The present disclosure relates to a mock-up medicament injector for training purposes or an actual medicament injection device (1) comprising a sensor device (2) configured to detect movements of the whole device, and a logging device (3) configured to record said movements and thus track user behaviour of the device. The sensor can be e.g. an accelerometer, gyroscope or magnetometer. The device can communicate the logged data either in real time or at a later point in time from its memory to an external computer device. The present disclosure also relates to a corresponding method for tracking behaviour of a user using the medicament injector or training device (1).

US patent application with publication no US 2013/0236872 describes reusable automatic injection training devices, and components thereof, to simulate and/or mimic an operation of an actual automatic injection device.
UK patent application no GB 2490723 describes a syringe for use in a human factors study.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,556,865 describes a module configured to be attached to a disposable drug delivery pen or a reusable drug delivery pen so that the module may: determine dosage selected, inject the selected dosage, duration of injection, time of injection, whether the pen has been primed or shaken to thoroughly mix up insulin mixtures, transmit information relating to insulin dosage and injection to a data management unit, provide reminders, error warning or message on improper usage or reusage of needles, track amount of drug remaining on board the pen or during usage of pen with respect to expiry of the drug on board, or provide an audible alarm for locating a misplaced pen and module.

Medicament injection device or injection mock-up demo device with motion detector to log and track user behaviour


A head rest for the seat of an automotive vehicle is attached to a stay by means of a bolt which tightens a clamping clip onto the stay. The same bolt functions to hold the clip in place within the internal structure of the head rest. The engaging pressure of the clip can be adjusted by the bolt, and therefore, the precision with which the parts are formed does not need to be high allowing the head rest to be made inexpensively. By providing the clip in the interior of the head rest as opposed to an outside surface, it is possible to prevent injury to the vehicle occupants which might otherwise be caused by impacts on the clip or the bolt during an accident.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a head rest device for an automotive vehicle wherein a head rest proper is pivotally supported on a seatback by means of a frame. More specifically the present invention relates to an improved arrangement for affixing the headrest to the frame.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An illustrative example of a conventional head rest device for employment in an automobile is the device which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Second Provisional Publication No. 57-45.
In the disclosed head rest device, two grooves each of which are triangular in cross section, are formed in opposing sections of the metal interior structure of the head rest. These grooves define a clamping support channel, generally square in cross section, in which a central section of the support stay by which the head rest is affixed to the seat is accommodated.
The support stay is gripped in the support channel which applies a given amount of surface pressure thereto for providing a desired degree of frictional resistance to relative pivotal movement of the headrest device about the axis defined by the generally horizontal central section of the support stay.
When adjustment of the inclination angle of the headrest proper becomes necessary or desirable, the headrest proper is pivotally moved against the frictional resistance provided by the engagement between the clamping support channel and the support stay.
When constructing a headrest according to the above described prior art, generally the support stay is inserted into one of the channels defined by two panels which form the semi-rigid internal structure of the head rest and thereafter the other of the two panels is welded to the first panel such that the o stay is permanently pressed between the two panels with what is hoped to be the engaging pressure that will provide the optimum degree of frictional resistance to rotation of the headrest.
In the above type of head rest, some disadvantages are encountered. One of the disadvantages of the above described prior art head rest device has to do with the difficulty, that is inherent to a structure of this sort, which one encounters when trying to provide the optimum degree of frictional resistance to relative rotation, which is to be obtained through the engagement between the channel and the central horizontal section of the stay.
This frictional resistance is provided by the resilience of the grooves defining the clamping support channel, whose shapes must be resiliently altered in order to accommodate the stay within the clamping support channel which they cooperate to define. The degree to which the dimensions of the grooves are altered determines the degree of frictional resistance which the orifices exert on the stays. Therefore, in order to consistently produce the desired degree of frictional resistance to rotation of the head rest in the prior art device, it is necessary to manufacture the clamping sections of the head rests to very strict tolerances.
This attention to the precision with which the clamping sections of the head rest units must be formed tends to add substantially to the cost of their production.
In a proposed alternative arrangement to the above-mentioned prior art head rest, the semi-rigid internal structure of a head rest device is affixed to the central horizontal section of the support stay by means of a pressure clamp which is arranged on the outer surface of the rigid internal structure. In such an arrangement, a metal clip having tabs with registered holes is placed on the central section of the stay. A bolt is passed through the registered holes in the tabs, through a hole in the bottom surface of the semi-rigid internal support member of the head rest and has a nut threaded onto an end thereof.
When the bolt is rotated with respect to the nut, in the tightening direction, the lowermost tab is urged toward the upper tab which is in engagement with the lower surface of the semi-rigid internal structure of the head rest and therefore is restricted from moving upward. As the gap between the two tabs is closed by means of the bolt, the clip is caused to tighten onto the central section of the support stay. Since the bolt passes through the hole formed in the semi-rigid support structure of the head rest, this tightening of the bolt also serves to affix the clip to the lower surface of the semi-rigid structure of the head rest. Thus, the clip or pressure clamp may be bolted onto the lower surface of the semi-rigid internal structure.
As will be appreciated from the above the stay is attached at its central section to the semi-rigid internal support structure of the head rest by means of the bolt by which the clamping pressure of the clip is applied.
In such an alternative head rest, it will be noted that the precision with which the elements forming the semi-rigid internal structure of the head rest are formed can be somewhat reduced relative to that required in the previously described prior art bead rest in which the two halves forming the semi rigid internal structure of the head rest are permanently welded together. This is because the frictional resistance of the head rest to rotation about the central horizontal section of the support stay can be adjusted by adjusting the tightness of the bolt by which the head rest is affixed to the stay.
Thus, in this head rest, it is possible to select a value of frictional resistance to rotation of the head rest about the axis of the central section of the support stay which allows the user to adjust the angle of the head rest relative to the seat back such that the head rest is in the position which provides the maximum comfort to the user.
There is a problem however in the above proposed head rest, in connection with the fact that the head rest is affixed at its lower surface to the stay. Adjustment of the head rest causes it to pivot about the axis of the central section of the support stay. Since the support stay is arranged at the bottom of the head rest, it is impossible to adjust the angle of the head rest without causing main portion of the head rest to come forward of the general plane of the seat back to an uncomfortable degree, or to pivot backwards to a point where the head rest no longer supports the head of the vehicular seat's occupant.
As is well known to those skilled in the art, it is the purpose of the head rest to help to prevent injury to the head and neck of the vehicular seat occupant by preventing the occupant's head from swinging suddenly and violently backwards relative to the occupants body, resulting in the type of injury known as whiplash. In view of this, another problem exists in that, if the resistance to frictional rotation of the latter described head rest is adjusted, by means of the bolt, to a value which allows reasonably easy angular adjustment of the head rest by the user, in the event of vehicular traffic accident, such as a rear end collision, the forces applied by the occupant's head to the head rest easily cause it to pivot backward and thus it becomes practically useless as far as the enhancement of the vehicular seat occupant's safety is concerned. What is more, when the head rest pivots backwards under the impact of the occupant's head, the head or the shaft, of the bolt by which the head rest is fastened to the stay is caused to face in the direction of the back of the occupant's head and could perforate the occupants skin and, if the force of the impact is great, may crack the occupant's skull or spine.
The same concern would hold true for the occupant of the rear seat of the vehicle whose head would come into violent contact with the rear side of the head rest in the event of a head on collision causing it to pivot forward and expose the bolt on the bottom thereof to the rear seat occupant's face.
The problems of the head rest pivoting backwardly under impact of the occupant's head may be overcome in a variant on the above arrangement in which the clip, by which the seat back head rest is attached to the horizontal middle section of the support stay, is positioned on an inner surface of the semi-rigid internal structure of the head rest.
In this manner, the head rest supporting clip can be arranged at a point in the head rest that is rear the vertical center thereof. Therefore when the head of the occupant comes into contact with the head rest under the pressure of impact the direction of the pressure is essentially on the pivoting axis of the head rest on the stay and therefore the head rest is under no particularly strong impetus to rotate about the support stay.
Unfortunately in the latter arrangement of the head rest, the safety of the head rest is not particularly improved. This is due in part to the fact that normally, in order to cushion the blow to the seat occupant's head in the event of a rear end accident, it is desirable that the inner structure of the head rest is somewhat resilient so that the inner structure absorbs some of the impact which would otherwise be transmitted from the vehicle body to the seat back and from the seat back to the seat occupant's head by means of the support stay and the head rest. In the latter proposed head rest above however, the clip by which the head rest is attached to the stay is provided at the central section of the head rest and therefore the support stay is essentially aligned with the back of the occupants head. Thus, the resilience of the internal structure of the head rest cannot be advantageously used to protect the occupant's head from contact with the horizontal section of the support stay. Therefore, the only effective cushioning resilience that can be provided is that provided by the layer of resiliently cushioning material on the front surface of the head rest. This cushioning material must, of course, be somewhat soft and resilient so that when the occupants head impacts the head rest, the layer of cushioning material becomes resiliently compressed so as to cushion the occupants head from violent contact with the rigid support structure of the head rest.
Unfortunately in the above arrangement, if the cushioning material is appropriately soft to adequately cushion the occupant's head in the event of a rear impact to the vehicle, then when it is compressed during impact with the occupants head the problem is again encountered that the occupant's head comes into forcible contact with either the support stay or the head or the shaft of the bolt by which the head rest is attached, via the clip, to the support stay, since the bolt and the stay are buried in the padding material at the front side of the head rest. This again places the seat occupant in danger cf injury due to forcible contact with the head of the bolt by which the head rest is attached to the stay.


A power converter is configured to convert, into an AC voltage, a DC voltage supplied from a DC power supply connected between a first power supply wiring and a first ground wiring. A control device is connected between a second power supply wiring and a second ground wiring. The second power supply wiring is configured to supply a second power supply voltage lower than the first power supply voltage. The control device is configured to control the power converter. A separation device is configured to separate the first ground wiring and the second ground wiring from each other. The first ground wiring and the second ground wiring are electrically connected to each other at a single node.

A harmonic restraint device generally connects to a load, and cancels a harmonic component by supplying a power system with a compensation current having a phase opposite to that of a harmonic current generated by the load. In the harmonic restraint device, a controller extracts the harmonic component of the current flowing in the load (hereinafter referred to as "load current"), and generates a compensation current command for generating a compensation current having a phase opposite to that of the extracted harmonic component.
In order to generate the compensation current command, the harmonic component has to be extracted precisely from the load current. However, if noise is introduced into a current detector for detecting the load current, precision in extracting the harmonic component is decreased. Therefore, it becomes difficult to cancel the harmonic component.
Moreover, in the harmonic restraint device, an inverter circuit for generating the compensation current is used. In order to output the compensation current that can cancel the harmonic component, the inverter circuit is required to output an AC voltage higher than a system voltage. Accordingly, in the harmonic restraint device, voltage of a DC bus connected between a capacitor serving as a DC power supply and a DC side terminal of the inverter circuit needs to be maintained at a voltage higher than the effective value of the system voltage. In order to maintain the bus voltage at a certain voltage, the bus voltage is required to be accurately detected.
However, a multiplicity of noises including switching noise are generated from the inverter circuit that handles high voltage and a large amount of current, with the result that noise is introduced into the voltage detector for detecting the bus voltage. This may lead to decreased detection precision of the voltage detector.
In order to address the influences of the noises described above, in a harmonic restraint device of Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 3-203520 (Patent Literature 1), in an analog amplifying circuit configured to perform analog amplification of a compensation current command from a harmonic current compensation arithmetic circuit and to output it as a compensation current, a photo coupler is coupled between a circuit for sending the compensation current command and a circuit for outputting the compensation current so as to achieve electric isolation between both the circuits.
Moreover, in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 11-275761 (Patent Literature 2), in a controller for controlling charging and discharging of a capacitor in a harmonic restraint device, an isolated amplifier for amplifying a voltage between terminals of the capacitor is used as a voltage detector for detecting the voltage between the terminals. Accordingly, electric isolation between the capacitor and the controller is secured.

Power conversion device and harmonic restraint device


The present disclosure relates generally to gene promoters including promoters from oil palm plants, and to plants (including plants having genetic modifications) that include such promoters. The gene promoters of the present disclosure may be useful in facilitating expression of beneficial and/or desired phenotypic characteristics in plants and plant products.

Reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Malaysia, Australia or any other country.
The demand for oils and fats is expected to increase dramatically with the increase in world population and the need for sustainable resources. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis and Elaeis oleifera), which produces the palm oil and palm kernel oil, is the highest yielding oil crop in the world and was forecasted to contribute around a quarter of the world's oil and fats demand by the year 2020 (Rajanaidu, and Jalani, World-wide performance of DXP planting materials and future prospects. In Proceedings of 1995 PORIM National Oil Palm Conference.—Technologies in Plantation, The Way Forward. 11-12 Julai, Kuala Lumpur: Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia, pp. 1-29, 1995). Due to the demand, there is a need to increase the quality and yield of palm oil and palm kernel oil and to rapidly develop new characteristics when required.
Oil palm is the most important commercial crop in Malaysia. It has been identified as the most likely candidate for the development of a large scale production and renewal plant (Ravigadevi et al, Genetic engineering in oil palm. In Advances in Oil Palm Research. (eds). Yusof, Jalani, and Chan Malaysia Palm Oil Board. 1:284-331, 2000) for palm oil-derived chemicals. The ultimate aim is to genetically engineer the oil palm so as to modify its oil composition in order to expand its applicability. Moreover, the advancement in the genetic transformation of plants has made it possible to transfer foreign genes into the genome of oil palm (Parveez, Optimization of parameters involved in transformation of oil palm using the biolistic method. PhD. Thesis. Universiti Putra Malaysia, 1998). Introduction of foreign genes via genetic engineering will enhance the productivity and value of oil palm.
Genetic engineering is a specialized method of improving plant quality by introducing foreign genes into the whole plant by genetic transformation. Genetic engineering processes are often unique to particular plants. An efficient tissue culture system is required in order to produce genetically modified plants after successful delivery and integration of genetic material into cells which regenerate into a whole plant. The introduced genetic material needs to be present in all cells of the regenerated plant and its progeny. The expression of the genetic material may be in all cells or in particular cells, tissues or organelles. Tissue-specific and constitutive promoters are, therefore, required.


A defect inspection method and apparatus detect a defect which exists on the surface of a protection layer or a defect which exists in the protection layer and scatters the light on its surface, through the detection of the light which is derived from an illumination light and reflected on the protection layer surface and the light which is derived from a slit-formed illumination light and scattered in the area between the position where the light is incident to the transparent protection layer and the position where the surface of an element underneath the transparent protection layer is illuminated. An image process, which images two elements having the same appearance and compares the images, thereby to reduce inconsistent components emerging in portions other than a defective portion, is conducted through imaging under the bright field illumination and bright/dark field combined illumination, and the images are rendered the minimum filtering process based on 3-by-3 pixels and the defect judgement process based on comparison.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the inspection of visual defects on an object under test. The object may be an element coated with a transparent protection layer, such as a thin-film magnetic head used in a magnetic disk unit of a large computer system.
Pertinent conventional techniques applicable to a thin-film magnetic head will be explained. A thin-film magnetic head is fabricated by forming a number of elements on a ceramic wafer (termed simply "wafer" hereinafter) and thereafter separating the wafer into pieces. FIG. 1a is a plan view of an element, and FIG. 1b is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A--A' of FIG. 1a. The element is formed on a wafer 5, and is made up of a coil 1, a magnetic member 2, an insulation layer 4, and a transparent protection layer 3 which covers the components.
The protection layer may contain defects as shown in FIG. 2. A foreign particle 6 is a fragment of impurity which has fallen into and is embedded in the protection layer during the formation of the protection layer for example, and it may be a transparent particle which scatters the light on its surface or an opaque particle which virtually does not reflect the light. A void 8 is a recess which is formed after a foreign particle embedded in the protection layer has been ejected during the polishing process, and an etching remnant 9 is a part of a metallic pattern which has been left unremoved in the etching process.
If metal or other substance on the protection layer of the thin-film magnetic head falls to the disk surface during the operation of the magnetic disk unit, such a serious event as data loss will result due to head crashing. If a foreign particle or metallic etching remnant included in the protection layer appears on the side of a die following die separation, it will cause a crack or erosion by moisture on the protection layer, resulting in a pronounced degradation of reliability of the element. On this account, the protection layer must be inspected for defects thoroughly. However, these defects cannot be detected in terms of the electrical or magnetic characteristics of the element, and therefore visual inspection is indispensable.
A conventional technique for detecting a defect or foreign particle on an electronic circuit pattern is based on the bright field illumination (the light is incident perpendicularly to the object) or dark field illumination (the light is incident obliquely to the object), and the comparison of images of two inspection objects that have intrinsically the same appearance thereby to detect an inconsistent portion as a defect of one object. For example, supposing the presence of an etching remnant 9 on the surface of the protection layer of the coil 1, as shown in FIG. 3a and FIG. 3b which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C--C' of FIG. 3a, the coil 1 has a rough surface which scatters the light, and therefore the etching remnant 9 is detected as a bright image and the background coil 1 is detected as a dark image under the bright field illumination. Conversely, the etching remnant is detected as a dark image on the bright background under the dark field illumination. In any case, the defect has a high contrast image (the difference of brightness between the defect and its background), and the etching remnant 9 can be detected on the basis of comparison as an inconsistency between images of two elements that should have the same appearance inherently.
An example of conventional techniques for the visual inspection of thin-film magnetic heads is described in the proceeding of "The 4th Symposium on the Industrial Image Sensing Technique", items 106 through 111, sponsored by The Japanese Society for Non-Destructive Inspection, published in 1989, in which the area of pattern of the magnetic member is measured under the bright field illumination, and a defective shape of the magnetic member 2 is detected through the comparison of the measured area with the reference value.
The conventional technique based on the comparison of images of two elements having the same appearance is greatly affected by the element surface characteristics (roughness of the surface) coated by the protection layer. For example, supposing the presence of a transparent foreign particle 6 which reflects the light on its surface on the coil 1, as shown in FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line d--d' of FIG. 4a, with the coil 1 and foreign particle 6 have the nature of light scattering on the surface. Accordingly, both of the transparent foreign particle 6 and coil 1 are detected as dark images under the bright field illumination, or they are detected as bright images under the dark field illumination. As a result, the transparent foreign particle 6 has a low constrast in the whole image, and its detection will be difficult due to a small difference of element images in the comparative inspection. Another example of difficult defect detection is the presence of an etching remnant 9 on the magnetic member 2, as shown in FIG. 5a and FIG. 5b, which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B--B' of FIG. 5a. Both the magnetic member 2 and etching remnant 9 have a smooth surface, and they are detected as bright images under the bright field illumination or as dark images under dark field illumination, providing a low contrast defect.
The conventional technique based on the measurement of a pattern area and the comparison of it with the reference value also relies on the premise that the defective portion has a high contrast. Therefore, the technique will not be applicable to low-contrast defects, as mentioned above.
As described above, the conventional techniques do not consider various cases of the material of element and defect in the transparent protection layer and their surface property and optical characteristics, as encountered in the inspection of thin-film magnetic heads. On this account, if a defect which exists in the protection layer resembles the background element surface in the optical characteristics, the defect produces a low-contrast image, making its detection difficult.

Method and apparatus for the inspection of defects


A motor vehicle egress window comprises a circumferential outer frame forming an auxiliary egress opening for a motor vehicle passenger compartment and an inner frame unit. The outer frame has an outer frame member with an inner surface and at least a first striker pin. The inner frame unit is mounted to the outer frame for movement between closed and open positions has a circumferential inner frame, a glazing pane mounted to the inner frame, at least a first egress latch mounted to the inner frame, and a release mechanism. The egress latch is operative to latch to the striker pin to hold the inner frame unit in the closed position. The release mechanism includes a manually operative release handle, preferably mounted at an elevated position on a vertical side portion of the inner frame, and release linkage comprising at least a first link from the release handle to the first latch. In certain embodiments the inner and outer frames overlap radially for improved functionality.

It is known to use egress windows in various passenger vehicles, such as buses, railroad passenger cars and the like, to provide auxiliary means of egress for passengers to exit the vehicle quickly with little effort. Typically, such windows include a glazing panel in a frame hinged along one edge to the wall of the vehicle and a latch mechanism to releasably hold the framed panel in the closed position. By operation of the latch mechanisms the window can be quickly unlocked or disengaged and removed or allowed to pivot outward, thereby allowing passengers to leave the vehicle through the window opening. In motor vehicle applications, e.g., for use in passenger buses and the like, latching egress window assemblies of this type often must meet stringent specifications with respect to preventing unintended opening under substantial loading. Also, they must provide a watertight seal against the weather. Often, they also must meet other requirements, e.g., for low vibration noise, etc.
Various egress window designs and associated latch mechanisms are known. In the egress windows of U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,286, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes, a latch assembly comprises a release bar hingedly mounted to the frame of a window. The release bar is snap-fit over a keeper bar such that lifting the release bar allows the window to be opened. The egress windows of U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,280, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes, have an adjustable keeper. Another known egress window assembly design employs a keeper mounted to a wall, a release bar with a show surface (i.e., a surface exposed to the view of passengers) mounted to a lower frame of the window assembly and a release bar retention block to hold the release bar in an up position, keeping the release bar from contacting the wall and possibly damaging the show surface of the release bar when the window is pivoted. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes, egress windows are disclosed employing an improved latch assembly having enhanced latch strength and improved release bar retention to prevent scuffing or scratching of the interior show surface of the release bar. In certain exemplary embodiments of such egress windows, the window can be closed and a latch member engaged without returning the release bar to its full down position.
Improvements are needed or desired in egress windows, especially in egress windows for passenger vehicles, such as buses, railroad passenger cars and the like. In general, for example, improved performance is sought in the protection of the lock or latch mechanism against the infiltration of contaminates during use over time. In addition, egress windows are wanted which require reduced opening effort once the latch is released, i.e., reduced push out effort. It is an object of the present invention to provide egress windows having some or all of these performance improvements. Additional objectives will become apparent from the following disclosure.


Provided is a fuel fill opening structure which includes: a holder which forms a fuel supply passage; a main on-off valve which is arranged in the holder, and opens or closes the fuel supply passage; a drain opening which is drilled on an upstream side from the main on-off valve of the holder; a drain flap which is pivotably arranged at a position to come in contact with a fuel gun inserted into the holder; and a drain on-off valve which pivots along with pivot of the drain flap to open or close the drain opening. A first pivot amount of the drain flap, which is pivoted by being brought in contact with the fuel gun, is set to be larger than a second pivot amount of the drain on-off valve required to close the drain opening.

There has been a fuel fill opening structure of a capless type, which is provided in a fuel fill opening of a filler pipe. For example, in Patent Literature 1, a fuel fill opening structure is described, which includes a closing flap for opening or closing a fuel fill opening, a housing for covering a periphery of the fuel fill opening, and drain openings which are drilled upstream of the closing flap of the housing. With the fuel fill opening structure, dust and the like accumulated around the fuel fill opening are discharged outside through the drain openings and condensation inside is prevented.
The fuel fill opening structure described in Patent Literature 1 further includes, in the housing, a guide pipe which is movable along an insertion and removal direction of a fuel gun, a spring which biases the guide pipe toward a direction away from the fuel fill opening, and a packing mounted to an outer peripheral surface of the guide pipe.
According to the fuel fill opening structure of Patent Literature 1, normally when the fuel gun is not being inserted, the guide pipe and the packing are biased toward the direction away from the fuel fill opening by a biasing force of the spring to open the drain openings. Meanwhile, at the time of fueling, when the guide pipe is pushed by the fuel gun, the guide pipe and the packing are moved toward the fuel fill opening against the biasing force of the spring, to close the drain openings. This prevents vapor of fuel from being discharged outside at the time of fueling and prevents air (outside air) through the drain openings.


A board game for facilitating health education by involving players in scenarios leading to either “health” or “illness.” Players move game pieces along a path (16) between “health” (18) and “illness” (20) by drawing game cards depicting various health-related content specific to the theme of the game, deciding if the scenario relates to health or illness, and then moving the game piece in the appropriate direction to a corresponding color-coded space.

This disclosure relates to a board game for facilitating health education by fostering discussion of health-related issues and providing patients with real-life scenarios to implement and avoid.
Many of the health-related problems that people face stem from unhealthy choices that people make in the course of their daily lives. Consequently, individuals can reduce the risk of contracting any number of diseases and conditions by making appropriate lifestyle choices related to such areas as diet and exercise. However, many individuals, such as those adults with limited education or language ability and children, may not easily understand information regarding the relationship of lifestyle with health. Additionally, many people may fail to realize that the lifestyle choices they make can have either a positive or negative effect on their health.
Because of the complex nature of medical science, health education professionals need to clearly and effectively communicate topics of health education to a diverse audience in a simple and easy-to-understand manner.
Traditional methods of health education may not be appropriate for all individuals. For example, one common method—booklets and pamphlets—requires the patient to possess a fair degree of cognitive ability to process the information. Additionally, the subject matter may be complex or boring to the individual, resulting in failure to comprehend or retain the information provided. Furthermore, other educational methods such as a live lecture or video-taped presentation are "passive," requiring little activity on the part of the individual, leading to the possibility that the individual will retain only a small amount of the information. The obvious result being that the individual makes lifestyle choices that could be detrimental to his or her health.


The present invention can include an automated solution for incorporating diagnostic data within an image of a screen capture image. When a screen capture event is detected, a screen capture image can be generated. The software applications contained within the screen capture image can be identified. Diagnostic data pertaining to the identified software applications can be automatically collected and incorporated into the screen capture image file.

The present invention relates to the field of screen capture imaging, and, more particularly, to automatically incorporating diagnostic data within a screen capture image.
Diagnosing the cause of software application errors often requires a technical support agent to invest a considerable amount of time manually researching and/or compiling diagnostic data pertaining to the issue. In an attempt to assist the technical support agent with this task, a user will often provide a screen capture image of the error or issue. While the screen capture image provides a visual reference point for the technical support agent, the technical support agent must still conduct research into the underlying processes shown in the screen capture image.
Further, the technical support agent typically only has access to general diagnostic data of the software application, such as logs kept on an application server. The technical support agent is unable to access any diagnostic data that is specific to the user's client device. For example, a reference to a specific memory location on the client device remains unknown unless contained within a window of the software application present in the screen capture image.

Solution for automatically incorporating diagnostic data within screen capture images

International Business Machines Corporation


A method, apparatus, and system are described herein for driving a droplet ejection device with multi-pulse waveforms. In one embodiment, a method for driving a droplet ejection device having an actuator includes applying a multi-pulse waveform with a drop-firing portion having at least one drive pulse and a non-drop-firing portion to an actuator of the droplet ejection device. The non-drop-firing portion includes a jet straightening edge having a droplet straightening function and at least one cancellation edge having an energy canceling function. The at least drive pulse causes the droplet ejection device to eject a droplet of a fluid.

Droplet ejection devices are used for a variety of purposes, most commonly for printing images on various media. Droplet ejection devices are often referred to as ink jets or ink jet printers. Drop-on-demand droplet ejection devices are used in many applications because of their flexibility and economy. Drop-on-demand devices eject one or more droplets in response to a specific signal, usually an electrical waveform that may include a single pulse or multiple pulses. Different portions of a multi-pulse waveform can be selectively activated to produce the droplets.
Droplet ejection devices typically include a fluid path from a fluid supply to a nozzle path. The nozzle path terminates in a nozzle opening from which droplets are ejected. Each ink jet has a natural frequency which is related to the inverse of the resonance period of a sound wave propagating through the length of the ejector (or jet). The jet natural frequency can affect many aspects of jet performance. For example, the jet natural frequency typically affects the frequency response of the printhead. Typically, the jet velocity remains near a target velocity for a range of frequencies from substantially less than the natural frequency up to about 25% of the natural frequency of the jet. As the frequency increases beyond this range, the jet velocity begins to vary by increasing amounts. This variation is caused, in part, by residual pressures and flows from the previous drive pulse(s). These pressures and flows interact with the current drive pulse and can cause either constructive or destructive interference, which leads to the droplet firing either faster or slower than it would otherwise fire.
One prior ink jetting approach uses a pulse string followed by a cancelling pulse. The cancelling pulse is a shortened pulse that is timed so that the resulting pressure pulses arrive at the nozzle out of phase with the residual pressure from previous pulses. Given that jets will have a dominant resonant frequency, the cancellation features are timed in units of resonance period Tc.
Droplet ejection devices need to generate drops sustainably, obtain a required drop volume, deliver material accurately, and achieve a desired delivery rate. Drop placement errors with respect to a target degrade image quality on the target. FIG. 1 illustrates different types of drop placement errors. A drop 121 is fired through a nozzle plate 110 towards a target 130. Vertical line 171 represents an ideal straight drop trajectory. However, a nozzle error 141 results from a misalignment of the nozzle with respect to the target. Vertical line 180 represents a straight drop trajectory from the nozzle to the target with this line being orthogonal to the nozzle plate 110. An angle theta formed between the vertical line 180 and the actual trajectory 190 of the drop represents the jet trajectory error 151. A total drop placement error 161 equals the combination of nozzle placement error and jet trajectory error.

Method, apparatus, and system to provide multi-pulse waveforms with meniscus control for droplet ejection


A capacitor body of a multilayer feedthrough capacitor is arranged with grounding inner electrodes and signal inner electrodes. The grounding inner electrodes include first and second grounding main electrode portions, grounding connection electrode portions having no areas opposing the signal inner electrodes, and first and second grounding lead electrode portions. The signal inner electrodes include first and second signal main electrode portions, signal connection electrode portions having no areas opposing the grounding inner electrodes, and first and second signal lead electrode portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer feedthrough capacitor.
2. Related Background Art
Known as this kind of multilayer feedthrough capacitor is one comprising a capacitor body in which dielectric layers are alternately laminated with signal inner electrodes and grounding inner electrodes, and a signal terminal electrode and a grounding terminal electrode which are formed on the capacitor body (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 01-206615).


The invention is a process for purifying wastewater containing organic and color-causing pollutants. The three unit processes include a first stage aerobic or anaerobic biophysical treatment, a second stage oxidizer treatment, and a third stage adsorbent contact treatment. The biophysical treatment removes the majority of the pollutants while the oxidizer treatment destroys residual organics and color-causing pollutants. The adsorbent contact treatment destroys any residual oxidizer in the wastewater and/or adsorbs any residual oxidation products. The preferred adsorbent is powdered activated carbon and the preferred oxidizer is some form of chlorine, e.g. sodium hypochlorite. The process may be operated in either a continuous flow mode or a batch flow mode.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multi-step process for purifying wastewater containing organic and color-causing pollutants and more particularly to such processes including a biophysical treatment first stage, an oxidizer treatment second stage and an adsorbent contact treatment third stage.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Wastewaters generated in the production and use of organic-based dyes present a most difficult treatment problem. These wastewaters contain organic substances which may be measured by the pollutant parameter chemical oxygen demand (COD). These organic substances render the wastewaters highly colored which makes them aesthetically unacceptable. The organic components are difficult to remove with adsorbents and are resistant to biological degradation as well. Treatment which removes the major portion of the organic substances, as measured by COD, may still result in a highly colored effluent. Applicants have discovered a unique and economical process to effectively treat these difficult wastewaters.
A particularly useful process for removing pollutants from wastewater employs a mixture of bacteria and powdered activated carbon in a treatment zone. This process, called the PACT.RTM. treatment system, is disclosed by Hutton et al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,904,518 and 4,069,148. The PACT treatment system operates as a continuous flow process with an aeration basin followed by a separate clarifier to separate biologically active solids and carbon from the treated wastewater, and the settled sludge is returned to the aeration basin.
Copa et al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,810,386 and 4,897,196 disclose two-stage biophysical treatment systems for treatment of wastewaters. One operates in a continuous flow mode while the other operates in a batch mode. Complete settling of biophysical solids in the first stage is not required since the adsorbent contact second stage captures carried over solids.
Rose, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,128, discloses a process for decolorizing pulp mill wastewaters which contain color bodies. The wastewater is contacted with a carbon adsorbent which adsorbs the color bodies. After a time, the adsorbent is removed from use and heat treated to pyrolyze the adsorbed color bodies and regenerate the adsorbent for reuse. The wastewater may be preconditioned with a small amount of cationic flocculent to improve color removal.
Kamke, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,015 describes control of the color of a treatment system by removing color and oxidizable organic matter from thermally conditioned sludge liquor by treating the liquor with low dosage (250 to 430 mg/l) of chlorine which removes 20 to 70 percent of the color and produces a chlorine residual in the liquor.
Copa et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,815 disclose a two-stage process, including a biophysical anaerobic treatment stage followed by a biophysical aerobic treatment stage, for COD containing wastewaters.


An optical encoder utilizes a photodetector array having at least two photodetectors with different surface areas that generate different amounts of photocurrent when they are simultaneously lit by an LED. Because the photodetectors generate different amounts of photocurrent when simultaneously lit, the photodetectors produce unambiguous results that can be used to index a coding element such as a codewheel. Another optical encoder utilizes one index photodetector that is aligned with an index track and another index photodetector that is aligned with a position track of a coding element to index the coding element.

Optical encoders are used to monitor the motion of, for example, a shaft such as a crank shaft. Optical encoders can monitor the motion of a shaft in terms of position and/or number of revolutions of the shaft. Optical encoders typically use a codewheel attached to the shaft to modulate light as the shaft and the codewheel rotate. The light is modulated as it passes through a track on the codewheel that includes a pattern of transparent and opaque sections. As the light is modulated in response to the rotation of the codewheel, a stream of electrical signals is generated from a photodetector array that receives the modulated light. The electrical signals are used to determine the position and/or number of revolutions of the shaft.
Separate position and index tracks on the codewheel are used to determine position and number of revolutions. The position and index tracks must be precisely aligned with the corresponding position and index track photodetector arrays to achieve reliable results. Because each track must be aligned with its corresponding photodetector array, the task of alignment becomes more difficult as the number of tracks increases. Further, some applications of optical position encoders demand higher resolution position information, which requires smaller tracks and photodetector arrays. Smaller tracks and photodetector arrays add additional challenges to the task of alignment.

Photodetector array arrangement for optical encoders

Avago Technologies ECBU IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


An intra-oral whitening device that has a mouthpiece in which is embedded a flexible circuit board and arrays of spaced apart lamps. The mouthpiece has a curvature. The lamps may be light emitting diodes that generate electromagnetic radiation, preferably in the white and blue light spectrum and the infrared and ultraviolet light spectrum. The arrays are positioned to expose the facial and lingual sides of the teeth for whitening when the mouthpiece is positioned to fit upper and lower rows of teeth to be whitened within accommodating recesses. The flexible circuit board is flexed to exhibit a curvature that follows a curvature of the mouthpiece.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mouthpiece containing lamps to expose electromagnetic radiation to effect an oral treatment. For instance, the exposure could be to an adhesive whitening gel to whiten teeth. Alternatively, it may be to kill harmful bacteria in the mouth by exposure to the electromagnetic radiation.
2. Description of Related Art
Tooth whitening in the dental office takes up to 2 hours, expensive, is painful and the results will start to regress as early as 7 days after the treatment. The over-the-counter products are messy, can burn the fingers and the results usually take 7-10 days to see minimal improvement. The consumer needs a customizable whitening approach that gives the same results from professional whitening but at the convenience of the home and with much less money.
Whitening is governed by the concentration of the whitening active and the contact time (i.e., the time the agent is on the teeth). Whitening results are best achieved when there is high frequency of the whitening agent in a safe way and without the need of high concentration whitening agents that can burn the tissue. By increasing the frequency of the whitening by giving the consumer the ability to whiten at home, the regression phenomenon seen with the professional whitening will be eliminated.
It is desired to provide a whitening device that is coupled with a delivery system of the whitening gel and an adhesive that keeps hydrogen peroxide targeted to the area to whiten. Such a whitening device preferably causes no harmful breakdown by-products, and is delivered in a single dose hygienic way.
In addition, harmful bacteria is responsible for causing gum disease in the mouth. Specifically, the gram negative anaerobic bacteria is responsible. However, such bacteria is killed off from ultraviolet light exposure. It would therefore be desirable for a consumer to expose such bacteria to ultraviolet light on their own without relying on the assistance of professional help to do so.


A cooling system for an IC tester achieves an optimum temperature control in a sealed box type housing. The cooling system includes a sealed housing, a board rack for mounting a plurality of circuit boards horizontally, a back board mounted perpendicular to the floor of the sealed housing for controlling the air flow around the circuit boards wherein the back board is positioned at around the center of the sealed housing in such a way that a continuous air flow passage is formed between the back board and inner walls of the sealed housing so that the air flows circulate around the back board, a cooling tube connected to a heat exchanger in order to circulate cooling medium, a plurality of small sized fans forming a horizontal air passage between the heat exchanger and the boards within the sealed housing so that the temperature difference among the boards is minimized.

Most of the conventional box-type cooling systems incorporated in IC testers (hereinafter tester(s)) employ fans which are provided in a box like housing, wherein heat generated by an electric system of the tester is cooled by air flows generated by the fans.
In such a conventional technology, it is arranged that the fans mounted in the housing are propelled to take air into the electric system in the tester and the heated air is expelled from the housing to the room where the tester is located. However, this cooling system is disadvantageous because the room temperature where the tester is located increases as the number of the testers increases.
Therefore, in another conventional technology, a sealed box type cooling system is provided in the tester in order to solve the above problem. In this example, it is designed to control the temperature within the tester by sealing the housing and having a heat exchanger, a cooling device, and a fan therein. The fan sends air to the electric system in the housing. The cooled air passes through the heat exchanger while circulating within the sealed housing to control the temperature within the sealed housing. Therefore, this sealed housing type cooling system is more advantageous than the other cooling system which releases the heated air into the room where the tester is located. Furthermore, the sealed housing type cooling system is easier to control the temperature within the tester.
Such a conventional sealed housing type cooling system is shown in a plan view of FIG. 4A, a front view of FIG. 4B, and a left side view of FIG. 4C, respectively.
The conventional technology is explained in the following with reference to FIGS. 4A-4C. In a sealed housing 60, it is arranged that: boards 10 in which electric components are mounted are arranged on a board rack 15 in two layers; a power source unit 20 is arranged at the side position of the board rack 15; and heat exchangers 30 and 31 connected to a cooling tube 50 are provided in the lower side of the board rack 15 and the power source unit 20.
Cooling medium whose temperature is controlled circulates in the cooling tube 50. Because the boards 10 are provided in two layers in a vertical direction, plural fans 40 provided in the sealed housing 60 have to be large in order to generate sufficient air flows for the two layers. Thus, the size of the sealed housing 60 is adversely affected by the size of the plural fans 40 in that there arises a large dead space in the sealed housing 60.
Casters 62 are provided at the bottom of the sealed housing 60 for a precise adjustment of the tester position. In this conventional cooling system, since the housing is tightly sealed, the noise of the large fans 40 is not a major problem. The cooling system provides a dust free environment since the outside air never enters the tester except when the tester is opened for the repair and maintenance. The heated air will not escape from the housing because the heat generated by the electric system is transferred to the cooling medium. However, since the boards 10 are provided in two layers, a problem of temperature differences is occurred between the upper layer and the lower layer, which affects the performance of the boards 10 having high density electric components.
In other words, since the board rack 15 storing the boards 10 therein are provided in two layers, there arises a problem of difference in the cooling conditions between the upper and lower levels of the rack 15. In this structure of the conventional technology, since the cool air is sent from the lower to the upper direction, the air will be heated when it passes through the lower board 10 before coming to the upper board 10 and is further heated by the upper board 10. As a result, the temperature in the upper board is, for example, 5.degree. C. higher than the lower board. This temperature difference may deteriorate the operation of the VLSI (Very Large Scale Integrated) circuits and other electric components which are mounted on the boards 10.
Furthermore, the length of the air flow route in the sealed housing is quite large, which is about 5 meters, resulting in the temperature difference in the route. In order to solve this problem, the large sized fans 40 are provided in the housing. However, it still has a problem because as the size of the fans increases, the size of the sealed housing also increases. In addition, since the entire housing itself is intended to function as an air duct without employing a separate air duct therein, even though the housing would be tightly sealed, air often leaks.
Moreover, the conventional technology is further involved a problem in that an input/output side for connection of electric signals can be accommodated in only one side of the sealed housing due to the structural limitation of the sealed housing. This is because the cooling air circulates in three other directions with respect to the boards 10.
As technology advances, there is a high demand of installing a plurality of high density boards 10 in the tightly sealed housing, wherein the temperature difference should be controlled within a range of .+-.1.degree. C. In addition, there is a further demand that an overall size of the sealed housing should be minimized.


An electric heater support and mounting assembly is described for reducing or substantially eliminating noise resulting from the vibration in the heating element. The support and mounting assembly comprises a housing having a plurality of unique openings for receiving a plurality of arms extending from a support plate. The openings firmly engage the arms so as to prevent rattling while enabling the arms to move within the opening to accommodate thermal expansion of the support plate.

Electric heaters wherein a support and mounting assembly supports a plurality of insulators for a helical heating element are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,329,098 (Howard et al.), 5,324,919 (Howard et al.) and 4,617,547 (Howard et al.). In these patents, there are several types of heater support and mounting assemblies shown. Generally, these assemblies comprise a support element, for holding and supporting the insulators, mounted within a housing. The housing is generally a continuous U-shaped sheet of material designed to serve as a portion of the air duct in which the heater is to be inserted.
These patents depict and describe a variety of ways known in the art for attaching the support element to the housing. The heater support and mounting assembly in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,329,098 and 5,324,919 show the support element having projections which are inserted and extend through slots in the sidewalls of the housing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,547 shows an assembly where the support element has protruding down-turned rods which are received by projections along the outside edge of the housing. Some other ways of attaching the support element to the housing discussed in these patents include welding or riveting.
The problem with the support and mounting assemblies heretofore is that the support element was either rigidly affixed to the housing or loosely inserted into a portion of the housing. The support element provides support for the insulators which, in turn, support the electric heating element. The current running through the electric heating element induces a vibration in the support and mounting assembly that results in a noise, for instance a rattle or chatter, at any loose fitting connection. This noise has been a persistent problem for electric heaters wherein the support element is loosely inserted in a slot within the housing. This problem can be overcome by welding or riveting the support element to the housing. However, when the support element is rigidly affixed to the housing this reduces the assembly's ability to accommodate thermal expansion, particularly, in the support element which results in stresses in the support element and/or housing.
Therefore, there is a need for an electric heater support and mounting assembly that holds the support element in a manner that minimizes noise associated with vibration of the heating element while allowing the support element to move within the housing to relieve stresses resulting from thermal expansion.
Another concern in the design and manufacture of an electric heater support and mounting assembly is the number of parts and the expediency of the overall assembly process. Assemblies that require numerous parts generally require additional assembly steps and cost more than those utilizing fewer parts. Therefore, there is a need to provide an electric heater support and mounting assembly that can readily be assembled and has a minimum number of components.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electric heater support and mounting assembly having a plurality of joints each comprising an opening in a mounting element for receiving and firmly holding a portion of a support element in a manner that reduces or prevents the support element from rattling or chattering within the opening while allowing the inserted portion of the support element to move within the opening to accommodate thermal expansion of the support element.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electric heater support and mounting assembly having a plurality of joints each comprising an opening having a tension member which forces an arm of a support element extended through the opening against a side of the opening and thereby substantially reducing or preventing the arm from rattling or chattering within the opening.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an electric heater support and mounting assembly having a joint consisting essentially of an opening within a housing formed by removing material from the housing and a protruding member of a support element extending through the opening whereby the protruding member is able to move within the opening but is prevented from vibrating against the side of the opening.

Electric heater support and mounting assembly


A write driver for a memory circuit includes a control circuit configured to: operate a first push-pull driver to generate a first drive signal in a first voltage domain at a first node based on an input signal in a second domain and in response to a mode select signal being in a first mode, wherein the first drive signal is at a same logic level as the input signal; operate a second push-pull driver to generate a second drive signal in the first voltage domain at a second node based on the input signal and in response to the mode select signal being in the first mode, wherein the second drive signal is at a complement logic level with respect to the input signal; and operate the first and second push-pull drivers to float the first and second nodes in response to the mode select signal being in a second mode.

There are many types of memory circuits, such as static read access memory (SRAM), dynamic read access memory (DRAM), electrically erasable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, and other types of memory circuits. These memory circuits typically comprise a plurality of memory cells organized in a two-dimensional array. The memory cells are accessed by way of parallel word lines extending along one dimension (e.g., along the rows) of the memory array, and bit lines extending along an orthogonal dimension (e.g., along the columns) of the memory array. A particular memory cell is typically accessed by activating or applying a particular voltage to a word line coupled to that cell, and sensing a response from or applying another particular voltage to a bit line coupled to that cell.
In particular, with regard to writing data to a memory cell of a memory array circuit, a write driver is typically employed for writing data to cells in a particular column. The write driver is coupled to the bit line and the complementary bit line pertaining to a column of cells. When a data value of one (1) is to be written to a particular cell belonging to a column of cells, the word line coupled to the cell is activated. This has the effect of coupling the corresponding bit line and corresponding complementary bit line to the cell. The write driver is also activated to generate a logic high signal on the corresponding bit line, and a logic low signal on the corresponding complementary bit line. If the cell previously stored a data value of zero (0), the cell would change state and store a data value of one (1) in response to the bit line and the complementary bit line being driven to logic high and logic low, respectively. If, on the other hand, the cell previously stored a data value of one (1), the state of the cell would remain unchanged. The writing of a data value of zero (0) operates in a similar manner, except that the write driver generates a logic low signal on the corresponding bit line, and a logic high signal on the corresponding complementary bit line.
Often, the memory array circuit is incorporated into an integrated circuit along with other types of circuitry that may need interface to (e.g., read data from or write data to) with the memory array circuit. Generally, the logic level voltages required by the write driver to write data to memory cells are typically higher than the logic level voltages used by other types of circuitry on the same integrated. Accordingly, the write driver should be configured to level shift the voltages used by the other circuitry from a lower voltage domain to a higher voltage domain suitable for writing data to the memory array circuit.
Additionally, the write driver should not interfere or minimally interfere with the corresponding bit line and complementary bit line when no data is being written to a cell in the associated column. For instance, when data is read from a cell through the use of a sense amplifier, the write driver should not affect the ability of the sense amplifier to sense the voltage or data value stored in the cell. Accordingly, the write driver should be configured to substantially not interfere with the corresponding bit line and complementary bit line during times when no data is being written to a memory cell.

Apparatus and method for writing data to memory array circuits


A data storage device to communicate with a host is disclosed. The data storage device includes a controller to select a SATA mode or a USB mode and a SATA connector coupled to the controller. If the USB mode is selected for communication with the host, a plurality of pins of the SATA connector are utilized to transmit USB signals from the controller to the host.

Today, computing devices such as personal computers, laptop computers, server computers, personal digital assistants, cell-phones, smart phones, tablets, etc., are routinely used at work, home, and everywhere else and have become ubiquitous. Computing devices advantageously enable the use of application specific software, file sharing, the creation of electronic documents, and electronic communication and commerce through the Internet and other wired and wireless networks. A computing device may often interact with a data storage device.
Data storage devices, such as disk drives and solid state drives, may include a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) connector or a universal serial bus (USB) connector that interfaces through a link to a host computing device that likewise includes a corresponding SATA or USB connector. Unfortunately, data storage devices are separately manufactured for either a SATA mode implementation or a USB mode implementation for interaction with a host device which significantly increases development costs.
Therefore, there is a need for a data storage device that can communicate with a host device in either a SATA or USB mode.

Data storage device to communicate with a host in a SATA or a USB mode


The invention relates to a current collector foil made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, to the use of the current collector foil for batteries or accumulators, in particular lithium-ion accumulators, and to a method for producing the current collector foil. The object of providing a current collector foil, which has very good properties with regard to conductivity and tensile strength, and which can also be produced economically, is achieved in that the current collector foil has an acid-pickled or alkali-pickled surface.

Current collector foils often consist of an aluminium foil and additionally have a coating, which generally consists of a metal oxide, for example a lithium cobalt (III) oxide. An aluminium foil will be understood hereinafter to mean a foil consisting of aluminium or an aluminium alloy. During their production, aluminium foils are generally wetted with a rolling oil during the rolling process, for example so as to minimise friction effects, roller wear, or sticking of the rolled product during the rolling operation. However, the rolling oil must generally be removed again before further use of the aluminium foil. In particular with the use of aluminium foils for lithium-ion accumulators, for example as a current collector foil, the quality of the aluminium foil affects the quality of the produced lithium-ion accumulators. It is known from the prior art to clean, in particular to degrease, aluminium foil coated with rolling oil by subjecting the aluminium foil in the form of foil windings, so-called "coils", to a thermal treatment. However, the hard-rolled foil softens and recrystallizes according to temperature and treatment time. The aluminium foil loses a considerable amount of strength and is more difficult to process. In addition, the oxide layer thickens as a result of the heat treatment due to the influence of temperature and oxygen, which leads to an increased electrical resistance of the current collector foil. If the rolling oil is not removed completely, problems with regard to the adhesion of the metal oxide layer may also be encountered.
In order to solve the problem of softening, it is proposed in published patent application US 2009/0269609 to carry out a thermal treatment at temperatures between 80° C. and 160° C. However, it has been found that, depending on the temperature, time, winding structure of the coil and the surface roughness of the aluminium foil, thermal treatment cannot remove the rolling oil completely from a foil winding. Particularly at the low temperatures of 80° C. to 160° C., there is a risk that rolling oil residues remain on the aluminium foil, which is problematic for further processing, for example coating with metal oxide.
In addition, acid or alkali cleaning of aluminium strips, for example in a coil-to-coil method, is known. Aluminium strips are generally more than 100 μm thick, usually more than 200 μm thick. However, current collector foils are more than 2 to 8 times thinner than the aluminium strips cleaned previously by means of wet-chemical methods.
An aluminium current collector foil which is used for example in rechargeable batteries is known for example from JP 2008 258010 A. A degreasing treatment is carried in order to clean the aluminium foil after rolling from oil, wherein acids and bases can be used. These are used for dissolving the oil without causing damage to the material.
On this basis, the object of the invention is to provide a current collector foil, which has very good properties with regard to conductivity and tensile strength, and which can also be produced economically. In addition, the object of the invention is to propose a method for producing the current collector foil as well as advantageous uses of the current collector foil.

Chemically treated current collector foil made of aluminium or an aluminium alloy


A portable, hand held winding apparatus, a kit, and a method of using the winding apparatus, for rolling up or winding elongate bandages and the like, are disclosed. The winding apparatus includes a hand held rotary drive device having a motor-driven rotatable connector that is adapted to operatively engage a connecting member, the rotatable connector defining an axis of rotation. The winding apparatus also includes a tensioning member supportable on the rotary drive device, the tensioning member including a tensioning arm extending in a direction substantially parallel to the rotational axis of the rotatable connector of the rotary drive device, the tensioning arm defining a slot therein. The tensioning member may further be configured to include a tensioning mechanism. The winding apparatus further includes a winding peg configured to receive a bandage thereabout and including a connecting member extending axially therefrom. The connecting member being operatively engagable with the rotatable connector of the rotary drive device.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods for winding and re-winding reusable bandages such as gauze, elastic compression bandages and cotton bandages and, more particularly, to machines, device and apparatus and methods for re-winding elongated leg wraps (i.e., polo-wraps, etc.) commonly used for wrapping the legs and/or ankles of horses.
2. Background of related Art
It has been a long standing practice for handlers of horses to use elongated bandages or the like to wrap the legs of horses in order to protect the horse's legs during certain activities. The bandages or "wraps" (i.e., polo-wraps) typically used for this purpose are relatively long strips of cloth material which may have a certain amount of resiliency, yieldability or stretch so that the bandage may be wrapped, in a spiral fashion, around a leg of a horse to fit snuggly over the irregular leg contour. Bandages used for this purpose are often about a few inches wide (e.g., 4 or 5 inches) and may be about several feet long (e.g., 8 feet) so as to furnish enough length for wrapping an adequate distance along the leg of the horse.
These bandages are reused many times. Accordingly, in order to properly and easily wrap a horses leg with these bandages it is preferred that the bandages be in a rolled condition (i.e., in a relatively uniformly wound cylindrical shape or roll). These bandages are applied to the horse's legs when the horse is standing. Thus, it is more practical and easier for the bandages to be in a rolled condition when they are wrapped on to the horse's leg.
Since it is preferred and practical for the bandages to be wrapped onto the horse's legs while initially in a rolled condition, a great deal of time and effort is devoted to the task of winding the bandages into a roll following each use thereof.
Typically and in practicality, bandages of this type may not be and are not wound into a cylindrical roll at a designated location or site. These bandages are usually kept in relatively close proximity to the stall where the particular horse with which they are used is stabled. Additionally, it is impractical to carry the bandages to a designated location for winding, especially when the bandages are applied to the horse's legs immediately before the horse is to be exercised in an integral step of the grooming sequence which must be carried out in the stall location.
Accordingly, a need exists for a winding device which overcomes the drawbacks mentioned above and which accomplishes the objects detailed herein.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present disclosure to provide machines, device and/or apparatus for re-rolling relatively long, narrow bandages such as leg wraps or polo-wraps which overcomes the foregoing noted drawbacks.
In the achievement of this objective, the present disclosure provides a winding apparatus requiring no fixed installation or no attachment to a fixed structure, wherein the winding apparatus may be readily used at any location.
The present disclosure further provides a winding apparatus which may be operated with a single hand.
The present disclosure further provides a winding device which utilizes a winding peg which remains in the wound bandage following winding thereof and which facilitates application of the bandage to a horse's leg.
Additional objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become apparent from the description or can be learned by practice of the present disclosure. The advantages of the present disclosure can be realized and obtained by the apparatus particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Winding apparatus for bandages and related methods


A beehive pest trap includes a first surface, second surface, and side beams. The side beams are coupled to and support the second surface. The side beams are coupled to and positioned on the first surface. The second surface is coupled to and positioned on the side beams. The first surface, second surface, and side beams form a gate entrance. The second surface is positioned parallel to the first surface. The second surface is wider than the first surface. The gate entrance is positioned proximate to an insect trap. The second surface is L-shaped. The trap also includes a screen and a trap drawer. The first surface comprises a lateral side. The lateral side and the side beam form a cavity. The trap door is slidably positioned in the cavity. The insect trap includes the trap drawer. The second surface includes a pest door slidably coupled thereto.

Unprotected beehives may often be laden with pests that bring great damage to the hives the bees and beekeepers have worked so hard to build. The pests that can bring such damage include wax moths, small hive beetles, and Varroa mites which may feed in the honey, wax, pollen, or the bees themselves. As the pests carve out destruction, the wastes left behind can prevent the bees from using the damaged comb and rebuilding. Weak colonies of bees are especially susceptible to pest invasions as they do not have the resources to quickly remove them. There is a need in the art to provide a device that is easily attached to existing beehives that allows beekeepers to stop invading pests.
Unless otherwise specifically noted, articles depicted in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.


A solid-state imaging device according to an embodiment includes a plurality of pixels (20a) arrayed in a two-dimensional lattice, and a control unit (115). The pixel includes a first light receiving element (401a) that outputs a first photocurrent corresponding to received light, a second light receiving element (401b) that outputs a second photocurrent corresponding to received light, a conversion unit (300) that converts a current into a voltage, an output unit (320 or 330) that detects an event based on a change in the voltage converted by the conversion unit, and outputs a detection signal indicating a detection result of the detection, and a switch unit (113a) that performs switching of switching the current to be converted into the voltage by the conversion unit between the first photocurrent and the second photocurrent. The control unit controls the switching performed by the switch unit.

In a solid-state imaging apparatus using a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) or the like, an asynchronous solid-state imaging device in which for each pixel address, a detection circuit that detects, as an address event, a signal indicating that the amount of light received by a light receiving element in each pixel exceeds a threshold value in real time is provided for each pixel has been proposed (for example, Patent Literature 1). As stated above, the solid-state imaging device that detects the address event for each pixel is called a dynamic vision sensor (DVS).

Solid-state imaging device, method of controlling solid-state imaging device, and electronic device

SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION


A bassinette having a front wall that may selectively be set at a height substantially equal to the height of other walls of the bassinette, or alternatively released to allow the front wall to have a lower height than remaining walls, wherein the method of attachment of a cross-member supporting the top edge comprises receiver cups, and a retractable tongue to allow the cross-member to be selectively trapped between the receiver cups, in a manner requiring only a single hand for insertion and removal of the cross-member from the structure of the bassinette.

Bedside bassinettes are bassinets designed to allow the bassinette to be placed alongside a parental bed, to provide a safe location for an infant to sleep, while keeping the infant immediately adjacent to a parent.
Bedside bassinettes typically have a sleeping surface, positioned at or below the top surface of a parental bed against which the bedside bassinette has been placed. In order to prevent a sleeping infant from accidentally rolling off of the sleeping surface, the bedside bassinette typically has walls around the edges of the sleeping surface which are not abutted against a parental bed.
The inclusion of a wall along the edge of the sleeping surface which abuts the parental bed (hereafter referred to as the front edge in order to simplify the reference) may allow the bedside bassinette to be used as a conventional bassinette, when the wall is positioned to prevent an infant from rolling off the sleeping surface along that edge. Obviously, the inclusion of a fixed front wall can interfere with the ability of the bassinette to be used as a bedside bassinette. Such a fixed front wall could also limit the utility of the device as a changing table when the bedside bassinette is positioned away from a parental bed.
In order to allow a wall to be placed along this front edge, therefore, a cross-member is typically implemented, such that with the cross-member included, the wall along the front edge can be attached to the cross-member at an upper end to provide structural stability to the front wall. The upper cross-member, however, may need to be removed for the bassinette to be utilized as a bedside bassinette or changing table.
As shown in Applicant's earlier patents, the front wall may be formed from a flap which extends from the front edge of the sleeping surface, such that with the flap hanging below the sleeping surface, the bedside bassinette may be suitable for use as a changing table, while with the flap attached to the crossbar, the bedside bassinette may be suitable for use as a conventional bassinette.
In Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,678,211, the use of a bedside bassinette having a front wall positioned at an intermediate height was disclosed. The use of the intermediate height provides additional safety for an infant laying on the sleeping surface. The front wall may be joined to the surrounding wall, such that it is ensured that a wall surrounds the sleeping surface to prevent an infant from rolling off of the sleeping surface. The use of an intermediate height front wall does not preclude either the use of a front flap style front wall, or the addition of a flap to the top edge of a joined intermediate height wall, such as to allow positioning of the front wall to create a conventional bassinette.
Accordingly, there are at least three potential positions at which it could be desired to have a front crossbar to provide support to a front wall, i.e., adjacent the sleeping surface, at the intermediate position, and at a full height position (such that the front wall has the same height as the other wall sections surrounding the sleeping surface.
Different methods of attaching the front crossbar have been used, such as the slide locks shown in Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,148,456, 6,678,211, and 6,112,347. These methods each implement an attachment at both ends in order to allow the height of the front crossbar to be adjusted. These methods, however, may be cumbersome if one-handed adjustment of the crossbar is attempted, such as when a care-giver is holding an infant while attempting to adjust the height of the front crossbar.


An integrated circuit comprising a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) controller to execute RISC instructions, one or more digital signal processing (DSP) units to execute DSP instructions, and a unified instruction pipeline coupled to the RISC controller and the one or more DSP units, the unified instruction pipeline to decode and initiate execution of the RISC instructions and the DSP instructions of a unified RISC and DSP instruction set, the unified instruction pipeline to decode and initiate the RISC instructions when the DSP instructions are inactive, and to decode and initiate the DSP instructions when the RISC instructions are inactive.

Power consumption in an integrated circuit can be caused by many factors, including the power required to switch parasitic capacitance in the wiring of an integrated circuit. The equation for computing average power dissipated in a capacitor each time that it is switched is
  P  =            1      2                  CV      2                  F      .      There are a number of well known ways to reduce power consumption in an integrated circuit. One well known way is to reduce the power supply voltage that is provided to the integrated circuit. Another well known way is to reduce the frequency F at which circuitry and any capacitance is switched. Usually this is done by shutting off clocks to certain clocked circuitry in unnecessary functional blocks.
As integrated circuits have become functionally more complex, it has become ever more important to reduce power consumption. This is particularly important in integrated circuits with many transistors, wide data buses and large memory arrays. Access to a memory array that stores operands may be very frequent, particularly in digital signal processing applications so it is important to reduce power consumption in these instances.
Power reduction is important in order to reduce the heating of the integrated circuit to avoid damage and lower packaging costs for the integrated circuit.
Like reference numbers and designations in the drawings indicate like elements providing similar functionality. A letter after a reference designator number represents an instance of an element having the reference designator number.

Unified shared pipeline allowing deactivation of RISC/DSP units for power saving


A flat tray (1) for receiving a disk cartridge (21) for a disk loading apparatus, wherein positioning holes (28) are provided at the rear end (27a), on a peripheral side, of the disk cartridge, and protrusions (18) are formed on the tray providing for a rigid positioning of the cartridge in order to fix the cartridge at the specified position on the tray. The protrusions (18) may be made of leaf springs that are formed with one end curved. When the disk cartridge (21) is pushed into the tray (1), the curved portions of the protrusions match the positioning holes (28) on the disk cartridge.

The present invention relates to a disk cartridge accommodating a disk for storing information such as an optical disk, and a tray for loading such a disk cartridge and conveying into a disk loading apparatus.
Recently, an information recording and reproducing apparatus using an optical disk has come to be used in a personal computer or the like. In the information recording and reproducing apparatus, a disk cartridge accommodating the optical disk is used, and also a disk loading apparatus for setting the cartridge at the recording and reproducing position is used.
The disk cartridge is composed of a molded resin case having a window extending from the middle to the end formed on the face side and the back side, a shutter covering the windows and movable in the lateral direction, and an optical disk put in the case.
The disk loading apparatus comprises a tray for conveying the mounted disk cartridge up to the recording and reproducing position, fixing means for fixing the disk at the recording and reproducing position, and rotating means for rotating the disk. The tray is assembled in the disk loading apparatus so as to move in the longitudinal direction. This tray move is effected usually by a loading motor. On the outer circumference of the tray, a surrounding wall is nearly in the same height as the thickness of the disk cartridge so that the disk cartridge may not slip off the tray during conveyance.
In this disk loading apparatus, first the tray is drawn out, and the disk cartridge is mounted on the tray so that the shutter may be located in the inserting direction. Next, the tray moves into the disk loading apparatus, and the disk is fixed at the recording and reproducing position, Consequently, the shutter is opened, and the disk rotates to record or reproduce.
In such conventional disk loading apparatus, when the cartridge is merely put on the tray and is not fixed on the tray, the cartridge may possibly happen to move during conveyance. In particular, when the disk loading apparatus is installed so that the disk surface may be vertical, during conveyance, the cartridge may sway in its thickness direction and the cartridge may not be fixed correctly at the specified position.
Besides, when setting the cartridge on the tray, if the cartridge is set upside down by mistake, it is directly conveyed, and correctness of the cartridge loading operation cannot be easily distinguished.

Tray with positioning protrusion for loading a disk cartridge

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A friction plate that is used in a friction engagement device configured to engage an input rotary member and an output rotary member with each other, the friction plate including a base plate having an annular plate shape; and a friction member provided on the base plate in a circumferential direction of the friction plate.

The disclosure of the present disclosure to be disclosed in this specification relates to a friction plate and a hydraulic transmission apparatus.
A friction plate of this type has been hitherto proposed that includes a base plate having an annular plate shape and a plurality of friction members fixed to at least one side of the base plate, at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction of the base plate, and that is configured to press the friction members into contact with a counterpart plate (another friction plate) opposite to the friction members when the clutch is engaged (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-156021). After each friction member of this friction plate is formed by punching, a step portion is formed by compression molding at each end of the friction member in the circumferential direction in order to remove edges in the circumferential direction resulting from punching. Thus, scraping off of an oil film by remaining edges can be prevented, so that a sufficient oil film is formed between the friction plate and the counterpart plate to stabilize the drag torque.

Friction plate and hydraulic transmission apparatus


A method for designing and manufacturing a monofocal ophthalmic lens and corresponding lens. A surface of the monofocal ophthalmic lens is defined by:f(x,y)=a1+a2√{square root over (1−a3x2−a4y2)}+a5exp{a6x4+a7y4+a8x2y2}wherein x and y are perpendicular optical axes of the lens in a plane, wherein a1-a8 are coefficients, and wherein a5 is other than 0 and at least one of a6, a7 and a8 is other than 0, including a hyperbolic component and an exponential component. The coefficients can be calculated by an iterative calculation and the merit function as follows:

For the purpose of providing added value to lenses of this type, different designs have been developed over the years. These designs seek to correct aberrations perceived by the wearer due, among others, to placing the lens in a specific position and inclination with respect to the eye. To that end monofocal designs which try to correct those possible aberrations introduce variations into the geometry of the sphero-toric surface for the purpose of reducing said aberrations of the lens or equivalently increasing wearer comfort. These modifications can be, for example, introducing aspherical, aspherotoric or atoric surfaces to decrease oblique astigmatism; or the inclusion of a small addition in the lens to improve comfort in near vision.
The literature shows various possibilities for designing the new surfaces, the most common being those generated by conic curves:c(y2+(1+Q)x2)−2x=0where c is the curvature of the surface at the source and Q is the asphericity. Depending on the value of Q it is possible to generate hyperbolic surfaces (Q<−1), parabolic surfaces (Q=−1), spherical surfaces (Q=0) and surfaces in the form of ellipsoids (−1<Q<0 or Q>0). With said conic curves it is possible to reduce different types of aberrations (oblique astigmatism, curvature of field, distortion, magnification, etc.) which are generated due to the position of the lens with respect to the eye.
Prior studies have established an angle α of 30° as a limit for the line of sight displacement with respect to the neutral position (corresponding to 0°), after which the wearer accompanies with head movements for the rotation to be made. Therefore, conic curves are generally used to minimize the weight of the aberrations taking into account a cone of vision forming the gaze direction of the wearer at 30°, because it is also known that if a 30° angle is corrected, all angles less than that have a considerably low aberration level. Even still, these optimizations are normally limited to certain prescription or base curve ranges or to cutting one or both surfaces of the lens.
Documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,960,442, 5,083,859, 5,825,454, US 2006/0132708 and ES 2,337,970 describe various examples.

Method for designing and manufacturing a monofocal ophthalmic lens and corresponding lens

Abstract: fm  =            [                        ∑          i                                              α            i                                                        m              i              2                                                  (              β              )                                          ]              1      /      2      where mi is a value of an optical property at a specific viewing angle β with respect to an optical axis of the lens, and αi is a weighting value.


A network device is provided with a storage and adapted to be connected to a network. A document acquirer is operable to acquire a structured document in which a rule of processing executed by the network device is described by at least one first element defining at least one condition and at least one second element defining at least one content of the processing. A document analyzer is operable to analyze the structured document to obtain an analysis result and to store the analysis result in the storage. An operation controller is operable to control an operation of the network device in accordance with the analysis result stored in the storage.

The present invention relates to a network device which is connectable to a network, and a method for controlling the network device.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-145490A discloses a network device which uses a layout based on preset format setting information when outputting internal information, such as various settings, by way of a communication device such as a facsimile. This device enables alteration of the layout used for outputting the internal information by changing the format setting information.
However, the above-described communication device enables relatively easy alteration of the layout used at the time of output of internal information, but does not cope with customization of specifics of other processing. A conceivable technique for realizing customization of specifics of processing is a technique for setting parameters used for controlling specifics of processing by way of an exclusive screen. In this case, there is a tendency for limiting specifics of processing which can be customized, because of limitations imposed on the screen layout.

Method and apparatus for controlling a network device using XML and conditional processing