherein only the driving of a core shaft is numerically controlled to allow it to follow and synchronize with the driving of a conventional mechanical type of forming section at high speeds, an apparatus wherein the driving of a core shaft and a pitching mechanism are numerically controlled by two spindles for operative association with a pneumatic or hydraulic program sequence system of forming section, an apparatus wherein the driving of feed rollers and the driving of a main shaft to rotate several types of specific cams at the same time and angle for the actuation of several types of tools at a forming section are numerically controlled by two spindles, an apparatus wherein the driving of feed rollers and the operation of main tools at a forming section are numerically controlled by five or six spindles at the same time, and so on.
Of such several types of coiled spring making apparatuses apparatus, the core shaft system of the coiled spring making apparatus can operate at twice to triple the production rate of the bending die system of the apparatus, partly because arm forming can be carried out after a wire has been positively wound around the core shaft and partly because various forming tools can be mechanically operated at considerably high speeds and in an assured manner since dimensional accuracy during forming can be determined in consideration of their sizes and disposition. The former apparatus have an additional advantage of being inexpensive. However, the core shaft system of the coiled spring making apparatus involves the following problems. When both arms are to be formed, not only are much time and skill required for preparatory steps including the determination of the disposition and timing of actuation of forming tools and the selection and regulation of cams to actuate them but, in most cases, visual inspection is also needed for the whole pieces after forming, since to pick up a wire in a stable manner tends to be insecure for reason that lugs provided on the core shaft to hold the wire can be easily wearable. In addition, the diameter of a coiled portion obtained by winding the wire around the core shaft, followed by winding-off, tends to be unstable in terms of dimensional accuracy, since it is in an enlarged state where there are variations in the amount of springing back due to the properties of the starting wire (variations in its tensile strength and its own peculiarities). Moreover, it is impossible to control the orthogonal angles of both arms attached to coiled springs.
On the other hand, the bending die system of the coiled spring making apparatus have the following merits. Since forming is carried out with a wire successively fed out of one end, how to operate at the respective steps is easy to understand and most tools and cams of the forming section can be standardized. Moreover, it is possible to control the orthogonal angles of both arms extending from both ends of a coiled spring. Thus, a short length of time and some skillfulness are only needed for preparatory steps and selection, so that even a technician having an elementary knowledge can well operate such apparatus. Unlike the aforesaid core shaft system, it is further possible to form tension or torsion coiled springs of various geometries. (It is here understood that some tension coiled springs may be produced even by the core shaft system). However, this system has the following productivity and cost problems. The production rate of coiled springs drops considerably because of its relying upon the step of feeding a wire successively out of one end through the predetermined length, which is to be intermittently interrupted, and having a need of synchronizing a double spindle servomotor. In addition, when a second arm is to be formed after the coiled portion of a coiled spring has been formed, it is inevitably required that the coiled portion be swung by a tool at the forming section only through an angle at which that arm is to be formed. Thus, because of fears that the reference point of load of the coiled spring may depart from the specified tolerance and the angle of bending of the second arm to be formed may be unstable, the production rate of coiled springs need to be lowered. Such production rate should also be brought down for another reason that it is required to set torque at a relatively high level, since the load upon the servomotor suffers from a large change from zero to a high due to primary operations of bending wires directly and sharply, thus making the synchronism of two-spindle numerical control unstable in view of the driving characteristics of the servomotor. Such drawbacks are added by high price of the apparatus.
Thus, the conventional apparatus for making coiled springs have both advantages and disadvantages, and the coiled spring making industry now does not only suffer chronically from expert storage but is also increasingly required to supply a variety of articles made on an experimental basis to cope with diverse aspects of society. In urgent need is, therefore, the achievement of a coiled spring making system which can cope with producing a greater variety of coiled spring products in small quantities at reduced costs of production, while making it possible to make coiled springs at higher rates with rapid preparatory arrangements but with no need of skilled hands.
In order to cope with such problems as mentioned above, an object of the present invention is to provide a coiled spring making apparatus in which:
a coiling section is disposed adjacent to a forming section to process a terminating end of a coiled spring, thereby performing the forming of the coiled spring at the coiling section and the forming of the terminating end and/or an arm of the coiled spring at the same time and in parallel.
The forming section being operable to grip the coiled spring formed at the coiling section just after forming and progressively feeding the coiled spring, as gripped, to a plurality of stages where it is progressively formed into a completed coiled spring product.
More specifically, while forming the coiled spring at the coiling section, the coiled spring is formed at the progressive forming section disposed adjacent to the coiling section at the same time as and in parallel with the coiling section regardless of the number of steps of processing the ends of the coiled spring. In order to allow such a coiled spring making system to function satisfactorily, even w hen coiled springs of various length and shapes are formed at the coiling section, the coiled springs differing in the direction of turning of the coiled portions and the diameter, length, number of turns and pitch of coils and including at their leading and terminating ends arms which may be reduced to zero in length, the coiled springs can stably and securely be gripped directly with members for gripping and progressively feeding the coiled springs at the progressive forming section. In addition, forming occurring at the respective stages can be carried out without trouble, and the coiled spring formed at the coiling section can stably and securely be located at a grip position on the progressive forming section. Thus, even a technician having an elementary knowledge can easily work out preparatory steps and make coiled springs at high production rates.


A backlight module and a display device are provided. The backlight module includes: a light source unit; a light guide plate, for guiding light to a display panel; an optical component for uniformly irradiating the display panel; and a back plate, at least including a bottom plate, for accommodating the light guide plate, the light source unit, and the optical component. The light guide plate and the optical component are provided with a hole penetrating through the two, a part of the back plate at the hole is bent and inserted into the hole to form a side wall, a side end surface of the optical component close to the hole is inclined regarding an axis of the hole, and an annular light-shielding structure is around a top surface of the hole.

Currently, mobile phones in which front cameras are placed in the display areas prevail in market. A perforated screen is a display screen with a high screen-to-body ratio. The perforated screen refers to that a circular hole is formed in the display area of the mobile phone, which is used for arranging functional components, such as a front camera, so as to improve the screen ratio.

Backlight module including annular light-shielding structure and display device including the same

Beijing BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.

BEIJING BOE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.


An eyetracker is used to control power to an electrical device such as a computer display screen so that power consumption is reduced when a user""s eyes and therefore a user""s attention are not directed to the device. A motion detector activates a proximity detector and/or an IR detector to ensure that power is applied only when a user is actually present.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to controlling power consumption in electrical devices having a finite source of energy, such as battery driven devices and, more particularly, to controlling power consumption in the use of computer displays.
2. Description of Related Art
Computer displays face a problem that if some types of display are left running for a long period of time with a particular image formed on the screen, each portion of the image formed on the screen would become more or less permanently etched into the screen. CRT displays are particularly susceptible to this problem.
Screen savers were developed to minimize this type of occurrence. A screen saver program is loaded and activated if a period of time elapses during which nothing is typed or no mouse movement is detected. In short, when a computer is left unattended with no activity, a screen saver would blacken the screen totally, except, perhaps, for a moving display which would cross the screen in an irregular pattern so that the same pattern would not be displayed at the same location on the screen for extended periods of time.
Flat panel displays, and other types of display also utilize screen saver programs in part to equalize the on and off times of driver circuit elements so that certain driver circuits or light emitting elements were not utilized substantially more than others, aging more rapidly and becoming thus more prone to failure.
Eyetracking devices are known particularly in conjunction with heads up displays in certain control applications in aircraft. An eyetracker device monitors the eyes of a user and calculates the direction in which the user is looking and, in some applications, the particular point in three dimensional space on which the user""s eyes focus.
One commercial eyetracker is the Dual-Purkinje-Image (DPI) Eyetracker, manufactured by Forward Optical Technologies, Inc. of El Chaon, Calif. It determines the direction of gaze over a large two dimensional visual field with great accuracy and without any attachments to the eye. It operates with infra-red light which is invisible to the subject and does not interfere with normal vision. The eyetracker has a pointing accuracy on the order of one minute of arc and response time on the order of one millisecond. One can utilize the DPI Eyetracker with an infra-red optometer to allow a continuous measure of eye focus, producing a three dimensional eyetracker.
The Problems
The prior art has failed to adequately address the need for controlling power consumption in electrical devices having a finite source of energy, e.g. in battery driven devices such as computer displays. In such devices, power is frequently wasted by permitting the device to continue to run even though no user is in the vicinity. In the context of a computer display, display power is certainly wasted if no one is looking at the display. In addition, in the prior art, when a screen saver switches on, and the screen suddenly goes black, a user, in the vicinity of the display, has his attention abruptly distracted toward the screen which switched off.
There is thus a need for improving the control of power consumption in electrical devices, particularly in computer displays. There is also a need for improving the way in which screen savers are activated.
The present invention provides apparatus, processes, systems and computer program products which have the overcome the problems of the prior art. This is achieved by detecting when a user""s attention is directed to the electrical device and reducing the power consumption when his attention is not so directed. It is also directed to detecting the absence of a user in the vicinity of the electrical device and shutting down power consumption to an even greater level when that occurs. When a user returns, power is automatically reapplied.
The invention is directed to apparatus for automatically applying power to an electrical device, including a motion detector, a proximity detector and an optional infrared (IR) detector, activated by the motion detector""s detecting motion, and a switch connected to a source of power and to the electrical device and controlled by the motion detector and the proximity detector for applying power to the electrical device when the proximity detector detects an object within a predetermined distance from the electrical device while it is activated by the motion detector. A power off timer, activated when power is applied to the electrical device, is reset by the motion detector""s detecting motion. It may be used for controlling the switch to remove power from the electrical device when the timer times out.
The invention is also directed to a computing device having a processor, a display having a controllable intensity, an eyetracker providing a signal indicating where a user""s eyes are looking and a control for changing intensity of the display based on that signal. The control reduces the intensity gradually when a user looks away from the display so as not to distract the user. When the user""s eyes return to the display for a predetermined period of time, the control reestablishes the intensity level of the display in effect before the user looked away. The user""s eyes returning to the display can be an instantaneous return, an return to the screen for a predetermined time interval or when the user""s eyes fix on a particular point on the screen. Alternatively, the intensity level can be reestablished when the user""s eyes begin to move toward the display. Power to the eyetracker is removed when the user has not looked at the display for a predetermined period of time.
The invention also relates to a method for automatically applying power to an electrical device, by detecting motion, by detecting proximity of objects to the device; and by applying power to the device when an object is within a predetermined distance from the electrical device within a predetermined period of time after motion has been detected.
The invention also relates to a method of controlling intensity of images on a display, by detecting where a user""s eyes are looking and by changing intensity of images on the display based on where a user""s eyes are looking.
The invention is also directed to a computer system including a network, a plurality of computers connected to the network, one of which is a computer equipped with a motion detector a proximity detector activated by the motion detector detecting-motion; and a switch connected to a source of power and to the electrical device and controlled by the motion detector and the proximity detector for applying power to the at least a particular one of the plurality of computers when the proximity detector detects an object within a predetermined distance from the computer.
The invention is also directed to computer program products each including a memory medium and containing one or more computer programs and data used to implement the above methods, apparatus and systems.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein only the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

Eyetrack-driven illumination and information display


The invention relates notably to large-sized image sensors or image sensors with a large number of rows. Each column of pixels is organized in P superposed blocks. A row decoder organized as P identical decoders selects one row out of M in each of the P blocks. Each block is linked to one respective column conductor out of P column conductors. P read circuits CL1 to CL4 are placed at the foot of each column of pixels and each is connected to a respective column conductor. The signals from the P rows selected by the decoder can be extracted simultaneously or else they can be selected by a specific decoder which selects one read circuit out of the P read circuits of each column. The matrix can be produced by photolithography, by abutting identical matrix portions, for example P different portions corresponding to P identical regions ZB1 to ZB4.

When the number of rows of the image sensors and their size increases, it is essential to pay particular attention to the organization of the matrix of pixels which allows for this increase in the number of rows or size.
In a conventional configuration for a moderate-sized matrix with moderate resolution, the organization is very simple: the matrix comprises X rows and Y columns and there is a row decoder making it possible to select one row out of X and a column decoder making it possible to select one column out of Y.
However, when the number of rows increases, it may be necessary to change the organization in order to more rapidly read all the pixels of the matrix. One solution consists, for example, in reading the matrix simultaneously from the top and from the bottom.
Also, when the size of the sensor increases, a limitation is imposed by the photolithography techniques which do not make it possible in practice to expose all at once the entire surface of the matrix and rather require a piecemeal exposure according to the so-called "stitching" technique consisting, during a photolithography step, in successively exposing several contiguous parts of the integrated circuit. However, an exposure of the surface by "stitching" may pose problems for the production of the row decoding circuits.
The present invention starts from these two issues to provide a solution thereto, but it should be understood that the solution can be implemented to address either the first issue or the second, or both together. We will start from the "stitching" photolithography issue to explain the invention.
In this type of photolithography, suited to chips measuring several square centimeters, it is possible to use several different masks to successively expose, during a photolithography step, several regions of the chip, each with its own pattern, until the entire surface of the chip followed by the adjacent chips on the same wafer are exposed. However, it is also possible, advantageously, to use a single mask to expose several regions of the chip when these regions are strictly identical. This is well suited to the production of the matrix of pixels. The matrix can be considered as a juxtaposition of several identical blocks each comprising a certain number of rows. A mask is defined for a single block, and this mask can be moved over the surface to be exposed as many times as there are blocks.
However, there is a difficulty: if a block includes not only rows of pixels but also the decoding elements that make it possible to address these rows, the blocks cannot all be identical. In practice, the decoder part for one block is not strictly identical to the decoder part for another block. The differences are very small but they do exist.
It would therefore be necessary in principle to expose the row decoder separately from the matrix, which necessitates an additional fabrication step; the matrix would be exposed in successive blocks, whereas the row decoder would use a different specific mask. This specific mask would also have to be of large size because the row decoder occupies the entire height of the matrix.
It is also possible to artificially make all the blocks of the matrix of pixels identical, by making the construction of each pixel more complex: a pixel generally comprises a row selection transistor controlled by a row conductor associated with a determined row of pixels, this row conductor being linked to the row decoder; if the matrix is organized in strictly identical blocks, it is then possible to provide for each pixel to comprise an additional block selection transistor, linked to another row conductor originating from the row decoder. A row of pixels would be controlled in read mode only if the two row conductors are activated. It is then possible to have strictly identical blocks, including identical row decoder blocks. However, then the decoding is more complex and, above all, each pixel is more complex.

Integrated circuit array having column conductors each associated with a respective basic read circuit, and in particular a large-sized image sensor


A light emitting device includes a conductive substrate, a plurality of light emitting cells disposed on the conductive substrate, wherein each of the plurality of light emitting device cells includes a first semiconductor layer, a second semiconductor layer, and an active layer between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer, a protective layer disposed to cover a side of the first semiconductor layer and a side of the active layer, and a first electrode for connecting the second semiconductor layers of more than one of the light emitting cells to each other, wherein the protective layer includes protruding portions extending to an inside of each of the light emitting cells from the side of the first semiconductor layer and the side of the active layer.

Red, green, and blue LED (Light Emitting Diode) have been developed which can produce high brightness and a white color based on development of metal organic chemical vapor deposition and molecular beam epitaxy of GaN.
Since the LED is environment friendly as the LED does not contain substances harmful to environment, such as mercury, used in related art lighting devices, such as incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps, and is advantageous in that the LED has a long lifetime, and low power consumption, the LED is replacing the present light sources. Core competitiveness of the LED lies on embodiment of high brightness owing to high efficiency•high power chips and packaging technologies.
For embodiment of the high brightness, it is important to enhance light extraction efficiency. In order to enhance the light extraction efficiency, different methods are under study by using a flip-chip structure, surface texturing, patterned sapphire substrate PPS, a photonic crystal technology, an anti-reflection layer structure, and so on.


A reserve battery that is activated via a low energy mechanical force. The reserve battery generally includes a battery case having an electrolyte compartment at a first end and an electrode compartment at a second end, a first terminal having an external button connected to the case at the first end, and a second terminal connected to the case at the second end. A movable ampoule is movably positioned within the electrolyte compartment. A bias member is located within the case between the external button and the ampoule and a porous cutter is positioned within the case between the electrodes and the ampoule and supported by an inverted U-shaped support structure. When an external force is applied to the external button, the bias member transfers an internal force to the ampoule to cause the ampoule to engage the cutter and allow the electrolyte to release thus activating the battery.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a battery and more specifically it relates to a reserve battery system that is easily activated via a low energy mechanical force thus allowing the reserve battery to be used in a wide variety of consumer related and non consumer related electrical devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Reserve batteries have been around for many years and are generally used as specialty batteries which have a very long shelf life for military applications, wherein the shelf life refers to the period prior to usage of the battery power. In many instances, reserve batteries have been large, bulky, heavy and expensive to build, and contain large areas of wasted space due to mechanical separators (which require a large force, such as a hammer or explosion, to break in order for activation).
For these reasons, the production and use of reserve batteries has generally been less than optimal and also has been restricted to the military or large organizations. Because of the inherent problems with the related art, there is a need for a new and improved reserve battery system that is easily activated via a low energy mechanical force thus allowing the reserve battery to be used in a wide variety of consumer related and non consumer related electrical devices.


In order to obtain precise submodel control in a central processing unit, there is provided a subcounter which is controlled to count up from a beginning count as an instruction is executed and to count back down at the same rate to the reference count to obtain an effective delay before processing of the next instruction to be processed during normal program execution is started. Instruction transfer and decoding of the new instruction entering the pipeline is inhibited until the subcounter's most significant bit ("sign bit") changes state. If the subcounter is allowed to count during the entire count up and count down periods, a derated mode of 1/2 is achieved. To obtain other fractions, the subcounter is controlled to count periodically during one count direction period and to count full time during the other count direction period. In the exemplary embodiment, 1/4 and 3/4 derating is selectively achieved by the use of a modulo 3 counter which allows the subcounter to count only 1/3 the time in one or the other of the subcounter count up or count down periods.

In marketing a family of data processing systems, it is common practice to offer systems with different processing speed capabilities which include central processing units (CPUs) that are essentially the same except for the processing speed rating. It is therefore necessary to provide modifications to the circuitry governing the rate of instruction execution for slowing down the processing speeds of the derated CPUs.
Such modifications may be as simple as providing a slower system clock, but this technique may present problems because of potentially troublesome effects on system components other than the CPU(s). This approach can also cause subtle timing problems in the CPU(s) themselves, particularly in the case of pipelined CPUs such as those typically used in powerful mainframe computer systems.
Thus, those skilled in the art will understand that it would be desirable to effect submodel control in such a manner that reliable system operation is absolutely unaffected and the rate of operation is established at a precise fraction of full speed for the execution of each instruction, even for instructions whose period of execution may be variable.

Central processing unit incorporation selectable, precisa ratio, speed of execution derating


This invention relates to a method for producing cardiomyocytes and/or cardiac progenitor cells, comprising culturing an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell or embryonic stem (ES) cell, which has been differentiated into a mesoderm cell, in the presence of cyclosporin-A.

Recently, novel pluripotent stem cells that are different from embryonic stem (ES) cells but are ES-cell like, i.e., induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, were generated from adult somatic cells by transduction with genes encoding defined transcription factors (Takahashi, K. and Yamanaka, S., Cell 126, 663-676 (2006); Okita, K., Ichisaka, T. and Yamanaka, S., Nature 448, 313-317 (2007); Takahashi, K. et al., Cell 131, 861-872 (2007); Yu, J. et al., Science 318, 1917-1920 (2007)). Establishment of iPS cells from adult human tissue is facilitating clinical application of iPS cells through cell transplantation-based regenerative medicine and generation of patient-specific cellular models and drug discovery systems (Yamanaka, S., Cell Stem Cell 1, 39-49 (2007); Laflamme, M. A. and Murry, C. E., Nat. Biotechnol. 23, 845-856 (2005); Kovacic, J. C., et al., Cell Stem Cell 1, 628-633 (2007)).
As ES cells and iPS cells show almost similar overall features for growth, pluripotency, and differentiation (Takahashi, K. and Yamanaka, S., Cell 126, 663-676 (2006); Okita, K. et al., Nature 448, 313-317 (2007); Takahashi, K. et al., Cell 131, 861-872 (2007); Yu, J. et al., Science 318, 1917-1920 (2007); Narazaki, G, et al., Circulation 118, 498-506 (2008)), studies for ES cells may be utilized as scientific and technological basis for iPS cell research. Previously, we established a novel ES cell differentiation system that can reproduce the early process of cardiovascular development in vitro (Yamashita, J. et al., Nature 408, 92-96 (2000); Yamashita, J. K. et al., FASEB J. 19, 1534-1536 (2005); Yanagi, K. et al., Stem Cells 25, 2712-2719 (2007); Yurugi-Kobayashi, T. et al., Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 26, 1977-1984 (2006); Kono. T. et al., Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 26, 2070-2076 (2006); Hiraoka-Kanie, M. et al, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 351, 669-674 (2006)). Endothelial cells (ECs), mural cells (MCs; pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells) (Yamashita, J. et al., Nature 408, 92-96 (2000)), and cardiomyocytes (Yamashita, J. K. et al., FASEB J. 19, 1534-1536 (2005)) are systematically induced from common mesodermal precursor, i.e., Flk1 (also designated as vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2))-expressing cells. We also succeeded in identifying a cardiac progenitor population, FCV cells (Flk1+/CXCR4+/vascular endothelial cadherin− cell population) among the progeny of Flk1+ mesoderm cells (Yamashita, J. K. et al., FASEB J. 19, 1534-1536 (2005)). Though FCV cells, which are only a small subset of Flk1+ cell progeny, showed highly cardiac specific progenitor activity, efficient expanding method of FCV cells remain unknown. More recently, we succeeded in establishing a similar mouse iPS differentiation system for cardiovascular cells (Narazaki, G, et al., Circulation 118, 498-506 (2008)), enabling to examine the induction of FCV progenitor cells from iPS cells.
However, as for cardiomyocytes, iPS cell technologies, such as efficient ways to induce cardiomyocytes, identification and expansion of cardiac progenitors, and establishment of model systems for cardiac differentiation, have not been established.
An object of this invention is to provide a method for effectively induce cardiac progenitor cells and/or cardiomyocytes from ES cells or iPS cells.
Another object of this invention is to provide cardiac progenitor cells or cardiomyocytes produced by said method.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method for treating a subject with heart disease by using said cardiac progenitor cells or cardiomyocytes.
Another object of this invention is to provide a use of said cardiac progenitor cells or cardiomyocytes in manufacture of a medicament or transplant or implant for treatment of a heart disease.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method for screening for an agent capable of inducing cardiomyocytes and/or cardiac progenitor cells.
We have now found that addition of cyclosporin-A (CSA), an immunosuppressant, to Flk1+ mesoderm cells potently induces cardiomyocytes through specific expansion of FCV cardiac progenitor population. We have further now found this simple method in the ES cell systems could be completely adapted for use in iPS cells, specifically that cardiac progenitors and cardiomyocytes could be effectively induced from Flk1+ mesoderm cells derived from human or mouse iPS cells. This novel differentiation technology would broadly contribute to cardiac regeneration by providing cell sources, transplantation strategies, and drug discovery.

Efficient production and use of highly cardiogenic progenitors and cardiomyocytes from embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells