A motor vehicle hands-free device includes a communication interface designed so that at least one first mobile telephone and one second mobile telephone can be connected to the motor vehicle hands-free device, in particular in parallel or simultaneously, a control device designed so that mobile telephone address book entries from the first mobile telephone and mobile telephone address book entries from the second mobile telephone can be transferred to the motor vehicle hands-free device via the radio interface, and a common address book that can be generated on the basis of the mobile telephone address book entries of the first mobile telephone and the mobile telephone address book entries of the second mobile telephone.

The invention relates to a hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle.
In recent years the continued rapid spread of mobile communication technology has resulted in, among other things, the development and availability of hands-free telephone devices that are configured for motor vehicles and interact with mobile telephones. In this case the hands-free telephone devices that are configured for motor vehicles and that are considered to be particularly advanced are those that interact and communicate with a mobile telephone, which may be found, in particular, in the vehicle or in close proximity to the vehicle, in a wireless manner, in particular, on the basis of the so-called Bluetooth standard.
For this purpose it is known that a hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle automatically establishes a Bluetooth connection to a mobile telephone, which is assigned to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle, or vice versa, as soon as the mobile telephone is within the range of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle, and vice versa. Then, the mobile telephone and the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle can exchange data by way of the Bluetooth connection. Then, the exchange of voice data allows the voice communication, based on the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle and the mobile telephone, to be implemented by way of a mobile communication system. The exchange of control data allows the control of the mobile telephone to be implemented by way of a user interface of a motor vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to provide a means by which two mobile telephones can be comfortably operated by way of one hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle.
This and other objects are achieved by a hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle comprising a communication interface, which is configured such that at least a first mobile telephone and a second mobile telephone are connectable, in particular in parallel or simultaneously, to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle; and a control unit, which is configured such that the mobile telephone address book entries from the first mobile telephone and the mobile telephone address book entries from the second mobile telephone are transferrable to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle by way of the communication interface. A common address book of the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle can be generated on the basis of the mobile telephone address book entries of the first mobile telephone and on the basis of the mobile telephone address book entries of the second mobile telephone.
According to the invention, the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle includes a communication interface, such as a Bluetooth interface, which is configured in such a way that at least a first mobile telephone and a second mobile telephone can be connected or are connected, in particular in parallel or simultaneously, to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle.
In this context, the term "connected" means preferably that a connection is actually established and/or that data items are actually transferred, in particular, that the mobile telephones are considered to be "connected" to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle in the sense of the Bluetooth specification. A connection is possible preferably only with mobile telephones that have been previously coupled or "paired" with the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle.
In addition, a control unit is provided. This control unit is configured in such a way that the mobile telephone address book entries from the first mobile telephone, for example, from a memory unit of a subscriber identity module (SIM) and/or from a memory unit of a telephone, and the mobile telephone address book entries from the second mobile telephone can be transferred or are transferred to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle by way of the communication interface.
A common, in particular combined, address book of the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle can be generated or a common address book of the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle is generated on the basis of the mobile telephone address book entries of the first mobile telephone and on the basis of the mobile telephone address book entries of the second mobile telephone. In this context, the term "address book" also includes the concept "telephone book."
This arrangement allows a user of a hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle to access the entries of the mobile telephone address book of two mobile telephones in a simple, reliable and convenient way during a trip without the user having to take his eyes off of the surrounding traffic situation.
Preferably, the address book of a hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle can be stored in a memory unit of the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle and/or can be output totally or partially to a display unit that is coupled to the hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle.
In a further development of the invention an identity tag (host ID), which is assigned to the address book entries and which is provided for the mobile telephone (host mobile telephone), from which the address book entry or entries originate, can be transferred to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle. The identity tag or an information item derived from the identity tag can be stored together with the related address book entry or entries in the memory unit of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle and/or can be output together with the related address book entry or entries to the display unit that is coupled with the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle.
As an alternative or in addition to this further development, it can be provided that an identity tag, which is generated by the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle, is assigned to the address book entries, originating from a specific mobile telephone, by way of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle.
This arrangement allows the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle to have available information about the host providers of the address book entries. In addition, a user can recognize the host provider (the first or the second mobile telephone) of the various address book entries.
In a further development of the invention the address book entries of the common address book of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle can be jointly sorted, for example, alphabetically, according to the host ID or the access frequency, or can be jointly filtered, for example, according to the host ID or the type of address book entry (private, business, etc.). This feature enhances the aforementioned advantages.
It is an advantageous embodiment of the invention that not only the address book entries of the mobile telephone, but also messages, calendar entries, tasks and/or memos from the mobile telephones can be transferred to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle by way of the communication interface, and that a common, in particular combined, message list, a common calendar, a common to-do list, and/or a common memo list can be generated on the basis of the transferred messages, calendar entries, tasks and/or memos. Further developments of this embodiment analogous to the aforementioned further developments of the alternative address books as well as the further developments of the alternative address books described below are also within the scope of the invention.
It is also a further development of the invention that a call setup can be carried out or is carried out automatically by way of the mobile telephone having an identity tag that is assigned to a selected address book entry. The selection of an address book entry is performed, for example, by use of an input unit that is assigned to the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle. As an alternative to this further development, it can be provided that a user selects manually the connected mobile telephone that is to be used for setting up a call to a call number of a selected address book entry of the common address book of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle.
Another embodiment provides that when initiated by the user (for example, in reaction to a corresponding user input to an input unit coupled with the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle), a loudspeaker and a microphone of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle can be switched over from a communication link, which is established by way of the first mobile telephone, to a communication link, which is established by way of the second mobile telephone, in particular by the fact that the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle sends a to-hold command to the first mobile telephone by way of the communication interface and/or sends a voice activated command to the second mobile telephone, or vice versa.
An additional further development provides that, when initiated by the user, a loudspeaker and a microphone of the hands-free telephone device of the motor vehicle can be switched simultaneously to a communication link, which is established by way of the first mobile telephone, and to a communication link, which is established by way of the second mobile telephone.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Hands-free telephone device of a motor vehicle

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


A method and apparatus for performing distributed object calls uses proxies and memory allocation and deallocation. Specifically, an object reference to an object is obtained. The object reference is used to create a proxy handle data structure that will represent the object. The proxy handle is passed to a client application stub function which calls the object. The stub function is also passed input and output parameters along with exception information. An object request broker finds an appropriate implementation in a server application. The server application allocates memory for implementing the call. The object is implemented and the memory allocated by the server application is deallocated. The server application responds to the client, whereupon the client makes another object call using the same proxy handle or destroys the proxy handle. Multiple initialization of object calls is avoided because the object call can be initialized just once for a particular object. Moreover, resources are preserved by minimizing wild pointers and memory leaks that can occur during the calling and implementation of objects.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for performing distributed object calls using proxies on the client side and memory allocation on the server side. Specifically, the method involves the creation of a proxy handle data structure to be associated with a particular object and its associated object reference. On the client side, object calls to the associated object are then made using the proxy handle, thus allowing multiple calls to the same object and eliminating the need to perform certain initialization functions each time the call is made. On the server side, the server allocates memory in a platform-independent manner.
2. Background
Distributed object computing combines the concepts of distributed computing and object-oriented computing. Distributed computing consists of two or more pieces of software sharing information with each other. These two pieces of software could be running on the same computer or on different computers connected to a common network. Most distributed computing is based on a client/server mode. With the client/server model, two major types of software are used: client software, which requests the information or service, and server software, which provides or implements the information or service.
Object-oriented computing is based upon the object model where pieces of code called xe2x80x9cobjectsxe2x80x9dxe2x80x94often abstracted from real objects in the real worldxe2x80x94contain data (called xe2x80x9cattributesxe2x80x9d in object-oriented programming parlance) and may have actions (also known as xe2x80x9coperationsxe2x80x9d) performed on it. An object is defined by its interface (or xe2x80x9cclassxe2x80x9d in C++ parlance). The interface defines the characteristics and behavior of a kind of object, including the operations that can be performed on objects of that interface and the parameters to each operation. A specific instance of an object is identified within a distributed object system by a unique identifier called an object reference.
In a distributed object system, a client application sends a request (or xe2x80x9cobject callxe2x80x9d) to a server application. The request contains an indication of the operation to be performed on a specific object, the parameters to that operation, the object reference for that object, and a mechanism to return error information (or xe2x80x9cexception informationxe2x80x9d) about the success or failure of a request. The server application receives the request and carries out the request via a server xe2x80x9cimplementation.xe2x80x9d The implementation satisfies the client""s request for an operation on a specific object. The implementation includes one or more methods, which are the portions of code in the server application that actually do the work requested of the implementation. If the implementation is carried out successfully, the server application may return a response to the client. The server application may also return exception information.
To standardize distributed object systems, the Object Management Group (xe2x80x9cOMGxe2x80x9d), a consortium of computer software companies, proposed the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (xe2x80x9cCORBAxe2x80x9d). Under the CORBA standard, an Object Request Broker (xe2x80x9cORBxe2x80x9d) provides a communication hub for all objects in the system passing the request to the server and returning the response to the client. Commercial ORB""s are known in the art and a common type is IBM""s System Object Model (xe2x80x9cSOMxe2x80x9d). On the client side, the ORB handles requests for the invocation of a method and the related selection of servers and methods. When a client application sends a request to the ORB for a method to be performed on an object, the ORB validates the arguments contained in the request against the interface for that object and dispatches the request to the server, starting it if necessary. On the server side, the ORB uses information in the request to determine the best implementation to satisfy the request. This information includes the operation the client is requesting, what type of object the operation is being performed on, and any additional information stored for the request. In addition, the server-side ORB validates each request and its arguments. The ORB is also responsible for transmitting the response back to the client.
Both the client application and the server application must have information about the available interfaces, including the objects and operations that can be performed on those objects. To facilitate the common sharing of interface definitions, OMG proposed the Interface Definition Language (xe2x80x9cIDLxe2x80x9d). IDL is a definition language (not a programming language) that is used to describe an object""s interface; that is, the characteristics and behavior of a kind of object, including the operations that can be performed on those objects.
IDL is designed to be used in distributed object systems implementing OMG""s CORBA Revision 2.0 specification, which is incorporated by reference herein. In a typical system implementing the CORBA specification, interface definitions are written in an IDL-defined source file (also known as a xe2x80x9ctranslation unitxe2x80x9d). The source file is compiled by an IDL compiler that generates programming-language-specific files, including client stub files, server stub files, and header files. Client stub files are language-specific mappings of IDL operation definitions for an object type into procedural routines, one for each operation. When compiled by a language-specific compiler and linked into a client application, the stub routines may be called by the client application to invoke a request. Similarly, the server stub files are language-specific mappings of IDL operation definitions for an object type (defined by an interface) into procedural routines. When compiled and linked into a server application, the server application can call these routines when a corresponding request arrives. Header files are compiled and linked into client and server applications and are used to define common data types and structures.
In a system implementing the CORBA specification, object calls are made by calling the appropriate client stub function. The parameters to these stub functions typically include the input parameters for the requested operation and the object reference of the object. The CORBA specification, however, has certain performance-related drawbacks. First, each time an object is called, certain configuration operations must be performed. For instance, the object must be validated to ensure its existence. In addition, memory (or another resource) is often allocated for the call. The interface must be determined. Finally, transport of the call is prepared (e.g., opening files, preparing sockets, etc. . . . ). Performing each of these operations prior to each object call can be very time-consuming. In a time-critical application, the overhead associated with each object call can significantly affect performance.
Further, on the server side, performance is affected by the improper allocation and deallocation of memory (xe2x80x9cgarbage collectionxe2x80x9d). In many distributed object systems, memory can be allocated for the implementation of an object call. Once the implementation has been performed and the server responds to the call, however, memory is not automatically deallocated. This failure to deallocate memory leads to wasted resources and, therefore, slower performances. In addition, the failure to remove pointers or addresses pointed to by pointers can lead to larger problems, such as system errors and application shutdowns.
Certain systems have attempted to use garbage collection in the implementation of object calls. Those systems, however, use platform-specific methods for deallocating memory. Thus, code portability is often sacrificed in favor of proper memory allocation and deallocation.
Accordingly, a need exists for a method for improving object call performance by eliminating the need to configure an object call each time the same object is called.
Further, a need exists for a platform-independent method for improving object call performance by allocating and deallocating memory during object implementation.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for performing object calls that improves performance by eliminating the need to configure an object call each time the same object is called. The present invention also improves object call performance by allocating and deallocating memory during object implementation.
More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method for calling an object via a generated stub function within a client application to a server application. The call is performed by first obtaining an object reference that refers to the object. Next, the object reference is used to create a proxy handle to represent the object in calls to the object. The object is then called via the stub function. The stub function is passed the proxy handle, an input parameter of an operation to be performed on the object, an output parameter of the operation, and exception information. The object is then implemented via a method function in the server application. The server application responds to the caller and completes the call. The proxy handle may be used again for a subsequent call to the same object. Once the final object call has been made, the proxy handle is destroyed.
The creation of the proxy handle automatically allocates resources for the object call. When the proxy handle is destroyed, those resources are freed. Moreover, since the proxy handle can be used for multiple calls to the same object, the client application is not required to perform any initialization that may have been performed during the previous object calls. For instance, object validation, file opening, and socket preparation are events that are commonly performed during each object call. These initialization events may be placed in a time-critical portion of the application to save resources. Finally, multiple proxy handles may be used for the same object to force users to comply with certain requirements before implementing a particular feature of an object. In this manner, files and similar objects may be pseudo-encrypted.
In an alternative embodiment, resources may be allocated and deallocated during the actual implementation of the object. In this embodiment, the method function in the server application calls a function to allocate the appropriate resources. The function returns a pointer to memory that has been allocated on the heap in the server computer. Upon completion of the method function, the memory is automatically deallocated. Automatic deallocation of memory reduces the likelihood of random pointers and memory leaks that can often occur during the implementation of an object.

Method and apparatus for performing distributed object calls using proxies and memory allocation


The present invention relates to a microRNA-based short hairpin RNA for gene silencing the genetic expression of NR1 subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor comprises a single strand RNA fragment comprising a first fragment, a second fragment and a connecting fragment, wherein the first fragment and the second fragment are complementary to each other, and are spaced and connected by the connecting fragment, with the connecting fragment being randomly arranged nucleotides, with the first fragment having a Drosha recognized cleavage site, a silencing site and a Dicer recognized cleavage site, with the Drosha recognized cleavage site and the Dicer recognized cleavage site being spaced and connected by the silencing site, with the silencing site encoding homologous nucleotides corresponding to NR1 subunit of subcutaneous N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microRNA-based short hairpin RNA, and a medicament comprising the said microRNA-based short hairpin RNA, particularly to a microRNA-based short hairpin RNA for silencing NR1 subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, and an analgesic drug comprising the said microRNA-based short hairpin RNA.
2. Description of the Related Art
RNA interference refers to a phenomenon of post-transcriptional gene silencing being mediated by small double-stranded RNAs (also known as small interfering RNAs or siRNAs) that comprises endogenously encoded RNA to guide ribonucleoprotein complex, such as RNA induced silencing complex (RISA), to target message RNA (mRNA). The RNA interference is first discovered in 1990s in plants, the silencing mechanism thereof refers to exotic double-strand RNAs in cells being processed by Dicer and generating a plurality of siRNAs, with those siRNAs being self-unwound, targeting to particular messenger RNAs, further conducting RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) to degrade the particular messenger RNAs, and finally resulting in post-transcriptional gene silencing on the said particular messenger RNAs.
In conventional arts, a siRNA, comprising 21 ribonucleic acids, has been developed, as reference to US publishing No. 2011/0263676 entitled "A SMALL INTERFERING RNA FOR GENE KNOCKDOWN OF THE SUBCUTANEOUS N-METHYL-D-ASPARTATE RECEPTOR NR1 SUBUNIT, AND IT'S APPLICATION ON PHARMACEUTICS," to achieve analgesic effects without leading to any side effects, such as nausea, lethargy, faint and motor un-coordination, that cause by conventional NMDA receptor antagonists (e.g. ketamine). By delivering the said siRNA to affected parts through subcutaneously injection, a temporary RNA interfering on NR1 subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor in hypoderm is conducted, so as to achieve antinociceptive effects on the affected parts.
However, due to the instability of the said siRNA, only a small amount of the said siRNA can truly affect on the affected parts, and therefore, a high dosage and a pharmaceutical acceptable carrier is needed to effectively deliver the said siRNA into nucleus for achieving NR1 silencing and analgesic. Also, the silencing effect of the said siRNA only last for 7 days, with the analgesic efficiency thereof decreasing by days after 7 days. Accordingly, a frequently injection is necessary if a long-term analgesic treatment is requested.
For improving the above-identified disadvantages of the said siRNA, a conventional analgesic is developed, as reference to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/027,742 entitled "A SHORT HAIRPIN RNA FOR GENE KNOCKDOWN OF NR1 SUBUNIT OF THE N-METHYL-D-ASPARTATE RECEPTOR AND ITS APPLICATION ON PHARMACEUTICS," and comprises a short hairpin RNA encoded in a pSilencer vector, being stable and easy to manufacture. The said short hairpin RNA has 45-65 nucleotides comprising a first fragment, a second fragment and a connection fragment, with the first fragment having homologous nucleotides among NR1 subunit of NMDA receptor, with the second fragment having complementary sequence to the first fragment, and with connecting fragment being 3-23 randomly arranged nucleotides. After delivering the conventional analgesic to affected parts, the said short hairpin RNA are transcribed by RNA polymerase III in cells, self-folded into a hairpin structure, and processed by endogenous nucleases to generate short double stranded RNAs, conducting a destruction of NR1 subunit of NMDA receptor medicated by RISC to achieve antinociception.
Although the said shRNA show lasting silencing effect (with duration of more than 14 days) on NR1 subunit of NMDA receptor in comparison with the said siRNA, it is poor in achieving immediately analgesic effect due to the late response of the said shRNA, with the antinociceptive effect thereof only presenting at least 7 days after cell-delivering. Therefore, the shRNA is failed to relieve acute pain. Furthermore, a dramatic dosage of a pharmaceutical acceptable carrier is needed for the said shRNA to reach a high delivering efficiency, and thus that the cost of the conventional analgesic in commercialization is high.
In 2005, Stegmeier et. al., have published a shRNA expression system (A Lentiviral microRNA-based System for Single-Copy Polymerase II-regulated RNA interference in mammalian cells. PNAS 102:13212-13217), to facilitate the tracking of shRNA production in cells, by providing a vector pPRIME to transcribe shRNAs under controls of RNA polymerase II and RNA polymerase III. The vector pPRIME provides sufficient penetrance for the use of encoded shRNAs. However, Stegmeier et. al. provides less information on practical uses of the said vector pPRIME and encoded shRNAs, especially in pharmaceutics.
Hence, it is necessary to improve the above-identified disadvantages and issues, and to provide an alternative strategy for achieving fast and lasting gene silencing on NR1 subunit of NMDA receptor, finally to accomplish fast and long-lasting antinociceptive effects and to put to use in pharmaceutics industry.

MicroRNA-based short hairpin RNA for gene knockdown of NR1 subunit of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor and its application on pharmaceutics


Processing a scene graph includes applying view frustrum culling to sort models of the scene graph into first and second lists of models, the first list comprising models at least one of within a view frustrum and intersecting with the view frustrum, the second list comprising models outside of the view frustrum, and applying a first selected collision detection process to pairs of models of the first list. The method further includes applying a second selected collision detection process to pairs of models of the second list. In some embodiments, the first collision detection process is more computationally intensive than the second collision detection process.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to computer graphics and, more specifically, to collision detection of objects in three dimensional (3D) scenes.
2. Description
One goal of 3D computer graphics is to achieve a realistic, interactive experience. As processor performance increases, more processing power becomes available for implementing a variety of graphical techniques that can be executed in real-time to enhance the overall virtual experience for a user. Collision detection is one technique that allows the addition of immersive features to a virtual interactive experience by providing important visual cues about object interactions in a computer-simulated environment.
Collision detection involves determining if objects in a 3D scene are in contact with each other at a given instance in time. In traditional collision detection algorithms, each model representing an object in a scene is tested against all other models in a pair-wise fashion in order to determine if any of them overlap or collide. For a scene containing a large number of complex models, this brute force technique becomes prohibitively time consuming and may be a limiting factor for overall simulation performance.
As a result, collision detection processing in some systems has been divided into two levels. A first level reports potential collisions among all objects in the environment. These results are then sent to a second level, which performs exact collision detection between each pair of objects. In order to minimize invocations of the second level system (that is, to report as few potential object/object collisions as possible), each object is enclosed in a bounding volume and an algorithm is applied to find all bounding volume/bounding volume pairs that overlap.
Despite such improvements in 3D scene processing, better approaches are needed to provide a user with the best possible immersive experience.

Method of using view frustrum culling for scaleable collision detection


An entertainment system has a personal computer as the heart of the system with a large screen VGA quality monitor as the display of choice. The system has digital satellite broadcast reception, decompression and display capability with multiple radio frequency remote control devices which transmit self identifying signals and have power adjustment capabilities. These capabilities are used to provide context sensitive groups of keys which may be defined to affect only selected applications running in a windowing environment. In addition, the remote control devices combine television and VCR controls with standard personal computer keyboard controls. An applet running on the personal computer receives power commands from the remote control devices and issues power mode commands to video and audio cards to emulate on/off functions of standard televisions. A keyboard remote also integrates a touchpad which is food contamination resistant and may also be used for user verification. Included in the system is the ability to recognize verbal communications in video signals and maintain a database of such text which is searchable to help identify desired programming in real time.

The consumer electronics industry has created many stand alone products for specific functions, such as television viewing, video recording and playback, broadband video receivers, playing recorded music and broadcast music. Much of this function is being provided by computer systems. However, computer systems were initially designed to run complex computer programming. When these systems were turned on, it took significant amounts of time to load in required programming and test the system. In addition, when the systems were turned off, they required time to ensure that all data was properly stored, and the system was shut down in an orderly fashion. These long times to turn on and shut down computer systems were very different from the instant on and off features found in a television set.
Computer systems today have very advanced forms of power management available. Many portable systems have various power modes designed to conserve batteries. After predetermined periods of non-use, they enter these modes, shutting down predetermined components, such as disk drive devices and displays. Further, personal computer systems which do not use batteries often have screen savers, and display power management that places the display in a standby mode. In standby modes, the display is essentially shut down. This is usually accomplished by high level programming, such as advanced power management APM functions in Windows 95 by Microsoft which defines commands to use in placing multiple devices into different power management modes. In a further prior art system, a screen saver has a hot corner, which when selected, puts the display in standby mode.
There is a need for personal computers which play video and audio signals to operate more like a television set to meet the expectations of user which are comfortable with the mode of operation of televisions and other common consumer devices. There is a need for a personal computer to provide power management functions which bridge the gap between older computer systems, and their long waiting times on power up and down, and the instant on/off features of television sets.

Power management controller for computer system


An apparatus for measuring the transport time of impurity particles in a plasma includes a spectrometer, a system for the spatially-resolving conversion into charge of light exiting the spectrometer, an integrator circuit for the spatially-resolving integration of the charge, as well as a display screen that presents the integrated charge as a series of spectral lines. The integrator circuit is assembled from discrete components. Thus, the transport of plasma impurities can be properly measured.

For the experimental examination of the radial transport of plasma impurities, i.a. a small amount of a plasma impurity is introduced into the plasma at the plasma edge, and then, the development in time of the spectral lines of different degrees of ionization is measured. In such experiments, which are described e.g. in "New diagnostics for physics studies on TEXTOR-94", Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 72, Pages 1046-1053, the particles that constitute the impurities in the plasma—hereinafter referred to as impurity particles—advance into regions of increasingly higher electron temperature, starting at the edge of the plasma towards the centre of the plasma, and are gradually ionized to ever higher degrees of ionization. The impurity particles are then present in the form of ions. At the same time, these ionized impurity particles—hereinafter referred to as impurity ions—are excited to emit characteristic spectral lines. In the experiment, spectral lines of higher degrees of ionization appear delayed in time compared to those of lower degrees of ionization. This delay between the appearances of two spectral lines of different degrees of ionization, Z1 and Z2, is a direct measure for the transport time that the impurity particles require for transport between those radial positions, r1 and r2, at which the emissivities of the observed spectral lines are located. The accuracy of the described method is dependent on the ability to observe simultaneously as many different spectral lines of different degrees of ionization as possible, with a good signal-to-noise ratio and sufficient time resolution.
Preliminary tests showed for typical conditions in a fusion experiment that, as a rule, a time resolution of 1 ms is necessary in order to be able to resolve sufficiently the delay between spectral lines of different degrees of ionization by means of measurement technology. Continuous measurement should be possible over the total discharge duration of a typical plasma (6 to 10 seconds) in order to be able to record all processes during the discharge that are interesting to physics.
The discrimination between spectral lines and the background as well as the separation of different spectral lines can only be achieved, as a rule, by using suitable spectrometers having sufficient wavelength resolution. The method's applicability to as many different relevant plasma impurities as possible, after all, determines the wavelength range in VUV (Vacuum Ultraviolet, approx. 10 nm-100 nm) which is to be observed, since in this range, the impurities relevant to fusion experiments show many of their strongest spectral lines.
The requirements with regard to measurement technology and especially regarding the spectrometer used for the planned tests can therefore be summarized as follows:                a) The spectrometer should be able to work over a broad wavelength range in the VUV (10-100 nm).        b) The spectrometer should be able to perform measurements with a high degree of time resolution, namely at least 1000 complete spectra per second.        c) The efficiency of the spectrometer should be high, since the signal-to-noise ratio also depends on the photon statistics.        d) The spectrometer should have sufficient wavelength resolution (line separation).        e) The spectrometer should have a wide dynamic range since the intensities of the individual spectral lines vary greatly.
The spectrometer concept "SPRED" (Survey Poor Resolution Extended Domain) which is presented in works by Fonck et al., Appl. Optics Vol. 21, page 2115 et sqq. (1982), as well as by Stratton et al., Reviews of Scientific instruments Vol. 57, page 2043 et sqq. (1986), was found to be the closest state of the art at the moment able to meet the above-mentioned requirements.
The spectrometer concept may be summarized briefly as follows: the centerpiece of the spectrometer is a diffraction grating by Jobin-Yvon with the following properties:    I. Oblique incidence of light at approx. 70 degrees from the normal of the grating for obtaining sufficient reflectivity of the coating of the grating in the range of under 50 nm.    II. Toroidal grating substrate for reducing the geometric loss of light through astigmatism. Efficiency is thus enhanced.    III. The grooves of the grating are produced by ion etching or holographically. Thus, a high degree of efficiency is obtained in the first diffraction order while at the same time, higher diffraction orders are suppressed. Furthermore, a reduction of image defects is achieved and a sharp spectrum in a plane of 40 mm width is obtained.    IV. The grating surface is coated with gold in order to improve efficiency in a wavelength range of under 30 nm.    V. The lengths of the two arms of the spectrometer (which is to be understood as being the distance entrance slit—grating or grating—detector) are chosen to be approx. 30 cm each, so that, for the size of gratings and groove densities that can be produced today, the result is an instrument with a large wavelength range of sufficient wavelength resolution and large aperture (f/30), and thus with a high degree of efficiency.
The diffraction grating creates images of the entrance slit in the exit plane of the spectrometer of a scale of approx. 1:1.
An open MCP detector ("Multi Channel Plate") is used in the exit plane of the spectrometer for converting the VUV photons into visible light and amplifying the signals at the same time. The whole spectrometer is operated in a vacuum because radiation in the wavelength range of 10-100 nm is absorbed by all gases and all materials. The operation of the open MCP detectors furthermore necessitates a pressure of under 10−6 mbar, so that a UHV set-up is necessary for the whole spectrometer (UHV: Ultra High Vacuum).
The technical requirements desired according to a) to e) make it necessary to make specific improvements in certain points on the devices known from the above-mentioned state of the art.
The object of the invention is the creation of an apparatus of the kind mentioned at the beginning with which the transport of impurities in a plasma can be measured more accurately than was possible up to now.
The object is achieved by an apparatus having the characterizing features of the main claim. Advantageous embodiments result from the dependent claims.

Camera head for fast reproduction of a vacuum UV spectrometer spectrum


A football board game is arranged to simulate football play employing a passing attack as the sole means of advancing each team along the game board, that in turn is arranged for furled mounting about a storage mandrel. Advancing of the players is effected by striking the game ball, that in turn is to strike a target offensive player, wherein defensive players are positioned by an opponent to interfere with such completion. Conventional football rules relative to the number of downs and the like are employed in use of the game apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to football game apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved football board game wherein the same is directed to employing a bat to strike a game ball to effect contact with an opposing player.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Game boards of various types have been utilized in the prior art, wherein U.S. Pat. No. Des. 294,508 indicates a conventional layout of a football game board. Further, the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,995,863; 5,039,107; 5,074,557; and 4,989,879 are examples of prior art football game apparatus.
The instant invention addresses a novel and new manner of entertainment and enjoyment in the use of a football game structure, wherein the same is directed to the employment of a passing attack and limited thereto to direct football progress along the simulated football field and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A lower end of a knuckle member for rotatably supporting a wheel Is connected swingably around an axis in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle to a vehicle body via a lower arm. A connecting member is fitted swingably around only an axis in a vertical direction to an upper end of the knuckle member, and the connecting member is fitted swingably around only an axis in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to the lower end of a damper device. An upper arm whose one end is pivotally fitted to the vehicle body with one point is fitted at the other end to the damper device or the connecting member so as to be swingable around only an axis in the longitudinal direction. Preferably, the lower arm i s composed of front and rear link members and arranged in such a fashion that an axis of each link member crosses each other outboard than respective pivot points thereof with the knuckle member. Accordingly, a fictitious kingpin shaft almost conforms to an ideal one, thus achieving improvement in tile performance, reduction of size and weight, and free layout of each part.

This invention relates to an automobile suspension bridging each wheel of a vehicle to a vehicle body.
Automobile suspensions of strut type and double wishbone type have been generally known and have been put into practical use.
In the strut type suspension, a fictitious kingpin axis as a rotary shaft for steering the wheel is a straight line which connects a connecting point of an upper end of a damper device and a vehicle body and a connecting point of a lower arm and a wheel support member. The fictitious kingpin axis cannot be desirable upon the performance of the vehicle. In detail, upon the performance of the vehicle, the ideal fictitious kingpin axis passes slightly inboard than a center line in a car width direction of the wheel on a rotating center line of the wheel, and passes slightly outboard than the center line in the car width direction of the wheel at a contact face of the wheel to the ground so that the kingpin offset is slightly negative. However, the fictitious kingpin axis of the strut type suspension is inclined inboard of the ideal fictitious kingpin axis.
On the other hand, in the double wishbone type suspension, the fictitious kingpin axis is a straight line which connects a connecting point of an upper arm and the wheel support member and a connecting point of the lower arm and the wheel support member. This appropriate setting of the connecting points brings the fictitious kingpin axis to almost the ideal one. However, the double wishbone type suspension requires each two points for the connecting the upper arm and the lower arm to the vehicle body in order to support horizontal load affecting to the wheel, which restricts the layout of the other parts. Particularly, when the double wishbone type suspension is used as a front-wheel suspension in an FF (front-engine front-drive) type automobile, the layout is severely restricted. The strut type suspension has no problem on the layout because of no upper arm.
There have been many automobile suspensions proposed for solving the problem with both advantages of strut type and double wishbone type suspensions. Typical conventional examples are explained below, referring to the respective references.
The first example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying Open Gazette No. 2-220904. The suspension in this example is basically of improved double wishbone type. The suspension is constructed in such a fashion that the upper arm is composed of a single link member and a lower end of the damper device is connected to the lower arm so that the damper device also supports the load effecting the wheel. According to this suspension, with the only one connecting point of the upper arm to the vehicle body, the parts can be arranged more freely.
The second conventional example is disclosed in German Patent Application Laying Open Gazette No. DE 3,839/463A1. In this suspension, the upper arm is constructed by a single link member as well as in the first example, and the lower end of the damper device is connected to the wheel support member. Thus, the layout is free from restriction.
The third conventional example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying Open Gazette No. 1-136804. The suspension of this example is basically, also, of improved double wishbone type, wherein an intermediate member is provided between the wheel support member and the upper arm to be connected to the lower end of the damper device, and the wheel support member is pivotally fitted via a ball joint to the intermediate member to allow the upper arm to swing only in a vertical direction.
These examples, however, have respective problems. In detail:
In the first conventional example, since the lower end of the damper device is connected to an intermediate part in the car width direction of the lower arm, it is required to increase a force (damping force) generated by the damper device so as to correspond to a lever ratio with respect to an external force in the vertical direction affecting to the wheel at bumping and rebounding of the wheel. This involves increase size and weight of the damper device and the lower arm connected thereto. Further, in the FF type automobile, a drive shaft extends in the car width direction on the rotating center line of the wheel. For avoiding an interference between the drive shaft and the damper device connected to the lower arm, it is required to provide between the lower end of the damper device and the lower arm a forked connecting member through which the drive shaft is put. Since the connecting member fully receives the force generated by the damper device, the connecting member must have large rigidity, which causes enlarged scale. Consequently, the weight increases further.
In the second conventional example, since an arm part for connecting to the damper device is required to be formed at the wheel support member , the construction becomes complicated and the weight is increased. Further, since the lower end of the damper device extends downward further than the rotating center line of the wheel, it is required in the FF type automobile to avoid the interference between the damper device and the drive shaft, which causes restriction of the layout. In addition, the fictitious kingpin axis is inclined upwardly, inboard, so as to be far from the ideal Fictitious kingpin axis.
In the third example, since the wheel support member and the intermediate member are connected with the ball joint, the damper device cannot receive horizontal load affecting to the wheel (lateral force and longitudinal force). As a result, two connecting points for connecting the upper arm and the vehicle body are required as well as in the double wishbone type suspension, which restricts the layout.


Equipment of the invention provides ultrasonic flaw detection equipment using a volume focusing flaw detection method, the ultrasonic flaw detection equipment described below. That is, this equipment performs internal flaw detection of a material being tested, the material having a virtually circular cross-sectional shape, and transducers 1 . . . 1 are arranged in an arc along a circle exhibited by the material being tested. Array probes 10 . . . 10 are disposed so as to surround the material being tested. An exciting unit enables flaw detection of the material being tested to be performed by vertical and oblique flaw detection methods. The exciting unit makes ultrasonic waves enter the material being tested from each position on an incident section as a result of a plurality of transducers being vibrated once and makes the ultrasonic waves reach a counter section facing the incident section on the circumference of the circle exhibited by the material being tested, and the exciting unit makes the ultrasonic waves enter the material being tested as a result of the plurality of transducers being vibrated one more time and makes the ultrasonic waves allowed to enter reach one of adjacent sections adjacent to the counter section.

Patent Document 1: JP-A-2003-130859
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 3704065
Patent Document 3: JP-A-2006-250873
Nonpatent Literature 1: Takeko Murakami, Dominique Braconnier, Shunji Miura, Junichi Murai, Yutaka Nishitani, Proceedings of the 13th Symposium on Ultrasonic Testing, pp. 33-38, (2006)
Nonpatent Literature 2: Yoshikazu Yokono, Present Situation of Standardization of Phased Array UT, NDI Document 21776, pp. 34-38 (2006)
In a conventional flaw detection method using a single transducer, when internal flaw detection of a rod having the shape of a cylindrical column, for example, is performed, it is necessary to make the transducer perform scanning mechanically not only along an axial direction of the rod but also, with respect to a cross section thereof intersecting with the axial direction, along the circumference of a cross section of a material being tested.
In ultrasonic flaw detection of a material being tested, the ultrasonic flaw detection which has recently come into widespread use and is performed by using a phased array probe (hereinafter referred to as an array probe), a direction in which ultrasonic waves propagate and a point (focus) to which the ultrasonic waves converge can be arbitrarily set without a change in the placement of transducers by changing timing with which the individual transducers emit the ultrasonic waves (by performing phase control) (Patent Document 1).
As a result, in the above-described ultrasonic flaw detection using a phased array probe, instead of performing scanning mechanically along the surface of the material being tested, scanning is performed electrically.
This scanning is performed as follows. Instead of moving each transducer itself physically, as shown in FIG. 4 of Patent Document 1, the arranged transducers are sequentially vibrated in a time-shared manner so that a unit of a predetermined number of transducers is vibrated at a time. That is, of the transducers arranged in a scanning direction, a predetermined group of consecutive transducers emits ultrasonic waves, then a shift in the scanning direction is performed, and the next group emits the ultrasonic waves. By performing such a shift, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those obtained when the transducers are made to scan physically.
Patent Document 1 discloses electronic scanning (scanning performed by sequentially exciting a plurality of arranged transducers forming an array probe, instead of physically moving the transducers) using an array probe, the electronic scanning to be performed on a material being tested, the material having a linear surface as seen in a sectional view.
Moreover, Patent Document 3 discloses a method for performing electronic scanning on a cylindrical material being tested, the material having a circular surface, along the circumference thereof in the same manner as described above.
In addition, as a flaw detection technique that enables faster and higher-resolution flaw detection with higher detection capability based on the above-described conventional phased array flaw detection technique, a volume focusing phased array (hereinafter referred to as volume focusing if necessary) has been proposed (Nonpatent Literature 1 and Patent Document 2).
The above-described phased array flaw detection method has made remarkable advance in the past decade or so, and many apparatuses including a portable flaw detector and automatic flaw detection equipment have come to be used. This is attributed to the following reasons: a high-performance and low-cost flaw detector is made possible by the advancement of semiconductor technology and computer technology, and high-performance array search units (array probes) which are uniform in quality can be produced by the advent of a composite transducer.
The phased array flaw detection method finds wide application in ISI (In Service Inspection) of a nuclear power plant, an inspection of the fuselage and wings of an aircraft, online equipment used in the steel industry, and the like. Moreover, the movement toward standardization has also become active (Nonpatent Literature 2). In Japan, a phased array method is used also in an ultrasonic certification system in PD (Performance Demonstration) and achieves satisfactory results.
Volume focusing is a technique that enables faster and higher-resolution flaw detection with higher detection capability in these applications.
Hereinafter, applications of volume focusing will be described based on the principles thereof.
As volume focusing ultrasonic flaw detection equipment, desktop equipment and online-capable equipment have been proposed.
The desktop equipment is suitable for use in a field or for research purposes, has a flaw detection data analysis capability, and is adaptable to a matrix probe, which will be described later.
The online-capable equipment has a capability required for online automatic flaw detection, has a high-speed judgment capability, and can use a plurality of probes by performing parallel running.
Here, prior to an explanation of volume focusing, the above-described phased array flaw detection technique will be explained in more detail.
The basics of a conventional phased array inspection technique is to set a delay pattern to a virtual probe so that a group of transducers (a group of transducers performing transmission and reception concurrently: a virtual probe) obtains the same result as a focusing lens. An electric circuit of an array flaw detector scans each transmitted pulse (called a cycle or a time slot) at high speed at different settings. This operation may be considered as performing flaw detection by making the virtual probes that are set differently scan in sequence. Therefore, such array flaw detection has a great advantage over flaw detection using a single probe.
However, as is the case with multimode flaw detection, a temporal restriction is put on this method because transmission and reception is performed on a cycle-by-cycle basis. When a PRF (pulse repeat frequency) increases, a ghost echo caused by a multiple echo due to the front surface or a multiple echo in the material occurs, affecting a flaw detection speed. This problem is similar to that of a single probe.
That is, since this method repeats the following process: transmit and receive the ultrasonic waves, then perform electronic scanning, and then transmit and receive the ultrasonic waves again, the next transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves cannot be performed until a ghost echo caused by the former emission of the ultrasonic waves is attenuated and ceases to exert an influence. This makes it necessary to lengthen a cycle of the former transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves and the next transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves.
On the other hand, as a method that enables high-sensitive flaw detection with high azimuth resolution, there is a zone focusing technique. The zone focusing technique performs flaw detection by connecting the focuses with respect to a zone set in a depth direction by performing transmission and reception while performing linear scanning. The focus can be set hierarchically, and high-sensitive flaw detection with high azimuth resolution is made possible by matching the focus in transmission and reception. Moreover, dynamic depth focusing (hereinafter referred to as DDF) can obtain a plurality of reception focuses with respect to one transmission, which is similar to having focuses with different depths with respect to one virtual probe, and is therefore effective in achieving a speedup.
However, in either method, there is a limit to a speedup since the method performs (electronic) scanning while making each virtual probe transmit and receive ultrasonic waves. Furthermore, since a large aperture cannot be formed in the current virtual probe having about 16 to 32 channels, making it impossible to lengthen the focal length. Thus, there is a limit to flaw detection of a thick and large material being tested.
Unlike the above-described conventional flaw detection method by which electronic scanning is performed by using a phased array probe, volume focusing performs transmission with all the elements of an array probe at a time, then performs reception with all the elements, combines A scope waveforms of the elements, the A scope waveforms stored in a memory, and performs evaluation.
In the case of a linear probe, a transmitted wave propagates as a plane wave because it is emitted from a probe having a wide aperture. A reflection echo is amplified by an amplifier connected to all the elements and subjected to analog-to-digital conversion, and is then stored in the memory. In other words, the A scope waveforms of all the elements (for example, 128 elements) are stored in the memory in one transmission. This flaw detection waveform data is subjected to reception delay processing such as DDF on a set aperture-by-set aperture basis by signal processing performed by a high-speed DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and is evaluated. The above processing is performed at high speed, and more than one processing operation is performed simultaneously, whereby it is possible to achieve a further increase in the processing speed. When all the processes are finished, it becomes possible to perform the next transmission, and, if a ghost echo disappears during this time, the transmission can be performed. That is, it is possible to evaluate all the points in one cross section in one transmission without being affected by a ghost.
This is the reason why volume focusing is suitable for high-speed flaw detection.
For example, when internal flaw detection of a cross section of a rod-shaped material being tested is performed by disposing an array probe along the outer perimeter of the material being tested, the probe is made to perform scanning mechanically in an axial direction of the material being tested after the flaw detection of the cross section, whereby flaw detection of a cross section at another position in the axial direction is performed, and volume focusing is used in the above-described flaw detection of each cross section, it is possible to achieve a great reduction in flaw detection time at each position in the axial direction. This makes it possible to achieve a substantial reduction in the whole flaw detection time required for one rod.
In FIG. 19, a time chart of signal processing of volume focusing is shown.
T1 in FIG. 19 represents a transmitted wave of first ultrasonic waves, and T2 in FIG. 19 represents a transmitted wave of second ultrasonic waves. In both the first and second ultrasonic waves, S1 is a reflection echo reflected from the front surface of a material being tested, B1 is a reflection echo reflected from the bottom surface of the material being tested, and S2 is a reflection echo generated as a result of B1 being reflected again from the front surface of the material being tested. S2 to Sn are echoes called the ghost echoes described above.
By using FIGS. 20(A) and 20(B), a difference between zone focusing flaw detection and volume focusing flaw detection will be explained, taking up as an example flaw detection using a linear array probe having 128 elements.
Here, as conventional zone focusing flaw detection, a case where an array probe having 128 transducers is used and three strata are provided in a depth direction by performing simultaneous excitation of 32 elements is considered.
Specifically, each of the grids shown in an upper portion of FIG. 20(A) represents each of the elements of an array probe. An element represented by the grid on the extreme left is referred to as a first element, an element located next to the first element on the right is referred to as a second element, and an element next to the second element on the right is referred to as a third element. In this case, an element on the extreme right is a 128th transducer. Each element performs transmission and reception.
For each stratum to be subjected to flaw detection, first transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves is performed by vibrating the first to 32nd elements, second transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves is then performed by vibrating the second to 33rd elements, and third transmission and reception of the ultrasonic waves is then performed by vibrating the third to 34th elements. In this way, a group of 32 elements, which perform emission simultaneously, is shifted to the right, and the 126th to 128th elements are finally vibrated, whereby a total of transmission and reception operations are performed. Such operation is electronic scanning by the array probe.
In the above-described flaw detection, signals for exciting the 32 elements forming one transmission and reception group are delayed differently. Moreover, signals obtained by the vibration due to the reception performed by these 32 elements are also delayed individually. As a result of such delay processing performed on transmission and reception, the ultrasonic waves emitted from the 32 elements at a time are focused on one point.
Then, by setting the focus of the array to a position z-1 serving as a first stratum with respect to a depth direction of a material being tested, the above-described electronic scanning is performed in a direction of arrow in FIG. 20(A) (the depth direction of the material being tested is a vertical direction in FIG. 20(A), and the direction of arrow is a horizontal direction of the drawing as shown in the drawing). When the flaw detection at each position in the direction of arrow is finished in the above-described first stratum, the focus of the array is then set to a position z-2 serving as a second stratum which is deeper than the first stratum, and electronic scanning is performed in the direction of arrow in the same manner as described above. When the flaw detection in the second stratum is finished, the focus of the array is then set to a position z-3 serving as a third stratum which is deeper than the second stratum, and electronic scanning is performed in the direction of arrow in the same manner as described above.
As described above, in this example, in the zone focusing flaw detection, three electronic scanning operations are required.
Therefore, in this example, it is necessary to perform 97 scanning operations in the element direction and three scanning operations in the depth direction, and actual ultrasonic wave transmission and reception is performed 97×3=291 times.
On the other hand, in the volume focusing flaw detection, it is possible to perform flaw detection by performing DDF on the above-described three strata or more than three strata in one transmission and reception. For example, in FIG. 20(B), volume focusing processing by which DDF is performed on five strata is shown, and an increase in the number of strata subjected to DDF does not affect the PRF.
A specific explanation is described below.
In FIG. 20(B), a plurality of parallel vertical lines extending downward from the array probe represent plane waves of simultaneous excitation of all the channels, and dashed lines represent a focus beam at the time of reception. A black circle represents the focus on the receiving side. That is, in the volume focusing flaw detection, the above-described 128 elements emit ultrasonic waves simultaneously, and the focus is not obtained at the time of transmission, and the focus is virtually obtained by delay processing at the time of reception.
As shown by the above-described vertical lines in FIG. 20(B), by making all the elements emit ultrasonic waves simultaneously at a time as described above, an echo received by each element is delayed, whereby the focus is virtually created. As a result, for example, for the ultrasonic waves received by the first to 32nd elements, reception processing by which the six black circles on the extreme left in FIG. 20(B) are each set as the focus can be performed at a time, and, by the next reception processing, reception processing by which the six black circles next to the above six black circles on the right are each set as the focus can be performed at a time. Such reception processing is performed 97 times, whereby processing in each stratum in the depth direction can be finished.
As described above, in the volume focusing flaw detection shown in FIG. 20(B), unlike the zone focusing flaw detection shown in FIG. 20(A), there is no need for electronic scanning, and the result of focusing on each position in the depth direction can be obtained. Thus, by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves once, it is possible to perform flaw detection in a range that would require a plurality of electronic scanning operations in the zone focusing flaw detection.
When a rod-shaped material being tested is taken as an example, T2 in FIG. 19 described above represents a transmitted wave for flaw detection of the next cross section, the cross section located in a position different from the cross section subjected to flaw detection by emission of T1 with respect to the axial direction of the material being tested. On the other hand, in the zone focusing flaw detection of FIG. 20(A), T1 is, for example, a transmitted wave emitted for obtaining the first focus in the first strata, and T2 is a transmitted wave emitted for obtaining the next focus located next to the above focus in the first strata with respect to the electronic scanning direction.
In both the zone focusing flaw detection and the dynamic focusing flaw detection, between S1 and B1 (which in actuality is a position located rather on the right side of B1 and near B2) of FIG. 19, the presence or absence of a defective echo is checked. In volume focusing, between S1 and B1, A scope capture processing is performed (a peak waveform such as B2 appearing on the right side of B1 is unnecessary because it is generated by a ghost echo, and therefore is not captured).
However, in zone focusing, since T2 next to T1 is transmitted for the same cross section of the material being tested as the cross section to which T1 is transmitted, transmission of T2 cannot be performed until a ghost echo of T1 disappears.
The inventors tested how fast processing of the volume focusing flaw detection was as compared with zone focusing by using a prismatic aluminum test piece with a square cross-section. An artificial defect provided in this test piece is an SDH (Side Drill Hole) with a diameter of 0.5 mm. In both zone focusing and volume focusing, an array probe with 0.5 mm pitches and operating at 10 MHz was used. In the zone focusing method, scanning is performed in a depth direction in three stages of focal depth at 15-mm intervals and at a pitch of 0.5 mm in a longitudinal direction. To avoid a ghost, a PRF in each cycle was 2 KHz, and, overall, the PRF was 2000÷97÷3=6.8 Hz. On the other hand, in volume focusing, 128 elements were excited simultaneously, reception was performed by a focal row (a group having a specific focus and a specific angle) of 32 elements, 10-mm DDF was performed in a depth direction, and 0.5-mm pitch signal processing was performed. The repetition frequency of transmission at this time, that is, the PRF was 437 Hz, and this is 64-times speedup in flaw detection compared to the above flaw detection.
Moreover, zone focusing was confirmed to have an excellent resolution capability because zone focusing could narrow focus in both transmission and reception. On the other hand, volume focusing was confirmed to have the focus because the beam was not spread in the depth direction due to the effect of the DDF. In volume focusing, B scope of the flaw detection can be obtained by one transmission.
However, at present, there is no method by which flaw detection of an internal defect is performed by using volume focusing on a material being tested, the material, which is circular in cross section.
Through an intensive study in search of the possibility of using volume focusing for a material being tested, the material which is circular in cross section, the inventors have completed the present invention.
During their study, it has been found out that, when internal flaw detection is performed by making ultrasonic waves enter the material being tested by using volume focusing, the presence of a dead zone called a dead band, the dead zone in which flaw detection cannot be performed, becomes a factor that narrows a flaw detection range.
A specific description will be given below. As flaw detection using the above-described volume focusing, by disposing one array probe such that a plurality of transducers are arranged along the outer circumference of a cylindrical material being tested, the material having a circular cross-sectional shape, as seen in a sectional view, and emitting ultrasonic waves simultaneously from the transducers toward positions on an incident section which is a section on which the array probe is disposed with respect to the circumferential direction of the material being tested, the ultrasonic waves emitted from the transducers converge at the center or near the center of a circle exhibited by the material being tested, and the ultrasonic waves which diverged after converging reach a counter section facing the incident section on the outer circumference of the material being tested with the center of the circle placed therebetween. Thus, flaw detection of the entire fan-shaped area from the divergence of the ultrasonic waves to the counter section, as seen in a sectional view of the material being tested, may seem to be performed by one transmission of the ultrasonic waves.
However, in reality, due to a reflection echo (a front surface echo) generated on the above-described incident section, a region near the incident section in the material being tested is a dead zone (a dead band) in which it is difficult to detect a defective echo.
Furthermore, due to a reflection echo (a bottom surface echo) generated on the counter section facing the incident section, although the size is much smaller than that of the dead zone appearing on the incident section, a small dead zone also appears near the counter section in the material being tested. Moreover, even when such a dead band is ignored, an area on which flaw detection can be performed at a time by one array probe in which a plurality of transducers are arranged in an arc as seen in a sectional view as described above is limited to the above-described fan-shaped area from the divergence of the ultrasonic waves to the counter section, and a wide region on which flaw detection has not yet been performed remains in the material being tested. This makes it necessary to make time for performing extra flaw detection on the remaining wide region on which flaw detection has not yet been performed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Ultrasonic flaw detection method and ultrasonic flaw detection equipment


A set screw electrical connector assembly includes an electrical connector and a set screw drive plug. The connector includes at least one set screw portal sized to accommodate a set screw therein. The set screw drive plug is formed of electrically insulative material and is configured to engage and drive the set screw into the connector. The connector assembly may include an insulative housing formed about the connector for providing a water tight seal with a cable terminated to the connector.

Set screw electrical connectors are commonly used to connect or splice distribution cabling to a bus bar. Such connectors generally include a rectangular aluminum or conductive alloy body having a series of openings therein sized to accommodate a transformer stud, prepared cabling and the associated set screws securing the stripped conductors or the cables to the connector. These connectors are often found in locations that are exposed to moisture or are underground. Thus, the connector should provide for water tight connection.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,912 discloses a typical design for a set screw electrical connector that prevents water from entering therein. This design encapsulates the connector body with somewhat flexible water-impervious material. The encapsulation includes a series of hollow sleeves which project from the connector body. Certain of the sleeves are designed to accept the cabling therein while others are sized to accommodate the metal set screw. Once the set screw is tightened against the stripped wire conductor, a removable plug or cap is then inserted into this sleeve to seal the opening. A drawback of this typical design is the likelihood that one or more plugs will be lost or not inserted and thus the entire connector will be compromised. Another drawback is that when the user tightens the set screw, there is the risk of electrical shock hazard because the tool employed by the user is usually metal and such a tool will readily conduct electricity directly to the user or to any object coming into contact with the tool during installation if the cable is energized.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,354 discloses a variation of the above in that it incorporates a wholly plastic set screw having a threaded lower body portion, a round intermediate body portion and a hex head. The lower body portion is threaded into the connector to secure the cabling in place while the round intermediate body portion forms a seal with the encapsulating material. Obviously, one drawback to this design is the great difference in strength between the metal threads of the connector and the plastic threads of the set screw. Stripping of the plastic threads is likely and thus inadequate compression of the bare conductor will result. This can cause arcing within the connector that will lead to failure. Also, by eliminating the metal set screw, there is less electrical contact between the bare conductor and the electrical connector.

Insulated water-tight connector assembly including a set screw driver and plug


A touch panel comprises: a first conductive plate including a first substrate having a surface, a first conductive layer disposed on the surface of the first substrate and exhibiting an anisotropic resistivity, and at least one conductive first connecting line, the surface of the first substrate having a peripheral edge, a sensing region covered by the first conductive layer, and a marginal region extending from the sensing region to the peripheral edge, the first connecting line being disposed on the marginal region; and a second conductive plate including a second substrate and a second conductive layer disposed on the second substrate, facing the first conductive layer, and exhibiting anisotropic resistivity. An electronic device including the touch panel is also disclosed.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a touch panel and an electronic device including the same, and more particularly to a touch panel including first and second conductive layers exhibiting electric anisotropy.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,672,153 and 4,897,511 disclose resistive type touch panels. Referring to FIG. 1, the touch panel includes first and second resistance layers 1, 2, two first electrodes 3a, 3b provided on two opposite ends of the first resistance layer 1, respectively, two second electrodes 4a, 4b provided on two opposite ends of the second resistance layer 2, respectively, and conductive connecting lines (not shown) connected to the first and second electrodes 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b. The first electrode 3b is applied with a high voltage V+, while the second electrode 4b is grounded. When the first resistance layer 1 is depressed to contact the second resistance layer 2 at a contacting position (not shown), output voltages Vx and Vy of the first and second resistance layers 1, 2, which are greater than 0 and less than V+, are produced, respectively. The coordinate of the contact position can be calculated based on the output voltages Vx and Vy. Since the first and second resistance layers 1, 2 of the conventional touch panel are made from Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) having a surface resistivity ranging from 30 to 100Ω/□(ohms per square), the aforesaid touch panel is required to have a line resistance less than 15Ω in order to avoid measuring errors from occurring. The line resistance is largely contributed by the conductive connecting lines, which extend along marginal regions of the substrates. A current trend of the touch panel technology is towards the reduction of the width of the marginal regions of the substrates so as to maximize the size of a sensing region of each of the first and second conductive layers 1, 2. Although reduction of the line width of the conductive connecting lines can achieve the goal in maximizing the size of the sensing region, it undesirably increases the line resistance.

Touch panel and electronic device including the same


A charging device, in particular for machine tools, including a charging unit which in at least one operating state is provided for contactlessly charging at least one rechargeable battery unit, and which includes at least a first charging operating mode for transmitting electrical energy. The charging unit includes at least a second charging operating mode for transmitting electrical energy, the second charging operating mode differing from the first charging operating mode in at least one charging parameter.

Wireless charging devices that include an inductive charging unit which is provided for inductively charging a rechargeable battery unit are known from the related art. However, the wireless charging devices are limited to one charging operating mode. The wireless charging devices on the one hand are assigned to a defined power class, for example 5 W or 3 kW, and on the other hand may transmit electrical energy either continuously or intermittently.

Charging device and method for operating a charging device


An electrophotographic photoconductor that stabilizes electrical performances and prevents generation of image faults such as memories, irrespective of types of organic materials of resin binder and charge transport material, and variation of temperature and humidity of the operation environment. An electrophotographic photoconductor includes at least a photosensitive layer formed over a conductive substrate, wherein the photosensitive layer contains a cyclohexane dimethanol-diaryl ester compound represented by the formula (I):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoconductor (hereinafter also simply referred to as "a photoconductor") used in printers, copiers, facsimile machines, or the like in an electrophotographic system; and in particular, to an electrophotographic photoconductor having excellent durability in repeated printings and good resistance to gases, which is achieved by improvement of an additive material. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing such a photoconductor.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrophotographic photoconductor generally needs functions of retaining surface charges in the dark, generating charges upon receipt of light, and transporting the charges upon the receipt of light. There are two types of photoconductors: a single layer type photoconductor in which all these functions are performed in a single layer, and a laminated layer type photoconductor consisting of function-separated layers, the layers including a layer primarily contributing to charge generation and a layer contributing to retaining surface charges in the dark and transporting charges upon receipt of light.
The image formation in electrophotography using an electrophotographic photoconductor can be carried out by the Carlson process, for example. This process includes electrification of the photoconductor in the dark, formation of latent images of characters or pictures of the original on the charged surface of the photoconductor, development of the formed latent images by toners, and transferring and fixing of the developed toner images on a carrier medium of paper or the like. After the toner image transfer, the photoconductor is recycled through elimination of remained toners and residual electric charges.
Materials that can be used in electrophotographic photoconductors includes: inorganic photoconductive materials such as selenium, selenium alloy, zinc oxide, and cadmium sulfide; and organic photoconductive substances such as poly-N-vinylcarbazole, 9,10-anthracene-diol polyester, pyrazoline, hydrazone, stylbene, butadiene, benzidine, phthalocyanine, and bisazo compounds. These materials are used by dispersing in a resin binder, or by vacuum evaporation or sublimation.
With increased printing sheets accompanying construction of office network and rapid development of electrophotographic light printers in recent years, printers of electrophotographic system have been more strongly requiring high durability, high sensitivity, and quick responsiveness. Also required is minimal image performance variation that can be caused by the effect of ozone or NOx generated in the apparatus, and the influence of operating environment (temperature and humidity).
Conventional photoconductors, however, do not meet the requirements satisfactorily and have problems as follows.
One problem is wear resistance. Recently, high speed printers have been wide spread corresponding to introduction of the tandem development procedure in printers and copiers of the types even for color printing in addition to for monochromatic printing. In color printing, in particular, high positional accuracy of the images, as well as high resolution, has been occupying an important position among required specifications. The surface of a photoconductor is worn by repeated printings due to friction with paper, rollers, and a blade. If the wear is substantial, it is difficult to print images with high resolution and high positional accuracy. Although studies for improving the wear resistance have been extensively made so far, they are not yet satisfactory.
Among gases that are generated in an apparatus and affect the photoconductor, ozone is well known. Ozone is generated by corona discharge in a charger and a roller charger. The ozone that is remained or stayed in the apparatus and to which the photoconductor is exposed, oxidizes and breaks the original structure of the organic substances composing the photoconductor. As a result, photoconductor characteristics may be remarkably deteriorated. The ozone also oxidizes nitrogen in the air generating NOx, which may modify the organic substances composing the photoconductor.
The degradation of photoconductor characteristics due to gases can be caused not only by corrosion on the surface layer but also by penetration of the gas into internal layers of the photoconductor. The outermost layer of the photoconductor may be scratched away due to friction with the parts mentioned earlier in a little or large amount. Further, harmful gas may penetrate into the photosensitive layer and destroy a structure of the organic substances in the photosensitive layer. Accordingly, preventing the harmful gases from penetrating is also one of the problems. In a color electrophotographic apparatus of tandem structure using plural photoconductors, this problem is critical because the drums positioned at different places are differently affected by the gases, generating nonuniformity in the color tone, which hardly produces satisfactory images.
Regarding the gas resistance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. S57-122444 and S63-18355 disclose, for the purpose of improving gas resistance, the use of antioxidants including a hindered phenol compound, a phosphorus-containing compound, a sulfur-containing compound, an amine compound, and a hindered amine compound. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-268250 proposes a method using a carbonyl compound, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-287388 proposes a method using a benzoate compound or a salicylate compound. Other methods for improving the gas resistance have been proposed including: use of a specified polycarbonate resin with an additive of biphenyl (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H6-75394 ), a combination of a specified amine compound and a polyarylate resin (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-199051 ), and a combination of a polyarylate resin and a compound exhibiting specified absorbance (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-206109 ). These methods, however, do not provide photoconductors exhibiting sufficient gas resistance, or, while exhibiting satisfactory gas resistance, do not show improvement of wear resistance and do not attain satisfactory result on other performances including image memories and stability of electric potential in repeated printings.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H08-272126 discloses that adverse effect to the photoconductor due to the gases generated around the charger can be suppressed by combining with a charge transport layer exhibiting a specified mobility and controlling the oxygen permeability coefficient below a predetermined value. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H11-288113 discloses that wear resistance and gas resistance are improved when moisture permeability is below a predetermined value. The methods of these references, however, cannot achieve desired effects unless employing the specified charge transport polymer materials, and thus, are imposed by the limitations of mobility and structure of the charge transport material. Therefore, the methods cannot sufficiently meet the needs for a variety of electrical performances.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-226637 discloses that a single layer type electrophotographic photoconductor with good gas resistance is obtained by the use of a specified diester compound having a melting point of at most 40° C. The additive of low melting point substance causes a so-called "bleeding" phenomenon when a photoconductor containing the substance is in contact with the cartridge or other parts of the main body of the apparatus for a long time, in which the compound escapes into the contacting parts. The bleeding may generate image faults and thus, fails to accomplish satisfactory effects.
Concerning variation of characteristics in operating environment, a first problem is deterioration of the image characteristic in a low temperature and low humidity environment. In a low temperature and low humidity environment in general, sensitivity of a photoconductor apparently decreases, which reveals degradation of image quality such as decrease of density of images and deterioration of gradation of halftone images. Image memory may become significant accompanying the degradation of sensitivity. In a printing process, the image recorded as a latent image in the first revolution of the drum is affected by variation of the potential in the second and later revolution of the drum. As a result, printing may occur in unnecessary places particularly in the case of printing of halftone images. This is the degradation of image quality by the image memories. Often observed examples in a low temperature and low humidity environment, in particular, are negative memories, in which light and shade of the images are reversed.
Image characteristics may also degrade in a high temperature and high humidity environment. In a high temperature and high humidity environment in general, mobility of charges in the photoconductor is larger than in a normal temperature and normal humidity environment, which may cause image defects including excessive increase of printed density and minute black spots in a wholly white image printing (fogging). The excessive increase of printed density increases toner consumption, and destructs minute gradation due to enlarged one dot diameter. In contrast to those seen in a low temperature and low humidity environment, observed examples in a high temperature and high humidity environment often are positive memories, in which light and shade of the image reflect the right printing images.
The performance degradation due to temperature and humidity are often caused by absorption and release of moisture in resin binder in the surface layer or in the charge generation material in the photosensitive layer. To address this problem, a variety of materials have been studied including: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H6-1186 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H7-168381 disclose the containing of a specified compound in a charge generation layer; and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-13708 discloses that a specified polycarbonate polymer is used for a charge transport material in a surface layer. Unfortunately, materials have not been found that can satisfactorily achieve various characteristics including the suppression of the effect of temperature and humidity on photoconductors.
Although diverse studies have been made on photoconductor materials, an electrophotographic photoconductor that sufficiently satisfies the required performances as described above has not been obtained.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and provide an electrophotographic photoconductor that achieves improved stability of electrical performances and prevents generation of image faults such as memories, irrespective of the types of organic materials of the resin binder and charge transport material, and the variation of temperature and humidity of the operation environment.

Electrophotographic photoconductor and a method of manufacturing the same

Abstract: in formula (I), each of R1 through R10 represents independently, a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group of carbon number of from 1 to 5, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted alkoxy group of carbon number of from 1 to 5.