A thin flexible floor mat system is configured to resist penetration by high heeled shoes and be capable of being easily rolled up in long segments. The floor mat is constituted by a series of small square sections and are connected together with connectors that permit easy deployment and removal of the mat system by detaching segments of the mat from each other. The mat is flexible but resists penetration from high heels and other forms of traffic by virtue maintaining of a predetermined amount of flexibility through the use of auxiliary supports. Further stability is provided by one-piece ramp corners.

The present invention relates generally to plastic or rubber floor mats providing a raised, perforated high-friction surface suitable for use in damp locations, such as lobbies, and the like. More specifically the present invention relates to a method for easily removing and deploying various sizes of floor mat systems by connecting and detaching floor mat sections to and from each other.
Perforated rubber or plastic floor mats are useful for providing a safe, high friction surface for people and other traffic moving in damp conditions. This is accomplished by keeping the feet of pedestrians above a damp or particulate-rich, cold, encumbered or otherwise slippery floor.
Normally the upper surface of the floor mat is constituted by a number of narrow, parallel plastic or rubber strips or ribs, often separated by a distance approximately the same size as the width of an individual strip. Often such strips or ribs have anti-skid corrugations on their top surfaces to provide a high friction walking surface.
However, in many cases, the anti-skid corrugations on the top surfaces of the upper portion of the floor mat can create additional hazards. For example, the corrugations may hold particulate matter to the surface of the mat rendering the mat far more slippery than a mat with a smooth upper surface. Also, it has been discovered through use that corrugated surfaces do not exhibit as much friction as that provided by flat mats.
This is especially critical with thin mats, which have a tendency to slide when subjected to lateral or horizontal forces caused by traffic. Such forces also tend to pull mat sections away from each other further exacerbating the problem of mat movement. Thus, many thin mats allow hazardous conditions to occur by moving along the floor supporting the mat, even if the traffic across the mat interfaces on relatively slip free surface of the mat.
On the other hand, thicker matting may serve as a trap for high heeled shoes to small casters or wheels of vehicles. Also, the thicker matting (usually xc2xdxe2x80x2 inch or more in thickness) is much more difficult to deploy and remove than thinner matting.
The lower portion of a conventional floor mat usually consists of two series of roughly parallel, spaced strips crossing each other at substantially perpendicular directions, and connected together to provide rectangular perforations through the floor mat so that the floor or support surface upon which the mat is laid can easily dry out. Mud and dirt are cleaned from the feet of the users by friction with the upper edge of the mat surface to fall through the perforations to the floor upon which the mat is laid. Such mats are most often used in the lobbies of public buildings, and in damp work situations to keep the feet of workers above a damp floor which can easily become very slick with moisture or debris. The principal purpose of such mats is to enhance the safety of workers or pedestrians passing over a particular surface.
In some cases it is desirable to cover an entire surface of a fairly large area with matting. Since the matting can be fairly heavy or thick, it is often difficult to remove it in order to clean the floor, especially if the mat is in a single large piece. If, on the other hand, the mat is made up of a number of smaller pieces loosely laid on the floor, it is difficult to keep them properly connected and aligned. This is especially true if the floor tends to become slippery when wet, or if the nature of the traffic over the mat is such as to cause horizontal lateral stress along a plane parallel to the floor. As a result of such stress, the mat sections may move about creating a hazardous situation, as well as an unsightly appearance.
A number of systems have been proposed to hold floor mat section together. The best-known technique is to use small sections of matting that are glued to each other. However, in this system it is very difficult to remove the matting without breaking the glue bonds and causing damage to the matting. If the glue bonds are sufficiently strong that the mat portions holds together, then the previously-mentioned problems of dealing with large, heavy mats occur.
Another solution has been the use of connecting devices permanently affixed to the floor, and having projecting connecting portions, such as prongs. These are generally known as dog ears, and are forced over the ribs of the floor mats to secure the matting to the floor. However conventional systems using this technique have been hampered by difficulties in attaching and detaching the mat sections to each other and the floor.
Another system for holding mats together is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,059 to Kessler, dated Nov. 21, 1972, and incorporated herein by reference. This system discloses a system for interlocking small floor mats at their edges to provide a single large mat which can be treated as a unit if desired. The system accommodates removal of small floor mat sections for cleaning, as well as replacement of selected floor mat sections. This is accomplished using plastic connectors having locking portions which fit into apertures in the floor mat, and engage both the upper and lower strips or ribs of the mat to lock the mat sections together.
Despite the advantages of the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,059, substantial problems with the assembly of large mat configurations still exist. The connectors of the Kessler system can be difficult to install so that easy mat alignment will also be difficult. Another factor occurs when long lengths of floor matting are assembled. Traffic along the length of the floor mat creates stresses which tend to pull the mat sections apart, even with the conventional locking system. Further, the locking splines of the Kessler system are subject to rolling allowing the floor mats to separate when certain stresses (caused by traffic) are applied to it. This is further exacerbated by the fact that there are substantial portions of adjoining floor mat sections that are not directly connected by the locking splines. Thus, high levels of traffic, or increased speeds of the traffic, as well as local high stress conditions (such as those caused by high heeled shoes or extremely heavy individuals) can cause mat destabilization and separation.
Another solution to the aforementioned problems associated with floor mats is the use of recessed areas formed in the floor to contain the floor mats. Generally, the recessed areas are sized so that the floor mats are located with their edges against the edges of the recessed area thereby preventing the floormats from sliding when subject to traffic. Ideally, water, snow, liquid detergent, granulated detergent, auto oil, granulated products, and other debris from the sources of traffic pass through the perforations in the mat to keep the top surface of the mat free of standing water and other hazards. Since the top surface of the mat is generally flush with the surrounding surfaces, the mat does not constitute an obstruction. This is especially important when using relatively thick or rigid mats.
While such conventional mat arrangements are adequate for many purposes, there are certain drawbacks. First the building owner or user must plan for the installation of these mats and have the recessed area built into the floor during construction of the building. As a result, additional burdens are created in the planning of the building. In the alternative, the recessed areas can be dug out of the floor after the building has been constructed. However, such operations entail a great deal of expense to the building owner or user. Further, even when a recessed area has been provided to hold the floor mats, extemely large mats may still be moved within the recessed area, possibly causing unsafe conditions.
Another approach includes the use of continuous lengths of matting arranged in roles. However, the rolled matting can be cumbersome to move for cleaning, etc. Also, conventional connections between large sections of matting are often difficult to easily install or disconnect. Consequently, in conjunction with the weight of the matting, awkward conventional connector usually make the deployment and the removal of large sections of matting a long and arduous process.
One approach to the problem of heavy and awkward rolls of matting is to use thinner matting material (generally in the range of 0.25 inch or less). However, one drawback with matting thin enough to be easily rolled is the tendency to be substantially deformed by local stress such as that caused by high heeled shoes, extremely heavy individuals or heavily loaded carts with small casters. Because of the flexibility of thin, conventional, rollable matting, it is common for high heeled shoes to cause deformation of the matting and become stuck in the perforations. As a result, thin, conventional, rollable matting may create additional safety hazards even as it is addressing the usual problems of installing and removing large rolls of matting.
Also, by avoiding the complications of floor recesses dedicated to hold floor matting, another disadvantage occurs. The edge of the floor matting is often constituted by a 90xc2x0 step, which can constitute a hazard to pedestrian traffic, as well as providing some difficulty for heavy small wheeled vehicles or other vehicles with casters. Conventional solutions to the problem are awkward and add a level of complexity, making deployment and removal of the matting even more complex.
Thus the conventional art does not adequately address all the difficulties of deploying and removing substantial amounts of floor matting.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a floor mat interlocking system that is easily assembled and removed.
It is another object of the present invention to enhance continuity of connected floor mat sections by means of the weight of traffic moving over the mats.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system that is not destabilized by the movement of traffic over the mat.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a floor mat interconnection system that does not allow unintended separation of adjoining mat sections, or unintended mat movement or lifting of the mat from the floor.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a system to maintain floor mat alignment.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system in which individual sections of the mat are easily removed and replaced without disrupting any other sections of the mat.
It is again a further object of the present invention to provide a floor mat that can be easily deployed or removed by being rolled up in sections.
It is also another object of the present invention to provide a sectionalized floor mat that can be connected together with easy snap-fit connectors.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system having the benefits of a floor mat system arranged in floor recesses without the disadvantage of constructing floor recesses.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system that avoids the drawbacks of a sharp step between the floor and the top of the mat.
It is again another object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system that admits to easy arrangement of both intermediate and end pieces along the length and width of the mat.
It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide a large continuous rollable floor mat that is constituted by a series of much smaller sections connected to each other.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a floor mat configuration that resists penetration by high heeled shoes or other high stress incidents of traffic over a flexible floor.
It is again a further object of the present invention to provide a floor mat configuration that deals with excessive unit load transmitted by wheels without substantially deforming the mat or moving it.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a floor mat configuration that distributes spillage so that there is no overflow onto the surface of the mat system.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system that can maintain safe conditions by accommodating spillage of liquid and particulate matter such as detergent, plastic and rubber grains, metal particles, and organic particulate matter such as sugar, and other debris, as well as motor oil and other viscous materials.
It is an additional object of the present invention to prevent or limit warping of a floor mat along it""s length.
It is again a further object of the present invention to prevent dimpling along the length of a mat section.
It is still a further object of the present invention to compensate for variations in size due to thermal factors along the length of a floor mat.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system that achieves the benefits of a hard upper surface and a soft anti-slip lower surface while being simple to manufacture.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system in which both lateral and longitudinal ramps help hold the matting system to an underlying surface.
It is again another object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system having lateral and longitudinal ramps that do not separate at the intersection of the longitudinal and latitudinal ramps.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide a safety floor mat system that can control deformation up to a predetermined point without deforming any further.
It is also another object of the present invention to provide a connector for mat sections, which is sufficiently adaptable to be placed in a variety of different configurations to hold mat sections together.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system in which lateral and longitudinal ramps are identical in construction so as to simplify the overall floor matting system.
It is again another object of the present invention to provide a safety floor matting system having improved connection mechanisms for both longitudinal and latitudinal ramps so that both types of ramps are easily connected and disconnected from the floor mat segments.
It is again a further object of the present invention to provide a safety floor matting system with optimized space between upper and lower ribs, as well as optimum shapes and configuration of those ribs to maximize the anti-slip safety aspects of the mat system.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a mat system having an inclined ramp system surrounding it where the intersections between ramps are not vulnerable to separation.
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide a floor mat system having a gripping mechanism in the form of optimal lower rib shape and configuration.
It is also another object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary support technique for a floor mat system whereby the support system provides additional anti-slip capability to prevent the floor mat from moving laterally on the support surface.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a safety floor mat system which can be firmly attached to the floor or surface supporting the floor mat.
It is again another object of the present invention to provide a safety floor mat system that can be arranged to withstand high lateral forces without substantial movement, and without being permanently affixed to the floor or support surface.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a safety floor mat system having ramps where connection between the ramp segments are arranged so that breaks between the ramp segments are eliminated.
It is again another object of the present invention to provide a safety floor mat system in which anti-skid devices are easily retrofitted to existing floor mats.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a safety floor mat system which is easily connected to permanent floor connectors, and easily disconnected.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by a mat system arranged on a support surface to provide a dry, relatively unencumbered travel surface. The mat system includes at least one mat section. The mat sections include a plurality of upper strips having upper and lower surfaces, and a plurality of lower strips having upper and lower surfaces arranged so that the upper surfaces of the lower strips are permanently affixed to the lower surfaces of the upper strips. A ramp structure is also included and is constituted by a plurality of ramps arranged around the periphery of the mat system. The ramp structure also includes at least corner piece joining at an intersection to two different ramps extending from two different edges of the mat system. The corner piece of the ramp is constituted by a single unitary molded structure.
In another embodiment a mat system is arranged on a support surface to provide a relatively unencumbered dry travel surface. The mat system includes at least one mat section. The mat section includes a plurality of upper strips having upper and lower surfaces and ramp connections extending therefrom. A plurality of lower strips having upper and lower surfaces are arranged so that the upper surface of the lower strips are permanently affixed to the lower surfaces of the upper strips. A plurality of the lower strips have ramp connections extending therefrom. The ramp connections for the upper strips and ramp connectors for the lower strips are identical in structure. The ramp structure is also included to be arranged at the periphery of at least one of the mat sections, and connects the ramp connectors of the upper strips and the ramp connectors of the lower strips.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention is manifested by a mat system arranged on a support surface to provide a relatively dry, unencumbered travel surface. The mat system includes at least one mat section and comprises a plurality of upper strips having upper and lower surfaces and a plurality of lower strips having upper and lower surfaces arranged so that the upper surfaces of the lower strips are permanently affixed to the lower surface of the upper strips. A ramp structure is also attached along the periphery of the mat sections. The mat is configured so that the upper strips are parallel to each other and lower strips are parallel to each other. The upper strips are arranged perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of traffic along the mat system, and the lower strips are arranged substantially perpendicular to the upper strips. The spacing between all the strips is uniform so that minimum spacing between the upper strips is 0.07 inches and the minimum spacing between the lower strips is 0.1 inch.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention is manifested by a mat system arranged on a support surface to provide a relatively dry, unencumbered travel surface. The mat system includes at least one mat section and each of the mat sections includes a plurality of upper strips having upper and lower surfaces and a plurality of upper strips, having upper and lower surfaces. The lower surfaces of the upper strips are arranged to be permanently affixed to the upper surfaces of the lower strips. At least some of the lower strips are substantially rectangular in shape and contain an anti-slip device.
Still an additional embodiment of the present invention is manifested by a mat system arranged on a support surface to provide a relatively dry, unencumbered travel surface. The mat system includes a plurality of upper strips having upper and lower surfaces, and a plurality of lower strips having upper and lower surfaces. The upper surfaces of the lower strips are permanently affixed to the lower surfaces of the upper strips. Also included is a plurality of auxiliary supports arranged on the lower surface of the upper strip, and extending downward from the lower surface of the upper strips towards the support surface.
Yet a further embodiment of the present invention is manifested by a mat system arranged on a support surface to provide a relatively dry, unencumbered travel surface. The mat system includes at least one mat section, which in turn includes a plurality of upper strips having upper and lower surfaces. Each mat section is also constituted by a plurality of lower strips having upper and lower surfaces arranged so that the upper surfaces of lower strips are permanently affixed to the lower surfaces of the upper strips. The mat sections are held together by at least one connector, which is constituted by a softer material than the material constituting the upper surfaces of the upper strips of each of the mat sections.


An application device includes a conveyer to convey a recording medium, an application roller to apply a treatment liquid to the recording medium, a pressure roller to sandwich the recording medium with the application roller to press the recording medium against the application roller, and a winding member to form a curved conveying path to have the recording medium curved along a conveying direction to wind the recording medium around the pressure roller. The pressure roller comes in contact with the application roller when applying the treatment liquid and separates from the application roller when not applying the treatment liquid. A predetermined positional relationship is maintained between the pressure roller and the winding member while the pressure roller moves close to the application roller to be in contact with the application roller, or the pressure roller moves away from the application roller to be separated from the application roller.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an application device and an image forming system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In inkjet recording systems, there is disclosed in the related art an example of a technique to apply a treatment liquid for aggregating ink immediately before ink droplets land on a sheet of paper of a recording medium in order to improve image quality.
There is also known in the related art another example of the technique to apply such a treatment liquid on an entire surface of a sheet using rollers. FIG. 12 depicts a configuration example of an application unit as a treatment liquid application device (hereinafter also referred simply to as an "application device") configured to apply a treatment liquid using such rollers. In FIG. 12, W indicates a recording medium such as paper, 90 represents an application unit, 91 represents a container, L represents a liquid such as a treatment liquid, 92 represents a squeeze roller, 93 represents an application roller, and 94 represents a pressure roller 94. In this example, the treatment liquid is scooped by rotations of the squeeze roller 92 driven by a motor. The treatment liquid scooped by the squeeze roller 92 is partially scraped by a nip between the application roller 93 wrapped by an elastic member such as rubber and the squeeze roller 92, and the remaining liquid is thinly and uniformly spread over the application roller 93. The treatment liquid spread on the application roller 93 is transferred on a sheet sandwiched by an application nip formed between the pressure roller 94 and the application roller 93 (see Patent Document 1).
The elastic member wrapped around the application roller 93 may be quickly deteriorated when the application roller 93 retains in contact with the squeeze roller 92 or the pressure roller 94. The positions of the application roller 93, the squeeze roller 92 and the pressure roller 94 may be adjusted to allow the application roller 93 to be in contact with the squeeze, roller 92 and the pressure roller 94 only for applying the liquid, and be separated from the squeeze roller 92 and the pressure roller 94 while not applying the liquid.

Application device and image forming system


A recording and/or reproducing apparatus employing a disc-shaped recording medium in which difficulties in detecting an address in the case of a groove of the recording medium exhibiting superior recording characteristics and in detecting an address in the case that both a land and a groove of the recording medium are used as recording tracks are resolved. A recording and/or reproducing unit includes an optical head for illuminating the laser light converged as spots on an optical disc and for receiving the return light reflected and diffracted from the optical disc. An address information generating unit generates the address information from the return light received by the optical head in the recording and/or reproducing processing unit. A tilt compensation unit detects the inclination (tilt) of the optical head relative to the optical disc to correct the tilt of the optical head in accordance with the tilt detected.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disc-shaped recording medium and, more particularly, to a disc-shaped recording medium having a land and a groove formed alternately thereon. This invention also relates to a disc recording and/or reproducing method and apparatus for recording and/or reproducing data for the above disc-shaped recording medium and to a tilt detecting method for detecting tilt produced in recording and/or reproducing data on or from the disc-shaped recording medium.
2. Description of Related Art
An optical disc, such as a so-called CD (Compact Disc) or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), is widely known as a recording medium having e.g., digital data optically recorded thereon.
An optical disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus for recording and/or reproducing digital data on or from the optical disc illuminates small-sized light spot, which is the converged laser light, on an optical disc run in rotation to record and/or reproduce the digital data. The optical head causes the laser light to follow a track formed on the optical disc surface in order to record digital data in stability on the optical disc or in order to reproduce digital data recorded on the optical disc.
Recently, such an optical disc has been devised in which, for raising the recording density of the optical disc, the land and the groove are alternately formed e.g., spirally to record data on the land and/or the groove.
As an example, there is known a system in which an address is afforded by a wobbled groove and is detected by a land as a recording track, as in MD-DATA2.
However, difficulties are met in address detection in case groove exhibiting superior recording characteristics is used as a recording track. Although a system is also envisaged in which both the land and the groove are designed to serve as recording tracks, difficulties are similarly met in such case in address detection.
Moreover, in the above-described optical disc, radial tilt tends to be produced due to warping of the disc caused by environmental factors, such as temperature or humidity, in use and/or on storage or as a result of handling states, or due to tilt of the optical head in an optical disc drive device. Since this tilt is responsible for aberration in the replay light spot, distortion in the playback signals, lowered MTF (modulation transfer function) or lowered recording power is produced in a known manner.
Recently, the tendency is towards increasing the numerical aperture (NA) of an objective lens in an optical head in an optical disc drive device for raising the recording density of the optical disc. For example, an objective lens with the value of NA of 0.45 and an objective lens with the value of NA of 0.60 are used for CD and DVD, respectively. As a result, the optical disc tends to be warped and, due the larger value of NA, the aberration angle dependency is also increasing.
On the other hand, in an optical disc driving device, such a system is in use in which a dedicated sensor is provided for detecting the tilt value for tilt compensation and in which an objective lens in an optical head or an actuator is inclined based on a detected signal.
However, if, in the conventional optical disc drive device, an optical disc is of a small diameter, there may not be provided a sufficient spacing in which to install a sensor used for detecting a tilt value to render the tilt value detection difficult.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a disc-shaped recording medium in which addresses may be detected not only in case the land is used as a recording track but also in case the groove exhibiting higher recording properties is used as a recording track.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a disc recording and/or reproducing method and apparatus in which addresses may be detected not only in case the land is used as a recording track but also in case the groove exhibiting higher recording properties is used as a recording track.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus and a tilt detecting method in which it is possible to detect tilt produced in a disc-shaped recording medium not only in case the land is used as a recording track but also in case the groove exhibiting higher recording properties is used as a recording track.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a disc-shaped recording medium in which a land and a groove are formed alternately and in which data is recorded on said land and/or said groove, wherein two of said grooves facing each other with a land in-between are wobbled based on respective different wobbling frequencies.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a disc-shaped recording medium for recording and/or reproducing data on or from said disc-shaped recording medium having two sorts of wobbled grooves, each groove sort being of different wobbling frequencies, and lands, said grooves and lands being arranged alternately, said apparatus comprising optical head means for illuminating laser light, converged into spots, on said disc-shaped recording medium and for receiving return light reflected back and diffracted from said disc-shaped recording medium, and address information detection means for detecting the address information from the return light received by said optical head means.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a recording and/or reproducing method for recording and/or reproducing data on or from the disc-shaped recording medium having two sorts of wobbled grooves, each groove sort being of different wobbling frequencies, and lands, said grooves and lands being arranged alternately, said method comprising the steps of illuminating laser light on said disc-shaped recording medium and receiving the return light reflected back and diffracted from said disc-shaped recording medium, and detecting the address information from the received return light.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a disc-shaped recording medium for recording and/or reproducing data on or from the disc-shaped recording medium having two sorts of wobbled grooves, each groove sort being of different wobbling frequencies, and lands, said grooves and lands being arranged alternately, said apparatus comprising optical head means for illuminating laser light, converged into spots, on said disc-shaped recording medium and for receiving return light reflected back and diffracted from said disc-shaped recording medium, amplitude information detection means for detecting an amplitude of a signal derived from the return light received by said optical head means, and tilt detection means for detecting a tilt value based on the signal amplitude detected by said amplitude information detection means.
In another aspect, the present invention provides A tilt detection method for detecting a tilt generated in recording and/or reproducing data on or from a disc-shaped recording medium having two sorts of wobbled grooves, each groove sort being of different wobbling frequencies, and lands, said grooves and lands being arranged alternately, said method comprising the steps of illuminating laser light, converged into spots, on said disc-shaped recording medium and for receiving the return light reflected back and diffracted from said disc-shaped recording medium, detecting an amplitude of a signal based of the received return light, and detecting a tilt value based on the detected signal amplitude.
According to the present invention, address detection becomes possible not only in case the land is used as a recording track but also in case the groove exhibiting more satisfactory recording characteristics. In addition, tilt detection becomes possible not only in case the land is used as a recording track but also in case the groove exhibiting more satisfactory recording characteristics.

Disc-shaped recording medium, disc recording and/or reproducing method and apparatus and tilt detection method


A method for improving yields in manufacturing processes includes identifying parameters which affect performance at a subsequent step in the process, collecting data concerning individual performance parameters, creating a reference scale which correlates individual parameters with probability of failure at a subsequent step in the process, testing a manufactured unit to collect performance data concerning two or more of the individual parameters from a manufactured unit, comparing performance data concerning two or more of the individual parameters from the manufactured unit to the reference scale to assign probability of failure for each of the single performance parameters, calculating a Figure of Merit, and utilizing the Figure of Merit to sort or disposition units.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to testing and evaluation of electrical or magnetic devices, and more particularly to methods of increasing yield and quality of devices by considering multiple performance parameters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electronic components such as integrated circuits and disk drive heads often fail due to flaws or marginal performance resulting from variability in the manufacturing process. Components are shipped or incorporated into larger assemblies. Certain qualities of these components influence the performance of the completed assembly.
In the semiconductor field, to minimize failures in the field, manufacturers routinely test components to screen out defects and ensure quality levels shipped to the consumer. A certain quantity of parts shipped or incorporated into larger assemblies will eventually fail to function after running in a use condition for some period of time, due to "reliability defects" which are not apparent until after the parts have been used for some period of time. It has become common practice to use an acceleration technique called "burn in" as part of their production test procedures. Burn-in generally consists of exposing the part to extremes of voltage and temperature, in order to screen out many reliability defects in their products before shipping the parts to the consumer, with the expectation that a lower quantity of reliability failures will occur.
In order to reduce the time and expense of component burn-in, "binning" systems have been developed, by which components are separated into separate bins based on certain criteria that reflect on the expected reliability of the components. For example, it has been discovered that the likelihood of a component that passes a particular type of testing having a latent defect increases with the number of neighboring components that fail this same type of testing. By "binning" those components that pass this particular testing into separate groups depending on how many of its neighbors failed this same testing, the components are separated into groups expected to have greater or lesser degrees of early life reliability.
In the disk drive industry, heads may be built into several models of hard disk drives, each with different relative sensitivities of soft error rate (SER) to various parameters measured to characterize the heads. Heads can be segregated and used in the model in which their SER is likely to be best. This segregation is referred to as binning. Heads which are very likely to produce poor SER in the disk drive may be scrapped at component level, saving the expense of further processing and assembly.
As there are multiple factors that can be observed as the criteria for the binning process, the process can become very complex, with multiple parameters to be considered. As it is important that potentially defective components be screened out, it is also important that marginal components be evaluated in a manner which does not exclude too many which may in practice turn out to be acceptably reliable. As an example, a disk drive read head may have, among other qualities, the qualities of 1) amplitude, meaning the amplitude of the signal it is capable of producing in a uniform quasi-static magnetic field, and 2) recession, meaning the relative amount of distance that the head is positioned relative to the data medium that it is reading. In prior art binning systems, components may be screened for each of these parameters, perhaps given a rating from 1-10 on the scale of the qualities. There may be a cut-off point established for acceptability, so that, for instance, for amplitude, a relative value of 5 is required, so that a component with a rating of 6 is acceptable, and one with a rating of 4 is rejected. Separate criteria for recession may be also established so that any component with a recession value of 5 or better is acceptable, meaning that it is not receded from the disk surface too much. Components which are receded may have values of 4 or less as their recession distance increases. A prior art binning system may look at each of these factors and assign a "go, no-go" evaluation based on each of these independent parameters.
However, there will exist some components in which there is a compensation effect in these two factors that can be considered. For example, a component may have an unacceptable "recession value" of 4, but have an "amplitude value" of 7, meaning that the head recession places it farther away than is desirable, but the amplitude of signal generated may be large enough compensate for this, so that, although the magnetic field that drives the head may be attenuated by too great a distance between the sensor and the media, the signal that it produces is large enough that the end result will be acceptable. A system that rejects this component on the basis of the single "recession value" will be wasting a component that in practice may function perfectly.
In the current manufacturing process, there may be 28 or more such parameters to take into account. It can easily be seen that if each component is assigned a pass-fail judgment based on these parameters considered independently, many components will fail needlessly and yields will be lower than necessary.
Thus, it can be seen that needs exist for improved systems and methods for determining the reliability of electronic components which considers the interaction of multiple parameters and their interactive effect on overall reliability.

Yield/quality improvement using calculated failure rate derived from multiple component level parameters

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands, B.V.


A pneumatic radial tire for heavy loads having block type tread pattern defined by a plurality of grooves provided on a tread surface thereof and by a plurality of blocks segmented and formed by the plurality of grooves, characterized in that each of at least such ones of the plurality of grooves which traverse the plurality of blocks in a width direction of the tire, having a sectional shape on each side of the groove, taken in a direction crossing the groove, the sectional shape of the grooves, comprises: a slanted linear line positioned on a bottom side of the groove and expanding outwardly toward the tread surface; and a circular arc line positioned on a side of the tread surface, an inward end of which contacting the linear line, and an outward end of which contacting the tread surface.

The present invention relates to a pneumatic radial tire for heavy loads having a block type tread pattern, and more particularly to a pneumatic radial tire for heavy loads having improved uneven wear resistance and steering stability without lowering traction performance specific to the block type pattern.
In order to secure a good traction performance on wet roads or snow-covered roads for a pneumatic radial tires for heavy loads, it is well known that it is effective to employ a block type tread pattern. However, when the tread pattern is based on a block design, tread rigidity tends to decrease due to a block construction. And it causes each block to slide on the road upon braking or driving, so that uneven wear such as heel-and-toe abrasion which involves different amounts of wear between the frontal and rear edges in each block in the rotation direction of the tire readily occurs, and also steering stability is lowered.
Therefore, in order to prevent the uneven wear from taking place and the steering stability from lowering, countermeasures such as providing shallow grooves around blocks have been taken heretofore. According to the above countermeasures, however, there has been such a problem that part of the grooves disappear before a complete wear of the tread takes place, thereby lowering the traction performance.


A mine roof support has a base and a roof shield pivoted to the base and carrying at its upper end a pivoted cap which is urged upwardly against the mine roof by a hydraulic pit prop reacting between the cap and the base. The lower end of the roof shield is connected to the base by two links each having a pivot cooperating with a pivot on the roof shield, and a pivot cooperating with a pivot on the base. In addition, the base and/or the lower end of the roof shield has an auxiliary for each link and each link has an auxiliary pivot which can be connected with one of the auxiliary pivots of the base or lower end.

The present invention relates to mine roof supports, and more particularly to the type of mine roof support with a vertically adjustable roof shield.
Mine roof supports of this type are already known in general. They have a base on which a roof shield is pivoted, the upper end of the shield being provided with a cap that is pressed by a hydraulic pit prop against the roof of the mine gallery or the like. A free edge of the cap is, in operation of the support, so positioned that it is close to the mine face so that the workers and equipment beneath the cap are protected against break-in of the roof of the gallery. An advantage of this type of mine roof support is the fact that the shield together with the mounting arrangement, the base and the pit prop forms in effect a four-bar linkage, a construction which assures that over a certain height of the mine gallery the roof cap can be adjusted vertically in such a manner that its front edge adjacent the mine face itself moves in an almost completely vertical path and thus can always remain adjacent the mine face and provide proper security for the personnel working below it. However, this vertical adjustment range is limited, i.e. if the vertical height of a coal seam requires the mining gallery to be higher than a predetermined limit, further upward adjustment of the roof cap is either not possible or, if it can be done, causes the front edge of the roof cap to move rearwardly away from the mine face leaving a portion of the mine roof unsupported. The reason for this has to do with the particularities of supporting underground passages, in particular the required or desired inclination of the roof shield and the distance at which the lower end of the shield proximal to the base must be spaced from that end of the base which is distal from the mine face. The roof shield must not be inclined at too flat an angle to the vertical because otherwise forces acting upon it from the roof and the overhang will negatively influence the supporting capability of the mine roof support. Also, when the roof shield is retracted to a relatively low position, the lower end of the roof shield must not project too far beyond that end of the base which faces away from the mine face, because otherwise the thus projecting lower end would conflict with rubble which drops into the goaf and readjustments of the roof shield would become difficult or impossible because of the presence of such rubble. In such an event, also, the linkages connecting the roof shield to the base, and the journals for the linkages, would be subjected to excessively high stresses.
Theoretically it would be possible to increase the height over which the front edge of the roof cap can be adjusted in a substantially vertical path, by reconstructing the mine roof support with respect to the length of the linkages and of the roof shield, as well as with respect to the position at which the linkage are connected to the roof shield and to the base. However, if this is done then necessarily the roof shield and the linkages must be increased in size and this, in turn, means that when the roof shield is lowered to a position in which it is relatively close to the face, it will project rearwardly so far into the goaf that its subsequent readjustment will be most disadvantageously influenced, for the reasons explained above. Also, if the mine gallery is of relatively small height a so reconstructed mine roof support would necessarily have its roof shield inclined at so flat an angle to the vertical that the other disadvantages outlined above would inherently result.
To avoid these problems mine roof supports of the type in question, i.e. having a four-bar linkage construction, heretofore have been designed so that they can operate within a predetermined limited mine gallery height. Within this predetermined limited height the disadvantages outlined above can be eliminated. These supports could not, however, be used if the mine gallery height was greater than the predetermined limited height unless one was prepared to accept the aforementioned disadvantages.

Bochumer Eisenhutte Heintzmann GmbH & Co.


A disposable article adapted to receive bodily exudates which provides improved management of such bodily exudates by including an effective amount of one or more agents which act to modify the physical properties of feces or other bodily wastes which may be deposited in the article, or by including one or more compositions such as the aforesaid one or more agents which enhance the removability of bodily waste, such as feces, from the skin of the article's wearer.

The major function of absorbent articles such as diapers, adult incontinence briefs, sanitary napkins and other disposable articles for receiving body exudates is to prevent such body exudates from soiling, wetting, or otherwise contaminating clothing or other articles, such as bedding, that may come in contact with the wearer. In recent years, disposable diapers, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,092 issued to Buell et al., have become very popular and have generally replaced durable cloth absorbent articles because of their convenience and reliability. However, despite the effectiveness of such disposable absorbent articles, body exudates often still leak or are stored in the article such that the exudates soil and/or irritate the skin of the wearer. Additionally, body exudates often adhere aggressively to skin, increasing the difficulty of cleaning and increasing the likelihood of chronic residual contamination. The fundamental causes of these, and other key problems with absorbent articles of the art lie in the mobility under applied shear stress and adhesiveness of the feces.
The undesirable effects of leakage and/or improper containment, difficult cleanup, and/or residual skin contamination are especially evident with regard to fecal matter deposited in the article. Feces contained in the article which comes in contact with the wearer, or which is left on the skin after attempts at cleanup, can harm the skin of the wearer over time. Feces leaking from the article almost invariably presents unpleasant, messy cleanups of not only the wearer, but also of clothing or other objects that may come in contact with the wearer. Thus, several attempts have been made to add features to absorbent articles such as barriers, pockets, spacers, transverse barriers, apertured topsheets and the like to limit the movement of the fecal material across the topsheet and/or to better confine the fecal matter in the article. However, such attempts have been generally unsuccessful because they fail to address the fundamental causes of these problems (i.e., the properties of feces) and, because of their cost and complexity. Further, many of the means for isolating or containing feces are directed to fecal material with certain physical properties (e.g., viscosity, free water content and particle size) and are not effective with exudates with physical properties outside a very small range.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,836 discloses a diaper including layer of medicated powder located between the absorbent core and a water-soluble film. The medicated powder is used to promote drying of the infant's skin after the wearer wets the diaper. However, as shown in Tables II and VIII, below, embodiments such as disclosed in this patent do not function to provide the feces management benefits of the present invention. It is also known to coat a topsheet of a disposable absorbent article with a lotion composition which can transfer to the skin of the wearer, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,607,760, 5,609,587, 5,635,191 and 5,643,588. However, such a lotion composition alone may not provide the enhanced fecal removability/cleaning benefit of the present invention.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a disposable article with improved bodily exudate management properties, such as a disposable article providing desirable feces modification and/or enhanced feces removability. Further, it would be advantageous to provide an economical disposable article with the ability to minimize the negative effects of feces or other viscous bodily waste on the wearer or the caregiver. It would also be advantageous to provide an article which is designed to chemically or physically interact with the feces and to change the properties of the feces in order to improve acceptance of feces into the article and/or immobilization of the feces within the article and/or reduce the residual contamination of the wearer's skin with feces. Also, it would be desirable to provide an article having sufficient effective capacity and retention capability to store the physically or chemically modified feces safely and cleanly away from the wearer's skin and/or clothing throughout the expected time of use. It would be further desirable to provide an article which enhances the efficacious cleanup of feces from the wearer's skin.

Disposable article providing improved management of bodily exudates


A canister for treating evaporated fuel includes a casing which is provided with a fuel vapor inlet, a purge port and a port communicating with atmosphere and in which an adsorbent is accommodated, an air passage disposed inside the casing so as to communicate with the atmosphere communication port, the air passage having a shape for flowing the sucked air in a zigzag manner in the casing, and a filter element arranged between the air passage and the adsorbent disposed inside the casing.

In general, a canister of the kind mentioned above has an adsorption chamber communicating with a passage communicating with atmosphere (hereinlater, called atmosphere communication passage) and a filter element in shape of sheet formed from felt or like is arranged at an end portion of this adsorption chamber. This filter element captures powdered coals generated, from activated carbons or charcoals filling in the adsorption chamber, through the mutual rubbing thereof caused by vibration or oscillation of a vehicle, and the filter element prevents the captured powdered coals from being discharged outside a canister case through the atmosphere communication passage.
Furthermore, prior art also provides a canister which is provided with a dust removing filter element of a type different from that of the canister mentioned above for the purpose of removing dust or like in the atmosphere taken into the canister through an atmosphere communication passage at a time of purge.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open (KOKAI) Publication No. HEI 11-280569 discloses a canister including an adsorbent case in which a filter chamber is formed independent from an adsorption chamber, and in the filter chamber, a filter element for filtering air taken into the filter chamber through an atmosphere communication passage is disposed. This filter chamber is arranged by being fused to one surface of the canister or being connected independently from the canister.
In the canister disclosed in the publication mentioned above, however, a canister body has an increased lateral width, making large an entire structure or shape thereof, which influences canister location space in a vehicle, thus providing an inconvenience. Furthermore, in the arrangement in which the filter chamber is independently disposed, the number of parts or members increases, and a manufacturing cost is also increased because of the fusing process or like, also providing a disadvantage. Still furthermore, there may provide a problem such that the filter element is clogged by dust or like absorbed through the atmosphere communication passage, which may result in shortage of lifecycle of the canister.
In view of the defects or drawbacks encountered in the prior art mentioned above, the present invention aims to provide a canister having a structure capable of removing dust or like and preventing clogging of a filter element without changing basic design or shape of the canister.


A racing game permits two or more players to compete by taking turns incrementally moving their game pieces around a race track comprising a plurality of discrete track positions. Each track position corresponds to a game command or to a race vehicle. Landing on a game command requires the player to perform that command, which may have bonus or penalty effect, depending on the particulars of the command. Landing on a race vehicle provides the player to purchase the vehicle for a defined purchase price, unless another player already owns the vehicle. If the vehicle is owned by another player, the player that lands on that position must pay a vehicle fee to the owner. Becoming race-qualified by purchasing a complete team of race vehicles is an overriding game play goal. Race qualified players are permitted to race for game points and game money, and may engage in a series of races reminiscent of real-world racing series, such as NASCAR, INDY RACING LEAGUE, or FORMULA 1.

The present invention generally relates to multiplayer games, and in particular relates to a multiplayer racing game.
Racing games enjoy enduring popularity. Some types of racing games, such as pure head-to-head competition games probably are best suited for implementation as computer games. Indeed, a plethora of such "pure" racing games exist for personal computers and the various gaming consoles. Gaming outcomes in these pure racing games largely depends on the relative game play skills of the players.
In other racing game variations, game rules mix head-to-head competition with at least elemental racing strategies to provide a richer game play experience. With this type of racing game, the game play outcome depends on both luck and strategy.
However, even with the existence of such games, there remains a need for a racing game that may be implemented as a computer game, or as a traditional board game, and that combines elements of luck and strategy in a manner that provides consistently captivating game play. Preferably, such a racing game would include elements that tie in with real-world racing events, such as with popular stock car racing series, to provide further elements of fan enjoyment.


The invention relates to a protection system (10) and a method for protecting a staff member (6) against X-ray scatter radiation, an X-ray system and a computer readable medium having stored a computer program element for controlling such system. The protection system (10) comprises a location unit (20), and a determination unit (30). The location unit (20) is configured to detect the position of a shielding device (3) and the position of the staff member (6) to be protected. The determination unit (30) is configured to determine an origin (5) of potential X-ray scatter radiation and to determine if the shielding device (3) is positioned to protect the staff member (6) to be protected based on the origin (5) of potential X-ray scatter radiation, the position of the shielding device (3) and the position of the staff member (6).

EP 2 147 333 A2 discloses a dose awareness indication device for determining an individual dose data of a staff member during a type of diagnostic or interventional X-ray examination of an object of interest with an examination apparatus.
During interventional procedures carried out while acquiring X-ray images of the patient, staff members may be subjected to harmful scatter radiation, in particular X-ray radiation that is being scattered by the patient undergoing the procedure.
Protection from such scatter radiation can be achieved in many ways: shielding devices (e.g. radiation safety glasses) may be in the room, behind which a staff member is "in the shade" of the scatter radiation; in a similar way one can stand "behind" another staff member, or even be "protected" by the patient. Taking enough distance from the scatter source can also have enough effect.
However, today no means are provided to guarantee that at least one of these protection mechanisms is in place for everyone. As a result, everybody is required to wear heavy, cumbersome lead aprons during the complete radiation procedure.

Protection system for protecting a person against X-ray scatter radiation


A position sensing and motion verification assembly for a motor-driven mechanism includes a base member on which a sensor pattern is fabricated. The sensor pattern includes a predetermined orientation of tabs and notches of varying widths. A home position is defined in the sensor pattern and the polarity of the pattern is inverted on opposite sides of the home position. A single sensor such as an optical interrupter is mounted in the assembly in a position relative to the sensor pattern to sense the tabs and notches.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved device for sensing the position and motion of a motor-driven assembly; and more specifically, to a new and improved device using a single sensor for sensing the position and motion of a motor-driven mechanism.
B. Description of the Background Art
Centrifugal assemblies for performing sequential analytical reactions include a cartridge holder for the positioning of an analytical reaction cassette or cartridge. A stepper motor is included in these assemblies and functions to rotate the cartridge holder and cartridge through sequential analytical assay procedures; for example, to determine the amount of an analyte in a liquid test mixture. This procedure requires the cartridge holder to be in the home position for placing a reaction cassette or cartridge into the holder prior to the assay procedures, and to be in the home position at the end of the assay procedures in order to remove the reaction cassette or cartridge.
Since the cartridge holder must be in the home position to commence the sequential analytical assay procedures, the actual position of the holder must be first determined. If the cartridge holder is not in the home position, it must be returned to that position before the sequential analytical assay procedures are begun. If the cartridge holder is moved to the home position, the movement must be verified in order to prevent damage to the motor if the cartridge holder were to bind and movement were prevented.
Consequently, two functions must be provided in the assembly or mechanism. The first function is determining the initial position of the cartridge holder. The second function is to verify movement of the mechanism.
Currently, assemblies are available that use two sensors to sense position and verify motion. One assembly of this type includes two concentric rings with a sensor adjacent each ring. The first ring and first sensor both function to determine the initial position of the assembly, and the second ring and second sensor both verify the motion of the assembly. Another example of an assembly of this type is one that has a configuration of uniform gear teeth. The position of the gear teeth is sensed by a first sensor. A hole is formed in the assembly inward of the teeth, and the passage of light through that hole is sensed by a second sensor to locate the home position.
Although there are assemblies that home elements such as printwheels, these assemblies typically do not have the capability of sensing positions away from the home position. Examples of these assemblies are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,746 and International Publication No. WO 90/00325 published on Jan. 11, 1990. These and other devices require two sensors, are expensive, cumbersome and bulky, and it is difficult to align both sensors. Consequently, it is desirable to provide an assembly that overcomes these deficiencies.

Position-sensing and motion verification assembly for a motor-driven mechanism


A lint brush in combination with a conventional necktie is proved whereby a section of lint removing bristled material is sewn into the "V" portion on the lower end on the backside of the necktie.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to both lint brush devices and neckties and, more particularly, to a combination lint brush and necktie.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, many devices are known that disclose the design and function of a lint removal brush. These include U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,571 issued in the name of Brazis et al. Also, U.S. Pat. No. D 362,965 issued in the name of Tastanis, U.S. Pat. No. D 324,779 issued in the name of Ueda, U.S. Pat. No. D 313,509 issued in the name of Ueda, U.S. Pat. No. D 309,378 issued in the name of Kiesz, U.S. Pat. No. D 309,376 issued in the name of Kiesz, and U.S. Pat. No. D 281,291 issued in the name of Schuler, III.
Other art is also generally known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,835 issued in the name of Schmitz describes a combination lint brush and shoe polishing brush. U.S. Pat. No. D 313,088 issued in the name of Her discloses the ornamental design of a combination lint brush, comb, and shoehorn.
However, nowhere in the art is an apparatus that provides the functions of a conventional necktie and incorporates a built in lint brush for removing lint, hair and similar undesired items from one's clothing.


In method for soldering metal microstructured plates, stacks of plates and solder layers are prepared by placing the solder layers between each adjacent plate. The thickness of the solder layers range from 3 to 25 .mu.m. The stack is then soldered by heating it in a vacuum or an inert atmosphere.

This application claims the priority of German Application No. 198 01 374.4, filed Jan. 16, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a method for soldering microstructured sheet metal to form a compact unit, e.g., a thermal transfer microdevice or microreactor.
Thermal transfer microdevices or microreactors consist of individual, thin, finely grooved metal plates. These grooves serve to form channels for carrying the medium involved. The plates are stacked one on top of the other, and are provided with base plates and cover plates which results in a compact unit. Thermal transfer microdevices or microreactors make it possible (by their fine channeling) to transfer a maximum of heat or power between two or more media within a very small space.
The component must satisfy important requirements in regard to both the sheet material used and the manner in which they are joined. These requirements include: sufficient hermeticity (helium leakage test; 1.times.10.sup.-6 mbar l/s) between both the passages for the reliable separation of the media used and from the environment; sufficient strength; free circulation throughout the entire patterned area; resistance to corrosion by the media carried; and thermal stability up to 450.degree. C.
Conventional adhering methods (fusion welding, diffusion welding, or cementing, for example) are unable to satisfy all the requirements of an entire packet of such plates, even in today's state of knowledge.
Fusion welding cannot be employed to precisely assemble a plurality of plates (at the areas to be joined), and is also very time consuming and costly. Moreover, each time the very thin metal plates are welded together, material distortion must be expected. This material distortion will accumulate additively throughout the entire stack. Diffusion welding, on the other hand, calls for very high surface quality with regard to roughness, cleanliness and accuracy in the shape of the metal plates. This can only be achieved with great difficulty, if at all. Cementing the plates together fails to satisfy the requirement of stability at 450.degree. C., and thus is not adequate.
Soldering in an inert atmosphere or in a vacuum is a known method for joining metal plates. A certain amount of suitable solder must be present in the plane of the joints. Usually, in the production of conventional heat transfer devices and reactors, the solder materials in this process have foil thicknesses or powder particle dimensions which are substantially greater than 25 .mu.m. Such solder thicknesses, however, are not suitable for joining very thin, finely channeled metal plates. This is due to the danger of excess solder which may restrict or entirely block these fine channels, and thus interfere with or even prevent the desired guidance of the flow of the medium within the plate or component.
Thermal transfer microdevices are disclosed in German patent document DE 44 26 692 C1 and in WO 88/06941. In both these references, soldering is the method used to join the grooved plates. However, further details of this method are not disclosed in these references.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for soldering microchanneled metal plates by which a required satisfactory stable bond is achieved while at the same time preventing the obstruction of the microchannels.
These and other objects and advantages are achieved by the method for soldering metallic microstructured plates according to the invention, in which solder layers, having a thickness which amounts to from 3 to 25 .mu.m, are provided between adjacent plates of a stack of microchanneled metal plates. Utilizing heat, the stack is then soldered together in a vacuum or an inert atmosphere.
The solder layer thickness according to the invention, which ranges between 3 and 25 .mu.m, assures that the amount of solder available results in a stable satisfactory joint, while at the same time the fine microchannels will not be blocked.
Regarding the manner in which the solder layers are placed between the plates in the stack, several embodiments are possible.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the plates are coated with solder to a thickness of about 3 to 25 .mu.m, and then stacked one on top of the other. The stack is then soldered together by applying heat in a vacu.mu.m or inert atmosphere. The solder layer can be applied, for example, in the form of a film, paste or powder or applied galvanically to the plates to be joined together.
In an alternative embodiment, uncoated plates are stacked, with solder foils having a thickness of about 3 to 25 .mu.m placed between them. The stack is then soldered together by heating it in a vacuum or inert atmosphere.
In all embodiments according to the invention, the solder layers are to be applied with the greatest possible uniformity, especially with a constant thickness. The solder can be applied both to the channeled and/or to the unchanneled surfaces of the plates or portions thereof.
Examples of materials which can be used as solder are copper and copper alloys (especially CuPd copper-palladium alloy with 10 to 22 wt. %, preferably 15 to 20 wt. % of palladium); nickel alloys (especially NiP nickel-phosphorus alloy with 7 to 14 wt. %, preferably 9 to 12 wt. % of phosphorus); gold and gold alloys (especially AuNi gold-nickel alloy with 10 to 22 wt. %, preferably 15 to 20 wt. % of nickel); and silver and silver alloys (especially AgTi silver-titanium alloys with 2 to 6 wt. %, preferably 3 to 5 wt. % of titanium).
The distances between the metal surfaces to be joined should advantageously range from a few micrometers to a maximum of 0.01 mm, so that they can be covered by the solder present. To achieve such a spacing, it is necessary (while applying heat) to exert an appropriate pressure on the component being soldered.
The term plates (within the meaning of the invention) is to be understood to refer to any kind of metal components, in the form of, for example, planar, flat slabs, ribbons or films. Examples of appropriate materials are steels (e.g., 1.4301, 1.4401, 1.4404, 1.4541, 1.4571); nickel, nickel alloys; lead, lead alloys; and copper, copper alloys.
The microchanneling of the plates is performed by known methods, e.g., by microtexturing methods using high-precision tools, by etching, milling, embossing, stamping or wire erosion. All of the methods described in German patent document DE 44 26 692 C1 and WO 88/06941 are suitable.
To prevent the obstruction by excess solder (whether entire or partial) of the channels provided for carrying fluid or for reactions, solder trapping channels can be provided on the plates as an additional preventative measure. The dimensions of these channels, as regards width and depth, are to be especially equal to or greater than the fluid-carrying channels. These solder trapping channels can be disposed especially at those areas of the microchanneling which are critical for carrying the flow. The solder trapping channels fill up, as intended, with the excess solder, so that the fluid carrying channels remain free and unobstructed.
To prevent any dispersion of the solder in particular areas of the plates, a means can advantageously be used by which the wetting of the base material by the solder is prevented.
The method of the invention is suitable for the production of the following devices, for example, microreactors, thermal transfer microdevices; high power evaporators (heat exchanging microplates), oil heated or catalytically heated; and membrane modules for hydrogen gas separation.
These devices can especially be used for fuel cell systems with integrated hydrogen generation for mobile applications, e.g., on board a vehicle.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method for soldering microstructured sheet metal


A hybrid binder-folder utilizing a foldable ring system for holding pages, which affords the advantage of easy page manipulation of ring binders with the advantage of flat folding of folders. The binder-folder has two side members which are mutually foldable along the centerline therebetween. Two, three or more foldable rings of flat, thin cross-section and of substantially semicircular shape are connected with the side members adjacent with and transverse to the centerline. When the two side members are mutually folded closed, the foldable rings fold along three folds: adjacent each connection with the two side members and at the ring apex. As a result of this foldability feature, the foldable rings are able to flatly fold, thereby permitting the binder-folder to be substantially flat when closed. When the side members are folded open, the rings unfold along the three folds to become substantially semicircularly shaped rings for guiding pages trapped on the foldable rings in the manner of a conventional ring binder. Removal and insertion of pages with respect to the foldable rings is achieved by a ring connection mechanism which is releasable with respect to one or both of the side members of the binder-folder, or else the foldable rings may be structured to be selectively openable at other than the ring apex.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to page connection systems used in binders and folders. More particularly, the present invention relates to a foldable ring system of a hybrid binder-folder which permits easy page removal and insertion, arcing page movement, and thin folding of the binder-folder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional ring binders utilize two, three or more rings connected with the spine of the ring binder for holding pages, usually in the form of sheets paper. The side members of the ring binder are foldably connected with the spine, and the rings are structured to selectively open and close in order to permit page insertion and removal with respect thereto. In operation, a user would open the ring binder with the side members of the ring binder on a resting surface and the rings facing up toward the user. The rings are then opened, pages having holes punched therein are then added or subtracted from the rings and the rings are then closed. Thereafter, the pages are arcably moved on the rings in order for the user to locate a selected page. When it is time to close the ring binder, the side members are folded so that the distal ends of the side members remote from the spine come into, or nearly into, adjacency. The resulting shape is far from being flat, in that the spine must be of at least a minimal width sufficient to accommodate the diameter of the rings. Consequently, the shape of a closed ring binder is generally triangular. Thus, a ring binder is of considerable thickness when closed even if no pages are held on the rings. As a result, it would be advantageous to provide a page holder which does not suffer from having an unavoidably wide spine.
An alternative to ring binders are folders. Folders have two or more page engagement members in the form of a pair of metallic flaps which insert through a hole in the page and then are folded over flat with respect to the fold centerline of the folder. In this regard, the side members of the folder fold along the centerline and the resulting shape is substantially flat. Another advantage of folders is that the side members can be folded back on themselves, thereby making it easier to handle the folder and resulting in a minimized footprint on a desk top. While folders eliminate the spine problem of ring binders, they suffer from the pages not being as readily manipulated in the manner possible only with rings.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a system for holding pages having the advantages of both a ring binder and a folder without the disadvantages of either.


A cabinet mounted latch is activated by the movements of an earthquake from a ready position. The latch then engages a door mounted hook to prevent door opening, preventing loss of contents and personal injury. The device may be manually activated or inactivated to provide on demand childproofing or unobstructed door use.

This invention relates to cabinet door safety latches, specifically to devices preventing the unwanted opening of cabinet doors.
During an earthquake, rapid motions cause unsecured contents within cabinets to shift. Cabinet doors may spontaneously open, causing loss of contents. Personal injury may result from projectiles or broken glass, crystal and china. Throughout this application, the technology described may be equally applied to drawer faces as well as cabinet, closet and cupboard doors.
Several devices are currently commercially available to prevent unwanted cabinet door opening. Several devices available may be considered as preventing doors from spontaneously "wandering" open. Common examples include a magnet mounted to the cabinet with a metal plate mounted to the door in a corresponding position. Another example is a semicircular metal latch on the door that engages a plastic circular roller that holds the door shut in place. Minimal manual effort is required to overcome the holding force and open the door. These devices are not considered childproof or effectively earthquake safe. A wide variety of this type of mechanism has been available for decades.
Another type of device involves a latch attached to the cabinet handle which requires the handle to be pulled, twisted or pushed to open the door, much like a standard car door. These devices adequately prevent unwanted cabinet door opening, but are generally not considered childproof. They are relatively expensive and may require special tools and skills for proper installation.
Commercially available childproof latches are usually door mounted simple hooks which engage the edge of the cabinet face or a corresponding cabinet mounted fixed latch. An elastic or spring loaded device allows an adult finger to move the hook clear of the cabinet edge to allow the door to open. These devices are often cumbersome and inconvenient to use and usually require both hands to open the cabinet door.
Earthquake safety authorities have recommended the use of childproof latches as a means of preventing unwanted cabinet door opening during an earthquake. A considerable deterrent to the use of childproof latches for this purpose is the inconvenience of their use on a daily basis simply in anticipation of an earthquake that may never come.
Accordingly, objects and advantages of my invention include provision of a latch with two easily changed operational modes, one as a standard childhood safety latch and the other as a self activated earthquake ready mode.


An automatic playing card shuffler incorporating cameras, non-imaging sensors, embedded systems and/or micro-vision systems for detecting anomalies and undesired markings on playing cards. Combinations of cameras, non-imaging sensors, embedded systems and/or micro-vision systems integrated in or proximate to automatic playing cards shufflers collect images and card information for analysis to determine if anomalies and undesired markings on playing cards are indicative of a scam or worn cards, or provide skilled players with an advantage to determine if anomalies and undesired markings on playing cards are indicative of a scam, unintentional, or the result of normal manufacturing variances, which could provide skilled players with an advantage.

Cheats and advantage players have been around as long as gambling. With the advancement of technology, come new methods for cheats and advantage players to work against casinos. One such method involves marking playing cards such that cheats may discern a card's identity (i.e., value and suit) from the card back. Knowing the value and suit provides the cheat with a tremendous advantage over the casino (e.g., blackjack) or competing players (e.g., poker). Intentionally marking playing cards can take many forms including, but not limited to, the use of invisible chemicals viewable through special lenses, the use of chemicals only viewable via electronic means and physical demarcations. Unintentional card markings include, but are not limited to, anomalies, smudges, manufacturing defects, etc. As suggested, advantage players take advantage of available information rather than intentionally marking cards. For example, advantage players may use manufacturing defects with the playing cards to create an advantage (e.g., edge sorting).
It would be useful and advantageous to develop an automatic playing card shuffler and other card-handling devices incorporating one or more cameras, micro-vision systems, embedded systems, and non-imaging sensors to build a complete detection system to detect anomalies and undesirable markings on playing cards to limit or prevent cheats and advantage players from gaining an edge against casinos.

Automatic playing card shuffler and other card-handling devices incorporating image capturing devices, non-imaging sensors, micro-vision systems and/or embedded systems to detect undesirable markings on playing cards


A system and method for estimating top contributing stations of a local area network. A traffic analyzer of the present invention determines the top N stations producing and receiving traffic on a local area network. The traffic analyzer performs this technique with limited storage space. To determine the top contributors the present invention utilizes a method of matching, sorting, creating, and purging records in storage in relation to captured frames received from stations on the LAN.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for estimating top contributors of a network. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for estimating top contributing stations producing traffic on a network over a finite period of time.
2. Related Art
A local area network (LAN) is a data communication system with more than one independent device and the ability for any one device to communicate with any other device or point in the system.
One key interest in LANs is the ability to manage and control traffic communication between stations. In order to avoid "traffic jams" or network "pollution" and to increase throughput and response time of a network, it is necessary to identify which stations are contributing the most data to the network. For example, during a "broadcast storm" (a state in which there are a very large number of broadcast frames being sent, and consequently the network is effectively shut down) it is important to identify the top producers of broadcast traffic. Once this information is available, appropriate adjustments may be implemented to correct the condition.
In addition, identifying the top producers of traffic which do not serve any useful purpose or consume a large percentage of a network's resources is critical information that a network manager needs to know in order to design an efficient network system, which operates at a lower cost.
One method of identifying the top contributors to a network involves maintaining a table of entries for each station contributing data to the network. As each station sends data, the source address of the station is recorded in a table. The table is updated each time a station sends data. At the end of a particular time interval, the table is sorted to determine the top contributing entries.
However, this technique is impractical. Often the amount of possible stations is very large and storage space is limited. Frequently, the amount of stations contributing to the network extends beyond the capacity of the maximum number of entries the memory device can store. As a result, most techniques ignore any new stations contributing to a network after the number of entries exceeds the capacity of the memory device. This leads to inaccurate results. Additionally, the large table sizes employed for this technique requires increased time to process and sort such information.

System and method for estimating top contributors


A universal sheet feed cassette for use in an apparatus using various commercially standard and commercially nonstandard sheet sizes during its operation. The universal sheet feed cassette discloses the size of the sheets contained within the cassette by a tracking of the movement of the cassette's movable guide. The apparatus in which the cassette is loaded can then detect the sheet size contained within the cassette. Once the sheet size is detected, the apparatus adjusts its operating parameters to adapt to the size sheet contained within the cassette.

The most common use of sheet feed cassettes is in the printing, recording and copying fields. The sheet feed cassette houses a plurality of recording sheets having a predetermined size, with the sheets being set in a predetermined position within the cassette. The cassette is adapted for insertion into a copying, recording or printing apparatus. Such apparatus employ a system in which the recording sheets are fed seriatim from the cassette. This, however, requires the availability of different cassettes for each recording sheet size. Examples of this are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,277,165; 4,440,487 and 4,696,563.
Multiple cassettes housings of the three or more housing variety are provided in a number of copying, recording or printing apparatus, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,804,997 and 4,862,220, to accommodate cassettes containing recording sheets of different sizes. In such an apparatus each cassette housing has associated with it preset operating parameters to accommodate the particular size of recording sheet for that housing. As an example, when recording on a large size recording sheet, such as A3, a greater optical scanning distance is required of the copying apparatus. Therefore, the housing that accommodates a cassette containing A3 recording sheets has a preset scanning distance to accommodate copying on A3 size sheets. This allows for precise scanning of the documents to be copied and results in a very efficient use of the apparatus' optical scanning system. It also increases the number of reproductions per unit time since the apparatus, on sensing the size of the sheet to be recorded upon, can adjust its scan so it matches precisely the travel distance for the size sheet to be recorded upon. With the scan matching precisely the size of the recording sheet, underscan of the image to be copied is avoided, since the scan will be identical to the size recording sheet to be recorded upon. Overscan is also avoided, since the scan will never be greater than the size of the sheet to be recorded upon. Recording efficiency is thereby improved. In addition, when scanning is based upon recording sheet size, it is possible to have auto-magnification, auto-paper select, edge erase and interframe erase, but these patents do not disclose a total solution, since they require multiple cassettes and the need for a copying apparatus having multiple housing slots.
To avoid the need for multiple size cassettes, a cassette capable of housing recording sheets of different sizes was developed and put into practical use. Such a cassette is called a universal cassette and consists of a cassette body capable of housing recording sheets up to a specified maximum size. The cassette has a movable rear guide adapted to adjust to the location of the rear edge (the edge that is furthest away from the edge initially inserted into the copying, printing or recording apparatus) and one or two movable side guides adapted to adjust to the location of the side edges of the recording sheet. The front edge, and perhaps one side edge, are maintained in position by fixed walls of the cassette.
While a universal cassette avoids the need to have multiple size cassettes, it doesn't resolve the problem of less than ideal operational parameters when commercially nonstandard sheet sizes are used. An illustration of this is a universal cassette used in a conventional copying, recording or printing apparatus, such as one having only one cassette housing. The optical scanning maybe adjusted, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,579,333 and 4,780,740. However, these patents only address adjusting operational parameters when commercially standard size sheets are contained in the cassette. They do not have the ability to recognize other than commercially standard size sheets. This is inefficient, since the optical scanning travel distance is only set for commercially standard size sheets, irrespective of the size recording sheets used. Under these circumstances, the reproduction rates for certain sheet sizes, notwithstanding the actual size of the recording sheet, measured on a per unit time basis would be equal. In other words, when recording with sheets of commercially nonstandard size, a larger than necessary scanning distance is required. If a smaller scan distance were used, there would be unused space on the recording sheet. This results in a decrease in reproduction efficiency or inefficient use of the recording sheet, since there is either overscan or space on the recording sheet that is not utilized, even when using a universal cassette.

Sheet size indication means for a universal sheet feed cassette


A semiconductor device including a doped substrate of a first doping polarity and a doped semiconductor material of a second doping polarity. The semiconductor material is on, or in, the substrate, and the second doping polarity is opposite the first doping polarity such that the semiconductor material and the substrate form a diode. The semiconductor device further includes an inductor on or above the semiconductor material, and a pattern in the semiconductor material for reducing eddy currents. The pattern includes a doped semiconductor material of the first doping polarity and a least one trench within the doped semiconductor material of the first doping polarity, wherein, at least at a depth at which the trench is closest to the inductor, the doped semiconductor material of the first doping polarity fully surrounds the trench so that, at least at the depth, the trench does not touch the doped semiconductor material of the second doping polarity.

RF-CMOS circuits often require inductors as part of their function. The ability to manufacture on-chip inductors is often a key capability for any CMOS technology to fulfil the requirements of RF circuits. These inductors are usually substantially planar spirals or coils of wiring which are patterned in the top level of metal to minimise the parasitic capacitance to substrate.
One characteristic of an inductor is its quality factor (Q value). This is defined as the ratio of the imaginary to the real parts of the electrical admittance or the ratio of the energy stored to the energy dissipated over one frequency cycle. Q varies with frequency. The lower curve in FIG. 1 shows an example of how Q may vary for a particular inductor.
On-chip inductors often suffer from quite poor quality factor, often less than 8. One of the reasons for the poor Q is the inductive loss to the substrate. The substrate is a conductor in close proximity and so the varying magnetic field from the inductor causes current to flow in it—this is called the induced eddy current. Eddy currents dissipate energy due to the resistance of the substrate causing heating. The currents also influence the inductor itself, counteracting the current in the inducing coil. This causes energy loss in the inductor—reducing its Q value. Energy loss is to some extent unavoidable, but it is an aim of preferred embodiments of the invention to minimise it.
In many semiconductor devices the substrate material is the common grounded wafer substrate which is shared by all the other components. If the resistance of the substrate is low, as is often the case with modern semiconductor processes, these inductor losses are considerably enhanced and very poor Q values are seen. By increasing the substrate resistance the Q values are improved.
Another technique to improve Q is to electrically shield the substrate from the magnetic field by placing a grounded conductor (e.g. made using a metal layer or polysilicon) between the inductor and substrate, the grounded conductor being insulated from the substrate. This grounded shield can be patterned to prevent eddy current losses in the shield itself, but the presence of a ground shield often increases the capacitance of the inductor to ground because it is physically closer to the inductor than the substrate.


The present invention relates to a GI-type multi-mode optical fiber in which the outer diameter of the core is 47.5 to 52.5 μm or 60 to 65 μm, or to a bend resistant multi-mode optical fiber provided with resistance against property fluctuation caused by the bending of the multi-mode optical fiber by providing a trench portion having a low refractive index at the outer periphery of the core. In the multi-mode optical fiber, both the maximum tensile stress and the maximum compressive stress in the optical axis direction remaining in the core are 50 MPa or less.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-mode optical fiber.
2. Related Background Art
It is known that a multi-mode optical fiber structurally has greater transmission loss in comparison to a single mode optical fiber for use in long-haul optical communication. Meanwhile, a multi-mode optical fiber is broadly used in short-haul information communication, in a LAN (Local Area Network) for example, because fiber-to-fiber connection is easy since connection loss is small, and a network can be built easily using equipment with a low required performance.
In recent years, aiming to achieve the high-speed transmission in the short-haul information communication, technologies for reducing the transmission loss of multi-mode optical fibers and expanding the communication band (achieving a wider bandwidth) are being actively researched.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A turbofan engine having a thrust reverser having at least one movable control surface, movable to and from a reversing position where at least a portion of the bypass air flow is at least partially reversed, a thrust reverser actuation system having multiple actuators and a lockout mechanism movable between an inhibit condition, wherein movement of the multiple actuators is prevented, and a permit condition, wherein movement of the multiple actuators is permitted.

Contemporary aircraft engines may include a thrust reverser actuation system to assist in reducing the aircraft speed during landing. Typical thrust reversers include a movable element that when in the active position reverses at least a portion of the air flow passing through the engine. During maintenance of such areas of the engine the movement of the movable part is inhibited for safety; currently, this is done manually by a user near the equipment that controls the hydraulic flow to the movable element.

Engine with a thrust reverser lockout mechanism