A phase-change optical disc formatting device which formats a phase-change optical disc so that signal characteristics of an area in which at least one of a file structure and application data is to be recorded are substantially equal to signal characteristics of a format area. A phase-change optical disc formatting method including: formatting a phase-change optical disc so that signal characteristics of an area in which at least one of a file structure and application data is to be recorded are substantially equal to signal characteristics of a format area. A phase-change optical disc formatted such that signal characteristics of an area of the phase-change optical disc in which at least one of a file structure and application data is to be recorded are substantially equal to signal characteristics of a format area of the phase-change optical disc.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data recording method for recording information on a phase-change rewritable optical disc, and more particularly, to a data recording method for allowing mass production of optical discs which are subjected to high-quality formatting processing. The invention also pertains to a device and method for formatting phase-change optical discs, and a phase-change optical disc formatted by this method. The invention also relates to a method and a device for recording rewritable recording media, and to optical recording media on which data is recorded by this method. The invention also pertains to a write protection method for optical discs.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
For formatting a magneto-optical (MO) disk, an MO disk drive for recording and playing back information to and from the MO disk detects defective sectors on the disk, registers them on a primary defect list (PDL), and records the PDL on the disk. Accordingly, when a subsequent recording or playback operation is performed, the MO disk drive re-allocates the defective sectors. By virtue of the defective-sector re-allocating function provided for the MO disk drive by the use of the PDL, formatted MO disks can be mass-produced.
In contrast, an optical disc drive, such as a compact disc rewritable (CD-RW) drive, for recording and playing back phase-change optical discs, such as CD-RW discs, cannot detect defective sectors or perform re-allocating processing on the defective sectors.
Thus, an application program (hereinafter simply referred to as an "application") for controlling the operation of an optical disc drive detects errors, for example, recovered errors, read errors, and write errors, and perform re-allocating processing.
Such an application is usually executed by using a predetermined computer system provided outside the optical disc drive, and thus, the processing time is increased over that required for executing the MO-disk formatting processing.
Additionally, execution start conditions and determination conditions to determine whether the re-allocate processing is to be performed and specific processing contents are dependent on the application. It is thus difficult to mass-produce optical discs which are subjected to formatting processing compatible with a plurality of types of applications.
Formatted discs are recorded or played back in drives produced by different manufacturers. It is thus necessary to ensure the signal quality in an area which is unambiguously used for a playback operation, for example, in an area in which file structures or application data are recorded. However, the overwriting characteristics of optical discs using a phase change material, such as CD-RW discs, are different according to the linear recording speed. Concerning multi-speed CD-RW discs in which x1-, x2-, or x4-recording is possible, if x4-overwriting is performed after initially performing x4-recording, jitter is increased in the recording signal in the above-described area. If x2-overwriting is performed after initially performing x2- or x4-recording, an increase in jitter is almost negligible. When formatting CD-RW discs by using an application (packet writing software, such as DirectCD, PacketCD, or abCD), the overwriting of the file structure or the application data is performed after the recording layer of the disc is completely formatted (initial recording). The discs formatted as described above are not suitable for mass production, and also, jitter becomes larger in the area in which the file structure or the data application is recorded than in the format area, resulting in a lower-quality recorded signal. Thus, such discs cannot be played back by another drive.
As an optical-recording-media recording method, a packet writing method is known in which a track is divided into precise fixed-length units, which are referred to as "packets", and recording, erasing, and random access can be performed on data in units of packets.
As phase-change optical recording media, CD-RWs in which data can be overwritten about 1000 times by using such a packet writing method are particularly known.
It is necessary that the phase-change optical recording media using the packet writing method be formatted before being used. After being formatted, each fixed-length packet consists of 32 blocks, each block having 2048 bytes. Each packet sequentially includes from one end of the block: one link block, which partitions the packet from the adjacent packet; four run-in blocks indicating the head of user data; user-data description blocks in which user data is recorded; and two run-out blocks indicating the end of the data. In the optical recording medium, in addition to the above-described physical format, disc-volume control information, recordable final address, route directory information, and so on, are recorded.
Link block data "0 " is recorded in the link block. The link block data "0 " is generated by a drive controller of an optical recording device, and is added to user data temporarily stored in a buffer, thereby forming a fixed-length packet. The fixed-length packet is then recorded in the optical recording medium (optical disc).
In the packet writing method, user data stored in the user-data description block is overwritten in units of packets, and the link block data is also written simultaneously with the overwriting of the user data.
In this case, when writing new user data into the optical recording medium in which old user data is stored, as indicated by (a) of FIG. 10, the link block data "0 " used for writing the old user data is written into the link block, as indicated by (b) and (c) of FIG. 10.
However, when the same link block data "0 " is always written into the same physical position before and after writing the user data, physical noise is accumulated in the link block of the recording medium, thereby increasing the jitter.
Particularly in a recording medium, such as in a database, in which user data is frequency overwritten, the same link block data is written into the same link block every time user data is overwritten, thereby increasing the jitter. As a result, the optical recording medium cannot be overwritten any longer before maximum overwriting operations are performed.
Generally, in a disc housed in a cartridge, such as a floppy disk or an MO disk, it is possible to determine when the disk is loaded on a drive whether the disk is write-protected by a write protection mechanism disposed on the cartridge, thereby protecting files from being inadvertently erased or overwritten.
In contrast, a disc which is not housed in a cartridge, such as a CD-RW disc, mechanical write protection means are not provided, and thus, it is difficult to protect data from being erased or overwritten in a CD-RW disc.
In CD-RW discs, packet writing software, such as DirectCD (manufactured by Adaptec) using the universal disc format (UDF), PacketCD (manufactured by Cequadrat), B'sClip (manufactured by BHA), is known. In this software, fixed packet writing is used for CD-PW discs. By using fixed packet writing, data can be randomly overwritten or erased by being recorded or erased in units of packets. Accordingly, data can be easily recorded on CD-RW discs, as in floppy disks or MO disks.
However, as discussed above, since a write protection function is not provided for current CD-RW discs or packet writings software, a user may erroneously overwrite, erase, or format CD-RW discs. As a result, important data may be lost.

Formatting of phase-change optical disc for improved signal characteristics


A system for implanting an implant screw into one or more bones of a patient, such as the sacrum and the ilium, can include a rod and a screw. The screw can be generally hollow and have a blunt distal end. The rod can include a threaded and pointed distal end that is inserted through the rod to drive the screw through the bones. Once the screw is at a desired position, the rod can be removed such that the sharp driving edge used to seat the screw does not remain in the bone. The system can further include an extraction tool having a generally hollow body sized to be inserted over the rod and a distally located screw engagement portion configured to engage the screw to adjust positioning of the screw after it is initially seated.

One cause of lower back pain is stress across the sacroiliac joint. Sacroiliac joint fusion can relieve stress on the sacroiliac joint by stabilizing the sacrum and ilium to one another via one or more implants, such as screws. These conventional implants pass laterally across the joint and prevent relative movement between the bones.
Conventionally, implanting such devices to fuse the sacrum and ilium has included drilling through the sacrum and ilium, using a tap assembly to create threading, and then inserting a threaded screw through the joint and across both bones. Other implants include inserting titanium wedges across the joint. This technique involves drilling through a threaded pin and then using a shaped broach to create the shape of the implant. The implant is then tamped through the joint. Thereafter, bone fusion can occur around the implants. In some cases, bone grafting material can be packed into or around the implant to promote bone fusion.
In order to insert such implant screws, often a pointed-tip screw is attached to a driving shaft, and is inserted to the appropriate depth to hold the bones in a fixed spatial relationship. Some conventional insert screws also have passages through which bone grafting material can be either packed prior to insertion, or routed during or shortly after the screw is placed in the bone. After the implant is placed, discomfort or injury can be caused by the sharp tip of the screw being near the sacral foramina.


A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing messages. In response to a request by an invitee to add a third party to a messaging session with a number of parties, a stealth invite is sent to the third party. If the stealth invite is accepted, messages sent to and received from the parties are sent to the third party without the number of parties knowing of a presence of the third party in the messaging session. The addition of the third party is not announced or indicated to the other parties. The third party also is unable to send messages to the other parties, but may in some cases send messages to the invitee. A recording feature allows a party to automatically record all messages that the party can see. This feature is initiated at the beginning of a messaging session and can be set as a default.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular to a method and apparatus for processing data. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for managing messages sent and received during a messaging session.
2. Description of Related Art
Instant messaging is an online chat medium, allowing users to communicate with each other and to collaborate in real-time over a network data processing system. Instant messaging is commonly used over the Internet. Instant messaging applications monitor and report the status of users that have established each other as online contacts. This information is typically presented to a user in a window. Instant messaging applications also are often used by users conducting business. By utilizing instant messaging, business users can view each other's availability and initiate a text conversation with colleagues or customers when a desired contact becomes available. Millions of users communicate using instant messaging systems every day. With instant messaging becoming an important part of both personal and business communications, functionality and usability enhancements are important to the continued success of this type of communication tool.
Presently available instant messaging applications, however, include flaws which should be corrected for these applications to continue to be popular as a communications mechanism. One flaw recognized by the present invention is an inability to add a party to a chat session without all of the other parties being notified of the new party's presence being detected by one or more of the parties already part of the messaging session. Additionally, the present invention recognizes that the current messaging programs are limited in allowing recording of messaging sessions. Currently, a user must save the session after the session has completed. Also, if the user closes the window by accident, all prior messages are lost.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing messages and parties in a messaging session.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for managing messages in a messaging session

International Business Machines Corporation


A rolling method and apparatus permits a long metal blank to be rolled across the width thereof at a high rolling speed. According to one specific embodiment of the method and apparatus, a sun roller is mounted to a machine stand, and a set of planetary rollers is mounted for rolling movement around the sun roller. The long metal blank is rolled between the sun roller and the set of planetary rollers by feeding it in the direction of the center line axes through the sun roller and the set of planetary rollers. The method and apparatus provide a planetary cross-rolling process that may proceed in a successive manner. According to another specific embodiment of the method and apparatus, a sun roller is rotatably mounted to a machine stand, and a set of planetary rollers is mounted for engaging and rolling around the sun roller. A back-up housing is mounted to the machine stand and is also mounted around the set of planetary rollers. A long metal blank is rolled between the set of planetary rollers and the back-up housing by feeding it in the direction of the center line axes through the set of planetary rollers. Both of the above embodiments feature the planetary cross-rolling process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the roll working field, and more particularly to providing a high-speed rolling method that consists of causing a plurality of planetary cross-rolls to rolls a long metal blank across the width thereof, i.e., perpendicularly to the direction in which the metal blank is being fed through the rolls. The present invention relates also to providing a high-speed rolling apparatus that includes a plurality of planetary rolls that are driven to roll a long metal blank across the width thereof, i.e., perpendicularly to the direction in which the metal blank is being fed through the rolls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One similar prior art method and apparatus employs the process of rolling a long metal blank by moving the rolls across the width of the metal blank as it is being fed through the rolls. This is disclosed by the same inventor as the current applicant in the Japanese patent publication No. 59-46683.
Another similar prior art method and apparatus employs a different rolling process that uses a pair of planetary rolls or a combination of a planetary roller and an anvil in order to roll a long metal blank as it is being fed through the rolls. This process is different from the first mentioned process in that the metal blank is rolled so that it can be elongated in its longitudinal direction.
The prior art method or apparatus, wherein the long metal blank may be rolled across its width while being fed through the rolls, has been used in the roll working industry with great success, but it is difficult to provide the high-speed rolling process because the rolls must undergo a reciprocating motion across the width of the metal blank being rolled while being fed forward. Mass production cannot be achieved with high efficiency. It is also observed that when the rolls are reciprocated across the width of the metal blank, the metal blank may be placed under an alternating rolling stress, and the metal blank may be elongated irregularly across the width. Thus the finished product may contain defects, such as irregularities (wavy formations) along the longitudinal edges on the opposite sides. Furthermore, the metal blank may have a greater rolling pressure on the center than along the longitudinal edges on the opposite sides, and may undergo a greater elongation on each of the opposite edges than in the center as the reduction becomes the greater. The finished product that results from the rolling process may contain wavy formations or cracks along each of the opposite edges, which will degrade the quality of the finished product. As another disadvantage of the rolling process, the metal blank will become hardened in the central area during the rolling process, and the central area will have a greater resistance to deformation than on each of the opposite edges.
In the second prior art method or apparatus, the rolling process uses a set of planetary rollers that is specifically provided for rolling a long metal blank in the direction of the length thereof (that is, in the direction in which the metal blank is being fed forward), and cannot be used for rolling the metal blank across the width thereof. This process has the disadvantage that it cannot provide a great rolling pressure because the backing-up pressures are not sufficient. In the rolling process that uses the set of planetary rollers and an anvil for rolling a long metal blank therebetween in the direction in which it is being fed forward, the set of planetary rollers and the anvil are arranged to permit the metal blank to be placed therebetween. This arrangement has the problem that the set of planetary rollers cannot be mounted rigidly, and the metal blank cannot be rolled across the width thereof. The rolling across the width may be performed by placing a short metal blank between the set of planetary rollers and the anvil at a certain angle with regard to the direction in which it is being fed. In this case, however, the problem is that the set of planetary rollers cannot provide sufficient backing-up pressure. For practical purposes, this rolling process cannot be used to roll a long metal blank across the width thereof.

Rolling method and apparatus using planetary cross-rolls


Several embodiments described herein are drawn to methods of identifying an analyte on a subject's skin, methods of generating a fingerprint, methods of determining a physiological change in a subject, methods of diagnosing health status of a subject, and assay systems for detecting an analyte and generating a fingerprint, by nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS).

Current biometrics and fingerprinting techniques can provide an image of a person's finger, capturing the traces of an impression from a finger's friction ridges caused by raised portions of the skin on the tip of the finger. Impressions of fingerprints can be left on a surface by sweat or secretion from glands present in friction ridges of a finger or can be made by transferring ink from the peaks of friction ridges to a surface, such as a fingerprint card. Fingerprints are typically used for identification purposes, particularly in forensics.
Current biometrics technology involves methods for recognizing individuals based on physical traits, such as fingerprints, face recognition, iris recognition, or retina recognition. Biometrics is typically used for verification so that an individual can be positively identified by making a one-to-one comparison of a captured biometric with a stored template. Biometrics can also be used to make a one-to-many comparison of a captured biometric against a biometric database in attempt to identify an unknown individual.

Nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry biometrics

The Regents of the University of California


A memory card is disclosed including first and second host interfaces facilitating the communication of data between the memory card and a host using, respectively, first and second protocols, wherein the first protocol defines low-speed operations and the second protocol defines high-speed operations for the memory card. The second host interface is only enabled in response to an indication by the host device of a high-speed memory card operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to memory cards, systems using memory cards, and an interface method for memory cards. More particularly, the invention relates to a memory card having a separate interface port for transmitting/receiving data at high speed, as well as systems and an interface method associated with such a memory card.
2. Description of the Related Art
Memory cards are portable tokens including a card controller (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)) and a memory unit capable of storing data received from a host device or data terminal. Contemporary memory cards use memory unit(s) including flash memory. The card controller interfaces with a host device and controls read/write operations that retrieve and store, respectively, data from the memory unit in accordance with command(s) provided by the host. Card controllers often have the capability of executing various applications that implement read, write, erase, data identification, system resource configuration, data security, and other operations associated with the communication of data to/from the memory unit.
Several emerging business models are predicated upon the transfer of "digital content" to a memory card. For example, video clips, audio files, movies, and other voluminous information files may be transferred to a memory card from a vending Kiosk using automated systems. That is, a user may insert his memory card into an automated Kiosk and use an information transmission system including a simple graphical user interface to download selected digital content to his memory card. Such business models offer ease of use, low cost convenience, and improved security as compared with open transmission media such as wireless or the Internet.
Given its voluminous nature, the speed with which the digital content may be downloaded to the memory card is crucial to the success of the business models. Conventional memory cards are configured to transmit voluminous data bi-directionally (read and written) by sharing a common bus instead of uni-directionally via separate buses.
Figure (FIG.) 1 illustrates the structure of a conventional memory card 10. Referring to FIG. 1, conventional memory card 10 includes an interface port for data communications with a host. The interface port is typically implemented through at least one pad 11. The interface port allows memory card 10 to receive a power voltage VDD, a ground voltage VSS, various command signal(s) CMD, a clock signal CLK, and a data DATA. Memory card 10 is also able to communicate data to a host device via the single interface port.
In many applications, a memory card is used in conjunction with a battery powered mobile device. Such applications have traditionally restricted the ability of the memory card to download large volume digital content, because high-speed data communications result in significant consumption of battery power. Additionally, the use of a single interface port facilitating bi-directional data transmissions between the memory card and host places significant practical limitations on the speed with which digital content may be downloaded. The foregoing limitations on the speed with which digital content may be downloaded adversely effects the profitability of the emerging business models.

Memory card having plurality of interface ports, memory card system, and data communication method for the memory card


A method for small-charge blasting, and a rock drilling unit used therein. By means of a rock drilling machine of the rock drilling unit, a drill hole is first drilled into material to be excavated, after which one or more cartridges comprising a propellant charge are fed through a drilling tool onto the bottom of the drill hole. The drilling unit comprises a cartridge feed station, which is separate from the rock drilling machine and from which the cartridges may be fed into a longitudinal channel in the drilling tool.

The invention relates to a method for small-charge blasting, the method comprising drilling with a rock drilling machine a drill hole into a material to be excavated and feeding, after the drilling, at least one cartridge comprising a propellant charge to the drill hole by means of a drilling unit. After this, the drill hole is sealed before the cartridge is ignited. The ignition of a small charge applies a great gas pressure in the borehole, causing fracturing of the material to be excavated.
The invention further relates to a rock drilling unit for small-charge blasting. The drilling unit comprises a feed beam, a rock drilling machine and a drilling tool, which is connected to the rock drilling machine and comprises a channel for feeding a cartridge along the channel into a drill hole. The cartridge is fed to the channel in the drilling tool by means of a feed station.
The field of the invention is defined in greater detail in the preambles of the independent claims.
In small-charge blasting, a cartridge comprising a propellant charge or a similar small charge is arranged in a drill hole. When the cartridge is ignited, a great gas pressure is produced in the drill hole. A great pressure in the drill hole causes controlled cracking in the material to be excavated. Compared to conventional explosion blasting, small-charge blasting provides the advantage that the rock drilling rig need not be transferred away from the drilling site for ignition after the drilling, and thus blasting may be carried out continuously. Furthermore, small-charge blasting does not produce big stress waves, whereby the part of the rock that is not to be broken, stays intact and does not require support. Small-charge blasting is also safer and produces less dust.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,149 discloses a drilling unit comprising a rock drilling machine and a feed apparatus for cartridges, which may be indexed on a feed beam. First, a drill hole is drilled by the rock drilling machine, and then the cartridge feed apparatus is indexed at the drill hole for feeding cartridges into the drill hole. The cartridge feed apparatus comprises a massive stemming bar, by which the cartridge is pushed onto the bottom of the drill hole and by which bar the bottom of the drill hole is also sealed. WO 2006/099 637 discloses an alternative arrangement for small-charge blasting. It does not require a separate cartridge feed apparatus in addition to the rock drilling machine, but the cartridges are fed from a feed station in the rock drilling machine to a shank and further through the drill rods to a drill bit, from which they are led to the bottom of the drill hole. A drawback of this solution is that it requires the use of a custom-made rock drilling machine.

Method and equipment for small-charge blasting


A system and a method for determining a quasi-cyclic (QC) low-density parity-check (LDPC) code, such that the QC LDPC code has no trapping sets are disclosed. A set of matrices representing a family of QC LDPC codes are acquired, wherein each QC LDPC code is a tail-biting spatially-coupled code of girth not less than eight, and wherein each column of each matrix in the set has a weight not less than four. Based on a trapping set pattern, a matrix from the set of matrices is selected such that the matrix represents the QC LDPC code with no trapping sets. The matrix can be stored into a memory.

Two broad classes of methods can be used for the construction of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. One class is based on random graph constructions, while the other class is based on structured algebraic constructions. Random graph constructions can produce LDPC codes that approach the Shannon capacity.
LDPC graph constructions normally use a "Tanner graph," which is a bi-partite graph including "variable" nodes representing the codeword bits, and "check" nodes representing the parity checks, where a variable node is connected to a check node by an edge if and only if the corresponding entry in the parity check matrix for the code is nonzero. Tanner graphs are well known.
Although LDPC codes based on highly random Tanner graph construction can closely approach the Shannon limit, those constructions are difficult to implement in hardware because the irregular connections between check and variable nodes in the Tanner graph of the code imply high complexity wiring. In actual implementations, more structured constructions are preferred because those provide practical wiring, and straightforward parallelism in the decoders.
Quasi-cyclic LDPC (QC LDPC) codes are structured graph constructions that use a parity check matrix which is partitioned into sub-matrices that have a circulant structure. Because the structured graph construction is practical to implement in hardware, QC LDPC codes are used in a variety communication networks, such as networks implemented according to the IEEE 802.16e, DVB-S2, and IEEE 802.11 standards.
For most applications, it is important to optimize decoding performance in a "water-fall" regime where the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is relatively low. However, for some applications, optimizing water-fall performance is not sufficient. One must also avoid "error floors" that are characteristic of many LDPC codes in higher SNR regimes. The error floor in the performance curve means that the decoding failure rate does not continue to decrease as the SNR increases. Eliminating or lowering error floors is particularly important for applications that require extreme reliability demands, including high density data storage, and high speed fiber-optic communication systems.
Generally, QC LDPC codes are constructed based on a wide variety of techniques, including finite geometries, finite fields, and combinatorial designs. Recently, there has also been great interest in a class of "convolutional," or "spatially-coupled" codes, which are much more structured than the conventional random constructions, but have also been shown to closely approach the Shannon capacity, or even to achieve the Shannon capacity on a binary erasure channel (BEC). Those codes are significant here, because the codes can be implemented using quasi-cyclic constructions, and the codes should thus be able to achieve very good performance while retaining the practicality of other structured QC LDPC codes.
Error floor issues for LDPC codes that are decoded using belief propagation (BP) or related decoders are generally caused by "trapping sets." A trapping set is a set of a small number of bits that reinforce each other in their incorrect beliefs. Trapping sets of bits are invariably arranged in clustered short cycles in a Tanner graph for the code. One way to remove the trapping sets is to design the Tanner graph so that clusters of short cycles do not exist. An alternative, and at least conceptually simpler approach is to design codes with larger girths. The "girth" of a code is the length of the shortest cycle in the Tanner graph. By removing short cycles, we remove potentially dangerous configurations of cycles, and hopefully lower the error floor. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees that the code with large girth, e.g., eight or greater, will have no trapping sets.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a method for determining QC LDPC codes having no trapping sets.

Quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check codes

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.


Process for making a tow pre-preg comprising long continuous fibers coated with a thermoplastic polymer. A continuously moving spread tow of long continuous fibers, preferably carbon or glass, is humidified in an atmosphere of essentially 100% relative humidity and coated with particles of a thermoplastic polymer. A polymer particle-laden air stream contacts the moistened continuously moving tow, depositing polymer particles on the fibers. The fiber diameter is about 5-50 microns and the mean particle diameter is about 0.1-40 microns. The fibers with thermoplastic particles clinging thereto are continuously heated to a temperature sufficient to cause fusion of the thermoplastic polymer. This results in long continuous fibers coated with the thermoplastic polymer. The resulting tow-preg, or tow of coated fibers, is useful in the preparation of structural composites in which the fibers service reinforcing fibers. The thermoplastic coating polymer is a high performance polymer, such as polyether-ether ketone (PEEK), where high performance and the structural composite is desired. Polymer coating weights may vary from about 20% to about 90% of the total tow-preg weight.

Fiber-reinforced resin composites have gained an increasing market share for high performance parts used in various industries, as for example automotive and aircraft components, tank parts and missile cases. In the composite industry, continuous carbon and glass fibers are impregnated with polymeric resins, then wound or layered against rigid mold surfaces and cured into structural parts.
Two classes of resins are used in composites. A thermosetting resin reacts in the presence of heat or a catalyst to produce a 3-dimensional structure that cannot be reshaped. Epoxies and certain polyimides are examples of thermosetting resins used in composite technology. A thermoplastic resin retains its two-dimensional structure in the presence of heat and pressure. As a result, thermoplastic resins can be softened or melted many times, thus allowing for reshaping. Polyether-etherketone (PEEK), ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and polybenzimidazole (PBI) are examples of high performance thermoplastics used in forming composites. In general, the art of forming high performance thermosetting resin composites is more advanced than the art of forming high performance thermoplastic composites.
A problem encountered in the preparation of fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites is that it is difficult to obtain good wetting of the reinforcing fibers or filaments, and consequently it is difficult to obtain composites in which air bubbles are absent at the interfaces between resin and reinforcing fiber. As a consequence, it is desirable to form pre-pregs of fiber-reinforced resins in which the fibers constitute a relatively high percentage of the weight of the prepreg and then to incorporate these pre-pregs into the resinous composite.
Various methods of coating fibers with the desired coating polymer are known. Basically, these are as follows:
1. Solution coating, i.e. dissolving the polymer in a solvent, coating the resulting solution onto a fiber tow, evaporating away the solvent, leaving the polymer as a coating on the fiber surface. PA1 2. Suspension or emulsion coating, i.e. suspending or emulsifying a powder polymer in a non-solvent, coating the fiber tow with the resulting liquid suspension or emulsion, then evaporating the non-solvent carrier, leaving the polymer powder in intimate contact with the fibers. An additional thermal process step, to fuse the powder on to the fiber surface, is usually required. PA1 3. Melt impregnation of a fiber tow with molten polymer. PA1 4. Spinning processes, i.e., spinning a fiber of the polymer, weaving or commingling these fibers with the tow, then heating the fiber structure to melt the polymer fibers on to the adjacent reinforcing fibers. PA1 (a) spreading a fiber tow of continuously moving, long continuous fibers; PA1 (b) moistening the spread fiber tow; PA1 (c) depositing dry particles of a thermoplastic polymer onto a moistened tow of long continuous fibers, said particles having a mean particle size in the range of about 0.1 to about 40 microns, and said fibers being of essentially uniform diameter in the range of about 5 to about 50 microns; PA1 (d) heating the particles to a temperature sufficiently high to fuse said particles of thermoplastic polymer and thereby form a coating of said thermoplastic polymer on said fibers, and PA1 (e) winding up the coated fibers.
Each one of these processes has one or more technical limitations. Solvents can be toxic or noxious, and in any case, are very difficult to remove from most high performance polymers. Solvents trapped in the final composite product can result in porosity and weak areas in the structure.
High polymer viscosity inhibits resin impregnation of the reinforcing fiber bundle with molten polymer.
Suspensions and emulsions usually require the addition of emulsifiers or suspending agents, which remain in the finished composite and which can adversely affect mechanical performance.
Commingling requires production of a polymeric fiber from the matrix material. This can be difficult to do and can be quite expensive.
Another coating process is electrostatic coating. Basically, charged particles of a desired coating agent are applied to the surface of a substrate which is either oppositely charged or grounded. While electrostatic coating techniques have been used to coat flat surfaces, e.g. sheets, and single rods or wires, only very recently (in 1989) has the use of dry powder coating techniques for coating of reinforcing fiber tows been reported in the literature. Such process, is disclosed, for example, by Muzzy, 34th International SAMPE symposium, May 8-11, 1989, pages 1940-1951. This reference describes preparation of thermoplastic tow pregs by electrostatic deposition of charge fluidized thermoplastic polymer particles from a fluidized bed onto a spread continuous grounded carbon fiber tow. The disadvantage of the Muzzy process, is that it works best with comparatively coarse polymer particles, e.g., those having average sizes of about 80 microns or larger, and does not work particularly well with finer particles.
Other electrostatic coating processes, such as the process shown and described in the U.S. Pat. No. 408,409 to Christ et al, are also known.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,389 to Daniels describes a process and apparatus for numerically spreading thin carbon filaments from a tow bundle to form a sheet or tape in the individual filaments are parallel. This is achieved by passing the tow continuously through a pair of slot venturi spreaders with air flowing concurrently with the tow in the first and counter currently to the tow in the second. The spread tow may then be continuously passed through a bath of impregnating material, which is usually a plastic resin of the epoxy, phenolic or polyimide type.

Method of depositing and fusing polymer particles onto moistened continuous filaments


The process for the manufacture of an auto-oxidatively cross-linking hybrid polymer, in particular an aqueous hybrid polymer dispersion, comprises the step of reacting in a mini-emulsion process one or more ethylenically unsaturated monomers to form an addition polymer in the presence of a modified auto-oxidatively crosslinkable (AOC) polymer which has been modified with terminal unsaturated groups of the formula —C(R1)═CH2 wherein R1 is hydrogen, alkyl or aryl and wherein the AOC polymer is a hydrophobic polymer having an acid number between 5 to 30. The resulting aqueous hybrid polymer dispersion can be used for the manufacture of coating compositions, ink compositions or adhesives and coating compositions comprising the hybrid polymer dispersion as a binder.

Many attempts have been made to prepare hybrid polymer dispersions, in particular alkyd-vinyl hybrid polymer dispersions, aiming to achieve an ideal balance of the best properties of each of the polymers combined in the hybrid polymer. Alkyd emulsions and vinyl polymer dispersions, made by means of emulsion polymerization, are the two most common waterborne technologies used in the coating industry. Coatings based on alkyd emulsions exhibit advantages over those based on vinyl polymer dispersions in terms of gloss, brush-ability, open time, flow and levelling, hiding per coat, mar resistance, sand-ability, and adhesion. Advantages of vinyl polymer dispersions over alkyd emulsions include quick drying, durability, non-yellowing, non-embrittling, and non-chalking (pigment release by degradation of the binder).
In addition to the advantages described above for alkyds, coatings based on alkyd-modified hybrid dispersions have improved film forming properties due to the presence of alkyd moieties, which typically have a low glass transition temperature (Tg). However, alkyd resins and vinyl polymers are incompatible, and hence prone to suffer phase segregation that results in haziness and lower gloss. Compatibility can be improved by enhancing grafting of the vinyl polymer onto the alkyd resin but this causes the loss of the unsaturated groups of the alkyd, which results in the deterioration of the auto-oxidation properties of the alkyd. The presence of the phase-separated alkyd also results in critical problems, such as soft films (causing dirt pick-up and poor block resistance) and yellowing. High residual monomer content is a threat to the environment and health and is strictly regulated. Furthermore, during the addition polymerisation, unsaturated groups on the alkyd are lost, resulting in the deterioration of the auto-oxidation properties of the alkyd. The known hybrids also have an undesirably low open time, defined as the period of time during which corrections can be made in the wet paint film without leaving brush marks.


A surgical system including a combination instrument for breaking of tabs of a reduction connector and providing a counter torque for a driver is disclosed. The combination instrument may have an elongated rigid structure and include an internal shaft and a magazine portion configured to store at least one tab of a reduction connector. The combination instrument may further include a cut-out portion configured to retain the at least one tab within the magazine portion. In some embodiments, the driver may be configured to be inserted into the internal shaft of the combination instrument. In some embodiments, the driver is rotatable within the internal shaft of the combination instrument and configured to drive a set screw within the reduction connector. Disclosed drivers may be manual drivers or powered drivers. Some embodiments, may include a collar or a cap from which the broken off tabs may be ejected.

Certain surgeons may prefer to use breakoff set screws when performing a reduction surgery such as fastening a rod to a connector of a spinal implant. Breakoff set screws may be preferred, for example, to avoid under and over torqueing the set screw, stripping the set screw, breaking the set screw, etc. Breakoff set screws may be, for example, external hex or hexalobular breakoff set screws. An example of a multiaxial screw including a breakoff screw is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,911, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Additionally, some surgeons may prefer to use a two part reduction connector to facilitate positioning of a rod within a passageway of the connector. A two part reduction connector may afford the surgeon greater freedom of movement of the rod during initial positioning of the rod due to its relatively large height, for example. In conventional practice, a surgeon often needs several distinct tools to break off a set screw, to tighten a set screw, and to break off the tabs of the connector. Requiring multiple tools can be cumbersome, increase the total surgery time, and increase the likelihood of introducing germs and viruses to the patient.

Combination set screw breakoff and tab breaker instrument


A network security system for managing access to a plurality of different network systems for a plurality of users. The network security system includes an enterprise directory system configured to process request messages from each of the network systems requesting access rights for a user to generate a response message for each of the network systems that includes the access rights for the user. The enterprise directory system is also configured to process a single termination message to generate an individual termination message for each of the network systems that includes an instruction to terminate the access rights for one of the users. The resource directory is configured to receive an instruction to terminate the access rights for the corresponding user and process the instruction to generate the termination message for the enterprise directory system.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to network security systems, and specifically, to a network security system that provides centralized access and termination control to a plurality of different network systems for a plurality of network users.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is problem in the art of network security to provide and manage access to a plurality of different network systems for a plurality of users with different levels of access rights. One solution to this problem is to utilize network access cards, sometimes referred to in the art as "smart cards," to provide users with the appropriate access to the different network systems according to the level of the user's access rights. A network access card system connected to the network provides customized network access cards to the individual users. The network access cards then serve as keys for the individual users to access the various systems according to the user's access rights.
In one example of a system that utilizes network access cards, the network access card system interfaces with a human resource system to obtain an individual users access information. In response to receiving the access information from the human resource system, the network access card system customizes a network access card for the user that includes access rights to the different network systems according to the user's level of access. A profile for the user that includes the user's access information is setup on each of the individual network systems for which the user is granted access. For example, the user profile could be setup for various devices in a physical security system to provide building access, office access, lab access, conference room access etc. The user profile could also be setup on the user's workstation and/or other devices connected to the network to provide the user with access to those devices. The network access card then serves as key to permit the user to access the various systems and data.
Unfortunately, when access rights for a user change, or are terminated all together, each of the individual network systems must be manually updated to delete the user profile information to terminate the user's access. Where the user has access to dozens of network systems, the process of removing the user's access to all of these systems often takes weeks or even months. This problem is further complicated where there are hundreds or even thousands of users with different levels of access to a plurality of different network systems.

System and method for managing security access for users to network systems


A method of coating without permitting the coating solution to flow onto the side surfaces or the back surfaces of the lenses in the operation for applying the coating solution onto the lenses. A lens 15 is spin-coated with the coating solution having a particular viscosity. A side edge portion 121 of a spatula 119 is brought into contact with an upper edge portion of a side surface 15a of the lens 15 before the coating solution fed onto the surface of the lens arrives at the peripheral edge portion of the lens. The side edge portion 121 of the spatula 119 is so arranged that the upper end side of the spatula is tilted toward the center side of the lens 15 at an angle of 5 to 35 degrees with the vertical line as a reference. The coating solution applied onto the lens 15 that is rotating adheres onto the spatula 119 but does not adhere onto the side surface of the lens 15.

A material that changes color depending upon the light can be represented by a photochromic material. The photochromic material reversibly varies the structure depending upon the incidence of ultraviolet rays and has a property of exhibiting varying absorption spectrum. This is the property of a material in that if an isomer is irradiated with light of a particular wavelength, the single chemical material reversibly forms another isomer having a different absorption spectrum due to the action of light. The formed another isomer resumes the color of the initial isomer due to heat or light of another wavelength.
There have been proposed photochromic spectacles using lenses that have properties of the photochromic material. Outside of a house, the photochromic spectacles quickly develop a color being irradiated with light containing ultraviolet rays such as of sunlight and works as sunglasses. Inside of the house where no light is incident, the photochromic spectacles have its color faded and works as an ordinary transparent spectacles.
Lenses having photochromic properties have heretofore been produced by a method which lets the surfaces of the lenses without photochromic property soaked with a photochromic compound, a method of directly obtaining a photochromic lens by dissolving a photochromic compound in a monomer followed by polymerization, and a method of forming a layer having photochromic property on the surface of the lens by using a coating solution that contains a photochromic compound (coating method).
Among the above methods of producing lenses, the coating method comprises forming a coating on the surface of the lens by the spin coating by injecting, onto the surface of the lens, a coating solution from a nozzle of a container containing the photochromic coating solution while rotating the lens. An apparatus for continuously coating a plurality of lenses can be represented by, for example, a coating apparatus disclosed in a patent document 1 described below which is equipped with an auxiliary mechanism for spreading a coating solution on the lenses by using a flexible film.
In order to form a coating having a sufficient degree of photochromic properties by the coating method, a photochromic solution having a relatively high viscosity of, for example, 25 to 1000 centipoises (cP) at 25° C. must be uniformly applied maintaining a thickness of not less than 5 μm and, preferably, not less than 30 μm. Here, use of the above coating apparatus makes it possible to satisfy the above requirements by using the coating solution in small amounts.
There has further been proposed an apparatus for applying a photocurable coating solution onto the surfaces of the spectacle lenses and for photocuring the coating solution as taught in a patent document 2 though it is not a dedicated apparatus for applying the photochromic coating solution.
The coating solution-applying apparatus of the patent document 2 is provided with coating solution dripping means by which the surfaces to be coated of the spectacle lenses are arranged facing upward and the coating solution is dripped to coat the spectacle lenses. Further, the coating solution-applying apparatus is provided with a spatula mechanism which can be moved by a slide mechanism and with a holder 133 for holding a spatula 132. Referring to FIG. 15A, the spatula 132 intersects a horizontal line L that extends back and forth passing through the center O of a to-be-coated surface 131a and a given point P1 on the outer circumferential edge portion at a predetermined angle β. Therefore, the front end of the spatula 132 comes in contact with a point P2 which is separated away from the above given point P1 toward the rear side in the rotational direction by a distance Δ on the outer circumferential edge portion of the to-be-coated surface 131a. Referring to FIG. 15B, further, the spatula 132 is attached to the holder 133 so as to be tilted by a predetermined angle α in the axial direction of the spectacle lens 131 with respect to the vertical line. That is, the spatula 132 is arranged being tilted with respect to the horizontal line and the vertical line of the lens 131.
The spectacle lens 131 is provided on the side surface thereof with a pair of coating solution removing members 135 for smoothing the thickness of the coating solution adhered to the side surface 131b of the spectacle lens 131. The coating solution removing members 135 are made of a foamed resin (sponge) having excellent adsorbing property in a cylindrical shape, and are attached to the surfaces of the mounting plates of a pantagraph mechanism with their axes perpendicular thereto maintaining a predetermined gap in the back-and-forth direction, so as to be pushed with a predetermined force onto the side surface of the lens when extended.
In the coating solution-applying apparatus of the patent document 2 constituted as described above, coating solution dripping means 136 is, first, arranged on the outer circumferential surface side of the lens 131 as shown in FIG. 16A. To drip the coating solution, a nozzle 136a of the coating solution dripping means 136 is moved from the outer circumference toward the center of the spectacle lens 131 as shown in FIG. 16B and is driven and controlled so as to apply the coating solution onto the surface of the lens 131 in a spiral manner.
When the coating solution is applied onto the to-be-coated surface of the lens by the spin-coating method, the coating solution spreads over the whole to-be-coated surface due to the centrifugal force created by the rotation of the lens and partly scatters and drops. At the outer circumferential edge portion of the to-be-coated surface of the lens, further, the coating becomes thick and swells due to the surface tension. If the film is thick, wrinkles may occur when the coating is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays in the step of curing which is the next step. Therefore, the spatula 132 is provided for smoothing the coating solution and for removing excess of the coating solution at the outer circumferential edge portion of the to-be-coated surface of the spectacle lens.
Further, if the front end of the spatula 132 remains contacted to the outer circumferential edge portion of the to-be-coated surface of the spectacle lens, the coating solution stays along the outer circumferential edge of the to-be-coated surface of the lens due to the rotation of the spectacle lens. According to the coating solution-applying apparatus of the patent document 2, therefore, after the coating solution is dripped, the spatula 132 is arranged at the upper edge on the side surface of the lens 131 being tilted in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction, and the coating solution removing member 135 is arranged on the side surface of the lens 131 as shown in FIG. 16C. An excess of the coating solution can be removed by the spatula 132, and the coating solution can be smoothed. According to the patent document 2, further, the coating solution dripped on the side surface 131b of the lens 131 is thinly spread so as to form a uniform coating of a uniform thickness by pushing the coating solution removing member 135 onto the side surface 132a of the spectacle lens 131.
Patent document 1: JP-A-2005-13873
Patent document 2: JP-A-2005-246267


A guide unit 24 includes an electrically conducting guide plate 25 disposed upstream of the transfer unit 20 that transports toner image transfer sheets between the image carrier 7 and the transfer unit 20, an electrically insulating support member 26 that supports the guide plate 25, an electrically conducting connecting member 30 installed on the support member 26, electrically connected to a ground plate 33, and a non-linear element 31 directly or indirectly electrically connected between the guide plate 25 and the connecting member 30. Further, if a voltage equal to or greater than a predetermined value is applied between the guide plate 25 and the connecting member 30, the resistance value is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an image forming apparatus having a transport unit with a guide unit. More specifically, the present invention relates to a guide unit having a guide plate that transports sheets, a transport unit having a guide unit, and an image forming apparatus having a transport unit.
2. Background Information
Normally an image forming apparatus such as a printer, fax, or photocopier, includes an image forming unit in which toner images are formed and the toner images are transferred onto sheets, a fixing unit in which the transferred toner images are fixed to the sheets, and so on.
The image forming unit includes a photosensitive drum, a charging unit that charges the surface of the photosensitive drum, a light exposure unit that forms electrostatic latent images by decharging part of the charged area of the photosensitive drum, a developing unit that forms toner images based on the electrostatic latent images, a transfer unit that transfers the toner images onto sheets, a cleaning unit that cleans the surface of the photosensitive drum, and so on.
The transfer unit transfers toner images formed on the photosensitive drum onto sheets transported between the photosensitive drum and the transfer unit by applying a bias voltage to the transfer unit with a polarity opposite to that of the toner.
Here, to transport the sheets between the photosensitive drum and the transfer unit, a guide plate is disposed on the upstream side of the transfer unit in the direction of transport of the sheets, and the sheets are transported along the guide plate.
If a guide plate manufactured from resin is used, the guide plate can become charged as a result of friction with the sheets, and if dust adheres to the guide plate, defective sheet transport or defective toner transfer can be caused by this dust.
Therefore, as disclosed for example in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. H11-184269, a grounded metal guide plate is used to prevent charging of the guide plate.
Here, if a grounded metal guide plate is used in highly humid environments the resistance value of the sheet is reduced, and transfer current from the transfer unit can flow to the guide plate through the sheet. Therefore, under this type of environment the toner image may not be sufficiently transferred to the sheet, and transfer defects can occur.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved image forming apparatus having a transport unit with a guide unit. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

Image forming apparatus and guide unit, transport unit used therein


A driving apparatus for a movable member of an automobile comprises a housing, a drum for driving the movable member, the drum being rotatably supported on the housing, and a clutch for selectively transmitting a driving torque to the drum, wherein the clutch is accommodated in a space of the drum.

According to JP2002-327576A, an apparatus automatically drives (opens and closes) a slide door for a side opening of an automobile. The apparatus comprises a housing, an output drum rotatably supported on the housing through a rotatable shaft, a motor for generating a driving torque and a clutch for selectively transmitting the driving torque from the motor to the output drum. A reduction mechanism is interposed between the output drum and the motor. A cable is installed between the output drum and an input drum connected to the slide door so that the driving torque is transmitted from the output drum to the slide door. The output drum, the reduction mechanism and the clutch are coaxially installed on the shaft. The apparatus is complicated in construction so that minitualization thereof is restricted.

Driving apparatus for a movable member of an automobile


A reusable undergarment (10) in the shape of a panty of lightweight stretchable fabric having a seat (16) of fluid resistant material where one or more female receiving grooves (20) are stitched or depressed in at a standard spacing running transverse to the longitudinal axis of the reusable undergarment seat (16). A disposable absorbent article (22) of pre determined material where on the bottom (28) is stitched or depressed one or more male insert ridges (30) at a standard spacing corresponding to that of the female receiving grooves (20) in the seat of the reusable undergarment.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a combination reusable undergarment and disposable absorbent article having a mechanical fastening system, such garments would include those worn by adults or children.
2. Description of Prior Art
Women, infants and incontinent individuals wear protective garments to receive, absorb and retain bodily exudate and excrement such as mensus, urine and feces. The use and variety of these protective garments are well known, particularly sanitary napkins, panty liners, disposable training pants, and incontinent pads; and are available in the marketplace.
Currently available disposable absorbent articles particularly sanitary napkins and panty liners are positioned in the seat of the undergarment, such as women's panties and secured by pressure sensitive adhesive. While the use of adhesive is common, there are disadvantages such as comfort, residual build-up on panty, and adhesive contamination.
A common problem with the disposable absorbent article such as the sanitary napkin is that it frequently shifts out of its original position during wear caused by body movement such as walking, bending, turning over, running or exercising. If the disposable absorbent article uses an adhesive to secure it to the seat of the panty, then this shifting of the disposable absorbent article can result in the adhesive sticking to itself causing "bunching" of the disposable absorbent article. Another common problem with the disposable absorbent article having pressure sensitive adhesive is that it frequently comes loose from the panty seat when the panty is being pulled down particularly if the wearer's panties or pants are tight fitting. This can result in the adhesive sticking to itself, to the body of the wearer or to an extraneous surface.
An alternative to pressure sensitive adhesive are mechanical fasteners. Disposable absorbent articles using mechanical fasteners generally do not suffer from "bunching" as do disposable absorbent articles using pressure secured adhesive. Still, disposable absorbent articles using mechanical fasteners will suffer from misalignment in the seat of the wearer's panty as a result of shifting of the central absorbent means. In the Nether Garment M. H. McGuire ETAL U.S. Pat. No. 3,312,981 the devices used to hold the sanitary napkin in position are elastic straps sewn at their ends to the crotch fabric to form loops into which the ends of a sanitary napkin may be extended and while the pad is secured at the front end and back end of the panty there is no continuity of security which therefore could lead to misalignment of the sanitary napkin during normal daily activities such as bending, walking etc. The Nether Garment B. S. ALSOP U.S. Pat. No. 2,016,355 uses pockets at the front and rear of the panty seat to secure the sanitary napkin therefore lacking in continuity of security.
Therefore there is a need for a reusable receiving undergarment comprising a mechanical receptor that holds a disposable absorbent article comprising a mechanical insert in place without unwanted shifting of the central absorbent means. There is also a need for a disposable absorbent article comprising a mechanical insert which can attach the disposable absorbent article securely to the receiving undergarment.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a reusable receiving under garment comprising a mechanical receptor that holds a disposable absorbent article comprising a mechanical insert securely in the seat of the garment without popping loose upon pulling up or pulling down of garment.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reusable receiving undergarment comprising mechanical receptor that holds a disposable absorbent article comprising mechanical insert, securely in the seat of the undergarment without unwanted shifting of the disposable absorbent article.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reusable receiving under garment comprising a mechanical receptor that holds a disposable absorbent article comprising a mechanical insert, securely in the seat of the under garment that will keep the disposable absorbent article in intimate contact with the body of the wearer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an additional reservoir for bodily exudates or excrement such as menus or urine.

Combination reusable undergarment and disposable absorbent article


An electrical connection system comprises a female connector having a plurality of female terminals, and a male connector having a plurality of male blade terminals having projecting portions that plug into the plurality of female terminals respectively when the female connector and the male connector are mated. The male blade terminals are staggered having a first population with their tips at a first relative position and a second population with their at a second different relative position so that the first tips and the second tips do not touch and fully engage the mating female terminals and the plurality of male blade terminals at the same time thereby lowering the peak engagement force required for mating the female connector and the male connector. In an alternative arrangement, the female terminals, rather than the male blade terminals are staggered.

This invention relates generally to an electrical connection system, and more particularly to an electrical connection system having male and female connectors wherein the male connector has several male blade terminals that are plugged into mating female terminals of the female connector.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,910; U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,091; U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,586; U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,889 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,191 disclose typical examples of electrical connection systems, such as automotive electrical distribution centers, that have a male connector with a large number of male blade terminals that are plugged into mating female terminals of a female connector. These connection systems are designed with the tips of the male blade terminals all located at substantially the same height so that all of the male blade terminals touch the mating female terminals at substantially the same time. Consequently, considerable force, on the order of several hundred newtons, is required to plug the large number of male blade terminals into the mating female terminals for mating the electrical connectors and completing the electrical connection system
Due to high engagement forces these electrical connection systems typically include an auxiliary mechanical device to assist in plugging the male blade terminals into the mating female terminals. For instance, the automotive electrical distribution centers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,910; U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,091; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,546,586 employ a fastener assembly that includes a bolt that is driven by an operator using a power tool for plugging the male connector fully into the female connector of the electrical connection system. On the other hand, the electrical connection systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,889 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,191 employ a lever mechanism that adds considerable complexity and cost to the electrical connection system. In any event, these auxiliary mechanical devices increase manufacturing cost, add design complexity and increase the size of the electrical connection system in an environment where space may be at a premium.


A communication apparatus having an abbreviated dialing function allowing input of a destination number with fewer key input operations and a method of controlling the communication apparatus capable of reducing the operations of inputting a destination number is disclosed. The communication apparatus includes an abbreviated dialing input unit for inputting a destination number with fewer key input operations, a touch panel input/display unit for inputting the destination number, and a destination input operation menu controlling unit for controlling a menu display mode of a destination input operation menu on the touch panel input/display unit based on destination management information registering plural abbreviated dialing numbers referred to by the abbreviated dialing input unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a communication apparatus having an abbreviated dialing function allowing a user to input destination numbers with fewer key operations and a method of controlling such a communication apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an abbreviated dialing function to input a destination number with fewer key operations has been generally employed in communication apparatuses such as a facsimile machine, a network facsimile machine, and a digital multi-function peripheral (MFP), reducing the user's operations of inputting a destination, as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006-287790, 2006-23823, and 2006-86975.
On the other hand, generally, most users appreciate that user-friendly functions are succeeded in new popular models so as to continuously use the up-to-date functions in new models. Similarly, a developer (manufacturer) appreciates that such friendly functions can be implemented in new models with less developing efforts, thereby enabling entering into development in a new field easily.

Communication apparatus and controlling method of the same


The invention relates to a reflection photographic imaging material comprising at least one silver halide layer and a base material comprising at least one extruded layer comprising a polymeric antistatic material.

The problem of controlling static charge is well known in the field of photography. The accumulation of charge on film or paper surfaces leads to the attraction of dirt, which can produce physical defects. The discharge of accumulated charge during or after the application of the sensitized emulsion layer(s) can produce irregular fog patterns or "static marks" in the emulsion. The static problems have been aggravated by increase in the sensitivity of new emulsions, increase in coating machine speeds, and increase in post-coating drying efficiency. The charge generated during the coating process may accumulate during winding and unwinding operations, during transport through the coating machines, and during finishing operations such as slitting and spooling.
It is generally known that electrostatic charge can be dissipated effectively by incorporating one or more electrically-conductive "antistatic" layers into the support structure. Antistatic layers can be applied to one or to both sides of the support as subbing layers either beneath or on the side opposite to the light-sensitive silver halide emulsion layers. An antistatic layer can alternatively be applied as an external layer either over the emulsion layers or on the side of the support opposite to the emulsion layers or both. For some applications, the antistatic agent can be incorporated into the emulsion layers. Alternatively, the antistatic agent can be directly incorporated into the support itself.
A wide variety of electrically-conductive materials can be incorporated into antistatic layers to produce a wide range of conductivities. These can be divided into two broad groups: (i) ionic conductors and (ii) electronic conductors. In ionic conductors charge is transferred by the bulk diffusion of charged species through an electrolyte. Here the resistivity of the antistatic layer is dependent on temperature and humidity. Antistatic layers containing simple inorganic salts, alkali metal salts of surfactants, ionic conductive polymers, polymeric electrolytes containing alkali metal salts, and colloidal metal oxide sols (stabilized by metal salts), described previously in patent literature, fall in this category. However, many of the inorganic salts, polymeric electrolytes, and low molecular weight surfactants used are water-soluble and are leached out of the antistatic layers during processing, resulting in a loss of antistatic function. The conductivity of antistatic layers employing an electronic conductor depends on electronic mobility rather than ionic mobility and is independent of humidity. Antistatic layers which contain conjugated polymers, semiconductive metal halide salts, semiconductive metal oxide particles, etc., have been described previously. However, these antistatic layers typically contain a high volume percentage of electronically conducting materials which are often expensive and impart unfavorable physical characteristics, such as color, increased brittleness, and poor adhesion to the antistatic layer.
Besides antistatic properties, an auxiliary layer in a photographic element may be required to fulfill additional criteria depending on the application. For example, for resin-coated photographic paper, the antistatic layer if present as an external backing layer should be able to receive prints (e.g., bar codes or other indicia containing useful information) typically administered by dot matrix printers and to retain these prints or markings as the paper undergoes processing. Most colloidal silica based antistatic backings without a polymeric binder provide poor post-processing backmark retention qualities for photographic paper.
In general, poor adhesion of the antistatic coating onto the resin-coated paper support may be responsible for a number of problems during manufacturing, sensitizing, and photofinishing. Poor adhesion or cohesion of the antistatic layer can lead to unacceptable dusting and track-off. A discontinuous antistatic layer, resulting from dusting, flaking, or other causes, may exhibit poor conductivity and may not provide necessary static protection. It can also allow leaching of calcium stearate from the paper support into the processing tanks causing buildup of stearate sludge. Flakes of the antistatic backing in the processing solution can form soft tar-like species which, even in extremely small amounts, can redeposit as smudges on drier rollers eventually transferring to image areas of the photographic paper, creating unacceptable defects.
Although the prior art is replete with patents disclosing various antistatic backings for photographic paper (for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,671,248; 4,547,445; 5,045,394; 5,156,707; 5,221,555; 5,232,824; 5,244,728; 5,318,886; 5,360,707; 5,405,907 and 5,466,536), not all of the aforesaid issues are fully addressed by these inventions. A vast majority of the prior art involves coatings of antistatic layers from aqueous or organic solvent based coating compositions. This technique, however, necessitates an effective elimination of the solvent which may not be trivial especially under faster drying conditions, as dictated by efficiency. An improper drying will invariably cause coating defects, generating waste or inferior performance.

Reflective print material with extruded antistatic layer


A method for providing enhanced antiviral activity with N-alkyl derivatives of 1,5-dideoxy-1,5-imino-D-glucitol is disclosed which comprises selectively increasing the alkyl chain length to at least 5 carbon atoms and up to about 10 carbon atoms to thereby improve the spectrum of enzyme inhibitory activity and the in vivo half life.

This invention relates to a method of inhibiting retroviruses such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). More particularly, the invention concerns a method for providing enhanced antiviral activity with N-alkyl derivatives of 1,5-dideoxy-1,5-imino-D-glucitol (deoxynojirimycin) which have potential use for the treatment of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex (ARC).
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, which only a few years ago was a medical curiosity, is now a serious disease. As a consequence, a great effort is being made to develop drugs and vaccines to combat AIDS. The AIDS virus, first identified in 1983, has been described by several names. It is the third known T-lymphocyte virus (HTLV-III) and has the capacity to replicate within cells of the immune system and thereby lead to a profound destruction of T4.sup.30 T-cells (or CD4.sup.30 cells) See, e.g., Gallo et al., Science 224, 500-503 (1984), and Popovic et al., Ibid., 224, 497-500 (1984). This retrovirus had been known as lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV) or AIDS-related virus (ARV) and, most recently, as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Two distinct AIDS viruses, HIV-1 and HIV-2, have been described. HIV-1 is the virus originally identified in 1983 by Montagnier and co-workers at the Pasteur Institute in Paris [Ann. Virol. Inst. Pasteur 135 E, 119-134 (1984)], while HIV-2 was more recently isolated by Montagnier and his coworkers in 1986 [Nature 326, 662 (1987)]. As used herein these viruses in a generic sense.
Although the molecular biology of AIDS is beginning to be unraveled and defined, much more needs to be learned and understood about this disease. In the meantime, numerous approaches are being investigated in the search for potential anti-AIDS drugs and vaccines. Development of an AIDS vaccine is hampered by lack of understanding of mechanisms of protective immunity against HIV, the magnitude of genetic variation of the virus, and the lack of effective animal models for HIV infection. See, for example, Koff and Hoth, Science 241, 426-432 (1988).
The first drug to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of AIDS was zidovudine, better known under its former name azidothymidine (AZT). Chemically, this drug is 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine. This drug was originally selected as a potential weapon against AIDS because it was shown to inhibit replication of the virus in vitro. Such in vitro tests are useful and virtually the only practical method of initially screening and testing potential anti-AIDS drugs. A serious drawback of AZT, however, is its toxic side-effects. Thus, the search for better anti-AIDS drugs continues.
More recently, certain glycosidase inhibitors have been tested for activity against the AIDS virus. Three such compounds suggested as potential anti-AIDS drugs are castanospermine, 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) and 2,5-dihydroxymethyl-3,4-dihydroxy-pyrrolidine (DMDP). See, e.g., Sunkara et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 148(1), 206-210 (1987); Tyms et al., Lancet, Oct. 31, 1987, pp. 1025-1026; Walker et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 8120-8124(1987); ##STR1## Thus, castanospermine, which is an alkaloid isolated from the seeds of the Australian chestnut tree, has been found to interfere with normal glycosylation of HIV virions, thereby altering the envelope glycoprotein and preventing entry of HIV into target cells. However, only a modest reduction in virion infectivity was found.
In PCT Inter. Appln. WO 87/03903, published July 2, 1987, the N-methyl derivative of deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) also was disclosed as having activity against HIV ostensibly based on its glucosidase I inhibitory activity. However, it was subsequently shown by Fleet et al., FEBS Lett. 237, 128-132 (1988), that not all glucosidase I inhibitors are effective inhibitors of HIV. Therefore, some other mechanism may be responsible for HIV inhibitory activity. For example, while the known inhibition of the cytopathic effect (CPE) by the o-glucosidase I inhibitor castanospermine is confirmed, neither the epimer L-1,6-diepicastanospermine nor the stereoisomer of castanospermine, L-6-epicastanospermine, were found to be inhibitory.
So also, although both enantiomers of 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-arabinitol are known glucosidase inhibitors [Fleet et al., Tetrahedron Lett. 26, 3127-3130 (1985); Fleet et al., Chemistry Lett., 1051-1054 (1986)], the L-enantiomer has strong HIV inhibitory activity whereas the D-enantiomer has very little effect on HIV replication. For both enantiomers, N-methylation reduced rather than increased anti-HIV activity. Neither the azofuranose analog of glucose nor the N-benzyl derivative were found to have an effect on CPE. Similarly, no HIV inhibition was observed for fagomine, the 2-deoxyglucose analog, although it too is known to have .alpha.-glycosidase inhibitory activity. See Fleet et al., FEBS Lett. 237, 128-132 (1988).
Karpas, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85, 9229-9233 (1988), report that whereas the N-methyl- and N-ethyl-DNJ reduce the yield of infectious HIV by an order of four and three logarithms, respectively, the N-butyl-DNJ reduces infectious viral particles by a logarithmic order greater than five at nontoxic concentrations. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,430 on the antiviral use of N-butyl-DNJ.


An image forming apparatus including a cleaning unit removably mountable to an apparatus main body under a state of being supported by a transfer unit, and movable with respect to the transfer unit in a longitudinal direction of a cleaning member under a state of not being mounted to the apparatus main body. The apparatus main body includes a frame unit portion configured to position a cartridge with respect to the apparatus main body in an axial direction of a photosensitive drum. The frame unit portion is configured to position the cleaning member with respect to the apparatus main body in the longitudinal direction under a state in which the transfer unit is mounted to the apparatus main body.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, which includes a transfer unit including a belt configured to transfer a toner image from an image bearing member onto a transfer material and a cleaning unit configured to remove residual toner on the belt.
Description of the Related Art
In Japanese Patent No. 3815139, there is disclosed an image forming apparatus, which includes an image forming unit including an image bearing member configured to bear a toner image and a transfer unit including a belt configured to transfer the toner image from the image bearing member onto a transfer material. According to the configuration of Japanese Patent No. 3815139, residual toner on the belt is removed by a cleaning member.
In recent years, further downsizing is demanded of image forming apparatuses. Further downsizing is also demanded for a cleaning unit. In order to downsize the cleaning unit, the longitudinal width of a cleaning member needs to be reduced. However, the longitudinal width of the cleaning member needs to be larger than the longitudinal width of a developing member of an image forming unit. When this relationship is not satisfied, a toner image which cannot be removed may remain on a belt of a transfer unit and cause an image defect. Thus, in order to reduce the longitudinal width of the cleaning member of the cleaning unit, a relative positional relationship with the image forming unit needs to be determined with high accuracy.
However, according to Japanese Patent No. 3815139, the cleaning unit is positioned and fixed with respect to the transfer unit, and the image forming unit is fixed to an apparatus main body. Thus, a plurality of components are interposed between the cleaning member, which is a key component of the cleaning unit, and the image forming unit. That is, components such as the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus, the transfer unit, and a casing of the cleaning unit are interposed, with the result that dimensional tolerances and mounting errors of those components in the longitudinal direction are imposed. Therefore, the longitudinal width of the cleaning member needs to be determined in consideration of those errors, and there is difficulty in reducing the longitudinal width of the cleaning member.


An image forming method in which a recording head is step-driven by a stepping motor to perform vertical scanning, and a recording drum, around which a light-sensitive recording material is wound, is rotated to conduct horizontal scanning to form an image onto the light-sensitive recording material. In the image forming method, the horizontal scanning starts during residual vibration of the recording head after the stepping driving of the stepping motor stops and after a predetermined period of time from the start of the step driving. Accordingly, although horizontal-scanning lines meander due to the residual vibration, all of the horizontal-scanning lines are brought to their respective loci which are identical.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming method in which a recording head and a recording material are moved relative to each other by step driving of a stepping motor to perform a vertical scanning, and a horizontal scanning is conducted at each step driving to form an image onto the recording material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An image forming apparatus is known in which an image is exposed to light onto a heat-developable light-sensitive material (image forming sheet). The heat-developable light-sensitive material is heat-developed and, subsequently, is superimposed upon an image receiving material. The heat-developable light-sensitive material and the image receiving material are pressurized upon each other, whereby an image is transferred to the image receiving material to obtain the image.
The heat-developable light-sensitive material is wound around a recording drum which is rotated at high speed. The heat-developable light-sensitive material is exposed to light by light rays from light-emitting elements which are mounted on a recording head arranged in correspondence with the recording drum. Means for the light-exposure is scanning recording, in which horizontal scanning is performed by rotation of the recording drum, while the recording head is moved axially to the recording drum to conduct vertical scanning. That is, when the horizontal scanning is completed, the recording head is vertically scanned through one step allowing horizontal scanning to be done on a subsequent line. This is repeated whereby it is possible to record the image onto the heat-developable and light-sensitive material. The vertical scanning of the recording head is conducted by a driving force from a stepping motor. Accordingly, the stepping motor is driven through a predetermined number of pulses each time horizontal scanning, corresponding to one line, is completed. It is thereby possible to obtain horizontal scanning lines equal in pitch to each other.
In case where the stepping motor is driven at high speed and is subsequently stabilized, there is a case where no-vibration driving is impossible. Further, residual vibration occurs more or less when stopped, whereby, as shown in FIG. 5, when an image is recorded, that is, vertical scanning is performed immediately after the occurrence of the residual vibration, horizontal scanning lines 102 recorded on a light-sensitive material 100 meander. On the other hand, after stopping the stepping motor, no residual vibration occurs after a lapse of a long period of time. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, horizontal scanning lines 104 become substantially straight lines.
Here, the timing for starting image recording is immediately after completion of reading the image data corresponding to one line. Accordingly, in case where the image data is sent at high speed, the vertical scanning lines meander. In case where the image data comes late, the image data is horizontally scanned after completion of residual vibration so that the horizontal scanning lines are brought substantially to straight lines. In this manner, a mixture of the meandering horizontal scanning lines 102 and the substantially straight vertical scanning lines 104 exerts a great influence on the image quality making it impossible to obtain high image quality.
In order to solve the above-discussed problem, the start of horizontal scanning should be delayed until residual vibration is completed. However, this considerably increases recording time so that high-speed recording cannot be done. Further, the image should be recorded at equal intervals of time after the image data corresponding to one image has been stored. In this case, however, a frame memory is indispensable or essential so that a number of component parts increases. This leads to an increase in cost.


An apparatus for use with blanks folded to a flat form for unfolding each blank into a tube of rectangular to square cross section and feeding the tubular blank to one of container bottom forming mandrels which is at rest at a feed station. The apparatus comprises a magazine for accommodating a multiplicity of such blanks as arranged side by side, transport arms for delivering the blanks one by one from a delivery opening of the magazine and transporting each blank to a position on an extension of the axis of the mandrel, an unfolding arm for unfolding the blank from the flat form to the tubular form during transport by forming a fold in the opposed flat portions of the blank, a holder for holding the tubular blank on the extension of axis in alignment therewith movably along the extension, and a transfer assembly for transferring the blank from the holder to the mandrel. The forward end of the unfolding arm is movable into and out of the path of transport of the blank. One of adjacent two side wall panels among four side wall panels of the blank is pushed toward the other panel by the arm end advanced into the path to thereby form the fold in each of the opposed flat portions of the blank.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for use with blanks folded to a flat form for unfolding each blank into a tube of rectangular to square cross section and feeding the tubular blank to one of container bottom forming mandrels which is at rest at a feed station.
Conventional apparatus of the type mentioned include those comprising a magazine for accommodating a multiplicity of blanks as arranged side by side, transport means for delivering the blanks from a delivery opening of the magazine one by one and transporting each blank to a position on an extension of the axis of the mandrel, means for unfolding the blank from a flat folded form into a tube of rectangular to square cross section during transport by folding the opposed flat portions of the blank, a holder for holding the tubular blank on the extension of axis of the mandrel in alignment therewith movably along the extension, and a transfer assembly for transferring the blank from the holder to the mandrel. The transport means has a suction member for holding one of the four side wall panels of the blank thereto by suction. The unfolding means has an unfolding member which is fixedly disposed within the path of transport of the blank so as not to interfere with the side wall panel held to the suction member. During transport, another one of the four side wall panels not held by the suction member is brought into contact with the unfolding member and thereby bent, whereby a fold is formed on each of the opposed flat portions of the blank.
With the conventional apparatus described, the unfolding member is fixedly disposed in the path of transport of the blank, so that the opposed flat portions of the blank can not be bent beyond a limit and therefore fail to remain fully bent to form the fold. When the blank is further transported as held in the tubular form by being slidingly moved longitudinally thereof, the force acting to restore the blank to the flat form then acts against the sliding movement. This gives rise to the problem that the blank being transported will not be smoothly transferred from the holder to the mandrel owing to great sliding resistance. Furthermore, where the blank is made into a container, a neat corner will not be formed at the junction of the adjacent two side wall panels, hence another problem of a poor appearance as a commercial product;

Apparatus for feeding container blanks to container bottom forming mandrel


A wedge for use with tie rods in maintaining a predetermined spaced relation between opposed forms prior to and during the pouring of a concrete wall in the space between the forms incorporates a ramp portion which includes an elongated keyhole slot for receiving a tie rod therethrough, and the portions of the ramp bordering this slot are especially formed to reinforce them against deflection or collapse under the loading applied thereto from the head of a snap tie rod supported thereon and also to provide concave self centering capability and smooth surfaces to avoid nicking.

This invention relates to wedges for use with ties in maintaining a predetermined spaced relation between opposed forms prior to and during the pouring of a concrete wall in the space between the forms. The invention is particularly concerned with wedges for use with form ties which are designed to have their outer end portions broken off inside the wall after the concrete has set and the forms have been removed.
In one conventional use of such ties, they may have a shoulder or other spacer adjacent to each end thereof which butts the inner surface of a form. The end portion of the tie beyond this spacer passes through a hole in the form and has a head on its outermost end which cooperates with clamping means and reinforcing lumber ("forms") to brace the assembled formwork against the internal hydraulic pressure developed while the fluid concrete fills the space between the forms.
The co-owned Edgar et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,365 of 1991 describes a problem affecting the utility of such ties of the then conventional construction arising from the fact that during erection of the forms and their supporting lumber, the mechanical connection between the head of each tie and an adjacent wale is provided by a wedge designed to apply tension to the end portion of each tie between each head and the spacer which engages the inner face of the adjacent form.
That problem was that with conventional ties and associated wedges, instead of maintaining essentially axially directed tension on the end portions of each rod, forces were developed which caused twisting of one or both of the rod heads where they interconnected with the remainder of the rod. These twisting forces were sometimes so severe as to cause the head of the rod to snap off and thus render the rod inoperative for the purpose for which it was intended.
In accordance with the Edgar patent, the problem and effect on conventional ties as outlined above were eliminated by a novel construction of each tie wherein a portion of the tie where each head interconnects with the rod is of larger cross-sectional dimensions than the remainder of the rod, although less than those of the head. The resulting reinforcement of the interconnection between the head and the rod overcame any tendency to premature snapping of the rod at its junction with a head.
In the use of the ties of the Edgar patent, however, it was found that the new ties so successfully resisted the forces previously causing conventional ties to break prematurely that the effect of those forces was transferred to the wedges of conventional construction. For example, wedges of the configuration shown in the above Edgar patent which were formed of sheet steel of an accepted thickness tended to buckle or collapse.
More specifically, the conventional wedge was formed of sheet metal of uniform thickness with an elongated slot through which the head and adjacent portion of a rod projected, and the tensioning force of the wedge was applied to the rod by engagement between the sloping sides of the slot and the axially inner end of the rod head. The problem was that the portion of the wedge along each side of the slot would tend to collapse, usually sequentially rather than simultaneously, but either way, the result was to lose the tension on the rod and thus permit undesired outward bowing of the adjacent portion of the form while the concrete wall was being poured or had not yet set beyond an essentially fluid condition.