A calibration for a scanner, which is used as a densitometer, is carried out always with high accuracy. More specifically, an image processing method of generating a conversion condition for a scanner which is used for reading an image and generating image data, is provided. The method including the steps of: obtaining a reading property of an object scanner based on image data obtained by that the object scanner reads a chart, and generating the conversion condition for the object scanner based on the reading property of the object scanner, a previously prepared reading property of a standard scanner and a previously prepared brightness-density conversion condition for the standard scanner.

It is generally known that the printing characteristics of a printing apparatus such as a color printer may change owing to environmental conditions such as the temperature and humidity of the environment in which the printing apparatus is being used. The condition of the environment is not the only factor. There are instances where printing characteristics change as a result of using the printer over a certain period of time. For example, in the case of an electrophotographic printer, there are instances where the photosensitivity characteristics of the photosensitive drum change owing to the aforementioned environmental conditions and due to aging with use, as a result of which printing characteristics such as tonality observed in printed images or the like change from what is desired. In the case of an ink-jet printer, it is known that a change in printing characteristics may occur owing to a change in the ink discharge characteristics of the printhead.
In general, a printer is calibrated to deal with the above-described changes in printing characteristics. In this case, a change in the printing characteristics of individual printers is not the only problem. An additional problem is that in an information processing system in which a plurality of printers are connected via a network, there is a difference in printing characteristics from one printer to another. Accordingly, not only is calibration of each individual printer required but it is also necessary to perform a calibration for the purpose of reducing variations in printing characteristics from one printer to another.
In the prior art, calibration of a printer fundamentally is carried out based upon a command input from a user. For example, when the user observes that the tonality of a printed image is not what is desired, the user commands execution of calibration using a control screen displayed on the printer or on a computer, etc., that is connected to the printer.
However, executing calibration of a printer often is troublesome and such calibration is a task that demands considerable user labor. For example, consider calibration of a printer in which image processing such as a luminance-to-density conversion and a gamma conversion is executed to finally acquire binary data and printing is carried out based upon this data. In order that the results of calibration executed with regard to a gamma correction table will be reflected in the printer in this case, an input of some kind is required at the printer based upon data obtained by the calibration. Making such an input is comparatively troublesome as far as the user is concerned.
Further, there are cases where separate operations are required regarding the printer and the computer connected to the printer in relation to a series of processes involved in execution of calibration, such as the printing and reading of patch data and entry of calibration data. Since these operations cannot be performed at one stroke, a great amount of labor is demanded of the user.
Furthermore, in an information processing system in which a plurality of printers are connected via a network, the above-described operations and processes involved in calibration must be performed a number of times equivalent to the number of connected printers. These operations and processes involved in calibration therefore complicate the user's task even more. Moreover, even if a single printer is shared by a plurality of computers, it is difficult for each user to execute calibration handily when necessary.

Printer correcting apparatus and method of controlling same


A theft detection method for a rotary laser tool includes using a motion sensor incorporated into a base unit of the rotary laser tool to detect movement of the base unit, monitoring duration of movement of the base unit as indicated by the motion sensor using a control system of the rotary laser tool, and activating an alarm indicator in response to the duration of movement being greater than a predefined threshold.

Rotary laser levels are measurement and layout tools that are configured to project a laser beam in a complete 360° circle. Positioning a rotary laser level in the center of a room or work area enables a level laser line to be projected around the entire room or work area. This enables all types of work to be performed including site grading, laying out foundations for building construction, installing drop-ceilings, pouring concrete, installing chair rails, installing fences, and more. Rotary laser levels are either of the manual or automatic leveling type. Manual leveling requires that the operator manually adjust the level of the laser beam to achieve level positioning. In rotary laser levels with automatic leveling, the laser assembly is typically mounted on a pendulum arrangement and is configured to use gravity and/or a leveling mechanism, such as a servo-motor, to achieve level positioning.
Some rotary laser levels are configured to work with a remote unit. The remote unit is capable of controlling the operation of the laser level remotely so that a single person can operate the laser level. The remote unit may also include a laser detector or receiver. This facilitates the detection of the laser beam outdoors, and also allows other information to be determined, such as horizontal and vertical reference positions, and distance measurements.
There are a number of issues that are faced in the using and caring for rotary laser levels. For example, rotary laser levels are valuable tools which make them a target for thieves. In addition, they require a high degree of accuracy which may require regular servicing and calibration checks to maintain. Because the remote/receiver unit is a separate device from the base unit, care must be taken to ensure that the remote/receiver unit does not become misplaced and that the remote/receiver unit is charged.


The present invention relates to a thermoplastic resin composition and a method for making the same. The composition comprises the reaction product of about 10 wt % to about 50 wt % polyphenylene ether, about 35 wt % to about 65 wt % polyamide, preferably about 0.4 wt % to about 3.0 wt % carbon fibrils, and optionally about 5 wt % to about 40 wt % talc, up to about 10 wt % compatibilizing agent and up to about 20 wt % impact modifier. The method comprises forming a carbon masterbatch with polyamide and introducing the masterbatch and the polyamide subsequent to compounding the polyphenylene ether with a compatibilizing agent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conductive thermoplastic resin, and especially relates to a conductive polyphenylene ether-polyamide blend.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Poly(phenylene ether) resins (referred to hereafter as "PPE") are commercially attractive materials because of their unique combination of physical, chemical, and electrical properties. Furthermore, the combination of these resins with polyamide (PA) resins into compatibilized blends results in additional overall properties such as chemical resistance, high strength, and high flow. Examples of such compatibilized blends can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,315,086 (Ueno, et al); 4,659,760 (van der Meer); and 4,732,938 (Grant, et al). The properties of these blends can be further enhanced by the addition of various additives such as impact modifiers, flame retardants, light stabilizers, processing stabilizers, heat stabilizers, antioxidants and fillers.
The physical properties of PPE/polyamide blends make them attractive for a variety of end-use articles, for example, in the automotive market, for various exterior components. Dimensional behavior of these components is critical due to the differences in coefficient of thermal expansion, which can be improved by adding fillers (organic/inorganic) as known to those skilled in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,382 to Nahass et al., discloses a polymeric composition comprising carbon fibrils, at least a portion of which are in the form of aggregates, wherein, as measured on an area basis, substantially all of the aggregates are less than about 35 {circumflex over (1)}¼ in diameter. The polymeric composition is prepared by combining the carbon fibrils with a polymeric material, mixing the combination to distribute the fibrils in the polymeric material and applying shear to the combination to break down the aggregates until substantially all of the aggregates are less than about 35 {circumflex over (1)}¼ in diameter. Nahass et al. teach the use of a lower loading of the conductive fibrils in order to achieve a certain conductivity while retaining better impact performance compared to carbon black or carbon fibers.
Although numerous PPE/polyamide compositions having a variety of properties are available, compositions having alternative properties are continuously sought in the industry.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Conductive polyphenylene ether-polyamide blend


A method to manufacture microfluidic sensors 100, 100′, 132, 280, 380, includes stacking a plurality of layers of material to form at least a first cap layer 102, a first channel layer 104, an interrogation layer 106, and a second channel layer 108. During assembly, ribbon sections of substrate layers are sandwiched to cooperatively align elements through-the-thickness of the sandwich. Individual sensors are then removed from the sandwich ribbon 504. A componentizing step includes forming one or more element for successive sensors spaced along the axial length of a ribbon of substrate material. Certain elements include electrically conductive patterned structures 250 printed onto a substrate using conductive ink and a printing process. Sometimes, the printing process places material in operable position to conduct electricity through the thickness of at least one ribbon. Other elements may include channels 112, 116; tunnels 114, and vias 260, 268.

The principle of particles causing a change in electric impedance as they occlude a portion of an aperture between electrically charged vessels is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,656,508 to W. H, Coulter. Since publication of his patent, considerable effort has been devoted to developing and refining sensing devices operating under the Coulter principle. Relevant United States patents include U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,878 to Fisher; U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,819 to Gascoyne et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,437,551 to Krulevitch et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,426,615 to Mehta; U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,394 to Frazier et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,945 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,896 to Weigl et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,656,431 to Holl et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,794,877 to Blomberg et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,417,418 to Ayliffe. All of the above-referenced documents are hereby incorporated by reference, as though set forth herein in their entireties, for their disclosures of technology and various sensor arrangements.
The ability of certain particles to emit radiation at a different frequency than an applied excitation frequency is commonly known as Stokes-shift. Recent United States patents disclosing structure related to interrogation of such phenomena include: U.S. Pat. No. 7,450,238 to Heintzmann, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,444,053 to Schmidt, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,420,674 to Gerstner, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,416,700 to Buechler, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,312,867 to Klapproth, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,300,800 to Bell, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,221,455 to Chediak, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,515,268 to Ayliffe, et al. All of the above-referenced documents are hereby incorporated by reference, as though set forth herein in their entireties, for their disclosures of relevant technology and various sensor arrangements.

Method for manufacturing a microfluidic sensor


A material-discerning device is arranged to include an antenna, a proximity sensor, a band pass filter and a processor. The antenna radiates a radio-frequency signal and a material object is located in the field created by the antenna and near the proximity sensor. Change in the amplitude of the radio-frequency signal due to the presence of the material object is detected by the proximity sensor. The change in amplitude of the radio-frequency signal is stored. The frequency of the radio-frequency signal is changed and the process is repeated until a range of frequencies have been swept and stored. After the range of frequencies has been swept and stored, the processor determines the type of material of the material object using the results of the changes in amplitude of the radio-frequency signals.

Material media change the properties of electromagnetic energy transmitted through them. Permittivity and permeability are electrical characteristics of material media. The permittivity of a medium describes how much electric flux is generated per unit charge in that medium. Permeability is the measure of the ability of a material to support the formation of a magnetic field within itself. Because material media have different electrical characteristics (i.e. different permittivity and permeability) with respect to electromagnetic energy, material media can be identified by their response to electromagnetic energy.

Material determination by sweeping a range of frequencies


A diffuser may comprise an inlet and an outlet. The inlet may comprise an arcuate shape. The outlet may comprise an annular shape. The diffuser may transition from the arcuate shape at the inlet to the annular shape at the outlet. The diffuser may comprise a radially inner wall and a radially outer wall disposed opposite the radially inner wall. The radially inner wall and the radially outer wall may partially define a duct.

A ramjet engine may include a rotating detonation engine having a diffuser to feed the rotating detonation engine. The diffuser may be configured to reduce a flow from a supersonic inlet to subsonic conditions prior to entering the rotating detonation engine. Typical diffusers include a radial duct having an annular shape. Typical diffusers may limit a design space proximate the diffuser.


When signal charges stored in a vertical transfer shift register (8V) of a CCD (8), for example, are shifted to a horizontal transfer shift register (8H), signal charges of a predetermined line are shifted at low speed and signal charges of other lines are shifted at high speed. Thus, a camera having an area sensor formed of a solid state imager element (CCD) or the like can pick up an image in the form of a standard television signal and also can serve as an entirely electronic slit camera.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to camera apparatus such as a slit camera or the like and, more particularly, to a camera apparatus suitable for taking a picture of an object which is moving at high speed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Slit cameras are widely used to decide the result of the race of objects which are moving at high speed. Because standard system television cameras cannot take a picture of an object which is moving at high speed, the slit camera is designed to capture an image of an object in a line fashion. FIG. 1A shows a simplified arrangement of the conventional slit camera.
Referring to FIG. IA, an object 1 is moving at high speed in the direction shown by an arrow D. An object image is picked up on a line sensor 3 through a relay lens 2 and a video signal V is generated from the line sensor 3 in response to a picked-up image 4 on the line sensor 3.
FIG. 1B shows another example of a conventional slit camera in which a slit image is focused on an area sensor 8.
As shown in FIG. 1B, a picked-up image of an object 1 which is moving at high speed in the direction shown by an arrow D becomes incident on each plane of a polygon mirror 7 through a relay lens 2 and a slit 6 formed on the slit plate 5. The polygon mirror 7 is rotated in the counter-clockwise direction shown by an arrow in FIG. 1B so that images reflected on the respective planes of the polygon mirror 7 from the slit 6 are sequentially projected onto the area sensor 8 as projected images 4, 4, 4 . . . Then, these projected images 4, 4, 4, . . . are output as the video signal V.
According to the prior-art slit camera shown in FIG. 1A, the camera apparatus must be formed by special sensors such as a line sensor or the like and the area sensor 8 such as a solid state image pickup device (hereinafter simply referred to as a CCD (charge-coupled device)) or the like utilized in ordinary cameras cannot be utilized as the image pickup means.
Even though the conventional slit camera using the polygon mirror as shown in FIG. IB can use the area sensor 8, such slit camera needs a mechanical rotating mechanism such as the slit plate 5 and the polygon mirror 7.
Further, the area sensor using only one CCD or the like cannot provide sufficient resolution.
Furthermore, if a color camera apparatus uses the slit plate 5 and the polygon mirror 7, then a mechanical rotating mechanism is needed, which causes deterioration in a color band characteristic as a result.

Camera apparatus selectively operable as a fully electronic slit camera


A laser is used to radiate a non-homogeneous body comprising two or more materials, with varying scattering characteristics with reference to the radiation. The ballistic or snake radiation is detected as reflected radiation form incident points in the radiation light path and use to construct data indicative of one or more features of the body such as the interface between two of the varying characteristic materials which are in the radiation light path.

None
This invention is in the field of non-intrusively analyzing variations or changes in the different scattering mediums within a non-homogeneous body, by the use of collimated light pulse with a pre-determined pulse duration to illuminate the mediums and by detection of the varying scattering effects on the light produced by the variations in the mediums scattering characteristics.
There exist many systems using collimated light from a laser source to illuminate a subject and then by analyzing the light as affected by subject, to determine one or several properties or characteristics of the subject. For example, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,866, a short pulse of laser radiation is directed at a subject, which may be tissues, liquids, gases, or solid particles in a suspension, and light reflected or scattered from the subject is scanned by an electro-optical imaging means to generate image signals. Light from the subject causing variable fluorescence or spectral radiation, is detected as varying signals which are processed to detect cancerous cells, to quantize the cells as to number, shape or distribution, and to the stage of development.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,353 uses a group of sources of light at different wavelengths and detectors to generate a plurality of time resolved intensity data of back-scattered light from a highly scattered turbid medium and a reconstruction algorithm to reconstruct an image of the medium.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,077 shows how cancerous tissue within healthy tissue may be illuminated with collimated light from a laser source so the portion of the light transmitted though the cancerous tissue is captured as a shadow due to the varying absorption and scattering properties of the cancerous tissue relative to the healthy tissue. In the disclosed system, a light wavelength is chosen so an image is formed from the luminescent light from the subject and the light scattered by the scattering medium.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,988 uses a laser light source to illuminate a highly scattering turbid medium with a pulse of light. Light from the medium is received by a plurality of intersecting source/detecting sets in combination with time resolving equipment to produce a number of time-resolved intensity curves for the diffusive component of the light emerging from the medium over a relatively long period of time. Each of curves is processed according to an inverse reconstruction algorithm to form an image of the subject.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,463 discloses a system for improving the signal to noise ratio of an image signal produced by directing collimated light to an image hidden within a highly scattering semi opaque disordered medium by using space gated imaging or time gated imaging.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,656 produces an image of a subject located in or behind a turbid media, such as for example, in the cancer screening of breasts. It utilizes a special property of calcification in breast tissues that are suggestive of cancers and which can be discovered using optical imaging, with time and space gating of the light emerging from the illuminated medium.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,276 is similar to U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,866 in its use of collimated light and computer analysis of reflected and fluorescent light from the illuminated subject.
In addition to the patented systems described above, other methods and systems have attempted to use light in different diagnostic methodologies because of its low cost and its non-intrusive and non-ionizing radiation effects. While short pulse lasers were used, the focus of these systems was on analysis of the effect of the subject or probed material on the long term or diffusive component of emerging light or steady state light transmitted through the illuminated material or on the effect of the subject or probed material on the light altered by the transmittance characteristics of the subject material. A disadvantage of these systems is the derived transmittance signal lacks a direct precise correlation between the property of the light illuminating the subject scattering and absorbing medium, for example a tumor, with different transmittance characteristics relative to its surrounding normal tissue, and the different effects or the varying effects on the radiated light produced by the related varying characteristics of the tumor and normal tissue, requiring a complex inverse analysis algorithm to reconstruct the Image.
In the case of scattered or reflected light, relative to the incident light, the temporal profile of the different reflectance signals produced by the different effects of materials with varying scattering characteristics such as a tumor inclusion, and the surrounding medium such as normal tissue, on the light radiation, can be correlated with the spatial distribution of the inclusion. However, there is no capability for processing the reflected signal received from scattering mediums and comprised substantially of the ballistic light photons, traversing the shortest path and carrying the most information, about the scattering mediums, for example a tumor within healthy tissue, with the varying reflectance characteristics of the mediums.
While short pulse width lasers have been used in an attempt to detect enclosed or materials surrounded by partially opaque or turbid mediums, such as a tumor within healthy tissue, the short pulse width laser has not been used in a way that optimizes the recovery of information from the directly reflected signal and provides a detectable signal capable of producing more accurate and precise information at small material sizes, such as the initial growth stages of a cancerous tumor in healthy tissue.
This invention overcomes the disadvantages of prior art systems that use radiation, such as collimated light from a laser to illuminate a non-homogeneous body, comprising materials with varying light reflectance or transmission or scattering, characteristics, relative to each of the other materials, for producing data indicative of the size, location or image, of the materials enclosed or hidden by the scattering turbid medium of another of the non-homogeneous body""s materials. This invention overcomes the prior art systems"" disadvantages by illuminating the materials with a radiation pulse having a temporal pulse width minimized, relative to a combined factor tp* related to the materials absorption coefficient and speed of propagation for the radiation.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention, to detect the presence of at least one subject material or subject body or probed body located within or hidden or enclosed by another enclosing material or hiding material, and where the materials are of varying or different light scattering or reflective characteristics so the variations produced by the varying scattering mediums of the respective materials on the radiation, may be detected, analyzed or processed to produce at least one indicator comprising data or displays of the location or size or image, or other measurable indicia of the materials.
It is another object of this invention, to increase the accuracy and precision of the of the reflected signals in detecting an enclosed subject material, enclosed or hidden from the source of radiation, by an enclosing material or layer of material, between the subject material and the source of radiation, by selecting a temporal pulse width tp so the combined factor, tp* as described below, of the light pulse width tp, the extinction coefficient xcexa for the materials comprised by the materials in a non-homogeneous body, and the propagation speed c of the radiated light through the materials, is selected to minimize combined factor tp* or to a value no larger than about 1.
It is another object of this invention to employ a data acquisition system to receive and process perspective related reflected radiation from a non-homogeneous body and the materials within, to construct a two or three dimensional image of a material in the path of the radiation, hidden or separated from the radiation directly on the non-homogeneous body by another of the non-homogeneous body""s materials.
The inventive principles as disclosed herein is of a system and method for producing human readable information in data, for example in a visual display or in any other forms of perceptible data, relative to a non-homogeneous body comprising at least a first material enclosing or hiding a second material enclosed or hidden by the first material as for example an inclusion in a scattering turbid medium such as tissue material, where the materials are of different or varying reflectance or scattering characteristics.
By non-homogeneous body is meant a body comprising respective materials of different or varying radiation scattering characteristics. By enclosed material or hidden material or body, is means a material or body or inclusion enclosed by another material, comprised by the non-homogeneous body, enclosing or hiding the enclosed or hidden from the path of radiation and so the path of radiation is through the enclosed material or hiding material to the enclosed material or hidden material, and the path of the directly reflected radiation is from a respective incident point in the non-homogeneous material. By varying materials is meant materials having relative variations between the scattering characteristics of the radiated materials in the radiation path, for example as explained in Advances in Optical Imaging of Biomedical Media, by R. R. Alfano, S. G. Demos and S. K. Gayen, published in Annals New York Acad. Sci., 1997, Vol. 820(2), pp. 248-270, incorporated in, and made a part of, this application.
As explained in Advances in Optical Imaging of Biomedical Media, an ultra short radiation pulse, may be used to illuminate a non-homogeneous body, and an image may be constructed substantially from the reflected ballistic or coherently scattered photons reflected from the varying or different scattering mediums within the body and which traverse the shortest path, carrying significant information about the materials in the radiation path.
In accordance with the description of a preferred embodiment and the principles of the disclosed invention, as describe herein, by temporal pulse width, is meant a pulse width tp measured in time relative to a combined factor tp*, as explained below and selected to minimize the value of tp* or to limit tp* to a value no greater than about 1. By combined factor tp* is meant the factor tp*=xcexac tp where tp represents the pulse width, and c represents the speed of propagation of the radiation through the non-homogeneous body""s materials and xcexa represents the extinction coefficient of the materials, which is related to the materials"" absorption coefficient a and scattering coefficient "sgr", by the relationship xcexa=a+"sgr". According to the inventive principles, the pulse width tp, is selected so the combined factor tp* is minimized with respect to the materials extinction coefficientxcexa and speed of propagation, c or selected so the combined factor tp* is no greater than about 1.
As shown in a preferred embodiment, tp* is minimized or limited to a value no greater than about 1, to produce one or more indicators of selected indicia or properties of a non-homogeneous body, by detecting the directly reflected radiation from the respective incident points, as explained below, for example on the interface between an enclosing or hiding material and an enclosed material, such as an inclusion, with different or varying scattering characteristics, relative to each other, as explained herein, and which serves to prevent masking of the material by multiple scattering of photons reflected from the materials and to reveal with precision the details of a subject body within the enclosing material.
As would be apparent to those skilled in the art, the varying materials may not be fully enclosed or enclosing but arranged in layers so the material of interest such as an inclusion, is separated from the source of radiation by another of materials. By interface is meant the boundary between materials with varying scattering characteristics which produces variations in the reflected light, from the incident points on the radiation path. By incident points is meant the respective points in the non-homogeneous body along the radiation path from which the radiation is reflected directly back, for example through an enclosing material through an interface to an enclosing material, through enclosing material to the enclosing material on the other side or back side of the enclosed material and which respectively reflect the radiation, according to the respective scattering characteristics of the respective enclosing and enclosed materials.
By indicator is meant one or more indications of any measurable indicia for the material or materials of the non-homogeneous body derived in any way from perceptible data detected and acquired responsive to the reflected light from the incident points, from any system or method now or hereafter in existence.
According to the disclose inventive principles, what is shown is a system and method for optical imaging which uses a source of radiation to radiate a non-homogeneous body, comprising a plurality of materials with varying scattering mediums, where the laser temporal pulse width tp is selected so the combined factor tp*=xcexac tp, is a minimum value or to a value no greater than about 1, where xcexa represents said extinction coefficient of said scattering mediums, and c represents the propagation speed of light radiation through the scattering mediums, and where a data detector receives the radiation reflected by respective incident points located in said radiation path, producing an indicator for at least one of the materials in the radiation path.
The radiated energy in the form of photons traveling in waves, enter the non-homogeneous body and are scattered by the varying materials, as explained above, within the non-homogeneous body and as would be know to those skilled in the art, and as explained with reference to Advances in Optical Imaging of Biomedical Media by Alfano et al., incorporated herein. Where an enclosing or hiding material has a different or varying scattering coefficient, "sgr", the reflected or scattered light varies in accordance with the variation in the materials scattering coefficients "sgr"1 and "sgr"2, respectively. At the interface, for example, between the varying materials, where there is a change in the respective material""s scattering coefficients, "sgr"1 and "sgr"2, the characteristics of the reflected light will change responsive to the relative changes in the scattering coefficients, "sgr"1 and "sgr"2, accordingly. When the reflected radiation is time resolved relative to the distance traveled of the radiation in the radiation path, the location of the interface between the first and second varying may be detected, as a change in the reflected radiation. As shown for a preferred embodiment the scattering coefficient "sgr"1 for the enclosing material comprised by the non-homogeneous body, is less than the scattering coefficient "sgr"2 for the enclosed or hidden material comprised by the non-homogeneous body.
By detecting and resolving the reflected radiation with respect to time, the changes in the reflected radiation produced by incident points at the interface for example, or at any other location in the non-homogeneous body, may be analyzed to produce an indicator of the size, location or image of the interface or other materials or locations of interest in the non-homogeneous body.
As would be apparent to those skilled in the art, the disclosed invention is not limited but may be applied to the imaging of any non-homogeneous body comprising materials with relative varying scattering characteristics and may be used with detector or data acquisition systems now or hereafter in existence which would be capable of detecting the reflected light and producing perceptible data for an indicator of the size, location or image or other indicia of at least one of the materials.
These and other objects and advantages of the disclosed invention shown in a preferred embodiment according to the inventive principles, will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following Description of the Preferred Embodiment.

Optical imaging using the temporal direct reflective signal from a minimized pulse width laser


Systems and methods for providing independent situational awareness messages are provided. The method includes receiving, by a rendering engine, a request for information from an input interface. The rendering engine queries at least one data store in response to the request. The rendering engine obtains public content data and private content data from the data store. The rendering engine transmits the public content data over a public output interface. The rendering engine transmits the private content data over a private output interface.

Individuals increasingly obtain health related information from automated sources. For example, an individual may request health information from a web browser, voice assistant, phone system, text messaging system, and other means. However, it is important to maintain confidentiality of health information. Private health information should not be shared publicly by an automated system.
Some of the sources an individual uses to request health information may be accessed in private. For example, an individual may request health information from their own computer, in their own home, using a web browser. In some instances, the requests may be public. For example, an individual may request health information using a voice assistant. The voice assistant could then announce the requested health information. In this example, anyone nearby may hear the announcement containing the health information.
Thus, if a request is made for private health information using a public source, private health information may be inadvertently shared publicly.


An antiskid performance testing apparatus for shoe sole comprises a base (17), a locating device and a force application device. The force application device includes a power source, a transport mechanism and a force application rod (6). The force application rod (6) is connected with a fixing shaft (8) via a sector turntable (2). The sector turntable (2) is equipped with a circular arc groove, and is sleeved on the fixing shaft (8) via a sleeve (12). A lower end of the force application rod (6) is fixed on the sector turntable (2) via a location pin (3), an upper end of the force application rod (6) is connected with the transport mechanism, and middle of the force application rod (6) is fixed with a slide pin (4). Two ends of the slide pin (4) are located in the circular arc groove of the sector turntable (2). The testing apparatus can test the antiskid performance of shoe under different force angles.

The antiskid performance of shoe sole is related to the safety of using the product, and is a main parameter to be considered in designing. The antiskid performance of a type of shoe is usually measured by a skid measuring device. Currently, the antiskid performance of shoe is usually measured by the method as follow: the shoe is located on a specific slide board, then a force is applied on the shoe until it slides, the antiskid performance of the shoe is estimated according to the force. The existing antiskid performance testing apparatus for shoe sole is composed of a base, a locating device and a force application device, the slide board is provided on the base, the locating device is composed of a slideway fixed on the base, a slide bar mounted in the slideway, a fixing shaft connected with the slide bar and a shoe last connected with the fixing shaft, and the force application device comprises a power source and a transport mechanism. The force exerted by the power source is applied to the fixing shaft via the transport mechanism, and makes the shoe sole bear the force by means of the shoe last until it slides. The main shortcoming is the direction of the force acting on the shoe last is fixed and thus the antiskid performance of the shoe can only be simulated and tested in a single state under force, while when people move, the shoe will fall to the ground at different angles, and the existing products cannot test the antiskid performance of the shoe under various angles in a moving state.

Antiskid performance testing apparatus for shoe sole

Zhejiang Red Dragonfly Footwear Co., Ltd.


A bracket includes a first plate that faces a steering column, a second plate that faces a column cover covering the steering column, and a third plate that connects the first plate and the second plate, and a fourth plate that intersects with the first plate and the third plate.

Vehicles are provided with a steering apparatus as a device for communicating operations performed on a steering wheel by an operator (driver) to the wheels. A steering shaft for communicating a rotation of the steering wheel to the wheels is supported by a steering column. The steering apparatus is provided with a column cover that covers the cabin-side end of the steering column. Patent Literature 1 discloses one example of a bracket for supporting such a column cover.


A disc storage is provided for storing a plurality of trays, each for holding a disc. The trays are stacked in the storage. A movable member is provided to be moved in the vertical direction. A disc player, a tray moving device are mounted on the movable member. The tray moving device is provided to be engaged with trays for moving the trays and for increasing a space between a desired tray and an adjacent disc for receiving disc player, and for decreasing the space during the reproduction of the desired disc.

The present invention relates to a device for reproducing an optical disc selected from a plurality of discs stored in a disc storage, and more particularly to a disc reproducing device mounted on a motor vehicle.
There is known a disc reproducing device for reproducing an optical disc selected from a plurality of discs stored in a disc storage.
In recent years, a disc changer has been proposed which disc changer reproduces a disc at its arranged position.
The disc changer is moved along the disc storage in the disc arranging direction. When the selected disc is reproduced, disc mounting trays adjacent the selected disc are moved in the disc arranging direction so that spaces are formed on both sides of the selected disc. A disc reproducing portion is inserted into the spaces to reproduce the disc. Thus, the size of the disc changer is reduced in the direction perpendicular to the disc arranging direction. Hence, the disc changer is suitable to be mounted on the motor vehicle.
However, there is a problem that the size of the disc changer is increased in the disc arranging direction in order to form spaces on the both sides of the selected disc. In addition, another space must be formed in the disc changer for supporting the disc reproducing portion in a floating state during the reproduction of the disc as a measure against external vibration in the disc changer for the motor vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to provide a disc reproducing device the size of which may be reduced in the disc arranging direction.
According to the present invention, there is provided a disc reproducing device comprising, a disc storage, a plurality of trays, each for holding a disc, arranged in a disc arranging direction in the disc storage and slidably held in the storage so as to be moved in the disc arranging direction, a movable member provided to be moved in the disc arranging direction, first driving means for moving the movable member in the disc arranging direction, a disc player having a disc clamper and mounted on the movable member, a tray moving member mounted on the movable member and provided to be engaged with trays, second driving means for driving the tray moving member for moving the trays and for increasing a space between a desired disc and a disc adjacent the desired disc for receiving the disc player and for decreasing the space after clamping of the desired disc with the disc clamper, third driving means for moving the disc player between a retracted position and a disc reproducing position.
The disc arranging direction is a vertical direction, and the trays are stacked.
The tray moving member is rotatably mounted on the movable member, and has a plurality of cams to be engaged with trays for raising the trays and for forming the space between trays.
The first driving means comprises a pair of slide plates, each slide plate has at least one inclined hole having a plurality of steps corresponding to the number of the trays, a pin secured to the movable member and engaged with the inclined hole, and means for sliding the slide plate.
The disc player is pivotally mounted on the movable member, and the third driving means is provided for rotating the disc player.
The disc reproducing device further comprises a floating supporting device for supporting the disc reproducing device in a floating state, and lock means for locking the floating supporting device when the disc is not reproduced.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.


Methods and systems for discriminating targets using information derived from a sensor are presented. In one embodiment, a method features receiving a plurality of observations corresponding to a target; retrieving probabilities of the observations associated with each of a plurality of states, where the states are based a statistical model associated with at least one target type; consolidating the probabilities of observations for each of the plurality of states using a weighted combination; computing the probability of each state associated with the plurality of observations; selecting a state of the target based upon the computed probability of each state; and discriminating the target based upon the selected state.

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to statistical approaches for modeling systems and/or processes, and more specifically, the application of statistical models to sensor system processing to extract information from the various outputs produced by a sensor system.
It is often helpful to model physical systems and/or processes in order to gain a better understanding as to how they function. Such models have been shown be very useful for enabling and enhancing a wide variety of practical systems, such as, for example, discrimination systems, prediction systems, recognition and identification systems, etc. Generally, most models can be classified as either deterministic models or statistical models. Deterministic models typical exploit known structures or properties of a system and/or signal, and derive parameters associated therewith. Statistical models can characterize the statistical properties of the system and/or signal. These models can assume the system and/or signal can be characterized by a pre-selected parametric random process, and attempt to estimate parameters associated therewith. Examples of known statistical models include models based upon Gaussian processes, Poison processes, Markov processes, hidden Markov processes, Bayesian theory, etc.
Statistical models which effectively model real-world systems can be sophisticated and therefore can utilize a large number of parameters and/or states. The computations associated with the implementation such models can present a variety of challenges. This is particularly true when the statistical models are used in conjunction with Bayesian theory. For example, probabilities associated with states of a chosen model, and observations of a sensor, will have values ranging between 0 and 1. Complex computations involving these values can produce underflow problems. Underflow problems can occur when numbers reach values which are too small to be accurately represented the finite word lengths used by digital processors. Numbers experiencing underflow errors can be improperly truncated to a value of zero, thus adversely affecting the accuracy of the computation.
Moreover, the relative importance between various parameters associated with the statistical model is often overlooked, thus ignoring information that could improve the efficiency and results of the statistical model. For example, by emphasizing important observations and de-emphasizing those less important, computations can be adapted to improve speed and accuracy, which can be important for real-time, mission-critical systems. Additionally, by emphasizing the relative importance of observations, inaccuracies introduced through assumptions of statistical independence, which are typically made to simplify analysis and/or computations, can be compensated to improve results.

Methods and apparatus for target discrimination using observation vector weighting


When an atomic operation is to be executed for a thread group by an execution stage of a data processing system, it is determined whether there is a set of threads for which the atomic operation for the threads accesses the same memory location. If so, the arithmetic operation for the atomic operation is performed for the first thread in the set of threads using an identity value for the arithmetic operation for the atomic operation and the first thread's register value for the atomic operation, and is performed for each other thread in the set of threads using the thread's register value for the atomic operation and the result of the arithmetic operation for the preceding thread in the set of threads, to thereby generate for the final thread in the identified set of threads a combined result of the arithmetic operation for the set of threads.

The technology described herein relates to data processing systems, and in particular to the operation of graphics processing systems that include one or more programmable processing stages ("shaders").
As is known in the art, graphics processing is typically carried out in a pipelined fashion, with one or more pipeline stages operating on the data to generate the final render output, e.g. frame that is displayed. Many graphics processing pipelines now include one or more programmable processing stages, commonly referred to as "shaders". For example, a graphics processing pipeline may include one or more of, and typically all of, a geometry shader, a vertex shader and a fragment (pixel) shader. These shaders are programmable processing stages that execute shader programs on input data values to generate a desired set of output data (e.g. appropriately transformed and lit vertex data in the case of a vertex shader) for processing by the rest of the graphics pipeline and/or for output. The shaders of the graphics processing pipeline may share programmable processing circuitry, or they may each be distinct programmable processing units.
A graphics processing unit (GPU) shader core is thus a processing unit that performs graphics processing by running small programs for each graphics item in a graphics output to be generated such as a render target, e.g. frame (an "item" in this regard is usually a vertex or a fragment (pixel)). This generally enables a high degree of parallelism, in that a typical render output, e.g. frame, features a rather large number of vertices and fragments, each of which can be processed independently.
As is known in the art, a shader program to be executed by a given "shader" of a graphics processing pipeline will be provided by the application that requires the graphics processing using a high-level shader programming language, such as GLSL, HLSL, OpenCL, etc. This shader program will consist of "expressions" indicating desired programming steps defined in the relevant language standards (specifications). The high-level shader program is then translated by a shader language compiler to binary code for the target graphics processing pipeline. This binary code will consist of "instructions" which are specified in the instruction set specification for the given target graphics processing pipeline. The compilation process for converting the shader language expressions to binary code instructions may take place via a number of intermediate representations of the program within the compiler, as is known in the art. Thus the program written in the high-level shader language may be translated into a compiler specific intermediate representation (and there may be several successive intermediate representations within the compiler), with the final intermediate representation being translated into the binary code instructions for the target graphics processing pipeline.
A known way to improve shader execution efficiency is to group execution threads (where each thread corresponds to one vertex or one fragment (pixel)) into "groups" or "bundles" of threads, where the threads of one group are run in lockstep, one instruction at a time. This way, it is possible to share instruction fetch and scheduling resources between all the threads in the group. (Other terms used for such thread groups include "warps" and "wavefronts". For convenience the term thread group will be used herein, but this is intended to encompass all equivalent terms and arrangements, unless otherwise indicated.)
It is common in modern graphics processing units to have instructions to perform "atomic" memory operations. An "atomic" memory operation is an operation sequence that reads a memory location, performs an arithmetic operation between the memory value and a register value, and then writes the result of the arithmetic operation back to the same memory location. This sequence of operations is carried out so that to every observer, it looks as if the sequence has either not been performed at all, or been performed in its entirety. It is executed as one indivisible unit, hence the name "atomic".
The arithmetic operation that is performed as part of the atomic is usually a simple operation that is both commutative and associative. Common examples of such operations are: Integer Add; Bitwise AND, OR, XOR; Minimum Value; Maximum Value.
Other atomic operations that are common but not commutative/associative are:
Swap (also known as Exchange)—the register value is written to the memory location and the old value of the memory location is then returned to the shader;
Compare-And-Swap (Compare and Exchange)—two register values are provided, the memory value is compared to the first of them, and if they compare equal, then the second register value is written to the memory location.
Atomic memory operations typically occur in two variants: "Return" and "NoReturn". The "Return" variants return back to the shader the datum that was present at the memory location before the "atomic" operation was performed. The "NoReturn" variants do not return any value back to the shader. Typically, in a GPU, all of the operations listed above are available in both variants (except Swap, which is not available in the NoReturn variant).
Typical examples of use-cases for GPU atomics include incremental memory allocators (Integer Add of the "Return" type), histograms (Integer Add of the "NoReturn" type) and bounding-box computation (Minimum/Maximum Value of the "NoReturn" type).
In a thread group-based (warp-based) GPU architecture, when an atomic instruction is executed, it is typically started for all the threads in the group at the same time. This can lead to any one of several common cases: all of the atomics go to the same memory address; some but not all of the atomics go to a single memory address; or the atomics go to unrelated memory locations. If multiple atomics are performed on the same memory location, they need to be serialized. This is necessary to maintain the observable semantic that each of them has been performed either in full or not at all.
The Applicants believe that there remains scope for improvements to the handling of atomic operations for thread groups, for example in graphics processing pipelines that include one or more shader stages.
Like reference numerals are used for like components where appropriate in the drawings.


A digitizing apparatus capable of significantly shortening processing time is arranged to obtain straight portions from measured point-group data and is arranged to obtain the coordinates of intersections of two neighboring straight lines in sequential operations. The digitizing apparatus obtains form data of a subject three-dimensional model by scanning measurement lines on the surface of said three-dimensional model and includes a continuous cycle scanning measuring section for measuring coordinates of points on the measurement lines which are positioned at intervals of constant scanning distances, a measured-coordinate temporary storage section for temporarily storing the coordinates, an extension-intersection calculating section for extracting straight line portions in accordance with the coordinates read from the measured-coordinate temporary storage section and for calculating an extension-intersection as an intersection of two neighboring straight lines, and an extension-intersection storage section for storing the extension-intersection calculated in the extension-intersection calculating section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digitizing apparatus with an extension-intersection measuring function for obtaining form data of a three-dimensional model by scanning the surface of the three-dimensional model using a stylus of a tracer head.
2Description of the Prior Art
When the coordinates of a point which does not exist on a three-dimensional model, that is, the coordinates (X.sub.c, Y.sub.c, Z.sub.c) of, for example, a point P.sub.c at y=Y.sub.c on intersection line L.sub.c of planes A and B of a three-dimensional model M shown in FIG. 1 is obtained a conventional digitizing apparatus, the X-coordinate and the Z-coordinate of two optional points P.sub.A1 and P.sub.A2 on the plane A at y=y.sub.c and the X-coordinate and the Z-coordinate of two optional points P.sub.B1 and P.sub.B2 on the plane B at y=y.sub.c are measured by utilizing a point measuring function. Then, an operator, with a personal computer or the like, obtains straight line L.sub.A passing through the points P.sub.A1 and P.sub.A2 and straight line L.sub.B passing through the points P.sub.B1 and P.sub.B2 in accordance with the coordinates of each of the points P.sub.A1, P.sub.A2, P.sub.B1 and P.sub.B2. The coordinates of the intersection (to be called "the extension intersection" hereinafter) becomes the desired coordinates (X.sub.c, Y.sub.c, Z.sub.c) of the point P.sub.c.
However, a problem arises in the above-described method for obtaining the coordinates of the extension intersection using the conventional digitizing apparatus in that a tremendous amount labor is required since an operator must effect measurements using the point measuring function or perform calculations using a personal computer or the like.

Digitizing apparatus with extension-intersection measuring function


A dual-head aligning wrench (10) (DHAW 10) that allows a single person to align, grip and attach two interfacing workpieces (130). The DHAW (10) consists of a first adjustable wrench (12) and a second adjustable wrench (74) that operate in combination to secure the workpieces (130). The first adjustable wrench (12) has a first wrench housing (14) that encloses a ratcheting mechanism (40), and a ratcheting handle (64) having a front end (68) that operates the ratcheting mechanism (40); a second adjustable wrench (74) having a second wrench housing (76) concentrically aligned with the first wrench housing (14). A fixed handle (94) is attached to the second wrench housing (76) and includes a post bore (98). The two wrench housings (14,76) are attached to each other by an anti-rotation post (100) having an upper end (102) attached to the first wrench housing (14) and a lower end (104) inserted into the post bore (98). The post (100) maintains the first wrench housing (14) in concentric alignment with the second wrench housing (76).

Construction work utilizes a wide variety of tools that are chosen for whatever particular task(s) is being performed. Certain tools such as a hammer or wrench are ubiquitous and utilized by many construction workers for a number of various purposes.
Among tools such as wrenches there are often many configurations, with each designed to facilitate a specific function. One such wrench that is found in the prior art and has been designed for a specific purpose is a combination aligning and tightening wrench.
In theory, these types of wrenches are supposed to be capable of aligning two separate workpieces, such as lengths of pipe, and then tightening the two workpieces together. While some prior art designs function better than others, none of them is fully capable of adequately and reliably performing the task for which they were designed. This is unfortunate because there is a significant need for this type of wrench.
Obviously, is would be extremely beneficial if there was a fully functioning and reliable wrench that would allow an individual to single-handily align and tighten two workpieces. A wrench with this functionally would be especially useful in tight working environments where space is extremely limited and it is often possible to only utilize a single hand to manipulate and use a wrench.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any literature or patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. Pat. No.INVENTORISSUED6,938,525Poole, et alSep. 6, 20054,872,709StackOct. 10, 19894,378,937DearmanApr. 5, 1903
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,938,525 discloses a pipe wrench having a uniquely handy control lever and a one-way ratchet for very rapid adjustment of the wrench's position. The wrench also has a pivoting upper jaw that further aids a user in adjusting and tightening the wrench while using only one hand. The wrench can also be used to clamp an object or workpiece.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,709 discloses a toggle clamp that is fitted with opposed pipe flange engaging jaws. The clamp provides a rapid means of alignment and positioning of flanged pipe during assembly; particularly suited for use with split "V" clamp joints.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,937 discloses a pipe welder's aligning tool for use in joining two pipe members end to end. The tool comprises a clamp having a pair of jaws movable toward and away from one another so as separably to clamp one pipe member adjacent its end. The jaws carry supports that extend beyond the one end of the clamped pipe to provide support for the confronting end of a second pipe member that is to be joined to the clamped pipe. One of the jaws may be mounted on an elongated member that is adjustable to enable the tool to be used on pipes of differing diameters.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention relates, reference may be made to the following remaining patents found in the search:
U.S. Pat. No.INVENTORISSUED4,568,109PrueterFeb. 4, 19863,828,413Province et alAug. 13, 19743,704,503HaywoodDec. 5, 19722,574,227SarvieApr. 28, 19481,365,784HussonJan. 18, 19211,237,122SuomyAug. 14, 1917836,437CochranNov. 20, 1906737,847JohnsonSep. 1, 1903599,334KahlFeb. 22, 1898


A continuous method for processing dry whole cloves into particles suitable for inclusion in cigarettes comprising steps of: a) raising the moisture content of the whole dried cloves by (i) providing said cloves in a heat conducting receptacle, and (ii) simultaneously providing steam and water into said receptacle; b) continuously slicing said moisturized whole cloves into finely chopped particles; and c) drying said clove particles at a variety of different convective air drying rates and temperatures. Apparatuses includes means for conditioning whole dried cloves, including a trough, means for inputting a quantity of whole dried cloves into the trough, the trough having a top and a bottom, and a fully flighted screw conveyor for transporting a quantity of whole cloves therethrough. The trough further includes a plurality of steam inputs oriented at the bottom of the trough and a plurality of water inputs located at the top of the trough. The combination further includes means for cutting said cloves, a hopper, a first and second converging slotted conveyor belt, and a rotating knife drum. Additionally, the combination includes a conveyor dryer having a plurality of independently controlled drying chambers and a conveyor belt for providing said cloves through said plurality of drying chambers.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to preparation of out dried clove slices from whole cloves for provision into cut tobacco rag suitable for manufacturing cigarettes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cloves, the dried flower buds of the tropical tree Eugenia Aromatica of the Myrtle family, are popularly used as a spice with myriad applications. One such popular application is the mixture of dried clove slices into tobacco rag suitable for smoking in a cigarette.
Several conventional processes are currently in use for producing slices of out, dried cloves from whole cloves for use in a mixture of tobacco rag. Such conventional processes suffer from three general problems: (1) a large amount of physical space is required to produce commercial quantities of cut cloves; (2) the processes are step specific and generally not automated, resulting in a substantial amount of time being consumed for each step and the process as a whole; and (3) the process of shearing or outting cloves produces clove dust which is undesirable to the final tobacco rag product. Generally, cloves are received from commercial agricultural producers arrive as whole, dried buds. To process the whole cloves into cut slices suitable for tobacco rag, the moisture content of whole, dried cloves must be increased before subjecting the whole cloves to a shearing process. Increasing the moisture content of whole cloves is necessary in order to reduce the amount of clove dust which is produced during the shearing process. Clove dust is not only a waste of clove material, but also reduces the quality of sheared product when included in the processed tobacco rag.
Conventional processes involve soaking dried whole cloves in large, water soaking tanks and subsequently drip drying the soaked cloves before subjecting the cloves to shearing cutters. Several problems exist with this water soaking process. First, water soaking and subsequent drip drying is generally very time consuming, taking up to 10 hours for a single batch of cloves. Second, a large volume of water is required for this soaking process and high volume soaking tanks are required to produce a commercial quantity of cloves, resulting in the requirement of a large amount of physical space for production. The disposal of such large volumes of waste water presents yet another problem.
With regard to the shearing process, most shearing cutters yield a low volume rate of cut cloves per unit of time. In addition, the particle size distribution of the cut product is poor, resulting in a high level of clove dust even after the conventional soaking process. In addition, the cutting shears must be stopped and sharpened after a few hours in operation, thereby resulting in further delays in the manufacturing process.
After the clove slices are formed from the shearing cutters, the cut cloves are then sun dried or passed through high temperature mechanical rotary driers or vibro-driers. Sun drying requires large open spaces and is obviously dependent on the availability of sunshine. Furthermore, frequent turning of the cut clove layer generates additional clove dust. Mechanical rotary and vibro-driers operating at high temperatures result in a loss of clove oil which lessens the quality of the cut product and the quality of the smoking article. Tumbling or vibrating the cut cloves through such driers will also give rise to further generation of clove dust.
Thus, an object of the invention is to provide an improved process for the manufacture of cut, dried cloves.
A further object of the invention is to provide a process wherein the use of large volume water soaking of whole cloves is eliminated.
A further object of the invention is to provide a process which can continually process cloves.
A further object of the invention is to provide a process which improves the processing time per unit of volume over prior art processing systems.
A further object of the invention is to provide the above objects in a system which provides moisturized whole cloves of similar conditioning to that of conventional processes for provision to shearing mechanisms.
A further object of the invention is to provide a process which provides high quality cut portions of whole cloves for inclusion into out tobacco rag suitable for the manufacture of cigarettes.
A further object of the invention is to provide an automated process for maintaining the shearing mechanism in prime shearing condition.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide for the reduction of clove dust resulting from the above processes.
A still further object of the invention is to provide the above objects of the invention in conjunction with a continuous drying process.

Method for processing dried whole cloves


A connector assembly, for electrically connecting electrical cables 7 to a test head 4, comprises a plurality of types of cable side connectors 8 respectively attached to one end of the electrical cable 7; and a intermediate connector 6 to which the plurality of types of cable side connectors 8 are connected in a detachable manner, and the intermediate connector 6 having a first engagement part 501 having a shape with which all types of cable side connectors 8 can be engaged and an output terminal 602 able to be engaged with a test head side connector 41 electrically connected to a pin electronics board of the test head 4.

In the process of production of semiconductor integrated circuit devices and other various electronic devices (hereinafter also referred to as "IC devices") , an electronic device test apparatus is used for testing performances and functions of IC devices in the state formed on a wafer or in a packaged state.
This electronic device test apparatus uses a handler or prober to electrically connect IC devices to a test head and uses a tester to run tests on them. The test head is provided on top with an interface apparatus for interconnecting electrical connections between the IC devices and the test head (hereinafter simply referred to as a "HiFix (High Fidelity Tester Access Fixture)" or "wafer mother board").
A conventional HiFix is provided at its topmost part with socket boards on which sockets having a large number of contact pins electrically contacting input/output terminals of IC devices are mounted and at its bottommost part with an interconnection board electrically connected to the socket boards through electrical cables. The interconnection board has the ends of the electrical cables directly soldered to it. The HiFix is electrically connected through this interconnection board to the test head.
To streamline the tests, one HiFix is provided with a large number of (for example, 32, 64, or 128) sockets. Further, several electrical cables are led out from each socket.
For that reason, when fabricating a HiFix, several thousand electrical cables have to be soldered to the interconnection board. This consumes tremendous manpower and requires skilled workers and therefore has become a factor behind higher costs in a HiFix.
To deal with this problem, it may be considered effective to change the interconnection board to a detachable connector structure. However, the electrical cables electrically connecting the socket boards and the interconnection board include, for example, coaxial cables for transmitting high speed signals, single wires for supplying power or transmitting low speed signals, and others of a plurality of types of cables. For that reason, it is necessary to prepare a plurality of types of connectors corresponding to all of the cables and therefore the costs of HiFix have not been able to be sufficiently reduced.

Connector assembly, receptacle type connector, and interface apparatus


The methods provided use external fields such as light and electricity as a means of directing the crystallization of concentrated colloidal systems. Not only can nucleation be directed, crystal melting can be carefully controlled and light-induced crystal diffraction used as a means of directing light propagation. A number of factors play a significant role on the crystallization rate and location, including the intensity of the light field, the magnitude of the electric field, the colloid concentration, the colloid size, and the colloid composition. In varying these parameters, kinetics in these processes are extremely fast when compared to traditional colloidal crystallization approaches.

Depending on the nature of the interactions between individual particles, colloids will form a surprising variety of morphologies. For strongly attracting systems, for example, they will irreversibly aggregate into fractal structures. In the opposite case of strongly repelling particles, similar systems will undergo an entropically-driven disorder to order transition forming colloidal crystals whose structure depends on the range of the repulsion. One of the technologically most compelling properties of these crystals is their ability to diffract visible light, a direct result of the length scales associated with these systems. Because of this characteristic and the ability of colloids to self-assemble, a number of researchers have attempted to take advantage of their optical properties for photonic applications, including photonic band gap materials and diffraction-based sensors.
A number of significant limitations however have slowed the development of colloidal crystal-based devices. The first is the difficulty in uncoupling particle-particle interactions, which is conventionally altered by modifying colloidal surface chemistry or solution properties, from the resulting crystal structure. Second, the structures that are created are not reversible over convenient time scales; colloidal crystals can take weeks to form. In addition, once formed, these crystals can be exceedingly fragile. Because they are typically created through long-range Coulombic interactions they can have lattice spacings several times their diameter and any shear can destroy them. Attempts to create stable crystals whose spacings can be varied with time or condition have hitherto focused on locking in the structure using a matrix that can expand or contract in response to an environmental stimulus.
For many desired applications however, the ability to reversibly create crystals is desirable. Applications such as color displays in which individual pixels must be switched is one example. To date, efforts to create reversible crystals have focused on two-dimensional systems in the context of electrodeposition, where it has been shown that applied AC or DC electric fields will induce ordering in two dimensions. The fields induce a strong attraction between particles causing a rapid aggregation into two-dimensional ordered domains. The effective interactions are due to electro-kinetic flows induced by the applied electric fields and the presence of the colloids. In the DC field case, the effect is dominated by electroosmosis and in the AC field case electrohydrodynamics dominate.
A general and efficient crystallization method is also desired in the field of protein chemistry and molecular modeling. This need is particularly acute due to the completion of the human genome project which has opened up new methods for understanding the fundamental biological processes of life. After determining all the genetic codes, the primary task of the post-genomic era is to understand the functions of the gene products—namely proteins—in cells and organisms. Proteins carry out essential functions in living organisms, and protein malfunction leads to a number of human diseases. A better understanding of the function of cellular proteins will therefore lead to the development of effective approaches for disease prevention and cure.
There are currently many approaches for studying the biological function of cellular proteins. One of the most powerful involves relating three-dimensional protein structure to its function. Protein structure determination can provide direct insight into how the protein works in a cell. Crystal structures at atomic resolution not only provide insight into the biological functions of proteins, but also allow the structure-based drug design of inhibitors or stimulators for regulating the functions of target proteins with known structures. As a result, universities and pharmaceutical companies are investing heavily in structural biology to determine the crystal structure of biologically important proteins.
Currently the most critical step in the determination of protein structure is the creation of a protein crystal in order to collect x-ray diffraction data. Protein crystallography has now advanced to the stage that, as long as a diffracting protein crystal is available, the structure for that protein can be determined. Therefore, the current bottleneck in determining protein crystal structure lies within the protein crystallization step.
Currently, there is no perfect methodology for growing protein crystals. Prediction of crystallization behavior is difficult because each protein behaves differently, requiring extensive efforts to screen hundreds and even thousands of conditions for a particular protein before it can be determined if the protein is crystallizable. Normally, the success rate of obtaining protein crystals is approximately 20-30%. Even for those proteins that produce crystals, months or even years of hard work can be required. Thus, a general and efficient method to crystallize any protein or any class of proteins would revolutionize structural biology and molecular medicine. Such a method would dramatically speed up the rate of structural determination of important protein targets and greatly reduce the costs associated with the crystallization process.

Colloidal crystallization via applied fields


A system and method for controlling tendon-driven manipulators that provide a closed-loop control of joint torques or joint impedances without inducing dynamic coupling between joints. The method includes calculating tendon reference positions or motor commands by projecting a torque error into tendon position space using a single linear operation. The method calculates this torque error using sensed tendon tensions and a reference torque and internal tension. The method can be used to control joint impedance by calculating the reference torque based on a joint position error. The method limits minimum and maximum tendon tensions by projecting the torque error into the tendon tension space and then projecting ii back into joint space.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system and method for controlling a tendon-driven manipulator using closed-loop control. In particular, the joint angle and torque in the joints of the manipulator are controlled in such a way that it reduces coupled transient joint motions and allows for independent motion of the joints.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Dexterous robot systems typically comprise robot arms and hands that operate to grasp and manipulate objects or parts during assembly or other applications. The term "robot manipulator" is used to describe all or part of one or more robot arms and hands. Tendon-driven robot manipulators are robot manipulators that are actuated using tendons or cables that allow the actuators to be located outside of the part of the manipulator being controlled. Tendon transmissions are frequently used to actuate distal joints in robot manipulators. They can improve strength-to-weight ratios by allowing actuators to be located closer to the base of the manipulator. They also give the mechanical designer more flexibility in actuator selection. For example, when the manipulator is a tendon-driven finger in a humanoid robotic hand, the actuators are typically located in the forearm area of the robotic arm. In this case, tendons extend from the forearm actuators to the fingers, where they are attached.
It is sometimes the case that the number of tendons in a tendon-driven manipulator is associated with a corresponding motion by multiple tendons. This is the case with "n+1" tendon arrangements where n+1 tendons bi-drectionally actuate n joints. n+1 tendon arrangements are useful because they allow bi-directional joint actuation with a minimum number of actuators. However, this presents an extra control burden because the resulting physical coupling between tendons and joints must be decoupled in the control system. During control, the actuators must move multiple tendons so that the tendons do not stretch or break as the manipulator joints move. For one joint motion, there is a plurality of tendon motions that are required to make the joint motion. Thus, there is a complex motion between joint motion and tendon motion.
Known control schemes for controlling the actuators that actuate the tendons are typically hierarchical in nature. Each actuator is associated with a single controller that controls the position of a single tendon or the force applied by a single tendon. A higher level controller sends commands to each of the single-tendon controllers so as to realize a particular joint motion or torque. When this hierarchical approach to control is used, the dynamics of the low-level controllers cause coupled joint motions. In other words, because each low-level controller controls a single tendon, and the motion of a single tendon causes multiple joints to move, the dynamics of the low-level controllers cause coupled joint motions. As a result of this coupling, multiple joints may move when motion of only a single joint is desired. Thus, undesired motions occur in the robotic manipulator.
It is frequently desirable to control joint compliance and torque in tendon-driven manipulators. This is particularly true for robot hands where the tendon driven manipulators are fingers. For these applications, precise control of the dynamics of the forces applied to the environment by the fingers is paramount. For example, compliance control in the joints of robot fingers is an effective way to wrap the fingers around an object, thereby maximizing the contact surface area and improving the grasp. Alternatively, a robot may grasp and lift an object more robustly when the contact forces are accurately controlled. In these applications, it is essential to control joint positions and forces independently and in a dynamically accurate way.

Joint-space impedance control for tendon-driven manipulators

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations


A method of alerting a user to information includes receiving a notification while a portable electronic device is in communication with a second electronic device, queuing the notification, terminating the communication between the portable electronic device and the second electronic device, and playing an audible alert of the notification after terminating the communication.

Portable electronic devices are commonly used in public spaces and carried with a person throughout a day. The ability to engage with the audio of a personal device privately for the entire day is important. When a device is charging, syncing, or updating, the device may be left unattended. While unattended, there is a risk that notifications received during that period are not observed and may be missed, in particular, if the user receives additional notifications subsequently.
Providing contextual alerts that notifications were received while the user was away can allow for more reliable delivery of information to a user and can ensure that the user's information remains more private.

Systems and methods of audio notification upon state change


The present application has a purpose to provide a conductor wire for motor capable of improving durability against bending, and a coil for motor using the conductor wire for motor. One aspect of the invention, therefore, provides a conductor wire for motor comprising a fine wire assembly and a coating member covering an outer peripheral surface of the fine wire assembly, the fine wire assembly consisting of a plurality of fine wires assembled in a bundle, and each of the fine wires including a conductor and an insulating part provided on an outer peripheral surface of the conductor, wherein the coating member is made of metal, and the coating member has an electrical resistance value larger than an electrical resistance value of the conductor.

A flat conductor wire is used as a wire forming a coil in order to enhance the space factor of the coil in a motor. The space factor in this description indicates a ratio of the cross-sectional area of a wire to the cross section of a space in which the coil is placed. However, the flat conductor wire has a large cross-sectional area. Thus, when the flat conductor wire is placed in an alternating magnetic field, large eddy currents tend to occur in a surface perpendicular to magnetic fluxes in the flat conductor wire. This may increase eddy current loss. This eddy current loss is power loss caused by the flow of eddy currents.
Therefore, it is conceivable that a plurality of thin conductor wires (hereinafter, referred to as "fine wires") having an insulating part such as enamel, oxide, etc. formed on an outer peripheral surface is bound in a bundle to reduce the cross-sectional area of each conductor wire, thereby reducing eddy currents to decrease the eddy current loss.
As a conventional technique of binding a plurality of the fine wires in a bundle, a conductor wire is proposed in which the fine wires are assembled in a bundle and a resin coating is formed on the outer peripheral surface of this bundle of fine wires by extrusion to maintain the assembled condition of the fine wires.
However, the outer peripheral surface of the bundle of fine wires is coated with resin and thus a coating part is low in strength. For example, when a conductor wire is bent to form a coil for motor and the bending radius of each bend (each curved portion) of the conductor wire becomes different between the inside fine wire and the outside fine wire, causing a difference in circumferential length, the fine wires could not maintained in the assembly state by the resin coating. The fine wires tied in a bundle will come apart.
Herein, Patent Literature 1 discloses a compound winding in which a plurality of flat insulating wires are stacked and provided with a common insulating layer on an outer peripheral surface of the assembly.

Conductor wire for motor and coil for motor


A method and apparatus for defect pixel correction in an image sensor. The method may include calculating a median of extrapolated values of right neighboring and left neighboring pixel values of a potentially defective pixel.

Solid-state image sensors have found widespread use in camera systems. The solid-state imager sensors in some camera systems are composed of a matrix of photosensitive elements in series with switching and amplifying elements. The photosensitive sensitive elements may be, for example, photoreceptors, photo-diodes, phototransistors, CCD gate, or alike. Each photosensitive element receives an image of a portion of a scene being imaged. A photosensitive element along with its accompanying electronics is called a picture element or pixel. The image obtaining photosensitive elements produce an electrical signal indicative of the light intensity of the image. The electrical signal of a photosensitive element is typically a current, which is proportional to the amount of electromagnetic radiation (light) falling onto that photosensitive element.
Of the image sensors implemented in a CMOS- or MOS-technology, image sensors with passive pixels and image sensors with active pixels are distinguished. The difference between these two types of pixel structures is that an active pixel amplifies the charge that is collect on its photosensitive element. A passive pixel does not perform signal amplification and requires a charge sensitive amplifier that is not integrated in the pixel.
One of the more important specifications of an image sensor is the cosmetic quality. A sensor's image should be ideally flawless. Unfortunately, image sensor technology is not perfect. Due to processing imperfections, statistics, etc., a finite number of pixels in a sensor array will be defective or yield a signal that deviates visibly from the exact pixel value. Such faults appear as white or black or gray points in the image. This type of pixel fault is referred to as an isolated defect pixel. For a human observer, these tend to be much more annoying than other image imperfections as temporal noise, a mild fixed pattern, or imperfect registrations of color or gray values.
One method to cancel these spots is to store a list of defective pixels and of their positions in the image in a memory of the image sensor. In an image processing step, the isolated pixel value is then replaced by, for example, the average of the surrounding pixels stored in the memory. This method is viable, but has the disadvantage that it requires a memory in the image sensor that would require additional silicon area and added expense. Moreover, it cannot handle isolated pixel values that appear intermittently or only in certain cases. A good example is a so-called dark current pixel. Such pixels will appear when the sensor is at elevated temperatures, yet behave normal at lower temperatures.
Other methods to cancel isolated pixels faults have been proposed, e.g., the spatial median filter or other types of Kalman filters can be used to remove such isolated faults. Unfortunately, such filters also remove useful detail from the image. Consider the image of a star covered sky with an image sensor that has some faulty pixels that appear white. The above noted filters are not able to remove the white point due to faults, and leave the white points that are stars untouched.
Another conventional way to correct for isolated defect pixels in a black and white sensors is described in B. Dierickx, G. Meynants, "Missing pixel correction Algorithm for image sensors," AFPAEC Euroopto/SPIE, Zurich 18-21 may 1998; proc. SPIE vol. 3410, pp. 200-203, 1998 and WO 99/16238. The missing pixel correction algorithm described therein is, in essence, a small kernel non-linear filter that is based on the prediction of the allowed range of gray values for a pixel, from the gray values of the neighborhood of that pixel. One difficulty with such an algorithm is that it may not be suitable for use with mosaic color image sensors because the algorithm may not be able to distinguish between defect pixels and pixels with a deviation response due to the color of the scene.
In a "raw" color image sensor's image, each pixel yields only one color component (red, green or blue). The process to generate all color components for each pixel in a color image is a reconstruction process called demosaicing. In a demosaicing process, the color information in the defective pixel is interpolated to get a complete color image. One problem with conventional demosaicing processes is that the information of the defect pixels is spreading to become false color information in the neighboring pixels.

Defect pixel correction in an image sensor


An attachment assembly for attaching a generator to a motor vehicle engine is provided. The assembly may include at least one engine attachment boss secured to the engine. The attachment assembly may further include a plurality of generator housing legs integrally formed with a generator housing. The assembly may further include a support dowel fitted, at a first end, within the bore located on the inner opposing side of one of the plurality of generator housing legs. The support dowel may be inserted, at a second end, into the bore of the at least one engine attachment boss, in order to couple the generator to the engine during assembly. This combination allows placement and fixation of the generator to the engine by a single operator without the need for an assembly assist device. A method for securing a generator to a motor vehicle engine is also provided.

Generators are used to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. Generators may be permanently mounted to the engine of a motor vehicle to provide electricity to electronic vehicle components when the vehicle engine is turned on. Conventional mounts for securing a generator to the engine of a motor vehicle may include a plurality of bolts including a series of upper bolts proximate the engine cylinder head and a lower bolt proximate the engine block.
Conventional designs are configured to be placed and secured in one assembly step by a single operator. As vehicles continue to encompass additional electronic components, which may be run when the engine is turned off, the more powerful the generator must be to support those electronic components. Thus, conventional generators powerful enough to support the electronics of a modern vehicle often exceed the ergonomic assembly mass, of which a single operator is capable of placing, and, thus, an assembly assist device is required to place and secure the generator to the engine.

Generator attachment assembly and method


An electrical output power generation system is provided. A gas turbine engine rotor spool with at least one alternator rotor and steam turbine rotor are integrated and within a engine body having a combustor or external heat source having fluid communication with the bladed compressor rotor and a gas turbine bladed rotor of the said rotor spool. The alternator rotor has permanent magnets retained and positioned in close proximity and co-axial to the electrical stator having iron laminat and electrical wires. Relative rotational motion between the electrical stator and alternator rotor cause magnetic flux and subsequent electricity to be generated. The steam energy to drive the said rotor spool integrated steam turbine rotor can be from the gas turbine engine exhaust waste heat and or thru external heat energy sources.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to gas turbine electrical power generation and more specifically to a rankine-microturbine as a combined cycle turbine system having a common rotor shaft, incorporating a steam turbine with a gas turbine rotor spool with an integral alternator rotor in close proximity and co-axially within a laminated iron stator with wires to generate electricity.
2. Description of Prior Art
It can be appreciated that microturbines, a non-synchronous electrical power generator, have been in use for years. Typically, microturbines are comprised of gas turbines such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,314,717, 6,605,928, 5,497,615 and Japanese patent 061737714 and currently demonstrate <30% cycle efficiency incorporating heat exchangers, <15% cycle efficiency without heat exchangers and the hybrid-microturbine of application Ser. No. 10/809,719 having <23% cycle efficiency incorporates a staged compressor for improved cycle efficiency without a heat exchanger. All the above can be incorporated into Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system to attain higher thermal efficiency. Synchronous electrical power generation typical of current electrical power-plants include the simple turbojet, a single spool type gas turbine with electrical output power efficiency approaching 43%, a combined cycle turbine system having a gas turbine driving a generator and separate steam turbine extracting heat energy from the gas turbine exhaust to drive another generator and combining the electrical output power to yield efficiency near 60%. More recently, large combined cycle turbines have been introduced as in GE patent 6897577 where the gas turbine and steam turbine are clutch coupled to drive a common generator and expected to yield >60% electrical output power efficiency. Other gas turbine companies offering a similar clutch coupled synchronous driven common generator idea include Siemens (Diesel & Gas Turbine World of Feb. 2006 article) and Westinghouse (ASME PWR2004-52072 proceeding). Microturbines (non synchronous generators), typically less than 500 Kw offer some advantages either in line tie or island system especially in a CHP cycle but still lack high electrical output power efficiencies for opportunities in main power applications. Combined cycle electrical power systems have synchronous power generators and are large power-plants and have either separate generators for the steam and gas turbines or more recently use a clutch coupled steam turbine and gas turbine to drive a common generator yielding >60% electrical output power efficiency; but are too complex and expensive for smaller power-plant applications. Complexity will lend to higher power plant maintenance cost even thou the fuel cost is the biggest factor in the $/Kw-hr billing. Another issue with conventional microturbines is the use of heat exchanger to attain ˜30 efficiency is still too low for distributed continuous main power applications and with the heat exchanger there are limitations on start-up and shut-down cycles concerning turbine exhaust gas temperature as high as 1300F and material costs life cycle considerations.
A hybridmicroturbine with its staged higher compressor ratio (˜23% at maximum power) has higher efficiency at off design than that of the microturbine with heat exchanger and does not have start up or shut down limitation like this microturbine; but due to the lower efficiency, has limited main grid power uses. The microturbine and hybrid microturbine with low emissions, multifuel capability and minimal maintenance will greatly replace the reciprocating generator sets (gensets) with $/Kw initial purchase cost being competitive; the latter is most evident in the hybrid microturbine along with portability offering low weight (no exhaust gas heat exchanger).
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for providing a combined cycle turbine system with a common shaft between the steam turbine and the gas turbine integral alternator rotor as a one spool rotor system to yield high electrical power cycle efficiency, simplicity, reduced installation cost and maintenance. This smaller main power-plant would lend itself to stand alone communities, business, and industrial applications or simply more available to distributed energy without major disruptive events either man made or weather related. Low emissions is a major feature and lower fuel use means lower CO2. In these respects, the Rankine-Microturbine according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and design of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing a combined cycle turbine system with a common shaft between the steam turbine and the gas turbine integral alternator rotor as a one spool rotor system to yield high output electrical power efficiency, simplicity, reduced installation cost and low fuel use.

Rankine—microturbine for generating electricity