An arrangement for transmitting data in a telecommunications system utilizing an intelligent network and comprising at least one intelligent network service control point for providing intelligent network services and at least one intelligent network service switching point for providing a connection between the telecommunications system and the intelligent network services. In order to transmit the configuration data of the switching point to the service control point, the switching point is arranged to generate and send a configuration message to the control point for indicating the value of at least one parameter which belongs to the configuration data, and the control point is arranged to receive the configuration message. The invention further relates to an intelligent network service control point and a switching point, which can be utilized in the arrangement of the invention. The invention further relates to a method which can be utilized in the arrangement of the invention.

The invention relates to transmitting data in a telecommunications system utilizing an intelligent network, and particularly to transmitting data associated with an intelligent network switching point.
A subscriber in a telecommunications networkxe2x80x94in a wired network or a mobile telephone network, for examplexe2x80x94can be provided with a great number of different services by an intelligent network IN. Such services include a private numbering plan PNP which enables private numbers to be used, and a personal number PN in which the intelligent network reroutes the calls made to the personal number in a manner controlled by the subscriber. An example of such an intelligent network is described in the recommendations of the Q-1200 series of the International Telecommunications Union ITU-T. The invention and its background are described using the CoreINAP terminology of the ETS 300 374-1 standard, but the invention can also be used in intelligent networks implemented by other intelligent network standards.
Intelligent network architecture can be described on four functional planes which are determined in the conceptual model of the intelligent network. FIG. 1 shows an extremely simplified example of the functional planes. The top plane is a service plane SP which describes the requirements of each service S1, S2 and their separate capabilities independently of implementation and network technology. A global general functional plane GFP is located below the service plane, in which general service logic GSL defines the processing of each service by means of flow diagrams. These flow diagrams comprise service-independent building blocks SIBs which can be, for example, call processing requests made to a switching centre, database interrogations or data processing performed by a service control function SCF. These flow diagrams can be converted into service logic programs SLPs which are invoked when an intelligent network service is required in a call. As a result of the invoking of the program a unique service logic instance is created for the call. A distributed functional plane DFP in which the functional entities of the intelligent network and the protocols between them are described is located below the global functional plane. The functional entities include a service control function SCF and a service switching function SSF. Each functional entity can perform a number of specified procedures which are called functional entity actions FEAs and which can be used in different services. The SIBs are implemented by using the FEAs. The lowest plane is a physical plane PP which describes how the functional entities are placed in the actual network elements. The CS-1 architecture does not determine how the functional entities identified by it should be placed in the physical network elements. The placement is highly dependent on the hardware manufacturer. Usually, the element in which the service control function SCF is placed is called a service control point SCP and the element in which the service switching function is placed a service switching point SSP.
A basic call state model BCSM defined in connection with the intelligent network describes the different phases of call control and comprises the points in which the call control can be interrupted in order to activate an intelligent network service. It identifies the detection points in the call and connection process in which the service logic instances of the intelligent network can interact with basic call and connection control capabilities. In intelligent networks, connection arrangements and service control are separated from each other so as to make all intelligent network capabilities independent of the switching arrangements. When a call which involves an intelligent network service is set up in a switching centre, the service switching point SSP is responsible for the connection arrangements. The intelligent network service is provided in such a manner that in connection with an encounter of the detection points associated with the services, the service switching point SSP requests the service control point SCP for instructions. The creation, management and performance of intelligent network services are usually centralized to the SCP. In connection with the intelligent network service, a service logic program SLP whose function determines the instructions which the SCP transmits to the SSP in each phase of the call, is activated in the service control point SCP. The SSP interprets the instructions received and begins the call control functions required by them.
In connection with the intelligent network, also non call associated NCA signaling is defined between the service control point SCP and the service switching point SSP. By these signaling messages the SCP can check whether it has a relationship to the SSP (Activity Test), the SCP can request the SSP to filter calls which meet certain criteria (Activate Service Filtering) and in addition, the SCP can request the SSP to limit the number of requests concerning a certain service (Call Gap).
A problem presented by the arrangement described above is that the intelligent network service cannot be built to take the configuration of the switching point into account since data on the capabilities, i.e. the configuration, of the service switching point SSP cannot fully be transmitted to the service control point SCP, but default values must be used for the capabilities of the switching point when the service is being built. If the values of the switching point capabilities deviate from the assumed ones, the service does not function.
An object of the invention is to solve the above problem related to building a service and provide an arrangement in which an intelligent network service can be built so as to take the configuration of a switching point into account. This object can be achieved by an arrangement characterized in that the switching point is arranged to generate and send a configuration message to the control point for indicating a value of at least one parameter which belongs to the configuration data, and the control point is arranged to receive the configuration message.
The invention further relates to an intelligent network control point which can be utilized in the arrangement of the invention. The intelligent network control point is characterized in that it comprises reception means for receiving a configuration message which indicates the value of at least one parameter which belongs to the configuration data in the switching point.
The invention further relates to an intelligent network switching point which can be utilized in the arrangement of the invention. The intelligent network switching point is characterized in that it comprises message generating means for generating a configuration message which indicates the value of at least one parameter which belongs to the configuration data of the swicthing point, and sending means responsive to the message generating means for sending the configuration message to the control point.
The invention further relates to a method which can be applied to the arrangement of the invention. The method is characterized by transmitting the parameter values of the switching point from the switching point to the intelligent network, maintaining the configuration data of the switching point comprising said parameter values in the intelligent network, and producing each intelligent network service utilizing the configuration data of the switching point in response to the activation of the service in the control point.
The configuration data of the service switching point includes the following data:
data directly associated with the function of intelligent network services, such as the function of the SSP in case of error in an SSP-SCP interface, the values of the waiting time control of the reception of the operations used in the SSP-SCP interface, the address of the SCP which activates the intelligent network service,
the differences in function of the service switching point in different telecommunications networks in different situations, such as in the processing of an A subscriber number,
cooperation of a capability implemented in the service switching point and an intelligent network service, which can vary in different countries and/or different operators,
the selection data of service numbers and emergency numbers defined in the service switching point,
network-specific number information, such as different prefixes,
special prefixes associated with a capability, such as a temporary calling line identification restriction prefix,
other special information associated with a capability, such as functioning in special cases, and
data stored in the switching point for the control point SCP.
The invention is based on detecting the problem and on the idea of complementing the non call associated signaling of the intelligent network architecture so as to enable the transmission of the configuration data of the service switching point to be performed by the non call associated signaling. This enables the data depending on the service switching point SSP and affecting the function of the services in the service control point SCP to be taken into account when the general architecture of service programs is being built. Some of this data can be available to the service programs and some of it only to certain service programs. The invention also allows such SIBs which request the SSP for some specific data. An advantage of the invention is thus that building and providing intelligent network services becomes more diverse in such a manner that the local operation of a telephone network can be taken into account in a better way.
The configuration data of the service switching point can be taken into account in the time guard of service logic programs, for example. The service control point requests each service switching point for the length of the time guard for waiting. In accordance with the received length of the time guard for waiting, the service control point sets the service logic program or a corresponding service logic instance, upon the creation of the instance, information on how soon a time guard reset operation (Reset Timer) must be sent to the service switching point. In this manner, the time guards for waiting of different lengths of the service switching points associated with the service control point can be taken into account and the reset operation can be sent to each switching point at a correct time.
The preferred embodiments of the arrangement, switching point, control point and method of the invention are disclosed in the attached dependent claims 2 to 5, 7 to 9, 11 to 14 and 16 to 18.

Intelligent network switching point and control point


Disclosed herein are a class of low odor oligomeric photoinitiators produced from the poly-condensation of dimethyl dicarboxylates and diols of a photo-active moiety. The disclosed oligomeric photoinitiators exhibited comparable photo-curing speed and much lower odor and extractability to its analogue of small molecular weight photoinitiators. Also disclosed are the preparation methods of the photoinitiators, and their applications in photopolymerizable compositions.

A photoinitiator is scientifically a compound transforming the physical energy of light into suitable chemical energy in the form of reactive species. Upon absorption of light with a specific wavelength, it undergoes a photoreaction, producing reactive species, and these reactive species may be free radicals for a free radical polymerization system or cations for a cationic polymerization system.
The photochemical polymerization of unsaturated monomers and pre-polymers is a well known methodology and has wide industrial applications from radiation coating to radiation printing. The most reactive photosensitive systems for radical polymerization reactions are usually the cleavable photoinitiators, and particularly these derived from acetophenone. In these photosensitive systems, the photoinitiators are excited into their singlet state and covert, through intersystem crossing, to their triplet state. These excited states can undergo a direct formation of two radicals. Then, one or both of these radicals can initiate the polymerization reaction through an addition reaction onto the monomer double bond leading to the first monomeric radical.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,862 discloses specifically an acetophenone-type photoinitiator, 2-methyl-1-[4-(methylthio)phenyl]-2-morpholino-propane-1-one (MMMP), which has been widely used as a photoinitiator nowadays, under the commercial name of Irgacure 907 from Ciba, Basel. Upon excitation of UV-light, The MMMP molecule undergoes a bond cleavage and generates two free radicals as shown in Scheme-1.
After polymerization and post-curing, these free radicals are quenched and mostly remained in polymeric matrix as low molecular weight residues. In the case of MMMP, these residue molecules include 4-methylthiobenzaldehyde and N-isopropylmorpholine as exampled in Scheme-1. The yielded residue molecules, in particular, the sulphur-containing fragment, 4-methylthiobenzaldehyde, not only generates a strong irritated odour, but also causes respiratory tract irritation if inhaled and skin irritation if absorbed through skin.
In order to reduce the irritation and odour, researchers have investigated many MMMP derivatives without sulphur content, such as these disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,885 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,667. Even though some of these derivatives, did exhibit less odour than MMMP, when being used as a replacement for MMMP in ink formations, they found limited applications due to their thermal and mechanic un-stability. By incorporating selected stabilizers into the ink formulation may improve the ink stability and improve its shelf-life, but the addition of polymerization stabilizers often retards the photo-curing speed, eventually reduce the photo-initiation efficiency of such photoinitiators.
In view of the limitation of small molecular weight photoinitiators, macro-type photo-initiators have drawn increasingly interest especially for UV-curable formulations. Improvements have been claimed in terms of low-odour and non-yellowing properties.
For instance, Hitoshi Yamato et al in U.S. Pat. No. 6,673,850 assigned to Ciba Specialty Chemicals Corporation disclosed a class of marcophotoinitiators comprising chain transfer groups and these macrophotoinitiators were claimed to be polymerized to yield block copolymers. Shaun Lawrence Herlihy in U.S. Pat. No. 7,612,122 assigned to Sun Chemical Corporation described a group of dendrimer-type marcophotoinitiators with poly-hydroxy as the linking core.
Furthermore, Chingfan Chris Chiu in US Patent Application (US2004/0068110) disclosed a group of polyester-linked marcophotoinitiators. The disclosed polyester-linked marcophotoinitiators increased the length of the sulfur terminal by chemically bonding to a polyester chain, thus offered the advantage of low volatility and low odor after curing. However, like most of polymeric photoinitiators disclosed in the prior art, this group of polyester-linked macrophotoinitiators also suffer from the lower photo-curing speed than the traditional small molecular weight photoinitiators, though they consist of the same cleavable function moiety, morpholinoketone as that in the traditional small molecular weight photoinitiators such as Igacure 907.
It is now the objective of this invention to provide a photoinitiator which posses the comparable photo-curing speed to that of the analogues of small molecular weight photoinitiators but also posses the advantage of low odor/low extractability of these macrophotoinitiators.
It is another objective of this invention to teach the procedure to manufacture the invented photoinitiators.
Yet, it is still another objective of this invention to describe the use of the invented photoinitiators in radiation curing formulations.

Low odour oligomeric photoinitiator and method of making the same


A realtime data recording method allows recovery of recorded file data upon occurrence of a fault for use as a readable file. Prior to recording, initial management data are generated such that the entire area on a recording medium 1 is reflected as a recording range. After the initial management data has been recorded, data recording is started. During the recording, a writing status of the recording medium (or apparatus) is set as in-writing status, and realtime sector information generated in parallel to data recording is recorded in a non-volatile memory for management of a recording status. Upon restarting after a recording fault, the in-writing status of recording medium 1 is read to see if the medium has been set open, and inconsistency between the recording information of the sector information and the in-writing status recording information is detected. Correct management data is recorded and re-recorded onto the recording medium.

Recently, with popularization of computers, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk and the like have become popular and miniaturized, and further, with development of image-signal digital processing techniques, "compression-encoding" processing can now be performed with respect to image data without serious degradation of image quality. One example implementation of use of such image processing techniques is a camcorder having one of the above-mentioned mass-storage arrangements. In the magnetic disk, the optical disk, the magneto-optical disk and the like, data such as the aforementioned image data can be stored thereon, and such data may be managed as files. Although practice of the present invention is not limited thereto, the following discussions will focus on examples using a magneto-optical disk to record image (e.g., video) data. However, it should be remembered that such focus is made only for the sake of brevity/conciseness of this disclosure.
For file management, files may be arranged according to a logical structure having a management data and a file data part, with a predetermined number of bytes constituting a sector and a predetermined number of sectors corresponding to the logical structure. A command of recording, reproduction or deletion of a file may be inputted and conducted with respect to the magneto-optical disk. When the command of recording, reproduction or deletion is inputted, data is recorded, reproduced or deleted with respect to a file area of the disk.
With regard to problems to be solved by the invention, in a disadvantageous file management arrangement, when data is to be recorded as a file, file data is recorded in a data recording area, and then management data is recorded in corresponding management (e.g., directory and file name/size) area on the disk. More particularly, attention is directed to the recording operation flowchart 500 of FIG. 5, wherein after a start block 502, flow moves to a block 504 where a predetermined amount of sectors of file data are recorded onto a recording medium. At a block 506, it is determined whether recording of file data onto the recording medium has been finished, and if not, flow moves through loop 508 and again to block 504 to conduct additional recording of file data. Once it is determined within block 506 that recording of file data has been finished, flow moves to a block 510 wherein a bitmap of recorded sectors on the recording medium is updated, then to a block 512 wherein file management data on the recording medium is updated, and finally, flow is ended at an end block 514. The bitmap may have bits in one-to-one correspondence to available sectors on the recording medium, and may have a first logical value (e.g., a logical "1") written within bitmap bits where data has been written into a corresponding recording medium sector, or a second logical value (e.g., a logical "0") written within bits where data has not been written into a corresponding sector.
In the above recording method, for example, if a disturbance (e.g., a fault of power loss, a mechanical shock due to droppage, vibration) occurs in the apparatus before the blocks 510 or 512 are performed, file management data on the recording medium will not be updated to match the file data which has been newly written, and accordingly, the recording medium's file management information and file data will be mismatched, and a data and/or system error may occur if the faulted recording medium is attempted to be read/reproduced. Such problem is especially likely to occur in image recording apparatuses, where the above "compression encoding" processing may be performed, for example, for long term processing/recording for a video image on a tape capable of holding a video of about 80 minutes long. That is, since file data with respect to the video image is recorded for substantially long bursts of time (e.g., 5–10 minutes) with a camcorder before the management data is updated, if a disturbance occurs (e.g., power loss, mechanical shock, vibration, etc), a substantial amount of recorded file data may be lost, i.e., lost because of non-updated/mismatched management data.
As further limitations which may contribute to the fault potential, physical and processing limitations of the recording apparatus and/or the compression/recording processes may prevent the management data from being updated more frequently. More particularly, the file data area and the management data area on the recording medium may be physically separated from one another, such that a substantial amount of time may be required to move a recording head from one area to the other, preform recordation, and then move back again. In direct opposition, image data compression and recording may be an extremely time/processing intensive operation requiring substantially uninterrupted use of the recording head for recording at the file data area, i.e., time/processing requirements may be so intensive that there may be insufficient time to move the recording head from the file data area to the management data area, perform management data updating, and then move the recording head back to the file data area, without suffering substantial image data loss.
As a result of all of the foregoing, the above-described problem that data being recorded upon occurrence of fault cannot be read is highlighted.
Art of possible interest with respect to the present invention includes Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-167447. Such technique provides an arrangement which allows determination of the existence/absence of a recording abnormality. However, with such technique, content of data management information cannot be read, and further, recorded data recorded before the abnormality cannot be recovered as a readable file.


A tie-down device, for use in aircraft by way of example, is provided that includes an elongated member having an upper surface portion, a lower surface portion, a first end portion and a second end portion opposite the first end portion. Each end portion has an aperture extending transversely through the upper and lower surface portions. A pliable cord extends through the apertures and has a grounding end portion and a stop end portion. A distal securing member, such as a hook, is fixed to the grounding end portion of the pliable cord, and a proximal securing member, also a hook by way of example, is slidably engaged along the pliable cord. The grounding end portion is secured to a ground member, the proximal securing member is secured to the aircraft, and the elongated member is slid distally towards the grounding end portion to tighten the device.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Securing devices for aircraft come in a variety of types. One such type is sliding cord lock devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 234,896; U.S. Pat. No. 1,422,804; U.S. Pat. No. 2,561,371; U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,306; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,748.
Many of the known securing or tie-down devices are relatively complicated, expensive, and often do not properly secure the object sufficiently, for example, during dangerous weather conditions.


A gas sensor assembly detects a constituent in a gaseous stream. The assembly comprises: (a) a mounting surface, (b) a sensor mounted on the mounting surface and sensor capable of generating a detectable signal in the presence of the constituent, and (c) an enclosing structure. The enclosing structure comprises: (i) a walled component having a pair of vertically spaced ends and mounted at one end on the mounting surface so as to circumscribe the sensor, and (ii) a gas-permeable membrane attached at the other end of the walled component, thereby defining an interior volume within said enclosing structure. Flowing the gaseous stream across the membrane infuses a portion of the gaseous stream into said interior volume containing the sensor.

In certain gas sensor applications, it is desirable to keep the sensor isolated from the external environment without impeding its functionality. Such isolation can be for the purpose of reducing or minimizing heat loss, reducing or minimizing the amount of light reaching the sensor, and/or reducing or minimizing the consequences of mechanical intrusion. Often, a sensor is operated at a given temperature, typically greater than that of the surrounding gas stream it is sensing. This is sometimes accomplished by the use of heat-producing devices disposed on the same substrate as the gas-sensing device. When this is the case, there is a finite amount of heat lost to the gas stream and structures surrounding the sensor. This heat loss is proportional to an amount of power loss from the entire system in which the sensor has been incorporated, and it is therefore desirable to reduce or minimize such heat loss. In addition, for some sensors it is desirable to limit the amount of light reaching the sensors. For most sensors, it is also desirable to limit mechanical or physical intrusion, either from particles entrained in the gas stream to be sensed or accidental occurrences such as the device being dropped.
Conventional, prior art thermal isolation techniques include fabricating the sensor itself in such a way as to create structures to provide thermal isolation (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,211,053, 5,464,966, 5,659,127, 5,883,009 and 6,202,467). Such exemplary thermal isolation techniques were designed specifically for the type of construction of the sensor involved and did not overcome the problems associated with heat loss at an assembly level, that is, where the sensor is configured as part of a greater assembly. Prior implementations of such gas-sensing devices, such as catalytically-based gas sensors, have employed different techniques to thermally isolate the device, such as suspending the device, within the gas stream being sensed, using individual wires that electrically connect the sensing device to its downstream processing and control circuitry (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,556), but these methods are not preferred for a sensor with multiple connections.
The foregoing prior art solutions have the disadvantage of being considerably more voluminous and bulky than is desirable for most end-uses. Additionally, design parameters of the prior art sensors have trade-offs, such as response-to-size and isolation-to-flow effects. "Response-to-size" refers to the relationship between the magnitude of the isolated gas volume exposed to a sensor and the amount of time for a complete exchange of the gaseous constituents within the isolated volume; the smaller the size of the isolated gas volume, the more rapid a complete exchange will occur. "Isolation-to-flow" refers to the relationship between the flow rate of a gas stream exposed to a sensor and the magnitude and rate of heat loss from the sensor; higher gas stream flow rates draw greater amounts of heat from a sensor more rapidly, thereby increasing power consumption by the sensor in order to restore lost heat. Moreover, such prior art solutions did not address the optical sensitivity of certain sensors. In this regard, capacitor-based devices are generally sensitive to light and can generate erroneous, stray signals upon exposure to light.


A method for disabling a wireless data processing device is described comprising: receiving an indication from a user that the data processing device is missing; and responsively transmitting a disable command to the data processing device, the disable command disabling the data processing device using a first disabling technique.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of data processing systems. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved system and method for disabling a data processing device which has been lost or stolen and/or providing a notification to whomever may find the data processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of portable/wireless data processing devices have been introduced over the past several years. These include wireless personal digital assistants ("PDAs") such as the Palm® VIIx handheld, cellular phones equipped with data processing capabilities, and, more recently, corporate wireless messaging devices such as the Blackberry™ wireless pager developed by Research In Motion ("RIM").™
One problem which exists with portable data processing devices is that, due to their portable nature, they are inherently capable of being lost or stolen. While this is not as much of a concern for devices which include only limited storage capabilities (e.g., standard cell phones), it is a significant concern for devices capable of storing significant amounts of user data. For example, many portable devices are currently capable of storing various types of personal and/or business-related information, a significant amount of which may be confidential (e.g., word processing documents, e-mail messages, electronic calendar data, personal and business-related contact information, . . . etc).
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for disabling a lost or stolen data processing device to thereby prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information stored thereon. What is also needed is a system and method which will improve the chances that the data processing device will be returned to its rightful owner.

System and method for disabling and providing a notification for a data processing device


For training adjustment in sports, particularly running sports, an apparatus and appertaining method are provided with which a simple, non-invasive and automatic determination of the lactate balance point is possible. The apparatus comprises a motorized treadmill for which a running speed can be predetermined by a control unit, whereby the control unit is connected to a pulse measurement device to supply a measurement value of the heart rate of a test person, and whereby the control unit comprises a module to determine the lactate balance point, this module being fashioned to successively increase the running speed in the training course, to register the time curve of the heart rate, and to determine the lactate balance point of the test person via evaluation of the dependency of the heart rate on the running speed.

The invention concerns an apparatus and method for training adjustment in sports, particularly running sports.
To generate muscle power/performance, a human or other muscle requires oxygen that must be supplied by the organism. The greater the power, the greater the need for oxygen as well. At a certain power limit, the body will go into what is known as "oxygen debt". This means that the blood contains too small an oxygen ratio to be able to supply the oxygen necessary to generate power. The metabolism in the muscle then passes into the anaerobic range marked by oxygen deficiency. In contrast to this, the metabolism given sufficient oxygen supply is designated as aerobic.
Complete burning of the energy carrier glucose drawn on by the body does not ensue in the muscle in the anaerobic range. As a result of this, "combustion shortfalls" accumulate in the body that can no longer completely metabolized as a result of the oxygen deficiency. The muscle thus stressed is "acidic" and requires a longer time in order to regenerate after the stress.
In sport types that are connected with high body stress, particularly running sports, it is therefore important that the training is implemented predominantly in the aerobic range, and only a small portion in the anaerobic range. For a non-professional athlete, for example, the aerobic training phase should amount to approximately 80% of the overall training.
For training adjustment, it is typical in sports medicine to determine what is known as the lactate balance point (LBP). Lactate (lactic acid) is a decomposition product of glucose that—as specified in the preceding—is created when the oxygen in the organism is no longer sufficient for combustion. In the anaerobic range, lactate therefore accumulates in the body, while in the aerobic range, excess lactate is metabolized again. At the threshold between aerobic metabolism and anaerobic metabolism, the lactate level in the organism remains in balance. This defines the LBP. If the LBP and the associated heart rate of an athlete are known, the athlete can optimize his training according to this.
The lactate value is conventionally determined with a lactate measurement device which effects a blood analysis of blood samples that are extracted from the athlete at different stresses. Physiological fundamentals and a method for lactate measurement are, for example, specified in German Patent Document DE 199 09 852 A1. The known solution is, disadvantageously, an invasive method, especially since blood samples must be extracted from the test person (e.g., an athlete) to be tested. This is, on the one hand, sometimes painful for the athlete. On the other hand, the blood extraction is always connected with a risk of infection, for example, with hepatitis or HIV, for both the test person and for the examiner. To reduce this infection risk, high hygiene standards are in turn necessary that make the method elaborate and expensive.
A conventional non-invasive method to determine the LBP, designated as a "Conconi test", is increasingly being used in sports medicine. In this method, a test person runs on a 400 m athletic track for a length of 200 m with a predetermined speed, for example 8 km/h. After respectively 200 m, the test person increases the tempo in stages, for example, by respectively 0.5 km/h. At each 200 m mark of the athletic track, the test person notes his current heart rate and calls it out to an attendant after respectively circling the athletic track. The test person runs on the track until he has reached a power limit, meaning he cannot further increase the speed.
For test evaluation, the heart rate is plotted against the associated running speed in a two-dimensional (X-Y) diagram. A characteristic finding hereby results: in the aerobic range, given a comparably low power, the heart rate runs nearly linearly with the running speed. This means that the heart rate increases in the same proportion as the power generated by the test person. This regularity is broken at the threshold to the anaerobic metabolism. In the anaerobic high-power range, the heart rate increases comparatively only slightly with further-increasing power or, respectively, running speed. The function of the heart rate dependent on the running speed thus shows a clear, more or less sharp break at the transition from the aerobic low-power range to the anaerobic high-power range, via which the LBP is determined. The heart rate characteristic for the LBP and the associated running speed can be simply read from the X/Y diagram.
However, the Conconi test is comparably elaborate and can hardly be executed without a trained attendant. Additionally, with the Conconi test the LBP can be determined only comparatively imprecisely, due to the weather dependency and the capability of the test person to precisely control his speed.

Apparatus and method for training adjustment in sports, in particular in running sports


The present invention relates to a chemical vapor-sensor bag with an integrated sensor array to verify the presence of specific chemical vapors inside a sealed bag. In an exemplary embodiment, a device can be sealed within a vapor-sensor bag to allow the device to be transported to and tested for contaminants at the point of use by an end user of the device. In another exemplary embodiment, a device can be coupled to a gas port on a vapor-sensor bag to allow gas within the device to be tested for contaminants. In another exemplary embodiment, gas from a device can be streamed through vapor-sensor bag by coupling the device to a first gas port on a vapor-sensor bag and allowing gas to exit the bag through a second gas port.

The present invention relates to a heat-sealable chemical vapor-sensor bag. Hydrocarbon materials are extremely flammable in oxygen-enriched environments and therefore pose a serious safety hazard to personnel if they are allowed to come into contact with oxygen or oxygen-enriched environments. Currently, oxygen pressure gauges and other components that are removed from a parent system for off-site calibration are placed into polyethylene bags which are then heat-sealed for transport to a calibration facility. Upon receipt, the bag is opened and its contents are visually inspected for the presence of hydrocarbon contaminants using visible and ultraviolet (UV) light. Grossly contaminated items are rejected to keep them out of the oxygen cleanroom and to prevent them from coming in contact with calibration equipment. The remaining level of chemical solvent in a solvent-cleaned critical-air or oxygen gauge must be verified to be below stated levels to protect users of these components from breathing unsafe/unhealthy amounts of chemical vapors.
The existing capabilities for measuring the level of solvent vapor remaining in a device under test (e.g., a closed-end Bourdon-tube pressure gauge) require that the cleaned pressure gauge be connected to a source of pressurized clean air or nitrogen and pressurizing the gauge to the lesser of 100 psig or the maximum pressure limit of the gauge. After the gauge is held at pressure for a prescribed length of time, the gas in the gauge must be accurately sampled and measured to obtain a true verification of remaining solvent vapors. Laboratories are attempting to sample the gas as it is expelled from a gauge using a flow-through monitoring instrument, but this dilutes the gas in the gauge with atmospheric air from their laboratory. Furthermore, the types of instruments they are using require a constant flow of gas at a relatively high rate, such that the gas from a typical pressure gauge passes through their instrument in seconds or less and the instrument does not give them an accurate measurement of remaining solvent vapor.
According to an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, a heat-sealable bag is used to seal a device for transport and verification of cleanness prior immediately prior to usage. Exemplary bags comprise chemical resistant materials (e.g., polyvinyl fluoride) based on the expected contaminants within the bags. The bags have at least one sensor array integrated into the bag such that gas inside the bag will contact an interior surface of the sensor array. An exterior surface of the sensor array can display a reading (e.g., a binary yes/no reading) indicating whether a contaminant has been detected. Sealing a device in the bag allows an end user of the device to know immediately prior to use whether or not the device is free from contaminants.
According to a further illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure, a heat-sealable bag can include two gas ports, each connecting the interior and exterior of the bag. Each gas port can include a valve to allow or prevent gas flow through the gas port. Closing both valves allows a bag to operate as if there were no gas ports.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.

The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The new and distinct cultivar of perennial Salvia plant named ‘Pink Dawn’ characterized by its large cotton candy-colored flowers densely arranged in verticils. The new plant has a compact habit with stiff, upright, heavily-branched stems showing strong greyed-purple tinting and persistent calyxes of similar greyed-purple tinting, a strong vigorous growth rate and gray-green foliage.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of ornamental Sage plant hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Salvia 'Pink Dawn' or as the new plant. The new plant was discovered as a random seedling by the inventor in the summer of 2011 in a residential garden planting in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The nearest Salvia planted in the area was Salvia 'May Night'. The new plant was an isolated whole plant of flowering size. The new Salvia was further evaluated and asexually propagated by basal cuttings taken by the inventor in Zeeland, Mich., USA in 2012. Salvia 'Pink Dawn' was then further evaluated and the resulting asexually propagated plants of the new plant have been found to be true to type and stable in successive generations.


An electronic device and an image capture method thereof are disclosed herein. The image capture method is suitable for an electronic apparatus including an image capture unit. The image capture method includes steps of: providing a first preview image by the image capture unit; detecting a first facial expression from the first preview image; providing a second preview image by the image capture unit after the first preview image; detecting the second facial expression from the second preview image; determining whether the second facial expression is matched to the first facial expression; and, automatically generating a second target image in response to the second facial expression is not matched to the first facial expression.

Field of Invention
The present disclosure relates to an electronic device. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an electronic device capturing consecutive images according to facial expressions.
Description of Related Art
Recently, the advancement of the social network enables people share their status and photos more frequently. Since the shared photos are normally taken by the mobile device (e.g., cell phones, tablets, etc.), image capture applications of the mobile devices are forced to be equipped with some features, e.g. selfie, lenses, photo editing toolbox, etc.
However, some of the features nowadays are not intuitional to use. For example, when a user tries to take a selfie, it is required to hold the mobile device steady in a distance away from the user and to press the shutter button without introducing vibration to the mobile device. Otherwise, the image captured becomes blurred.
As a result, there are several ways to capture images automatically. Referring to FIG. 1, a flow diagram illustrating a conventional image capture method 100 for a camera of a mobile device is presented. In step S102, the mobile device is configured to enter an image capture mode, and the camera is configured to capture a preview image in real time. In step S104, a processor unit of the mobile device is configured to detect a facial expression of the preview image captured by the camera in real time. In step S106, the mobile device determines whether the facial expression corresponds to a smile. If the facial expression corresponds to the smile, the flow goes to step S108. Otherwise, the flow goes back to step S104. In step S108, the camera is configured to capture an image automatically. However, the conventional image capture method 100 only provides a single shot (i.e., capturing one image) when the mobile device enters the image capture mode. Accordingly, the image capture method 100 does not provide an intuitive way for capturing consecutive images.

Electronic device and image capture method thereof


In construction of a tool chuck in which manual rotation of an outer operation sleeve causes concurrent rotation of an inner screw ring to move clamping jaws in a chuck body following the principle of screw feeding, a solid lubrication coating layer is interposed between the screw ring and the chuck body so as to minimize friction between the two elements during their relative rotation for clamping a tool via the jaws, thereby effectively utilizing input torque from the operation sleeve for clamping operation. The solid lubrication coating layer may be applied either to a washer or directly to the screw ring.

The present invention relates to a tool chuck, and more particularly relates to improvement in construction of a chuck for firmly holding a tool such as a drill bit or a driver bit of electric work devices by means of three or more clamping jaws.
One typical example of such a tool chuck is proposed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Sho. 63-189509. The tool chuck of this earlier application includes a tubular chuck body which slidably accommodates a plurality of clamping jaws in its front section in a coaxial and forwardly converging arrangement. Each clamping jaw is kept in outward screw engagement on its proximal section with a screw ring which is in an annular cutout formed in the intermediate section of the chuck body. This screw ring is in turn kept in screw engagement with an operation sleeve idly inserted over the chuck body for manual operation.
As the operation sleeve is manually rotated, the screw ring is driven into concurrent rotation in the clamping direction which in turn causes convergent, collective forward sliding of the clamping jaws via screw feeding to hold a tool inserted into the center section of the chuck body. As the jaws clamp the tool, reaction from the tool is transmitted to the screw ring via the clamping jaws and the screw ring is force to move rearwards. As a result, the rear face of the screw ring is brought into tight pressure contact with the rear side wall of the annular cutout in the chuck body.
This pressure contact generates friction resistance against rotation of the screw ring within the annular cutout. As a result, a great deal of input torque from the operation sleeve is consumed to overcome this friction resistance without effectively producing high degree of clamping force on the tool. In other word, input torque from the operation sleeve is greatly wasted without effective utilization.


A mold assembly for forming an ophthalmic lens article includes a first mold and a second mold. The first and second molds are assembled together to define a mold cavity therebetween having a profile corresponding to that of the ophthalmic lens article to be formed. The mold cavity is filled with a polymeric material which is polymerized to form the ophthalmic lens article. At least one of the first and second molds is a resin mold which is formed from a resin material, and a portion of at least a molding surface of the resin mold is directly irradiated with UV radiation so as to provide a UV-treated surface. The ophthalmic lens article formed in the mold cavity is held on the resin mold such that the ophthalmic lens article adheres to the UV-treated surface upon separating the first and second molds away from one another.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application Nos. 11-241142 filed Aug. 27, 1999, and 2000-227446 filed Jul. 27, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated hereinto by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mold assembly for forming an ophthalmic lens article and a method of forming the same using the mold assembly. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with such a mold assembly suitably used for forming the ophthalmic lens article including an ophthalmic lens and an intermediate product for the ophthalmic lens, and such a method for forming the ophthalmic lens article using the mold assembly.
2. Discussion of Related Art
There are known methods for producing a so-called ophthalmic lens article such as ophthalmic lenses, which include contact lenses and intraocular lenses, or an intermediate product for the ophthalmic lens, which includes a lens blank having one of opposite surfaces with a configuration which follows that of a corresponding one of front and back surfaces of the intended lens while the other surface needs to be cut to form the other of the front and back surfaces of the lens. One method used to form the above-discussed lens products includes the steps of: (a) preparing a mold assembly consisting of a first mold and a second mold in the form of a male mold and a female mold or an upper mold and a lower mold, which are closed or assembled together so as to define therebetween a mold cavity having a configuration following that of the intended ophthalmic lens article; (b) polymerizing a suitable polymeric material which fills the mold cavity defined between the first and second molds, so as to form the intended ophthalmic lens article in the mold cavity; and (c) separating the first and second molds from each other, so as to remove the ophthalmic lens article formed in the mold cavity from the mold assembly.
In the method described above, since the ophthalmic lens article in the form of a polymerized product, which is obtained by polymerization of the polymeric material in the mold cavity, adheres to one of the first and second molds, the ophthalmic lens article is held on the above-indicated one of the two molds when they are removed away from each other. It is, however, quite difficult to predict on which of the two molds the formed ophthalmic lens article will be held since there is no consistency as to which of the two molds the ophthalmic lens article will be held. Moreover, it is impossible to control the formed ophthalmic lens article to be held on and adhere to a desired one of the two molds.
Accordingly, it is conventionally required to check on which of the two molds the formed ophthalmic lens article is held when the two molds are separated away or moved apart from each other, considerably deteriorating production efficiency of the ophthalmic lens article. Since the ophthalmic lens article does not consistently remain on and adhere specifically to one of the first and second molds, it is quite difficult to automate a process of removing the formed ophthalmic lens article from the mold assembly. Accordingly, the ophthalmic lens article cannot be manufactured in an automated manner. If the intermediate product for the ophthalmic lens article adheres to either one of the two molds at one of it""s the mold""s opposite surfaces, it will be necessary to determine which surface needs to be processed to provide the corresponding one of the front and back surfaces of the intended ophthalmic lens article. In order to accomplish this, the intermediate product needs to be first removed from the mold, and then held and supported by a suitable holder for processing the above-indicated surface which has adhered to the mold. This undesirably deteriorates the production efficiency of the ophthalmic lens article.
In view of the above, there have been recently proposed various techniques which permit the formed ophthalmic lens article to be held on and adhered to a predetermined one of the first and second molds of the mold assembly when the first and second molds are separated away from each other.
One example of such techniques is JP-A-7-80860, which discloses a mold assembly consisting of a male mold and a female mold for forming an intermediate product for a contact lens. The male mold of the mold assembly disclosed in this publication has a protrusion or a recess formed in its molding surface having a profile following that of a back surface of the contact lens, in an attempt to improve an adhesive strength of the molding surface for holding the molded intermediate product thereon. When the intermediate product is formed by using the thus constructed mold assembly, the molded intermediate product adheres to and is held on the male mold every time when the two molds are separated away from each other. The male mold, however, inevitably has a complicated shape due to provision of the protrusion or recess on its molding surface, as compared with a male mold without such a protrusion or recess. In the mold assembly disclosed in the above publication, the shape of the male mold is undesirably limited to a specific design which permits the protrusion or recess to be formed on its molding surface, making it difficult to form the contact lens having an intended configuration. JP-A-7-195558 discloses a mold assembly consisting of a male mold and a female mold for forming a contact lens, wherein a region of a molding surface of at least one of the male and female molds is pre-treated by corona-discharging, such that the region of the molding surface interposed between a pair of electrodes is subjected to a corona discharge, for thereby improving an adhesive strength of the molding surface for holding the formed contact lens thereon. In the thus constructed mold assembly, the formed contact lens adheres to and is held on one of the male and female molds having the pre-treated molding surface every time when the male and female molds are separated away from each other.
Unlike the mold assembly disclosed in JP-A-7-80860 wherein the molding surface of the male mold is formed into a specific shape having the protrusion or recess as described above, the mold assembly of JP-A-7-195558, wherein the molding surfaces of the male and female molds do not have such a protrusion or recess, permits the ophthalmic lens article to be formed into a desired configuration.
In the mold assembly disclosed in JP-A-7-195558, however, an expensive corona-discharge device is used for pre-treating the molding surface of at least one of the male and female molds to improve the adhesive strength of the molding surface for holding the formed contact lens thereon. For effecting the pre-treatment on the molding surface of the at least one mold with high efficiency, the electrodes are shaped to follow the configuration of the mold, so that the electrodes can be positioned as close as possible to the mold. Accordingly, the arrangement disclosed in the publication undesirably pushes up the cost of manufacture of the contact lens due to the use of the expensive corona-discharge device and the specially prepared electrodes. In a series of process steps for the pre-treatment on the molding surface of the at least one mold, it is cumbersome to position the electrodes as close as possible to the mold. In addition, if the electrodes contacted the molding surface, the molding surface would be damaged. Moreover, the pre-treatment on the molding surface of the mold is effected by applying a considerably high voltage to the electrodes, causing a risk of injuring the workers who are engaged in the pre-treatment operation.
The present invention was made in the light of the background art described above. It is a first object of the present invention to provide a mold assembly consisting of a first mold and a second mold for forming an ophthalmic lens article, wherein the ophthalmic lens article formed in the mold assembly adheres to and is held on a molding surface of a predetermined one of the first and second molds with high reliability every time the two molds are separated away from each other. The molding surface of the predetermined mold is pre-treated for holding the ophthalmic lens article thereon, at a relatively reduced cost and in a safe and easy manner without a risk of damaging the molding surface, so that the intended ophthalmic lens article can be formed at a minimized cost with high production efficiency without complicating the structure of the mold assembly.
It is a second object of the invention to provide a method of forming an ophthalmic lens article having an intended configuration at a minimized cost with high production efficiency.
As a result of an extensive study by the inventors of the present invention, it has been found that the ophthalmic lens article such as a contact lens molded in the mold assembly of a resin structure adheres to the surface of the mold assembly with high stability if the surface has been irradiated directly with a UV radiation.
The above object may be achieved according to a first aspect of the present invention, which provides a mold assembly for forming an ophthalmic lens article such as an ophthalmic lens and an intermediate product for the ophthalmic lens. The mold assembly includes a first mold and a second mold, which are assembled together to define a mold cavity therebetween having a profile corresponding to that of the ophthalmic lens article. The mold cavity is filled with a polymeric material which is polymerized to form the ophthalmic lens article. At least one of the first and second molds is a resin mold which is formed of a resin material, a portion of at least a molding surface of the resin mold being irradiated directly with a UV radiation so as to provide a UV-treated surface. The ophthalmic lens article is formed in the mold cavity being held on the resin mold such that the ophthalmic lens article adheres to the UV-treated surface, when the first and second molds are separated away from each other.
In the mold assembly constructed according to the above first aspect of the present invention, a portion of at least a molding surface of one of the first and second molds, in which the mold is formed of a resin material, is irradiated directly with UV radiation so as to provide the UV-treated surface. The ophthalmic lens article formed in the mold cavity is held on the above-indicated one mold formed of the resin material (resin mold) such that the ophthalmic lens article adheres to the UV-treated surface of the resin mold every time the first and second molds are separated away from each other. In other words, in the present mold assembly, a portion of at least the molding surface of the resin mold is pre-treated by exposure to UV radiation, so as to provide the UV-treated surface to which the molded ophthalmic lens article adheres with high reliability.
In the present mold assembly, the molding surface of the resin mold is partially pre-treated for permitting the molded ophthalmic lens article to adhere to and be held on the resin mold, by using a UV-radiation emitting device which is available at a relatively low cost and safe to handle. Thus, there is no requirement to use the expensive corona-discharge device, which requires careful handling, as used in the conventional mold assembly described above. When the pre-treatment described above is effected, the UV-radiation emitting device can be located at any position provided that UV radiation is incident directly upon a desired portion of at least the molding surface of the resin mold, so that a UV lamp of the UV-radiation emitting device, for example, need not be positioned close to the resin mold. As compared with the prior art technique using the corona-discharge device, the present arrangement assures easy positioning of the UV-radiation emitting device as the pre-treating device, and protects the molding surface to be pre-treated from damage due to contact thereof with the UV lamp.
In the thus constructed mold assembly for forming the ophthalmic lens article, the molding surface of either one of the first and second molds is pre-treated for holding the molded ophthalmic lens article thereon, at a relatively low cost and in a safe and easy manner without a risk of damaging the molding surface, whereby an intended ophthalmic lens article can be formed at a minimized cost with high production efficiency.
In a preferred form of the above first aspect of the invention, only the molding surface of the resin mold is at least partially formed into the UV-treated surface. According to this arrangement, the ophthalmic lens article formed in the mold cavity adheres only to the molding surface of the resin mold when the first and second molds are separated away from each other, so that the ophthalmic lens article is held on the resin mold with high reliability.
When only the molding surface of the resin mold is formed into the UV-treated surface as described above, the molding surface of the resin mold includes an optical zone-defining region and a peripheral zone-defining region which give an optical zone and a peripheral zone of the ophthalmic lens article, respectively, and at least a portion of the peripheral zone-defining region is formed into the UV-treated surface.
According to the present arrangement, the molded ophthalmic lens article adheres to the molding surface of the resin mold only at its peripheral zone except for its optical zone, to thereby avoid possible damage to the optical zone of the ophthalmic lens article when the molded ophthalmic lens article is held on the resin mold. Accordingly, the ophthalmic lens article is capable of exhibiting intended optical characteristics.
In a preferred form of the above first aspect of the present invention, the first and second molds are both formed of a resin material, the first and second molds being assembled together to define therebetween a reservoir for storing an excess of the polymeric material which overflows the mold cavity. The reservoir is partially defined by a reservoir-defining surface of one of the first and second molds, and is different from the other mold which has a molding surface that is at least partially formed into the UV-treated surface. That is, only the reservoir-defining surface of the one mold, being at least partially formed into a UV-treated surface through direct irradiation with UV radiation, is partially formed into the UV-treated surface. Accordingly, excess polymerized product formed by polymerization of the excess polymeric material in the reservoir is held on the one mold such that the excess polymerized product adheres to the UV-treated surface of the one mold, when the first and second molds are separated away from each other.
According to this arrangement, when the first and second molds are separated away from each other, the ophthalmic lens article formed in the mold cavity adheres to and is held on the above-indicated other mold whose molding surface is at least partially formed into the UV-treated surface, while the excess polymerized product (excess polymer) formed by polymerization of the excess polymeric material in the reservoir adheres to and is held on the above-indicated one mold whose reservoir-defining surface is at least partially formed into the UV-treated surface. In this arrangement, the intended ophthalmic lens article and the excess polymerized product to be discarded is held on one and the other of the first and second molds, respectively, without an additional step of separating the ophthalmic lens article and the excess polymerized product from each other, resulting in improved production efficiency of the intended ophthalmic lens article.
In a preferred form of the above first aspect of the present invention, the first and second molds are irradiated with UV radiation with a portion of at least one of the first and second molds being covered with a shielding member which shields the portion from UV radiation, so that the other portion of the at least one of the first and second molds, which is not covered with the shielding member, is exposed to UV radiation, to thereby provide the UV-treated surface
In the present arrangement, the desired portion of the mold can be formed into the UV-treated surface in a considerably simplified and economical manner, without a troublesome and costly step of preparing electrodes having special configurations following those of the molds to be pre-treated, as in the conventional technique using the corona-discharge device. By using the present mold assembly described above, the intended ophthalmic lens article can be formed at a reduced cost with improved production efficiency.
In a preferred form of the above first aspect of the present invention, one of the first and second molds, on which the ophthalmic lens article is held such that the ophthalmic lens article adheres to the UV-treated surface, is a male mold while the other of the first and second molds is a female mold.
According to this arrangement, the formed ophthalmic lens article adheres to and is held on the male mold, so that the ophthalmic lens article can be easily removed from the UV-treated surface without being damaged, by simply collapsing the male mold.
In a preferred form of the above first aspect of the present invention, the UV-treated surface has been irradiated directly with UV radiation using an excimer lamp. This arrangement permits the UV-treated surface to exhibit a significantly enhanced adhesive strength for holding the ophthalmic lens article thereon.
In a preferred form of the above first aspect of the present invention, the UV-treated surface has been irradiated directly with UV-radiation having a wavelength within a range of 170xcx9c260 nm. Since UV radiation having a wavelength exceeding 260 nm has a low degree of photon energy, the UV-treated surface which has been irradiated with UV radiation whose wavelength exceeds 260 nm does not exhibit a sufficiently high adhesive strength for holding the ophthalmic lens article thereon. UV radiation whose wavelength is less than 170 nm tends to be absorbed in the atmosphere, increasing an attenuation factor of the irradiance of UV radiation with respect to a distance from the light source in the form of the UV lamp of the UV-radiation emitting device. To avoid this, the light source needs to be positioned as close as possible to the portion of the mold assembly to be treated with UV radiation. Alternatively, UV radiation needs to be applied to the above-indicated portion of the mold assembly such that the light source (UV-radiation emitting device) and the mold assembly are placed in vacuum by using a suitable vacuum device. In either case, there may arise problems of deteriorated production efficiency and increased cost of manufacture of the ophthalmic lens article. Accordingly, if the above-indicated portion of the mold assembly is irradiated with UV radiation having a wavelength of 170xcx9c260 nm, the portion of the mold assembly can be formed, in a simplified and economical manner, into the U-treated surface which exhibits significantly enhanced adhesive strength for holding the ophthalmic lens article thereon.
In a preferred form of the above first aspect of the invention, the UV-treated surface has been treated with UV radiation at a radiation energy of 0.1xcx9c5.5 mJ/cm2.
If UV radiation energy per unit area is less than 0.1 mJ/cm2, the UV-treated surface does not exhibit a sufficiently high adhesive strength for holding the ophthalmic lens article thereon. On the contrary, if UV radiation energy exceeds 5.5 mJ/cm2, the adhesive strength exhibited by the UV-treated surface is excessively large depending upon the wavelength of UV radiation applied thereto. In this case, it requires a special device or instrument for removing the ophthalmic lens article from the UV-treated surface, undesirably deteriorating the production efficiency and inevitably increasing the cost of manufacture of the ophthalmic lens article. Further, the ophthalmic lens article may receive an unexpected external force due to the use of the device or instrument upon removal from the UV-treated surface, undesirably causing a risk of damaging the ophthalmic lens article. In view of the above, if the UV-treated surface has been treated with UV radiation at a radiation energy of 0.1xcx9c5.5 mJ/cm2, the UV-treated surface exhibits a sufficiently high adhesive strength for holding the ophthalmic lens article thereon without requiring a troublesome and costly process of removing the ophthalmic lens article from the UV-treated surface.
The above-indicated second object of the present invention may be attained according to a second aspect of the invention, which provides a method of forming an ophthalmic lens article such as an ophthalmic lens and an intermediate product for the ophthalmic lens, by using the mold assembly as defined in the above first aspect of the invention. The method includes assembling the first and second molds together to thereby define the mold cavity therebetween, at least one of the first and second molds being the resin mold, and a portion of at least the molding surface of the resin mold being irradiated directly with UV radiation so as to provide the UV-treated surface; polymerizing the polymeric material filled in the mold cavity, to provide a polymer that gives the ophthalmic lens article; separating the first and second molds away from each other; and removing the ophthalmic lens article from the resin mold while the ophthalmic lens article is held on the resin mold such that the ophthalmic lens article adheres to the UV-treated surface of the resin mold.
In the method described above, the ophthalmic lens article is molded by using the mold assembly consisting of the first and second molds, one of which is a resin mold in which at least its molding surface is irradiated directly with UV radiation so as to provide the UV-treated surface. The molded ophthalmic lens article is held on the resin mold such that the ophthalmic lens article adheres to the UV-treated surface when the first and second molds are separated away from each other. Thereafter, the ophthalmic lens article adhering to the UV-treated surface is removed therefrom. According to this method, the formed ophthalmic lens article is held on the resin mold every time the first and second molds are separated away from each other, resulting in enhanced production efficiency of the ophthalmic lens article. In the present method, the portion of at least the molding surface of the resin mold is irradiated directly with UV radiation so as to provide the UV-treated surface for holding the formed ophthalmic lens article thereon. Thus, the present method permits the UV-treated molding surface to be economically formed in the molding surface in a simplified and safe manner without a risk of damaging the molding surface, as compared with the conventional method wherein the corona-discharge device is used to treat the molding surface. Further, the molding surfaces of the first and second molds of the mold assembly used in the present method need not have special surface configurations which enable the ophthalmic lens article to be held thereon, assuring a high degree of freedom in the configuration of the ophthalmic lens article formed between the molding surfaces. Thus, the present method permits the manufacture of the ophthalmic lens article having a desired configuration at a minimized cost with high efficiency.
In a preferred form of the above second aspect of the present invention, the step of removing the ophthalmic lens article held on the resin mold is effected by collapsing the resin mold radially inwardly, so that the ophthalmic lens article is removed from the UV-treated surface of the resin mold. This arrangement permits easy, quick, and economical removal of the ophthalmic lens article from the UV-treated surface without using a special device or instrument.
In a preferred form of the above second aspect of the present invention, the step of removing the ophthalmic lens article held on the resin mold is effected by immersing the ophthalmic lens article together with the resin mold in water for hydration, so that the ophthalmic lens article is removed from the V-treated surface of the resin mold. According to this arrangement, the ophthalmic lens article adhering to the UV-treated surface can be advantageously removed therefrom without being damaged due to an external force which would be otherwise applied to the ophthalmic lens article due to the use of the special device or instrument upon removal from the UV-treated surface.

Mold assembly for producing ophthalmic lens article


Plural saddle shape patches are formed on a blank material for forming a blade using a manufacturing apparatus provided with a punch support having punches each with a holder attached to be opposite with one another at a predetermined interval corresponding to a thickness of the blank material. The punch support is mounted to a second ram via a second rotational mechanism which is rotatable in a direction in which the ram moves. The die is attached to the first ram via the first rotational mechanism. The actuator controls the rotating angles of both the rotational mechanisms.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an impeller of a turbo fluid machine using liquid such as water as a working fluid, a blade used for the impeller, a method and an apparatus for manufacturing the impeller. More particularly, the present invention relates to a less expensive method for manufacturing the impeller of the turbo fluid machine realized by plate working of the impeller irrespective of the form and the fluid type.
2. Description of the Related Art
The turbo fluid machine includes a centrifugal compressor using gas such as air as the working fluid in addition to the centrifugal pump using liquid such as water as the working fluid. An exemplary turbo fluid machine of those described above is disclosed in JP-A No. 7-167099.
The centrifugal pump using water as the working fluid, for example, will be described with respect to the main components by referring to FIG. 1. The centrifugal pump includes impellers 6, 7, a casing 1, an axis of rotation 2, and a motor (not shown). Each of the impellers 6 and 7 has a structure with plural blades 5 interposed between a boss 3 and a shroud 4. They are rotated by the axis of rotation 2 to apply energy to the fluid. That is, rotation of the impeller applies the centrifugal force to water accommodated from an inlet 8. The flow direction of the fluid is optimized by a guide vane attached to an outlet port of the impeller.
An axial-flow pump of the centrifugal pump has a feature that the blade of the impeller has a torsion with respect to the flow path direction in order to efficiently convert the pump rotational energy into the kinematic energy of the fluid.
Basically, the centrifugal compressor has substantially the same structure as that of the centrifugal pump. For example, in a multistage turbocompressor, the impellers 6 and 7 each having plural blades 5a and 5b attached to the respective bosses 3 are mounted on the same axis 2 as shown in FIG. 2. In the multistage turbocompressor, each blade of the respective impellers has the different shape. The blade used for the compressor has the blade surface designed in accordance with the linear element as substantially the straight line.
In the method for manufacturing the turbo fluid machine, the impeller is produced by casting, and then machining. If the high profile accuracy of the blade is required, the impeller as a whole may be subjected to the machining so as to be manufactured. If the blade of the impeller has the three-dimensional torsion, the press forming using the three-dimensional forming die exclusively tailored to the respective blades may be employed.
The casing is produced through the plate working method in which the blade formed of the press formed steel plate is welded to inner and outer cylinders each formed by subjecting the steel plate to the roll forming.
The blade of the compressor as one of the existing turbo fluid machines is subjected to the machining after the casting. However, in the aforementioned process, the large diameter parts may lower the material yield. The action for solving the aforementioned problem is required to be taken. The press forming using the three-dimensional forming die especially tailored to the respective blades has a large ratio of the die cost to the manufacturing cost upon plate working of the impeller. The similar problem may occur in manufacturing of the blade and casing of an mixed flow pump.
In the method for manufacturing the casing, the use of the sheet processing machine instead of the three-dimensional forming die for producing the guide vane may suppress the cost for the die. However, it is impossible for the generally employed sheet metal processing machine to subject the blade to the three-dimensional torsion in principle. Accordingly, the method is not suitable for manufacturing the impeller. It has been demanded to realize the plate working of the impeller at the low cost has been demanded as the essential task of the present invention.
There are problems with respect to subject the blade to the three-dimensional forming. That is, when the blade with the three-dimensional torsion is press formed with the upper and the lower dies, as the blank material is not restrained between the dies at the initial stage of the forming where the blank material and the die partially contact with each other, the blank material, thus is likely to misalign. In the generally employed method for manufacturing the blade, the blank material which contains the margin to be larger than the finished blade in consideration of the displacement is press formed. Then the closest region to the blade surface with the finished shape is cut from the formed material. However, the blank material for forming the blade to be used under the specific environment, for example, the seawater pump is expensive. It is therefore demanded to suppress the material yield. Suppression of the material misalignment upon press forming, thus, is the essential task to be realized by the present invention. Vibration of the impeller caused by oscillation in the profile accuracy of each of the blades may cause noise in operation of the turbo fluid machine. It is therefore essential to establish the assembly accuracy of the impeller.

Blade, impeller, turbo fluid machine, method and apparatus for manufacturing blade


A microwave electronic component comprising a substrate having top and bottom substrate surfaces; the substrate comprising an aperture between the top and bottom substrate surfaces; a metallic heat sink filling the aperture; a microwave integrated circuit having a top circuit surface with at least one microwave signal port and a bottom circuit surface in contact with the metallic heat sink; a signal line comprising at least a metallic via between the top and bottom substrate surfaces, and a top signal conductor arranged between the microwave signal port and the metallic via; wherein the dimensions and location of the metallic via are chosen such that the metallic via forms, together with the metallic heat sink, a first impedance-matched non-coaxial transmission line.

Discrete or die level MMICs (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) are often packaged in hermetically sealed enclosures to facilitate handling and integration into larger subsystems. The relatively small pad sizes of a MMIC at the die level make it difficult to integrate at the board level without the use of wire bonding tools. The MMIC are extremely fragile by nature, even when passivated, making it desirable to enclose an MMIC in a more production-friendly environment. Unfortunately, the electrical performance of an MMIC device is degraded to some extent as a result of this packaging. The performance degradation can be quite significant depending on the complexity of the packaging.
In particular, for surface mounted technology (SMT), a die level MMIC can be mounted face up on a top surface of some packaging material or substrate, where RF and DC signals are routed off the MMIC onto said top surface of the substrate and down through the substrate using a metallic via, and terminated on a bottom side of the substrate where bonding pads are formed for easy electrical access. A cover can be hermetically attached to the top of the substrate above the MMIC to protect the MMIC from mechanical damage. However, an electrical path using a via from the MMIC on the top surface of the substrate to a bonding pad on the bottom surface of the substrate can adversely affect the packaged device performance by 2 dB or more compared with that of the original MMIC at die level.
The reference "Development of a through wafer 3D vertical micro-coaxial probe", by Justin Boone et al., 2013 J. Micromech. Microeng. 23 075029, discloses a through-wafer 3D vertical micro-coaxial probe flushed in a silicon substrate. The Boone reference is incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein. The probe was designed using radio frequency (RF) calculations and consists of 100 μm inner diameter and 300 μm outer diameter vias, which corresponds to a 1:3 inner/outer conductor ratio. Fabrication results indicate that the probe through holes can be formed using standard photolithography techniques and Bosch's process for deep reactive ion etching. The probe vias were successfully metalized with a diluted silver paste. Measured results demonstrate that the probe has good signal transmission with a reflection coefficient less than −10 dB from 15 to 57 GHz. By developing an RF based three-dimensional micro-coaxial probe, its use as vertical interconnects in high frequency system-in-package technologies have considerably improved.
FIG. 1 is a top view of a micro-coaxial probe or transmission line 10 formed on a substrate 12 as described in the Boone reference, comprising a coaxial transmission line 14 having: a central cylindrical via 16 that passes though substrate 12 along an axis normal to the surfaces of substrate 12 and has a first outer diameter; and an outer tubular via 18 that has a same axis as central via 16 and has an inner diameter larger than the first outer diameter, thus leaving a tubular section 20 of material of the substrate 12 between the central via 16 and the outer via 18. To allow manufacturing, tubular substrate section 20 is continuously connected to the remainder of substrate 12 by substrate sections 22. To achieve this, outer via 18 actually comprises two distinct tubular sections 18′, 18″ arranged on both sides of substrate sections 22. Through-substrate transmission line 14 is connected to a transmission line 24 that comprises a central conductive strip 24′ formed on a top surface of substrate 12 over one substrate section 22 to contact a top surface of central via 16, between two conductive strip 24″ formed on the top surface of substrate 12 to contact a top surface of each of tubular sections 18′ and 18″. A conductive strip 26 formed above the substrate section 22 not covered by conductor 24′ contacts a top surface of each of tubular sections 18′ and 18″. In operation, the conductive strips 24″ are connected to the ground and a signal is sent on conductive strip 24′.
A problem with a vertical coaxial transmission line 14 such as illustrated in FIG. 1 is that its dimensions cannot be reduced beyond a given limit without impairing the electrical properties of the transmission line. It follows that such vertical coaxial transmission lines can be ill-suited for high scale integration.

Impedance-matched through-wafer transition using integrated heat-spreader technology


A caster suspension system that employs a linkage between the two casters constraining one to rise when the other falls while keeping moment internal to the system such that there is no tipping of the load carried by the caster suspension system.

All references cited in this specification, and their references, are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for teachings of additional or alternative details, features, and/or technical background.
Disclosed in the embodiments herein are caster suspension systems designed to accommodate uneven or irregular surfaces. In one embodiment, there is provided a caster suspension system that employs a linkage between the two casters constraining one to rise when the other falls while keeping moment internal to the system such that there is no tipping of the load carried by the caster suspension system.
Casters are well known devices that assist in the mobility of a great variety of types of equipment. They are used in industry, in the home, in the medical field, and in general whenever it is desirable to move objects over a surface.
While casters function well on smooth surfaces they tend to operate less efficiently when used on uneven surfaces or surfaces which contain irregularities, or when small objects placed upon the surface are encountered by the casters. Accordingly casters have been devised which are better adapted to maneuver over uneven surfaces. However, such prior types of devices have functional characteristics which limit their suitability for certain applications.
Certain types of casters when used on uneven surfaces are inherently unstable and can cause objects supported by them to easily tip. The possibility of tipping is increased under certain circumstances, such as when changing direction or when such a type of caster is supporting and moving a load and then encounters an object on the surface which tends to restrict its forward travel.
Other certain special types of casters significantly and abruptly change their height when contacting objects on the surface. This, in turn, causes a bump which appears to abruptly change the height of the object that is supported by such a caster.
Still other prior types of casters are able to operate only one time, and must be reset after encountering an object. Still yet other prior types of casters tend to impact with objects located upon the surface, or when they encounter uneven surfaces, which in turn results in shock being transferred to the object supported.
Reaction forces and vibrations due to uneven positioning of an instrument with respect to the floor may be particularly problematic with precision instruments (such as photolithography machines used in semiconductor processing). For instance, a photolithography machine which is subject to vibratory motion may cause an image projected by the photolithography machine to move and, as a result, be aligned incorrectly on a projection surface such as a semiconductor wafer.
For several industry products, such as high production copiers/printers, their main structure has to be designed considering the effect of uneven floor to frame integrity. If the machine does not have a relatively rigid frame and is under an uneven floor scenario (e.g., fourth caster is not co-planar with three other casters), the frame may distort and create unpredictable alignments among the internal frame components, resulting in problems such as paper registration issues, copy quality and mechanical interference between components. While one may compensate for uneven floor effect by implementing a caster adjustment (de-racking) procedure at the site, the procedure may be inaccurate due to a failure to determine a realistic reference to which to square the machine frame. Another disadvantage is that if the machine is moved, the frame will deflect again and may need to be adjusted. The latter affects service trouble-shooting and installation lines.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate prior art systems 10 employing a single four-bar linkage. In FIG. 1, casters 25, 25′ are positioned in opposing directions and are linked through link connections 20, 20′ to linkage bar 15. As moments 30, 30′ are in opposition directions, load 40 is balanced. However, when casters 25, 25′ are moved so as to be pointing in the same direction as shown in FIG. 2, moments 35, 35′ are in the same direction and load 40 is not balanced and will tip. Accordingly, there exists today a need for a caster that is articulated to accommodate uneven surfaces and which is inherently stable.