One embodiment of the present invention provides a conductive oxide film having high conductivity and high transmittance of visible light. The conductive oxide film having high conductivity and high transmittance of visible light can be obtained by forming a conductive oxide film at a high substrate temperature in the film formation and subjecting the conductive oxide film to nitrogen annealing treatment. The conductive oxide film has a crystal structure in which c-axes are aligned in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the film.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conductive oxide film, a display device, and a method for forming a conductive oxide film.
The present invention relates to a conductive oxide film having a crystal structure in which c-axes are aligned in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the film, and a method for forming the conductive oxide film. In addition, the present invention relates to a display device using such a conductive oxide film.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, touch panels having a multi-touch function have widespread rapidly in accordance with the increasing demand for smartphones or tablet PCs. Transparent conductive oxide films are utilized in touch panels, thin-film solar cells, and particle moving type electronic paper using electronic liquid powder. The demand for high-quality transparent conductive oxide films is expected to increase, and the market of the films will expand in the future.
Materials that are used for the transparent conductive oxide films are roughly classified into crystalline materials and amorphous materials. Examples of the crystalline materials are indium tin oxide (ITO) and zinc oxide (ZnO), and an example of the amorphous materials is indium zinc oxide.
ITO is the most general material of the transparent conductive oxide film, and a sputtering method is the most general method for forming the transparent conductive oxide film. For the transparent conductive oxide films, a reduction in cost of the film formation and the material as well as several properties such as high transmittance of visible light, high conductivity, and low electric resistance is required.
As a factor for indicating the conductivity of the transparent conductive oxide films, sheet resistance is used. For the uses of electronic paper, a sheet resistance of approximately 300Ω/□ to 400Ω/□ is enough for operation; however, a sheet resistance of 200Ω/□ or lower is desired for the uses of touch panels.
The sheet resistance depends on carrier density and mobility. As the sheet resistance becomes lower, the carrier density becomes higher or the mobility becomes higher, which means higher conductivity. Further, the sheet resistance depends on thickness. For example, the sheet resistance of an ITO film with a thickness of 30 nm is approximately 100Ω/□, and that with a thickness of 200 nm is approximately 10Ω/□.
In Patent Document 1, a method for forming a dense ZnO film having crystallinity is disclosed.

Conductive oxide film, display device, and method for forming conductive oxide film

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The utility model provides a headphone, comprising a headband, left and right two ear pads and a holder. Two ends of the headband are separately provided with a fixing component, the fixing component includes a conductor block; the holder is made of the conductive material, of which one end is respectively connected with the left and right two ear pads fixedly and the other end is respectively connected with the fixing components in a sliding way, and the conductor block is pressed against the holder; in the ear pads, the first group of signal wires is connected to the holder electrically; in the fixing components, the second group of signal wires is connected with the conductor block electrically. The headphone provided in the utility model replaces the exposed lead with the conductive holder which is used as the medium for the audio signal transfer between the left and right two ear pads, thus eliminating the exposed lead on the headphone, simplifying the structure and avoiding the risk of broken circuit due to the damage of the exposed lead in use previously.

The existing headphone, as shown FIG. 1 comprises left and right two ear pads 1′, a headband 2′ and a holder 3′. The ear pads 1′ separately cover the ears of the user and are internally provided with speakers for playing audio to the ears of the user. The headband 2′ is designed to be approximately arched to suit the human head outline, of which two ends are respectively provided with a fixing component 4′, one end of the holder 3′ passes through the fixing component 4′ to connect with the fixing component 4′ in a relatively sliding way, the other end of the holder 3′is connected with the ear pad 1′. The holder 3′can slide on the fixing component 4′ to drive the ear pads 1′ to slide such that different users can adjust the relative position of the left, right two ear pads 1′ to the headband 2′ to suit their head outline and position of ears.
In said headphone, the transfer of the audio signal is achieved via the lead, wherein, the earphone plug (not shown) is inserted into the audio player, computer, MP3, for example, the received audio signals are input into the ear pads 1′ through the earphone plug interface 6′ via the left, right audio signal wires and the common ground wire. Specifically, the earphone plug interface 6′ arranged on the left ear pad, for example, the left channel audio signal wire and the common ground wire are connected with the speaker in the left ear pad electrically, and the right channel audio signal wire and the common ground wire are connected to the speaker in the right ear pad electrically meanwhile. In the headphone as shown in FIG. 1, electrically connecting the right channel audio signal wire and the common ground wire with the speaker in the right ear pad is achieved as follows: the lead 5′ (the lead herein refers to the cable containing the audio signal wire and the common ground wire and externally wrapped with the insulating wrapper) penetrates out from the left ear pad and extends into the headband 2′ through the fixing component 4′ at the left side, then, penetrates out from the other end of the headband 2′ and extends into the right ear pad 1′ through the fixing component 4′ at the right side.
However, there are following disadvantages in the headphone with the structure: the lead 5′ between the left, right two ear pads 1′ and the headband 2′ are exposed so the structure is complex and disordered. In addition, due to the repeatedly sliding, stretching and contracting of the holder 3′ and the put-on or take-off operation of the user, the exposed lead 5′ is pulled and bent frequently therewith, when the number reaches a certain level, the lead 5′ is easy to damage to cause the broken circuit and further influence the use of the earphone.


A flexible conductive sheet includes a polymeric film coated with conductive metals. The flexible conductive sheet may be used in a shorting pad probe tip for a substrate tester by loosely wrapping the flexible conductive sheet around a compliant mandrel. The flexible conductive sheet may also be used for shielding an integrated circuit from radio frequency interference. The polymer film may be polyimide.

Integrated circuit chips may be packaged in a variety of ways depending upon the performance and reliability requirements of the system in which they are used. High end integration schemes, sometimes referred to as multichip modules (MCM) or single chip modules (SCM), normally include at least one integrated circuit chip which is mounted to an insulating substrate. The insulating substrate, which may be ceramic, for example, has one or more wiring layers and thus provides a medium for electrical connections between chips (on an MCM) and/or between modules (for MCM or SCM). The wiring layers of the substrate are terminated at each of the top and bottom surfaces of the substrate in an array of I/O pads for interfacing to the chip and to a circuit board or other higher level module. The I/O pads may be a part of a controlled collapse chip contract (C4), ball grid array (BGA) or other connection scheme.
Substrates are typically tested prior to chip attachment in order to locate wiring errors or manufacturing defects. Shown in FIG. 1 is an exemplary substrate tester 10. The substrate tester 10 includes a supporting base 12, upon which is mounted positioning means 14, upon which is mounted an I/O contact assembly 16. Disposed above the I/O contact assembly 16 is probe assembly 18 and positioning means 20. The substrate to be tested is received by the I/O contact assembly 16. The positioning means 14 can move the x-y location (e.g. horizontal position) of the I/O contact assembly 16 for aligning the I/O contact assembly 16 with the probe assembly 18. The positioning means 20 can move the probe assembly 18 in the z-direction (e.g. vertically) to raise and lower the probe assembly 18 with respect to the I/O contact assembly 16. Controllers 22 provide signals to control the movement of positioning means 14 and 20, apply test signals to the substrate through the I/O contact assembly 16 and/or probe assembly 18 and measure the results.
With reference to FIG. 2, there is shown in further detail a portion of an exemplary conventional probe 30 for testing a substrate 26 that has an array of I/O pads 28. The probe 30 forms a part of the probe assembly 18 shown in FIG. 1 and has an array of probe pins 24 arranged to individually contact the I/O pads 28. The I/O contact assembly 16 contacts the I/O pads (not visible in FIG. 2) on the underside of the substrate 26. In order to test for shorts/opens in the substrate 26 predetermined voltage levels are selectively applied to the I/O pads on the underside of the substrate 26 via the I/O contact assembly 16; the output voltages at the I/O pads 28 are then measured by the probe 30.
The probe assembly 18 is an effective, but expensive means of testing substrates 30. Spacings between I/O pads 28 may be as small as 75 micrometers for state of the art substrates, and will likely be even smaller in the future. Thus, the spacing between the probe pins must be of a similarly small magnitude. Additionally, the accuracy to which the probe pins must be located within the probe 30 is extremely high. Such accuracies are quite difficult to achieve for machined or molded articles, and thus make the fabrication of the probe 30 and probe assembly 18 very expensive. Multiplying the expense is the need for a customized probe for each type of substrate tested (e.g. I/O pin array is very unlikely to be same for any two substrate designs). Additionally, aligning the probe to each substrate to be tested requires precise aligning means, such as an optical alignment system, which can add expense in terms of equipment cost an/or reduced throughput. If integrated into the substrate tester 10 such an alignment system significantly limits throughput. An alternative approach is to use a separate alignment system called a mapper, which speeds up processing time, but requires a greater equipment investment. Furthermore, changing the customized probes each time a different substrate is encountered also significantly limits tester throughput.
Shorting pads have been proposed as an alternative to the probe of FIG. 2, for the more limited purpose of testing for undesired opens in the substrate. A shorting pad can be formed from a conductive material which is placed across a plurality of the I/O pads in order to short them together during the test. Applicants have observed a variety of problems have occurred with the use of shorting pads. Breakage of substrates has been a problem with certain type of shorting pads, such as those relying on a piece of conductive cloth stretched across a supporting frame or block to make the connection between I/O pads, because the pressure required to provide acceptable electrical continuity has been excessive. Another alternative is to spread conductive paste on a substantially flat probe tip. However, the paste does not stay on the probe tip, thus requiring cleaning of each substrate tested and frequent reapplication of the paste to the probe tip. While conductive elastomer shorting pads have not resulted in breakage and are apparently cleaner than conductive paste, they have their own set of problems. The applicants have discovered that conductive elastomer shorting pads can leave behind a residue on the substrate which is not easily removed. The residue left behind can include metals, such as silver, which can cause reliability problems. Metals, particularly silver, can migrate over time, under certain voltage, temperature and humidity conditions, thereby forming dendritic growths which can bridge across conductors (e.g. such as I/O pads) which would otherwise be electrically isolated, thus shorting together the conductors. The residue can also include oil, such as silicone oil, which makes the I/O pads non-wettable, thus rendering the substrate unusable. The residue is extremely difficult to remove.
What is needed is a probe which overcomes the problems discussed hereinabove.

International Business Machines Corporation


A rf plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process is presented, wherein a precursor gas stream having a high helium content produces hard, wear resistant, hermetically sealing, high refractive index Diamond-Like-Carbon (DLC) coatings on numerous substrates at deposition rates of at least 0.4 .mu.m/hr. Internal pressures of 1 to 10 Torr and radio frequencies no higher than 100 kHz are employed. The process may be applied to both batch and linear production methods. Linear products such as optical fibers, capillary tubing, wires, and sheets can be coated in-line while minimizing the introduction of flaws on their surfaces and minimizing exacerbation of any pre-existing flaws. The effects of surface flaws can be minimized further by introducing a helium etch of the substrate surface prior to exposure to the DLC coating precursor gas mixture.

1. Field Of The Invention
The field of this invention is plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition of diamond-like-carbon (DLC) coatings applied to individual substrates, such as integrated chips, or to linear substrates such as fibers, wires, tubes, and sheets. In particular, methods are given which produce DLC coatings that can protect substrates, can function as hermetic coatings, and can be applied to individual and linear substrates.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Due to their hardness and wear resistance DLC films [A Grill, "Review of the tribology of diamond-like carbon,"Wear, 168 (1993) 143-153] are used as protective coatings with applications ranging from IR optics to cutting tools. In addition, because of their amorphous structure and lack of grain boundaries they can also act as hermetic coatings with applications ranging from vapor barriers coatings on plastics to protective coatings preventing the diffusion of small gas molecules into optical fibers. These advantages are particularly important when fibers are imbedded in an application without plastic jackets. An example would be optical fibers used in optical gyroscopes; as temperatures change DLC coatings keep the fiber from being damaged. Another usage is where tight windings for small, compact packaging is required, as in guided missile payout tethers.
A range of techniques have been developed to deposit these coatings, including magnetron sputtering, neutral atom beam, dc discharges, and radio frequency (rf) discharges. A. C. Evans, J. Franks and P. J. Revell, "Diamond-like carbon applied to bioengineering materials," Surface and Coating Technology, 47 (1991) 662-667, A Grill, V. Patel and B. Meyerson, "Tribological behavior of diamond-like carbon: effects of preparation conditions and annealing," Surface and Coatings Technology, 49 (1991) 530-536. Of these techniques, rf plasmas have been most widely used. The majority of work has been at 13.56 MHz, but work at lower frequencies, 2.3 to 3.75 MHG, has yielded similar results for given film compositions. Typical depositions employ hydrocarbon pressures ranging from 0.01 to 0.1 Torr and rf powers of about 1 W/cm.sup.2 over the cathode area. At higher pressures film quality deteriorates, i.e., hardness, wear resistance, and other useful properties are compromised.
Desirable film properties, such as hardness, scratch resistance and wear resistance, generally require that the film strongly adheres to the substrate. Plasma pretreatment has been reported in the literature as a technique to enhance film adhesion. In particular argon plasma etching has been used for substrate pretreatment before DLC film deposition. D. M. Grant, et. al., "Plasma assisted CVD for biomedical applications," Diamond and Related Materials, 1 (1992) 727-730. This pretreatment is limited, however, to pressures of less than 0.1 Torr. Experimental results at higher pressures, e.g., between 0.5 and 7.0 Torr, made in the present studies, demonstrated that argon pretreatment actually reduced film adhesion below that achieved using no argon pretreatment. Similar results were obtained by Bailey et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,661, where they found that the use of helium instead of argon yielded more thermally stable DLC films. We attribute this to better adherence of the helium diluted films over the argon diluted ones.
The quality of DLC coatings can be assessed by measuring the hardness, scratch resistance and wear resistance of the film. It was discovered that these properties correlate with a film's refractive index, which can be obtained using ellipsometry. Low refractive index films, typically with n in the range 1.78 to 1.85 measured with a wavelength of 675 nm, are soft, have low wear resistance and are easily scratched. Higher index films, with n up to 2.45, are hard and wear resistant and are difficult to scratch.
Linear products such as optical fibers, capillary tubing, wires or sheets, present particular coating problems for the present state of the art. Coatings applied at or near atmospheric pressures are relatively soft. To produce DLC coatings with high hardness, low pressure must be used (high vacuum). This is emphasized in Bailey et al., for example, wherein all the improved depositions, even with helium as the diluting gas, were performed at 20 mTorr or 0.020 Torr. The description indicates the processes described in the patent could be up to about 1000 mTorr, i.e. about 1 Torr. These pressures are still low for the kind of throughputs necessary in most commercial applications.
Due to the difficult problem of obtaining relatively high vacuums in an in-line manufacturing system--e.g., when an optical fiber is drawn through a DLC deposition system--linear substrates must be coated at very slow deposition rates. The high vacuum requirement can cause the introduction of flaws, or the further opening of existing microscopic imperfections, on the substrate's surface as the linear product is drawn through a tight-fitting entry gate into the low-pressure deposition areas, or through multiple gates into increasingly lower pressure areas until the deposition area is reached. Thus the prior art even in Bailey et al. are operating at pressures below what would be good for commercial applications, particularly for linear products such as optical fibers.
Another feature common to current prior art is the use of high frequency sources for the rf fields assisting the plasma formation. In Ovshinsky et at, U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,183, the operating radio frequency is typically 13.56 MHz and is recommended as being from above 0.1 MHz, i.e. above 100 kHz. It has been found that frequencies well below the prior art minimum provide particular benefits in conjunction with the higher pressures described below leading to higher deposition rates than expected.

Method of producing diamond-like-carbon coatings


A helmet locking device that allows a rider to securely lock the helmet to a supporting structure, such as a motorcycle. The device includes a mounting bracket configured to conform to and fit around a tubular structure on the motorcycle. The device also includes an anchoring member that is mounted on to the helmet. The mounting bracket and the anchoring member include elements that allow them to be slidably coupled to each other and secured by a locking element thus preventing the removal and theft of the helmet.

Motorcycle riding is popular, and people buy motorcycles out of a passion for the product or lifestyle. Increasingly, there are also riders that are motivated to ride motorcycles for practical reasons such as ease of commute. All of these incentives to ride have made motorcycles a popular means of transportation and recreation. Motorcycle riding also requires some safety measures that the rider must take. There are plenty of essential motorcycle gear that can boost safety, and key among them is the helmet. Wearing a helmet while riding is universally becoming a legal requirement.
A motorcycle helmet is as important a part of the motorcycle as any other component. Thus, carrying a helmet has brought on the issue of what to do with the helmet after parking the motorcycle in a public place. In the absence of a suitable means to secure the helmet to the motorcycle, riders will carry the helmet with them or in some cases leave them with the motorcycle. Carrying the helmet with a person is inconvenient and leaving the helmet unsecured with the motorcycle poses the problem of theft. To that extent, motorcycle enthusiasts and manufacturers have sought to find ways to theft-proof the helmet when left with the motorcycle.
Several approaches have been taken to store the helmet with the motorcycle. Some approaches use a cable and lock design where a cable may be looped through the helmet strap or another opening on the helmet. However, there are drawbacks to this design because the cable or the strap can be cut through, the device is unsightly, and it also needs to be stored away when not in use. Another approach has been to mount a lock device with a D-ring directly onto the motorcycle but the means of attaching the helmet to this lock either requires removably attaching an anchor that can attach to some part of the helmet and then locked into the D-ring or the helmet chin strap can be put through the D-ring. These are not very secure and also do not allow the helmet to rest properly, causing damage to the motorcycle or the helmet itself.
Thus, there remains a need for a device that makes it possible for riders to conveniently store their helmets with the motorcycle in a way that makes its theft difficult and also the helmet and the motorcycle are not damaged when locking the helmet. The present invention addresses the need for an improved device for securely locking a helmet to a vehicle, such as a motorcycle.

Device to securely lock a helmet to a supporting structure


A motor having a lead screw is provided, the motor including a motor body, a lead screw connected to an output axis of the motor body to reciprocally move to a horizontal direction, a ball-shaped joint member connected to a distal end of the lead screw, and a coupling member coupling the lead screw to the ball-shaped joint member, whereby the coupling member is prevented from being disengaged by heat-sealing a surface insertedly coupled by the coupling member of the joint member.

1. Field of the Invention
The teachings in accordance with exemplary and non-limiting embodiments of this disclosure relate generally to a screw joint coupling structure of an intelligent stepping motor.
2. Description of Related Art
Concomitant with recent increased interest in vehicle safety, various head lamp control devices have been proposed configured to adjust an illumination angle of a vehicle head lamp, whereby illumination of direction to which a driver turns can be further increased when the driver drives a vehicle in the night.
In general, an angle adjustment device using a motor operation is used to change an angle of a head lamp on a vehicle, where a distal end of a motor is provided with a lead screw joint for joint connection to adjust an illumination direction of the head lamp by moving an angle adjustment unit.
A distal end of the lead screw installed at the distal end of the motor is fixed by a ball-shaped joint member using a spring pin. That is, the lead screw is formed with a first pin hole, and a second pin hole is formed at a coupling position of the ball-shaped joint member to allow the spring pin to be press-fitted into the first and second pin holes, and the ball-shaped joint member is fixed by being heat sealed.
However, the coupling structure thus described suffers from a disadvantage in that operation efficiency decreases due to a 2-step assembly process of a heat sealing process and a spring pin press-fitting process for coupling the frequently operating ball-shaped joint member to a screw joint. Another disadvantage is that a frequent movement may be generated at the coupling area to prevent a reciprocal feeding operation of the lead screw from being accurately realized, in a case a fine gap is formed at a spring pin press-fitting area.


Apparatus and methods for calibrating a thermal proximity sensor are disclosed. Thermal responses from a thermal proximity sensor are used to sense the instantaneous distance between the sensor and a medium over which the sensor is moved, in a data storage system. Sensing the instantaneous distance results in detection of topographical variations on the medium. Calibration techniques for the sensor are disclosed herein and involve, in one aspect, using primarily electrical measurements to calibrate the sensor; and in another aspect, varying the distance between the sensor and the medium, obtaining actual thermal responses from the sensor, and using the actual responses (via direct comparison or curve fitting) to calibrate the sensor. In one embodiment, the sensor is a magnetoresistive access element used to access data on the medium.

Thermal proximity imaging or sensing is a technique by which topographical variations (e.g., asperities, projections, recesses, etc.) on a surface of a medium can be detected and characterized by monitoring the thermal response of a sensor in motion relative to the surface. As disclosed in the above-identified U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,110, a sensor, possibly a magnetoresistive access element used to access data on a data storage medium, is heated using a known bias current. The Joule effect heat induced in the sensor by the bias current varies when topographical variations on the surface pass by the sensor during the relative movement between the sensor and the surface. Because the topographical variations vary the distance ("height" or "gap") between the sensor and the surface, and because the heat transferred from the sensor varies as a function of this distance, measuring or monitoring the temperature change of the sensor is a useful technique for identifying the location and character of the topographical variations on the medium.
Thermal proximity sensing ("TPS") is a very sensitive and reliable indicator of disk surface topography. It can serve as an imaging tool, defect detector and a sensitive indicator of head dynamics. Thermal proximity sensing has been shown to be a useful tool for "in situ" measurement of disk topography and for defect detection. It is a non-invasive technique using the variation of temperature of the sensor element with gap spacing. Sensitivity is in the sub-nanometer range for height, and thermal response is in the MHz range for current head geometries and bias current arrangements. However, thermal proxirnity sensing is not an intrinsically self-calibrating method and, therefore, for certain demanding applications, a technique for providing calibrated, quantitative height information is an important requirement.
For qualitative applications such as visually inspecting the medium surface for topographical features, reliance on an uncalibrated TPS image is often sufficient. However, for more demanding applications such as thermal glide screening for large defects, calibration of the thermal response to the distance between the sensor and the surface is important. Unlike magnetic measurements of head-disk spacing in which the signal amplitude varies exponentially with height and recorded wavelength (in accordance with the Wallace Spacing Law), TPS responses are head-dependent and require calibration. It has been observed that thermal responses can vary by a factor of two or more for a sampling of nominally identical suspension-mounted heads. Thus, calibration is required to make estimates of height with greater accuracy than this factor of two.
Therefore, to provide quantitatively accurate images of topographical variations on a surface over which a TPS sensor is to be moved, techniques for calibrating the sensor are required. The calibration techniques should support sensors designed for non-invasive, in-situ measurement of topography in storage systems, and should therefore, preferably, not require any particular, non-standard use or manipulation of the surface itself.

Calibration apparatus and methods for a thermal proximity sensor


A dual-mode detector which has phase-detection and phase-and-frequency-detection modes of operation, each mode of operation having the same gain. The detector includes a detection and feedback circuit for detecting phase and frequency differences, and for generating first and second feedback signals for controlling the voltage-controlled oscillator in response to the phase and frequency differences. A mode-switching circuit switches the detection and feedback circuit between the phase-detection and the phase-and-frequency-detection modes of operation. A programmable delay circuit delays signals from the mode-switching circuit and provides delayed signals to the detection and feedback circuit. Finally, an optional edge detection circuit converts predetermined data signals to a format recognizable by the detection and feedback circuit.

The present invention relates to phase-locked loop circuitry, and more specifically to a phase-and-frequency mode/phase mode detector with the same gain in both modes.
Phase-locked loop (PLL) circuits are widely used in electronic systems for clock recovery, frequency synthesis, and many other applications. PLL circuits are discussed in the following references:
1. "Phaselock Techniques", by Floyd M. Gardner, John Wiley & Sons, 1979.
2. Phase-locked Loops-Theory, Design, and Applications, by Dr. Roland E. Best, McGraw-Hill, 1984.
These references are hereby incorporated by reference.
A phase detector is usually required to compare the phase difference between a PLL clock signal and a reference signal. The requirements of a phase detector are determined by its application. For example, in a PLL circuit for frequency synthesis, the phase detector must also be able to detect frequency differences before measuring phase differences. However, in other applications, a phase-only detector may be required if the input reference signal is not a periodic waveform.
For example, for clock recovery in the read channel of a disk drive, a PLL circuit must lock to a crystal clock source during the initial power-up period or during the period in which the drive is not reading data from the disk. Since it is possible to have the PLL circuit driven out of frequency lock by a write-splice, it is important for the PLL circuit to be able to detect both phase and frequency difference during those periods. When the disk drive starts reading data, the PLL circuit has to remain locked at the crystal clock frequency. If the industry standard Modified Frequency Modulation (MFM) encoding scheme is employed, the frequency of the data may vary by a factor of two. Since the rising edge of the data pulse is located at the center of a bit cell and the rising edge of the clock pulses are located at the beginning of a bit cell, the frequency of the PLL clock signal must be twice the data rate. Thus, to avoid locking to the sub-harmonics of the crystal frequency, a phase-only detector must be used when the drive is reading data from the disk.
A common solution to the problem is to switch between two phase detectors in the PLL circuit: a phase-only detector and a phase-and-frequency detector. However, it is difficult to design a PLL circuit with two phase detectors, since the gains of the detectors may not be the same. Consequently, a complicated circuit may be required to compensate for the difference in detector gains.
Therefore, it would be desirable to produce a phase detector which may be used for both phase-only and phase-and-frequency operation and whose gain does not change when switched from one mode to the other.

Phase-and-frequency mode/phase mode detector with the same gain in both modes


An inclined ramp is provided for practicing jumps and starts for track and field events. The inclined ramp includes a rigid inclined surface and is usable as part of two different training methods. The training method for jumps involves positioning the ramp near the landing zone with a lower end thereof nearest the approach area, while the training method for starts involves reversing the ramp so that the athlete""s feet are on the higher upper end and the hands are on the low end.

The invention relates to a training device and training methods for practicing and improving track and field events and in particular, for practicing starts and jumps for such events.
In conventional track and field training, numerous practice repetitions are performed to improve performance. For those running events which start from a typical starters stance, it is important to practice starts since the ability to quickly transition upwardly from the starters stance to the running position can significantly improve performance. Similarly for jump events, it is important to maximize jumping abilities, particularly the pushoff from the takeoff or launch area, to improve the overall performance of the jumping event being performed. Examples of such jumping events include high jump, long jump and pole vault.
The invention relates to a training aid which improves the quality of practice repetitions for both running and jumping events and results in improved competition times when the running and jumping events are performed without the training aid. The training aid is a portable inclined ramp which is positioned within the start area for sprint training and the launch or takeoff area for jump training. The inclined ramp has an inclined surface covered with a track material and spikes which temporarily anchor the ramp in place on existing track material during training periods.
When used for sprint starts, the ramp faces toward the runway wherein starter blocks are placed on the ramp. When the athlete is in the start stance, the hands are lower than the feet which increases forward lean and improves the quality of training. For jumping events, the inclined ramp is placed next to the event apparatus such as the long jump pit or the high jump equipment, with the ramp facing toward the approach runway. The athlete runs to the inclined ramp and plants their push off foot on the inclined surface. The inclined ramp again improves the quality of training performed.
Therefore, a single training aid is provided which is usable for both start and jump training to improve competition performance.
Other objects and purposes of the invention, and variations thereof, will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.

Inclined ramp for track and field training and training methods therefor


Methods of orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) techniques generally performed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for nanomaterials using dynamical theory is presented. Methods disclosed may use a wide angle convergent beam electron diffraction for performing OIM by generating a diffraction pattern having at least three diffraction discs that may provide additional information that is not available otherwise.

Grain size statistics, texture, and grain boundary distribution are microstructural characteristics that influence materials properties. These properties include strength, resistivity, and magnetic susceptibility. The microstructural characteristics are usually derived from an orientation map which displays crystallographic orientations of grains in the microstructure. Orientation maps are obtained by performing orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) or a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is generally performed for materials with grain sizes greater than 60 nm. However, the accuracy of the orientation maps reduces when the grain sizes are less than 60 nm, which is the case with nanomaterials. In these situations, TEMs are used to obtain orientation maps. The OIM techniques are generally performed using a TEM for nanomaterials. These techniques use calculations from the kinematical diffraction theory due to its simplicity. In practice, the electron diffraction in TEM does not necessarily follow a behavior predicted by the kinemetical theory.
In literature, four methods have been proposed for performing orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) using TEMs: (1) conical scan method, (2) microbeam spot pattern method, (3) Kikuchi method, and (4) precession method. The first three methods provide correct orientation maps in some cases, however, they have limited applicability for a routine use. Others have applied the conical scan method to a platinum thin film sample but failed to obtain correct orientation maps. (Darbal, A., Barmak, K., Nuhfer, T., Dingley, D. J., Meaden, G., Michael, J., Sun, T., Yao, B., & Coffey, K. R. (2009). Orientation imaging of nanocrystalling platinum films in the TEM. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 15, (2), 1232-1233.). Others have discussed drawbacks of the microbeam spot pattern method. (Zaefferer, S. & Wu, G. (2008). Development of a TEM based orientation microscopy system. In Application of Texture Analysis, Proceedings of International Conference on Texture of Materials—15, pp. 221-228. New Jersey: Wiley-American Ceramic Society). These have also argued that the Kikuchi method has limited applicability to nanometerials (Wu, G. & Zaefferer, S. (2009) Ultramicroscopy, 109, (11), 1317-1325.). Additionally, the Kikuchi method does not accurately determine grain direction in thinner materials because of limitations to the method. Advances in TEM orientation microscopy by combination of dark-field conical scanning and improved image matching. They also attributed the limited applicability to weak intensities of Kikuchi lines due to lattice defects and small grain sizes.
The latest method, known as the precession method, generates spot diffraction patterns in a modified TEM setup requiring additional hardware. The TEM must be modified with the additional proprietary hardware, which is expensive and time consuming to change the TEM back to its unaltered state for other TEM imaging. Subsequently, the precession method applies calculations from the kinemetical diffraction theory to produce orientation maps. This is a relatively new method and a critical evaluation of this method on different material samples is due. However, there are potential problems with this method. First, the physical modifications with additional hardware to the TEM add to the cost of the setup and are often difficult to procure. In addition, authors treated the precession diffraction patterns as the kinemetical diffraction patterns. This treatment may not be correct for certain cases.

Orientation imaging using wide angle convergent beam diffraction in transmission electron microscopy


An attention calling apparatus operates in the following manner. That is, eyes distribution pattern is generated from the behavior of the eyes of the vehicle driver captured by a camera in a predetermined time, and driver's condition is estimated based on the distribution pattern. Further, concentration of the driver on driving is estimated based on the comparison between the distribution pattern and the stored information of distribution pattern. When the distribution pattern indicates that the degree of concentration on driving is high, the driving operation is stored in storage in association with the concentration degree. When the operation situation fulfills a notification provision condition, driver's attention is called depending on the concentration degree.

Conventionally, the control situation of an instructor of the driving training school (in Japan) in an appointed road was stored as a standard driving model, and, based on a comparison between stored driving model and current control situation, an attention calling notification for a vehicle driver is provided by, for example, an attention calling apparatus disclosed in Japanese patent document JP-A-2004-157880.
However, when the above apparatus was in operation, a vehicle driver in a concentrated condition on driving who was intentionally decreasing the inter-vehicle distance on a congested road was distracted by the notification of attention calling from the apparatus whenever the driving operation by the driver is out of the standard driving model regardless of the regardless of the mind and body condition of the vehicle driver or of the traffic situation. In other words, the attention calling was provided either at an awkward timing such as too frequent attention calling in an unnecessary situation to be only serving as an annoyance, or a lack of attention calling at an attention required situation.

Database apparatus, attention calling apparatus and driving support apparatus


A method and system are described for performing phase unwrapping integrations in a phase-shifting interferometric profiling operation. The disclosed technique uses one characteristic of modulation or slope distributions to segment the modulation or slope histogram into a plurality of sections. The principal phase values are divided into a plurality of groups in accordance with corresponding modulation or slope histogram sections. The phase unwrapping integrations are performed in such an order that the areas with a high probability of containing a 2.pi. discontinuity are contained in the last group integrated. Thus, inaccuracies due to 2.pi. discontinuities do not "propagate" to earlier-computed phase values computed by the phase unwrapping algorithm.

The invention relates to interferometers for profiling a test surface, and particularly to an interferometric integration technique that avoids propagation of phase errors due to 2.pi. discontinuities occurring in small areas of the test surface to the other areas thereof.
By way of background, so-called phase-shifting interferometry techniques are utilized by optical interferometers to compute the phase of the interference pattern produced by shifting the optical path difference (OPD) between a reference surface and a surface being tested.
In phase-shifting interferometry, the phase distribution across the interferogram is measured "modulo 2.pi.". In other words, the measured phase distribution will contain 2.pi. discontinuities which can only be eliminated as long as the slope of the wavefront being measured is small enough that the phase difference is less than .pi. between adjacent pixels of the detector array. If the latter condition is met, the phase discontinuities can be removed by adding or subtracting 2.pi. to the measured phase so that the resulting phase difference between adjacent pixels is always less than .pi.. The phase difference referred to, which must be less than .pi. between adjacent detector pixels, includes phase errors caused by electronic noise. Electronic noise includes "computational noise" due to the limited number of binary bits used to make the phase calculations according to the phase-shifting interferometric techniques utilized. Numerous phase-shifting interferometry techniques and apparatus are known, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,139 issued Jan. 27, 1987 by Wyant et al. entitled "Optical Profiler Using Improved Phase-Shifting Interferometry", incorporated herein by reference.
It frequently is desirable to be able to test a rough surface having portions so steep that the measured phase difference between adjacent pixels (including phase difference due to the effects of electronic computational noise) is greater than .pi.. In this case the 2.pi. ambiguities cannot be eliminated by simple addition or subtraction of 2.pi. to the "measured" phase. Conventional so-called "phase unwrapping techniques", wherein the values computed modulo 2.pi. are matched by adding or subtracting multiples of 2.pi. so as to make the "unwrapped" phase continuous, are not useable on such steep portions of the surface being profiled. The sequential nature of known phase unwrapping techniques has the consequence that if an error is introduced into the phase by misjudging the number of multiples of 2.pi. added or subtracted to the integrated phase, that error "propagates" to all subsequently integrated values of phase, and hence to the corresponding surface profile heights of the surface being tested. Thus, 2.pi. discontinuities exist in the integrated surface profile. (In some cases, other methods, such as the two-wavelength technique of U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,489 (Wyant et al.) or the sub-Nyquist method described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,584 (Greivenkamp, Jr.) can be used to eliminate 2.pi. discontinuities.) As a practical matter, the computed and displayed surface profile of a surface with steep portions generally is much less accurate than is desired.
There is an unmet need for a single-wavelength technique to prevent propagation of errors introduced at locations of 2.pi. discontinuities on a surface from being included in or "propagating to" all subsequent phase calculations for the remaining area of the surface.

Interferometric integration technique and apparatus to confine 2.pi. discontinuity


A hydraulic valve tappet for an internal-combustion engine has a high-pressure valve through which an electroviscous fluid flows as a function of an electric voltage. In this case, a piston is displaced which is connected with a charge cycle valve so that the valve stroke is continuously variable. Using an electronic control device, the valve stroke is influenced as a function of parameters of the internal-combustion engine.

This invention relates to a valve tappet for an internal-combustion engine and, more particularly, to a hydraulic valve tappet for an internal-combustion engine, having a housing which is disposed in a receiving device and having a piston which is displaceably guided in this housing. The piston is connected with a charge cycle valve.
Tappets of this type are used for the transmission of forces acting between the camshaft and the intake and the exhaust valves. In modern high-performance internal-combustion engines, cup-shaped valve tappets are frequently used which are disposed in the cylinder head to be directly displaceable between the cams and the valves. These are usually connected to the oil circulating system and cause a hydraulic valve clearance compensation which renders respective servicing operations superfluous, as known, for example, from the German Patent Document DE-37 24 655.
For improving the torque, the emission, the fuel consumption and the idling quality, it is known to design the valve stroke and/or the valve overlap to be variable. A cam-controlled valve tappet which influences the valve stroke using a hydraulic arrangement is disclosed, for example, in the German Patent Document DE-36 25 627. The tappet shown there is in an operative connection with a charge cycle valve by way of a hydraulic space. For the variation of the valve stroke, a portion of the hydraulic fluid can be discharged from the hydraulic space by a control valve.
A survey of variable valve actuating mechanisms is disclosed in SAE Paper 891674, "A Survey of Variable Valve Actuation Technology".
From the journal Automotive Engineering, Volume 91, Number 11, 1983, Pages 61-66, it is known to construct a valve, through which an electroviscous fluid (EVF) flows, of several cylinder shells which are arranged coaxially with respect to one another and which are spaced with respect to one another by radially extending struts. This valve is inserted as a piston into a hydraulic cylinder through which an EVF flows. This fluid flows axially through the cylinder shells in an unimpaired manner so that the piston remains in its position. By the feeding of an electric field, the viscosity of the EVF can be changed arbitrarily within a very short time period from liquid to solid. In this case, the flow resistance between the cylinder shells increases so that the piston is displaced by the afterflow of fluid into the hydraulic cylinder.
From the German Patent Document DE-36 09 861, it is known to utilize the two electrodes and the EVF-layer disposed in-between as a movement sensor for the control and regulation of a hydraulic EVF-system (Oppermann effect). As a function of the flow rate of the EVF between the electrodes, a flow signal is generated in the electrodes which is fed to an electronic circuit which supplies a corresponding output voltage to the electrodes and therefore, in turn, affects the viscosity. The movement sensor therefore, at the same time, represents the control element for influencing the movement.
There is therefore needed a hydraulic valve tappet for an internal-combustion engine by means of which the valve stroke can be varied during the operation of the internal-combustion engine.
This need is met by a hydraulic valve tappet for an internal-combustion engine, having a housing which is disposed in a receiving device and having a piston which is displaceably guided in this housing. The piston is connected with a charge cycle valve. A rigid hydraulic high-pressure valve is fastened in the housing. A variable operating space is formed between the high-pressure valve and the piston, which is filled with a fluid. The viscosity of the fluid can be changed by the feeding of an electric voltage.
This valve tappet permits a continuous variation of the valve stroke of a charge cycle valve by the arrangement of a rigid high-pressure valve, that is, a high-pressure valve which has no moving parts, and of an operating space which is formed between this high-pressure valve and the displaceable piston and is filled with a fluid the viscosity of which can be changed by the feeding of an electric voltage.
Such an electroviscous fluid (EVF) can be changed with respect to its viscosity by means of the electric voltage from "liquid" to "hard". A voltage which is fed to the high-pressure valve builds up an electric field which penetrates the fluid and causes it to solidify. For varying the valve stroke, the fluid, when a cam moves onto the valve tappet, is at first liquid so that the piston is displaced by the transmitted forces and in the process fluid is displaced out of the operating space through the high-pressure valve. When the desired valve stroke is reached, the fluid solidifies into a firm medium and, because of the short switching times for the viscosity change (milliseconds), the now rigid connection between the cam and the piston opens the charge cycle valve.
In an advantageous development, the displaced fluid is pushed into a compensating space formed between the high-pressure valve and a housing bottom which is acted upon by the cam, so that the fluid will remain inside the valve tappet; its volume is therefore low. When the cam moves off the housing bottom, the viscosity is changed to "liquid", and a spring arranged between the housing bottom and a sealing disk covering the compensation space displaces the fluid through the high-pressure valve back into the operating space.
The remaining fluid inside the valve tappet avoids the problems which normally occur in the case of oil-hydraulic tappets as a result of foamed oil, such as tappet rattling and resulting noises which simulate combustion noises at or above the knock limit to a knock control.
The required electronic voltage is transmitted in a no-contact manner by induction windings inserted into the valve tappet housing and into a tappet guide. An electronic control device controls the electric voltage and thus the valve stroke. Because of the Oppermann effect, the tappet is self-regulating since, when the fluid is displaced through the cylinder shells, a voltage is induced which is a function of the displacement rate and which transmits the actual valve stroke to the switching circuit. For certain parameters of the internal-combustion engine, such as the load, the rotational speed, and the oil temperature, optimal valve strokes are stored in characteristic diagrams in the control device. Thus, as a function of the parameter, a valve stroke can be implemented in each case which is optimal, for example, with respect to a minimal emission of pollutants or a maximal performance.
The control may take place individually for each charge cycle valve. In the case of an internal-combustion engine equipped with, for example, two intake valves per cylinder, the two valves can open successively with different strokes in phase-shifted manner. Furthermore, for a low, consumption-optimized power range of the internal-combustion engine, one of the two intake valves may be disconnected in that the adjusting path of the piston in the housing is selected to be as long as the maximal cam pitch, and the viscosity at the point of the maximal cam pitch is adjusted to "solid".
The tappet can be used, for example, as a cup tappet in a displaceable manner directly between the cam and the charge cycle valve, or it may be used as a stationarily disposed tappet. In the case of the stationary arrangement, for example, as a base for a rocker lever or rocker arm, the tappet guide and the induction windings will not be necessary because, in this case, the high-pressure valve is connected directly to the electronic control device.
Irrespectively, the valve tappet causes an automatic valve clearance compensation in every case, for example, in the case of a positive control. This results in lower manufacturing and servicing expenditures.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Hydraulic valve tappet for an internal-combustion engine


Excess flow shutoff valve comprising a valve body, a valve plug, a partition, and an activation component where the valve plug, the partition, and activation component are disposed within the valve body. A suitable flow restriction is provided to create a pressure difference between the upstream end of the valve plug and the downstream end of the valve plug when fluid flows through the valve body. The pressure difference exceeds a target pressure difference needed to activate the activation component when fluid flow through the valve body is higher than a desired rate, and thereby closes the valve.

Excess flow shutoff valves are useful for automatically isolating pressurized lines when a component in the line is breached. Specifically, excess flow shutoff valves can be used if the line is under internal pressure and a component downstream of the valve fails or if the line is under external pressure and a component upstream of the valve fails.
Related disclosures include U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,458, U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,511, U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,081, U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,057, U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,599, U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,742, U.S. Pat. No. 6,916,362, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,703,472.
Industry desires excess flow shutoff valves suitable for use at high temperatures, e.g. between 600° C. and 1400° C.
Industry desires a compact and economical excess flow shutoff valve that can operate at higher temperatures than those that are currently available commercially.
Industry desires reliable excess flow shutoff valves that will not trip prematurely and will trip consistently at target flow rates.
Industry desires easily modified excess flow shutoff valves that can be easily modified to vary the target flow rate at which the valve trips.
Industry desires an excess flow shutoff valve that is sensitive to relatively small excess flow.
Some isolation devices intended for use at high temperatures are very large, primarily to keep the working parts isolated from the process fluid and at a lower temperature. Industry desires an excess flow shutoff valve which is small and can be installed in-line.
Industry desires an excess flow shutoff valve that has low pressure drop through the valve during normal operating conditions.
Industry desires an excess flow shutoff valve that provides a tight seal upon closing even when the process fluid contains debris.
Industry desires the capability to trip an excess flow shutoff valve on demand.


A processing machine (1) has a machine frame (2) and a processing element (3) arranged so as to be movable relative thereto via a drive shaft (5). The drive shaft (5) is coupled with the machine frame (2) and the processing element (3) by means of a floating-bearing arrangement (13). The floating-bearing arrangement (13) has at least two rolling-contact bearings (16, 19, 22, 24), with a first rolling-contact bearing (19, 24), coupled with the drive shaft (5), and a second rolling-contact bearing (16, 22), arranged on the machine frame (2), and a common connecting bearing shell (15, 25, 26). The connecting bearing shell (15, 25, 26) supports the rolling-contact bodies of the first and second rolling-contact bearings (16, 19, 22, 24) and is driven.

The invention relates to a processing machine having a machine frame and a processing element arranged so as to be movable relative thereto via at least one drive shaft. The drive shaft is coupled to the machine frame and the processing element by means of a floating-bearing arrangement.
The invention also relates to a floating-bearing arrangement having a first rolling-contact bearing and a second rolling-contact bearing, in particular for use in such a processing machine, and to a method of mounting a rotatably driven shaft with such a floating-bearing arrangement.
In sanding machines, for example, a pressure element which can be driven in an oscillating manner and is intended for pressing abrasive onto a workpiece is supported on a machine frame by means of one or more drive shafts. The pressure element and the machine frame extend in a longitudinal direction at right angles to the delivery direction of the workpiece to be processed. The processing element, i.e., the pressure element, and the machine frame expand to a different degree due to the heating which occurs during the processing. This effect is partly intensified owing to the fact that, in sanding machines, for example, the pressure element, is made of aluminum in order to save weight, and the machine frame is made of steel. Such a sanding machine is disclosed, for example, by EP 0 543 947 B1.
If the processing element is rotatably attached to the machine frame by means of linear rolling-contact bearings, on account of the thermally induced linear expansions of the machine frame and of the processing element, relatively large loads of the linear rolling-contact bearings can occur in the longitudinal direction of the processing element and of the machine frame.

Processing machine and floating-bearing arrangement for it


A method, system, and computer program for generating a visual representation provides the capability to illustrate the various combinations of settings quickly and efficiently. A method for generating a visual representation comprises providing a plurality of predefined visual representations, accepting a plurality of values of a plurality of parameters, and generating a visual representation representing effects of the parameters based on the predefined visual representations and on the values of the parameters.

Color printers utilizing various technologies have become quite common. Many such color printers connect to, and are controlled by computer systems, and provide the capability to print color documents from the computer system. Software known as a driver controls the printing of such documents by sending commands and data to a printer. Typically, a separate driver is provided for each type of printer connected to a computer system, although some drivers have the capability of controlling more than one type of printer.
Many printer drivers provide the capability for a user to set a number of parameters that control aspects of the printing process and features of the printed document. For example, parameters such as print quality and color balance are relatively common. So that the user can visualize the effect of various settings, many printer drivers attempt to display an impressionistic mimic of the user's print choices. The goal is to imply to the user the relative differences between various selections. Typically, each driver for each type of printer is hardcoded with mimics for each combination of settings that are specific to that type of printer. This requires each printer driver to be modified for each type of printer and also requires relatively large amounts of memory to store the predefined mimics.
A need arises for a technique by which mimics that illustrate the various combinations of printer settings may be generated quickly and efficiently, so that mimics for each combination of settings do not have to be included in each printer driver.

Abstract parameter print mode mimic generation


An ink jet ink is provided which contains at least a coloring material and a water-soluble organic solvent, where the water-soluble organic solvent contains a branched alkanediol having hydroxyl groups at both terminals of its main chain and at least one of a compound represented by the following general formula (1) and a compound represented by the following general formula (2):R1-[A]-R2  General formula (1)

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ink jet ink, an ink jet recording method, an ink cartridge, a recording unit and an ink jet recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
When images are formed by using an ink jet recording method, there may come about a state that ink is not ejected for a certain time period from ejection orifices of a recording head in a process of scanning of the recording head. That is, intermittent ejection stability may be not well achievable.
In order to resolve such a problem, inks as shown below are proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. H03-255171 discloses a report relating to an ink which contains an alkylene glycol having 7 or more carbon atoms. Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2000-297237 also discloses a report relating to an ink which contains an ethylene glycol type organic solvent. Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. H05-70726 further discloses a report relating to an ink which contains a dicarboxylic acid monoester.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2005-298813 discloses, as an ink which can keep recorded materials from curling and also can achieve ejection stability, a report relating to an ink which contains water-soluble compounds different in water-retentive force under environments of stated temperature and humidity. Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2007-39680 discloses, as an ink which can achieve ejection stability, a report relating to an ink which contains water, a coloring material, 1,5-pentanediol and a humectant or an ink having a property that it changes into a liquid from a gel or solid depending on conditions such as temperature and humidity.
About the conventional inks as above, the present inventors have ascertained how far they have the intermittent ejection stability. As the result, they have found the following. That is, these inks all intend to improve intermittent ejection stability in an environment of low temperature and low humidity as having conventionally been so aimed. Hence, these have been found to have no problem even where they are used in an ink jet recording apparatus of about 10 pL (picoliters) in ejection volume in an environment of, e.g., low temperature and low humidity, normal temperature and normal humidity, or normal temperature and low humidity. Stated specifically, these inks have been found to have no problem on the intermittent ejection stability in an environment of normal temperature and normal humidity, such as temperature 25° C. and relative humidity 60%, in an environment of normal temperature and low humidity, such as temperature 25° C. and relative humidity 20%, or in an environment of low temperature and low humidity, such as temperature 15° C. and relative humidity 10%. It should be noted that, the problem of the intermittent ejection stability resulting from the evaporation of water or the like hardly arises under a high-humidity (for example, relative humidity of 80 to 90%) irrespective to the temperature.

Ink jet ink, ink jet recording method, ink cartridge, recording unit and ink jet recording apparatus


A light-emitting element with improved emission efficiency is provided. The light-emitting element includes a light-emitting layer in which a first light-emitting layer and a second light-emitting layer are stacked in contact with each other over an anode, and a first substance serving as an emission center substance in the second light-emitting layer is the same as a main substance in the first light-emitting layer. Note that a second substance is added to the first light-emitting layer for stabilization of film quality, and a third substance serving as a host material to disperse the first substance serving as an emission center substance is included in the second light-emitting layer. In the light-emitting element, the second substance and the third substance are substances having energy gaps (or triplet energy) larger than the first substance.

A problem of drain of resources typified by oil is more realistic, and thus government policy and many measures are taken for environmental protection. On the other hand, on an individual level, more and more people are conscious of environmental protection, and more and more eco-friendly products are available in markets. New fields which we can call environmental market or environmental business are established.
Nevertheless, consumers tend to not accept low quality of life caused by eco-friendly products, and thus it is necessary for manufacturers to manufacture products that achieve high quality as well as resource saving, which must lead to increase in business competitiveness. Note that the term "resource saving" has two meanings. One is resource saving in manufacture cycle that is achieved by cutting wastes of materials or increasing duration period of products. The other is reducing consumption of energy resources in use of products, which is realized by improvement of fuel-efficiency and reduction of power consumption.
Further, organic EL televisions are widely known as the next generation displays after plasma televisions and liquid crystal televisions. Organic EL televisions use, as pixels, light-emitting elements in which a layer including an organic compound is interposed between electrodes and which emit light by supply of current to the light-emitting elements. Thus, organic EL televisions do not need extra space, backlights, which enables the production of extremely flat displays. Further, organic EL televisions have excellent visibility and high response speed. In addition, because organic EL televisions can readily display images with high contrast ratio, they are promising, next generation displays that can exhibit high quality images.
On the other hand, currently commercial organic EL televisions consume electric power about 1.5 times as much as liquid crystal televisions having the same size. It is considered that organic EL televisions can potentially realize lower power consumption than liquid crystal display televisions, but organic EL televisions are far from the level.
In recent years in which resource saving and energy saving are demanded, if organic EL televisions can realize their potential thoroughly and realize lower power consumption than liquid crystal televisions, the organic EL televisions must be very attractive by solving environmental issues and improving quality of life.
There are a wide variety of approaches to reduce power consumption. As for display devices using self-luminous light-emitting elements in pixels, e.g., organic EL televisions, increase in emission efficiency of such light-emitting elements contributes to the reduction of power consumption. Therefore, a large number of studies regarding improvement of emission efficiency of light-emitting elements have been made (Reference 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-227117).

Light-emitting element, light-emitting device and electronic device


A device for driving a plurality of hydraulic shift cylinders, especially shift cylinders for shifting gears of a twin-clutch transmission, includes a first slide valve having a control intake to which control pressure is applied, a system pressure intake to which system pressure is applied, two outlets and at least one return outlet, the one outlet being connected to the system pressure intake and the other outlet being connected to the return outlet, as desired, and a valve device connected to the outlets of the slide valve via which the shift cylinders may be selectively actuated.

The invention relates to a device for driving a plurality of hydraulic shift cylinders, especially shift cylinders for shifting gears of a twin-clutch transmission. The invention further relates to a hydraulic supply system for a twin-clutch transmission containing such a device.
An electro-hydraulic transmission control device with which hydraulic pressure may be applied to shift cylinders present on clutches, brakes and/or shift mechanisms of an automatic transmission is known from German Patent Application 101 439 29 A1. The components of the transmission control device are attached to a modular body in which flow paths are formed. Control valves that are mounted on the module body and configured, for example, as slide valves guide hydraulic fluid through the flow paths. The control valves are controlled by solenoid valves that are likewise mounted on the module body.
The structure of such transmission control devices is relatively complex. In particular, a plurality of control or slide valves and, for example, electromagnetically actuated control devices, is required to drive the positioning cylinders.

Device for driving a plurality of hydraulic shift cylinders and hydraulic supply system for a twin-clutch transmission

LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG


A networked computer arrangement and method for preparing entitled offerings to prospective brokers, buyers and bidders, by establishing an entitlement schema in an offering and bid collection computer system based on a contractual arrangement between the brokers, traders, and offeror; preparing an entitled offering through filtering the a master list according to the broker schema to include only information for items to which each broker is allowed to purchase: and, subsequently. but prior to receiving any bids, presenting via a user interface the entitled offerings to the prospective brokers such that each broker may review entitled offerings containing information regarding items being offered for sale on which the broker is entitled to bid, but are not allowed to view information regarding items to which each broker is not entitled to purchase.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic commerce and more particularly to conducting an interactive offer and bid collection over a computer network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior to the advent of electronic auctioning over computer networks or electronic commerce, auctions were held in a group of gathered bidders with an auctioneer. As shown in FIG. 1, an auction (1) is conducted on behalf of a seller (2) by an auctioneer (4). The auctioneer receives a list of items to be sold and possibly a minimum and/or reserve price for those items. During the auction, a plurality of bidders (6) place bids (5) under the guidance and control of the auctioneer (4). In some cases, multiple bidders (9) may pool (8) their bids, and the pooled bids (7) are submitted as a single bid with a combined quantity to the auctioneer (4).
The auctioneer enforces the rules of the auction, such as minimum bid price and quantities, minimum bid incrementing from the previous bid for a new bid, and time limits for placing bids. Auction bidders are typically qualified as to their ability to complete the purchase should their bid be the winning bid prior to entering the auction room.
Many online auctioning systems such as "priceline.com" and "mercata.com" have become very popular for individuals and businesses to use to take advantage of auctions at which they cannot be physically present. Such e-commerce auctions or online auctions are usually conducted over a specified period of time of opening and closing for bids, and are typically conducted under one of several well-known sets of rules or models. These common models include "Dutch" auctions, progressive auctions, "Yankee" auctions, single-bid auction, sealed bid auctions, reserve auctions, and hybrids of these types of auctions.
However, most sales offering and bid systems conducted by manufacturers of goods or service providers are conducted under a different set of procedures and processes. Turning to FIG. 2, a typical trader and broker system for offering and accepting bids is shown (20). In such a business-to-business ("B2B") offering and bidding process (20), a manufacturer or service provider (21) will notify one or more traders (24) of available products or services, quantities, and minimum acceptable bid values (22). The trader then provides offerings (23′) to one or more brokers (25), to  which the brokers may respond with bids (23).
In some cases, bids may be accepted for either partial lots or whole lots of offered products. These offerings (23′) and the corresponding bids (23) are collected by the trader, and the trader (24) makes a decision of which bids to accept. The traders (24) subsequently respond to the manufacturer or service provider (21) with actual orders or purchases (22).
Although the B2B offering and bid acceptance process may be conducted similarly to an auction, it is not an auction in the strict sense in that the order fulfillment, or bid acceptance, process is conducted usually by the trader at his discretion. For example, under a typical auction process, the highest qualified bidder may be defined as the bid winner. However, in a B2B offering and bid collection system, the trader may favor the second or third highest bid over the highest bid for the fact that the broker placing the second or third highest bid has preferred business arrangements, such as a longer history of purchasing from the trader or a history of larger volume purchases with the trader.
Brokers typically buy on speculation, and sell to end users. Brokers may sell to multiple retailers of products or services, or they may represent a single large retailer of a product or service.
Traders are typically commissioned sales professionals, and the structure of their commissions may vary depending on the quantities and the commodities or category of products being sold.
According to industry terminology, "Reseller Master Agreements" usually govern what a broker may purchase, which are enforced by the individual traders. For example, a particular broker may only have rights to purchase given commodities or categories of products within a certain geographical zone or region as defined by his Reseller Master Agreement with the manufacturer or service provider.
Further, traders may be restricted to handling specific commodities or categories of products and also may be restricted to certain localities. For example, a trader may specialize in furniture from a particular manufacturer, and may not be authorized to handle carpets or other textiles from the same manufacturer. This trader's expertise in furniture allows him to focus his knowledge and understanding into the market place for furniture. A trader may also be restricted as to the locality or geographical region in which his brokers may purchase gods, such as Europe, North America, or even more specific such as a particular state or city.
Thus, a particular broker may receive offers from multiple traders who represent a particular manufacturer or service provider. For example, a broker that represents a chain of computer stores may receive computer memory offers from a first broker, software upgrade offers from a second broker, and peripheral offers from yet a third broker, all of whom represent the same manufacturer. In response, this broker may bid for products or services in different categories, and must submit those bids to different traders based on the traders' commodities or categories of products that each trader handles.
As such, it is desirable not to present information to the traders or brokers which is irrelevant to the products or commodities for which they are entitled to purchase under their Reseller Master Agreement. For example, certain brokers and traders may be associated with geographical regions which are not allowed to receive certain products or services from the manufacturer because of regulatory or export controls. Additionally, certain contractual restrictions between the manufacturer and the trader or other traders and other brokers may establish territorial boundaries regarding products and services handled by the brokers and traders. Further, even though a broker may be entitled to receive offers for a particular product or service, it may not be desirable to indicate to that broker the total quantity available from the manufacturer, as having this knowledge may not encourage the broker to place his highest possible bid for the product or service.
Therefore, the available online auctioning systems are not appropriate in such B2B offering and bid collection systems. First, the available online auctioning systems represent a full auction under which certain rules dictate which bids will be automatically accepted so the system provides offering of available quantities, bid collection, bid rule enforcement, bid fulfillment, and bid acceptance functions under the rules of the auction. But, as previously discussed, B2B offerings and bid collections are not executed under such strict rules. Further, the available online auction systems are particularly adapted to placement of orders by multiples of bidders or pooled bidders, and do not favor the traditional interaction between traders and brokers. And, most online auctioning systems provide information as to last top bid ("bid to beat")and total quantities of goods available.
As such, the available online auction systems do not allow for the restriction and filtering of information which is conveyed from the offering party to the offered party to eliminate the presentation of information which is not relevant to the offered party's Reseller Master Agreement. This may not protect the confidentiality of total quantities available from the offering party, and may compromise the ability of the offering party to obtain the best possible bids for the goods offered.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an online business-to-business offering and bid collection system which is suitable for offering manufactured goods and/or services to potential purchasers or brokers. There is a need in the art for this system to provide for filtering or restriction of information about the offered good to such potential purchasers or brokers such that confidentiality requirements, regulatory and territorial requirements can be met.
Additionally, there is a need in the art for this system to be robust, dependable, secure, and adaptable for use with a wide array of manufactured goods such as electronics, consumer products, clothing and textiles, other large volume purchase goods, as well as real-time traded commodities such as electric power, water, and telecommunications and data communications bandwidth.

System and method for interactive offer system

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention is a motion training method. The motion of golf swing will be emphasized. In order to guide a golfer through a proper swing, his/her swing must be analyzed first. To analyze the swing, a set of frame photos will be needed.

1. U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,061, Nakashima, et al. Method and apparatus for producing an instructional video analyzing a golf swing.        2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,878, Welch, Golf swing analysis apparatus and method.        3. U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,585, Miyamoto, et al. Swing measurement method, golf swing analysis method, and computer program product.        4. United States Patent Application, 20040147330, DiMare, Mark, Swing fault-correction matrix.

Abstract: From those frame photos, the invented method will provide a rule based method to calculate the body mechanics/forces of the golfer. Once the body mechanics/forces are known, the system will then determine the swing is correct or incorrect. If the swing is incorrect, the system will then make suggestions to the golfer about how to correct his/her swing.


A sense amp and latch for sensing and latching data on a plurality of bit and inverse bit lines is provided. A sense amp power line which connects the sense amp to a ground line also decouples the bit lines from the sense amp during the evaluation process. The circuit allows for automatic latching of the data which the sense amp evaluated without requiring the generation of other timing signals. Capacitive loading on each of the two sides of the sense amp are equal.

It is well known to use sense amplifiers for evaluating and outputting the binary status of bit lines from a memory device. However, the design of such sense amps becomes critical in certain types of specialized memory such as cache memory. In memories which have a particularly small cycle time, the creation of precise timing signals is difficult. In a pre-charged type sense amp, the sense amp typically must be powered up for evaluation of the bit lines and must be powered down for pre-charging before the next evaluation. Capturing the data which the sense amp has evaluated, before the next pre-charge time, is difficult. Previous designs have solved this problem by providing a separate clock or enable signal to a latch. The timing for the latch-enable further complicates the overall timing design for the memory system.
In the context of ordinary static-type memory circuits, U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,631 issued Sep. 16, 1986 to Ochii discloses a memory circuit having sense amps and a data holding circuit which includes cross-coupled NAND gates. Because these gates are coupled directly to the bit lines, a relatively large load is placed on the sense amps, slowing their evaluation. In this type of circuit, the bit lines must be driven "full swing" (i.e., between the voltage normally taken as indicating a logical zero and the voltage, normally taken as indicating a logical one which will typically be Vcc-Vss, or about five volts). Driving the bit lines at full swing is particularly power-consumptive, especially where a large number of lines must be driven, as well as time consuming. Although this approach may be acceptable in some contexts, when a small-cycle-time memory circuit is necessary, the RC delay is unacceptable.
In the context of a dynamic random access memory, U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,995, issued Jul. 19, 1988 to Sato discloses first and second amplifying circuits which have a fully differential amplifier construction. Although the amplifier shown therein may be effective for some applications, when it is desired to minimize current consumption, for example, when a large number, such as 256, bit lines are to be sensed, an undesirably and unnecessarily large amount of power would be consumed.

Sense amp for bit line sensing and data latching


A burial vault base assembly. The assembly includes a front piece, back piece, and first and second side pieces that are connected to one another at a plurality of joints using C-shaped connectors. These pieces form an exterior shell around an interior piece wherein concrete is poured therebetween to form a burial vault base wherein the C-shaped connectors prevent the concrete from breaking at the joints and protruding at the joints.

This invention relates to burial vaults. More specifically, this invention relates to a burial vault base and method of making the same.
In order to form present burial vaults typically an inner plastic liner is combined with eight exterior pieces to form an outer shell. This shell is created by joining the eight exterior pieces together using double sided foam tape and/or masking tape and joining this exterior to the inner base liner with masking tape. At this time the shell is filled with concrete through an opening in the bottom in order to form the burial vault base.
While the above described burial vault base and method of making the same produces a burial vault base many problems remain. Specifically, the eight exterior pieces are cumbersome to work with and time consuming to produce. Additionally, an excessive amount of masking tape must be used in order to tape all of the individual pieces together. Also, there is a limited mechanism by which concrete is prevented from compromising the plastic or taped joints. This becomes especially important when considering the nature of concrete during the cure process. There is both the risk of a broken joint as well as concrete protruding through the joints.
Therefore, a principal object of the present invention is to provide a burial vault base assembly that is simple to manufacture and assemble.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a burial vault base assembly that will prevent concrete from protruding through joints and breaking at joints.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of making a burial vault base that can be done quickly and efficiently.
These and other objects, features, or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and claims.

Multi piece burial vault base and method of making the same


In a power unit for a vehicle, an internal combustion engine, equipped with electromagnetic valves on the respective cylinders and a generator connected to the output shaft of the engine, is provided. The electromagnetic valves are controlled by an electromagnetic valve actuating device. The generator converts at least a part of the engine output into electric power. The generated electric power is stored in a battery. The electric power stored in the battery is supplied to a motor in order to drive the vehicle. A control unit controls the output of motor in accordance with the requirement of the driver of the vehicle. Since the engine is not directly controlled by the driver, the engine can be operated at a predetermined speed range regardless of the requirements of the driver. This speed range is selected so that the maximum reliability and durability of the electromagnetic valves can be obtained. Thus, the advantages of the electromagnetic valves such as a low mechanical loss can be obtained without causing the problems relating to the durability and reliability of the electromagnetic valves.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power unit for a vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a power unit which converts the output of an internal combustion engine having an electromagnetic valve actuating device into electric power and the vehicle is then driven using the converted electric power.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electromagnetic valve actuating device for actuating intake valves and/or exhaust valves of an internal combustion engine is known in the art. An electromagnetic valve actuating device actuates valves of an engine by means of electromagnetic actuators without using camshafts.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 8-93426, for example, discloses an example of this type of the electromagnetic valve actuating device. The device in the '426 publication includes an armature disk made of a magnetic material and is attached to a stem of a valve element and a pair of springs which urge the armature disk to the directions opposite to each other. The device further includes an opening solenoid disposed on one side of the armature disk and a closing solenoid disposed on the other side of the armature disk. When both of the opening solenoid and the closing solenoid are deactivated, the valve element is kept between a fully opened position and a fully closed position by the urging forces of the springs exerting on both sides of the armature disk. However, when the opening solenoid is activated, since the armature disk is pulled to the opening solenoid, the valve element moves to the fully opened position. Similarly, when the closing solenoid is activated, the valve element moves to the fully closed position.
Therefore, the valves of the cylinders of an internal combustion engine can be operated by the electromagnetic valve actuating device by activating the opening solenoid and the closing solenoid alternatively in the manner synchronous with the operating cycle of the cylinder. Thus, the valves of an internal combustion engine can be operated without using camshafts.
In general, a mechanical power loss in the valve system caused by friction etc. becomes large when a camshaft is used for driving valves. Since the mechanical power loss of an electromagnetic valve actuating device is very small compared to that of a camshaft, the fuel efficiency and the performance of the engine can be improved by using an electromagnetic valve actuating device.
However, although the power loss of the electromagnetic valve actuating device is small, some problems arise when it is used for an engine of a vehicle.
For example, the vehicle engine is required to operate over a wide speed range from a very low speed to a very high speed. Since the electromagnetic valve actuating device drives a valve element having a mass by an electromagnetic actuator such as a solenoid, the actuating speed of the valve is limited. Therefore, when the engine is operated at a high speed, the electromagnetic valve actuating device cannot achieve a sufficient actuating speed and the movement of the valve elements cannot match the speed of the cycle of the cylinders.
Further, the performance of the electromagnetic valve actuating device, such as the durability and the reliability in the continuous high speed operation and response in the transient speed condition, is not sufficient at present.


A lighting device (100), comprising a light source (104) configured to be driven by electrical power, an energy-storage unit (106) configured to store electrical energy, to receive the electrical power from a power interface and to deliver the electrical power to the light source and to the power interface (108) allowing, in a connected state, an energy-transfer operation between the energy-storage unit (106) and an external second energy-storage unit (110) of an external electrically driven device (102) that can be connected to the power interface (108) and a control unit (116) configured to determine if the power interface (108) is in the connected state, to determine a current light-output state of the lighting device (100), and to control, in the connected state, the energy-transfer operation in an energy-transfer direction depending on the current light-output state of the lighting device (100).

US 2017/0060207 A1 describes a bi-directional transfer of energy, in which a user of a portable device such as a Smartphone, speaker, tablet or watch defines a charging direction when two devices with bi-directional energy transfer interfaces are interconnected. The device detects a gesture of the user and starts the energy transfer to the defined direction. The user may also define the amount of charge to be transferred by the same gesture.
EP 3007311 A2 discloses an electronic device which includes a connection terminal to which a charging cable or a discharging cable can be connected, and a controller configured to control a charging or discharging operation based on the charging cable or the discharging cable being connected to the connection terminal.

Lighting device with control of power flow direction


The present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve assembly for use on locations which normally have intermittent water usage but need to indicate when there is constant water usage, such as a leak. The valve assembly has a valve body with a fluid pathway and a valve plug held in an open position allowing water to flow through the pathway. As water flows through the pathway, a sensing device detects water flowing through the pathway and starts a timer. The valve closes the pathway, stopping the flow of water through the valve assembly when the time elapses. The valve assembly indicates whether the valve plug is in an open or closed position.

The present invention relates to a water conservation safety shut-off valve.
Water usage and conservation is widely studied and many articles are written about ways for consumers and industry to conserve water. The proposed solutions generally fall into two categories: (1) behavioral and (2) engineered. Behavioral solutions are generally human responses to situations to conserve water, such as turning off the water faucet while brushing teeth. Most of the engineered solutions presented are plumbing solutions aimed at restricting consumption of water; these include items like "low-flush toilets, "toilet displacement devices," "low-flow showerheads," and "faucets aerators." Yet, the question still remains as to what is the most important thing an individual can do to reduce water usage in the home.
A simple answer is to identify and repair toilet leaks. The toilet tank is probably the most neglected plumbing fixture in a home. As valves and refill ball cocks age, they tend to leak. Flappers will deteriorate over time with exposure to water. Eventually, they begin a slow but constant seepage. Often, they silently leak away thousands of gallons of potable water before they are detected. Similarly, ball cocks will weaken with age and fail to shut-off after the tank is full, resulting in water slowly pouring over the top of the tanks overflow tube. Periodically, valves and ball cocks should be replaced as part of the routine maintenance of all plumbing in the home. A 1984 study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that 20% of all toilets leak. Most leaks occur when water leaks from the tank into the bowl through flapper valves, valve seats, and overflow tubes, which often go unnoticed and unheard.
Despite attempts to conserve water, the undetected leaks account for inadvertent loss of water resources and can account for thousands of gallons of water lost in as much as 20% of all homes. All engineered solutions, sooner or later, succumb to behavioral solutions that require human intervention with inspection and repair. Thus, no engineered solutions exist to intervene when excessive water usage is detected.
Thus, in view of the foregoing, the primary feature or advantage of the present invention is to provide a water conservation safety shut-off valve which addresses one or more of the foregoing problems.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which can be easily attached to existing appliances, such as toilets.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which resets itself under normal use, but times out and closes under abnormal extended use.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which indicates to a user when there is a problem with water usage through the valve.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which is easily resettable by a user.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a water conservation safety shut-off valve which is economical to manufacture, durable in use, and efficient in operation.
Another feature or advantage of the present invention is a method of reducing water loss through leaky appliances using a water conservation safety shut-off valve.
One or more of these and/or other features or advantages will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art as described in the specification and claims that follow.


An enclosure, vehicle, and method for containing an overheating device are provided. An enclosure includes a body and a door that form a volume. The body includes is connected to a Venturi tube that is in communication with a fluid flow path flowing across an opening at an opposite end. In the event an overheating device is placed in the enclosure, a pressure sensor measures a pressure in the volume and a controller opens a first valve in a flow path through the Venturi tube so that air is pumped from the volume via the Venturi effect. The first valve is closed when the measured pressure drops below a threshold pressure. The enclosure can also include an extinguishing agent that can be expelled into the volume if a temperature sensor measures a temperature above a threshold temperature.

Passengers traveling in vehicles, such as aircraft, trains, automobiles, buses, and boats, often carry and use portable electronic devices. Additionally, cargo vehicles, such as aircraft, trains, ships, and trucks, carry cargo containers that include potentially hazardous item, such as lithium ion batteries. In rare instances, batteries in these portable electronic devices or cargo containers can overheat and, in some instances, start a fire. Such overheating and/or fires can result in the vehicle stopping short of its destination or diverting to an alternative destination to address the overheating device. Such diversions are inconvenient.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.