An engergizing circuit for a solenoid valve has a power source connected to a solenoid coil of the solenoid valve through on-off contacts. The energizing circuit includes a capacitor and a solid-state surge absorber which are respectively connected in parallel with the solenoid coil, and the surge absorber is made from a sintered material containing a metal oxide as a principal component and having a non-linear electric resistance characteristic with respect to the applied voltage. By virtue of the solenoid valve energizing circuit constructed as described, when the on-off contacts are separated, the occurrence of an arc between the contacts thus preventing wear of the contacts, while when the solenoid coil is deenergized, the delay time in the return movement of the valve spool is decreased, and moreover the surge voltage produced across the ends of the solenoid coil upon its deenergization is controlled to a predetermined low voltage.

The present invention relates to energizing circuits for solenoid valves, and more particularly the invention relates to an improved energizing circuit whereby when the supply of current to a solenoid valve is frequently turned on and off to frequently change the positions of the valve spool, the contacts for turning on and off the current supply are prevented from being damaged by arc discharge, and more particularly the surge voltage generated across the solenoid coil of the solenoid valve during the off period of the current supply is suppressed and the delay time in the return movement of the valve spool upon deenergization of the solenoid coil is reduced.
With a known type of solenoid valve in which current is supplied to a solenoid coil to move a valve spool against a flow force and spring force, if a switch with contacts, e.g., relay is used to interrupt the supply of current to the solenoid coil, arc discharge will be caused between the switch contacts, with the result that the life of the contacts is reduced extremely due to wear and loss of the contacts and the contacts are held in an incompletely parted condition by an arc current during the period of the arc discharge, thus causing a residual magnetic force in the solenoid coil by the current continuously flowing in the solenoid coil and thereby retarding the return movement of the spool until the residual magnetic force becomes smaller than the spring force. As a result, the change-over time of the valve will be increased thus causing a delaying phenomena. Also, immediately after the contacts have parted, a surge voltage which is several tens times the normal voltage (differing in dependence on the parting speed of the contacts) will be induced across the solenoid coil thus causing troubles, such as, dielectric breakdown of the solenoid coil or electric noise which disturbes other devices, particularly communication devices in the neighborhood.
In the past, many different measures have been proposed to prevent the occurrence of surge voltage across the solenoid coil or the occurrence of arc discharge between the contacts upon interruption of the current supply to the solenoid coil, and all of these proposed measures are of the alternative nature in that in some measures the prevention of sparks between the contacts is accompanied with an increased delay time in the return movement of the spool upon deenergization of the solenoid coil and in another measures the suppression of surge voltage is accompanied by the occurrence of spark between the contacts and an increased delay time in the return movement of the spool. For instance, a measure is known in the art in which a diode is connected in parallel with a DC solenoid coil in opposite polarity so that the voltage induced in the coil upon opening of the contacts is discharged through the diode, that is, the surge voltage produced across the solenoid coil is suppressed by the continuity of the current flow thus extinguishing the spark produced between the contacts, and this measure is disadvantageous in that although there occurs no spark of the order that can be observed visually, there actually occurs spark of the order sufficient to cause wearing of the contacts and moreover the delay time in the return movement of the valve spool is several times that obtained without using the diode.
On the other hand, another measure is known in which the ordinary varistor whose electric resistive element is mainly composed of intergranular point contacts, such as, SiC varistor is connected in parallel with a solenoid coil so as to absorb the surge voltage at a certain voltage value, and this is also disadvantageous in that in the case of a large power coil, such as, the coil of a solenoid valve, a very large back electromotive force will be generated upon the interruption of current flow with the result that it is impossible to extinguish a spark produced between the contacts by simply absorbing only that part of a high voltage of a narrow waveform which is higher than a certain voltage value and the delay time in the return movement of the valve spool remains as long as is the case without connecting the varistor.
Still another measure is known in which a capacitor is for example connected in parallel with a solenoid coil so that the back electromotive force produced upon deenergization of the coil is cancelled by the charge stored in the capacitor, and this is also disadvantageous in that the capacitor must have a capacitance value of a certain measure to prevent the occurrence of spark between the contacts and that the capacitance value of the capacitor must be large in order to suppress the surge voltage to a certain value. For example, in the case of a DC solenoid valve having a rated voltage of 24 V, if it is desired to suppress the surge voltage across the coil to 150 V, a capacitor having a relatively large capacitance of several tens .mu.F must be used to produce the desired effect, that is, if a capacitor having for example a capacitance value of 1 .mu.F is used, a surge voltage of the order of 1,000 V will be produced across the coil upon deenergization of the coil. Since voltages of opposite polarities will be applied across the capacitor during the supply of current to the coil and immediately after the interruption of the current supply, respectively, the capacitor must be a nonpolarized capacitor with the result that it is difficult to obtain inexpensively a nonpolarized capacitor of a large capacitance and it is necessary to use a large capacitor which is difficult to use as a built-in component part around the valve. Further, since a capacitor of a large capacitor must be used, when current is supplied to a solenoid coil, a large rush current flows to the capacitor and consequently such rush current cannot be ignored in cases where a plurality of solenoid coils are energized from the same power source.
Thus, with the ordinary solenoid valve, in order to change the passages for a large pressure or large flow, the spring force of a spool return spring must be selected large to change the passages upon deenergization of the solenoid coil and the flow force also increases. As a result, the attractive force of a solenoid must be large to overcome such large opposing forces and it is necessary to use a large solenoid coil, thus inevitably increasing the ampere turns and causing upon interruption of the current supply a back electromotive force which is extremely large with those of other coil devices. Consequently, if the current supply is interrupted by a contact-type switching device such as relay, many peculiar problems will be caused, namely, the contacts will generally be made inoperative after the expiration of about one half the rated life of the switching device, not only the delay in the opening of the contacts but also the delay in the return movement of the valve spool must be taken into consideration, and so on.
On the other hand, while it is essential to guarantee a life over a long period of time for hydraulic equipment used as industrial equipment, there are many cases where such hydraulic equipment is incorporated in one unit along with an electric component, such as, electric motor, relay or timer which controls the operation of the hydraulic equipment, with the result that the electric component is considered as a part of the hydraulic equipment and it is necessary to guarantee a life for the unit in consideration of the hydraulic equipment as well as the electric component. However, with the electric components other than electric motors, such as, relays and timers, generally the life of their contacts, etc., is short as compared with that of the hydraulic equipment so that presently it is the usual practice to select a relatively short guaranteed life in consideration of the short life of the electric component or alternatively a life is guaranteed in consideration of the relatively long life of the hydraulic equipment and the replacement of a relay or the like without cost is made obligatory within the guaranteed period.


A process for coating a carbonized material with metal is disclosed, wherein a chlorine-containing resin mixture is coated with Cr or Fe-Cr alloy to a thickness of substantially several microns. The coated product is then heated in an inactive atmosphere to carbonize the resin mixture. The process sufficiently coats a metal onto a carbonized material using relatively simple steps.

The present invention relates to a process for coating a carbonized material with metal.
Heretofore, a carbonized material has been coated with metal by either ion sputtering, plasma discharge, electrolytic plating, or chemical plating. However, these methods have the following drawbacks: (1) it is difficult to coat metal onto a large material or a material having a complex shape; (2) it is difficult to coat metal onto a material having a complex shape so that all of the details of the shape are completely coated; and (3) apparatuses for complex coating operations are expensive.

Process for coating carbonized material with metal


An electronic device includes a first body, a second body and a hinge structure. The hinge structure includes a first pivot component, a second pivot component, a first connecting component and a torsion adjusting assembly. The first pivot component is fixed on the first body. The second pivot component is fixed on the second body and pivoted to the first pivot component. The first connecting component is fixed on the first pivot component. The torsion adjusting assembly is movably disposed at the second body. When the torsion adjusting assembly is moved to a first position, the first connecting component and the torsion adjusting assembly are separated and the hinge structure has a first torsion. When the torsion adjusting assembly is moved to a second position, the first connecting component is connected to the torsion adjusting assembly and the hinge structure has a second torsion larger than the first torsion.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to an electronic device and more particularly to an electronic device having a hinge structure.
2. Description of Related Art
Benefiting from the advances in semiconductor devices and display technology, electronic apparatuses are unceasingly trending toward increasingly smaller sizes, a plurality of functions and convenient portability. Common portable electronic apparatuses include tablet PCs, smart phones, notebook computers and so forth. Taking the notebook computers for example, a general type notebook computer is composed of a host and a display. The host and the display are pivoted to each other by a hinge structure. In the notebook computer, a user may close the display to the host by the relative rotation of the host and the display for convenient portability. When desiring to use the notebook computer, the user opens the display for convenient operation.
More and more notebook computers are equipped with a touch control display. If torsion of the hinge structure between the display and the host is overly large, the user may not smoothly open the display from the host and even may have to open the display by pressing the host. On the other hand, if the torsion of the hinge structure between the display and the host is overly small, the force of pressing the display usually causes the display to shake when the user operates the display by a touch control manner, which causes the user visual discomfort and operational difficulty.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Disclosed is an electrodeless, low pressure gas discharge lamp. The lamp includes a vitreous envelope containing a metal vapor and an inert gas. The envelope is shaped with an external chamber for receiving an electrical excitation circuit. The excitation circuit is effective for exciting the metal vapor to emit light with electromagnetic fields that are passed through the vitreous envelope from outside, to inside, the envelope. A circuit supplies electrical power from power mains to the excitation circuit. A transparent, electrically conductive coating is disposed on the inner surface of the vitreous envelope for suppressing electromagnetic interference on the power mains. An electrically conductive coating is disposed on the outer surface of the vitreous envelope; it is capacitively coupled to the inner conductive coating, via a wall of the vitreous envelope, and is maintained at a suitable potential for suppressing electromagnetic interference on the power mains. The outer conductive coating comprises a matrix of a contiguous, inorganic, glass layer bonded to an exterior surface of the vitreous envelope, and conductive particles embedded in the matrix in a sufficiently dense manner to form a conductive coating.

An electrodeless, low pressure (e.g. fluorescent) lamp incorporates a hermetically sealed vitreous envelope that typically contains a metal vapor and a rare gas. The envelope has an external chamber into which an excitation coil is received. The excitation coil electrically excites the metal vapor in the vitreous envelope to emit light by passing a high frequency electromagnetic field through the vitreous envelope; without any electrodes within the envelope itself, the lamp is electrodeless. The high frequency electromagnetic field, however, can create undesirable electromagnetic interference (EMI) on the mains, or power lines, that supply electric power to the lamp.
To reduce such EMI to an acceptable level, the prior art has taught the use of a transparent, conductive coating on the interior of the envelope for suppressing the EMI. A cooperating, conductive coating on the exterior surface of the vitreous envelope is used to capacitively couple the inner conductive coating to a circuit potential that is suitable for suppressing EMI on the power mains. Being located on the exterior surface of the vitreous envelope, however, the outer conductive coating is susceptible to damage through any of physical abrasion, reaction with chemicals in the vitreous envelope, or reaction with chemicals in the external environment (e.g. H.sub.2 O present in humidity). For instance, vacuum-deposited aluminum has been found by the present inventors to adversely react with a vitreous envelope formed of soda-lime-silicate glass, losing its structural integrity. The soda-lime-silicate glass is desirable for the vitreous envelope due to its low cost. Additionally, the outer conductive coating must be temperature tolerant, and be able to withstand thermal shocks and thermal cycling, such as occur during lamp operation.
Briefly, a suitable, EMI-suppressing, outer conductive coating should, over the expected life of a lamp, retain adequate electrical conductivity and provide appropriate capacitive coupling with the inner, transparent, conductive coating mentioned above. To assess such durability of the conductive coating, the present inventors have subjected a large number of coatings to durability tests measuring the following factors: (1) resistance to abrasion; (2) resistance to a humid environment; (3) temperature tolerance (e.g. 160.degree. C.); and (4) resistance to thermal shock and thermal cycling. Most coatings that were tested failed to meet the foregoing durability criteria. The present invention is directed to coatings that meet the durability criteria.

Electrodeless lamp with external conductive coating


In a method for measuring a specified component in a specimen by reacting the specimen with a first reagent formed by binding a substance active to the specified component, with carrier particles and a second reagent formed by labelling a substance active to the specified component with a first label, and measuring the substances in the complexes obtained in the reaction, there is disclosed a method featured by labelling the carrier particles with a second label different from the first label, and detecting the second label and then the first label utilizing the detection of the second label as a trigger.. This method enables a highly precise measurement without the influence of noise components in the detection of specified trace components in the specimen, utilizing an antigen-antibody reaction or a nucleic acid hybridization.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technical field of specimen measurement for determining a specified trace component in the specimen utilizing, for example, an antigen-antibody reaction or hybridization of nucleic acid.
2. Related Background Art
The recent advances in the detection technologies of specified trace components in the specimen are playing a significant role in the field of clinical tests, for early diagnosis or discovery of various deseases. Since it was published in 1958 by S. A. Berson et al. that insulin was determined with radioactive iodine labelling, there have been established determinations of plasma protein such as IgE, IgG, CRP and microglobulin, tumor markers such as AFP, CEA and CA19-9, hormones such as TSH and T.sub.3, pharmaceutical substances in blood, virus as such as HBV and HIV, antibodies therefor, and nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA, with possibility for automated processing of plural specimens.
Most of these trace components are determined by immunoassays utilizing antigen-antibody reactions, or by methods utilizing nucleic acid-nucleic acid hybridization. In such analytical methods, for example, an antigen, an antibody or a single-chain nucleic acid capable of specifically binding with the object substance to be determined, is used as a probe, and is fixed on a solid surface such as small particles, beads or a reactor wall., and an antigen-antibody reaction or a nucleic acid hybridization with said object substance is effected. In such reaction there is employed a labelled antigen, a labelled antibody or a labelled nucleic acid, bearing a labelling substance of a high detection sensitivity such as an enzyme, a fluorescent substance or a light-emitting substance to detect an antigen-antibody complex or a double-chained nucleic acid, thereby determining the amount of the object substance to be determined.
FIG. 9 illustrates a typical example of fluoroimmunoassay (sandwich immunoassay) in which the object substance is an antigen. A first reagent is prepared, in which an antibody 24 constituting a first substance capable of specifically binding with an antigen 22 contained in the specimen, is fixed on carrier particle 21 in advance, and is mixed with a specimen such as serum to induce an antigen-antibody reaction with the antigen 22 therein (1st reaction). Then, a second reagent in which an antibody 23 capable of specifically binding with the antigen 22 is labelled with a fluorescent substance 25, is mixed to form a complex (2nd reaction). After 2nd reaction, an amount of the antigen 22 in the specimen is determined by the fluorescent measurement of the complex.
FIG. 10 shows an example of the fluorescent measurement of the above-mentioned sandwich immunoassay, utilizing so-called flow cytometry technology. A sample liquid containing complexes 31, 32 obtained through the reactions explained above is contained in a reaction liquid bath 38. It is to be noted that said sample liquid also contains various substances in the specimen, carrier particles, labelling substance or the like. The reaction liquid bath 38 is pressurized by a pump 39 to feed the sample liquid into a flow cell 35. In said flow cell, there flows sheath liquid 34 to generate a laminar flow due to sheath flow principle, whereby a plurality of complexes 31, 32 flow in a line. Said flow is irradiated by a laser light source 36 with a laser beam of a wavelength capable of exciting the labelling fluorescent substance. When the complex 31 is irradiated by the laser beam, a scattered light 37a is generated by the carrier particle, and a fluorescent light 37b is simultaneously emitted from the labelling substance 33a. However, when the labelling substance 33a, object substance 33b or carrier particle 33c each unreacted flows alone, the scattered light 37a and the fluorescent light 37b are not generated at the same time, or only at a very low intensity. Consequently, the complexes 31, 32 alone can be selectively measured, independently from other noise components, by collect the data only when the scattered light and the fluorescent light are generated at the same time and exceed a certain level.
FIG. 11 is a wave form chart indicating the signals of the scattered and fluorescent lights in the measurement shown in FIG. 10. In an ideal case shown in FIG. 11, the intensity of the forward scattered light is high when a complex reaches the irradiated area of the flow cell and is low except at said area, since a strong scattered light 51 is generated by the carrier particle. Therefore, a trigger signal 52 is generated when the intensity of the forward scattered light is beyond a predetermined level, and the intensity of the fluorescent light 53 is measured at the timing of said trigger signal 52, whereby the intensity of the fluorescent light from the complex can be selectively determined. If fluorescent light is generated, it can be judged the object substance is present and an antigen-antibody reaction or a nucleic acid hybridization reaction has been induced. On contrary, no fluorescent light is generated, it can be judged that such reaction has not been induced. The object substance can be determined by statistical processing of a multitude of measurements.
In practice, however, the ideal output as shown in FIG. 11 is not obtainable, since the increase in the light intensity is caused, as shown in FIG. 12, by factors other than the forward scattered light generated by the complexes themselves. As example of such factors there are floating substances present in the original reaction liquid and bubbles generated therein. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 12, the forward scattered light shows not only a peak 61 resulting from the complexes but also a peak 62 resulting from the floating substances or the bubbles. Consequently, in addition to a trigger signal 63 corresponding to the complexes, there is generated a false trigger signal 64 based on such floating substances or bubbles, so that the fluorescent intensity (zero-level) at that time is read. This causes a mistake as if there were carrier particles having not induced the antigen-antibody reaction or the nucleic acid hybridization reaction, significantly affecting adversely the precision of quantitative measurement.


A device for attaching a shoe to a bicycle pedal comprises a plate (23), adapted for mounting onto a sole of the shoe, and a pedal body (1). The pedal body has first and second stepping surfaces (A, B) on opposing sides and front and rear anchor members (5A, 5B, 31A, 31B) adapted to cooperate with front and rear portions of the plate. The rear anchor members each have a lever that is pivotable about a transverse axis between an anchor position, where the rear anchor members are configured to affix the plate to the stepping surfaces, and a release position, where the rear anchor members are configured to release the plate. A common return device (55) creates a single, adjustable biasing force to bias both levers into the anchor position.

The invention relates to a device for attaching a shoe on a bicycle pedal, comprising a plate which can be mounted on the sole of the shoe, the front portion of the plate, as viewed in the travel direction, cooperating with a front anchor member and the rear portion of the plate, as seen in the travel direction, cooperating with a rear anchor member of the pedal body, wherein the rear anchor member comprises a lever tiltable about a transverse axis, with this lever being urged into its anchoring position by means of a return device.
In a device of the kind described above and known from EP 0 146 454 A2, anchor members are provided only on one of the sides of the pedal which serves as a stepping surface. Thus, when a shoe is to be attached by means of its plate to the considered pedal, this pedal must occupy a defined pivotal position in which the pedal side provided with the anchor members is directed upwardly.
The object of the invention is to realize a further device for attaching a shoe on a bicycle pedal of the kind mentioned at the beginning. With a simple construction and a problem-free manipulation it should in particular be attained that the shoe can be attached on the two main faces of the pedal. The release characteristic should remain as constant as possible irrespective of the side on which the shoe is attached.

Device for attaching a shoe on a bicycle


An architecture and method for a gaming-specific platform are disclosed that features secure storage and verification of game code and other data, provides the ability to securely exchange data with a computerized wagering gaming system, and do so in a manner that is straightforward and easy to manage. Some embodiments provide the ability to identify game program code as certified or approved, such as by the Nevada Gaming Regulations Commission or other regulatory agency. The disclosed embodiments provides these and other functions by encrypting a random number, storing the encrypted random number, and hashing the random number and a casino game data set to provide a first bit string, and storing the first bit string.

1. Technical Field
Computerized wagering game systems, and more specifically to the use of authentication techniques using zero knowledge proofs (also referred to here as ZKP) are disclosed as a basis for ensuring security in a computerized wagering game system.
2. Background of the Related Art
Games of chance have been enjoyed by people for thousands of years and have enjoyed increased and widespread popularity in recent times. As with most forms of entertainment, players enjoy playing a wide variety of games and new games. Playing new games adds to the excitement of"gaming." As is well known in the art and used herein, the term "gaming" and "gaming devices" are used to indicate that some form of wagering is involved, and that players must make wagers of value, whether actual currency or some equivalent of value, e.g., token or credit.
One popular game of chance is the slot machine. Conventionally, a slot machine is configured for a player to wager something of value, e.g., currency, house token, established credit or other representation of currency or credit. After the wager has been made, the player activates the slot machine to cause a random event to occur. The player wagers that particular random events will occur that will return value to the player. A standard device causes a plurality of reels to spin and ultimately stop, displaying a random combination of some form of indicia, for example, numbers or symbols. If this display contains one of a preselected plurality of winning combinations, the machine releases money into a payout chute or increments a credit meter by the amount won by the player. For example, if a player initially wagered two coins of a specific denomination and that player achieved a payout, that player may receive the same number or multiples of the wager amount in coins of the same denomination as wagered.
There are many different formats for generating the random display of events that can occur to determine payouts in wagering devices. The standard or original format was the use of three reels with symbols distributed over the face of the reel. When the three reels were spun, they would eventually each stop in turn, displaying a combination of three symbols (e.g., with three reels and the use of a single payout line as a row in the middle of the area where the symbols are displayed.) By appropriately distributing and varying the symbols on each of the reels, the random occurrence of predetermined winning combinations can be provided in mathematically predetermined probabilities. By clearly providing for specific probabilities for each of the preselected winning outcomes, precise odds that would control the amount of the payout for any particular combination and the percentage return on wagers for the house could be readily controlled.
Other formats of gaming apparatus that have developed in a progression from the pure slot machine with three reels have dramatically increased with the development of video gaming apparatus. Rather than have only mechanical elements such as wheels or reels that turn and stop to randomly display symbols, video gaming apparatus and the rapidly increasing sophistication in hardware and software have enabled an explosion of new and exciting gaming apparatus. The earlier video apparatus merely imitated or simulated the mechanical slot games in the belief that players would want to play only the same games. Early video games therefore were simulated slot machines. The use of video gaming apparatus to play new games such as draw poker and Keno broke the ground for the realization that there were many untapped formats for gaming apparatus. Now casinos may have hundreds of different types of gaming apparatus with an equal number of significant differences in play. The apparatus may vary from traditional three reel slot machines with a single payout line, video simulations of three reel video slot machines, to five reel, five column simulated slot machines with a choice of twenty or more distinct pay lines, including randomly placed lines, scatter pays, or single image payouts. In addition to the variation in formats for the play of games, bonus plays, bonus awards, and progressive jackpots have been introduced with great success. The bonuses may be associated with the play of games that are quite distinct from the play of the original game, such as the video display of a horse race with bets on the individual horses randomly assigned to players that qualify for a bonus, the spinning of a random wheel with fixed amounts of a bonus payout on the wheel (or simulation thereof), or attempting to select a random card that is of higher value than a card exposed on behalf of a virtual dealer.
Examples of such gaming apparatus with a distinct bonus feature includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,874; 5,848,932; 5,863,041; U.K. Patent Nos. 2 201 821 A; 2 202 984 A; and 2 072 395A; and German Patent DE 40 14 477 A1. Each of these patents differ in fairly subtle ways as to the manner in which the bonus round is played. British patent 2 201 821 A and DE 37 00 861 A1 describe a gaming apparatus in which after a winning outcome is first achieved in a reel-type gaming segment, a second segment is engaged to determine the amount of money or extra games awarded. The second segment gaming play involves a spinning wheel with awards listed thereon (e.g., the number of coins or number of extra plays) and a spinning arrow that will point to segments of the wheel with the values of the awards thereon. A player will press a stop button and the arrow will point to one of the values. The specification indicates both that there is a level of skill possibly involved in the stopping of the wheel and the arrow(s), and also that an associated computer operates the random selection of the rotatable numbers and determines the results in the additional winning game, which indicates some level of random selection in the second gaming segment. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,874 and 5,848,932 describe a gaming device comprising: a first, standard gaming unit for displaying a randomly selected combination of indicia, said displayed indicia selected from the group consisting of reels, indicia of reels, indicia of playing cards, and combinations thereof; means for generating at least one signal corresponding to at least one select display of indicia by said first, standard gaming unit; means for providing at least one discernible indicia of a mechanical bonus indicator, said discernible indicia indicating at least one of a plurality of possible bonuses, wherein said providing means is operatively connected to said first, standard gaming unit and becomes actuatable in response to said signal. In effect, the second gaming event simulates a mechanical bonus indicator such as a roulette wheel or wheel with a pointing element.
A video terminal is another form of gaming device. Video terminals operate in the same manner as conventional slot or video machines except that a redemption ticket is issued rather than an immediate payout being dispensed.
The vast array of electronic video gaming apparatus that is commercially available is not standardized within the industry or necessarily even within the commercial line of apparatus available from a single manufacturer. One of the reasons for this lack of uniformity or standardization is the fact that the operating systems that have been used to date in the industry are primitive. As a result, the programmer must often create code for each and every function performed by each individual apparatus. To date, no manufacturer prior to the assignee of the present invention is known to have been successful in creating a universal operating system for converting existing equipment (that includes features such as reusable modules of code) at least in part because of the limitations in utility and compatibility of the operating systems in use. When new games are created, new hardware and software is typically created from the ground up.
At least one attempt has been made to create a universal gaming engine that segregates the code associated with random number generation and algorithms applied to the random number string from the balance of the code. Carlson U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,286 describes such a device. This patentee recognized that modular code would be beneficial, but only contemplated making the RNG and transfer algorithms modular.
The lack of a standard operating system has contributed to maintaining an artificially high price for the systems in the market. The use of unique and non-standardized hardware interfaces in the various manufactured video gaming systems is a contributing factor. The different hardware, the different access codes, the different pin couplings, the different harnesses for coupling of pins, the different functions provided from the various pins, and the other various and different configurations within the systems has prevented any standard from developing within the technical field. This is advantageous to the apparatus manufacturer, because the games for each system are provided exclusively by a single manufacturer, and the entire systems can be readily obsoleted, so that the market will have to purchase a complete unit rather than merely replacement software and hardware. Also, competitors cannot easily provide a single game that can be played on different hardware. A solution to this problem is presented in our co-pending application for Video Gaming Apparatus for Wagering with Universal Computerized Controller and I/O Interface for Unique Architecture, assigned Ser. No. 09/405,921, and filed Sep. 24, 1999, the disclosure that is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention of computerized gaming systems that include a common or universal video wagering game controller that can be installed in a broad range of video gaming apparatus without substantial modification to the game controller has made possible the standardization of many components and of corresponding gaming software within gaming systems. Such systems desirably will have functions and features that are specifically tailored to the unique demands of supporting a variety of games and gaming apparatus types, and will do so in a manner that is efficient, secure, and cost-effective.
In addition to making communication between a universal operating system and non-standard machine devices such as coin hoppers, monitors, bill validators and the like possible, it would be desirable to provide security features that enable the operating system to verify that game code and other data has not changed during operation.
Alcorn et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,086 describes a gaming system that is capable of authenticating an application or game program stored on a mass media device such as a CD-ROM, RAM, ROM or other device using hashing and encryption techniques. The mass storage device may be located in the gaming machine, or may be external to the gaming machine. This verification technique therefore will not detect any changes that occur in the code that is executing because it tests the code residing in mass storage prior to loading into RAM. The authenticating system relies on the use of a digital signature and suggests hashing of the entire data set before the encryption and decryption process. See also, Alcorn et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,396 and Alcorn et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,522.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/949,021, filed Sep. 7, 2001, and titled "ENCRYPTION IN A SECURE COMPUTERIZED GAMING SYSTEM" discloses an encryption/authentication system wherein a computerized game controller having a processor, memory, and nonvolatile storage and operable to control the computerized wagering game; and game data stored in the nonvolatile storage, wherein the game data stored in nonvolatile storage is verified during operation. Additionally, disclosed is a gaming system comprising: a nonvolatile memory; an encrypted control file stored in the nonvolatile memory, the encrypted control file including a set of program filenames giving order information, a message authentication code unique to each program file, and a message authentication code key; a gaming controller, wherein the gaming controller operates to decrypt the encrypted control file and authenticate the gaming program files during operation of the gaming system; and gaming system devices in communication with the gaming controller via a gaming system interface.
That system may further comprise a message authentication code process stored in memory, wherein the game controller authenticates the set of program files by applying the message authentication process using the set of program files and the message authentication code key to provide a set of complementary message authentication codes, and comparing the message authentication codes from the control file to the complementary message authentication codes. Additionally, the system may have the message authentication process stored in read only memory. Also disclosed is a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of preparing a game data set capable of authentication comprising: providing a game data set; determining a message authentication code unique to the game data set; and storing the game data set and the message authentication code; and a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of authenticating a game used in a gaming system comprising: receiving an encrypted control file; decrypting the encrypted control file to provide a control file, the control file including a set of program filenames giving ordering information, a set of message authentication codes including a message authentication code unique to each program file, and a message authentication code key; and using the original control file to verify authentication of the game.
What is still desired is alternative architecture and methods of providing a gaming-specific platform that features secure storage and verification of game code and other data, provides the ability to securely change game code on computerized wagering gaming system, and has the ability to verify that the code has not changed during operation of the gaming machine.
In the field of gaming apparatus security, it is further desired that the game program code be identifiable as certified or approved, such as by the various gaming regulation commissions such as the Nevada Gaming Regulations Commission, New Jersey Gaming Regulations Commission or other regulatory agency.

Authentication in a secure computerized gaming system


The receptacle includes a lead pin having an optical element, a molded body made of a transparent resin material allowing optical propagation, and an optical element module sub-assembly having a core unitarily molded with the molded body by utilizing a transparent resin material. The receptacle comprises a connector housing unitarily molded with the optical element module sub-assembly by using a transparent material having a refractive index smaller than that of the core. Another receptacle includes an element module sub-assembly which has a lead pin with an optical element and a molded body. The molded body has a recess for positioning a leading end of a ferrule closely to the optical element. The another receptacle also comprises a connector housing having an insertion through hole and an engagement chamber for an optical plug. The optical element module sub-assembly is unitarily assembled with the connector housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical (fiber) connector, for example, used in a multiplex transmission line of an automotive vehicle, a receptacle provided in the optical connector, and a manufacturing method for the receptacle.
2. Prior Art
There has been a generally known optical connector (disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. H. 6-33443) that was proposed by the same assignee of the present application. The optical connector has an optical fiber cable, an optical element module, and a sleeve provided therebetween. The optical element module is also called as a light-receiving/light-emitting optical module, a transmission module, an FOT (Fiber Optic Transceiver), or the like.
Referring to FIG. 27, there is shown the optical connector, in which denoted 201 is the sleeve and 202 the optical connector.
The sleeve 201 is mounted in a receptacle 203 (an instrument side connector) composing the optical connector 202. The receptacle 203 accommodates a pair of optical element modules 204, 204 (a light-emitting element module 204 and a light-receiving element module 204). There is also shown an optical plug (an optical fiber cable side connector) 205 provided with a pair of optical fiber cables 206, 206 (one of them is illustrated). The optical plug 205 is an optical connector mating with the receptacle 203 via the sleeve 201 that optically connects the optical element modules 204, 204 to the optical fiber cables 206, 206.
The optical connector 202 will be discussed in detail together with the sleeves 201, 201. The optical connector 202 has the receptacle 203 and the optical plug 205 mating with each other.
The receptacle 203, as illustrated in FIGS. 27 and 28, has a synthetic resin housing 207 including accommodation chambers 208, 208 in each of which an optical element module 204 made of an elastic material like a rubber is held by a back sheet 209. In a rear face of the housing 207, there is provided a cap 210 attached thereto. At the front of the accommodation chambers 208, 208 holding the optical element modules 204, 204, there is provided a pair of receiving cylinders 212, 212 each extending coaxialy with one of lenses 211, 211. The receiving cylinders 212, 212 each receive one of the sleeves 201, 201 inserted therein.
The sleeve 201 consists of a cylindrical holder 214 and an optical fiber cable 213 (a plastic, multi-mode optical fiber cable) bonded to the holder 214. The optical fiber cable 213 consists of a core and a cladding (not shown). The sleeve 201 has each end surface given an extremely precise grinding.
Meanwhile, the optical plug 205 mating with the receptacle 203, as illustrated in FIGS. 27 and 29, has a pair of ferrule assemblies 215, 215, a plug housing 217, a spring cap 218 engagedly secured to the plug housing 217, and a boot 219 engagedly secured to a rear portion of the spring cap 218. The ferrule assemblies 215, 215 cover the optical fiber cables 206, 206, each of which has an exposed leading end extending forward. The plug housing 217 has a cylindrical partition 216 for protecting the ferrule assemblies 215, 215 received therein.
The plug housing 217 also has shoulders 217a, 217a abutting against rim flanges 215a, 215a each outwardly formed on a rear half of the ferrule assembly 215. Between the flange 215a and an inner cylinder 218a of the spring cap 218, there is mounted a spring 220 for resiliently biasing forward the ferrule assembly 215.
When the flange 215a is abutting against the shoulder 217a (FIG. 29), a fore end portion a of the ferrule assembly 215 (corresponding to the position of a light receiving/emitting end surface of the optical fiber cable 206 as illustrated in FIG. 29) is not extending from a fore end b (FIG. 29) of the plug housing 217 to stay at a withdrawn position therein.
Referring to FIG. 27, the receptacle 203 and the optical plug 205 having such constitutions will be further discussed in electrical and optical connection thereof
On engagement of the receptacle 203 and the optical plug 205, the receiving cylinders 212, 212 enter the plug housing 217, and at the same time, the ferrule assemblies 215, 215 enter the receiving cylinders 212, 212. Each ferrule assembly 215 abuts against a leading end of the receiving cylinder 212 with an adequate contact pressure therebetween by the resiliency of the spring 220.
In this state, between the leading end a (FIG. 29) and the sleeve 201, there is only a minimum clearance (not shown), minimizing a clearance optical loss thereof.
Nevertheless, the aforementioned prior art has the housing 207 that accommodates the sleeves 201, 201 and the optical element modules 204, 204 inserted therein. This assembling work is very laborious and is not good in workability, resulted in a higher manufacturing cost.
Furthermore, the sleeve 201 and the optical element module 204 are defined separately from each other, which provides clearances therebetween. Such clearances cause another optical loss (clearance loss) in addition to the clearance loss between the leading end a (FIG. 29) and the sleeve 201. This may cause an adverse effect on an optical communication thereof.
Moreover, the receptacle 203 is completed after a plurality of steps each forming the housing 207, the optical element module 204, the sleeve 201, and the cap 210, together with steps for sequentially assembling these constitutions. The large number of steps cause a higher manufacturing cost.
In addition, the assembling step of the optical element module 204 includes a forming step of the lead pin (no reference numeral) having an optical element and a molding step of a body (no reference numeral) from a transparent resin for protecting the lead pin.

Receptacle, manufacturing method for the same, and optical connector having the receptacle


A beer container comprising a metal, pressure-resistant barrel (1) for beer and a block-shaped housing (2) surrounding the barrel, which housing has a bottom surface whose dimensions correspond to those of a conventional crate for beer bottles and, at the top and bottom sides thereof, comprises means (3, 4) for enabling it to be stacked with housings of corresponding beer containers, and each barrel comprising a fluid coupling (6, 7) for enabling the interior thereof to be coupled with the interior of the barrel of a superjacent and/or subjacent container. Through these measures, a beer container is obtained that can readily be displaced and transported in a compact stack, and the user may realize one single container with the desired capacity by coupling a number of stacked containers.

The invention relates to a beer container comprising a metal pressure-resistant barrel for beer and a block-shaped housing surrounding the barrel.
Such a beer container is disclosed in DE-A-3913643 and is intended to be used as a so-called "home tap" and comprises a connection for the feed of carbonic acid gas by means of a CO.sub.2 -cartridge and a connection for a tap rod to be inserted into the barrel from above.
Because of the limited capacity of the barrel, this known container is not suitable for use in bars, restaurants, etc. At present, for applications in bars, restaurants, etc., metal cylindrical beer containers are used having a capacity of 30 or 50 liters. These containers have the drawback that they are rather vulnerable and in particular that their weight, in full condition, is high, which weight will soon even no longer be allowed in view of the legislation in the field of labor conditions ("ARBO" Act).

Stackable beer container with fluid coupling


To provide an amplifier in which an amount of variation in output impedance between high- and low-gain modes is small and gain control can be accomplished accurately. A radio frequency signal inputted through an input terminal (1) is provided to a base of a transistor (102) and outputted to its collector. In a high-gain mode, a switch (110) is turned off to place a transistor (104) in an off sate. All radio frequency signals are inputted into an emitter of a transistor (103), outputted to its collector and then to an output terminal (2). In a low-gain mode, the switch (110) is turned on to place the transistor (104) in an on state so that a base voltage of the same value as that of the transistor (103) is applied to it. A current ratio between the transistor (103) and the base-grounded transistor (104) is determined by a size ratio between them. Therefore, a current can be accurately adjusted by adjusting the size ratio between them and outputted to the output terminal (2). Because load conditions of output in the high-gain mode and the low-gain mode are the same, the amount of variation in the output impedance is small.

The present invention relates to an amplifier a gain of which can be changed.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show a prior-art gain control amplifier, respectively.
The gain control amplifier shown in FIG. 6 is configured to amplify a signal inputted from an input terminal 1 by an emitter-grounded transistor 3 and output the signal at an output terminal 2. The amplifier has a high-gain mode in which a power supply voltage is applied to a collector of the transistor 3 from a power supply 10 through a load 9 and a collector-emitter of a base-grounded transistor 4 and a low-gain mode in which the power supply voltage is applied to the collector of the transistor 3 from the power supply 10 through the load 9, a resistance 7, and a collector-emitter of a base grounded transistor 6. Reference number 11 denotes a bias power supply generating a bias voltage that determines an operation point of the transistor 3.
The high-gain mode or low-gain mode is selected by a selector switch 12.
To select the high-gain mode, the selector switch 12 is turned to contact 12a. This causes the bias voltage to be applied only to a base of the transistor 4 out of the bases of the transistors 4 and 6 from a bias power supply 13 and the power supply voltage to be applied to the transistor 3 through the transistor 4. The signal amplified by transistor 3 is outputted from the output terminal 2 through a branch 5.
To select the low-gain mode, the selector switch 12 is turned to a contact 12b. This causes the bias voltage to be applied from the bias power supply 13 only to the base of the transistor 6 and the power supply voltage to be applied to the transistor 3 through the transistor 6. The signal amplified by the transistor 3 is outputted from the output terminal 2 through a branch 8. The gain in the low-gain mode is controlled through the resistance 7.
The gain control amplifier shown in FIG. 7 is different from the one shown in FIG. 6 in that gain control is accomplished by controlling the current ratio between a branch 25 and a branch 27 and current control is accomplished by controlling a base voltage of a base-grounded transistor 6.
In particular, a signal RFin inputted through an input terminal 1 is amplified by an emitter-grounded transistor 3 and outputted at an output terminal 2. Reference number 11 denotes a bias power supply generating a bias voltage that determines an operation point of the transistor 3.
The amplifier has a high-gain mode in which a power supply voltage is applied to a collector of the transistor 3 from a power supply 10 through a load 9 and the collector-emitter of a base-ground transistor 4, and a low-gain mode in which the power supply voltage is applied to the collector of the transistor 3 from the power supply 10 through the collector-emitter of the base-grounded transistor 6.
Base voltage is applied to the bases of the transistors 4 and 6 from power supplies 29 and 30, respectively. Current control is accomplished by changing an output voltage of the power supply 30 to control the base voltage of the base-grounded transistor 6 and the current ratio between the branches 24 and 27 is controlled.
As an example circuit in which a gain control amplifier is used, there can be cited a head amplifier provided at a front end of a radio frequency receiver. As shown in FIG. 8, band-pass filters 709 and 710 are connected in input and output stages, respectively, of a head amplifier A in order to improve selectivity. Reference number 711 denotes a mixer circuit.
Because the band-pass filters 709 and 710 are designed to satisfy an required pass frequency property at predetermined input and output impedances, a gain of the head amplifier A is switched between high-gain and low-gain modes in accordance with electric field strength in an area in which the radio frequency receiver is used.
Therefore, it is required that the predetermined input and output impedances be maintained independently of switching between the high-gain mode and the low-gain mode.
However, in the gain control method in FIG. 6, the output impedance varies depending on the high-gain and low gain modes and therefore it is difficult to achieve output impedance matching in both of the high-gain and low-gain modes.
According to the gain control method shown in FIG. 7, in which the control of the current ratio between the branches 25 and 27 is accomplished by controlling the base voltage of the base-grounded transistor 6, it is difficult to control the gain because the gain changes by 1 dB when the base voltage of the transistor 6 changes by 0.02 volts, for example.
The present invention has been achieved to solve the problems of the prior art and it is an object of the present invention to provide a gain control amplifier in which the amount of variation in output impedance between the high-gain mode and low-gain mode is small and gain control can be performed easily and accurately.
To solve these problems, the gain control amplifier of the present invention has a configuration in which a load is provided in an output circuit of a first transistor, an output circuit of a second transistor is provided between the output circuit of the first transistor and the load, an input signal supplied to the input of the first transistor is amplified, and the amplified signal is taken out from a connection point between the load and the second transistor. In the high-gain mode, only a control bias for the second transistor out of the second transistor and a third transistor is turned on, and in the low-gain mode, control biases for both of the second and third transistors are turned on.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gain control amplifier in which a load is provided in an output circuit of a first transistor, an output circuit of a second transistor is provided between the output circuit of the first transistor and the load, the input signal supplied to the input of the first transistor 1 is amplified, and the amplified signal is taken out from a connecting point between the load and the second transistor, wherein an output circuit of a third transistor is connected in parallel with a series circuit of the output circuit of the second transistor and the load and switch means for turning on and off a control bias for the third transistor is provided, the switching means is turned off to turn on a control bias only for the second transistor out of the second and third transistors in a high-gain mode, and the switch means is turned on to turn on the control bias for both of the second and third transistors in a low-gain mode.
According to this configuration, the amount of variation in the output impedance between the high-gain mode and low-gain mode is small and an output current is determined by the size ratio between the base-grounded transistors, therefore the gain can be controlled easily and accurately without depending on the control bias.
According to the second aspect of the present invention there is provided gain control amplifier in which a load is provided in an output circuit of a first transistor, an output circuit of a second transistor is provided between the output circuit of the first transistor and the load, the input signal supplied to the input of the first transistor is amplified, and the amplified signal is taken out at a connecting point between the load and the second transistor, wherein an output circuit of a third transistor is connected in parallel with a series circuit of the output circuit of the second transistor and the load, control terminals of the second and third transistors are connected with each other through switch means, the switching means is turned off to turn on a control bias only for the second transistor out of the second and third transistors in a high-gain mode, and the switch means is turned on to turn on the control bias for both of the second and third transistors in a low-gain mode.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the gain control amplifier according to the second aspect, the switch means is formed with a MOS transistor and a resistance is connected in parallel with a control terminal of the third transistor.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the gain control amplifier according to any one of the first through third aspects, a resistance is connected in series with the output circuit of the third transistor.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the gain control amplifier according to any one of the first through fourth aspects, the second transistor and the third transistor are differently sized.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An occupant detection system includes a state detection unit that detects a state of an object, a detection position changing unit that changes a position of a detection region, the detection region being a region in which state is detected by the state detection unit, and a controller that controls an operation of the detection position changing unit. In this occupant detection system, a position of the detection region is set to a predetermined initial position during a period of time from when a start switch provided in the vehicle is turned off until when the start switch is turned on.

In recent years, some vehicles are provided with an occupant detection system for detecting the state of occupants. As such an occupant detection system, for example, there are systems for measuring the surface temperature of an occupant with an infrared sensor and appropriately controlling air conditioning based on the measurement result. In addition, there are devices that identify an occupant through facial recognition using a camera and then enable automatic setting of a seat position or the like based on that occupant.
A vehicular air conditioner described in the following Patent Literature 1 is provided with an occupant detection system for measuring the surface temperature and position of an occupant using an infrared sensor. In this occupant detection system, the infrared sensor is disposed on a swing louver provided in a vent hole to calculate the surface temperature of the occupant. The vehicular air conditioner performs air conditioning control based on the calculated surface temperature.
In such a configuration, the direction of the infrared sensor periodically changes within a certain range in accordance with the swing of the swing louver. In other words, instead of measuring the surface temperatures of all the occupants in one measurement and at the same time, a local range is measured. As such, the entire temperature distribution is detected by gradually moving the local range while. Accordingly, it is possible to perform temperature measurement over a wide range including any occupants while using an inexpensive infrared sensor having a comparatively narrow detection range.

Occupant detection system, and vehicular air conditioner having the same


A method to prepare a terminal assembly for different varieties of bamboo, required to form a system of nodes useful in construction, with which points or ends of bamboo such that they can be joined together easily and with great precision; and so that the bamboo can be joined to any other type of material, incorporating it into all kinds of structural system.

In the past bamboo has been used in many ways for many different applications. One of the most important has been its use in structural elements and space-dividers, and in the finish of various kinds of building.
A variety of bamboo to be found in several parts of Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, named guadua angustifolia has been used in preparing structures. The variety has great physical and mechanical properties and is one of the best for the above described uses.
In Colombia, it has been used in construction since Colonial days, and a regional culture has grown up around construction methods and system which use guadua, ranging from very simple and humble constructions to the most grandiose and complex ones.
The guadua is part of the collective memory of the inhabitants of these regions, since it has been used to satisfy a wide variety of construction needs, surviving time, earthquakes and other natural disasters. This has been possible since its is highly accessible in terms of cost and reliability.
Throughout history, man has been concerned in developing construction methods and technologies which will solve the problems of high demand for housing and buildings for different uses efficiently and with a low environmental impact. Often, the use of new materials and methods generates complex processes which are highly capital-intensive and have a negative environmental impact since they generate non-biodegradable waste.
It is therefore advantageous to find a practical system for the use of bamboo in construction since it is a totally natural material which does no damage to the ecosystem; indeed, it provides many benefits for the growing zones, and can be exploited in may uses.
Benefits such as the protection of water sources, erosion control, the generation of natural woodland faster than any other forestry resource, and perpetual self-regeneration.
Exploitation has been selective, with only part of the tree being cut down, and this preserves the woodland and maintains the benefits to the ecosystem over time. There is also a high economic impact in the generation of wealth and employment, to the extent that the exploitation of bamboo can become one of the driving forces behind regional development.
The bamboo is a plant which is widely used in other parts of the world, especially the East (China, Japan, India, Indonesia etc.) as well as in Colombia. It has brought development in many fields, especially large-scale construction. Jointing systems, tools and traditional joints have all been tried out.
A search for prior art references was made in the US Patents Bank, and several patents were found to involve bamboo, but all of them were related to the construction of flooring, the manufacture of kiosks and (mostly) in the manufacture of structures for furniture.
German Patent DE 3817236 "Junction Connection for Frameworks consisting of Bamboo", in the name of Brusnowitz Gierg Dipling, published on 23 Nov. 1989, describes a system for the preparation of 3-dimensional structures such as arch-formers using bamboo sticks joined together with metal clamps which tie them together and articulate them.

Method for preparing a terminal assembly for bamboo


The present disclosure encompasses embodiments of a novel near-infrared-emitting molecular fluorophore and probes incorporating said fluorophore advantageous for in vitro and in vivo research studies. The fluorophore is robust, photostable, and possesses functionalities for easy bioorthogonal conjugation (e.g., click chemistry, hydrazone formation, Diels Alder, Staudinger ligation, etc.). It is biocompatible and emits at 711 nm in aqueous conditions. These fluorophores may be used to fluorescently tag biological molecules or structures of interest, or used as optical reporters (i.e., activatable molecular probes, fluorescent dyes) for specific biomarkers/analytes as they can be switched from “off” to “on.” This fluorophore is useful for cellular assays and preclinical small animal imaging as the near-infrared emission is highly penetrating, and the photophysical properties are outstanding. As such, the properties of this class of fluorophores could easily be translated for use in clinical applications.

Chemiluminescence is a phenomenon where light is emitted from a chemical reaction that produces an excited-state product (Pinto da Silva, et al., (2012) Chemphyschem. 13: 2257). There is significant interest in developing chemiluminescent probes for use in point-of-care diagnostic devices, and for the imaging of biological activities in vitro and in vivo. Chemiluminescent probes can provide detection with high sensitivity and high contrast imaging due to exhibiting no initial background signal as a result of not requiring an external excitation source (Schuster et al., (1975) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 97: 7110). Moreover, chemiluminescent probes confer the additional advantages of not requiring an exogenous enhancer for activation or prior genetic modification for use.
Luminescent probes for use in detection of biological activities have been primarily based on four structures, an acridan ester, peroxalate, luminol, and luciferin platforms. Luminescent probes based on these platforms require in situ formation of an intermediate structure possessing a labile high-energy moiety (e.g., a dioxetanone) that induces the emission of light from the aromatic scaffold upon charge-transfer-induced decomposition (CTID) and subsequent relaxation to the ground state via a chemically-initiated electron exchange (CIEEL) mechanism.
The use of chemiluminescence in analyses has been primarily limited to luminol-based biochemical assays (e.g., Western blots) because the small quantity of light that is generated can be amplified through the use of chemical oxidants ([Ox]) and biological catalysts (enzymes), whereas all chemiluminescent probes based on other platforms are capable of generating only trace amounts of light in aqueous environments (with extremely short lifetimes) that are ill-suited for biological studies. Unfortunately, the enhancers (e.g., horseradish peroxidase) involved with catalyzing luminol-based reactions are typically exogenous to the cellular environment under study and must be administered at extremely high levels of concentration. On the other hand, bioluminescent probes (e.g., D-luciferin) do not require exogenous bioreagents for activation and emission of detectable amounts of light. However, bioluminescent probes do require an expressed enzyme (e.g., luciferase) from transfected genetic material in order to form a high-energy intermediate that is capable of emitting light upon activation, CTID, and CIEEL. As a result, bioluminescent probes are limited to xenograft models for in vivo studies.
A subclass of 1,2-dioxetanes that possess a protected meta-phenolate can be activated by a chemical event which releases a phenolate and triggers the production of light through CIEEL. The chemical event triggers the thermolysis of the 1,2-dioxetane moiety to generate a digroup intermediate that thereby, affords a high-energy species that emits light upon relaxation (electron exchange) to a stable ground state product. Sterically-hindered dioxetanes have been shown to possess greater thermal stability, hence the adamantane substituent (Schuster et al., (1975) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 97: 7110).
Furin is a serine endoprotease that is responsible for proteolytic processing in the body (Thomas, G. (2002) Nature Revs. Mol Cell Biol. 3: 753). Furin is a ubiquitous enzyme that is upregulated in response to various environmental conditions, such as hypoxia and cytokine stimulation, which are characteristics of human tumors (Bourne & Grainger (2011) J. Immunol. Methods 364: 101). It has been shown to be upregulated in several cancers including glioblastomas and is directly correlated with increased cancer aggressiveness due to its role in degredation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that promotes intravasation and metastasis of tumor cells (Thomas, G. (2002) Nature Revs. Mol Cell Biol. 3: 753). Specifically, furin cleaves C-terminal to basic residues and is specific for the peptide sequence R-X-R/K-R (Arg-X-Arg/Lys-Arg), where "X" is variable (most commonly valine). This sequence can be integrated into a probe that contains an optical reporter in order to monitor both the location and degree of enzyme activity within a specimen. Such "smart" probes have been used in biological systems for monitoring enzymatic activity with great success (Dragulescu-Andrasi et al., (2013) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135: 11015; Madan et al., 2013) PloS one 8: e79065; Huang et al., (2102) Bioconjugate Chem. 23: 2159; Edgington et al., (2011) Curr. Opinion Chem. Biol. 15: 798).
Despite extensive development of chemiluminescent probes, there remains a long-felt need for fluorophore-based probes that offer advantages over existing probes. For example, greater levels of chemiluminescent light intensity that can be detected in animal tissues at depth within a body is an existing deficiency in the repertoire of available probes.

Rhodol fluorophores for near-infrared imaging

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY

THE CURATORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI


A suction tube unit for removing packing coke from vertical spaces within a ring furnace for producing carbon bodies includes a plurality of elongated suction and air supply tubes, the tubes being arranged to extend parallel to each other and being aligned in a single straight row, with each adjacent pair of the suction tubes being separated by a separate one of the air-supply tubes, thus forming an elongated assembly adapted to fit within the vertical space of the furnace. The assembly is supported at an upper portion thereof by a telescopic mounting. All of the tubes are open at lower ends thereof. A suction device is connected to the upper end of the suction tubes for creating a vacuum within the suction tubes to thereby withdraw the packing coke therethrough. Upper portions of the air-supply tubes have therein orifices to supply ambient air into the air-supply tubes and to aid in withdrawal of the packing coke through the suction tubes.

This invention relates to a ring furnace for producing carbon bodies for the electrometallurgical industries, and refers, more specifically, to a suction tube assembly for removing hot packing coke from a chamber of such furnace.
The carbon bodies which are used in cells for the electrolytic production of aluminum are made of a mixture, or a paste, which consists of calcined anthracite, petroleum coke and pitch, in combinations varying with the raw materials and the purpose of the body. Pitch is used as a binder.
Carbon bodies are also used in furnaces for electrothermal processes, in linings and as electrodes. For making these bodies, other mixtures are used, but the principles are the same.
After mixing in a mixing machine, this paste or mixture is firm at room temperature, becomes softer over 100.degree.-150.degree. C., and at higher temperatures and volatile components are driven off, and the binder becomes carbonized, whereupon the paste becomes rigid and hard. This thermal treatment is known as baking. It can be effected in the reduction cell itself, in that the heat developed therein bakes the filled carbon paste. However, in more recent times, it is preferred to perform this baking in separate furnaces, since this enables better control of the baking process and thereby the properties of the finished product.
The carbon bodies which are put in such a furnace for baking are often referred to as "green" carbons, the word "green" implying that they are not "ripe". They are produced by pressure or by vibration. The green carbons can be made to be of considerable size. Cathode carbon blocks, for example, may measure 700 mm.times.900 mm.times.4,000 mm, and weight about 4 tons. It is clear that when such a body is heated up and passes through a softening temperature zone, it will become deformed unless special steps are taken. The green carbons and therefore placed in high pits in the furnace which are built of refractory materials, the space between the green carbons and the walls of the pit being filled with coke breeze, i.e. small pieces of coke. This coke breeze also protects the green carbons from combustion.
A given number of pits form a chamber, and a number of chambers are built together to form a ring furnace with a separate cover over each chamber. Hot combustion gasses are conducted into a chamber of such furnace, flow through hollow refractory pit walls and then on to the next chamber. The firing zone wanders through the whole furnace in order thereby to make best possible use of the heat. The baking of the green carbons is completed sequentially and the chambers containing the finished carbons must be left to cool for some time before they can be emptied of packing coke and the baked carbon bodies lifted out. During the baking process, the temperatures reaches 1,280.degree. C., and the entire cycle takes some three weeks.
Ring furnaces have large dimensions. Cranes over the furnace may, for example, have a span of some 30 m. The installations are costly and it is therefore necessary to make efficient use of the heat energy, and to reduce labour time by means of expedient aids.
The physical work in operating ring furnaces consists mainly of emptying the chambers at the end of a cycle and refilling them with green carbons and packing coke for the next cycle.
The emptying of an individual chamber consists of lifting off the lid and then sucking up the packing coke in order to expose the baked carbons. Suction is the most practical method of removing the coke breeze.
The sucking up of the coke breeze is usually performed by lowering a suction tube down into the packing coke. This tube is usually suspended by a crane, and telescopically connected with a silo and suction coupling on the crane bridge. The tube is lowered down into the loose coke mainly by its own weight, and is often guided manually by handles welded on the tube. The operator concerned must therefore sit on the side wall of of a chamber over the hot coke, and is exposed to heat and dust for the considerable length of time it can take to empty a chamber.
The method of operating the suction tube is thus laborious and not entirely efficient. If the end of the tube penetrates too far down into the coke, insufficient air is sucked in for the satisfactory transportation of the coke in the tube, with partial or complete stoppage being the result.


A power receiving apparatus, that complies with at least two power transfer methods and receives power wirelessly from a power transmitting apparatus, detects unexpected power which is not power transmitted from the power transmitting apparatus while a first power transfer method is used out of the at least two power transfer methods. When the unexpected power is detected, the power receiving apparatus controls the power transmitting apparatus and the power receiving apparatus so that a second power transfer method which is different from the first power transfer method out of the at least two power transfer methods is used.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless power transfer technique.
Description of the Related Art
There is known a wireless power transfer system which includes a power transmitting apparatus for wirelessly transmitting power and a power receiving apparatus for receiving power supplied from the power transmitting apparatus and in which wireless power transfer is performed from the power transmitting apparatus to the power receiving apparatus. The wireless power transfer method broadly includes three kinds of methods, that is, the electromagnetic induction method, the microwave transfer method, and the resonant magnetic coupling method.
The basic principle of the electromagnetic induction method is to make an inductive current run in a power receiving coil by causing a magnetic flux which is generated from running a current in a power transmitting coil to penetrate the power receiving coil. Therefore, in the electromagnetic induction method, the positions of the power transmitting coil and the power receiving coil are generally adjusted so that the magnetic flux generated by the power transmitting coil effectively penetrates the power receiving coil.
In the microwave transfer method, the power transmitting apparatus emits wireless power in the air by an antenna and the power is received by the antenna of the power receiving apparatus. Since power loss in the air increases in the microwave transfer method, power transfer is generally performed in a specific direction by increasing the directionality of the antenna.
In the resonant magnetic coupling method, power transfer is performed by causing the power transmitting apparatus and the power receiving apparatus to resonate at the same frequency. Power transfer (with at least sufficient power) cannot be performed unless the power transmitting apparatus and the power receiving apparatus can resonate at the same frequency. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-063245 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-518381 disclose methods that allow power to be transmitted selectively to one power receiving apparatus as a power transmission target out of a plurality of power receiving apparatuses by using this feature to cause the power transmitting apparatus to change the resonance frequency. Note that in the case of the resonant magnetic coupling method, since it is sufficient for the power transmitting apparatus and the power receiving apparatus near there to resonate at the same frequency, the method is not sensitive to positional accuracy compared to the electromagnetic induction method and cannot ensure that a transfer efficiency will be high only in the desired direction as in the case of using microwaves.
The resonant magnetic coupling method wireless power transfer system is an effective method for selectively transferring power to a plurality of power receiving apparatuses when the resonance frequencies are different and the resonance frequency bandwidths are narrow. The transfer efficiency of power transmission/reception using the resonant magnetic coupling method depends on a coupling coefficient ki between the power transmitting circuit and the impedance of the power transmitting antenna, a coupling coefficient ku between the antennas at the non-load time which is influenced by the distance between and the sizes of the antennas, and a coupling coefficient ko between the power receiving antenna and the impedance of the power receiving circuit.
The maximum transfer efficiency is obtained when ku≥√(ki×ko), and especially when ku=√(ki×ko), the resonance frequency between the antennas match with the resonance frequency f0 of each single antenna. This state is called critical coupling. When the distance between the power transmission/reception antennas is short and ku>√(ki×ko), two resonance frequencies that are lower and higher, respectively, than the resonance frequency f0 will be generated between the power transmission/reception antennas. This state is called tight coupling. On the other hand, when the distance between the power transmission/reception antennas is long and ku<√(ki×ko), the resonance point (resonance frequency) of the power transmission/reception antennas is in the same state as critical coupling, but the coupling efficiency decreases. This state is called loose coupling.
FIGS. 12A and 12B each schematically show the relationship between the coupling efficiency and the frequency in the cases of tight coupling, critical coupling, and loose coupling. As shown in FIG. 13, note that in the actual environment of usage, by causing the coupling to become closer to tight coupling than critical coupling, an adjustment can be performed to prevent the efficiency from decreasing even if the distance to the antenna incorporated in the power receiving apparatus more or less shifts, and thus maintain the efficiency. However, if the adjustment as shown in FIG. 13 is made, since the frequency band with high transfer efficiency between the antennas is wide, resonance occurs at a wide frequency band.
In such a case, if power transfer from a second power transmitting apparatus to a second power receiving apparatus is started while power is transferred between a first power transmitting apparatus and a first power receiving apparatus, the power transmitted from each power transmitting apparatus can be received by an apparatus that is not the power receiving apparatus which is the original partner apparatus of the power transfer. That is, power transmitted from the first power transmitting apparatus can be received by the second power receiving apparatus, and the power transmitted from the second power transmitting apparatus can be received by the first power receiving apparatus. In such a case, there is a possibility that the originally intended power transmission/reception cannot be performed.
The present invention provides a technique that prevents transmitted power from being received by an apparatus that is different from the target apparatus of power transmission.

Power receiving apparatus, power transmitting apparatus, control method, and storage medium


The present invention relates to a plated steel sheet for hot press forming, a hot-press forming member manufactured using the same, and a manufacturing method thereof. The plated steel sheet comprises: a base steel sheet and a composite plated layer that is formed on at least one surface of the base steel sheet, and has a Mn-based plated layer and an Al-based plated layer alternately formed therein, an Al-based plated layer being formed on the uppermost layer thereof, wherein the composite plated layer has a total thickness of 5 to 30 μm, and in this case, the Mn-based plated layer accounts for 5 to 60% of the total thickness.

Recently, the application of high-strength steels to automobiles has increased for the purpose of weight reduction. However, high-strength steels are easily fractured when processed at room temperature. In addition, since high-strength steels undergo spring back during forming processes, it is difficult to precisely determine the dimension high-strength steels so as to manufacture complicated parts. Due to these reasons, hot press forming (HPF) has become favored as a method for shaping high-strength steels.
HPF is a method of forming steel sheets into complicated shapes at high temperatures at which steel sheets become soft and ductile. In detail, HPF is performed by heating a steel sheet to an austenite temperature range or higher, pressing the steel sheet, and rapidly cooling the steel sheet simultaneously with the pressing so as to cause the steel sheet to undergo transformation into martensite. In this manner, precise high-strength products may be manufactured by HPF.
However, if steel is heated to a high temperature, surface corrosion or decarbonization may occur. Thus, steel plated with a Zn-based or Al-based material is widely used in an HPF process. In particular, galvanized steel sheets having Zn-based plating layers are highly resistant to corrosion because zinc (Zn) provides sacrificial corrosion protection to the steel sheets.
A hot-dip galvanized steel sheet disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2006-022395 is an example of such steel sheets resistant to corrosion. If a steel sheet is subjected to a hot-dip galvanizing process and then an HPF process, an alloy having a zinc content of 70% or greater is formed on the steel sheet, and thus the corrosion resistance of the steel sheet is improved.
However, if a galvanized steel sheet such as a hot-dip galvanized steel sheet is heated in high-temperature air, zinc oxides are formed on the galvanized steel sheet, and after a forming process, such zinc oxides function as a resistor hindering the flow of current during a welding process such as a spot welding process, thereby worsening the weldability of the galvanized steel sheet. Due to this reason, additional processes may be performed after a forming process so as to remove zinc oxides from such a galvanized steel sheet and thus to improve the weldability of the galvanized steel sheet during a spot welding process. However, this increases manufacturing costs.
A method of preventing the formation of oxides on a steel sheet after an HPF process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,805. According to the disclosed method, a steel sheet is plated with aluminum (Al) so as to be used as a steel sheet for HPF. If a steel sheet is plated with aluminum (Al) having a high degree of heat resistance and is then subjected to an HPF process, a product formed by the HPF process does not have surface oxides or has very low amounts of surface oxides, and thus the spot weldability of the product is very high. However, unlike zinc (Zn), aluminum provides very insufficient sacrificial corrosion protection to a base steel sheet, and thus if the iron surface of the base steel sheet is exposed, the base steel sheet may markedly corrode.

Plated steel sheet for hot press forming having excellent weldability and corrosion resistance, forming member, and manufacturing method thereof


An ink ribbon cassette includes an ink ribbon unit, first and second housings, and coupling mechanisms, and holding mechanisms. The ink ribbon unit is replaced while an ink ribbon film is wound around a supply bobbin and a take-up bobbin. The first housing has a pair of first semi-cylindrical bobbin housing portions in which the supply and take-up bobbins of the ink ribbon unit are housed parallel to be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval. The second housing has a pair of second semi-cylindrical bobbin housing portions in which the supply and take-up bobbins are housed parallel to be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval. The coupling mechanisms couple the second housing to the first housing while the first bobbin housing portions are caused to correspond to the second bobbin housing portions, respectively. The holding mechanisms are arranged at two end portions of each of the first bobbin housing portions or each of the second bobbin housing portions, for detachably holding two end portions of the supply bobbin and those of the take-up bobbin. A method of replacing an ink ribbon film is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to the housing structure of an ink ribbon cassette used for a recording apparatus such as a thermal printer, and a method of replacing an ink ribbon film.
In order to allow a user to replace an ink ribbon film used for a thermal transfer line printer or the like, good operability is required. For this reason, in a conventional ink ribbon film replacing method, an ink ribbon film is generally replaced as an expendable supply together with its ink ribbon cassette housing.
Disposing an ink ribbon film as an expendable supply together with its ink ribbon cassette in this manner leads to an increase in the expenses of expendable supplies on the user side, besides it is not desirable from the viewpoint of saving of resources and prevention of environmental pollution. Therefore, it is strongly required that large resin components such as ink ribbon cassette housings be reused.
In order to meet such a requirement, there is proposed a method of directly mounting a bobbin having an ink ribbon film wound therearound in a printer apparatus or the like. According to this method, however, a cumbersome operation is required, and hence a problem is posed in terms of the above-mentioned operability.

Ink ribbon cassette and method of replacing ink ribbon film


A method includes tracking access to files that are stored on a single disk, and identifying a file access sequence involving a first file and a second file stored on the disk, wherein the first file is accessed before the second file. The method further includes determining a time differential between a time that the first file is accessed and a time that the second file is accessed, and determining a direction and speed at which a drive head of the disk can move between sectors and tracks of the disk. Still further, the method includes migrating one or both of the first and second files to a new location on the disk so that, after the drive head of the disk has read the first file, the drive head is repositioned at a beginning of the second file in a period of time that is a function of the time differential.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data storage on a disk drive and how to organize files on the disk drive.
Background of the Related Art
A hard disk drive is a data storage device including one or more rotating disks coated with magnetic material. An actuator arm is controllable moved to position a read/write head in alignment with a desired track as the disk rotates under the read/write head. The amount of time required to access data on the hard disk drive ("access time") is affected by the amount of time required to move the read/write head to the desired track ("seek time"), the amount of time required for the desired disk sector to rotate under the already positioned read/write head ("rotational latency"), and the rate at which data can be transferred from the disk and a disk buffer to an attached computer ("data transfer rate"). The seek time is generally determined by the design of a voice coil designed to rotate an arm that supports the read/write head just above the surface of the disk. The rotational latency is generally determined by the rotational speed of the disk, which is often express in rotations-per-minute (RPM), such that a higher rotational speed results in a lower rotational latency.
Disk fragmentation can occur when the free space on a disk prevents a file from being written in a contiguous area of the disk. Accordingly, smaller portions (fragments) of the file are stored in separate areas. Therefore, accessing a file with two fragments requires repositioning of the read/write head two times, once for each fragment. The increase in movement of the read/write head can have a large impact on system performance. Over a long period of use, disk fragmentation tends to get worse and system performance will continue to suffer.
Fortunately, it is possible to reduce the amount of fragmentation on a disk using a process called defragmentation. Defragmentation programs generally attempt to organize files into fewer fragments and create large unused areas that can be used for contiguous storage of new files. While a defragmentation program or process may be manually initiated by a user, such a process may also be scheduled for off-peak hours to keep disk fragmentation from significantly reducing system performance.

Controlling file placement on a disk drive to improve file access

Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


A method of monitoring and controlling a target operating device of a process control system. The method comprises: detecting activation of one or more parts of the target operating device with a sensor of a wireless latching unit; latching a switch of the wireless latching unit from an active state to an inactive state upon detecting the activation of the one or more parts; transmitting one or more active signals from the wireless latching unit to abuse station upon latching the switch to the active state; detecting deactivation of the one or more parts of the target operating device with the sensor of the wireless latching unit; ignoring the detected deactivation at the wireless latching unit; and continuing to transmit the one or more active signals from the wireless latching unit to the base station. A wireless monitoring and control system is also disclosed.

Process control systems, like those used in chemical, petroleum or other processes, typically include one or more centralized or decentralized process controllers communicatively coupled to at least one host or operator workstation and to one or more process control and instrumentation devices such as, for example, field devices, via analog, digital or combined analog/digital buses. Field devices, which may be, for example, valves, valve positioners, switches, transmitters, and sensors (e.g., temperature, pressure, and flow rate sensors), are located within the process plant environment, and perform functions within the process such as opening or closing valves, measuring process parameters, increasing or decreasing fluid flow, etc. Smart field devices such as field devices conforming to the HART®. protocol may also perform control calculations, alarming functions, and other control functions commonly implemented within the process controller.
Information from the field devices and the process controllers is typically made available to one or more other hardware devices such as, for example, operator workstations, maintenance workstations, personal computers, handheld devices, data historians, report generators, centralized databases, etc. to enable an operator or a maintenance person to perform desired functions with respect to the process such as, for example, changing settings of the process control routine, modifying the operation of the control modules within the process controllers or the smart field devices, viewing the current state of the process or of particular devices within the process plant, viewing alarms generated by field devices and process controllers, simulating the operation of the process for the purpose of training personnel or testing the process control software, diagnosing problems or hardware failures within the process plant, etc.
A process control system also typically includes various safety stations, e.g., safety showers, eye wash stations, located throughout the process plant to be used by workers in emergency situations. Operators of the process control system want to know when an event occurred, such as when a safety station is being used, so that a monitoring system is aware of the event. Operators also want to know about when an event occurred so that the monitoring system will continuously broadcast to a workstation that the event occurred, even when the safety station is reset to its original state, e.g., when the safety station is not being used.
One prior solution has used two devices to accomplish these objectives. More specifically, a first instrument has been secured to the safety station and used to perform a mechanical switch state diagnostic and latch if a detected activation of the one or more parts of the safety station occurs, e.g., the shower was turned on. A second instrument has also been secured to the safety station adjacent to the first instrument and reads the switch states of the first instrument. The second instrument, such as a wireless transmitter, then wirelessly broadcasts or transmits the first instrument switch states to a base station of the process control system. In this case, the mechanical latch of the first instrument must be reset by someone going out to the safety station and physically resetting the mechanical switch. In the event that the target operating device is a safety shower station, for example, the two instruments make sure someone is deployed to the scene to determine if anyone is injured, for example.

System and method for monitoring and controlling a target operating device of a process control system