A cargo area divider, has a flexible planar structure that can be pulled out and is held at a rear end on a roller-shade shaft and at a front end is equipped with a pull-out bar that extends over the entire width of the planar structure. The pull-out bar is conformingly into a hollow chamber region of a cover profile extending at least over the width of the planar structure.

This application claims the priority of German Patent Document 199 30 136.0, filed Jul. 1, 1999, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a cargo area divider having a flexible planar structure that can be pulled out and is held at a rear end on a roller-shade shaft and at a front end is equipped with a pull-out bar that extends over the entire width of the planar structure.
Cargo area dividers of this kind are commonly known, in particular as divider nets for station wagons. A divider net of this kind is held as a flexible planar structure on a roller-shade shaft, and can be wound onto said roller-shade shaft by corresponding rotation of the roller-shade shaft. The roller-shade shaft is arranged in a cassette housing positioned immovably on the vehicle, from which the divider net can be pulled out upward. In order for the divider net to be pulled out, the divider net has in the region of its front end a pull-out bar that extends over the entire width of the divider net and is equipped laterally with hooking elements for securing the pull-out bar in retainers mounted immovably at the roof of the vehicle. When the divider net is in the pulled-in state, the pull-out bar rests on the cassette housing at the height of a corresponding longitudinal slot. The pull-out bar is arranged in a pocket at the end of the divider net that is formed by wrapping the end of the divider net around and correspondingly stitching it, optionally with the aid of an additional reinforcing material.
It is the object of the invention to create a cargo area divider of the kind cited initially that makes possible an improved configuration of the front end of the planar structure.
This object is achieved in that the pull-out bar is integrated conformingly into a hollow chamber region of a cover profile extending at least over the width of the planar structure. The pull-out bar is thus concealed, i.e., accommodated invisibly inside the cover profile. The cover profile can be adapted in terms of its visual appearance to the interior fittings of the motor vehicle, or can fit integrally into the external appearance of a cassette housing of the cargo area divider. The front end of the planar structure is thereby given a substantially improved, uniform visual conformation. The fact that the pull-out bar is conformingly received in the cover profile ensures that even in the event of a crash, the pull-out bar is prevented from being detached from the cover profile. The conforming arrangement is thus referred to the pulling direction of the planar structure. Since the pull-out bar is invisibly integrated into a front end of the planar structure in the cover profile, the visual requirements applicable to the joint between the planar structure and the pull-out bar are not very stringent. A functionally secure joint is sufficient.
In certain preferred embodiment of the invention, the hollow chamber region of the cover profile has the same cross section continuously over its entire length, and is open toward both lateral ends. The hollow profile can be configured either entirely as a hollow profile or only with a groove-shaped hollow chamber region and otherwise as a solid profile. The continuously uniform conformation of the cover profile makes it possible to use an endless extruded profile. The cover profile is advantageously manufactured from plastic or from a lightweight metal alloy.
In certain preferred embodiment of the invention, the hollow chamber region is equipped with a longitudinal slot, continuous over its length and open toward the outside, whose width is smaller than a cross-sectional dimension of the pull-out bar. The purpose of this longitudinal slot is to ensure that the flexible planar structure, in particular the divider net, can pass through. Preferably the pull-out bar, when it is already joined to the divider net, is slid together with the divider net, from one lateral end, into the hollow chamber region of the cover profile; this in itself ensures secure positioning of the pull-out bar in the pulling direction of the planar structure, i.e. in the pulling direction of the divider net.
In certain preferred embodiment of the invention, a closure panel which closes off the hollow chamber region is associated with each of the opposite lateral ends of the cover profile. The closure panel can extend either only over the hollow chamber region or over the entire cross section of the cover profile. The overall visual impression of the cover profile is further improved by these closure panels. In a further embodiment of the invention, the pull-out bar extends outward on both sides beyond the lateral ends of the cover profile, and is equipped with hooking elements for retention in vehicle-mounted retainers. This is a particularly simple and reliably functioning configuration; depending on the conformation of the hooking elements, provision must be made for subsequent attachment to the lateral ends of the pull-out bar after the pull-out bar has been slid into the cover profile.
In certain preferred embodiment of the invention, the cover profile is equipped at its opposite lateral ends with hooking elements for retention in vehicle-mounted retainers. Corresponding hooking elements on the pull-out bar are thus not necessary.
In certain preferred embodiment of the invention, the hooking elements are provided on the closure panels. With this arrangement, it is necessary to ensure that the closure panels are anchored on the lateral ends of the cover profile sufficiently securely that detachment of the closure panels from the cover profile is prevented even in the event of a crash.

Cargo area divider and method of making same


A playing card holder includes a first and second opposing panel defining a playing card retaining space therein, and a foldable kickstand for selectively supporting the playing card holder in an upright orientation. The playing card holder includes a plurality of protrusions or other card retention structures extending into the retaining space to engage the playing cards therein.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a playing card holder, and more particularly, relates to a playing card holder device that can either be held in a hand or supported in an upright orientation on a table surface when a folding kickstand is deployed. The invention additionally relates to methods of fabricating and using such a device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many recreational games include the use of playing cards, either alone or in combination with other game elements such as dice, boards, playing pieces, currency, chips, etc. As such, it is often necessary or at least desirable to perform additional activities such as moving game pieces, rolling dice, etc. while simultaneously holding onto one's playing cards. Players ideally want to hold cards with one hand while performing activities with the other to avoid "showing their hands." In some games, it is necessary for a player to free both hands when performing some other task, in which case it is necessary for the player to lay his or her cards face down on the table while performing the other tasks. In addition, in games involving multiple playing cards, it is often desirable to display the playing cards in such a manner that each of the playing cards' markings, e.g., suite and/or numerical value, are visible only to their specific player.
Prior attempts have been made to provide a playing card holder that will free at least one of a player's hands from holding his or her playing cards while also displaying the playing cards' markings and/or that will facilitate the display of multiple cards. Some such prior playing card holders have included large blocks intended to be placed on a table top and include a slot for partially receiving playing card. Another prior playing card holder, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,527, had a rigid plastic body including both a card retaining portion and a vertical support structure or pedestal extending away from the card retaining portion, thus allowing the card holder to stand independently when placed on a table top. However, the rigid structure of this and other known devices makes them inherently bulky and inconvenient for compact transportation. They are also relatively expensive to manufacture.
Thus, despite prior attempts to provide a playing card holding that is both easily held in one's hand as well as capable of being supported in an upright orientation on a table surface, while securely displaying the playing cards therein, there remains need for improvement


This electrical system is for use in a portable hand-held battery operated light curing device. The system includes a microprocessor which is activated by the battery to provide a series of square wave signals to the light curing lamp such that the light output of the light curing lamp is constant over a selected period of time. The system also provides a fast charging circuit for recharging the battery over a relatively short period of time.

This invention relates to light curing system and particularly relates to a light curing system for portable light curing devices used in dental applications.
Light cured composites have become materials of choice for a large number of dental restorations. These composites are easy to work with, contain no potentially dangerous metals, and are available in a large variety of shades to match the tooth enamel color of the patient. In use, the composite is first applied onto the area on the tooth of the patient and then it can be hardened or photo polymerized by exposing it to a high intensity light of wavelengths between 400 and 500 nanometers. Typically the high intensity light is provided by the light generated by a quartz halogen light source. The light is delivered to the composite at the patient's tooth by an elongated flexible light guide. Such elongated light guide often is awkward to manipulate and restricts the mobility of the dentist. In another curing light construction, the light lamp is incorporated in a hand-held unit which is connected by a power supply cord to a power supply for providing the electrical power for operating the light lamp. The elongated power supply cord in this case again restricts the mobility of the dentist.
Recently, attempts have been made to provide a battery powered portable hand-held light unit. The concept has been to free the dentist or assistant completely for better mobility when performing the light curing operation and to allow easy movement of the light from operatory to operatory. However, such portable curing units have been unsatisfactory, in that the curing light generated by the battery in the unit is not constant. Light cured composites used in dentistry vary in cure depths and speeds from manufacturer to manufacturer, from one shade of color to another and from one fill material to another. Cure times used by dentists as recommended by the composite manufacturers vary from ten seconds to one minute. If multiple restorations are being performed in a patient's mouth there can require up to 8 minutes or longer of light curing time. Undercuring is one of the major causes of restoration failures, and undercuring may lead to post operative sensitivity and/or marginal leakage which may lead to secondary carries. It is therefore an absolute necessity that a battery powered curing light unit should be capable of not only multiple exposures that may result in accumulations of up to 8 minutes or longer ON time, but the battery powered curing light unit must provide a consistent output that the dentist can count on. Only with a consistent light output in the wavelength range of between 400 and 500 nanometers can the dentist judge the curing time exposure required by the shade of the material being used in the restoration and the depth of the material being used in the restoration. In the known portable battery powered light curing device, the electrical power of the battery decreases rapidly with the length and number of ON time, and the intensity of the light output also proportionally decreases accordingly. Thus, the output light intensity is not consistent and is unreliable.

Light curing device power control system


A voice recognition system in a vehicle includes: a first microphone mounted in the vehicle that collects voice data of an occupant of the vehicle; a second microphone provided in a mobile device of the occupant that collects voice data of the occupant; and a voice recognition device connected to the mobile device through local wireless communication including a noise elimination portion eliminating noise in the voice data collected by the first microphone or the second microphone and a voice recognition portion performing voice recognition using the voice data from which noise is eliminated by the noise elimination portion.

(a) Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a voice recognition system in a vehicle and a method thereof and, more specifically, to a voice recognition system in a vehicle and a method that collects voice data of an occupant and performs voice recognition of the occupant.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Recently, various devices have been designed to be operated by voice recognition of a driver, and thus, the driver conveniently does not need to directly operate the devices. However, when the driver uses a voice recognition device or a hands-free device, voice recognition performance of the voice recognition device or speech quality of the hands-free device can deteriorate due to other noises, such as noises generated at the vehicle body or an external noise.
In order to solve these problems, voice recognition can be performed by installing a high-sensitivity microphone or a microphone array system having two or more microphones in the vehicle. However, this method requires additional space in the vehicle, which can increase manufacturing costs.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure, and therefore, it may contain information that does not form the related art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Voice recognition device and method in vehicle


Glass ceramic for use as a biomaterial comprising CaO 34.6 to 54.6%, SiO.sub.2 24.2 to 44.8 %, P.sub.2 O.sub.5 0 to 8.0%, CaF.sub.2 0.1 to 1.0% and Mgo 1.0 to 10.0% by weight and characterized by a primary wollastonite crystalline phase (CaO, SiO.sub.2) and a secondary apatite crystalline phase, and the process for the preparation thereof are disclosed. The glass ceramic of the present invention has superior mechanical properties, good biocompatibility, bioactivity, and no toxicity making it useful as a biomaterial in artificial bone and dental implants.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bioactive glass ceramic used in artificial bone and dental implants and a process for the preparation thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Extensive research has been conducted to aid the recovery mechanisms of a patient's body which includes a human body. Research has been especially directed to aiding the repair of bone damaged by disease, injury, aging, congenital disease, and the like with artificial materials. Recently, many materials applicable to living tissue have been developed and used.
These materials which are applied to living tissue are referred to as bioactive, and are directly implanted to living tissue in a patient. Bioactive material, or biomaterial, should have good biocompatibility with the patient. Furthermore, some components released by the biomaterial that respond chemically with the patient's body should be nontoxic. Also, after implanted in the body, the biomaterial should not undergo chemical changes that diminish its strength or convert it into toxic material.
Some materials such as metals and high polymers are used as biomaterial in a living body. There are problems associated with the use of metal as a biomaterial, however. These problems include transformation of the metal surface, the solution of metal ions, and poor biocompatibility. High polymers tend to lack sufficient mechanical strength and biocompatibility. Also, monomers dissolved from such a high polymer material can be toxic.
In addition to metals and high polymers, ceramics have been used as biomaterials. Ceramics have demonstrated the advantage of non-toxicity since the components dissolved from ceramics are nontoxic. In particular, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 ceramic is not harmful to a patient and has high mechanical strength (1270 MPa of bending strength). Accordingly, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 has been used as material for artificial bone and artificial dental implants. However, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 ceramic is inactive within a living body, i.e., not bioactive, and thus, cannot chemically bond with bone. Attachment of such an inactive material to living bone requires mechanical joining, e.g., providing a hole in the inactive material so that new bone grows into the hole, thereby joining the bone and inactive material.
To overcede the problems mentioned above, Bioglass.RTM. (Hench) has been developed. Bioglass.RTM. is a member of the Na.sub.2 O--CaO--SiO.sub.2 --P.sub.2 O.sub.3 group of bioactive glass. Although Bioglass.RTM. has good biocompatibility, it is not generally utilized because its bending strength is too low (72.+-.25 MPa) to be used alone under load-bearing conditions.
To improve the bending strength of Bioglass.RTM., Ceravital.RTM. (Bromer), which is prepared by precipitating the apatite from a glass, and a high density hydroxyapatite (Ca.sub.10 (PO.sub.4).sub.6 (OH).sub.2) sintered composite (compressive strength: 509 MPa) have been developed. These compositions are capable of chemically bonding with living bone, but have several defects including insufficient mechanical strength and complicated preparation processes.

Bioceramics used in artificial bone and artificial dental implants and the process for the preparation thereof


The carrying apparatus includes a carrying device for carrying an object to be carried, along a carrying route having a corner part, a control device for temporarily stopping and holding the object carried by the carrying device, and a detection device for detecting the object positioned at a corner part of the carrying route, wherein if the detection device detects the object when the control device stops carrying the object, the control device controls the carrying device such that the carrying device carries the object until the detection device does not detect the object any more and the carrying device then stops carrying the object.

The present invention relates to a carrying apparatus for conveying-a paper sheet and an image forming apparatus which are comprised, for example, in an electrophotographic copying machine.
In many electrophotographic copying machines, images can be formed on both surfaces of a paper sheet. To form images on both surfaces in this kind of copying machine, a paper sheet is supplied from a paper sheet feed cassette to an image forming section through a paper sheet carrying route (hereinafter simply called an ADU), and an image is formed on one surface. The paper sheet on which an image has been formed is then stacked and contained in an intermediate tray. Subsequently, the paper sheet stacked and contained in the intermediate tray is fed again to the image forming section, and an image is then formed on its back surface. Thus, images are formed on both surfaces of a paper sheet which is then fed out onto a sheet discharge tray.
Meanwhile, electrostatic charges have been applied to paper sheets stacked on the intermediate tray, for example, through a transfer process at the image forming section. Therefore, paper sheets easily tend to be fed stuck together when they are fed again from the intermediate tray.
In addition, since a paper sheet having a surface on which an image has been formed must once be stacked and contained in the intermediate tray, an image cannot be formed sequentially on its back surface. Time loss is therefore caused so that the image forming efficiency is lowered.
To solve the above-described problems that layered paper sheets are fed and the image forming efficiency is lowered, a development has been made in an electrophotographic copying machine which adopts so-called non-stack ADU.
That is, this kind of electrophotographic copying machine carries out continuous image formation on surfaces of a plurality of sheets, excluding the intermediate tray from the ADU. Then, these paper sheets are directly sent to the image forming section, reversed by reverse carrying means, and an image is formed on the back surface of the paper sheet.
In some cases, the non-stack ADU is used with an accounting device such as a coin controller attached thereto. If data of total 4 pages are double-side-printed on two paper sheets in an electrophotographic copying machine attached with the accounting device, for example, there may be a case that inserted money runs short at the time point when printing on pages 1, 2, and 4 pages.
In this case, the paper sheet on which the third page should be printed should be discharged without carrying out printing or should be kept in the ADU in the apparatus.
However, the non-stack ADU includes a curved corner part. If a paper sheet is kept at this corner part, the paper sheet is curled into the shape of the corner part.
The appearance of the paper sheet is deteriorated and a transfer failure may occur. In addition, paper sheets cannot be discharged, with their order arranged properly, and there may be a drawback that paper sheets jam while conveying them.
The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation as described above, and has an object of providing a carrying apparatus and an image forming apparatus which are capable of carrying an object to be carried (to which an image should be transferred) in excellent condition, without curling the object, even if the object is temporarily stopped and held.
A carrying apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a carrying device for carrying an object to be carried, along a carrying route having a corner part; a control device for temporarily stopping and holding the object carried by the carrying device; and a detection device for detecting the object positioned at a corner part of the carrying route, wherein if the detection device detects the object when the control device stops carrying the object, the control device controls the carrying device such that the carrying device carries the object until the detection device does not detect the object any more and the carrying device then stops carrying the object.
An image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an image forming device for forming an image on an image carrier; a transfer device for transferring the image formed by the image forming device, to an object to which the image should be transferred; a reverse carrying device for carrying the object having a surface to which the image has been transferred, along a reverse carrying route having a corner part, thereby to reverse and feed the object again to the transfer device; a control device for temporarily stopping and holding the object carried by the reverse carrying device, if necessary; and a detection device for detecting the object positioned at the corner part of the reverse carrying route, wherein if the detection device detects the object when the control device stops carrying the object, the control device controls the carrying device such that the carrying device carries the object until the detection device does not detect the object any more and the carrying device then stops carrying the object.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.

Carrying apparatus and image forming apparatus


A dielectric material which meets the temperature requirements for X7R grade capacitors consists of a fired ternary niobate composition. A dielectric constant of at least 2000 and a limited change in dielectric constant with temperature is present in compositions having the approximate formula: EQU Pb.sub.x .multidot.Ba.sub.y .multidot.Sr.sub.z (Nb.sub.2 O.sub.6). where x, y and z represent the mole fractions of each of Pb, Ba and Sr which are in the ranges of X=0.1 to 0.4, y=0.1 to 0.4, z=0.4 to 0.5, the sum of x, y and z being 1. Modifications which increase these ranges include doping the ternary niobate composition with a rare earth and substitution of Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 for Nb.sub.2 O.sub.5. During preparation, the composition is heated in a cycle which produces a mixture of phases, primarily rhombohedral and tetragonal structures similar to those of PbNb.sub.2 O.sub.6.

This invention relates to dielectric compositions and methods of making them.
Capacitors made in accordance with the teachings of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,604,082--McBrayer et al; 3,659,990--Cato, Jr. et al and 3,988,405--Smith et al include a stack of thin sheets of dielectric material with films of conductive material applied to the sheet to form electrodes. Precious metals such as palladium, platinum or gold have been used for the electrodes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,950--Rutt and No. 3,772,748--Rutt describe techniques for applying electrodes of materials other than the precious metals. Compositions having high dielectric constant are advantageous for use in such capacitors. One advantage of a high dielectric constant material is that fewer dielectric layers can be used, thereby providing easier fabrication and reduced cost of electrode material which is a particular consideration when one of the precious metals is used for the electrodes.
Another requirement for capacitors is that the dielectric constant of the material vary only within specified limits with temperature. One E.I.A. (Electronics Industry Association) specification, referred to as X7R requires that the change in dielectric constant be less than .+-.15% over the range -55.degree. C. to 125.degree. C. A similar requirement is stated in the Military BX specification. The commercial Z5U and X5U specifications have less rigorous specifications.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dielectric material which meets these requirements for use in capacitors.
Barium titanate has long been used as dielectric material in capacitors. Other crystalline compositions exhibiting ferroelectricity or anti-ferroelectricity have been investigated. These include Cd.sub.2 Nb.sub.2 O.sub.7, Pb.sub.2 Nb.sub.2 O.sub.7, Sr.sub.2 Ta.sub.2 O.sub.7 and PbNb.sub.2 O.sub.6. U.S. Pat. No. 2,805,165--Goodman describes binary and ternary lead niobate systems. In column 7, lines 38-45, Goodman refers to a binary barium containing lead metaniobate ceramic which is useful for capacitors. In lines 46-55, Goodman refers to a ternary metaniobate composition in which strontium is substituted in part for lead. In particular, Goodman finds that the compositions having SrNb.sub.2 O.sub.6 between 20-60 mole percent have a high dielectric constant, and compositions containing more than 60 mole percent have a flat temperature-dielectric constant relationship. I have found that while SrNb.sub.2 O.sub.6 does flatten the temperature-dielectric constant relationship, the addition of too much SrNb.sub.2 O.sub.6 lowers the dielectric constant and makes it more difficult to sinter the body. Amounts less than 0.4 mole fraction do not produce a flat curve with a high dielectric constant over the temperature range specified for these capacitors. In accordance with the present invention, the limits on the amount of SrNb.sub.2 O.sub.6 are about 0.4 to 0.5 mole fraction.
It is an object of the present invention to provide ternary niobate compositions in a critical mole fraction range which will meet capacitor specifications and to provide modified ternary niobate compositions which will meet these specifications in a broader range.


Exemplary embodiment of the present invention would provide systems, including Internet-based systems, and computer-implemented methods, for providing online Buyers and Sellers who physically transact an exchange of an item at a local meeting place, indicia of confirmation of the exchange on which to base a background online payment. In particular, exemplary embodiments of the present invention would provide a way for Buyers and/or Sellers to input an identifier for online authentication to confirm that a physical exchange of an item sold had been transacted and that would accordingly provide an online system with a basis to charge the relevant Buyer's account for a sale amount and pay the Seller for the item sold. In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an NFC-payment-enabled gateway device would be provided that would integrate with a merchant's NFC-enabled POS device to facilitate the merchant's NFC-enabled POS devices to accept mobile payment from devices that are not themselves NFC-enabled.

Many online transactions are considered consummated at the point when the item ordered by an online customer is shipped. For example, customers routinely access the Internet to buy items from online stores. At an online store, a customer might browse items available, select an item for purchase, provide a method of payment, such as a credit card or PAYPAL® account number, and identify an address to which the item should be delivered. The online store then sends the item and charges the customer's account.
Alternatively, some stores, including online stores, choose to operate through an online marketplace, such as, for example, AMAZON®, or EBAY®. A customer's experience through an online marketplace is similar to purchasing through an online store, except that the store that actually delivers the purchased item to the address specified by the customer is not provided with payment information details. For example, a customer may purchase an item through an online marketplace by accessing the online marketplace, and similar to accessing an online store directly, browsing items available, selecting an item to purchase, providing a method of payment, such as credit card or PAYPAL® account number, and identifying an address to which the item should be delivered.
Once the customer submits the order, the online marketplace notifies the store, such as an online store, of the item order; the online marketplace notifies the store that the customer has authorized payment for the particular item and provides the store with the address to which the item should be delivered. The online marketplace, however, does not provide the store with any of the payment method details. Rather, the store must first send the item to the customer-indicated delivery address, and must provide a confirmation to the online marketplace that the item has been sent. One way by which stores provide such confirmation is by providing, for example, a USPS Delivery Confirmation number associated with the item sent.
The online marketplace requires receipt from the store of a confirmation that the item has been shipped before the online marketplace authorizes payment to the store according to the payment method authorized by the customer; the online marketplace takes some percentage of the payment as payment for having provided the online and payment services.
As can be seen from the above-outlined process, online transactions through online stores or through stores operating through online marketplaces, are considered to have reliably been consummated for payment authorization purposes upon confirmation that the item ordered has been shipped. That is, for purchases of items through online stores or stores operating through online marketplaces, shipment confirmation of an item is considered to provide reliable confirmation that the transaction has been consummated.
As compared to an online transaction for an item that is to be shipped by an online store, or for an item that is to be shipped by a store after notification by an online marketplace, some Internet websites allow purchasers to arrange for a local, physical, exchange of an item for payment. For example, CRAIGSLIST® provides listings of many different types of items for sale. As compared to an online purchase, a customer browses items for sale through CRAIGSLIST®. Instead of paying for the item through CRAIGSLIST®, the customer contacts the seller and arranges to meet the seller, in order to see the item and determine whether or not to purchase the item. For example, for a car, the customer would want to see the car and test drive it, before consummating its purchase. Once the customer is satisfied with the item, the customer would provide the seller with some form of payment.
The above-described type of transaction that involves a customer meeting a seller to physically exchange the item being purchased for payment may be referred to herein as a "local marketplace transaction." The physical exchanging of an item for payment may be referred to herein as a "local marketplace."
Issues sometimes arise with local marketplace transactions. One issue that sometimes arises is that a local marketplace buyer may provide the local marketplace seller with some form of payment that the seller cannot resolve for sufficient payment. For example, a buyer might provide a seller with a personal check for which there are insufficient funds.
As a result of the above-mentioned insufficient funds problem, some local marketplace sellers require cash payment. In some cases, however, the buyer-provided "cash" may be counterfeit. In other cases, an unsuspecting buyer that brought cash for a local marketplace purchase, has been robbed.
Individuals that might want to sell an item through a website such as CRAIGSLIST® may not be in a position to accept credit cards for payment. Further, a customer may not feel comfortable providing an individual seller that the customer is meeting for the first time in a place such as a grocery store parking lot, or other minimal security location, with credit card information.
As compared to online purchases where shipment confirmation of an item is considered to provide reliable confirmation that the transaction has been consummated, websites that provide for the arrangement of local marketplace transactions have not facilitated online payment because there has been no way to reliably confirm that the local marketplace transaction has been consummated.
Some way is needed to reliably confirm that a local marketplace transaction has been consummated to facilitate reliable online payment consummation.
Further, some companies may not want to, or may not be in a financial position to, provide payment between buyers and sellers on their own website. Such a situation might be a temporary one. Or, for marketing reasons, some companies may want to advertise through a Payment Processor website, that is, a website to which customers provide payment account information, but through which, customers may purchase items from third-party companies. Some buyers may feel more secure providing their payment information to a Payment Processor website than to small operators. However, where companies act to facilitate transactions between third-party Buyers and Sellers, a Payment Processor website owner may not want to be responsible for authorizing payment to such companies unless the companies can provide some way for confirming to the Payment Processor that the transaction for which payment is requested has been completed (consummated). Where companies act to facilitate local marketplace transactions between third-party Buyers and Sellers, a way is needed to reliably confirm to a Payment Processor that the local marketplace transaction has been consummated to facilitate reliable online payment consummation by the Payment Processor.
Many merchants have been upgrading their Point of Service Devices (sometimes referred to herein as "POS devices") to integrate with Near Field Communication ("NFC") technology. The aforementioned POS device integration with NFC technology is being done to allow merchants to accept NFC-based payments. One type of NFC-based payment technology has come to be known as "APPLE PAY™." Notably, each merchant that wants to accept NFC-based payments, such as APPLE PAY™ payments, must upgrade their POS devices to integrate with NFC technology.
As will be understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, NFC is a set of communication protocols that enable two electronic devices, such as an APPLE® IPHONE®s and an NFC enabled terminal, to establish communication and electronically transfer data.
However, as will be further understood by someone with ordinary skill in the art, not all intelligent phones are NFC-payment-enabled; and not all APPLE® IPHONE®s are NFC-chip-equipped. Therefore, there are many people who have phones that are not NFC-payment-enabled.
That is, presently, if a phone does not have an NFC Chip, then the phone is not NFC-payment-enabled.
After a merchant upgrades to integrate NFC technology with their POS devices, it may not be desirable for the merchant to also consider other types of upgrades in the event that future types of mobile payment technology become available.
Therefore, because not everyone owns an NFC-payment-enabled intelligent phone, it would be helpful for merchants to be able to use their new NFC-enabled POS devices to accept mobile payments from other types of mobile devices, including those that are not NFC-enabled.
Notably, identity theft is at an all-time high. It seems that nearly every day, there are reports of some new cyber-hacking of the confidential and sensitive information of individuals, from banks, retail stores, online retailers, even major medical institutions. Not even the U.S. government has escaped cyber-hacking of confidential information.
Large commercial and governmental institutions are not alone in their vulnerability to cyber-hacking crimes. The emails, websites, and even individual intelligent phones of individuals can be "spoofed"—thereby adding to the identity theft nightmare and authentication dilemma that has unfortunately become so commonplace in our time.
In view of the prevalence of identity theft, including spoofing of individual intelligent phones, a way is needed to safeguard NFC-enabled POS devices from accepting "payment" from spoofed phones that have, and do not have, NFC chips.

Confirming local marketplace transaction consummation for online payment consummation


A golf shoe spike tool used for installing or removing golf spikes made of polyurethane or similar material. The tool has a handle, a head and shaft between the head and handle. The head has a plurality of teeth with engage a spike. Through rotational force, the spike is installed or removed from a golf.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a securing tool used for removing or installing golf spike made of soft polyurethane or other rubber material.
2. Prior Art
For years, metal spikes have been attached to golf shoes in order to assist the user with traction on the golf course. Special tools have been developed in order to assist in the installation and removal of these spikes.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,525,222 issued to Holt which discloses a tool for such a purpose. This tool includes a handle, a shaft connected to the handle at one end and having a head portion connected to the other end of the shaft. The outer portion of the head portion is recessed in order to receive a golf spike or cleat. The head portion also includes two pins protruding beyond the outer surface of the head. These pins were fitted into corresponding recesses within the spike in order to gain traction in order to rotate the spike into or out of the sole of the golf shoe. Due to the spikes being constructed of a metal material, the pins are a necessity.
Many other designs for golf spike tools have been disclosed. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,881,884; 4,679,468; 5,048,138; 5,272,943; 5,284,072; 5,400,680. While all the prior art patents modify the '222 Patent, and disclose different methods and apparatuses for securing golf spikes, they all have a common feature, that being, they are designed for use with metal spikes by utilizing securing pins to rotate a target spike.
In recent years, a new type of spike has been developed out of polyurethane or similar material. Because this type of spike causes less damage to golf course and golf facilities, they are becoming more and more popular to use. With the increase of use, multiple designs are being created, with and without recesses for securing pins. Since the prior art relies upon securing pins to rotate a target spike, these prior art tools are not suited for use with these new spikes. Thus, there is a need for a golf spike tool designed specifically for use with golf spikes made of polyurethane or similar material.


A differential drive has a drive housing in which a drivable differential carrier (1) is rotatably supported. The differential carrier accommodates straight-toothed and helically toothed output gears (4, 5). The gears (4, 5) are connected to each other via differential gears (12, 13). A first group of differential gears (12) engages one of the output gears (4), with a second group of differential gears (13) engaging the other output gear (5). Each of the differential gears (12) of the one group engage at least one of the differential gears (13) of the other group. The teeth of the output gears (4, 5) are held in cylindrical apertures (6, 7) of the differential carrier (1). Also, the differential carrier, at least at one end, is indirectly supported in the drive housing via one of the output gears (4) or an output shaft (24) connected thereto.

The invention relates to a differential drive having a drive housing with a rotatably supported drivable differential carrier. The differential carrier accommodates straight-toothed and helically toothed output gears. The output gears are connected to each other via differential gears. The differential gears are on an axis parallel to the axis of the output gears with a first group of differential gears engaging one of the output gears and a second group of differential gears engaging the other output gear. Each of the differential gears of one group engages at least one of the differential gears of the other group. The tooth heads of the output gears are held in cylindrical apertures of the differential carrier.
Differential drives of this type are known from GB 1 099 717. These differential carriers consists of several parts and include covers provided with projections for receiving roller bearings. The differential carrier is thus doubly supported in the drive housing. These carriers require a large number of parts and a centering means provided at the projections relative to the central carrier part and the bearing seat which make them expensive to produce.


A method of assembling an airfoil includes depositing a bonding material on a first end of the tip portion and shaping the bonding material to form a first plurality of features. The first plurality of features correspond to a second plurality of features on a second end of the body portion. The method also includes positioning the first end relative to the second end such that the first plurality of features and the second plurality of features interlock. The method further includes coupling the first end of the tip portion to the second end of the body portion.

The field of the disclosure relates generally to airfoils and, more particularly, to airfoils including a body portion and a tip portion coupled to the body portion.
At least some known airfoils include a tip portion and a body portion. Under at least some operating conditions, the tip portion and the body portion experience different loads. Accordingly, in at least some known airfoils, the tip portion and the body portion are assembled separately and are configured to withstand different loads and different temperatures. For example, in at least some known airfoils, the body portion is formed in an open-tip or tipless casting process and the tip portion is coupled to the body portion after the body portion is formed. However, coupling the tip portion to the body portion requires that the tip portion be precisely aligned on the body portion. For at least some known airfoils, the alignment process requires specialized equipment. For example, to assemble at least some known airfoils, the tip portion is positioned on the body portion and clamped in position. If the tip portion and the body portion are misaligned, the airfoil has an increased risk of failure during its service life.


A wide band dispersion-controlled fiber which comprises a core forming an optical signal transmission path and having a peak refractive index, and a cladding surrounding the core and having a peak refractive index lower than the peak refractive index of the core. The wide band dispersion-controlled fiber further comprises at least one dispersion control layer arranged between the core and the cladding and having a refractive index profile such that its refractive index increases from an inner periphery to an outer periphery. The minimum refractive index of the dispersion control layer is less than the peak refractive indices of the core and cladding.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical fiber. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dispersion-controlled fiber.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, the dispersion characteristics of an optical fiber can be effectively controlled by positioning a region of a depressed refractive index between a core and a cladding of the fiber. This is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,679 (title: "LOW DISPERSION, LOW-LOSS SINGLE-MODE OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE") invented by and issued to Venkata A. Bhagavatula, the contents of which are incorporated by reference as background material.
FIG. 1 is a graph illustrating prior art dispersion characteristics of a single-mode fiber (SMF). In this illustration, a dispersion curve 110 for the SMF is shown. The SMF has a step-index profile because there is no region having a depressed refractive index. As seen from the dispersion curve 110, the SMF has a unit dispersion value of about 17 ps/nm/km at a wavelength of 1550 nm. If the SMF is used for a long distance transmission, an accumulated dispersion of an optical signal received through the SMF is increased and, as a result, a distortion of the optical signal becomes more severe. There are various dispersion compensation techniques in the prior art for minimizing the accumulated dispersion occurring during the long distance transmission of the optical signal. Generally, a method of using a dispersion-controlled fiber has been widely employed to minimize the accumulated dispersion.
Dispersion-controlled fiber has a high negative dispersion value because of a depressed refractive index region surrounding its core. Further, the dispersion-controlled fiber can be connected to one end of the SMF to compensate for the accumulated dispersion of the SMF. The dispersion-controlled fiber has a high negative unit dispersion value at a wavelength of 1550 nm and its length may be adjusted to offset the accumulated dispersion of the SMF, so that the total dispersion becomes zero.
However, if the dispersion-controlled fiber is adapted for dispersion compensation of the SMF, a sum of an accumulated dispersion of the dispersion-controlled fiber and the accumulated dispersion of the SMF may not be zero at wavelengths other than 1550 nm. In this regard, there is a problem in which it is not appropriate to apply the dispersion-controlled fiber to a wavelength division multiplexing system.
In order to overcome the above problem, research has recently been done to provide a fiber capable of compensating for both a dispersion and a dispersion slope together. To compensate for both the dispersion and dispersion slope, it is required to let a dispersion value and dispersion slope of the SMF be DSMF and DSSMF and those of the dispersion-controlled fiber be DDCF and DSDCF, respectively, such that the DDCF and DSDCF satisfy the following equation 1.DSMF:DSSMF≅DDCF:DSDCF  [Equation 1]
If the dispersion and dispersion slope (DDCF and DSDCF) of the dispersion-controlled fiber satisfy equation 1, compensation for the accumulated dispersion of the SMF occurs not only at a wavelength of 1550 nm, but also at wavelengths other than 1550 nm. However, there is a great deal of difficulty implementing a fiber that perfectly satisfies equation 1 over the entire wavelength range. For this reason, the current state of the art simply compensates for the dispersion and dispersion slope at C-band wavelengths of 1530-1570 nm. In a wide band wavelength division multiplexing system, there is a need to perform the dispersion and dispersion slope compensations at any wavelength in a range of wavelengths including an S-band of 1450-1530 nm and L-band of 1570-1610 nm as well as the C-band.


The invention relates to an apparatus and method for verifying the operability of neutron detectors and associated pulse generating circuits in a neutron logging tool prior to committing the tool to the well borehole. The method comprises the steps of exposing the neutron detectors to a source or sources of gamma rays, determining the rate of detected gamma rays by counting detector output pulses, and comparing the detected rate to an expected value thereby to verify the operations of the detectors. In the apparatus in accordance with the invention, the gamma ray source(s) may be contained inside the tool near or mounted on the detectors themselves. In an alternate embodiment, the gamma ray source(s) may be externally applied to the tool at the surface during verification procedures. Counting of detected gamma rays is based on detection of detector pulser amplitudes falling in a range defined by first and second thresholds where gamma rays are those pulses falling in the range, while pulses outside the range, i.e., greater than the second threshold, represent detected neutrons.

The present invention relates to the art of neutron well logging, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for verifying the operability of neutron detectors in a neutron logging tool prior to insertion of the tool into a well borehole.
The invention may be advantageously used with neutron tools that employ an armored wireline cable to connect the tool with a surface data processing system during well logging operations. The invention may also be used with tools that perform logging measurements while drilling the well. Such systems are commonly referred to by the acronym "LWD" (Logging While Drilling), where measurement devices, disposed near the bottom of a drilling system, perform measurements while the borehole is being drilled.
Nuclear logging techniques using neutron detectors for making measurements on the subsurface formations surrounding a borehole are well known in the art. See, for example, the article Smith, Calibration, Checking and Physical Corrections For A New Dual-Spaced Neutron Porosity Tool, presented at the 27th Annual SPWLA Symposium, Houston, Tex., June 1986. Neutron logging tools generally include a source of neutrons and at least two neutron detectors, which could be of the so-called proportional counting type containing ionizable gas such as, e.g., helium-3 (He.sup.3). Helium filled detectors used in such tools are available from several sources, such as those manufactured by Reuter-Stokes of Edison Park, Twinsburg, Ohio, as their Models RS-P4-0803-237 and RS-P4-1406-218. In addition to helium filled counters, other types of neutron detectors are also available, such as non-hygroscopic lithium loaded cesium activated glass scintillation counters.
In practice, neutron logging involves the lowering of the neutron tool into the well borehole. The tool irradiates the formations surrounding the tool with high energy (fast) neutrons. The neutron detectors in the tool then detect the irradiated neutrons from the neutron source after they have collided several times with atoms of the formation and are redirected back to the tool. Neutron logs are generated from the detected neutrons. Neutron logs are used primarily for determining the porosity of the formations encountered by the tool. The neutron detectors develop signals proportional to the amount of hydrogen that is found in the formations.
The high-energy neutrons for these type tools are continuously emitted from a radioactive source in the tool. The principal behind the neutron detector technique is to detect those emitted neutrons that are reflected back from the formation material at a much lower energy level, i.e., slower neutrons. The neutrons are slowed by collisions with the formations. Where the mass of the formation materials is essentially equal to the mass of the neutron there is a maximum loss of energy with each collision between the neutron and the formation. In the case of a neutron, the hydrogen nucleus produces the most amount of energy loss since it is closest in mass to that of the neutron. In a random fashion the emitted neutrons as they undergo numerous collisions eventually are rebounded and strike the neutron detectors contained in the tools. Thus, the amount of signals generated by detected neutrons reflected from the formation materials is an indication of the amount of hydrogen that is contained in the formations.
As with any logging tool that is lowered into a well borehole, it is highly desirable that, before committing the tool to the well, all systems should be operational. Well logging is both an expensive and time-consuming operation and, in most cases, requires shutting down the drilling operation in order for the well logging operation to occur. Because a neutron detector has substantially no background counts, it emits no signals in the absence of the neutron source and the presence of materials surrounding the tool. This surrounding material is necessary to produce the energy loss and random diffusion of neutrons back to the detectors for detection. As a consequence, the operator, while the tool is at the surface, has no way of verifying from the signals emanating from the neutron detectors whether or not they are operational. Accordingly, there is a need to be able to verify the operability of the detectors shortly before the tool is lowered into the well borehole. It should be readily apparent that verification of the operability of the neutron detectors also involves verification of the electronics associated with the detectors. It is those circuits that apply voltages to the detector's internal components as well as to process the detector output signals generated in response to the detected neutrons and gamma rays.
Traditionally, detectors have been checked at the well site by placing material containing large quantities of hydrogen near the detectors, thus simulating the environment the detectors will encounter in the well borehole. A neutron source is then placed near the material. The hydrogen slows the neutrons from the source down to a sufficiently for detection by the helium-3 detectors. The counts thus produced by the detectors are monitored in the normal fashion. An example of this technique is described in the Smith article identified above. The primary drawback to this prior art procedure is that it is very time consuming. Another significant disadvantage to this approach is the danger presented by the necessity of providing exterior to the tool the source of neutrons, which is a radioactive material.
An alternate attempt to provide a solution for verification of neutron detector operability may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,917. That patent suggests depositing a small amount of radioactive material comprising an alpha source, such as uranium or americium radioisotope, inside the helium-filled detectors in the form of a thin foil of metal or other material. The alpha particle emitted by the radioisotope ionizes the gas and produces a signal similar to that produced by a neutron that interacts with the helium-3.
This method has two drawbacks. First, it involves placing a very small quantity of a radioisotope inside the detector, which means that this technique will only work with new detectors. Second, the amount of radioisotope inserted must be kept small so that the neutron count rates obtained during the logging procedure are not significantly affected. Keeping the quantity of radio isotope inside the detector small consequently means that it will take a long time for a significant number of events to occur to permit verification of the detector's operations.
In view of the foregoing, it would be highly desirable to provide the user of both old and new neutron logging tools with a reliable and efficient technique to determine whether the neutron detectors are actually and properly working, especially just prior to committing the tool to the well borehole.

Method and apparatus for determining neutron detector operability using gamma ray sources


A position-measuring device is used to detect the relative position of two machine components that are disposed in a manner allowing movement relative to each other at least along a first and a second main direction of motion in a displacement plane. The device includes at least one measuring standard, which is mounted on a first machine component. At least six scanning units are mounted on a second machine component, and are used for the optical scanning of the measuring standard in at least two measuring directions in the displacement plane. At least two scanning units are assigned to each measuring direction. The scanning units of each respective measuring direction in the displacement plane are disposed non-centrosymmetrically in relation to a center of the second machine component.

In order to measure, with extreme precision, the position of machine components movable relative to each other, preferably optical position-measuring devices are used. They include one or more optical scanning units that are connected to a first machine component, as well as one or more measuring standards that are connected to a second machine component, the second machine component being movable relative to the first machine component. Displacement-dependent position signals, and consequently the relative position of the machine components, are able to be determined by the optical scanning of the measuring standard(s) with the aid of the scanning units. The measuring standards may be formed as one-dimensional scales or else as two-dimensional grid plates. In certain configurations, the scanning units of the position-measuring device are mounted on a movable machine component such as a table, for example, which must be positioned under a processing tool, the workpiece to be processed being disposed on the table. The intention is for the workpiece to be displaceable via the table in a displacement plane (XY plane) along two main axes of motion X, Y, while the other degrees of freedom (displacement along a Z-axis which is oriented perpendicularly to the XY plane, rotations about the X, Y and Z axes) are to be fixed or only slightly modulated. In a plane parallel to the displacement plane, one or more two-dimensional grid plates of the position-measuring device are disposed on the machine, against which the scanning units are able to measure. The grid plates are placed in stationary fashion about the specific processing tool.
The main objective of such a position-measuring device is to determine the position and location of the machine component at least with respect to the displacement degrees of freedom x, y along the main axes of motion X, Y, as well as with respect to the torsional degree of freedom RZ about the Z-axis. Hereinafter, the term 3-DOF measurement (DOF=Degree Of Freedom) is used in this regard. Moreover, for high-precision applications, it may be necessary to measure all six degrees of freedom of the specific machine component. They would also be the displacement degree of freedom z along the Z-axis, as well as the torsional degrees of freedom RY, RX about the Y-axis and X-axis, respectively. In this case, one refers to a 6-DOF measurement.
Such a system, which is used in the semiconductor industry for positioning a wafer (workpiece) under an exposure or inspection unit (processing tool), is described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0195296. The table T in a machine of this type is equipped with a position-measuring device having four combined scanning units E1 to E4 according to U.S. Pat. No. 7,573,581, as illustrated schematically in FIG. 1 of the present application. Each scanning unit E1 to E4 generates scanning signals or measured position values that contain two directional components of the scanning-unit position relative to the scanned grid plate:                Along a predefined direction in the plane of the grid plates; the measured position value in this direction is denoted hereinafter by Y(enc).        Along a distance perpendicular to the grid plate; this measured position value is denoted hereinafter by Z, the corresponding distance measurement as Z-measurement.
Therefore, a scanning unit according to U.S. Pat. No. 7,573,581 may be viewed as a combination of a scanning unit having a measuring direction in displacement plane XY, and a scanning unit having a measuring direction Z perpendicular to displacement plane XY.
Scanning units E1 to E4 are mounted at the four corners of table T and, as illustrated in FIG. 1, are oriented at an angle relative to the two main axes of motion X, Y. Depending on the orientation, the scanning units therefore ascertain either measured position values Y(enc)=(X+Y)/√{square root over (2)} or measured position values Y(enc)=(X−Y)√{square root over (2)}. Moreover, each scanning unit E1 to E4 supplies information or measured position values with regard to its distance along the Z-axis to the grid plate.
In this system, scanning units E1 to E4 take measurements relative to four mutually adjoining grid plates M1 to M4 placed in a square, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Incidentally, the units of the axis legends in FIGS. 1 and 2 are selected arbitrarily. In the center of the grid-plate configuration, a larger area 3 is left open. The processing tool, e.g., the exposure or inspection unit, is located here. During machine operation, one of the four scanning units E1 to E4 may be located temporarily underneath cut-out area 3, and during this time, provide no measured values. Nevertheless, the machine position is able to be determined precisely in this case as well, since three scanning units engaged with grid plates M1 to M4 are sufficient for determining the six degrees of freedom of table T.
The precision of the particular machine is critically impaired, for example, by the following disturbance factors:                Distortions of grid plates M1 to M4 (static or changing slowly during machine operation, what is referred to as "drift," often caused by temperature fluctuations)        Natural oscillations and vibrations of table T or of the machine component upon which the workpiece is located.
The larger the workpiece, the more important the above-mentioned disturbance factors become, because for larger machine components and grid plates, it is more difficult to suppress vibrations and deformations by stiffening their construction. However, if measurement data concerning the scale deformations and the present state of excitation of the vibrations of the machine component is available, suitable measures may be taken for compensation or attenuation.
Such vibrations of the machine component represent oscillating deformations of the machine component, e.g., the table. They lead to a deflection of scanning units E1 to E4 disposed on it relative to their assumed position in the (hypothetically) rigid machine component. Consequently, the position of the machine component, which, without taking vibrations into account, is obtained directly from the measured values of scanning units E1 to E4, does not agree with the actual position of the machine component. Moreover, the position of the processing tool calculated from the machine-component position, thus, for example, the position of the exposure or inspection unit relative to the workpiece, i.e., the wafer, is not determined exactly, because the workpiece vibrates together with the machine component and deforms accordingly.
One possibility for detecting vibrations of machine components is based on the analysis of the history of the scanning-unit measured values over time or the corresponding analysis in the frequency space, and of the forces which were exerted on the machine component. In this regard, reference is made, for example, to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0317142. The information thus obtained about the deformation of the machine component caused by a vibrational mode can be fed into the control of the actuators such that the error in the position of the processing tool relative to the workpiece caused by vibrations is sharply reduced.
However, such a vibration detection and compensation based exclusively on an analysis of the scanning-unit measured values over time has a number of disadvantages.
For example, the vibrations of the machine component are not detected via a measuring system during machine operation, but rather are estimated via a dynamic physical model that describes the effect of external forces on the machine component. The physical model may be ascertained from theoretical calculations or mechanical measurements. Small deviations of this model from the real mechanical behavior, as well as force attacks on the machine component not detected therefore contribute directly to a positioning error of the processing tool relative to the workpiece. The deviations of the model predictions from the real behavior cannot be detected during machine operation.
Moreover, the splitting of the measured values (and forces), described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0317142, into a position signal and a vibration signal is based on filters which process the variation in these quantities with time. For example, the filters are applied in the frequency space as bandpass or notch filters. In order to carry out such a frequency filtering, the time characteristic of the signal must be known over a time span on the order of one period of the vibration oscillation. Consequently, signal processing of this kind leads inevitably to a certain lag or to a latency of the control system, at least within the frequency bands which are assigned to the vibrations. Therefore, especially in the case of rapid acceleration processes or when attempting to actively dampen oscillations within a brief time, it must be expected that a sluggish control system is a disadvantage.


An apparatus and method for generating an autoignition substance such as DME for operating a diesel-type engine 12 with natural gas. A multi-stage reformer 18 is connected to a supply of natural gas 20 to receive a portion therefrom for production of an autoignition substance for supply to the microigniters 14 within a diesel-type engine 12. An engine control unit 24 in communication with a microcontroller 22 receives signals from sensors within the engine 12 and multi-stage reformer 18 for optimizing engine performance and generation of autoignition substances thereto. The apparatus and method of the present invention allows the operation of a diesel-type engine with natural gas as the primary or even the sole fuel by providing an autoignition substance in situ.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a natural gas engine, and more specifically to an apparatus and method for operating a natural gas engine with in situ generation of an autoignition substance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Natural gas engines produced and operating around the world typically use a spark ignition source to ignite the natural gas in the engine cylinder. This technology limits the achievable performance of an engine using natural gas as the fuel source since the spark does not volumetrically ignite the natural gas. There are typically regions of "too rich" and "too lean" gas mixtures within the cylinder. This causes incomplete combustion and inefficiency. The result is unburned gases in the exhaust stream, and this can mean that the engine efficiency has been reduced. In addition, the regions of "too lean" gas mixture may cause production of nitrogen oxides (NO.sub.x), sulfur oxides (SO.sub.x), and other pollutants. Attempts to increase the brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) in natural gas engines with spark ignition are limited by considerations of engine knock as well as NO.sub.x emissions. Also, increasing the cylinder pressure makes the spark ignition problem more difficult. Higher spark voltages are required and this leads to more tip erosion on the spark igniter.
It is known that an autoignition fuel can be used in a micropilot fuel injector in place of a spark source to cause better combustion of the natural gas in the engine cylinder. Previous work concentrated on the use of diesel fuel as the autoignition fuel. The quantity of diesel fuel required is typically between 0.1% and 5% of the quantity of natural gas on a volumetric basis.
It is believed that there are no commercially successful implementations of this concept, because of concerns with the performance of the micro pilot injectors as well as maintaining two separate sources of fuel, i.e., natural gas and diesel fuel.
It is also known that dimethyl ether (DME) has excellent autoignition properties. It has a cetane number higher than diesel fuel with similar hydrodynamic properties. From a thermophysical perspective, DME is similar to liquid natural gas (LNG) in that it is a gas at standard temperature and pressure. At room temperature, approximately six atmospheres (atm) of pressure are required to liquefy DME. Continuing research and development programs are underway in the United States, Europe, and Japan in attempting to develop engines and fuel systems that operate on 100% DME. These programs are directed to substituting DME for diesel fuel oil in diesel engines that operate on 100% diesel fuel.
PCT Application No. WO96/23755 is directed to a process for the preparation of fuel grade dimethyl ether from synthesis gas.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,000 relates to a process for making dimethyl ether from syngas.
Of interest is European Patent Application EP 0 761 942A1 which describes a process for generating power in a gas turbine cycle using dimethyl ether and/or methanol as the primary fuel.
There still exists a need for an apparatus and method that allows a diesel-type engine (diesel-type engine as used herein is intended to refer to a diesel cycle engine which does not rely on a spark ignition source as opposed to an Otto cycle engine which does employ a spark source for the cylinder). Preferably, the apparatus and method will generate an autoignition product in situ with a portion of the natural gas intended to be the primary fuel for the engine.

Natural gas engine with in situ generation of an autoignition product


In one embodiment, a magnetic disk drive includes a magnetic disk, a head slider for flying above the spinning magnetic disk, a pattern analyzer for analyzing a data pattern of data to be recorded on the magnetic disk to determine a recording current reversal timing and a recording assistance area in accordance with the analysis so that the rear end of the determined recording assistance area is shifted forward if the determined recording current reversal timing is earlier than a criterion, or the rear end of the determined recording assistance area is shifted backward if the determined recording current reversal timing is later than the criterion, a recording assistance element on the slider for forming the determined recording assistance area on the magnetic disk, and a recording element for recording the data on the magnetic disk using the recording current in accordance with the determined recording current reversal timing.

In storage (recording) devices used for data and information systems, semiconductor memories and magnetic memories are generally used for data storage. For applications specifying short access times, semiconductor memories are generally used in internal storage devices. For applications specifying huge capacity and non-volatility, hard disk drives (HDDs) are generally used which employ magnetic disks as external storage devices. Storage capacity is an important index to indicate the capability of magnetic disk devices. Magnetic disk devices with huge capacity and having compact size have been increasingly requested by the market with recent developments of the information age.
The volume of information processing in the information age is increasing rapidly. In particular, HDDs, which are external storage devices, have been desired to store more information in its limited area and volume. A technical approach to this desire is to increase the capacity by increasing the recording density of the HDD. To achieve higher recording density, further miniaturization of recording bits is effective. Hence, in this approach, the size of a particle which is the unit of recording in a medium has been reduced.
The further miniaturization, however, reduces the thermal stability of a recording bit which can cause evanescence of magnetic information over time by thermal fluctuations so that the non-volatility of magnetic information becomes unsatisfactory. Accordingly, to ensure thermal stability of the HDD, recording media with higher coervicity are chosen. However, it has generally been known that recording media with high coervicity are difficult to record data to. In magnetic recording, the recording magnetic field from a recording head is generally stronger than the coervicity of the medium and is changed abruptly. The production of a high recording magnetic field in a highly microscopic area is extremely difficult to obtain.
Therefore, a magnetic recording method and disk drive which can overcome these problems associated with disk drives generally used would be very desirable.

Magnetic disk drive having assisted recording and methods of recording data thereto

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


Wire, bulk, film, etc. of a superconductive material is manufactured from a powdery precursor. The superconductive material has a superconductive crystal of 1223 phase and/or 1234 phase as a main component, and the powdery precursor comprises at least 1212 phase as a main component.

Among oxide superconductive materials developed so far, it is characterized that an oxide superconductive material of Y (yttrium) system has a high pinning force, and that of Bi (bismuth) system has a property of easily satisfying a transport critical current density (defined "Jc" hereinafter) even in a high magnetic field at a temperature of 4.2 K. These oxide superconductive materials have been studied to be applied to wires, bulks, films, etc.
However, the Y system superconductive material has a disadvantage in that the temperature margin is narrow on the basis that it is used in the vicinity of 77 K., because a critical temperature thereof is in the vicinity of 93 K. It has further disadvantages in that Jc inside particles thereof is low at a high temperature, and the bonding property on the grain boundary is poor not to meet the requirement of a transport Jc.
On the other hand, 1212 phase, 1223 phase and 1234 phase are known as crystal structures including 2, 3 and 4 layers of Cu--O for a Tl system superconductive material of Tl--O single layer, the basic composition of which is Tl--Sr--Ca--Cu--O. It is known in this superconductive material that, when Tl site of the basic composition is replaced by Pb, a critical temperature is increased, and, when Sr (strontium) is replaced by Ba (barium), mono-phase is easily obtained. The highest temperature state is at 100 K. for 1212 phase, and is at 122 K. for 1223 and 1234 phases.
It is also known that 1223 phase of an oxide superconductive material of Tl and Pb system, that is, (Tl.sub.x Pb.sub.1-x).sub.1, (Sr.sub.y Ba.sub.1-y).sub.2 Ca.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.2, and 1234 phase thereof, that is (Tl.sub.x Pb.sub.1-x).sub.1, (Sr.sub.y Ba.sub.1-y).sub.2 Ca.sub.3 Cu.sub.4 O.sub.2 have a large pinning force in a high magnetic field at a temperature of 77 K. and an improved transport Jc (0<x.ltoreq.1 and 0.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.1).
In manufacturing oxide superconductive wires, bulks, films, etc. having the Tl and Pb single layer 1223 and/or 1234 phases as a main component, oxides or carbonates are mixed by a predetermined mole ratio, and is fired by a heating condition, according to which 1223 phase or 1234 phase becomes a main phase. Then, the fired product is pulverized to provide precursor powders (provisionally fired powders).
In manufacturing a metal-sheathed oxide superconductive wire, for instance, the precursor powders having 1223 phase and/or 1234 phase as a main component are supplied into a metal pipe which is then processed repeatedly by drawing and heating to provide a predetermined wire of Tl and Pb system.
In manufacturing a superconductive film, for another instance, the precursor powders having 1223 phase and/or 1234 phase as a main component are mixed with binder, dispersion material, diluent, etc. to provide pasted substance which is then provided in film on a metal or ceramic substrate by the doctor blade method, etc, and the substrate thus coated by the pasted substance is processed by heating.
In manufacturing a superconductive material in the form of bulk, on the other hand, the precursor powders having 1223 phase and/or 1234 phase as a main component are shaped to be a predetermined bulk article by compression, and the bulk article is heated by a predetermined temperature. This process may be repeated by predetermined times.
According to the conventional superconductive material, a starting material of which is the precursor powders having 1223 phase and/or 1234 phase as a main component to be processed by thermal and/or compression treatments, however, there are disadvantages in that finally synthesized 1223 phase and/or 1234 phase of Tl and Pb system are small granular grains, because crystal particles thereof are less grown, and in that no crystal phase is substantially oriented, and different phases are considerably found therein. For these reasons, a bonding property on the grain boundaries is poor, so that an advantage in which 1223 phase and/or 1234 phase have a large pinning force essentially is not utilized. Consequently, where a magnetic field is applied to the superconductive material at a temperature of 77 K., the transport Jc is slightly deteriorated.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an oxide superconductive material of Tl--O system and a method for manufacturing the same in which the transport Jc property is enhanced even in the vicinity of a temperature of 77 K.
According to a feature of the invention, an oxide superconductive material of Tl and Pb system, comprises;
superconductive phase and non-superconductive phase, said non-superconductive phase being less in volume proportion than 30%, said superconductive phase being of superconductive crystals comprising Tl, Pb, Sr, Ba, Ca, and Cu and having a structure of 1223 phase and/or 1234 phase, and a long axis length of said crystal being more than 30 .mu.m.
According to another feature of the invention, a method for manufacturing an oxide superconductive material of Tl and Pb system, comprises the steps of:
preparing a powdery precursor having a crystal structure of 1212 phase as a main component, said powdery precursor comprising Tl, Pb, Sr, Ba, Ca and Cu; and
processing said powdery precursor mechanically and thermally to provide said oxide superconductive material having a crystal structure of 1223 phase and/or 1234 phase as a main component.

Oxide superconductive material of T1 (thallium) and Pb (lead) system and method for manufacturing the same


A bumper device for a vehicle is arranged on one of a front side and a rear side of a vehicle cabin to extend in a vehicle width direction. The bumper device for a vehicle includes: a tubular portion, which is made of metal and integrally formed so as to have a tubular shape extending in the vehicle width direction; and a reinforcing member, which is formed so as to have a plate-like shape extending in the vehicle width direction along an inner surface of the tubular portion. A foamed resin charged into the tubular portion is foamed to be increased in volume, to thereby fix the reinforcing member inside the tubular portion.

Hitherto, as described in Japanese Patent No. 5210117, there has been known a bumper device for a vehicle, which is configured to absorb a shock caused when the vehicle collides with an object. The bumper device for a vehicle (bumper reinforcement) includes a tubular portion formed into a tubular shape (hollow shape) extending in a vehicle width direction, and a reinforcing portion inserted into the tubular portion, which is configured to reinforce the tubular portion. The tubular portion has a substantially rectangular shape in cross-section taken along a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the tubular portion. That is, the tubular portion includes an upper wall portion and a lower wall portion each being formed into a plate-like shape extending perpendicularly to a vehicle height direction, a front wall portion connecting front ends of the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion, and a rear wall portion connecting rear ends of the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion. The tubular portion is made of metal. The tubular portion is manufactured by, for example, an extrusion molding method. The reinforcing portion includes an upper foamed resin (thermosetting foamed resin) arranged on an inner side surface of the tubular portion to extend in the vehicle width direction along a connecting portion (upper corner portion) between the upper wall portion and the front wall portion that construct the tubular portion, a lower foamed resin (thermosetting foamed resin) arranged to extend in the vehicle width direction along a connecting portion (lower corner portion) between the lower wall portion and the front wall portion, and a support member (carrier member) configured to support the upper foamed resin and the lower foamed resin.
When an object collides with the vehicle (bumper device), a significant load is applied particularly to the upper corner portion and the lower corner portion. In the bumper device described in Japanese Patent No. 5210117, the upper corner portion and the lower corner portion are reinforced with the upper foamed resin and the lower foamed resin, respectively. Thus, flexural rigidity of the bumper device for a vehicle is enhanced, thereby increasing a shock absorbing amount.
In the bumper device for a vehicle described in Japanese Patent No. 5210117, the upper corner portion and the lower corner portion are reinforced with the foamed resins, but flexural rigidity of the foamed resins is lower than flexural rigidity of the tubular portion. Accordingly, even when the upper corner portion and the lower corner portion are reinforced with the foamed resins, the flexural rigidity of the bumper device for a vehicle is only slightly enhanced, with the result that the shock absorbing amount is only slightly increased as well.


A virtual tape library including a module which is operable to issue input and output commands to a tape drive connected to the virtual tape library, wherein an input command is a command to write data to a tape connected to the tape drive and an output command is a command to read data from a tape connected to the tape drive.

Data held on a first data storage device may be copied to a second data storage device remote from the first data storage device for data security purposes in a backing-up procedure. Should data on the first data storage device be deleted or damaged, the data can be recovered by accessing the second data storage device over a communication network and, potentially, copying the data back to the first data storage device. The original data on the first data storage device may, itself, be a copy of data held on a primary data storage device.
The communication network has a capacity and much of the capacity of the network may be absorbed in activities other than the copying data between the first and second data storage devices. As such, the capacity of the communication network may be in high demand. Backing-up data is, therefore, usually limited to periods of low network demand. During certain periods backing-up procedures may not be possible due to the level of network usage.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An abrasive material is proposed which is useful for the precision treatment of surfaces. This material may be in the form of an abrasive layer adhered by chemical and/or physical bonds to a carrier, the latter preferably made of a flexible material such as plastic. Alternatively, the abrasive material may be in the form of a free abrasive without a carrier. The abrasive material may be in the form of a vacuum condensate consisting of at least 80 atomic percent of an ultradispersed composite superhard diamond-like substance, preferably containing carbon, and including not more than 0.1 atomic percent hydrogen and oxygen, combined. The abrasive material is preferably obtained from the pulse-flows of an accelerated electroerosive plasma.

The present invention relates to the field of precision surface treatment, in particular to abrasive materials used in such treatments, and to the method of manufacturing the abrasive materials.
A conventional abrasive material for precision surface treatment usually consists of a powder of free abrasive grains of micrometer-submicrometer size which are made of materials of high hardness. The abrasive grains are commonly embedded within a polishing paste or fixed within a layer applied to some other form of carrier.
Flexible abrasive materials are used to effectively polish objects having an irregular surface or shape. Such flexible abrasive materials may be in the form of abrasive belts which have strength and flexibility characteristics sufficient to provide tight contact between the surface of the abrasive belt and the irregular surface of the object being polished.
For precision surface treatment it is preferable to use diamonds as the abrasive grains since diamonds possess the highest hardness value of all known substances. Unfortunately natural diamond resources are extremely limited and artificial diamond crystals are very difficult to produce. The difficulties in obtaining artificial diamonds are primarily due to the high temperature and pressure processing requirements. In view of this fact, the search for new, highly efficient abrasive materials suitable for the precision treatment of surfaces, as well as for the processes which would permit such abrasive materials to be manufactured, is a continuous, ongoing effort.
Diamond-like carbon ("DLC") is an amorphous carbon material deposited as a coating using either plasma enhanced physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques. These materials are called `diamond-like` because their mechanical, optical, and electrical properties can be very close to the properties of natural diamond. Diamond-like has become a standard term of art. For example, see the Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Diamond and Diamond-Like Films, The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 89-12 (1989).
Many methods of coating diamond-like carbon films onto particulates, surfaces, and fibers are known. For example, gaseous-phase plasma spraying, electron-cyclotron/magnetic field assisted chemical vapor deposition ("CVD"), and other CVD processes. Common disadvantages to all CVD methods are that they are generally inefficient, they must be carried out under reduced pressure with the application of microwave energy, and the surface to be coated must be able to withstand temperatures of at least 200.degree. to 400.degree. C. More importantly, the films produced by CVD methods yield diamond-like microstructures having a significant number of C-H bonds. For this reason, materials formed by these methods are often termed "hydrogenated diamond-like carbon" or "HDLC." Articles made by incorporating abrasive particles coated with HDLC are insufficiently flexible for most purposes unless high cost thread-like fibers coated with HDLC are employed. Less expensive and more flexible articles may be made using variations of CVD, but still result in the formation of undersized HDLC.
Thin films of HDLC are undesirable because they are dielectric or semiconductors, and thus accumulate static electricity. This property is deleterious to any abrading action since dust and other particulates accumulate and adhere to the surfaces of the abrasive material. The presence of hydrogen in HDLC thin films also limits the hardness of the films.
Physical vapor deposition ("PVD") processes for depositing diamond-like carbon ("DLC") films are known. Japanese Kokai Patent No. H2-266926 describes an abrasive tape formed from a PVD layer deposited on a plastic substrate. A disadvantage of the process is that it cannot produce an abrasive layer with a microhardness exceeding that obtained for HDLC.
Ion beam, super high vacuum processes are known which deposit carbon ions from an ion beam. Although such techniques produce carbide-type films of high hardness, they require super high vacuum, have low efficiency, and are technically complex.
A more simple method for obtaining vacuum condensates of various materials, including DLC, is known in the art. This method consists of creating a plasma of highly ionized carbon and periodically depositing portions of the plasma onto the surface of a substrate. These portions are obtained by the pulse-laser evaporation of graphite in a vacuum, under a pressure for the residual gases of about 10.sup.-6 Torr, with the subsequent intensification of plasma formation by means of a vacuum electrical-arc discharge. (cf. H. J. Scheibe and P. Siemroth, "Film Deposition by Laser-Induced Vacuum Arc Evaporation," in IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, Vol. 18, No. 6, December 1990, 917-922).
Due to the short-term nature of the deposition process with the pulse-type methods described above, it becomes possible to obtain vacuum condensates on substrates having a low thermal destruction temperature, e.g. on plastic substrates. However, these condensates generally demonstrate undesirable dielectric properties. (cf. J. Krishnaswani, et al., "Laser and Plasma Enhanced Deposition of Diamond and Diamond-Like Films by Physical and Chemical Vapor Deposition Technique," in SPIE, vol. 1190, Laser-Optical Processing of Electronic Materials, 1989, p. 109-117).
Other disadvantages associated with the above described pulse method are the high costs of lasers, the instability of the excitation of the vacuum-arc discharge with the pulse-laser evaporation of graphite, and the rapid dusting-over of the window used for the introduction of laser radiation into the vacuum chamber. The last effect is especially noticeable when the process is being carried out at a high rate.
The cathodic arc process, also known as vacuum arc or electromagnetic erosive plasma accelerator, is known to produce DLC coatings that are harder than either sputtering or laser ablation processes. This discharge occurs in a vacuum environment when a sufficient current, greater than about 50 amps, is passed between electrodes. Once the discharge is started the current from the cathode passes through a small spot called the arc spot, estimated to be about 10 microns, on the cathode surface. The extraordinary current densities of over a million amps per square centimeter causes a flow of ions and macroparticles to be ejected form the arc spot. The fraction of ions that are produced can be quite high and is higher for higher melting point cathodes, for example carbon discharge have ion fractions of over 90-95%.
The vacuum or cathodic arc discharge can be powered either by a DC power supply, frequently operating in a current controlled mode, or from a charged capacitor bank. The latter is often referred to as pulsed cathodic (or vacuum) arc discharges or as an electromagnetic erosive plasma accelerator.
There are several methods to initiate the arc discharge; a mechanical `striker` may be used to strike the arc, similar to a welder, or several different types of secondary discharges (e.g., a spark, puff of gas plasma, or thin film ablation) may be directed into the interelectrode region.
The high ion fraction of carbon cathodic arc discharges makes this process an ideal method to produce superhard and non-hydrogenated DLC coatings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,848 describes a method for the deposition of coatings from plasma flows by means of a periodically generated pulse electromagnetic erosive plasma accelerator, operating on the basis of a high-current vacuum electrical arc. This method consists of positioning the substrate within the deposition chamber, evacuating the chamber, and then injecting portions (doses) of the initiating plasma into the electrode gap of the accelerator. Each of the plasma portions in question is obtained by passing a firing-current pulse between an consumable electrode and a firing electrode. The firing electrode is located within the consumable electrode, and installed in such a manner that a gap forms between the two of them. In operation, the gap must first be electrically broken then high-current vacuum electric arc discharges are excited in the electroerosive plasma being emitted from the plasma-forming surface of the consumable electrode. This process results in the generation of pulse flows of the accelerated electroerosive plasma of the substance being precipitated by means of the accelerator. The plasma flows are directed towards the surface of the substrate, forming a vacuum condensate on the surface of the substrate by the deposition of the generated flows of plasma.
Such a method makes it possible to obtain a thin film vacuum condensate of various materials, including DLC, with good adhesion even if the substrate surface is maintained at a low temperature during condensation. However, the separation of the pulse flows, which in this process is carried out with the use of a curvilinear solenoid connected in series with the electrode gap of the plasma accelerator, appears to be insufficiently effective. Furthermore, an extremely high pulse pressure (not less than 5 to 10 kV) must be applied to the vacuum gap between the eroding and firing electrodes in order to obtain each portion of the initiating plasma. During this process the flows of the generated electroerosive plasma receive a considerable number of particles having an extremely high energy. This is highly undesirable for many vacuum condensates, especially thin DLC films. Finally, it should be noted that the periodic high-voltage breakdown of the above-described vacuum gap constitutes a rather complicated technical problem. Such a process is characterized by low reliability and low stability.
For all of the reasons previously discussed the mass production of high-quality vacuum condensates, in particular carbon, is very desirable. It is especially desirable to have a high level of reproducibility of condensate composition and microstructure as well as other properties. Although the above identified methods make it possible to apply, in a vacuum, coatings of various materials including DLC, they are still not suitable for manufacturing carbon-based abrasive materials.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a superhard abrasive material, preferably carbon-based, characterized by high polishing ability, applicable to the treatment of objects made of various materials, and being generally suitable for a variety of applications. It is another object of the invention to make it possible to produce the abovementioned abrasive material both in the form of free abrasive and as a bound abrasive attached to a flexible or rigid carrier. Still another object of the invention is to provide a carbon-based superhard abrasive material with a low surface electric resistivity. Another object is to provide an improved, highly reliable and efficient method of forming a carbon-based vacuum condensate abrasive material using pulse-type electromagnetic erosive plasma accelerators. It is an object of the invention to provide this method in a way which ensures the reproducibility of the material's characteristics, and which would allow the use of low thermal destruction temperature carriers.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method which allows the industrial-scale production of abrasive materials comprising superhard vacuum condensates, preferably carbon-based, with characteristics superior to those obtained by conventional methods of continuous vacuum vapor deposition, and with a corresponding superior quality.

Abrasive material for precision surface treatment and a method for the manufacturing thereof

Apt. 40, Block 2, Bldg. 66, Balkalskaia Str.