The invention provides a method for printing a material onto a substrate with a relief printing form made from a photosensitive element. The method includes forming an in-situ mask having a line screen resolution equal to or greater than 250 lines per inch on the photosensitive element, exposing the element to actinic radiation through the in-situ mask in an environment having an inert gas and a concentration of oxygen between 190,000 and 100 ppm, and treating the exposed element to form a relief structure having a plurality of raised surfaces with a line screen resolution equal to or greater than 250 lines per inch. Printing is accomplished by applying an imaging material to the plurality of raised surfaces and contacting to transfer the imaging material to the substrate. The method is suitable for printing high resolution graphic images, as well as for forming a uniform layer of imaging material on the substrate.

1. Field of the Disclosure
This invention pertains to a method for printing a material onto a substrate, and in particular, to a method of printing using a relief printing form that transfers the material from a plurality of raised surfaces upon contact to the substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
Flexographic printing plates are widely used for printing of packaging materials ranging from corrugated carton boxes to cardboard boxes and to continuous web of plastic films. Flexographic printing plates are used in relief printing in which ink is carried from a raised-image surface and transferred to a substrate. Flexographic printing plates can be prepared from photopolymerizable compositions, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,323,637 and 4,427,759. Photosensitive elements generally have a solid layer of the photopolymerizable composition interposed between a support and a coversheet or a multilayer cover element. Flexographic printing plates are characterized by their ability to crosslink or cure upon exposure to actinic radiation. The plate is imagewise exposed with actinic radiation through an image-bearing art-work or a template, such as a photographic negative or transparency (e.g., silver halide films) for so called analog workflow, or through an in-situ mask having radiation opaque areas that had been previously formed above the photopolymerizable layer for so called digital workflow. The actinic radiation exposure is typically conducted with ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The actinic radiation enters the photosensitive element through the clear areas and is blocked from entering the black or opaque areas of the transparency or in-situ mask. The areas of the photopolymerizable layer that were exposed to the actinic radiation crosslink and harden and/or become insoluble to solvents used during development. The unexposed areas of the photopolymerizable layer that were under the opaque regions of the transparency or the in-situ mask during exposure do not hardened and/or remain soluble. The unexposed areas are removed by treating with a washout solution or heat leaving a relief image suitable for printing. If treated with washout solution, the plate is dried. After all desired processing steps, the plate is then mounted on a cylinder and used for printing.
A flexographic-like printing process is used today to coat polyimide materials onto surfaces in the construction of a liquid crystal display device (LCD). The polyimide material is used as an orientation layer in a liquid display device. A flexographic relief printing form is fundamentally used as a coating plate with typically a 400 line per inch (LPI) and a 40% image in an area/s of the plate that transfers the polyimide material to form a coating on the substrate. A coating plate is a printing form, such as a plate or cylinder, having a relief pattern that is intentionally designed to provide a uniform coating (i.e. layer) of a material on selected regions of the substrate. The relief printing form includes a relief structure having one or more areas, i.e., coating areas, composed of a plurality of fine, closely-spaced, raised surface elements that transfer the coating material to the substrate; and having one or more recessed areas that do not pickup the coating material and that form non-coated areas on the substrate. Upon transfer, the plurality of fine, closely-spaced raised surface elements create a uniform layer of the coating material on the substrate, i.e., a continuous layer of the coating material on the contacted region of the substrate. The relief printing form transfers the coating material from the one or more coating areas to the substrate to form a pattern of coated regions and non-coated regions, where the coated regions each have the uniform layer of the coating material on the substrate. The relief printing form with the plurality of fine, closely-spaced raised surface elements is necessary to meet the predefined specifications and to create the pattern of uniform layer of the coating material in the selected regions on the substrate. Although it is possible to create a relief printing form having one or more coating areas composed of a singular, raised surface element instead of the plurality of fine closely-spaced raised surface elements, transfer of the coating material by the singular raised surface element does not create a sufficiently uniform layer of the coating material in the coated regions on the substrate.
Currently relief printing plates or printing forms for coating polyimide materials are fabricated by either of two methods from photosensitive precursors. One method to fabricate the relief printing form utilizes a sheet plate material, such as, for example, CYREL® NOW (from DuPont, Wilmington, Del.) photopolymerizable printing precursor, and a second method utilizes liquid plate manufacturing workflow, such as, for example, Asahi APR K-11. The sheet plate fabrication involves conventional solid plate-making steps with analog workflow used to imagewise expose the plate through the silver halide photographic negative as described above. The liquid plate fabrication involves conventional multi-step liquid plate-making process that includes making an intermediate by etching a chrome coating of an image on a glass substrate.
In other printing applications, after printed matter is formed either before or after the ink has dried, it is conventional to apply a coating over selected areas of the printed substrate. This process is generally termed spot or pattern coating. Spot coating constitutes applying a coating in small areas surrounded by a lack of coating in large surrounding areas. Alternatively, a coating termed "pattern coating" may be applied in large areas with the absence of coating in small selected areas. The coating may be applied for various reasons including to protect the printed material; to prevent the printed material from sticking to other sheets when placed in a pile of sheets, when the ink is still wet or tacky; and, to improve scuff resistance. The coating may also be applied to selected areas for aesthetic reasons. For example, it is sometimes desired to provide gloss to certain areas of the sheet in order to provide highlighting while leaving other areas dull. Additionally, when certain areas of printing folding cartons must be coated with an adhesive, pattern coating is used to avoid the adhesive coated areas. Hereto, the relief printing form should include a relief structure having one or more coating areas that is composed of a plurality of fine, closely-spaced, raised surface elements to transfer the coating material and form a suitable coating layer on the substrate.
Both the solid and liquid plate workflows involve making an intermediate, i.e., the photographic negative and the chrome patterned glass. Analog workflow requires the preparation of the phototool, which is a complicated, costly and time-consuming process requiring separate processing equipment and chemical development solutions. In addition, the phototool may change slightly in dimension due to changes in temperature and humidity. The same phototool, when used at different times or in different environments, may give different results. Use of a phototool also requires special care and handling when fabricating flexographic printing forms to ensure intimate contact is maintained between the phototool and plate. In particular, care is required in the placement of both the phototool and the plate in the exposure apparatus along with special materials to minimize air entrapment during creation of a vacuum to ensure intimate contact. Additionally care must be taken to ensure all surfaces of the photopolymer plate and phototool are clean and free of dust and dirt. Presence of such foreign matter can cause lack of intimate contact between the phototool and plate as well as image artifacts.
An alternative to analog workflow is termed digital workflow, which does not require the preparation of a separate phototool. Photosensitive elements suitable for use as the precursor and processes capable of forming an in-situ mask in digital workflow are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,275; U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,009; U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,814; U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,837; U.S. Pat. No. 6,558,876; U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,898; U.S. Pat. No. 6,673,509; U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,814; U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,102; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,284,431. The precursor or an assemblage with the precursor includes a layer sensitive to infrared radiation and opaque to actinic radiation. The infrared-sensitive layer is imagewise exposed with laser radiation whereby the infrared-sensitive material is removed from, or transferred onto/from a superposed film of the assemblage, to form the in-situ mask having radiation opaque areas and clear areas adjacent the photopolymerizable layer. The precursor is exposed through the in-situ mask to actinic radiation in the presence of atmospheric oxygen (since no vacuum is needed). Furthermore, due in part to the presence of atmospheric oxygen during imagewise exposure the flexographic printing form has a relief structure that is different from the relief structure formed in analog workflow (based upon the same size mask openings in both workflows). Digital workflow creates a raised element (i.e., dot) in the relief structure having a surface area of its uppermost surface (i.e., printing surface) that is significantly less than the opening in the in-situ mask corresponding to the relief structure. Digital workflow results in the relief image having a different structure for dots (i.e., raised surface elements) that is typically smaller, with a rounded top, and a curved sidewall profile, often referred to as dot sharpening effect. Dots produced by analog workflow are typically conical and have a flat-top. The relief structure formed by digital workflow results in positive printing properties such as, finer printed highlight dots fading into white, increased range of printable tones, and sharp linework. As such, the digital workflow because of its ease of use and desirable print performance has gained wide acceptance as a desired method by which to produce the flexographic printing form. But not all end-use applications view this dot-sharpening effect as beneficial.
It is known by those skilled in the art that the presence of oxygen (O2) during exposure in free-radical photopolymerization processes will induce a side reaction in which the free radical molecules react with the oxygen, while the primary reaction between reactive monomer molecules occurs. This side reaction is known as inhibition (i.e., oxygen inhibition) as it slows down the polymerization or formation of crosslinked molecules. Many prior disclosures acknowledge that it is desirable for photopolymerization exposure to actinic radiation to occur in air (as is the case for digital workflow), under vacuum (as is the case for analog workflow), or in an inert environment. Oftentimes, nitrogen is mentioned as a suitable inert gas for the inert environment. The implication is that the nitrogen environment is one that contains substantially less than atmospheric oxygen to the extent that all oxygen is removed, or something less than about 10 ppm of oxygen. Nitrogen with oxygen impurity concentration level less than 10 ppm is readily commercially available.
There is a desire to eliminate the costs and the time consuming and problematic process steps associated with the preparation of the photographic negative intermediate, and transition from analog workflow to digital workflow in the fabrication of solid plates that are capable of transferring a coating material to form a layer of the coating material on a substrate. However, the dot-sharpening effect associated with conventional digital exposure in the presence of atmospheric oxygen becomes a disadvantage for relief printing forms, such as the coatings plate, that need to have a relief structure that is generated by high line resolution imaging. Because imagewise exposure in digital workflow is conducted in the presence of atmospheric oxygen which inhibits polymerization, the dot structure of the raised surface element has a printable surface area that is considerably reduced (compared to that produced by analog workflow, as well as compared to the corresponding opening in the digital mask image). The magnitude of the reduction in printable dot surface area made by the conventional digital workflow is such that the plurality of raised printing elements in the coating area of the printing form are not sufficiently close enough that a uniform layer of the coating material can be formed on the substrate. The number of raised surface elements and the proximity of the raised elements to each other in a given coating area of the relief printing form must be maintained at the high line screen resolution, i.e., greater than 250 lines per inch, in order for the printing form to provide the desired uniformity of the layer of coating material on the substrate. As was explained above, it is necessary for the printing form to have coating areas with a high resolution relief pattern, i.e., plurality of fine, closely-space raised surface elements, in order to transfer and form a uniform layer of the coating material on the substrate. Further, the magnitude of the reduction in printable dot surface area made by the digital workflow cannot be compensated by creating larger openings in the in-situ mask because each opening would need to be larger than the dimension of a pixel associated with the desired line/dot resolution, and would overlap into the adjacent pixel. Consequently, it is not possible by conventional digital workflow to fabricate a relief printing form that has a plurality of fine and closely-spaced, raised surface elements (i.e., dots) in a coating area sufficient to transfer a coating material and form a uniform continuous layer of the coating material on the substrate.
In other end-use applications, it is desirable to create a relief surface for a flexographic printing form that is suitable for printing and accurately reproduces a pattern of high-line screen resolution images and/or text on desired document or other item. Security printing is one such end-use application which is placing increasing demands for reproduction of high-resolution images. Security printing deals with the printing of items, such as banknotes, passports, tamper-evident labels, stock certificates, postage stamps, and identity cards, in order to prevent forgery, tampering, or counterfeiting of the document or object. One example of high-resolution images used in security printing is microprinting. Microprinting involves the use of extremely small text, and is most often used on currency and bank checks. The text is generally small enough to be indiscernible to the naked eye. In such high-line screen resolution printing applications, the raised surface elements in a given coating area of the relief printing form should be formed at high line screen resolutions, i.e., equal to or greater than 250 lines per inch, so that each of the raised surface elements are sufficiently fine and well-structured to be capable of accurately reproducing the desired fine image pattern on the substrate, document, or other item. Hereto, it is desirable to fabricate the printing form using digital workflow due to its ease and simplicity, while providing a relief structure in the printing form similar to or the same as the relief structure created by analog workflow.
Thus, the need to use digital workflow in the fabrication of relief printing forms conflicts with the need for the printing form to have high line resolution raised surface elements similar to the size and proximity of the raised surface elements produced by analog workflow. So a need arises for a method of fabricating a relief printing form from a photosensitive precursor element that utilizes digital workflow to eliminate the costly and problematic creation of a separate intermediate. The relief printing form needs to have a relief structure composed of recessed areas and raised areas for forming a pattern of printing regions on a substrate, wherein each the raised area is composed of a plurality of fine, closely-spaced, raised surface elements capable of transferring an imaging material, such as an ink, varnish, orientation material, or other coating material, to create the desired image in the printing regions on the substrate.

Method for printing a material onto a substrate


Methods and systems for an Automated Readiness Evaluation System (ARES), which is adapted for use with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The ARES (and UAS with such an ARES) is configured for a particular task or application selected by the user based upon their level of specific knowledge. The system may include: hardware components with communication protocols; a task, module data, and skill level repository; a user device; and an optional base system. Methods are provided for configuration, calibration, error checking, and operation of a UAS whereby the ARES serves as a mission planner by calculating the mission parameters for a user-selected task to minimize mission failure by determining the variables for task completion.

Recently, there has been a rapid expansion in the production and use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for personal and commercial use. Adoption of the UAS is rapidly expanding as cost and availability have been lowered. Previously the domain of the military, usage of UASs has expanded to commercial and civilian industries. A UAS may include multiple elements including an aircraft (e.g., fixed wing, rotor-wing, lighter than air, hybrid, mini, micro, or nano aerial vehicle), a human(s), a payload(s), control(s), and communications. The UAS subsumes the UAV class as a UAV may be a component of a UAS and can include a fixed-wing airplane, a helicopter, a multi-rotor copter drone, a balloon, a dirigible, a tethered dirigible or blimp, a zeppelin, or a stationary or mobile airship. UAVs may also be called drones, unmanned aircraft systems, remotely piloted aerial vehicles (RPAV), remote piloted aircraft systems (RPDA), or unmanned aircraft (UA).
The UAS may be configured to perform a multitude of tasks ranging from flying-for-fun to large equipment inspection to remote sensing of the landscape. While a user, be it an individual or an organization, may benefit from the use of a UAS, there are a number of reasons why it is often difficult to successfully accomplish a task. As one example, a UAS has multiple variables that must be assessed for successful task (or mission) completion. This has traditionally required a UAS mission planner(s) to determine the parameters of a mission to ensure successful planning, staging, launching, flight, and recovery. The planner must consider if all components of the UAS are properly connected and configured, if all hardware and software are compatible, and account for the complexity of the system. The planner must also determine the data set acquisition and the methods of collecting data, which may include the following: the dataset is identified; a method is devised to collect the data considering which sensors can successfully acquire the goal; the UAS platform for acquisition is identified considering size, weight, power, endurance and other factors necessary for a successful mission; and the feasibility of collection is assessed as the planner determines if the UAS is technologically capable and fiscally possible.
The difficulties associated with successful UAS operation and mission completion are amplified when considering the multiple variables for success. As one non-limiting example for illustrative purposes, each type of UAV (e.g., a component of the UAS) has benefits and drawbacks that must be balanced for a successful mission. A fixed wing aircraft may have a longer flight time and a higher altitude, but launch and recovery can be logistically complicated and require higher skills or resources (e.g., a landing strip, a catapult or a vehicle or hand launch, and so on). Rotor wing aircraft, in contrast, may easily take off and land utilizing vertical technology (such as vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) technology) but are limited to a lower altitude and provide less flight distance. Users can be overwhelmed by all of the considerations and variables for a successful UAV mission. As a further non-limiting example, payload variables must also be calculated. A payload may include aerial remote sensing, cargo, weapons, surveillance, communications, or a combination of multiple payloads. Sensors may be combined into a single payload or a payload may be dispensable like pesticides or dispersants, and payloads may vary over the mission or task. A user must determine the payload capacity and the sensors to accomplish the task.
As the availability and adoption of UASs have increased, the role of the mission planner has expanded from highly skilled professionals to include hobbyists and non-professionals. A novice may purchase a UAS and attempt to accomplish a mission, such as data acquisition. However, without adequate knowledge of the complexity of the system and accounting for the multitude of variables required for successful task(s), novice and even very skilled users may experience frustration, destruction or damage of aircraft, lost aircraft, loss of time, loss of resources, failure to accomplish a task, and lack of safety and accidents.
There has been some initial efforts and discussions regarding increasing UAV flexibility by utilizing mission dependent modules, such as those found in WO 2015073687, DE 102013000409A1, DE 102008014853A1 (and B4), and DE 102006013402. While useful, these initial works generally describe combining modules, but, in all cases, the burdens of determining the correct components for a task, combining the modules in the correct arrangement for operation, and maintaining airworthiness all fall to the user. Size of the drone and UAV type are also restrictive parameters in the mentioned prior works on increasing UAV flexibility.
One researcher has proposed a system and software to increase the flexibility of a UAV (e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,665,594 and 6,873,886 for plug-and-play payload modules). In this system, each module has its own software that uploads to a central onboard computer that networks to the human ground operation computer. While aiding in calculating payloads for a UAV, the suggested system does not solve many of the fundamental difficulties of the UAS including requiring a user to choose the correct components and generate a configuration to accomplish a particular task or complete a desired mission.

Automated readiness evaluation system (ARES) for use with an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)


A lighting device has a light source and a light distributor comprising a lamella grid or, more precisely, a reflective lamella grid. This has two strips parallel to one another and a row of lamellae which are arranged between said strips and, together with the two strips, consist of a single sheet-metal piece. Each lamella has a web and one or two limbs associated with this. Each web is furthermore associated with the two strips. The light distributor furthermore has two lateral walls which serve as lateral reflectors and are formed either by lateral sections of the sheet-metal piece forming the reflective lamella grid or by two originally separate parts connected to the reflective lamella grid. The reflective lamella grid can be produced economically from an originally flat sheet-metal piece with little work.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a light distributor for a lighting device, comprising two strips parallel to one another, lamellae arranged between said strips, connected to them and transverse to them, and holes present between said lamellae. Light distributors of this type are also referred to as reflector grids in practice.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A lighting device having at least one such light distributor may consist, for example, of a light, such as a ceiling light fastened directly and firmly to the ceiling, or a pendant, built-in, standard or wall light, which has an artificial light source having at least one electric lamp, for example at least one straight, tubular and/or U-shaped fluorescent lamp. The lighting device may, however, also be in the form of a luminous-band lighting device which has a rail and at least one row of lamps which follow one another along said rail and, for example, in turn consist of tubular and/or U-shaped fluorescent lamps. The lighting device is provided in particular for use in a room, for example a large office, in which at least one person works at a screen.
Known light distributors of this type have two strips, each consisting of a longitudinal wall, and a large number of lamella, each strip and each lamella consisting of a separate sheet-metal part. The strips have at least one hole for each lamella. In each of the two strips, each lamella has at least one fastening section which passes through a hole in the relevant strip and is fastened there by being bent over or locked on the strip. These known light distributors have the disadvantage that a large number of separate parts has to be produced for each light distributor. Furthermore, however, lamellae have to be arranged at the intended position between the two strips and then fastened to the strips. The production of the strips and lamellae and the assembly of these to give a light distributor are therefore complicated and expensive.
US 2001/0 048 599 A1 and the corresponding EP 1 154 200 A2 disclose light distributors having an extensive, flat or slightly curved main section which has a number of round holes and, for each of these, a projecting collar completely enclosing the hole and tapering toward the light source. These light distributors can be produced with a small height and have already proven useful but have the disadvantage that the extensive main section between the round holes and collars still has relatively large regions opaque to light. This reduces the proportion of light radiated by the lamp or the lamps of the light source directly through the holes of the light distributor, based on the total light radiated from the light source to the light distributor.
It is an object of the invention to provide a light distributor which overcomes the disadvantages of the known light distributors. The light distributor should in particular be capable of being produced economically and should have light passages which occupy as large a part as possible of the total area of the light distributor section having light passages, so that a large proportion of the light radiated by the light source to this section of the light distributor can be radiated through the light passages.
This object is achieved according to the invention by a light distributor for a lighting device comprising at least one row of lamellae which is arranged between two strips parallel to one another and each of which has two end lamellae each arranged at one end of said row and inner lamellae arranged between said end lamellae, the strips and lamellae together consisting of a single sheet-metal piece, each lamella having a web associated with the two strips and at least each inner lamella having two limbs which are opposite one another, are associated with the web of the relevant lamella and are at least one of angled and curved away from the web.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a lighting device comprising at least one light distributor of the above-mentioned type, the lighting device having at least one lamp holder for holding at least one electric lamp of a light source in such a way that the light source radiates through the light distributor during operation.
According to still another object of the invention, a method for the production of a light distributor of the above-mentioned type is provided, in which a flat sheet-metal piece having incisions and/or holes is provided for bounding, for each limb, two lateral limb edges facing away from one another and an end limb edge, the limbs bounded thereby being angled relative to the webs.

Light distributor, lighting device comprising at least one light distributor and method for the production of a light distributor


A semiconductor device and method are disclosed in which an interlayer insulating layer is patterned using multiple overlaying masks to define the geometry of contact plugs and corresponding wiring layers separated by fine pitches.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having fine pattern wiring lines and a related method of manufacture. More particularly, the invention relates to a semiconductor device having fine pattern wiring lines having a fine pitch and contact plugs that respectively connect the wiring lines to an adjacent conductive region, and a related method of manufacture.
2. Description of the Related Art
The fabrication of highly integrated semiconductor devices requires the formation and use of ever more minute patterns and associated elements. That is, in order to integrate the numerous elements forming contemporary semiconductor devices into increasing small areas, the size of individual elements must be reduced and the separation distances between adjacent elements must also be reduced. In part, the reduction in element sizes and increasing density of related elements are enabled by reductions in the "pitch" of the conductive patterns connecting various elements. A pitch is generally defined by the sum of the width of a pattern itself, plus the width of the gap separating the pattern from adjacent patterns or related elements.
The required pitch (or pitches) defining the integration density of contemporary semiconductor devices is largely a product of over-arching design rules for individual semiconductor devices. In many instances, contemporary design rules are mandating pattern pitches that have reached the resolution and performance limits of existing photolithography equipment. For example, resolution restrictions for available photolithography equipment now limit the realizable size of fine pitch contact holes in very small (i.e., narrow) areas of a semiconductor substrate. Such practical limits on the definition and fabrication of contact holes in contemporary semiconductor devices is a function of minimum margins placed on the separation distance and alignment of adjacent contact holes. Existing photolithography resolution limits and restrictions simply can not form contact holes with finer pitches while maintaining acceptable design margins.
One common example of conventional pitch limits being reached may be found in the design and fabrication of adjacent bit lines in semiconductor memory devices. For example, the pitch between bit lines in certain highly integrated flash memory devices has abruptly decreased to a feature size in the range of 30 nm. Available photolithography equipment simply can not be used conventional manner to adequately form such features.
During the formation of "laterally" arranged bit lines in contemporary semiconductor memory devices, respective contact plugs are usually formed to "vertically" connect each bit line to an associated active region or some other element. The terms lateral and vertical are relative in nature and are used to facilitate description. Throughout the description that follows, no arbitrary geometry is mandated by the use of such descriptive terms. After the contact plugs have been formed, the bit lines are formed in electrical contact respective contact plug(s). During this fabrication overlay of laterally running bit lines over an arrangement of previously formed and vertically running contact plugs, certain alignment margins (i.e., tolerance for misalignment between a contact plug and a bit line) must be observed to ensure the reliability of the resulting semiconductor device. Such alignment margins are largely defined by the separation distance that exists between adjacent bit lines and/or contact plugs. Thus, decreasing pitches for bit lines and/or contact plugs will restrict alignment margins

Semiconductor device having fine pattern wiring lines integrally formed with contact plug and method of manufacturing same


The present disclosure provides a laser device, where the laser device comprises a substrate, a seed laser disposed on the substrate, and a radiofrequency coil. Two connection ends of the radiofrequency coil are connected with corresponding pin ends of the seed laser, respectively.

A laser device can emit a laser, in particular to seed laser. Under a high current pulse, voltage drop is generated and standing wave between the seed laser and a pulse current driver is generated.
In current solutions, resistance of direct current (DC) is reduced via increasing line width and reducing wire length, further reducing the voltage drop. However, the above scheme has high difficulty because of the technology, high cost, and unstable performance, which is inconvenient to mass production of products.


This disclosure provides a range side lobe removal device, which includes a pulse compressor for acquiring a reception signal from a radar antenna and generating a pulse-compressed signal by performing a pulse compression of the reception signal, a pseudorange side lobe generator for generating a pseudo signal of range side lobes of the pulse-compressed signal based on the reception signal, and a signal remover for removing a component corresponding to the pseudo signal from the pulse-compressed signal.

Conventional radar devices utilize a pulse compression in order to improve an S/N ratio or a distance resolution of a reception signal. The pulse compression uses a transmission signal modulated by frequency modulation or code modulation. The pulse compression is performed based on a correlation between a corresponding reception signal and a reference signal generated based on the transmission signal. By using the pulse compression, the S/N ratio and the resolution of the reception signal improve; however, range side lobes occur, resulting in a false image.
For example, JP2009-128278A and JP2982769B disclose some methods of reducing such range side lobes.
FIG. 12 shows a waveform of a signal containing target objects A, B, and C of which reception signal strengths are different. A threshold T1 is set to detect the target objects and is set higher than a maximum of range side lobes of the target object A. Thus, the threshold T1 is not influenced by the range side lobes, and, therefore, the target objects A and B can be detected from a radar image without any problems. However, it is impossible to detect the target object C of which reception signal strength is smaller than the threshold T1. For this reason, in order to detect such a weak reception signal from the target object C as well, a second threshold T2 may be set. However, in turn, the threshold T2 alone cannot be used for the detection of the target object B which overlaps with the range side lobes.

Range side lobe removal device, signal-processing device, radar device provided with the signal-processing device, and method of removing range side lobe


In one embodiment, a method comprises monitoring one or more sensors of a computing device that is in a locked state and is associated with an authorized user of a social-networking system, identifying, based on information associated with the authorized user, content to be downloaded from the social-networking system, and downloading the identified content from the social-networking system, wherein the identified content is stored for display after the computing device is unlocked. The downloading may be in response to determining that an operation to unlock the computing device is imminent, and the content may include commonly-viewed content. The downloading may include downloading one or more notifications from the social-networking system. The downloading may be based on one or more previous habits of the authorized user. The information associated with the authorized user may include information indicating that the authorized user habitually checks one or more sites or feeds.

A mobile electronic device, such as a smartphone, tablet, notebook computer, etc., may have multiple operation states. For example, while a mobile device is not being used by its user, it may be in a power-saving or sleep state (e.g., the screen is dim or dark) in order to decrease power-consumption level and prolong battery life. In some cases, the mobile device may also be in an input locked state (e.g., the touchscreen or keypad of the mobile device is locked) so that the mobile device does not perform unintentional or accidental operations. In other cases, the mobile device may be security locked, such that a user is required to provide a correct password or personal identification number (PIN) in order to unlock and use the device. The advent of optical face or iris detection and recognition obviates the need for physical manipulation of a touchscreen or keypad to unlock mobile devices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Initializing camera subsystem for face detection based on sensor inputs


A top mounted buoy signaling device for marine navigation which is selectively activated in response to a coded address signal. The buoy signaling device includes a buoy having a top mounted receiver assembly which is activated by a transmitter assembly. The receiver circuit, transmitter circuit and antennas therefor are printed on circuit boards. The transmitter circuit includes an encoder chip which is preset to provide a coded address. The coded address is utilized to modulate a carrier signal to provide a coded address signal to activate the receiver circuit. The receiver circuit includes a decoder chip which is preset to the coded address of the corresponding transmitter. A lamp driver subcircuit is enabled in response to the coded address signal. The lamp driver subcircuit includes a master timer subcircuit which maintains the driver subcircuit in an operative condition for a predetermined period of time and a flash timer subcircuit which periodically energizes a lamp to provide a flashed output. The receiver circuit may also include a power timer subcircuit to periodically energize the receiver circuit for short-interval operation and a sweep circuit to allow the receiver circuit to receive coded address signals within a predetermined bandwidth.

Marine navigation is a process of piloting a vessel to a destination in a safe and expeditious manner. While sophisticated electronic equipment is available to aid in the navigation of larger vessels, the majority of mariners continue to navigate by using external reference marks.
A mark is any conspicuous object, natural or man-made, which has utility in establishing the position of a vessel or otherwise acting as a navigational aid. To be an effective navigational aid, each mark must be specifically identified and its position accurately known. Buoys, both lighted and unlighted, lighthouses and lightships are artificial marks designed and erected specifically to function as aids to navigation.
Buoys are the most numerous of all artificial aids to navigation. Buoys can function as daymarks based upon their shape, color and number. Some buoys, particularly those identifying turning points and channels, underwater obstructions, or mooring, docking or slip facilities, are provided with lights to facilitate night time navigation. Buoys may also incorporate horns, bells, whistles or radio transmitters as navigational signals.
Signal buoys require an internal power source to operate the lighting system. Batteries are typically utilized as the power source for buoys on the basis of cost and maintenance considerations. Batteries are typically hardwired into the signal circuitry of the buoy so that the signal source is continually draining energy from the battery.
Mooring, docking or slip facilities likewise require some type of signal source to facilitate nighttime use. The location of the facility or other factors may make it impractical to run a power line for continuous nighttime energization of the signal source. In addition, continuously operated signal sources used with mooring, docking or slip facilities may have a negative impact on navigation inasmuch as these facilities may not be marked on navigational charts, thereby providing a source of confusion for mariners. Therefore, as a practical matter steady-state signal sources used with mooring, docking or slip facilities are typically battery powered and manually activated for nighttime operation.
Battery systems, however, are inherently limited in that the constant power drain upon the battery causes it to become depleted in a short time. A depleted battery cannot effectively function as a power source, and therefore batteries for buoys or docking facilities must be replaced at periodic intervals. Not only is such periodic replacement time consuming, but a navigational hazard exists when any buoy remains unpowered for any length of time. Alternatively, an expensive solar recharging system or cabling must be used to maintain adequate power.
Although individual buoys and buoy networks are maintained by governmental organizations such as the United States Coast Guard, a need exists for a buoy device which may be used for private applications. Such a buoy device should have a configuration which is amenable to one person operations such as buoy emplacement and/or removal, which facilitates in situ servicing, and the buoy device should be reliable, inexpensive and suitable for prolonged use in the marine environment.
In addition, the buoy device should be configured for selective activation. Since the buoy devices may be used in or near lighted environments, the buoy device should provide a distinctive signal which may be readily identified in such environments.


An approach is provided in which a computer system receives a selection of a first set of information included on a first page of data. The computer system generates a locale package that includes one or more display format parameters that correspond to the format of the selected information. In turn, the computer system subsequently displays a second set of information on a second page of data based upon the one or more display format parameters included in the generated locale package.

The present disclosure relates to dynamically generating locale packages and installing the dynamically generated locale packages on an operating system. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to generating a locale package based on information that a user selects on a page of data and displaying subsequent information according to the generated locale package.
In globalization computing, a "locale package" is a set of parameters (locale definitions) that define display parameters of information. The set of parameters may identify a user's language and country, as well as define the manner in which to display dates, times, currency, numbers, etc. In most globalized computer operating systems, software vendors pre-build the locale packages and ship the locale packages with the operating systems as extension components. In turn, the operating systems utilize the locale definitions included in the locale packages to display information on a display.

Rule-based locale definition generation for a new or customized locale support

International Business Machines Corporation


A composite magnetic body according to one aspect of the present invention includes a first metal magnetic particle covered with a first resin portion made of a first resin material and a second metal magnetic particle having a smaller particle size than the first metal magnetic particle, where the second metal magnetic particle is bound to the first metal magnetic particle via a second resin portion made of a second resin material and the second resin material has a larger molecular weight than the first resin material.

Various magnetic materials have been conventionally used in electronic components such as inductors. An inductor typically includes a magnetic base body made of a magnetic material, a coil conductor embedded in the magnetic base body, and an external electrode connected to an end of the coil conductor.
The magnetic base body used in the electronic components is made of composite magnetic particles, in which metal magnetic particles have an insulating film made of a resin formed on the surface thereof. The magnetic base body of this type is produced by, for example, making a slurry by mixing and kneading composite magnetic particles and a binder, pouring the slurry into a mold, and applying pressure to the slurry in the mold.
Magnetic base bodies for electronic components such as inductors are required to have a high magnetic permeability. Efforts have been made to improve the magnetic permeability of the magnetic base bodies. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-041955 ("the '955 Publication") discloses a composite magnetic particle including a core power made of a magnetic material and a resin layer covering the surface of the core powder. The resin layer is a single layer made of a macromolecular material and thus serves as an insulator, a binder and a hardener. According to the disclosure of the '955 Publication, the resin layer is in direct contact with the core powder, which allows any magnetic materials to be used to form the core powder. The '955 Publication claims that an inductor with a high magnetic permeability can be consequently provided.
The '955 Publication also discloses that a magnetic base body can be formed using two or more types of magnetic particles having different average particle sizes. This can raise the magnetic particle filling rate (filling density) in the magnetic base body and accordingly improve the magnetic permeability of the magnetic base body. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-034102 also discloses that two or more types of metal magnetic particles having different average particle sizes may be mixed together to increase the magnetic particle filling rate (filling density) in the magnetic base body.
A composite magnetic particle including a metal magnetic particle and a resin film provided on the surface of the metal magnetic particle can be produced using the mixing and kneading provided by various types of mills such as a bead mill and a ball mill. To be more specific, the mill's mixing and kneading can mix metal magnetic particles and a resin composition, so that metal magnetic particles having a resin film provided on the surface thereof are produced. However, when two or more types of metal magnetic particles having different particle sizes are mixed with a resin composition, the resin composition serves as a primer to disadvantageously cause the metal magnetic particles having a smaller particle size to be aggregated easily.
If composite magnetic particles including aggregated smaller-particle-size metal magnetic particles are used to produce a magnetic base body, the metal magnetic particles are unevenly distributed in the magnetic base body. More specifically, the metal magnetic particles having a smaller particle size are locally concentrated in a certain portion within the magnetic base body. Consequently, in the remaining portion within the magnetic base body, the metal magnetic particles having a larger particle size accounts for a higher ratio.
Here, the magnetic flux generated as a result of the application of current to the coil preferentially selects and travels along the path in which the metal magnetic particles having a larger particle size accounts for a high ratio. Therefore, if the metal magnetic particles having a smaller particle size are aggregated in the magnetic base body, the magnetic flux is distributed unevenly in the magnetic base body. For this reason, as the DC current running through the coil conductor of the above-mentioned coil component increases, magnetic saturation occurs sequentially from a magnetic path with a higher proportion of the metal magnetic particles having a large average particle size among a plurality of magnetic paths of the magnetic flux passing through the magnetic base body.
As described above, if the magnetic base body formed by the composite magnetic particles including aggregated small-particle-size metal magnetic particles is used to form the coil component including the coil, uneven distribution of magnetic flux in the magnetic base body causes local magnetic saturation. Accordingly, as the DC current applied to the coil increases, the inductance gradually falls. For this reason, it is difficult to achieve increased allowable current for the coil component including the magnetic base body that is formed using composite magnetic particles including aggregated small-particle-size metal magnetic particles.
When metal magnetic particles are aggregated, adjacent metal magnetic particles can more easily establish electrical contact with each other. If adjacent metal magnetic particles establish electrical contact with each other, those metal magnetic particles form a single particle having a large particle size from the electromagnetic perspective. When metal particles are placed in varying magnetic field, the likelihood of large eddy current increases as the particle size of the metal particles increases. Therefore, if the magnetic base body formed using the composite magnetic particles including aggregated small-particle-size metal magnetic particles is used for the coil component, the eddy current loss disadvantageously increases.

Composite magnetic particle including metal magnetic particle


An electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include housing including a rear cover and a cover glass facing away from the rear cover, an antenna array interposed between the rear cover and the cover glass and including at least one or more antenna units, a printed circuit board (PCB) interposed between the antenna array and the cover glass, and a communication circuit disposed on the PCB and feeding the antenna array. Other various embodiments as understood from the specification are also possible.

An electronic device, which is equipped with an antenna, such as a smartphone, a wearable device, or the like is widely supplied as mobile communication technologies develop. The electronic device may transmit/receive various kinds of data (e.g., a message, a photo, a video, a music file, a game, or the like) via an antenna.
The electronic device may include a plurality of antennas to efficiently transmit/receive the above-described data. For example, the electronic device may include an antenna array in which a plurality of antennas are arranged in a regular shape. Because an antenna array has an effective isotropically radiated power (EIRP) greater than one antenna, the electronic device may transmit/receive various kinds of data more effectively.

Antenna array and electronic device including antenna array


In a transfer unit, a rotating transfer element is arranged adjacent a charge image carrier that takes toner images from the charge image carrier and supplies the images to a transfer printing station. A scoop element applies carrier fluid to the transfer element. A friction element is provided after the scoop element adjacent to the transfer element at such a distance from the transfer element that a gap between the transfer element and the friction element is substantially completely filled with the carrier fluid, the friction element and the transfer element rotating with different speeds. Residual toner remaining on the transfer element after the transfer printing is loosened by friction forces.

For single- or multicolor printing of a printing substrate (for example a single sheet or a band-shaped recording medium) made of the most varied materials (for example paper or thin plastic or metal films) it is known to generate image-dependent potential images (charge images) on a charge image carrier (for example a photoconductor) that correspond to the images to be printed, comprising regions to be inked and regions that are not to be inked. The regions of the potential images that are to be inked are made visible via toner with a developer station (inking station). The toner image is subsequently printed on the printing substrate.
A liquid developer containing toner and carrier fluid can thereby be used to ink the potential images.
A method for electrophoretic liquid developing (electrographic developing) in digital printing systems is known from, for example, WO 2005/013013 A2 (US 2006/0150836 A1). A carrier fluid containing silicon oil with ink particles (toner particles) dispersed therein is thereby used as a liquid developer. The supply of the liquid developer to the charge image carrier can occur via an applicator roller to which the liquid developer is supplied by a raster roller at which a chamber blade is arranged. The toner images are transferred via a transfer unit from the charge image carrier to the printing substrate. The transfer unit has a transfer element (for example a transfer roller) that transports the toner images to the transfer printing point in a transfer printing station and there interacts with, for example, a corona device in order to transfer the toner images onto the printing substrate. The transfer unit can additionally have a cleaning unit to clean the transfer element, which cleaning unit is realized as a blade, roller or formed fabric or fleece cleaner.
In printers that operate with liquid developer, the cleaning of the transfer element poses increased demands. Since only a little carrier fluid is provided at the transfer printing to the printing substrate for the toner transport to the printing substrate, the danger exists that toner fastens to the transfer element under pressure at the transfer printing point. Due to the small amount of carrier fluid, the danger moreover exists that a relatively large amount of toner remains on the transfer element. This toner (called residual toner of a residual image in the following) must be cleaned off the transfer element before the next transfer of a new print image. Otherwise a shadow image of the previously printed print image is received together with the new print image.

Transfer unit in an electrophoretic printing or copying apparatus


The cache coherency protocol described herein can be used to maintain a virtual model of a system, where the virtual model does not change as the system configuration changes. In general, the virtual model is based on the assumption that each node in the system can directly communicate with some number of other nodes in the system. In one embodiment, for each cache line, the address of the cache line is used to designate a node as the “home” node and all other nodes as “peer” nodes. The protocol specifies one set of messages for communication with the line's home node and another set of messages for communication with the line's peer nodes.

Current cache coherency protocols, for example, the MESI protocol, can be used to maintain cache coherency in single processor as well as multiprocessor (or multi-node) systems. However, in order to function properly, a non-bus-based multiprocessor system, e.g., a point-to-point interconnection of multiple processors, is configured to operate with a fixed number of processors or nodes. The maximum number of processors is known by a system designer prior to implementation of the system and the system is designed to support configurations up to that maximum number of nodes.
If a non-bus-based multiprocessor system is to be implemented using a greater number of processors than the maximum, the system must be redesigned. Processors cannot simply be added to the system because current cache coherency protocols specify required information whose size is dependent on the maximum number of nodes a system can have.
Because traditional cache coherency protocols are rigid and require specific designs up to a maximum configuration, these protocols increase the cost and complexity of providing systems with differing maximum numbers of processors and/or multiple configurations. For example, the IEEE Futurebus+ architecture specifies a copy-back coherency protocol based on MESI and supports complex systems. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art Futurebus+ architecture. The Futurebus+ architecture is described in IEEE Standard 896.1 (published in 1994) and related documents.
Buses 15, 30 and 35 conform to the Futurebus+ standard and are coupled to cache memories (e.g., 22, 24, 40, 45, 50, 55), to cache agents (e.g., 20, 26) or to memory agents (e.g., 21, 27). Memory agent 21 receives read and write commands from bus 30 and responds to the commands by operating with cache agent 20 as though the memory agent 21 were a main memory. Memory agent 21 tracks memory locations and cache memories 40 and 45, which are coupled to bus 30. Memory agent 27, cache agent 26, bus 35 and cache memories 50 and 55 operate in a similar manner.
Cache agent 20 provides an interface between memory agent 21 and bus 15 to provide bus snooping services for cache memories 40 and 45. Cache agent 26 operates similarly for cache memories 50 and 55. Processors 23, 25, 42, 47, 52 and 57 are coupled with cache memories 22, 24, 40, 40, 50 and 55, respectively. The processors interact with the cache memories in any manner known in the art.
Multiple levels of cache hierarchy can be provided in a similar manner with additional levels of buses and associated cache agents and memory agents. However, information fields in the cache coherency messages sent between the agents assume a fixed maximum number. This adds inefficiencies in message transmissions when the multiprocessor configuration is small relative to the maximum number. Moreover, the designers of the cache coherency protocol need to accommodate a maximum number of nodes in the system that may be larger than system designers would ever build.

Hierarchical virtual model of a cache hierarchy in a multiprocessor system


A vehicle includes: a friction braking device configured to generate a friction braking force; a generator motor configured to generate a regenerative braking force; and a control unit configured to adjust the friction braking force and adjust the regenerative braking force by controlling energization of the generator motor such that a braking force that is required by the vehicle is generated, interrupt energization of the generator motor at predetermined timing after timing at which a duration of an occupant's specific operation is equal to a threshold time, and control the regenerative braking force such that the regenerative braking force gradually reduces within a specific period from operation detection timing, at which the specific operation has been detected, to the predetermined timing when the regenerative braking force is being generated at the operation detection timing.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle. More specifically, the invention relates to a vehicle including a friction braking device, a generator motor and a control unit that controls the friction braking device and the generator motor.
2. Description of Related Art
For example, there is known a brake control system described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-56969 (JP 2011-56969 A). The brake control system includes regenerative braking means for applying a regenerative braking force to wheels by an electric motor and hydraulic braking means for applying a hydraulic braking force to the wheels by pressing friction members against the wheels by the use of hydraulic pressure. In the brake control system, control means determines a target regenerative braking force and a target hydraulic braking force on the basis of a limit value set for the regenerative braking force and a target total braking force, and executes cooperative control over the regenerative braking means and the hydraulic braking means in accordance with these determined target regenerative braking force and target hydraulic braking force. In the thus configured brake control system, when the regenerative braking force is limited by the limit value, the hydraulic braking force is immediately increased in order to achieve the target total braking force.


The present disclosure relates to a method capable of reducing a communication cost for tracking a location of construction equipment by controlling a transmission cycle of locational information of the construction equipment.

In general, in a remote management system of construction equipment, construction equipment such as an excavator, a wheel loader, or the like transmits, to a management server for managing construction equipment using a mobile communication network or a satellite communication network, information including engine rpm (radius per minute), battery voltage, the temperature of cooling water, the temperature of oil, on/off sensing information of various switches, on/off sensing information of solenoids or relays, error code, an operation time for each operation mode, an engine operation time, a filter/oil using time, the pressures of a pump and a cylinder, fuel information, load rate information, locational information, and the like of the equipment.
Further, when an event for tracking a location of construction equipment (for example, the occurrence of a theft situation and the like) occurs, the construction equipment is configured to transmit locational information of construction equipment to the management server at a shorter cycle than a predetermined cycle.
However, a method of shortening a transmission cycle of locational information from the point of time of starting to track a location of construction equipment has a disadvantage in that a data transmission amount is increased, leading to an increase in communication costs.
Therefore, it is required to develop a technology capable of reducing a communication cost for tracking a location of construction equipment and of more rapidly and easily tracking stolen equipment by exactly determining a location of moving construction equipment.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

System and method for tracking location of construction equipment

Abstract: To this end, the present disclosure provides a method for tracking a location of construction equipment by using a tracking vehicle, including: transmitting locational information from the construction equipment at a predetermined transmission cycle; calculating a distance between the construction equipment and the tracking vehicle based on the locational information received from the construction equipment; and if the calculated distance is less than a predetermined value, commanding that a transmission cycle of the locational information of the construction equipment be made shorter than a predetermined transmission cycle.


A powered step device of a vehicle comprises a base member that is adapted to be connected to a vehicle body; a pivoting mechanism held by the base member, the pivoting mechanism being horizontally movable between a first position wherein a given part thereof takes a retracted position relative to the base member and a second position wherein the given part takes a projected position relative to the base member; a step plate connected to the given part of the pivoting mechanism, so that the first and second positions of the pivoting mechanism induce retracted and projected positions of the step plate relative to the base member; and an electric actuator that moves the pivoting mechanism with electric power. The powered step device further comprises a guard member that is fixed to the base member in a manner to cover and protect the pivoting mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a step device that is installed below a door opening of a motor vehicle for assisting the passengers who get on and off the vehicle, and more particularly to a step device of powered retractable type having a step plate that can be retracted inside the vehicle with electric power when not in use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, various powered step devices of motor vehicles have been proposed and put into practical use particularly in the field of van type vehicles, buses and the like.
One of such known powered step devices is shown in Laid-open Japanese Patent Application (Tokkaihei) 11-227528 filed on Feb. 17, 1998 (matured to Japanese Patent 3612418 on Oct. 29, 2004), which generally comprises two supporting arms that are pivotally connected to the vehicle body, a step plate that is held by the supporting arms and an electric drive mechanism that moves, with electric power, the supporting arms between a projected position wherein the step plate is projected from the vehicle body to work as a step for the door opening and a retracted position wherein the step plate is retraced into the vehicle body.


A method for suppressing coloring of human serum albumin expressed by genetic engineering, which comprises culture and/or purification in the presence of an amine compound selected from the group consisting of alkylamines, diamines, guanidines, benzamidines, basic amino acids, and aminophenylacetic acids. According to the present invention, coloring of HSA expressed by genetic engineering can be suppressed to from one-half to one-tenth of that without treatment for coloring suppression. In addition, HSA can be recovered in high yields, and the treatment of the invention does not affect the inherent properties of HSA.

An albumin, particularly human serum albumin (hereinafter also referred to as HSA) is an important component constituting protein in plasma. This protein is produced in liver, and is mainly responsible for sustaining normal osmotic pressure of blood flow. Also, it functions as a carrier for various serum molecules.
HSA is administered in a variety of clinical situations. For example, when HSA is administered to a patient suffering from shock or ambustion, it functions to recover blood volume to its original level, thereby improving some symptoms relating to trauma. For this effect, HSA is frequently administered. Also, patients suffering from hypoproteinemia or fetal erythroblastosis may need treatments with HSA. As exemplified, the basic significance of HSA administration is prominent in the treatment of symptoms accompanying loss of fluids from blood vessels, as in surgery, shock, burn, or hypoproteinemia which causes edema.
At present, HSA is produced mainly by fractionation of blood. This production method is uneconomical, and besides, it poses a problem that the supply of the blood from which HSA is produced is not always assured. Moreover, since HSA is blood-originated, HSA produced in this way is under a constant risk of containing undesirable substances such as hepatitis viruses. From this aspect also, development of a substitute for blood as the raw material for HSA will be greatly advantageous.
Under the circumstances as described, methods for a large-scale production of HSA by genetic engineering, followed by high purification is being established. Such method will permit economical production of HSA containing no undesirable substances such as hepatitis viruses.
By genetic engineering, however, HSA is colored by being combined with a certain coloring component present in raw materials or by the contamination of substances secreted by microorganisms during culture of host microorganisms and/or during purification of HSA. These contaminants cannot be removed sufficiently by conventional purification methods for plasma-originated HSA.

Method for suppressing coloring of human serum albumin


There are provided a parking guidance apparatus and method. The parking guidance apparatus is configured to recognize parking spaces in which a vehicle is to be parked within a parking lot, to set any one of the recognized parking spaces to a target parking space, to calculate a one-step parking route and a multi-step parking route depending on a steering input of a driver, to display guidance markers corresponding to the one-step parking route and the multi-step parking route so as to be distinguished from each other, and to guidance parking on the basis of the guidance markers.

Generally, parking guidance systems measure a length of a parking space to inform whether or not a vehicle may be parked, and display only a guidance line on a screen on the basis of a current steering value when a driver steers a steering handle. Most of the parking guidance systems according to the related art described above, which are rear camera based systems, are not intuitive, and actually have low usability.
In addition, since the parking guidance system according to the related art displays a parking trajectory by a guidance line to perform guidance, an oppressive sensation that it seems like the vehicle should be parked along the guidance line is generated, and it is impossible to cope with the case in which the driver may not park the vehicle along the guidance line.
In addition, since the parking guidance system according to the related art should be controlled depending on a determined formula, adaptive guidance depending on a surrounding situation is impossible, and an option for a parking control trajectory is not provided to the driver.

Parking guidance apparatus and method of vehicle


A rotary holder for a corrugated tube is formed such that an inner rotary body containing a corrugated tube is received in an inner portion of an outer fixing body, and an outer peripheral sliding surface of the inner rotary body may rotate relative to the outer fixing body. The inner rotary body is formed by assembling two divided rotary members, each having a round arch surface on an outer periphery thereof. The outer peripheral sliding surface is formed by abutting a surface of each divided rotary member against each other. Further, a cut surface retracting inside from a rotation locus of the round arch surface in each divided rotary member is formed in each end portion of the round arch surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holder for rotatably securing a corrugated tube in which a wire harness is received.
2. Description of the Related Art
A rotary holder for a corrugated tube as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 has been known conventionally. A rotary holder for a corrugated tube 1 is, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 2, composed of an outer fixing body 2 and an inner rotary body 3 received rotatably in an inner portion of the outer fixing body 2. A corrugated tube 4 containing a wire harness W therein is held in an inner portion of the inner rotary body 3.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the outer fixing body 2 is composed of a base member 5 and a cover 6 locked to the base member 5. An inner rotary chamber 8 surrounded by a round inner sliding surface 7 is formed in an inner portion of the outer fixing body 2.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the inner rotary body 3 is composed of two semi-cylindrical divided rotary members 9, 9 each of which has a round arch surface 9a on an outer periphery of itself. The inner rotary body 3 is formed by abutting surface 9b of one divided rotary member 9 against a surface 9b of the other divided rotary member 9. Further, a round outer peripheral sliding surface 10 is formed by assembling a round arch surface 9a of one divided rotary member 9 to a round arch surface 9a of the other divided rotary member 9 without generating a step or an offset. The outer peripheral sliding surface 10 of the inner rotary body 3 slides on the inner sliding surface 7 of the outer fixing body 2, whereby the inner rotary body 3 may rotate relative to the outer fixing body 2. On the basis of the structure mentioned above, the corrugated tube 4 is secured to the inner rotary body and allowed to rotate.
However, in the conventional rotary holder 1 for the corrugated tube, in order to hold the corrugated tube 4 in the inner portion of the inner rotary body 3, the inner rotary body 3 is formed by assembling the divided rotary members 9, 9 with each other. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5, it may be possible that the abutting surface 9b of one divided rotary member 9 is displaced relative to the abutting surface 9b of the other divided rotary member 9 due to an outward force applied by the corrugated tube 4 held in the inner portion of the inner rotary body 3, and due to failure of a locking means 11, 11 provided in the divided rotary members 9, 9 respectively. Once the displacement is generated between the abutting surfaces 9b, 9b, an offset portion 12 is generated where the round arch surface 9a of one divided rotary member 9 has been smoothly connected to the round arch surface 9a of the other divided rotary member 9. Under this state the radius of rotation of the inner rotary body 3 is increased equal to an amount of offset d2. Therefore, the inner rotary body 3 cannot smoothly rotate in the inner portion of the outer fixing body 2.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary holder for a corrugated tube wherein an inner rotary body can always move smoothly on an inner sliding surface of an outer fixing body even in the case that a displacement is generated in each of butt surfaces between a plurality of divided rotary members.
In order to achieve the objective mentioned above, the present invention provides a rotary holder for a corrugated tube comprising:
an inner rotary body constituted by two or more divided rotary members each having a round arch surface on an outer periphery thereof, and receiving the corrugated tube by abutting surfaces of the two or more divided rotary members together; and an outer fixing body having an inner rotary chamber with an inner sliding surface along which an outer peripheral sliding surface formed by the round arch surfaces of the assembled two or more divided rotary members slide; wherein each end portion of the round arch surface in the divided rotary member has a cut surface retracting inside from a rotation locus of the round arch surface.


A method for monitoring LWM2M IoT device state includes, in an SCEF, providing an interface for receiving subscription requests from IoT application servers or service capability servers for monitoring LWM2M IoT device state, the method further includes maintaining, in the SCEF, a database of identifiers of IoT devices that utilize LWM2M protocols, receiving, via the interface and from an SCS or AS, a first monitoring event request for subscribing to receive state information regarding an IoT device, and performing a lookup in the database using an IoT device identifier extracted from the first monitoring event request and identifying the first monitoring event request as being associated with an LWM2M IoT device. The method further includes communicating with the LWM2M IoT device using LWM2M constrained application protocol (CoAP) messaging to subscribe to and receive state information from the LWM2M IoT device and communicating the state information to the SCS or AS.

The SCEF is the 3GPP platform that enables IoT application servers to monitor IoT device state. The procedure for monitoring IoT devices is referred to as the 3GPP MTC monitoring event procedure and allows an IoT application server (AS) or service capability server/application server (SCS/AS) to monitor IoT device status and is described in 3GPP TS 23.682, Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Architecture enhancements to communications with packet data networks and applications (Release 16), V16.2.0 (March 2019). The interface that an SCS or AS uses to invoke the 3GPP MTC monitoring event procedure is referred to as the T8 interface, which is specified in 3GPP TS 29.122, Technical Specification Group Core Network and Terminals; T8 reference point for Northbound APIs; (Release 16) V16.1.0 (March 2019).). The T8 interface is provided by the SCEF.
According to the 3GPP MTC monitoring event procedure, the IoT AS or SCS/AS sends a monitoring configuration (subscription) request to the SCEF over the T8 interface to monitor the required device parameter. The IoT AS can request continuous or one-time reporting of device status in the T8 monitoring configuration request to SCEF. The SCEF creates a monitoring context for a given monitoring configuration (subscription) request and assists in delivering the requested IoT device status. The SCEF retrieves the required device status information from EPC core network elements, such as the home subscriber server (HSS), mobility management entity (MME), or policy and charging rules function (PCRF), and generates device status reports towards the IoT AS. The MTC monitoring event procedure supports monitoring of IoT device status information (i.e., monitoring events), such as location information, roaming status, device reachability, connectivity status, communication failure, etc., from IoT AS through EPC network elements, such as the HSS, MME and PCRF.
FIG. 1 is a call flow diagram illustrating the 3GPP monitoring event procedure through the HSS using the northbound T8 interface. In FIG. 1, an SCEF 100 receives monitoring event subscription requests from an SCS/AS 102 and communications with an HSS 104 to obtain the requested IoT device state information. The monitoring of devices through the HSS using the T8 interface consists of two phases:
Configuration Phase:
                1) SCS/AS 102 sends a monitoring subscription request containing a monitoring event, such as location info, UE reachability, etc., to SCEF 100        2) SCEF 100 validates the monitoring event subscription request and sends a Diameter configuration information request (CIR) to HSS 104 over the s6t interface with a unique SCEF-Reference ID generated for the user.        3) HSS 104 sends a Diameter configure information answer (CIA) message to SCEF 100 with a success cause code.        4) SCEF 100 responds with an HTTP response 201 created message to SCS/AS 102.Reporting Phase:        1) When monitoring data is available for the UE on HSS 104, HSS 104 will send a Diameter reporting information request (RIR) to SCEF 100.        2) SCEF 100 validates the request and notifies SCS/AS 102 with a monitoring status notification message carrying the monitoring information.        3) SCS/AS 102 sends a success T8 response cause code back to SCEF 100.        4) SCEF 100 indicates a successful subscription to HSS 104 in a Diameter reporting information answer (RIA) message.
FIG. 2 illustrates the monitoring event procedure through the HSS when the HSS does not have the requested information. Referring to FIG. 2, when HSS 104 does not have the requested UE status information, HSS 104 contacts MME 106 for the information. The configuration phase in FIG. 2 may include the following steps:
Configuration Phase:
                1) SCS/AS 100 sends a monitoring subscription request containing the monitoring event, such as location info, UE reachability, etc., to SCEF 100        2) SCEF 100 validates the monitoring event request and sends a Diameter CIR message to HSS 104 over the S6t interface with a unique SCEF-Reference ID generated for the user.        3) HSS 104 sends a Diameter insert subscription data request (IDR) to an MME 106 requesting the monitoring information for the identified user.        4) MME 106 accepts the monitoring request and returns an insert subscription data answer (IDA) to HSS 106 with a success cause code.        5) HSS 104 sends a Diameter CIA message to SCEF 100 with a success cause code.        6) SCS/AS 102 receives the monitoring subscription response from SCEF 100 with a 201 created HTTP response code.The reporting phase in FIG. 2 may include the following steps:Reporting Phase:        1) When monitoring data is available for a UE on MME 106, MME 106 will send a Diameter RIR to SCEF 100 over the t6a interface with the same SCEF-Reference id generated for the user during the configuration phase.        2) SCEF 100 validates the reporting information request and notifies SCS/AS 102 with a monitoring status notification message carrying the monitoring information.        3) SCS/AS 102 sends a success T8 response cause code to SCEF 100.        4) SCEF 100 sends a Diameter success to MME 106 in an RIA message.
A procedure separate from the 3GPP monitoring event procedure is used to monitor LWM2M devices. This procedure or protocol is referred to as the LWM2M protocol and uses constrained application protocol (CoAP) as transport. The LWM2M protocol does not involve the SCEF. Instead, an IoT AS is required to implement LWM2M and CoAP procedures to communicate with IoT devices directly (through a packet gateway or serving gateway). The LWM2M protocol is used for device communication and management between IoT devices and the SCS/AS.
According to the LWM2M protocol, an information reporting interface is used by an LWM2M server to observe any changes in a resource on a registered LWM2M client, receiving notifications when new values are available. This observation relationship is initiated by sending an observe or observe-composite operation to the LWM2M client for an object, an object instance, or a resource. An observation ends when a cancel observation or cancel observation-composite operation is performed.
As stated above, the CoAP is used as transport for LWM2M messages. The CoAP is a specialized web transfer protocol for use with constrained nodes, such as IoT devices and constrained (e.g., low-power, lossy) networks. The protocol is designed for machine-to-machine (M2M) applications, such as smart energy and building automation. CoAP messages are very small and hence limit the need for fragmentation of messages in the network. The CoAP protocol enables CoAP clients to observe resources, i.e., to retrieve a representation of a resource (IoT device status) and keep this representation updated by the server over a period of time.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the use of the LWM2M protocol and CoAP to observe sensor data for a defined duration. In FIG. 3, an LWM2M client 300 is an IoT device. An LWM2M server 302 is an SCS/AS. More precisely, the SCS/AS is required to implement LWM2M and CoAP procedures to obtain state information from the IoT device. In FIG. 3, LWM2M server 302 makes an observation for a required resource (e.g., temperature) that is updated inside LWM2M client 300 at irregular periods (based on change) using a CoAP request message (GET method) carrying Observe Option=0. Notifications are sent by the IoT device (LWM2M client 300) in reply to the single extended GET request that created the registration (subscription). Each notification includes the token specified by the SCS/AS in the observation request. Notifications typically have a 2.05 (Content) response code. The notifications include an observe option with a sequence number for reordering detection.
When LWM2M client 300 receives a reset in response to a notify operation, LWM2M client 300 must cancel the observation regardless of whether the notify was sent as a confirmable CoAP message as defined in the observe operation or as a non-confirmable CoAP message. LWM2M server 302 can also cancel the observe operation at any time, on a specified resource, resource instance or specified object instance(s), by sending a GET request with observe option=1. LWM2M server 302 may optionally set the observe attributes of a Resource to affect the behavior of its notifications using the write-attributes operation implemented using a CoAP PUT request.
One problem with using the above-described procedures for different types of IoT devices is that the SCS/AS will be required to implement two separate northbound interfaces to monitor the IoT device status:                the 3GPP defined T8 monitoring event interface; and        the LWM2M server implementation to observe the resource state of an IoT device using the CoAP protocol interface. There is no unified SCS/AS interface for monitoring IoT device state or intelligence in the SCS/AS for identifying the type of IoT device and protocol for monitoring IoT device state using the correct protocol. The network operator can perform authentication, authorization, and access control of SCS/AS northbound traffic only for 3GPP-based T8 interface traffic at the SCEF but cannot enforce the same for LWM2M CoAP traffic going directly through an over the top communication method (i.e., using the data plane through a packet gateway).
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved methods, systems, and computer readable media for monitoring IoT device state using a unified interface provided by the SCEF for LWM2M and non-LWM2M IoT devices.

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for monitoring lightweight machine to machine (LWM2M) internet of things (IoT) devices through service capability exposure funtion (SCEF) T8 interface


A head cap is reciprocally movable between a capping position for covering nozzles of a print head and a retracted position separated from the nozzle surface. A pump is connected to the head cap. A pump gear is rotated by a drive source to drive the pump. A cylindrical cam is reciprocally rotatable between a first position and a second position to reciprocally move the head cap. A frictional clutch rotates the cylindrical cam together with the pump gear, but rotates only the pump gear when the cylindrical cam reaches each one of the first position and the second position.

The present invention relates to a head maintenance mechanism for a serial type ink jet printer in which a carriage mounting thereon a print head is reciprocated in a widthwise direction of printing. More specifically, the invention relates to a head maintenance mechanism in which a single rotary drive source is used to drive a head cap, wiper and an ink suction pump.
With a serial type ink jet printer, a head maintenance mechanism is arranged in a position outside a region of printing performed by a print head, and wiping of dirt on a nozzle surface of the print head, capping intended for prevention of plugging of a nozzle orifice, and an operation of sucking ink in an increased viscosity from the nozzle orifice are performed by the head maintenance mechanism. To meet the needs of making a head maintenance mechanism for an ink jet printer small-sized, compact and inexpensive, related art head maintenance mechanisms are constituted by a configuration in which a single rotary drive source, such as stepping motors or the like, is used to cause movement of a wiper for wiping a nozzle surface, a capping action of a head cap for capping the nozzle surface, and an operation of sucking ink from a nozzle orifice as capped.
For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-141673A discloses a head maintenance mechanism of such configuration. With the head maintenance mechanism disclosed in this publication, rotation of a single motor in one direction causes a head cap and a wiper to be driven through a slide type rack and a cam mechanism, and reverse rotation of the motor causes a diaphragm suction pump to be driven through a cylindrical cam.
However, a head maintenance mechanism of a type in which rotation of a single motor in one direction causes a head cap and a wiper to be driven, and reverse rotation of the motor causes a suction pump to be driven, involves the following problems.
First, a cylindrical cam is generally used to convert rotary movements of a motor into reciprocal movements. Since such a cylindrical cam is continuously rotationally driven in one direction, there is a need of providing a position detector for detecting a reference or initial position of the cylindrical cam in order to control respective motions of the cylindrical cam.
Also, there is a need of separately providing a power transmitting mechanism for driving of a head cap and a wiper and a power transmitting mechanism for driving of an ink suction pump, which is disadvantageous in making a head maintenance mechanism small-sized and compact.
Further, a pump, for example, a tube pump needed to rotate forward and rearward cannot be adopted as an ink suction pump. More specifically, in the case where a tube pump is used, a roller rotates flattening an ink tube to perform an ink sucking action when a pump gear being a drive force input element of the pump is rotated forward, and the roller is put in a release state, in which the ink tube is not flattened, when the pump gear is rotated rearward. Since the release state is necessary after the ink sucking action, a tube pump cannot be used in the case of rotary driving in one direction.
Also, a head maintenance mechanism for an ink jet printer involves as an ink sucking configuration from a head cap with an ink sucking action, the case where ink is sucked from a nozzle orifice and the case where ink accumulated in the head cap is sucked (idle suction) in a state in which the head cap made in capping is put in an atmospheric opening state. In order to realize both of these ink sucking configurations, it is necessary to provide a mechanism for opening and closing a vent valve mounted on a head cap after there is established a state in which the head cap caps the nozzle surface. When such mechanism can be made compact, it is advantageous in making a head maintenance mechanism small-sized, compact or thin.
An object of the invention is to propose a head maintenance mechanism for an ink jet printer which is capable of controlling motions of a head cap, wiper and an ink suction pump without the use of any position detector.
Also, an object of the invention is to propose a head maintenance mechanism for an ink jet printer which is capable of driving an ink suction pump forward and rearward.
Further, an object of the invention is to propose a head maintenance mechanism for an ink jet printer in which a power transmitting mechanism for driving a head cap, wiper and an ink suction pump can be made compact.
Further still, an object of the invention is to propose a head maintenance mechanism for an ink jet printer in which a mechanism for switching an interior of a head cap capping a nozzle surface between opening to the atmosphere and not opening is made compact.
In order to achieve the above objects, according to the present invention, there is provided a maintenance mechanism for a print head having a nozzle surface in which are formed a plurality of nozzles, comprising:
a head cap, reciprocally movable between a capping position for covering the nozzles and a retracted position separated from the nozzle surface;
a pump, connected to the head cap;
a drive source;
a pump gear, rotated by the drive source to drive the pump;
a cylindrical cam, reciprocally rotatable between a first position and a second position to reciprocally move the head cap; and
a frictional clutch, which rotates the cylindrical cam together with the pump gear, but rotates only the pump gear when the cylindrical cam reaches each one of the first position and the second position.
Preferably, a cam groove is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical cam in a predetermined circumferential angular range. The maintenance mechanism further comprises a cap driving pin slidably movable along the cam groove to reciprocally move the head cap.
Here, it is preferable that the maintenance mechanism further comprises an urging member which urges the cap driving pin toward a bottom surface of the cam groove.
Preferably, a first engagement member and a second engagement member are provided with the cylindrical cam, and a third engagement member is disposed at a predetermined position. A rotation of the cylindrical cam in a first direction is stopped when the first engagement member engages with the third engagement member, and a rotation of the cylindrical cam in a second direction is stopped when the second engagement member engages with the third engagement member.
Alternatively, it is preferable that a rotation of the cylindrical cam in a first direction is stopped when the cap driving pin reaches at a first dead end of the cam groove, and a rotation of the cylindrical cam in a second direction is stopped when the cap driving pin reaches at a second dead end of the cam groove.
Here, it is preferable that the pump gear and the cylindrical cam are coaxially arranged, so that they can be arranged in a compact manner.
Still here, it is preferable that the frictional clutch includes an urging member which presses one circular end surface of the pump gear and one circular end surface of the cylindrical cam together.
Further, it is preferable that the pump is a tube pump which performs a sucking operation only when the cylindrical cam is rotated in either one of the first direction and the second direction.
Here, it is preferable that the pump is arranged coaxially with the cylindrical cam.
Preferably, the head cap includes:
a cap body having an opening which faces the nozzle surface;
a cap holder, which holds the cap body;
an urging member, disposed in the cap holder to urge the cap body in a direction that the cap body is projected from the cap holder; and
a vent valve, closed when the cap body of the head cap placed at the capping position is pushed toward the cap holder by a predetermined amount against an urging force of the urging member, so that an interior space of the head cap is isolated from atmosphere.
Here, it is preferable that the cam groove includes:
a first portion which moves the cap driving pin so as to place the cap holder at a first capping position where the cap body covers the nozzles and the vent valve is closed; and
a second portion which moves the cap driving pin so as to place the cap holder at a second capping position where the cap body covers the nozzles and the vent valve is opened.
Still here, it is preferable that the cam groove includes a guide portion which guides the cap driving pin situated in the first portion to the second portion. The cap driving pin situated in the vicinity of one end of the first portion is guided to the second portion via the guide portion, when the cap driving pin is moved away from the one end of the first portion.
Still here, it is preferable that: the first portion includes a depth-decreasing portion in which a depth thereof gradually decreases toward the one end thereof; and the guide portion connects a part in the first portion in the vicinity of the depth-decreasing portion and the second portion.
Preferably, the cam groove is one continuous groove, and the predetermined circumferential angular range is 360 degrees or less.
Preferably, the maintenance mechanism further comprises an intermittent gear arranged coaxially with the cylindrical cam, so as to rotate integrally with the cylindrical cam. A driving force of the driving source is transmitted to the intermittent gear only in a predetermined circumferential angular range of the cylindrical cam between the first position and the second position.
Preferably, the maintenance mechanism further comprises:
a wiper, reciprocally movable between a wiping position for wiping the nozzle surface and a standby position; and
a wiper driving pin, slidably moving along the cam groove to reciprocally move the wiper.
The cam groove includes:
a first dead end portion, at which the wiper driving pin is placed when a rotation of the cylindrical cam in a first direction is stopped;
a wiper driving portion, continued from the first dead end portion, which moves the wiper driving pin to reciprocally move the wiper;
a second dead end portion, at which the cap driving pin is placed when a rotation of the cylindrical cam in a second direction is stopped; and
a cap driving portion, continued from the second dead end portion, which moves the cap driving pin to reciprocally move the head cap.
Here, it is preferable that the maintenance mechanism further comprises an intermittent gear arranged coaxially with the cylindrical cam, so as to rotate integrally with the cylindrical cam. A driving force of the drive source is transmitted to the intermittent gear only in a predetermined circumferential angular range of the cylindrical cam between the first dead end portion and the second dead end portion of the cam groove.
Here, it is preferable that the pump is a tube pump which performs a sucking operation only when the cylindrical cam is rotated in the second direction.
In the above configurations, the torque of a single drive source is transmitted to the cylindrical cam through the frictional clutch from the pump gear, and a finite rotation of the cylindrical cam causes at least one of the head cap and the wiper to move. Accordingly, it is possible to place the cylindrical cam of the finite rotation type in an initial or reference position without the use of a position detector for detecting the rotation angle of the cylindrical cam. Therefore, an inexpensive head maintenance mechanism easy to control can be realized.
Since there is no need of separately arranging the power transmitting mechanisms for the suction pump, the head cap and the wiper, it is possible to realize a small-sized and compact head maintenance mechanism.
Since forward and rearward rotations from the drive source can be transmitted to the suction pump, it is possible to switchingly control a state of a pump, such as a tube pump, by switching of a direction of rotation of the drive source.
Since the cam groove is formed so as to establish a state in which the head cap seals the nozzle surface, and a state in which the head cap seals the nozzle surface but the interior space of the head cap is communicated to atmosphere, there is no need of separately providing a drive mechanism for driving a valve mechanism for opening of the head cap to the atmosphere and it is possible to realize a small-sized and compact head maintenance mechanism.
Since the cylindrical cam, the pump gear and the suction pump are arranged in a coaxial manner, a predetermined space in a direction perpendicular to the coaxes can be saved so that a small-sized and compact head maintenance mechanism can be realized.

Head maintenance mechanism for ink jet printer and ink jet printer incorporating the same