A dipole antenna is disclosed. The dipole antenna includes a feed-in terminal, a balun, a first radiator and a second radiator. The feed-in terminal is used for feeding in a radio-frequency signal. The balun is electrically connected to the feed-in terminal for driving out a return current of the dipole antenna to balance a feed-in impedance of the dipole antenna. The first radiator is electrically connected to the feed-in terminal and the balun for radiating the radio-frequency signal in a first frequency band. The second radiator is electrically connected to the first radiator, the feed-in terminal and the balun for radiating the radio-frequency signal in a second frequency band.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dipole antenna and radio-frequency device, and more particularly, to a dipole antenna and radio-frequency device having a balun to balance a feed-in impedance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An antenna is used for transmitting or receiving radio waves, to communicate or exchange wireless signals. An electronic product with a wireless communication function, such as a tablet computer, a laptop or a personal digital assistant (PDA), usually accesses a wireless network through a built-in antenna.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of an RF (Radio-Frequency) device 10. The RF device 10 has a function of wireless communication; take a note book computer for example. The RF device 10 includes an antenna 11, an RF signal process unit 12 and a housing 13. In general, to prevent the antenna 11 from being disposed within a metallic environment, such as a central area disposed with metal parts, a hard disk, input-output ports or a mother board (not shown in FIG. 1), the antenna 11 is normally disposed on a border of the housing 13. Thus, it is usual to use a metal wire, e.g. a co-axial cable 14, to transmit an RF signal received and radiated by the antenna 11 to the RF signal process unit 12 for further signal process.
However, the above mentioned design principle may cause the co-axial cable 14 for transmitting the RF signal to become a part of a radiator of the antenna 11. If the co-axial cable 14 is interfered by noises, the RF signal will be interfered by noises as well, and a signal quality of the RF signal may be decreased accordingly.
On the other hand, the co-axial cable 14 may have different levels of influence on antenna performances according to different antenna types. For example, a gain of a dipole antenna is theoretically higher than a gain of a monopole antenna and also higher than a gain of a PIFA (Planar Inverted-F Antenna), but the co-axial cable 14 may unbalance a feed-in impedance of the dipole antenna. As a result, the antenna performance of the dipole antenna may be changed once the co-axial cable 14 is changed, e.g. impedance changes by cable routes, which may decrease stability and reliability of the dipole antenna 11 during manufacture.
Therefore, how to design the dipole antenna having a stable performance and a balanced feed-in impedance to improve the stability and the reliability during manufacture has become a topic in the industry.

Dipole antenna and radio-frequency device


A resistance-type exerciser has pivotally interconnected arms with a more closely spaced pair of handle forming ends and a less closely spaced pair of handle forming ends. A caliper-type spring unit is replaceably fitted to the arms to urge the less closely spaced pair of ends apart. The spring unit can be readily replaced with another unit of different spring pressure so as to vary the resistance of the exerciser. The exerciser is used by pushing the less closely spaced ends toward one another against the spring pressure or by pulling the more closely spaced ends apart.

This invention relates to a portable exerciser which can be used by an individual to provide resistance-type exercises for various parts of the body including the hands, wrists, arms, biceps, shoulders, chest/pectoral/bust area, stomach and back.
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel form of exerciser of the above type which uses a spring unit to provide resistance and which can be used to perform diverse exercises useful for various muscle groups as noted above.
A further object of the invention is to provide an exerciser of the above type in which the spring unit can readily be exchanged for another of different pressure so as to adjust the spring tension of the exerciser.


The invention relates to a distribution system for the intake and exhaust in an internal combustion engine.. According to the invention, a cylinder is connected to an exhaust manifold by means of a connecting valve 10. An intake mainfold 10 opens into the manifold 14 by means of an intake valve 14 making it possible to regulate the flow of air and re-cycling of the burnt gases.. The advantages attained by the invention include: achieving optimum characteristics of the flow of air and re-cycling of the burnt gases, obtaining optimum characteristics of the flow, reduction in temperature of the exhaust valve and assisting in starting and partial running.

The present invention relates to a distribution system for the intake and exhaust of an internal combustion engine and in particular for a supercharged diesel engine.
All current reciprocating internal combustion engines are provided with an active fluid circuit which comprises an intake extending as far as the intake valve and an exhaust circuit which begins at the exhaust valve. Consequently, the engine is mounted in series in the active fluid circuit. The following consequences are the result of this situation:
The circuit passing through the engine itself is established in an exact manner during the intake and scavenging period, i.e. for a predetermined period of time. Adjusting the rate of flow of the turbo-blower for supercharging the engine is therefore limited and may cause problems at the time of high supercharging.
The exhaust valve essentially deals with gases burnt at a high temperature and therefore itself reaches a high temperature which promotes corrosion and thermal cracking.
The present invention provides a distribution system which eliminates these drawbacks.

Distribution system for the intake and exhaust of a super charged internal combustion engine


A vacuum storage container, which comprises a container with a lid for sealing the container; the lid is mounted with a sucking valve, which is a check valve to have the air in the container pumped out only in one-way upon the container being closed hermetically; after the container being in vacuum or similar to a vacuum condition, a substance in the container can be stored for a long time without changing the quality thereof.

The more the science is developed, the more the technique becomes precise; then, the requirements of inactivation and precision to a material or a product have become much higher than ever; otherwise, the quality of a product would be affected adversely. Therefore, our requirements to a container for some products, such as an optical instrument, a lens, or a material being sensitive to moisture or oxidation become more rigid than ever so as to prevent them from changes in function, quality and serviceable life; however, the current and ordinary containers can only provide a hermetic seal function, being unable to meet the requirements as mentioned above.


An aperture stop that includes a non-circular region that comprises at least one opaque region and at least one opening region; wherein each point in the at least one opening region is (a) mapped to an angle of illumination and (b) is associated with a corresponding point in the at least one opaque region that. mapped to an angle of specular reflectance from the angle of illumination mapped to the opening point.

2D defect detection has two primary modes of sample illumination: bright field, which is insensitive to the topography of the wafer, and dark field, which is designed to collect scattered light and is therefore sensitive to the wafer topography and is especially useful for the identification of scratches.
All known dark field techniques illuminate the wafer at a large oblique angle. While suitable for a large range of applications, these techniques fail to enhance a class of defects which is characterized by local low angle inclination of the wafer. This class contains for example cracks and stresses in the wafer which modify the surface.


Elastomeric polyurethane-polyurea polymers are disclosed that are derived from the reaction of organic polyisocyanates with A. primary hydroxyl polyols having a functionality of 2 to 4 and a molecular weight from 1500 to 12000, and B. extender mixtures comprised of 1. an aromatic diamine wherein at least one of the positions ortho to each amine group is substituted by a lower alkyl group, and 2. a lower molecular weight diol, provided that the aromatic diamine comprises from 5 to 45 percent by weight of the extender mixture and the balance comprises the diol.. The polymers find particular utility in the preparation of reaction injection molded parts, particularly, automotive parts because of their excellent flexural modulus, tensile, and tear properties.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to novel polyurethane polymers and is more particularly concerned with elastomeric polyurethane-polyurea polymers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Polyurethane polymers and elastomers prepared from high molecular weight polyols and organic polyisocyanates and extended with low molecular weight polyols, particularly diols, have been known in the art for a long time; see U.S. Pat. No. 2,948,691, and Polyurethane Chemistry and Technology, Part II by J. H. Saunders and K. C. Frisch, Chapter IX, 1964, Interscience Publishers, New York, N.Y. for typical background art.
Polyurethane elastomer properties have been varied in numerous ways by adjusting such parameters as reactant functionality, type of isocyanate or polyol, and, very importantly, by adjusting the amount and the type of extender employed. If an organic polyamine is used as an extender then the resulting polymer will contain polyurea linkages along with the polyurethane.
In some applications, particularly cast elastomers, it is desirable to have slow acting systems. Contrastingly, with the advent of reaction injection molding (RIM) techniques it became desirable to have fast acting systems. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are many different aromatic diamines known in the art ranging typically from the slow methylenebis(o-chloroaniline), to the intermediate polymethylene polyphenylamine, to the very fast methylenebis(aniline). Many different types of substituent groups have been introduced into the aromatic ring to vary the reaction speed of the polymer forming process; see the art cited above.
When polyurethane-polyurea forming ingredients are deposited or otherwise injected into a mold cavity, it is essential that a careful balance of polymer gel time versus the molded part size be maintained. A fast enough gel time is necessary so that good polymer formation along with quick demold time is possible. At the same time, the gel cannot be so fast that polymer gelation is occurring on the mold walls or floor while ungelled reactants are still entering the mold. Accordingly, the polyurethane-polyurea polymer must have suitable reaction profiles which can be varied or adjusted to meet particular needs.
The use of polyamines including diamines and amines of functionality greater than two, as extenders in elastomeric polyurethanes, is well known in the art. For examples of the application of the latter type of extenders see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,575,896 and 4,048,105. For examples of the application of diamines as extenders see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,267,050, 3,428,610, 3,591,532, 3,681,290, 3,736,350, 3,794,621, 3,808,250, and 3,817,940; German Patent Application No. 2,635,400; and British Pat. Nos. 1,408,943, and 1,534,258.
The use of mixed extenders comprised of the polyamines with low molecular weight diols and triols has also been prevalent in the art. In this regard, note particularly the German Patent Application No. 2,635,400 and British Pat. No. 1,534,258.
Generally speaking, the use of polyamines as extenders gives rise to polymer products, particularly products molded with compact skins, that are characterized by excellent physical properties such as impact, tensile, modulus properties, and tear strengths in a given hardness range. At the same time, the use of unhindered polyamine extenders leads to reaction and processing times that are much faster than the reaction times of the diol extended polymers. The aromatic polyamines are generally preferred with the diamines being the most preferred types.
British Pat. No. 1,534,258 discloses the use of certain types of aromatic diamines as extenders including both unsubstituted and substituted amines with the latter being preferred in the RIM preparation of polyurethanepolyureas. The reference also discloses the use of extenders in which up to 50 percent by weight of the diamine is replaced by primary hydroxyl diol extenders. The disclosed polymers are characterized by very fast reaction profiles which can be too fast to fill large mold sizes before gelation begins to initiate. Attempts to continue injection of such polymer forming ingredients into a mold after gel results in poor polymer flow causing rapid and excessive tool pressure build-up and the potential for the rupture of the tool. Although an increase in the speed of mixing and delivery of the reaction ingredients into the mold can overcome some of these difficulties, there is a practical limit above which laminar flow will be upset. This will result in voids and unequal distribution of polymer in the mold.
We have now discovered that elastomeric polyurethanepolyurea polymers which are characterized, surprisingly, by good hardness, tear, and improved modulus properties and improved demold strengths compared to prior art aromatic diamine extended polyurethanes, can be prepared by using mixed aromatic amine-diol extenders in which the diamine is the minor component. Surprisingly, the polymer-forming reactants have reaction profiles fast enough to be suitable for rapid molding and demolding processes, for example RIM applications, yet slow enough to enable the filling of large mold sizes before gelation can occur and thereby avoid the prior art problems noted above.

Elastomeric polyurethane-polyurea polymer prepared from an organic polyisocyanate a polyol and an aromatic diamine having at least one of the ortho positions to each amine lower alkyl


Method for the acylation of amines are disclosed in which includes reacting a first reactant containing an amine group with a second reactant containing an acyl halide group, wherein the reaction takes place in the presence of secondary carboxylic acid salt form, of formula I: EQU R.sup.4 R.sup.5 CHCOOH I. wherein. R.sup.4 is an alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms; and PA1 R.sup.5 is an alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms.

When reacting acid chlorides with amines by known methods, those skilled in the art may be faced with certain concerns. It is generally desirable to conduct the acylation reaction using simple, practicable, high yielding, and environmentally friendly methods. In instances where the acylated amine product may be used as an intermediate in forming other compounds, additional criteria for the acylation reaction may arise. For example, classical Schotten-Baumann acylation conditions are impracticable for the acylation of prolinamide because both the starting material and the products are highly water-soluble and sparingly soluble in organic solvents. Although epoxypropane may possibly be used as an HCl scavenger in acylation reactions, epoxypropane has a low boiling point and may be considered environmentally unacceptable. Epoxypropane may also present an unacceptable carcinogenic risk. Finally, acylation with epoxypropane as the scavenger presents separate problems as the reaction in tetrahydrofuran is heterogeneous.

Methods for the acylation of amine compounds


The MIN, but not the ESN, associated with a mobile station is entered into a permanent subscriber record associated with a private wireless communications system. During at least the initial registration attempt for the mobile station in the private system, the mobile station sends its MIN and ESN to the private system. The private system then asks a public wireless communications system for verification of the subscription status of the mobile station. If the status is favorable, e.g., the mobile station has a valid subscription to the public system, the private system updates its permanent subscriber record to include the ESN and continues with the registration process. If the verification response indicates an unfavorable subscription status, e.g., the ESN/MIN combination is invalid, the private system preferably refuses to allow the mobile station to register. By using this method, the ESN is not entered into the subscriber record until the mobile station attempts to register with the private system and the information passes a verification test involving the public system. This means that the initial setting up of the subscriber record, which is done manually, need not include a time consuming step. Instead, the ESN is automatically supplied from the mobile station, thereby reducing the burden on the private system service provider and increasing accuracy. This method is particularly adapted for use in Digital Wireless Office Systems.

Wireless communications may be roughly divided into public systems and private systems. Public systems are integrated portions of the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) and must accept any paying customer. Such public systems are typically very large and complex. In the United States, the public systems operate according to well known communications standards, such as ANSI/TIA/EIA-136, GSM, or the like. In contrast, private systems do not need to accept any customer willing to pay, but may instead limit membership, such as to employees of a corporation. These private systems are typically small and less complex than public systems.
Typically, in public wireless communications systems mobile stations are identified by Mobile Identification Numbers (MIN), Mobile Directory Numbers (MDN), and Electronic Serial Numbers (ESN). The MDN may be thought of as the "phone number" of the mobile station. The MIN represents the identification of the particular mobile station to the wireless communications system and may be thought of as the "logical unit identity" of the mobile station within the public wireless communications system. The ESN is a physical identity indicator, such as serial number unique to the physical mobile station, and plays an important part in anti-cloning efforts. The details of the use and function of these identifications are well known in the art.
Typically, when a user establishes a subscription account in a public wireless communications system, the MIN and ESN are entered into a database within the public wireless communications system and the corresponding MDN is assigned. In addition, various pieces of subscriber billing information and the like are entered. It is common for the mobile station's ESN and MIN to uniquely identify the mobile station for the various public wireless communications systems that together form a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). For security reasons, the sensitive information of the MIN and the ESN should be known to as few people as possible.
It is common to allow mobile stations to roam into other geographic areas and still continue to operate. In order to facilitate roaming, it is common to use Home Location Registers (HLR) and Visitor Location Registers (VLR) in a manner well known in the art.
In recent years, there has been much interest in building private wireless office telephone systems (WOTS) by corporations or other large entities. Private wireless office telephone systems employ many concepts and features used by public wireless communications systems and may be thought of as a scaled down versions thereof. As with public wireless communications system, a private wireless communications system, such as a WOTS, must be able to properly identify the mobile stations that are entitled to its services. In addition, the private wireless communications system should be able to interface with the public wireless communications system, so as to be able to originate, terminate, hand-off calls, and the like.
The main advantage of a WOTS is that it allows people to use wireless telephones in an office or other localized area rather than a desk phone with a fixed connection to the telephone system. This allows people to have mobility within the office, yet remain accessible by phone. In order to realize fully the potential of the wireless office telephone system, it is desirable to also interface the WOTS with public systems. Interfacing with the public systems allows subscribers of the WOTS to use a single mobile station in both systems. That is, a subscriber of a private wireless telephone system could use the same mobile station when "roaming" in the public system.
Both public and private wireless communications systems maintain permanent subscriber profiles, typically indicating which services the subscriber is entitled to, the identity of the individual user, billing information, and the like. This information is permanent in the sense that the subscriber profile is intended to be maintained for as long as the mobile station is subscribed to the particular wireless communications system, not just for as long as the mobile station is registered with that system. The information may of course be updated during its lifetime.
Under the prior art, the creation of a subscriber profile in a private wireless communications system requires manual entry of at least the MIN and the ESN. However, as discussed above, the fewer people who know a mobile station's MIN and ESN, the better. Thus to eliminate even one person who knows those numbers is advantageous. More importantly, the manual entry of MINs and ESNs is a time consuming task that is prone to error during manual entry. This is particularly true for businesses that are just setting up a new private wireless communications system that will use existing mobile stations currently subscribed to a public wireless communications system.


An apparatus and method are described for preventing electrically charged particles adjacent an ion generator from soiling a wall or other items adjacent the ion generator. An electrically conductive particle collector surrounds the outlet of the ion generator and is fastened to the ion generator. The electrically conductive particle collector carries an electrical line which is adapted to be plugged into the ground terminal of an electrical wall socket. A disposable sheet member, preferably formed of paper, covers the particle collector. Electrically charged particles adjacent the ion generator area are attracted to the particle collector and coat the disposable sheet member which can be easily removed and replaced.

The present invention concerns a novel apparatus and method for preventing electrically charged particulate matter adjacent an ion generator from soiling walls and other items adjacent the ion generator.
Ion generators, often referred to as ionized oxygen generators, have recently become very popular. Ionized oxygen has been found to create a substantially germ-free environment, and many hospitals are using ion generators in their operating rooms. Ionized oxygen also eliminates allergy-causing irritants making an ion generator useful for homes and offices, as well as hospitals.
One of the positive functions of the ionized oxygen provided by an ion generator is that the ionized oxygen cleanses the air by attaching itself to particles floating in the air, causing the particles to fall. I have discovered, however, that dark particulate matter in the air adjacent an ion generator becomes electrically charged so that it is attracted to the nearest ground. For example, if the ion generator is placed on a desk near a wall, and the wall is the nearest ground, the particulate matter may become attracted to the wall and darken the wall.
It is, therefore, an object of the the invention to provide an apparatus that is useful to prevent particulate matter adjacent an ion generator from becoming attracted to and darkening a wall, desk or other area which should be maintained clean.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for preventing electrically charged particles adjacent an ion generator from soiling a wall adjacent the ion generator.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a particulate collector for connection to an ion generator, which collector is simple in construction and easy to manufacture.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a particulate collector for an ion generator which may be easily attached to an ion generator and used with conventional electrical receptacles.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Particulate collector apparatus and method for ion generators


A method, system or computer usable program product for a data processing system to anticipate parking space availability including receiving from the first user a request for a parking space for a first vehicle, obtaining location tracking data of a set of users, each of the set of users associated with one of a set of vehicles, each vehicle located at one of a set of parking spaces, predicting a set of departure times based on the location tracking data for a subset of the set of users away from and associated with vehicles located in parking spaces, determining a subset of departure times that are within an acceptable period of time, and sending to the first user a subset of parking spaces with vehicles associated with users having the subset of departure times.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to managing parking space availability, and in particular, to a computer implemented method for anticipating parking space availability utilizing tracking information.
2. Description of Related Art
Finding an empty parking space in a crowded parking lot has been an ongoing issue within our motorized society. A variety of parking lot search strategies have been observed. For example, some persons in vehicles will cruise slowly through row after row of cars looking for an empty parking space only to observe others doing the same until any last parking spaces are taken. Some persons in vehicles have been observed following persons walking out of a shopping center to their vehicle. Other persons may simply wait in their vehicle near the end of a row of parked cars until a parking space becomes available. These types of strategies are inefficient, waste resources and increase frustration in drivers.

International Business Machines Corporation


A tire for a vehicle wheel, comprising two sidewalls joined by a crown zone provided on its radially outer portion with a circumferential tread, a bead arranged at the radially inner portion of each of the sidewalls, each bead comprising a seat and an outer flange which are intended to come into contact with the rim. The bead seat has a generatrix, the axially inner end of which lies on a circle of diameter greater than the diameter of the circle on which the axially outer end is located. A carcass-type reinforcement structure extends substantially radially from each of the beads, along the sidewalls, towards the crown zone, such bead being reinforced by a substantially radial arrangement of circumferential cords arranged in stacks. A portion of the carcass-type reinforcement structure is arranged in the immediate vicinity of at least one portion of a stack, and the space between these portions is generally occupied by a rubber mix of high elasticity modulus.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tire for a vehicle wheel in which at least one of the beads comprises a seat having a generatrix, the axially inner end of which lies on a circle of a diameter greater than the diameter of the circle on which the axially outer end is located. This type of design is particularly suited to the new generations of tires which can be used, within certain limits, in conditions of low pressure, or even zero or virtually zero pressure, with the risk of separation of the tire from the rim on which it is mounted being eliminated. This concept is frequently designated by the expression "extended mobility".
2. The Related Art
For a long time, tire manufacturers have been trying to develop a tire which does not create any source of potential risk or danger in the event of an abnormal drop in, or even total loss of, inflation pressure. One of the difficulties encountered relates to travelling with a flat tire or at very low pressure. In fact, when travelling at very low pressure, or even at zero pressure, with conventional tires, the beads are at great risk of separating from the periphery of the rim against which they are held by the inflation pressure. Numerous solutions have been tested in order to overcome these disadvantages. Frequently, these solutions cause additional difficulties in mounting and demounting the tire on/from the rim.
EP 0 582 196 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,656) discloses a tire comprising a tread extended by two sidewalls and two beads and also a carcass anchored in the two beads to an annular reinforcement. The carcass is formed of cords in an adjacent arrangement, which are aligned circumferentially and are in contact with at least one layer of bonding rubber of very high elasticity modulus in the hooking zone of the bead comprising the annular reinforcement. In this tire, the annular reinforcement of the hooking zone of the bead is formed of stacks of circumferential cords with the interposition of a layer of bonding rubber of very high elasticity modulus between the reinforcement cords of the carcass and the stacks of circumferential cords.
This embodiment is intended for tires of conventional type, with the beads being held against the rim hook due to the inflation pressure of the tire. In this type of arrangement, there is a predominance of stresses of the lateral or axial type, which induces major compressive forces that act substantially axially from the sidewalls towards the center of the bead. These forces increase according to the inflation pressure. The increase in pressure tends to make the bead slide against the hook, radially towards the outside. The stresses induced radially towards the inside, against the seat of the rim, decrease with an increase in pressure, or with any increase in the tension of the carcass-type reinforcement structure.
It will furthermore be noted that the stacks of cords are aligned in a direction substantially parallel to the orientation of the profile of the rim hook against which the bead bears.
The profile of the bead of this type of tire is relatively narrow and elongated; the anchoring is distributed over the major part of the height and width of the bead. The passage of the carcass into the bead is generally substantially central relative to the walls of the bead.
Furthermore, when a relatively narrow bead is subjected to predominantly axial stresses, neither the inflation pressure nor the tension induced in the carcass permits the generation of large moments or torques, which tend to make the bead pivot or turn on itself.
With such a type of tire, if the pressure drops and the vehicle continues to travel, the holding of the tire on the rim is no longer ensured, and in the majority of cases it rolls off the rim.
EP 0 673 324 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,993) describes a rolling assembly comprising at least one tire with a radial carcass reinforcement which is anchored within each bead and a rim of specific shaping. This rim comprises a first seat, with a generatrix such that the axially outer end of the generatrix is spaced from the axis of rotation by a length less than the spacing between its axially inner end and the axis of rotation, and is defined axially to the outside by a protrusion or rim flange. The tire comprises bead seats suitable for mounting on the rim. The type of tire/rim interface proposed in this document has many advantages compared with the solutions already known, in particular with regard to the ease of mounting/demounting, while making it possible to travel a certain distance despite a drop in pressure.
The present invention is directed in particular at proposing certain types of architecture in order to optimize the qualities of the assembly proposed in the document referred to above.
EP 0 748 287 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,028) describes a solution which permits initial optimization of the basic technology described in EP 0 673 324 referred to above. This is a tire, at least one bead of which has a structure that makes it possible to modify the clamping of the bead according to the tension of the carcass reinforcement and, in particular, reinforcement thereof when the inflation pressure increases to its rated value. The document thus proposes using a bead with anchoring of the end of the carcass by turning it up about the base of the bead wire, via the axially and radially inner sides relative to the bead wire. The bead also comprises, adjacent to the bead wire and axially to the outside thereof, a profiled element of rubber mix of relatively high hardness against which the bead wire can exert a compressive force when the tension of the carcass reinforcement increases. This compressive force creates self-lamping of the toe of the bead on the mounting rim. The tension of the carcass therefore involves displacement of the bead wire towards the outside, so that the latter generates the compressive force. In such a configuration, the presence of a bead wire of conventional type and the turning-up of the carcass beneath the latter are presented as being indispensable for generating the compressive force. This restricts the other types of arrangement which can be considered.
Moreover, EP 0 922 592 describes two embodiments with the carcass anchored by turning it up axially towards the outside. The first embodiment proposes anchoring of the carcass in the bead by turning it up radially towards the outside of the end of the carcass. The upturn is surrounded on either side by two radially superposed layers of metal wires arranged axially side by side and covering substantially all of the axial portion along the seat of the bead. The layers are arranged so as to be parallel to the seat. The types of cords and the corresponding dimensions are very precise.
The second solution proposed in this document relates to bead seats with different diameters. The securing of the carcass is also effected differently from the first solution. First of all, the carcass is subdivided into two portions which are radially separated at the level of the bead. Each portion is adjoined by a layer of cords which is arranged radially, each layer being arranged radially to the outside against each of the carcass portions. The radially outer carcass portion and the layer of cords radially to the inside are separated by an insert of the type of elastomer of high hardness provided in the bead. This insert axially lines the central portion of the bead and rises radially towards the outside and axially towards the inside, beyond the radial limit of the presence of the metal wires.
The two examples of solutions of EP 0 922 592 have several disadvantages. Thus, the securing of the carcass proposed in this document requires the presence of an upturn axially towards the outside of the end portion of the carcass. Furthermore, the superposed layers of cords are arranged radially close to the seat of the bead, for a good part at a radial position closer to the axis of rotation than the upper portion of the flange on which the bead bears. Unless highly extensible cords are used, it is difficult to mount/demount the tire, due to the unfavourable radial position of the cords. It will also be noted that the stacks are oriented substantially parallel to the profile of the seat against which the bead bears.
According to the second solution, the carcass is subdivided into two portions and an insert of high hardness is necessary to separate, on the one hand, the layers of cords and, on the other hand, the two carcass portions. However, the carcass is not anchored in the insert. The form of the insert described is limitative.

Extended-mobility tire with specified bead


A light bulb socket has a main body comprising inner threads, a longitudinal recess, a bottom plate, a through hole formed on the bottom plate, and a flange which is on top of the bottom plate surrounding the top edge of the through hole. The first conductor is inserted in the longitudinal recess. The second conductor is inserted in the through hole. Two grooves are formed in the periphery of the through hole. The second conductor has a round top, a neck, two slant fins, a transverse bar, and an end tip. A gap is defined by the round top. The second conductor is inserted in the through hole beneath the flange.

The invention relates to a light bulb socket. More particularly, the invention relates to a decorative light bulb socket which is adapted to receive a decorative light bulb on a Christmas tree.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a conventional lamp socket 10 has a longitudinal recess 11, a bottom slot 12 communicating with the longitudinal recess 11, a rectangular hole 13 communicating with the bottom slot 12, a flange 17 disposed on top of the rectangular hole 13, and a step-shaped block 14 adjacent to the hole 13. The first conductor 15 inserts in the longitudinal recess 11. The second conductor 16 inserts in the rectangular hole 13. A base covers the bottom of the socket 10. The second conductor 16 has the first and second turning points 162 and 163, a distal end 161, and a tip 164 at the other end. It is very difficult to insert the second conductor 16 in the rectangular hole 13. Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the generally L-shaped conductor 16 is inserted in the narrow interior of the hole 13. The end 161 may be blocked by the step-shaped block 14 (as shown in FIG. 2). The second turning point 163 may be blocked by the wall of the hole 13 (as shown in FIG. 3). It is very difficult to position the second conductor 16 in the predetermined position (as shown in FIG. 4). If the user applies strong force on the second conductor 16, it will be deformed easily. Referring to FIG. 5, another lamp socket 20 receives a conductor 21. The conductor 21 has a rounded head 211 and a taper-pointed end 212. The conductor 21 is not easily positioned on the predetermined position before the bulb is inserted.


The disclosure relates to a magneto-optical reading device for multi-track magnetic tapes, including a flat large incident beam directed onto the active part of a magneto-optical read head and reflected by this head onto an array of sensors, characterized in that it includes a correction device able to move the zone of incidence of the beam on the read head in order to keep the beam optimally positioned on the active part of the read head as the latter suffers progressive wear. The invention increases the useful working life of such a reading device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices able to read magneto-optically and simultaneously all the parallel tracks recorded on a magnetic tape. It is notably applicable to magnetic tape systems for recording high-density digital data, known under the name SDCR (Static Digital Cassette Recording).
2. Description of the Related Art
The SDCR high-density magnetic tape reading/recording system was designed in the central R&D laboratory of the THOMSON-CSF company with the goal of producing a high-density magnetic tape recording system operating simultaneously on a set of parallel tracks, without using classic rotating heads. For this purpose the SDCR uses a highly original recording device incorporating a magnetic head having a set of integrated poles laid out matrix-fashion, and a Kerr effect magneto-optical read head of substantially monolithic structure. The write and read heads therefore enable parallel recording and reading of extremely high data density, despite the fact that the fabrication of the SDCR is very simple compared with rival systems.
More particularly, the Kerr effect read head includes, in a manner now known to professionals of the art, a prism comprising a stack of suitable materials. It is illuminated by a laser producing a flat polarized incident beam whose thickness is adapted to the dimension of the bits written on the magnetic tracks, and whose width is sufficient to cover the whole breadth of the magnetic tape. After reflection on the sensitive layer of the head, the polarization of the optical beam changes according to the direction of the magnetization induced by each recorded track of the magnetic tape. This polarization change is transformed into an intensity change, by a polarizer for example. The beam is then received on an array of sensors, of CCD (charge-coupled device) type for example. Each of the cells of this CCD then delivers a signal representative of the information recorded on each of the tape tracks.
The system described succinctly above has been divulged in more detail in a set of patents describing the global architecture of the system and certain special aspects of its fabrication. We can notably mention the following French patents filed by the applicant:    8917313 (28 Dec. 1989), publication no. 2 656 723,    84 07761 (18 May 1984), publication no. 2 564 674,    93 01407 (7 Feb. 1993), publication no. 2 701 332,    90 00546 (18 Jan. 1990), publication no. 2 657 100,    92 11146 (18 Sep. 1992), publication no. 2 696 037,    8614974 (28 Oct. 1986), publication no. 2 605 783,    87 14818 (4 May 1987), publication no. 2 622 335,    88 05592 (27 Apr. 1988), publication no. 2 630 853,    96 08393 (5 Jul. 1996), publication no. 2 750 787.
This system has enabled satisfactory prototypes to be built. Experiments on these prototypes have however revealed a number of problems whose resolution would enhance both the performance and working life of devices made according to this system.
One of these problems concerns the wear of the magnetic read head.
Although this read head is made from particularly abrasion-resistant materials, it is still subject to wear caused by the movement of the magnetic tape over it, which leads to progressive degradation of the head's performance and ultimately to its failure. This is moreover common to all systems in which there is contact between the read head and the magnetic tape, in particular the systems with rotating heads used today.

Magneto-optical reading device for multi-track magnetic tapes


An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member for bearing an image, a rotatable recording material bearing member for bearing a recording material and conveying the recording material to a transfer station, the image formed on the image bearing member being transferred onto the recording material born on the recording material bearing member at the transfer station, and a cleaning means capable of being contacted with a surface of the recording material bearing member to clean the surface of the recording material bearing member at a cleaning station. When a length (L1) of a recording material born on the recording material bearing member in a rotational direction of the recording material bearing member is greater than a distance (L2) from the transfer station to the cleaning station along the rotational direction of the recording material bearing member, after the image is transferred onto the recording material born on the recording material bearing member, the recording material is conveyed to the transfer station again.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus of electrophotographic type of electrostatic recording type such as a copying machine, a laser beam printer, facsimile and the like.
2. Related Background Art
For example, various full-color image forming apparatuses having an image bearing member (photosensitive drum) of electrophotographic type for forming a toner image, and a transfer material bearing member for bearing a sheet (transfer material) onto which the toner image is transferred have been proposed and put to practical use. An example of such a full-color image forming apparatus is shown in FIG. 7.
In such a full-color image forming apparatus, around a photosensitive drum (image bearing member) 1 rotated in a direction shown by the arrow, there are arranged a corona charger 2, an exposure optical system 3, a developing means 4, a transfer device 5 and a cleaning device 6. Further, a cleaning device (transfer cleaner) 14 for cleaning a transfer drum 5a of the transfer device 5 is arranged around the transfer device 5.
The optical system 3 comprises a laser beam exposure device as shown having an original scanning portion and a color decomposing filter and adapted to illuminate a color-decomposed light image or a light image E corresponding to the color-decomposed light image onto the photosensitive drum 1. By successively illuminating the light images color-decomposed by the optical system 3 onto the photosensitive drum 1 negatively and uniformly charged by the charger 2, electrostatic latent images corresponding to different colors are successively formed on the photosensitive drum 1.
The developing means 4 is of rotatable type and comprises four developing devices, i.e., a yellow developing device 4Y, a magenta developing device 4M, a cyan developing device 4C and a black developing device 4K mounted around a rotary shaft 4b so that a desired developing device can be brought to a developing station opposed to the photosensitive drum 1, where the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is developed with toner having resin as a base component to form a toner image. The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto a recording material supplied from a recording material supply cassette 7 to the transfer device 5 at a transfer station where the transfer device 5 is opposed to the photosensitive drum 1.
In this example, the transfer device 5 includes the transfer drum 5a as a transfer material bearing member which comprises a cylinder having a peripheral opening and a recording material (transfer material) bearing sheet 5f made of dielectric material and covering the peripheral opening. Around the transfer drum 5a, there are arranged a transfer charger 5b, an absorb charger 5c, an absorb roller 5g, inner and outer chargers 5d, 5e and a separation charger 5h. These chargers such as the transfer charger 5b and the like comprise corona chargers. The absorb roller 5g comprises a conductive roller.
The recording material supplied from the recording material supply cassette 7 to the transfer device 5 through a convey system is electrostatically absorbed on the bearing sheet 5f of the transfer drum 5a by means of the absorb charger 5c and the absorb roller (acting as a counter electrode) 5g so that the recording material can be conveyed toward the transfer station as the transfer drum 5a is rotated. At the transfer station, by applying an electric field to the recording material by means of the transfer charger (corona charger) 5b disposed within the transfer drum 5a, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto the recording material. The recording material to which the toner image was transferred is conveyed to the transfer station again by the rotation of the transfer drum 5a, where the toner image for a next color formed on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto the same recording material.
After four color toner images are transferred onto the recording material in this way, the electricity is removed from the recording material by the separation charger 5h disposed outside the transfer drum 5a, and then, the recording material is separated from the bearing sheet 5f by a separation means 8. The separated recording material is sent to a fixing device 9, where the toner images are fused and mixed to be fixed to the recording material, thereby forming a permanent full-color image. On the other hand, the residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 and the bearing sheet 5f is removed by the cleaning device 6 and the cleaning device 14, respectively, for preparation for the next image formation.
Incidentally, convey paths for the recording material supplied from the cassette 7 and a recording material supplied by the manual insertion are shown by the broken lines in FIG. 7.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, the cleaning of the bearing sheet 5f is started during the separation of the recording material from the transfer drum 5a, and the cleaning is also started from a point (on the transfer drum 5a) where a tip end of the recording material was positioned. Thus, as shown in FIG. 8, if a distance between the transfer station (where the transfer drum 5a is opposed to the photosensitive drum 1) and the transfer cleaner 14 L2 along a rotational direction of the transfer drum 5a having the bearing sheet 5f is smaller than a peripheral distance (recording material peripheral length) L1 on a peripheral surface of the bearing sheet 5f of the transfer drum 5a, when the transfer cleaner 14 is driven as the point where the tip end of the recording material was positioned reaches the transfer cleaner 14, since the last color toner image is still being transferred onto the recording material, the color deviation of the last color toner image will occur due to the shock.
In order to eliminate such inconvenience, in the past, when the recording material peripheral length L1 is long, after the recording material is separated from the transfer drum, the transfer drum 5a is idly rotated by one revolution, thereby cleaning the transfer drum. In this case, however, in a both-face image formation (both-face copy) mode, it is impossible to prevent the deterioration of the image due to the oil contamination on the photosensitive drum. That is to say, in the both-face image formation mode wherein, after four color toner images are transferred onto a front surface (first surface) of the recording material (transfer material) and the toner images are fixed by the fixing device, the recording material is turned up (reversely rotated) to use a back surface (second surface) of the recording material as a front surface and is born on the transfer drum 5a in that condition to transfer the toner images onto the second surface, fixing oil adhered from a fixing roller of the fixing device 9 to the first surface of the recording material during the transferring of the toner images onto the first surface is transferred onto and adhered to the bearing sheet 5f of the transfer drum 5a when the toner images are transferred onto the second surface of the recording material born on the transfer drum. And, the fixing oil adhered to the bearing sheet 5f is transferred onto and adhered to the photosensitive drum 1 at the transfer station (where the bearing sheet 5f is contacted with the photosensitive drum 1) during the idle rotation of the transfer drum 5a (for cleaning) after the recording material on the second surface of which the toner images were transferred is separated from the transfer drum 5a.
As a result, when the both-face image formation are continuously effected with respect to a plurality of recording materials, the fixing oil is trapped on the photosensitive drum 1. Consequently, if the further image formation tries to continue, the toner from the developing means will be adhered to a portion on the photosensitive drum which should be kept white due to the viscosity of the fixing oil, thereby causing the fog in the transferred image. Further, during the developing operation, the toner adhered to a portion on the photosensitive drum which should be kept all black is difficult to be separated from the photosensitive drum due to the viscosity of the fixing oil, with the result that the toner is not transferred onto the recording material sufficiently, thereby causing the transferred image thinner. In this way, in the cleaning system wherein the toner is removed from the transfer drum after the recording material is separated from the transfer drum and then the transfer drum is idly rotated by one revolution, since the fixing oil adhered to the recording material during the both-face image formation is transferred onto the photosensitive drum during the idle rotation of the transfer drum to contaminate the photosensitive drum, the image is deteriorated. Thus, this system is not preferable.
Accordingly, in order to prevent the deterioration of the image due to the oil contamination of the photosensitive drum during the both-face image formation, it is necessary to clean the bearing sheet during the rotation of the transfer drum for separating the recording material from the transfer drum. However, as mentioned above, when the length L1 of the recording material is greater than the distance L2 between the transfer station and the cleaner, since the last color toner image is still being transferred onto the recording material, the color deviation of the last toner image cannot be avoided.

Image forming apparatus having recording material bearing member


A network control system for use in a communication network controls the receipt and transmission of messages between at least a pair of nodes of the network. Messages conveyed within the network include short messages having a length less than a predetermined number of bytes and long messages having a length greater than the predetermined number of bytes. The network control system is located at least at one of the nodes and includes a connectionless network control portion for controlling the transmission and receipt of the short messages and a connection-oriented network control portion coupled to the connectionless network control portion for establishing a connection with the other node for controlling the transmission and receipt of the long messages between the pair of nodes. The connectionless portion of the system includes a transport stage which provides end-to-end reliability within the system, a network stage for establishing routing of the messages, and a data link stage for providing point-to-point reliability and other control functions such as message flow control, node resynchronization, and node suspension. The connection-oriented portion of the system includes a session stage for handling the communication of long messages greater then the predetermined number of bytes in length.

The present invention is directed to an improved network control system and method for use in a communication network of the type including a plurality of nodes coupled to a bi-directional bus. The network control system and method is arranged to control the receipt and transmission of messages and provide control and supervisory functions at one of the network nodes. In a preferred network, each node is associated with a network control system of the present invention which correspondingly implements the method of the present invention.
Communication networks find application in virtually every environment wherein information is conveyed from one point to another. There are essentially two types of communication networks, connection-oriented networks and connectionless networks. In connection-oriented networks, a connection is established between like protocol stages of the network from the originating point of a message to the destination point of the message. A telecommunications network is one example of a connection-oriented network. A connectionless network, in contrast, is a network wherein there is no prior coordination between any of the like protocol stages from the origination point of a message to the destination point of the message. In addition, in a connectionless network, each message is transmitted independently of the previously or subsequently transmitted messages.
Connection-oriented networks are best suited for applications wherein a large amount of information is conveyed at any one time and wherein there are minimal time constraints on the system. This is due to the fact that the establishment of each connection between like protocol stages of the network requires considerable connection reliability and the establishment of all the required connections across the network consumes considerable time. Hence, a large amount of overhead is required in connection-oriented networks for conveying a message from one point to another. This is justified when a large amount of information is conveyed at any one time.
While there are many applications for communication networks, such networks have not been utilized in the field of controls, and more particularly, in facility management systems. Such systems are employed in office buildings, manufacturing facilities, and the like, for controlling the internal environment of the facility and/or for monitoring security systems such as fire and burglar alarms. These systems, have been arranged in master-slave configuration for acting, on a real-time basis, on security system alarms and controlling field devices such as heaters, dampers, fans and the like. Hence, these systems have not required communication networks to provide their required function.
A new and improved facility management system has been recently developed which has taken a clear departure from the master-slave configurations of the past. This new system is distributed in configuration, but still must function on a real-time basis. This requires short messages to be conveyed within the system and under certain time constraint. Because this system is distributed in configuration, it requires a communication network unlike prior master-slave systems.
Although traditional connection-oriented networks are more common, they are not well-suited for such an application. Because this system is a distributed system, many connections would have to be established to convey a message from one point of the system to another point in the system. Since the messages within this facility management system are generally short, due to the required real-time operation, the overhead associated with establishing the required connections would not be justified.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for a connectionless network control system which is distributed in its architecture to correspond to the distributed configuration of a control system, such as a facility management system. The present invention provides such a network control system and method which is distributed in architecture and which provides high reliability. The present invention further provides such a network control system which includes a connection-oriented network control portion for use in controlling the transmission and receipt of messages containing a large amount of information between one point in the network and another.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a connectionless network control system and method for use in a communication network.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a connectionless network control system and method for use in a communication network which exhibits high reliability.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a connectionless network control system and method which may be utilized in a facility management system.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a network control system which includes a connectionless network control portion for controlling the receipt and transmission of short messages combined with a connection-oriented network control portion for controlling the transmission and receipt of long messages.


A pedal for a bicycle with a foot-holding stirrup which extends over the forward area of a foot placed onto the upper side of the pedal and the ends of which are connected to the pedal. In the pedal, the foot-holding stirrup extends to the underside of the pedal and has ends bent upwards which may be introduced into plug openings formed in the underside of the pedal. This construction decreases costs and makes possible an adjustable attachment of the foot-holding stirrup to the pedal.

This invention relates to a bicycle pedal with a ho1ding stirrup for the foot which extends over the forward area of a foot or shoe placed on the upper side of the pedal and the ends of which are connected with the pedal.
Foot-holding stirrups for the pedal of a bicycle are known in various developments. In the prior art, the ends of the foot-holding stirrup have always been attached at the inside and the outside of the pedal. The attachment is accomplished generally in the form of a fixed connection, for example, with screws or rivets. Foot-holding stirrups connected to the pedal in this manner generally do not offer the possibility of an adaptation concerning their size and their relative position as compared to the pedal. Also, the production of the known foot-holding stirrups is relatively expensive and attachment to the pedal quite difficult.


A conveying device includes: opposed first and second rollers disposed to a first path; a roller holder supporting the second roller and movable between a first position where the second roller contacts the first roller and a second position where the second roller is spaced apart from the first roller; and opposed first and second guide members defining a second path merged with the first path. The first guide member is movable between a third position where the first guide member is spaced apart from the second guide member at a predetermined distance and a fourth position where their distance is less than the predetermined distance. The first guide member includes a guide portion for contacting and moving the roller holder from the first position to the second position in response to movement of the first guide member from the third position to the fourth position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conveying device including roller pairs to convey a sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some conveying devices can convey not only a sheet but also a rigid medium such as a CD and a DVD. In conveyance, such a rigid medium is typically placed on a tray specific to the rigid medium. The tray is inserted from an insertion opening and conveyed in the conveying device in a state in which the tray is supported on a tray guide provided in the conveying device.
The conveying device as described above includes a pair of rollers movable toward and away from each other. In conveyance of the sheet, the pair of rollers are held in contact with each other. In conveyance of the tray supporting the rigid medium thereon, on the other hand, the pair of rollers are spaced apart from each other.
In some conveying devices, a path for conveying a sheet is branched. For example, some image recording apparatuses, usually including a conveying device, can record images on both sides of a sheet. Such an image recording apparatus, for example, has: a main path through which a sheet is conveyed for image recording thereon by a recording unit; and a resupply path which is branched off from the main path and through which the sheet printed on its front side by the image recording is conveyed to the recording unit again. There is known an image recording apparatus having a resupply path and a pair of rollers movable toward and away from each other.


The invention relates to a portable observation device having an observation path for optical targeting of a target object, and comprising an optoelectronic rangefinder for measuring the distance in the direction of the targeting. The rangefinder includes a transmission unit for emitting a temporal sequence of pulses of optical radiation, a reception unit for receiving a portion of the optical radiation cast back by the target object and for determining signal information and an electronic evaluation unit, which a distance to the target object can be determined on the basis of a signal travel time between emission and reception of the optical radiation. When a trigger is actuated manually, the distance is determined including the signal information from a specified minimum number of pulses, which define a minimum length of a time window of the distance measurement.

The invention relates to an observation device comprising a rangefinder, according to the preamble of Claim 1 and to a distance measuring method for an observation device, according to the preamble of Claim 11.
Such observation devices have diverse fields of application, for example in hunting, for landmark navigation on land or at sea, for aiming at objects, for acquiring and documenting geographic surroundings, as information device for hikers, etc. In addition to such civilian fields of application, such devices are also used in the military sector for navigation, observation, etc. Here, it is important for the device to be robust, convenient, operable in a quick and simple manner, and as compact and as light as possible.
The observation devices within the scope of the present invention are robust devices designed for use in the field. These devices are not highly precise and correspondingly sensitive geodetic surveying devices such as tachymeters or theodolites with measurement resolutions in the millimeter range or with higher measurement resolutions, which are used e.g. in the construction sector. The devices described here usually have measurement resolutions of the order of meters or, at best, decimeters, but have measurement ranges of several kilometers, for example of up to five or thirty kilometers or more. The observation devices are primarily provided for hand-held use by persons, i.e., for example, as field glasses or binoculars, monocular telescopes, spotting scopes, portable weapon systems, etc., but can by all means be assembled on a tripod or the like if necessary.
The observation devices treated here can, in particular, comprise an optical transmitted light channel—that is to say, be conventional optical devices in terms of the basic function thereof, in which optical radiation is directed directly from the observed target object into the eye of the observer. However, in other embodiments, these can also be observation devices in which an observation image is recorded using a camera, the image is converted into electrical signals and the electrical signals are reproduced for the observer on a screen display. Here, especially in the case of the devices with a screen, the observation through an eyepiece, through which the recorded observation image can be observed, can be brought about in the conventional manner. Here, the observation path can by all means comprise optical elements for beam shaping, beam deflection, mirroring information in and out, amplifying residual light, etc. Specifically, this can relate to hand-held observation devices or distance-measuring observation devices which are generically embodied for use as a hand-held device, for example by appropriate handles, shaping, etc.
Here, the optical targeting using the observation device also determines the direction of the distance measurement. Here, the point to be measured is targeted by means of an optical apparatus of the transmitted light channel, for example by means of crosshairs in the observation apparatus of the device. In the case of electro-optical distance meters or rangefinders (EDM), an optical signal, for example as optical radiation in the form of laser light pulses, is emitted by the device in the direction of the target object, the distance of which is intended to be determined. If visible light is used in the process, the point on the target object targeted for measuring purposes can be identified visually in the case of appropriate light conditions. However, non-visible wavelengths, e.g. in the infrared range, are often used and the point on the target object targeted for measuring purposes is determined for the user purely by targeting with the observation channel of the device.
The surface of the target object casts back at least a portion of the emitted optical signal, usually in the form of a diffuse reflection. In the device, the cast-back optical radiation is converted into an electrical reception signal by a photosensitive detector element. The distance between the device and the target object can be determined with knowledge of the propagation speed of the optical signal and on the basis of the determined travel time between emission and reception of the signal (i.e. the travel time which light requires for covering the distance from the device to the target object and back again). Here, there usually are one or more optical components for beam shaping, deflection, filtering, etc.—such as lens elements, wavelength filters, mirrors, etc.—in the optical transmission or reception path. Here, transmission and reception can be brought about coaxially using a single optical unit or separately using two separated optical units (e.g. arranged next one another). Here, the distance meter or the rangefinder is integrated in the observation device.
In order to compensate influences which could falsify the measurement results (e.g. temperature influences, component tolerances, drifts of electronic components, etc.), part of the emitted optical signal can be guided as a reference signal over a reference path of a known length from the light source to a light-sensitive reception element. Here, the reference path can be fixedly installed in the device or, for example, be embodied as an optical deflection element that can be pivoted in or plugged on. The reception signal resulting from this reference signal can be received by the photosensitive element used for the target distance measurement or by a further photosensitive element provided especially for the reference signal. The resultant electrical reference signal can be used for referencing and/or calibrating the determined distance measurement values.
In order to obtain a correspondingly high accuracy of the distance measurement, the demands placed on the temporal resolution capabilities of the electro-optical distance meter (EDM) are relatively high due to the high propagation speed of optical radiation. By way of example, for a distance resolution of 1 m, a time resolution with an accuracy of approximately 6.6 nanoseconds is required.
The measurement requires sufficiently strong signal intensities, which can be detected by the receiver, of the returning reception signal. However, the signal power that can be emitted of the transmission signal of the optoelectronic EDM considered here is restricted by physical and regulatory limits. Therefore, work is often undertaken with pulsed operation. Thus, the intensity amplitude of the emitted optical signal is modulated in a pulse-like manner. Temporally short pulses with a high peak power are emitted, followed by pauses during which no light is emitted. Hence, the cast-back component of the pulses has a sufficiently high intensity to allow these to be evaluated from background disturbances and noise, in particular even in the presence of background light (sunlight, artificial illumination, etc.).
In the case of observation devices with rangefinders, ranges from several meters up to many kilometers, for example from 5 m to 20 km or 30 km, are required in this case, and this is required with a measurement accuracy of several meters or even higher measurement accuracy, for example of ±5 m or ±1 m or less. Since, in general, the measurement target does not have special reflective target markers for the measurement (as is conventional in measurement rods, measurement prisms etc. used in surveying), the applied optical distance measurement signal must be embodied and set in the device design in such a way that a distance measurement is possible over the whole specified measurement range (or the range must be specified on the basis of the possibilities of the used signal). Since only a small portion of the emitted radiation returns to the receiver in the case of natural or non-cooperative targets, the signal information from a plurality of pulses is used cumulatively (in particular in-phase) for the evaluation. In the process, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is improved in order thereby also to enable measurements in disadvantageous conditions. By using a plurality of measurement light pulses on the same target point, disturbance signals are removed by averaging and the used signal is amplified, corresponding to a theoretical SNR improvement of approximately the square root of the number of accumulated pulses.
In order to determine the travel time of the signal, the so-called time of flight (TOF) process is known on the one hand, which determines the time between the emission and reception of a light pulse, with the time measurement being performed on the basis of the flank, the peak value or another characteristic of the pulse shape. Here, the pulse shape should be understood to mean a temporal light intensity profile of the reception signal, specifically of the received light pulse—acquired by the photosensitive element. The transmission time can be determined on the basis of an electrical pulse for triggering the emission, on the basis of the actuation signal applied to the transmitter or on the basis of an aforementioned reference signal.
Alternatively, the so-called phase measurement principle is also known, which determines the signal travel time by comparing the phase angle of the amplitude modulation of the emitted and received signals. However, in this case, the measurement result at a transmission frequency has ambiguities in units of the transmission frequency period duration, and so further measures are required for resolving these ambiguities. By way of example, WO 2006/063740 discloses measuring using a plurality of signal frequencies resulting in different uniqueness ranges, as a result of which incorrect solutions can be excluded. WO 2007/022927 also treats uniquenesses in the phase measurement.
In a typical use scenario, the user targets a desired target using the observation device and then triggers the distance measuring process, for example by actuating a trigger button or the like. Thereupon, the measurement result, or further in-depth information derived therefrom, such as coordinates, etc., is displayed to said user, preferably directly by means of the observation channel of the observation device.
The observation device can be equipped with means for determining geographic coordinates, such as a GPS, a constellation identifier, a direction measuring unit, a compass unit, tilt sensors or accelerometers, a night vision function, etc. Using an electronic display for providing information, it is possible, for example, to provide to the user in the transmitted light channel an image from a camera, location information, for example in the form of a map, measured distances or directions, stored information in respect of a sighted target object, temperature and weather information using the electronic display. Depending on field of application and demands on the respective measurement situation, the observation device may, in a modified embodiment, be equipped with e.g. a night vision module, etc. In this context, EP 1 744 196 proposes, in an exemplary manner, several different embodiments for a generic observation device, for example for target marking, for military applications or for hunting purposes.
In the case of a hand-held observation, instabilities and movements of the device as a result of being held in the hand are to be expected in this case, especially in the form of oscillations or oscillation-like movements as a result of trembling, swaying or twitching of the user. This has a clear visible effect, particularly in the case of faraway targets and high magnifications. In the case of distances of the order of kilometers, small changes in angle of the targeting direction already cause lateral displacements of the observed target in the image plane corresponding to several meters. Therefore, continuous, exact targeting of a comparatively small and faraway target is often difficult for the user using a hand-held observation device and requires great concentration and body control. Similar variations in the spatial position of the device can also occur when using the device on an unstable base, such as a land vehicle, aircraft or water vehicle, or when the ground shakes.
As a result of the movements of the observation device, the distance measurement with inclusion of a plurality of measurement light pulses is no longer directed on the same target point, but on a multiplicity of different points which, at least in part, may have varying distances. Therefore, in such a case, the application of a combination of information from a plurality of pulses for determining the distance only brings about a slight improvement in the SNR compared to what is promised from the superposition of information from a plurality of pulses in the theory. This deteriorated SNR can lead to relatively large measurement uncertainties, relatively large measurement errors or even to a failure of the measurement. Further lengthening of the measurement duration for emitting further pulses for improving the SNR, firstly, is undesirable and, secondly, only has limited efficiency due to the further target point deviations occurring thereby.
In the prior art, active dampening or prevention of movements by using a rod or tripod for supporting the device are applied for avoiding trembling movements as a result of being held by hand. However, such additional outlay for setting up the device is undesirable, in particular in view of the primary design as hand-held device.
Mechanical movements of optical elements in the device interior are another known solution for actively stabilizing the direction of observation devices; however, it is usually complicated in terms of the realization thereof, reduces the robustness of the device and makes the device larger and heavier. Moreover, such active stabilizations need to be supplied with power.
The field of digital photo and video equipment has also disclosed digital stabilization of an observation image from a hand-held device using a purely screen-based observation. Although such a digital image stabilization can optionally also be present in the observation devices of the present invention, it is then functionally separated from the approach according to the invention which makes do without image processing or information obtained therefrom. Thus, the stabilization of the distance measurement according to the invention is not dependent on information generated by digital image processing.
Electronic components required for digital stabilization use up e.g. additional power and reduce the robustness in rough usage surroundings, for example by the restricted operational temperature ranges of LC displays and CCD cameras. Restricted optical dynamic ranges of these elements and the high computational complexity for digital processing of image information are further undesirable side effects of such solutions. By contrast, a special embodiment of an observation device according to the invention, with an optical transmitted light channel can continue to meet the basic functionality thereof—a magnified observation of distant objects—even without electrical energy, for example in the case of a defect or empty battery, e.g. in the case of long-term use, and is not only degraded to useless high-tech ballast. Moreover, in such embodiments, the expected battery life is significantly increased.
Document FR 2 921 149 describes a digital device from telemetry, comprising a camera recording unit and an electronic display for displaying the recorded image. In order to depict for the user a clear observation image despite the movements as a result of being held by hand, the recorded camera image is numerically stabilized before being displayed. Since information about the actual current target direction is lost during this stabilization, the latter is additionally also displayed in the stabilized image on the display. Here, a distance to a target object is measured in two steps. Firstly, the desired target is targeted using crosshairs in the stabilized image on the display, which is confirmed by triggering a measurement query. However, the distance measurement is not triggered directly in this case with the actuation of the triggering. First of all, the user must attempt in a second step to bring the current target direction of the distance measurement, depicted in the display, into sufficient correspondence with the crosshairs in the stabilized image by moving the alignment of the observation device. If the device determines the correspondence, it now emits a single light pulse for measuring the distance at this later time, on the basis of which the distance to the target in the crosshairs of the stabilized image is determined. Here, the above-described system merely solves the problem of an unknown target direction of the image-based, image stabilized distance measuring observation device, which problem was newly introduced with the image stabilization. In addition to the previously mentioned disadvantages of fully electronic observations and digital image processing of image stabilizations, etc., this system comprises. Moreover, the system from FR 2 921 149 is based on an individual pulse measurement, in which signal information from a plurality of pulses are not combined to form a measured value, and so, instead, the target can only either be hit or missed.
FR 2 965 935 likewise discloses an observation device with indirect, camera-based observation with a digital stabilized observation image, in which there is an accumulation of a plurality of laser pulses for determining the distance. Here, a sequence of light pulses is emitted when the measurement is triggered. The returned echoes are linked to measurement data from a gyroscope measurement of the current trembling movements—as directional deviation in relation to the target direction of the stabilized display image. The echoes are assigned to corresponding zones in the target region on the basis of this angular deviation. The measured values from the zone in which the best SNR value is obtained are used for determining the distance, which is presented to the user.

Stabilized distance measurement in the observation device


A semiconductor wafer into which devices such as an integrated circuit is to be formed is gettered by regions in the wafer activated by a laser beam. The laser beam is directed onto the surface of the wafer opposite to that where the devices are to be formed. The power input to the laser is controlled such that the surface temperature of the region of the semiconductor wafer where the laser beam is applied first reaches the melting point of the material, such as silicon, and the melting commences. Then the temperature in the melt rises above the melting temperature, but stays below the boiling temperature of the material of the wafer. A superheated melt is formed. The result is that the solid-liquid interface moves deep into the material. The position of the melt is directly under the laser beam. The solidified material is positioned behind the beam as the beam scans the wafer. A depression is formed under the beam while the material rises behind the laser beam. This depression effect of the laser beam causes the beam to penetrate relatively deeply into the material. The superheated melt of this type has been found to be useful in the activation of internal gettering centers as opposed to crystal damage by a higher powered laser beam. These internal gettering centers, which may be oxygen complexes or the like, then act as gettering sites for unwanted impurities during subsequent heat treatment of the semiconductor wafer.

An economical determinant of integrated circuit process technology is the yield, that is the percentage of the total number of chips processed that are good. Often, bad chips are caused by devices wherein they fail to operate because of excessive leakage currents. The yield of complex integrated circuits is typically a few percent. One major factor that affects this yield is the presence of crystal defects in silicon, or other semiconductor wafers on which integrated circuits are built. These crystal defects can be classified into two kinds: the native defects, such as dislocations, stacking faults, and clusters of self-interstitials and vacancies; and the extraneous defects, such as contaminants of elements different from the semiconductor substrates. Dislocations are introduced in high temperature processing because of non-ideal thermal conditions (see for example, K. Morezane and P. S. Gleim, J. Appl. Phys. 40, 4104 (1969); S. M. Hu, App., Phys. Lett. 22, 261 (1973)), whereas stacking faults are introduced either during epitaxial growth when the substrates are not appropriately cleaned (see, for a review, B. A. Joyce, Rept. Prog. Phys. 37, 363-420 (1974), or during thermal oxidation when the substrates contain other kinds of point defect clusters serving as nucleation sites (see, for example, D. J. D. Thomas, Phys. Stat. Solidi 3, 2261 (1963); S. M. Hu, Appl. Phys. Lett. 27, 1965 (1976). Clean native defects, in general, are not harmful electrically by themselves to any practical extent. However, they interact with extraneous impurities and become harmful. One example is the formation of transistor "pipes", commonly though as formed by enhanced diffusion of emitter or subcollector dopants along dislocations traversing transistor bases (for example, see F. Barson, M. S. Hess and M. M. Roy, J. Electrochem. Soc. 116, 304 (1969); G. H. Plantinga, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices ED-16, 394 (1969)). Another example is the role of vacancy/interstitial clusters, stacking faults, and dislocations serving as nucleation centers for the precipitation of fast diffusing impurities such as copper (for example, see S. M. Hu and M. R. Poponiak, J. Appl. Phys. 43, 2067 (1972); Phys. Stat. Solidi (a) 18, KS, (1973)), and other fast diffusing impurities such as iron, nickel, gold, etc.
As early as 1960, it was recognized that precipitates of such fast diffusing impurities as copper, iron, nickel, etc. may act to facilitate the recombination/generation of electron-hold pairs, leading to excessively high reverse leakage currents. With this recognition, Goetzberger and Shockley (J. Appl. Phys. 31, 1831 (1960)) first suggested the use of boron or phosphorus doped silicate glass layers to getter these detrimental impurities (see also, S. W. Ing., Jr., et al. J. Electrochem. Soc. 110, 553 (1963)).
As the integrated circuit processing becomes more complex and lengthy, the changes of contamination, during each of the processing steps, become greater and greater. To rely on the high purity of the starting wafers and the meticuluous cleanliness is no longer without risk. Therefore, other gettering processes have been proposed. These include the diffusion of phosphorus or boron into the silicon wafers, for examples, see M. R. Poponiak, W. A. Keenan, and R. O. Schwenker, in Semiconductor Silicon/1973, H. R. Huff and R. R. Burgess, editors, p. 701, Electrochemical Society Softbound Symposium Series, Princeton, N.J.; R. L. Meek, T. E. Seidel and A. G. Cullis, J. Electrochem. Soc. 122, 786 (1975); J. L. Lambert and M. Reese, Solid-State Electron. 11, 1055 (1968); mechanical damages on the wafer backsides, for examples, see E. J. Metz, J. Electrochem. Soc. 112, 420 (1965) and J. E. Lawrence U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,162, Sept. 16, 1975; ion implantation, for example, see T. M. Buck, K. A. Pickar, J. M. Poate and C. M. Hsieh, Appl. Phys. Lett. 20, 485 (1972); Appl. Phys. Lett 22, 238 (1973) and "Impact Sound Stressing for Semiconductor Devices", U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,626 issued Apr. 10, 1977, to G. Schwuttke et al. All these methods involve, in one form or another, certain disorders worked into the substrates.
Such disorders, mechanical damages in particular, can often propagate through the silicon wafers into the active device areas unless later thermal processes are carried out under extremely idealized conditions that are often not met.
Such damages are also difficult to quantify and control. In the case of ion implantation damages, the damaged layers are often too shallow, and may be easily removed during such later processing as oxidation and etching. Furthermore, improper thermal processing may often anneal out such implantation damages, making later thermal processing procedure not easily optimized or compatible.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,626 to Schwuttke, et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,068 to Beyer, et al, suggest the use of a laser for gettering purposes. Pearce, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,487 is directed to a method for use of a laser with a high energy beam with sufficient power to vaporize the semiconductor material and produce lattice damage and strain in the semiconductor wafer. Each of these patents require that lattice damage is produced to act as gettering sites.

High efficiency gettering in silicon through localized superheated melt formation

International Business Machines Corporation


According an embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes a semiconductor memory chip to store plural pieces of data that are written and read in units of a page and are erased in units of a block including plural pages; a discarding unit to discard, after the data is written in the semiconductor memory chip with a logic address being designated, at least a portion of valid data among the plural pieces of data; a compaction unit to write the valid data excluding the discarded data in a second block among the valid data stored in a first block and erase the first block; and a controller to output, in response to a request for reading the discarded data, a response indicating that the data is unable to be read. When all the valid data included in a block are discarded, the discarding unit erases the block.

Techniques of using an SSD (solid state drive) as a cache of a file system have been known. In the SSD, for example, NAND type semiconductor memory devices (NAND memories) or the like are used. In the case where a storage device is configured by using a semiconductor memory such as a NAND memory, transfer process (compaction or garbage collection) is performed.
For example, an SSD using NAND memories is used as a cache of a HDD (hard disk drive), so that it is possible to implement a high speed in comparison with the case where a cache is not used. However, in the NAND memory, since the aforementioned transfer process (compaction or garbage collection) which generally has a large processing load is needed, high speed implementation may be prevented.

Semiconductor memory device and computer program product


A molecular detection apparatus 1 according to an embodiment includes: a collection unit collecting detection target gas containing molecules to be detected; a detector including a detection cell having an organic probe provided at a sensor unit, the organic probe capturing the collected molecule to be detected; and a discriminator discriminating the molecule to be detected by a detection signal generated by the molecule being captured by the organic probe. The detection cell has the organic probe containing a phosphonic acid structure or phosphoric acid structure.

A water heater or the like for household use is provided with an equipment that detects carbon monoxide generated when incomplete combustion occurs and notifies the risk thereof at an early stage. Such a gas component considerably affects a human body. According to the guidelines from LP gas safety committee, it is set that a carbon monoxide concentration of approximately 200 ppm (parts per million) causes headaches. Although various methods have been known as a method of detecting a gas component having a relatively higher concentration, the detection methods have been limited for detecting the gas component having a concentration of ppb (parts per billion) to ppt (parts per trillion), which corresponds to an extremely low concentration.
At a disaster site or a site at which an act of terrorism occurs or the like, it has been desired to sense the risk in advance by detecting an extremely small amount of the gas component. The gas component having an extremely low concentration is often detected by use of a large equipment in research facilities. In this case, a large sized installation type equipment, which is expensive and has large weight and volume, such as a gas chromatography or a mass spectrometer is required. Under such circumstances, it has been required to provide an apparatus that is capable of detecting the gas component having an extremely low concentration in real time, in other words, an apparatus that has a smaller weight and volume and a better portability and enables selective and higher sensitive detection of the gas component having an extremely low concentration in the order of ppt to ppb.
By the way, examples of the gas component required to be detected at an extremely low concentration include sarin, an organophosphorus compound contained in toxic agricultural chemicals, and toxic gas components such as nitrogen mustard gas and sulfur mustard gas. Besides, components of an explosive nitro compound and the like are also required to be detected at an extremely low concentration. For example, detonating explosives release an extremely small amount of volatile component even in a sealed state, and it is considered that a capability of detecting such a gas component at an extremely small concentration brings about a deterrent effect of an act of terrorism. Conventionally, it is general that a volatile component of the nitro compound or the like at a site such as an airport is detected by a trained police dog or the like. Such a gas component detection method is very effective in terms of a deterrent to an act of terrorism, but such an approach by use of an animal is high in cost and further has a difficulty in securing accuracy in a normal state.
As a detection element for the gas component having a low concentration, for example, an element has been known that has a conductive layer in which a surface of a carbon nanostructure is surface modified with an organic substance or the like that selectively reacts with or adsorbs a specific substance and measures a potential difference or the like that changes depending on the gas component that has adhered to the surface of the carbon nanostructure. In such a detection element, types of the organic substance themselves that functions as a detection probe are limited, and thus an organic substance capable of sufficiently interacting with the volatile component of the nitro compound has not been found out. In the meantime, there has been proposed a method of detecting the presence or amount of nitro compound component by providing, on a nanostructure such as a nanowire or a nanotube, a functionality component having an electron releasing group, such as amine, that bonds to the nitro compound component to form a charge transfer complex. In this method, the formation of charge transfer complex by the electron releasing group on a sensor side and the nitro compound component is likely to be affected by environmental conditions with the presence of the nitro compound component. Therefore, there is a problem that detection accuracy of the nitro compound component decreases depending on the environmental condition.

Molecular detection apparatus, molecular detection method, and molecular detector