An image forming apparatus including: a fixing device for fixing a toner image formed on a recording medium onto the recording medium, the fixing device comprising a first fixing member equipped with a heating device and a second fixing member for making pressure contact of the recording medium to the first fixing member; a moving section for relatively moving the first fixing member and the second fixing member; a temperature detector for detecting a temperature of the first fixing member; and a controller for controlling the moving section so as to reduce a relative distance between the first fixing member and the second fixing member, when the temperature of the first fixing member detected by the temperature detector is higher than a predetermined temperature.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, particularly to an image forming apparatus equipped with a fixing device.
Generally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a toner image based on image data is formed on a recording medium, and the recording medium with a toner image formed thereon is fed to a fixing device, where an unfixed toner image is fixed on the recording medium to get a printed image.
For example, the fixing device contains a heating roller as a heating member with a heater incorporated inside, and a pressure roller as a pressure member for forming a fixing nip through pressure contact with the heating roller. The heating roller and pressure roller apply heat and pressure while conveying a recording medium by sandwiching it with a fixing nip, and a toner image is fused on the recording medium.
The optimum fixing temperature differs according to the kind, weight and glossiness of the recording medium. For example, if the fixing temperature is too high, the coated paper whose surface is provided with special coating will be subjected to a blister where a blister-like defect appears on the surface. Conversely, if the fixing temperature is too low, fixing failure will occur to the paper of greater weight (as in thick paper). In color printing, the glossiness of the recording medium to be printed and outputted is adjusted by changing the fixing temperature in response to the glossiness specified by a user.
If the present temperature if the heating member is not the optimum fixing temperature, the image forming apparatus is put to the status of warm-up operation, and waits in that status until the present temperature of the heating member reaches the optimum temperature. To increase the temperature of the heating roller, the heater incorporated in the heating member is turned on. To decrease the temperature of the heating roller, the heater is turned off and the apparatus waits until the optimum temperature is reached by natural cooling.
The art of reducing the warm-up operation time is disclosed in the Patent Document 2, for example, wherein the target value of the fixing temperature is increased only when a recording medium made of special material such as thick paper or OHP sheet (overhead transparency film) has been specified, and the heating member and pressure member are rotated by pressure contact for a certain period of time during warm-up operation so that the pressure member is made warm, whereby the heat of the heating member is not deprived of by the pressure member when printing is started, and therefore, fixing failure is prevented.
[Patent Document 1] Official Gazette of Japanese Patent Tokkohei 7-58414
Incidentally, during the warm-up operation for reducing the temperature of the heating member, the pressure of the heating member and pressure member is released, and the apparatus is made to wait until the optimum temperature is reached by natural cooling.
However, when reducing the temperature of the heating member to the optimum temperature by natural cooling, much longer time is required than when increasing the temperature. During this time, printing cannot be started. Such a problem has remained unsolved in the prior art.
In view of the prior art described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of reducing the warm-up operation time for reducing the temperature of the fixing member equipped with a heating means, down to the temperature lower than the present level.

Image forming apparatus having advanced fixing system

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


The present disclosure relates to a wide angle lens system. The wide angle lens system includes, in order from the object side to the image side thereof, a first lens of positive refraction power, a second lens of positive refraction power, and a third lens of negative refraction power. The wide angle lens system satisfies the following condition: 0.45<f/TTL<0.75; and 1.4<f1/f<2.4. Wherein, TTL is a distance from a surface of the first lens facing the object side of the wide angle lens system to an image plane, f is a focal length of the wide angle lens system, and f1 is a focal length of the first lens.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to lens systems and, more particularly, to a wide angle lens system.
2. Description of Related Art
With the development of microcircuitry and multimedia technology, digital cameras are now in widespread use. Many mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) are now equipped with a digital camera. Conventionally, a viewing angle of a digital camera is between 50 degrees and 60 degrees. Digital cameras with such a range if viewing angle have a small imaging area, thereby it can not satisfy some special purpose such as imaging a large area when, for example, users shot self-portraits.
What is needed, therefore, is a wide angle lens system with compact size to overcome or at least alleviate the above problem.


An improved engine output shaft includes a crankpin assembly for operatively connecting the shaft to each reciprocating piston for translating the reciprocating motion of each piston to rotary motion of the shaft through a leverage arm between the axis of rotation of the shaft and the point of operative connection between each piston and the shaft. The crankpin assembly is fixed to rotate with the shaft and defines a plurality of fixed crankpin offsets and transition offsets which sequentially vary the moment arm in a predetermined manner during the rotation of the shaft to produce a substantially constant total engine torque output during each increment of rotational movement. A transition guide system is provided to create a smooth, controlled movement of a connecting rod between the fixed crankpin offsets. The transition guide system includes a plurality of rollers mounted on a transverse support connected to the crankpin and a guide cam surface formed on the connecting rod for guiding contact by the rollers. A crankpin offset maintaining system, including a roller mounted on a second transverse support and an abutment surface formed on the connecting rod, maintains the crankpin offsets during rotation between the transition periods.

Internal combustion engine design has been subject to constant modifications and redesigns since its inception with the specific purpose of improving engine operating efficiency. Many improvements, however, that are directed toward improving engine efficiency are often not practical or are so costly that no real savings can be appreciated.
One particular line of internal combustion engine modifications for increasing engine output efficiency involves the alteration of the traditional four-stroke cycle. A typical four-stroke engine cycle is defined as including an intake stroke, a compression stroke, a power stroke, and an exhaust stroke. For its operation, at least one reciprocating piston is moved within a cylinder bore from a top dead center position (hereinafter abbreviated TDC) to a bottom dead center position (hereinafter abbreviated BDC), with four strokes occurring over two revolutions of the engine output shaft. Typically, in a first revolution, the piston will move inwardly from the TDC to BDC positions, defining the intake stroke during which an intake valve is opened so that an air/fuel mixture is suctioned into the engine cylinder above the piston. Thereafter, a compression stroke takes place as the piston moves outwardly so as to reduce the volume of the air/fuel mixture and increase the pressure within the engine cylinder prior to combustion of the explosive mixture. Normally, just before the beginning of the second revolution, the air fuel mixture is ignited at a point near the TDC position after which the power expansion stroke results causing the inward travel of the piston. Thereafter, the exhaust stroke occurs while the piston moves outwardly, as a result of which the exhaust gases are pumped through an exhaust valve that is opened in synchronization to the engine output shaft.
A conventional internal combustion engine includes a connecting rod pivotally connected via a wrist pin at one end to the piston and at another end to an offset portion of the output shaft for translating the reciprocal piston motion to the output shaft. The offset portion is spaced from the axis of rotation of the output shaft. The degree of offset defines the amount of leverage or the magnitude of the force moment acting on the output shaft since the leverage or moment is a function of the applied force as well as the distance between the applied force and the axis of rotation. During the power expansion stroke of the four-stroke cycle, chemical energy from the combustion of the air/fuel mixture is converted to linear motion of the piston caused by the expansion of the combusted gases. This energy is utilized to turn the engine output shaft and is released within each cylinder once during each two revolutions of the engine output shaft. Thus, it can be seen that the provision of multiple engine cylinders increases the number of times that an engine output shaft is powerfully driven during each revolution.
This conversion of chemical energy to transitional work of the piston is of course another area in which gains in efficiency have been advanced. Moreover, in modern engines, advances have also been made regarding the preparation of the air/fuel mixture by way of improved carburetors, fuel injection systems, and super-chargers.
However, even in light of the recent developments regarding fuel conversion to energy and fuel consumption efficiency, modern engines still run inefficiently with regard to the ability of the engine to actually convert the energy released by combustion into actual work output from the engine. To improve this, it is necessary to improve the manner in which the potential work available from the reciprocating piston is translated to the engine output shaft or output shaft.
When considering the forces that coact within the engine cylinder between the piston and the output shaft during the power expansion stroke, it will be appreciated that the pressure/force magnitude constantly decreases. The leverage arm, defined as the distance between the point of connection of the connecting rod to the output shaft and the axis of rotation of the output shaft, increases as the piston moves from the TDC position to a position approximately 90 degrees after TDC, after which it decreases. Neither the force applied to the piston from combustion nor the leverage arm decrease or increase linearly.
Since work is dependent on the product of distance times the force applied thereto, the reciprocating movement of the piston as driven during the power stroke becomes the potential work that is available to drive the output shaft. Thus, the ability and goal of an engine to most efficiently make use of the chemical energy provided from combustion is to find a way to more efficiently transfer the potential work from the reciprocating piston to the rotating output shaft.
There are many known methods and work paths to permit the piston to travel from TDC to BDC and transfer a portion of its available potential work to a rotary member or shaft. These include a conventional output shaft, a camdisk, a camdrum, and a gear chain. The common failure in each of these approaches is their inability to provide a consistent force magnitude to the rotating output shaft throughout the entire rotational arc through which an individual piston stroke acts. Rather, what these known engines have done is to deliver an erratic and inconsistent force to the rotating output shaft while applying some random magnitude of force during the rotational arc throughout which each individual piston acts. An example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,006,498 to Dassett, that utilizes a noncircular cam-type output shaft for transferring the work from the piston. Although this patent does inherently provide a cam profile that modifies the leverage arm acting on the output shaft, it does not attempt to provide a consistent force magnitude to the engine output shaft throughout the entire rotational arc through which an individual piston stroke acts. More specifically, the device includes a cam profile which, at the start of the downward stroke of the piston during expansion, produces a rapid displacement of the piston to thereby permit a quick expansion stroke for greater mechanical efficiency and less heat production. However, because the patent does not realize that it is important to provide a consistent torque throughout the power stroke, the Dassett device falls far short of the extent to which the leverage arm can be modified.
Other types of prior art devices that modify the piston strokes of a four cycle internal combustion engine are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,756 to McWhorter and U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,403 to Menton. These devices include a means to modify the crank offset or leverage arm during the course of engine operation. Specifically, the crank arm is effectively lengthened before the power expansion stroke for providing an increased leverage to produce greater torque by increasing the mechanical advantage during the power stroke. Although these devices increase engine output torque and may improve engine efficiency to at least some degree, they do not modify the crank offset during the power stroke nor do they attempt to provide a consistent force magnitude.
Many other types of cam-driven output shaft internal combustion engines are known in the prior art including those with specifically designed cam paths that are altered to provide variable stroke mechanisms. That is to say, certain of the strokes of the typical four-cycle are modified to change the length of stroke and/or timing. An example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,728,363 to Rightenour, which discloses a double cam device for providing two reciprocating piston motions during a single output shaft rotation, wherein the cam profiles are modified specifically for varying piston speed during certain stroke instances and defining different stroke lengths depending on the stroke. Moreover, Rightenour recognizes that using a rapid movement cam profile during the firing stroke provides a modified leverage at a specific point. Again, however, the cam path is not tailored for maximizing engine operating efficiency in the translation of reciprocal motion to rotary motion.
The devices disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,614 to Bailey, U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,117 to Panariti, U.S. Pat. No. 1,209,708 to Houlehan, U.S. Pat. No. 879,289 to Mayo et al., U.S. Pat. No. 1,748,443 to Dawson, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,528,386 to Napper are of interest for their disclosure of engine output cam shafts which include guide tracks defined on a disc-like member associated with the output shaft and where the piston includes a roller or pin-type mechanism that is guided within the guide tracks. The guide tracks are used to translate the reciprocating motion of the piston into rotary motion of the output shaft. These patents disclose various guide paths for translating the reciprocating to rotary motion; however, they do not attempt to increase the output efficiency by providing a consistent torque magnitude to the output shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,603 to Williams discloses a device for increasing an internal combustion engine's output efficiency by improving the efficiency of energy conversion from a reciprocating piston motion to rotary output shaft motion. Specifically, it accomplishes this by providing at last one disc-like element rotatably fixed to the engine output shaft, the disc-like element having a work receiving guide groove defined therein which engages with a lower end of a connecting rod pivotally extending from the reciprocating piston. The work receiving guide groove increases the length of the leverage arm while the pressure force acting on the reciprocating piston decreases to provide a substantially constant torque during the expansion stroke. However, the work receiving guide groove is designed by taking into account only a single cylinder and ignoring the contributions and parasitic effects of the other cylinders. As a result, because it does not account for the erratic demands of the parasitic cylinders, the work receiving guide groove provides an erratic torque output rather than the desired uniform torque output.
It is clear from the above that many attempts have been made to improve engine operating efficiency with respect to the manner of translation of reciprocating motion of a piston to the rotary motion of a crank or cam-type output shaft including the use of additional leverage providing mechanisms or cam profiles affecting piston speed. However, none of these prior art references have contemplated that it is necessary to provide a consistent total force magnitude from all cylinders, including the parasitic effects of cylinders which are not in their power stroke, to the engine output shaft.

Internal combustion engine with optimum torque output


An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming section which forms an image on a sheet material; a curl correcting mechanism which interposes and conveys the sheet material on which the image has been formed by the image forming section. Pressure applied to one surface of the sheet material during an interposing operation and a conveying speed of the sheet material can be changed, the curl correcting mechanism changes the conveying speed from an initial speed vs to a target speed vo higher than the initial speed (vo>vs) while the sheet material is pressed, and the curl correcting mechanism changes the pressure to a high pressure in response to a change of the conveying speed, whereby a curl of the sheet material is reduced.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a single machine function of a printer, a copying machine or facsimile machine, or multi-function thereof, an image forming method, and a sheet material conveyance device used therein, particularly to the art of improving the productivity by correcting the curl of the sheet material with an image formed thereon, and contributing to formation of great quantities of images by increasing the conveying speed.
When a sheet material on which an image has been formed passes through the fixing unit of an image forming apparatus, the sheet material will be curled during the passage through the fixing unit. One of the conventional ways of correcting the curl uses a curl correcting member, wherein the sheet material is conveyed by turning the belt with a conveying roller, and to pressing the sheet material conveyed by the belt in one direction using a rotatable pressing roller, whereby the sheet material is interposed and uncurled. If this procedure fails to correct the curl, the direction of conveyance is switched and the surface of the sheet material pressed by the pressing roller is changed. Then the sheet material is again passed through the curl correction device, whereby the sheet is uncurled (Patent Document 1, i.e., Official Gazette of Japanese Patent Tokkaihei 10-114454).
According to another conventional way of correcting the curl, a sheet material is interposed between a conveying member and a curling member during the conveyance wherein the ends of the sheet material are held. In this state, the conveyance speed of sheet material is reduced, and the sheet is uncurled (Patent Document 2, i.e., Official Gazette of Japanese Patent Tokkaihei 11-193160).
Separately from the aforementioned conventional art, it is required to increase the conveying speed and to improve productivity. When these requirements are to be met by the conventional image forming apparatus, it will be necessary to increase the conveying speed using a curl correcting mechanism and to install another conveyance mechanism on the downstream side thereof. When the art of the Patent Document 1, for example, is used to meet the former requirement, the sheet material is interposed (pressed). When this pressure has reached a predetermined level, the conveying speed is increased. This procedure allows a curl to remain on the trailing edge of the sheet material. To meet the latter requirement, the size of the apparatus has to be increased by the addition of another conveyance mechanism. These problems remain unsolved when the aforementioned requirements are to be met.

Image forming apparatus and sheet material conveyance device used therein


In a method of contacting terminals, a substrate having a first terminal and a second terminal is provided, a terminal surface of the first terminal being located at a shorter distance from a substrate surface than a surface of the second terminal. A first insulating layer, in which a contact via is formed for exposing the terminal surface of the first terminal, is formed on the substrate surface. The contact via is filled with a conductive material, and a second insulating layer is formed on the first insulating layer and on the contact via filled with the conductive material. Using an etching mask, a first recess for exposing the conductive material filling the contact via, and a second recess are etched through the second and first insulating layers for exposing the second terminal surface. A conductive material for producing first and second contact terminals is introduced into the first and second recesses. This is to achieve that the second terminal is contacted in the production of the second contact terminal.

In known methods for producing a bipolar transistor, a base terminal, an emitter terminal and a collector terminal are created on a substrate. While doing so, during processing, the emitter terminal is configured to be clearly higher than the other terminals, such as the base terminal or a gate terminal. If, in particular, several bipolar transistors and/or several bipolar and field-effect transistors are produced on a substrate, this gives rise to the problem of efficiently contacting the respective terminals on the grounds of the emitter terminal being configured to be higher in each case.
FIG. 1 shows a semiconductor device having a substrate 101, a collector contact 103, a base contact 105 and an emitter contact 107, as are known from the prior art. A bipolar-transistor area is shown to the left of the vertical line drawn, and a CMOS area is shown to the right of the line. For producing the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 1, the substrate 101 is initially provided, wherein the collector contact 103 is formed. In a further process step, the base contact 105 is formed on substrate 101, and the emitter contact is produced, for example, on a portion of the base contact. After the end of the process, all devices are covered FEOL (front end of line) with a thin nitride liner and constantly, for example, with a BPSG layer (BPSG=boron phosphor silicate glass) 109, which layer will be polished back to a target thickness so as to planar in a further process step. For contacting contacts 105, 107 and 103, contact vias (CT) are etched into the BPSG until the respective terminal is reached, and are filled with tungsten, for example, after a liner deposition. The electrical contact of the transistors is therefore effected via the contact vias 111, 113 and 115 filled with tungsten. The etching is performed in two steps: Initially, the BPSG is fully etched, whereupon a portion of the nitride liner is recessed. In a further process step, a first structured metal plane 117 is applied to contact vias 111, 113 and 115 filled with tungsten, with which metal plane 117 a contacting of the respective contacts 111, 113, 115 is now produced in a plane. In a further process step, filling-up with oxide and planarization are performed, and further contact vias are etched up to the first metal plane 117 and filled up with tungsten. A second structured metal plane 125 which serves to contact the respective terminals 105, 107 and 103 is formed on the vias 119, 121 and 123 filled with tungsten.
If, additionally, a field-effect transistor is integrated on the substrate, a gate terminal (not shown in FIG. 1) will be integrated on a gate polystack 127. The gate polystack 127 is lower than, for example, the emitter contact 107.
Due to the larger height of the emitter contact 107 (emitter stack), a remaining oxide thickness above the emitter contact 107 is too small, in the etching of the contact vias, to achieve a sufficient overall process window. If, for example, too thin a BPSG layer is left over on the emitter contact 107 after the polishing step, the via 111 filled with tungsten may not be sufficiently structured to achieve a sufficiently conductive contact, so that possibly a large transition impedance towards the emitter contact 107 arises.
A further problem occurring in connection with the production of the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 1 is the fact that, due to the differing heights of, e.g., the base contact 105 and the emitter contact 107, there is a need to etch vias having different depths, which inevitably entails differing etching periods of the respective contact vias. If, for example, the contact via to be produced above the emitter contact 107 is etched for too long, a surface of the emitter contact 107 is affected and damaged, so that the contact vias cannot be etched in one pass without previously taking precautionary measures, which results in the manufacturing process becoming more expensive. The requirements placed upon a selectivity of the contact-via etching up to the emitter contact 107, which consists of polysilicon, for example, are very demanding and also reduce the process window in the step of polishing the BPSG, which may be performed, for example, using the CMP method (BPSG CMP), as well as in the subsequent contact-via etching (CT etch). Due to the increased topology requirements, it is the emitter polysilicon which is always most exposed to the etching attack.
A further disadvantage of the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 1 is the fact that additional contact vias 119, 121 and 123 filled with tungsten as well as the second structured metal plane 125 are required for contacting the respective terminals 103, 105 and 107. On the one hand, this leads to an increase in the process costs, on the other hand a complex manufacturing process consisting of a plurality of process steps must be employed for producing the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 1, so that high demands must be placed upon, e.g., the process stability, which renders the manufacturing process even more expensive.
A further disadvantage of the semiconductor device which is in line with the prior art and is shown in FIG. 1 is the fact that the respective contacts 103, 105 and 107 are contacted via a plurality of contact structures, such as vias 111, 113 and 115 filled with tungsten, first metalization plane 117, vias 119, 121 and 123 filled with tungsten, as well as second metalization plane 125, which is why a high contact resistance, for example, may form due to potential contact inaccuracies, which contact resistance contributes to a deterioration of both the electrical properties (e.g. higher power dissipation) and of the performance of the bipolar transistor.
A further disadvantage of the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 1 is to be seen in the fact that due to the second metalization plane 125 and to the vias 119, 121 and 123 filled with tungsten, a spatial expansion of such a semiconductor structure becomes larger in the vertical direction, so that, for example, higher demands must be placed upon the process stability in producing the BPSG layer 109, which renders the manufacturing process even more expensive.
To increase the process window, which is to be evaluated as critical, it is feasible, for example, to limit the BPSG-CMP specification and to reduce the height of the emitter stack 107 a minimum. By doing so, however, the process window for the contact-via etch/etching is restricted to the same extent, since in the case of the emitter stack 107 being too low, the damaging of same caused by an etching process may be severe.
If, for example, bipolar transistors and field-effect transistors are contacted on a substrate, the height of the emitter stack 107 will see a significant increase compared to, for example, a gate terminal of a CMOS transistor (GC polystack) in future bipolar technologies. In this case, even those contact areas which are situated at the lowest location, e.g. source and drain of a field-effect transistor, which are located, as a maximum, at a height of e.g. 900 nm, must be opened reliably, without remainders, and without attacking and damaging an emitter polysilicon of a bipolar transistor.

Method and arrangement for contacting terminals


Novel peptides produced by bacteriocin-producing bacteria stimulate the production of bacteriocins in vitro. The producer bacteria are cultured in the presence of a novel inducer bacteria and a peptide having a carboxy terminal sequence of VKGLT in order to achieve an increase in bacteriocin production.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to novel peptides that stimulate the production of bacteriocins by producer bacteria in the presence of inducer bacteria and to methods for using the peptides for bacteriocin production.
2. Description of the Related Art
Normal intestinal bacteria are critical to the heath of any host animal. The host derives benefit through the digestive metabolic processes mediated by the native bacterial biota. From the perspective of the intestinal bacteria, competition and consequent evolution provide nutrients and living space and increase reproductive potential, enabling certain strains and species to gain survival advantage. During bacterial evolution, bacteriocin production has occurred. Bacteriocins are antagonistic to other organisms with a given competitive niche and thus provide an ecological advantage. These bacteriocins are typically low-molecular-weight polypeptides and are classified based on differences in molecular weight (Klaenhammer, FEMS Microbiol. Rev., Volume 12-39-85, 1993). These compounds can be digested easily into their component amino acids by host protease enzymes. Bacteriocins may represent a significant component of the benefits derived from competitive exclusion (Nurmi and Rantala, Nature, London, Volume 241, 210-211, 1973).
Nurmi and Rantala (1973, supra) originally described the advantages of competitive exclusion in controlling Salmonella colonization among newly hatched chicks by using an undefined bacteria flora derived from the faces of healthy adult birds. This approach is an attractive alternative to current husbandry practices involving synthetic antibiotics. A mucosal derived competitive exclusion flora was described (Stern et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,400, issued September 1995) as an anaerobic culture derived from the scrapings of the intestinal mucosal linings in healthy adult hens. This undefined flora provided excellent protection against Salmonella colonization in chickens but provided only inconsistent control of Campylobacter colonization (Stern, Poult. Sci, Volume 73, 402-407, 1994). Competitive exclusion occurs within the intestinal tract of wild birds and contributes to healthy gut ecology.
Microorganisms produce a variety of compounds which demonstrate anti-bacterial properties. One group of these compounds, the bacteriocins, consists of bactericidal proteins with a mechanism of action similar to ionophore antibiotics. Bacteriocins are often active against species which are closely related to the producer of the bacteriocin. Their widespread occurrence in bacterial species isolated from complex microbial communities such as the intestinal tract, the oral, or other epithelial surfaces, suggests that bacteriocins may have a regulatory role in terms of population dynamics within bacterial ecosystems. Bacteriocins are defines as compounds produces by bacteria that have a biologically active protein moiety and bactericidal action (Tagg et al., Bacteriological Reviews, Volume 40, 722-256, 1976). Other characteristics may include: (1) narrow inhibitory spectrum of activity centered about closely related species; (2) attachment to specific cell receptors; and (3) plasmid-borne genetic determinants of bacteriocin production and of host cell bacteriocin immunity. Incompletely defined antagonistic substances have been termed "bacteriocin-like substances". Some bacteriocins effective against Gram-positive bacteria, in contrast to Gram-negative bacteria, have wider spectrum of activity. It has been suggested that the term bacteriocin, when used to describe inhibitory agents produced by Gram-positive bacteria, should meet minimum criteria (1) being a peptide, and (2) possessing bactericidal activity (Tagg et al., supra).
In order to make commercial use of bacteriocins economically feasible, optimization of yield during production is necessary (Chen and Hoover, Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, Volume 2, 82-100, 2003). Chen and Hoover state that for nisin production, it was found that in growth media, the key factors were maintenance of optimal pH and supplementation of the medium with specific nutrients for each strain or strains producing the bacteriocin.
Knutsen et al. (Journal of Bacteriology, Volume 186 (10), 3078-3085, 2004) disclose a bacteriocin inducing peptide (BIP) of 27 amino acids which induces bacteriocin production in Streptococcus pneumoniae, Diep et al. (Molecular Biology, Volume 47 (2), 483-494, 2003) discloses that a number of Gram-positive bacteria have been reported to apply a so-called peptide pheromone-based signal-transducing pathway to regulate the production of antimicrobial peptides, known as bacteriocins, from numerous lactic acid bacteria. They also disclose a peptide pheromone, PlnA, which induces bacteriocin production. Van Belkum and Stiles (Nat. Prod. Rep., Volume 17, 323-335, 2000) discloses that some bacteriocins require products of regulatory genes for their production. They state the these genes encode a secreted induction peptide and proteins that are homologous to histidine kinases and response regulators. The reference further discloses that some class II bacteriocins are induced by an induction peptide while other such as carnobacteriocin B2 and sakacin P are induced by an induction peptide or autoinduced by the synthesized bacteriocin.
While various peptides have been found which induce the production of bacteriocins in bacteria, there remains a need in the art for commercial production of bacteriocins using peptides which increase the yield of bacteriocin production in vitro. The present invention provides peptides which are different from prior art peptides and provides a method for producing large quantities of bacteriocins for commercial use.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture


Formulations which contain a water-dispersible polymer, a metallization catalyst, if appropriate fillers, if appropriate other constituents and water are outstandingly suitable for the pretreatment of various substrate surfaces for the purpose of subsequent metallization in a currentless metallization bath.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to formulations based on aqueous dispersions, which, in addition to water, essentially contain water-dispersible polyurethanes, metallisation activators and preferably also fillers.
These formulations are used for the pretreatment of various substrate surfaces, for example surfaces of plastics, for the purpose of subsequent metallisation in currentless metallisation baths.
Components of plastic which have been activated using these formulations are preferably employed for shielding from electromagnetic waves after metallisation has been carried out.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that polymeric materials must be pretreated before chemical and subsequent electroplating metallisation in order to achieve adequate adhesion of the metallic layer to the surface of the material. The pretreatment is mainly carried out by etching the polymer surface with chromic/sulfuric acids, which pollute the environment. However, the use of chromic/sulfuric acid, SO.sub.3 vapour or other oxidising agents is accompanied by a deterioration in the physical properties, such as the impact strength and the electrical surface resistance of the polymeric material. Traces of 6-valent chromium, which can rapidly lead to poisoning of the metal baths, moreover often cause trouble.
The known processes for the currentless metallisation of materials furthermore comprise several process stages and have the disadvantage that they cannot be used directly on all polymers. Chemical swelling or physical roughening must often additionally be carried out.
It has therefore already been proposed to activate the polymer surfaces very gently using organometallic catalysts (DE-A 3,560,257 and EP-A 81,129). Nevertheless, this progressive method is also not universally applicable. The use of solvents moreover often leads to stress corrosion cracking being caused in the injection moulded parts of the polymer which are under tensile or compressive stress.
Other processes, such as are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,560,257 and 4,017,265 as well as DE-A 3,627,256, have the disadvantage that they require larger amounts of expensive noble metal activators.
Specific adhesion-promoting plastics coatings are furthermore known from DE-A 3,814,506. However, these must be activated in activation baths before their metallisation, which may lead to geometry-related foreign deposition in cases of partial metallisation.

Hydroprimer for metallising substrate surfaces


A martial arts training apparatus includes an adjustable length pole to be supported between a ceiling and a floor in a generally vertical orientation. A plurality of rotatable collars are provided on the pole. Arms extend from the collars and are free to rotate in opposite directions around the pole when struck to provide targets for striking and to mimic an opponent's limbs to be blocked or dodged. A static strike target may be provided on the pole. The apparatus can be configured to support a double end speed bag from one of the arms such that the double end speed bag moves in a dynamic unpredictable manner when struck. A support arm may be provided to connect the top arm to a lower collar to provide additional support of the double end speed bag.

Martial arts provide many benefits, including self-defense, strength, cardiovascular improvement, flexibility, hand-eye coordination, self-confidence, and enjoyment. Three essential skills in many martial arts are striking, blocking, and dodging. Home training aids can be beneficial to students and practitioners of martial arts in learning and improving striking, blocking, and dodging skills.
Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an apparatus that permits a user to train blocking, striking, and dodging skills at the same time on a single apparatus.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a training device from which improves the skills of martial art students.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a martial arts training device having rotating arms for hitting by a trainee.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of an extendible pole mountable between a floor and ceiling for use in training and improving the skills of a martial art practitioner.
Still another objective of the present invention provision of a martial arts training device having rotatable arms with padded targets that can be hit from either side.
Yet another objective of the present invention is a provision of a martial arts training device that allows practice on striking, blocking, and dodging.
Another objective of the present invention is a provision of a martial arts training device that can be quickly and easily set up in the home for martial arts practice.
These and/or other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.


A solid state image pickup device is composed of basic cells each of which comprises a photodiode one terminal of which is grounded, a n-MOS transistor whose gate is connected to the other terminal of the photodiode and whose source is grounded and furthermore whose drain is connected to a load, a feedback capacitor and switching element for resetting both of which are connected between the drain and gate of the n-MOS transistor. As an advantage of such a configuration, the reduction of the sensitivity due to the junction capacitance of the photodiode can be suppressed, and furthermore accurate signal output voltages can be obtained even in the case where the amount of incident light changes during an integration period.

The present invention relates to a solid state image pickup device which is improved to avoid the reduction in sensitivity caused by the junction capacitance of a photodiode, and to obtain accurate signal output voltage regardless of the change in amount of incident light during an integration period.
In addition to MOS and CCD type devices, there are known amplification type solid state image pickup devices, such as AMI, SIT, CMD, BASIS, FGA, and BCMD. These amplification type solid state image pickup devices do not show problems as far as the size of a pixel is small enough. However, in some applications requiring rather large pixels (such as auto, focusing (AF) control of cameras), these amplification type solid state image pickup devices have problems as described later.
The problems will now be described, while taking into account an AMI (amplified MOS Imager), as an example. FIG. 1 shows a circuit configuration of one pixel of a normal AMI, comprising a photodiode 101, a transistor Q1 for amplification, bias transistors Q2 and Q3, a transistor Q4 for resetting, a bias circuit 102, and a switching transistor 103 driven by output pulses from a shiftregister. The signal output voltage of photoelectric conversion of an AMI configured in such a manner is provided by EQU .DELTA.V.sub.OUT =I.sub.P .multidot.t/Cd (1)
where I.sub.p is a photocurrent, t is an integration period, Cd is a junction capacitance of the photodiode 101. As can be seen from this equation (1), in order to increase the signal output voltage .DELTA.V.sub.OUT under the condition of a constant integration period, it is necessary to increase the photocurrent I.sub.P or decrease the junction capacitance Cd. However, the increase of the photocurrent requires the increase of the area of a pixel. Therefore, this increase of the area of the pixel leads to the increase of the junction capacitance Cd. On the other hand, the reduction of the junction capacitance Cd requires the reduction of the area of the pixel. Subsequently, the reduction of the area of the pixel results in the reduction of the photocurrent. Hence, it is not possible to improve the sensitivity as far as the conventional circuit configuration of the AMI is concerned.
As one of means to solve the above problem, a solid state image pickup device having a configuration shown in FIG. 2 is disclosed in "A New MOS Imager Using Photodiode as Current Source", IEEE Journal of Solid-State-Circuits, Vol. 26, No. 8, Aug., 1991. The configuration of this solid state image pickup device can be obtained from the configuration of the solid state image pickup device shown in FIG. 1 by adding transfer gate transistors Q5 and Q6, and further adding a storage capacitor Ct between the photodiode 101 and the transistor Q1 for amplification. In this configuration of the solid state image pickup device, the transistor Q5 is turned on by data signal during the integration period, so that the transistor Q5 operates in a saturation region, thus the voltage applied to the photodiode 101 is fixed to a voltage lower than the gate voltage of the transistor Q5 by gate-source voltage V.sub.GS. As a result, photo charges generated in the photodiode 101 are stored via the transistor Q5 in the storage capacitor Ct connected to the gate of the transistor Q1 for amplification. Consequently, the affection of the junction capacitance Cd of the photodiode 101 is removed and the signal output voltage .DELTA.V.sub.OUT of the photoelectric conversion is provided by EQU .DELTA.V.sub.OUT =I.sub.P .multidot.t/Ct. (2)
As can be seen from equation (2), the signal output voltage .DELTA.V.sub.OUT can be increased by reducing the capacitance of the storage capacitor Ct. That is, the sensitivity can be determined independently of the junction capacitance of the photodiode.
However, the configuration shown in FIG. 2 of the solid state image pickup device has the following problems. If the amount of incident light is kept constant during the integration period, no problem occurs because the current (photocurrent I.sub.P) flowing in the transistor Q5 is kept constant. However, if the amount of the incident light changes in the integration period, the current flowing in the transistor Q5 changes. As a result, the gate-source voltage V.sub.GS of the transistor Q5 changes, thus a transfer of charges occurs between the junction capacitance Cd of the photodiode and the storage capacitor Ct. This leads to the problem of making it impossible to obtain the accurate photoelectric conversion output.

Solid state image pickup device having a reliable photoelectric detection cell


In general, video segmentation techniques are described. According to various examples, the video segmentation techniques may be based on video content. An example method includes determining one or more segments into which to divide video content, dividing the video content into the determined number of segments identifying a boundary frame associated with each of the segments, and adjusting the respective boundary frame associated with a first segment of the segments to generate an adjusted boundary frame associated with the first segment, wherein the adjusting is based on an one or more entity representations associated with the adjusted boundary frame.

A variety of devices, such as desktop and laptop computers, tablet computers, mobile phones, optical disc players, televisions, and television set-top boxes, may be capable of outputting video data. Such devices may also enable a user to begin, or resume, playing a video file at particular junctures within the content of the video file. In one example, a device may receive user input to select a predefined segment, or "chapter" of the video, at which to begin playing the video file.


The present invention is an expert matching method and apparatus for managing communications between an expert having particular qualifications and an end user seeking a solution to an expert request. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus of the present invention includes a controller having a database for storing expert qualifications. In one embodiment, the controller receives an expert request. A search program identifies experts qualified to respond to the expert request. The expert request is then transmitted to the expert, which results in an expert answer transmitted to and received by the central controller. After authentication of the expert answer, using a wide range of security levels from passwords to cryptography, the answer is forwarded to the end user. The method and apparatus of the present invention have applications on the Internet as well as conventional voice telephony systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The method and apparatus of the present invention relate to electronic commerce applications using digital and analog networks.
2. Background
Computerized marketplaces of all kinds are well known in the art. They range from simple classified ad bulletin boards to complex mainframe-based market systems such as NASDAQ which offers a real-time market-making system for tens of thousands of securities brokers. All modern stock, bond and commodity exchanges are supported by underlying computerized databases and related systems which enable them to function.
Typically, electronic Exchanges are designed to facilitate commercial transactions of tokens of ownership, such as shares of stock, or physical objects such as ounces of gold or a used car. Other Exchanges specialize in the sale of information stored on databases such as that provided by Lexis/Nexis, where users pay fees for accessing articles while content providers are paid per article downloaded. Still other Exchanges provide matching services where each party is seeking an efficient way to find the other, such as might be provided by a dating service or a job bank.
Exchanges whose function is to support a marketplace for the buying and selling of consulting services have been few and far between. Since this type of Exchange supports a form of commercial activity which is meant to take place in the future, the Exchange's role is to serve as a structured meeting ground for the negotiation of the service to be provided. However, an Exchange which performs this type of negotiation service creates what has heretofore been considered an unavoidable "man-in-the-middle" problem. In the process of assisting in the negotiation of a consulting contract, one or both parties must first disclose their identity to the other. Thereafter, if commerce appears likely to occur, one party can simply contact the other directly and privately, without the exchange's knowledge, thereby avoiding any costs which might otherwise have been assessed by the Exchange.
In the past, attempts have been made to establish so-called "information marketplaces" to overcome this problem by providing a wide range of supplementary services to add value to the role played by the Exchange. The most notable example of the many failed attempts to solve the problem was the American Information Exchange, AMIX, a service which was piloted in 1991 and soon thereafter disbanded by Autodesk Inc., a software development company located in Sausalito, Calif.
AMIX's goal was to establish an on-line marketplace for the buying and selling of both information and consulting services where every user could be either a buyer or a seller, with AMIX facilitating transactions between them. The AMIX system required both buyers and sellers to become a member of the service, agree to pay a monthly service fee and then purchase and install a dedicated front-end program. A self-described "electronic farmer's market," parties could negotiate agreements for the sale of information or consulting services which AMIX organized by topic. AMIX offered to serve as a non-binding mediator should the parties have a dispute and select a binding arbitrator if necessary. The system also intended to serve as a central record keeper and funds transfer point, either for the clearing of credit card charges or disbursements from pre-established accounts which AMIX managed. AMIX offered neither anonymity nor the controlled release of identity. Buyers or sellers who identified each other using the service could then bypass the service, though AMIX charged monthly fees so that the financial impact of such off-exchange activities might be offset. Furthermore, it encouraged both buyers and sellers to post comments about each other so that future buyers and sellers would be able to evaluate the past reputations of one another.
To understand the failure of AMIX, and all other prior attempts to create working expert-exchange marketplaces, it is necessary to understand that effective markets, whether they be physical or electronic, require a complete and highly specialized set of conditions in order to function and thrive. A single missing ingredient or feature of service might result in a shortage of either buyers or sellers and lead to the collapse of the Exchange--which needs sufficient quantities of both to continue operation. At the same time, the Exchange must be able to ensure that it can derive sufficient income from the commerce of its activities in order to support the Exchange's cost of operations and make a profit.
All successful Exchanges must be able to motivate significant numbers of both buyers and sellers to use the Exchange versus other available market alternatives. Thus, buyers and sellers must 1) have a high expectation of the usefulness of the Exchange which makes them willing to take the time and effort to learn the rules of the Exchange, and, if necessary, become recognized by the Exchange, 2) locate each other on the Exchange at exactly the right time and place, 3) be able to quickly and easily negotiate transaction terms, 4) reach a complete and final agreement where the expectations of the parties are well defined, 5) arrange for acceptable credit terms, 6) deliver the goods or services called for by the agreement, 7) deliver payment when the agreement is fulfilled, 8) rely on the Exchange to enforce the agreement made on the Exchange with certainty of both payment and legal recourse, 9) find the transaction fees reasonable in comparison to alternatives, and 10) have ready access to the market without levels of knowledge and cost of hardware commensurate with the value of the goods or services sold on the Exchange.
Traditional real world commerce in expertise or consulting services strongly favors circumstances where both parties are, at least occasionally, in the same place at the same time and can see one another. When there is no face-to-face contact between the parties (relying instead on mail, phone, faxes, etc.) significant burdens and costs are imposed on the parties which reduce the likelihood of expert commerce taking place. This is especially true if the parties are located in different countries where differences in language, customs, legal systems, currencies, etc., must be dealt with. Each added burden dramatically reduces the chances for agreement and increases the difficulty of satisfying all of the previously stated infrastructure conditions. Finally, if one or both of the parties in an on-line transaction is a private party (such as a part-time freelance consultant) with no established organization or commercial resources, the problems can become effectively insurmountable.
A hypothetical "worst-case" example illustrates both the range and quantity of problems associated with international consulting where the consultant is a private party. Imagine a professor of nanotechnology at the University of Makinsk, located in Kazakhstan, formerly part of the Soviet Union. Although the professor's teaching schedule keeps him fairly busy, there is not much to do in Makinsk. To relieve the boredom and to supplement his limited salary, he decides the time has come to embrace capitalism by using some of his free time to offer freelance nanotechnology consulting. The professor begins by making a list of what needs to be done before being able to sell his nanotechnology expertise.
To begin, how does he locate potential clients? Finding clients is a difficult task for any service professional. It is hard to know who needs their services, especially in a niche field such as nanotechnology. There are less than five hundred people who might want to hire a nanotechnologist and they are all located within a few dozen companies, research labs and government departments scattered around the world. The professor could rent the mailing list of The Nanotechnology Journal and send out promotional mailings, but this would be expensive and time consuming with no guarantee of success. Even more importantly, such a mailing is unlikely to reach a potential client at the exact moment which the client needs nanotechnology consulting services. Though the professor has some contacts, most of his potential customers are unknown to him, as he is to them. Personal solicitations might be more appropriate, but many of the barriers to commerce remain, including potentially insuperable language barriers. And, once he somehow identifies potential clients, how does he contact them? By mail, by phone, by e-mail? If so, how will potential clients respond to those contacts and where should they send any written materials? He cannot receive them at work and home mail delivery is notoriously unreliable in Makinsk.
Finding a potential client is just the beginning of the process, as the professor and client must now synchronize their schedules. The professor recognizes that he must arrange for freelance work which fits around his other teaching and research commitments. Without an assistant or secretary to arrange the work times, the professor is forced to manage the naturally iterative process of scheduling the work. What the professor really needs is a client whose needs precisely fit his requirements so that he can concentrate on providing the consulting, not scheduling it. His free time occurs normally on weekends and late at night, though his night availability varies widely depending on department functions and projects. Can he find work he could do on Saturday nights from 9:00-11:30 PM local time? If there are large ongoing client projects that need to be done, can he deliver his consulting in small chunks? Suppose he had thirty minutes to spare between classes every Wednesday. Could he locate a client project that required just twenty or thirty minutes to finish each week, like grading nanotechnology exams taken at some faraway university? Suppose the professor finds himself with unexpected extra time. Are there clients somewhere in the world whose time requirements can offer him projects on short notice? For example, if he didn't expect to have free time this evening, and things suddenly changed, could he possible find a client in the next few hours? How about in the next few minutes? Suppose he were willing to work at half his regular rate to compensate for the short notice?
Once the professor finds a client whose needs match the professor's timing constraints, how does he quickly and effectively establish his credentials? Though the professor is highly talented, he is still a relative unknown. The likelihood is that the client has only vaguely heard of the professor and his work. Does he mail potential clients copies of his diplomas and his PhD thesis? How will the client be certain that the information is authentic or will the client have to spend time and money to carefully check out the professor's credentials before going any further? Perhaps he should provide references. If so, is there any way that a potential client can quickly check those references without delaying the whole process and thus missing the window of opportunity for work that is needed right away? How can the professor demonstrate that he is capable of answering a potential client's questions without personally meeting with the client's engineers and scientists? He could mail out academic papers, but they might take weeks to arrive via international mail. There is of course also no guarantee that the client can read Russian, though the professor speaks fluent English. If he is competing with other nanotechnologists for a given assignment, how does he prove that he is not only the superior choice for the client but that he is willing to negotiate a price for his services that is at least 75% less expensive than his comparable competition in the West?
Once a deal is struck, how will the consulting work be delivered to the client? Mail is too slow and Federal Express doesn't serve Makinsk. The work could be sent by e-mail, but nanotechnology consulting is usually confidential in nature. Furthermore, assuming the work is delivered by some kind of encrypted e-mail, how can the professor get a bona fide receipt indicating that the work was actually received by the client?
Credit, payment and currency problems make the professor's consulting business even more difficult to get off the ground. If the professor is fortunate enough to locate a client, establish his credentials, agree on a specific job to be done and the price to be paid, how can he be sure that he is actually going to get paid if he delivers satisfactory work. There are many unscrupulous nanotechnology companies that have been known to prey on ex-communist scientists in the former USSR. These companies either don't pay their bills or claim that the work provided was inferior and not at all what was promised. He can't get paid some part in advance, can he? Even if he extends credit to a specific client, how does the professor arrange for payment when the work is complete? He doesn't take credit cards and he certainly doesn't want to trust the Kazakhstan mail system to handle envelopes stuffed with cash. He has a small savings account at the First National Bank of Makinsk, but depositing checks from foreign accounts is viewed with suspicion and all such checks are subject to long delays and surcharges. What's more, the professor wants any payment he receives to be denominated in dollars or German marks. If he performs work for a French company, how will that company arrange to make the payment to the professor in dollars or marks? And, what happens if the client refuses to pay? Is there any recourse available other than writing the client off and never working for that client again?
Finally, suppose that the professor figures out how to do everything necessary to become a successful consultant. There's just one more thing he wants to achieve. He wants to be able to begin work for a client without revealing his identity to the client. (He may be willing to reveal his identity only after his working relationship is well established and the parties have grown comfortable with each other.) He is very concerned that if his department chairman finds out that he's doing corporate consulting, he might require that the professor give all or part of any foreign currency earnings to the university--no matter that the work was done during off hours. Even worse, the chairman could view the foreign consulting as a threat to his power and either fire the professor for unauthorized activities or forbid him from doing any freelance work, insisting that any such work must be done only by the chairman.
Supporting either all or partial anonymity in expert-based commerce, where at least one party is a private individual, currently presents almost insurmountable challenges. Communication by either standard mail or e-mail is difficult since known addresses are required. The professor could leave his name off the return address or use a false name, but the professor's identity might be easily deduced. Incoming mail from a foreign corporation might result in questions from university officials. Anonymous remailers on the Internet could be used if the work is done entirely in digital form, but what foreign company will hire an expert consultant whose name and address they don't even know? Even if anonymity were preserved, collecting payment while remaining anonymous is probably impossible without using cash which is impractical and often dangerous. And, if the professor wants to provide a client with his diplomas, published academic papers or previous client work as credentials, there is simply no way to maintain his anonymity unless he can find a third party trusted by the client who will vouch for the professor's skill while at the same time concealing his identity.
Yet, with all these hurdles, there is a strong case to be made that as tens of millions of businessmen, government officials, academics and ordinary consumers interact with each other more and more via on-line networks, and since physical distance barriers are meaningless in cyberspace, the demand for worldwide commerce in expert services will grow exponentially in the years ahead. What is needed to unlock this growth is a universally accessible facilitating system which is designed to specifically handle the buying and selling of expert services, as opposed to selling information or simply providing an electronic farmer's market. Much as computerized stock markets were invented that could seamlessly and effortlessly handle transactions of billions of shares of equities, bonds and financial instruments every day, there exists a need for expert-based markets where human experts can reliably sell their services to clients they have never met, utilizing a structured, organized system that facilitates and supports the infrastructure needed for expert commerce. What's more, such an expert market system should allow for entirely new features and qualities of service that were heretofore not possible before the rise of computers, databases and the ubiquitous Internet with its related on-line networks.
Furthermore, though the example of the professor of nanotechnology describes a seller-driven protocol whereby the expert consultant seeks to find and sell appropriate clients, it is equally logical to use the inventive system for buyer-driven applications whereby clients who need to locate and retain appropriate expert consultants can do so on an efficient, ad hoc basis.
The applicant is unaware of the existence of any such commercially viable expert exchange which contains the features described above. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient method of locating and matching remote qualified experts ("experts") to customers ("clients") who need their expertise by the method and apparatus of the present invention and where the invention addresses the market mechanisms needed that prior inventions have failed to offer. Another object of the present invention is to locate qualified experts even if they are not currently registered with the Exchange. Another object of the present invention is to provide an asynchronous device and system for connecting the client with the expert, transmitting job requests from client to expert. A further object of the present invention is to authenticate the qualifications of the experts. A still further object of the present invention is to allow clients to review prior work produced by an expert. Another object of the present invention is to provide a reliable method for the expert to be paid by the client where such a method can accommodate a plurality of payment systems that may occur independently of the details of the actual payment service being used in a manner that is transparent to both the client and the expert. Another object of the present invention is to enable the expert to be assured of payment for services by the Exchange if the client does not pay for such services. Yet another object of the present invention is to allow for the Exchange to verify a client's ability to pay prior to delivering the completed analysis, or to allow clients to set up escrow accounts for payment. A still further object of the present invention is to allow the client to choose from a list of experts in a field and select a particular expert to provide service, where such service is in the form of expert advice or judgement. A further object of the present invention allows for a user to search a database of experts where the identities of the experts are concealed from the user, but the user may search a database of those experts by certain characteristics and may optionally communicate with those experts without knowing their identity. A further object of the present invention is to provide a real-time connection between the client and the expert during which negotiations can take place or during which advice or judgement can passed between the parties.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a way for clients to have experts evaluate their work. Another object of the present invention allows students to be graded by multiple evaluators. Another object of the present invention is to allow both the client and the expert to remain anonymous while practicing the invention. Another object of the present invention is to allow clients and experts to verify information that is accessible or communicated as part of practicing the invention. Another object of the present invention is to verify the client's or expert's identity and the client's ability to pay for services. Another object of the present invention is to allow for impartial dispute resolution regarding any dispute which arises from the practice of the invention. Another object of the present invention is to allow the expert to be paid for services immediately upon delivery of work contracted for while practicing the invention. Yet another object of the present invention is the ability to verify that communications occurring while practicing the invention have not been tampered with or altered during communication. A still further object of the present invention is to provide a marketplace for any party practicing the invention to either bid on services or to reach an agreement regarding a transaction for such services as the parties may desire. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for clients to verify the quality of expert answers. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide access to the Exchange without the need for proprietary software.

Method and apparatus for a cryptographically-assisted commercial network system designed to facilitate and support expert-based commerce

Walker Asset Management Limited Partnership


Methods of treating a subterranean formation comprising placing a treatment fluid comprising a base fluid, proppant particulates, a consolidating agent, a thermoplastic material, and a degradable polyester material into the subterranean formation; coating the proppant particulates and the consolidating agent with the thermoplastic material and the degradable polyester material together so as to form proppant pillars; and degrading the degradable polyester material.

The present invention relates to methods of forming and placing proppant pillars into a subterranean formation.
Subterranean wells (e.g., hydrocarbon producing wells, water producing wells, or injection wells) are often stimulated by hydraulic fracturing treatments. In traditional hydraulic fracturing treatments, a treatment fluid, which may also function simultaneously or subsequently as a carrier fluid, is pumped into a portion of a subterranean formation at a rate and pressure sufficient to break down the formation and create one or more fractures therein. Typically, particulate solids, such as graded sand, are suspended in a portion of the treatment fluid and then deposited into the fractures. These particulate solids, or "proppant particulates," serve to prevent the fractures from fully closing once the hydraulic pressure is removed. By keeping the fractures from fully closing, the proppant particulates aid in forming conductive paths through which fluids produced from the formation may flow.
The degree of success of a fracturing operation depends, at least in part, upon fracture porosity and conductivity once the fracturing operation is complete and production is begun. Traditional fracturing operations place a large volume of proppant particulates into a fracture to form a "proppant pack" in order to ensure that the fracture does not close completely upon removing the hydraulic pressure. The ability of proppant particulates to maintain a fracture open depends upon the ability of the proppant particulates to withstand fracture closure and, therefore, is typically proportional to the volume of proppant particulates placed in the fracture. The porosity of a proppant pack within a fracture is related to the interconnected interstitial spaces between abutting proppant particulates. Thus, the fracture porosity is closely related to the strength of the placed proppant particulates and often tight proppant packs are unable to produce highly conductive channels within a fracture, while reducing the volume of the proppant particulates is unable to withstand fracture closures.
One way proposed to combat the problems inherent in tight proppant packs involves the use of proppant pillars. As used herein, the term "proppant pillar" refers to a coherent body of consolidated proppant particulates that generally remain a coherent body and do not disperse into smaller bodies without the application of shear. Proppant pillars are comprised of a plurality of proppant particulates formed into a tight cluster and are capable of withstanding fracture closure pressures. The use of proppant pillars, therefore, may reduce or eliminate the likelihood of partial or complete fracture closure. The proppant pillars placed into a fracture do not abut together perfectly and therefore may achieve infinite conductivity channels (e.g., unobstructed pathways) for produced fluid flow. However, while proppant pillars can overcome the issues associated with tight proppant packs, in practice several issues may prevent their optimal performance. Specifically, while proppant pillars do not disperse into smaller bodies in the absence of shear, they often encounter shear when being placed into a subterranean formation, particularly when encountering fracture closure stresses. Thus, the proppant pillars may be of a sub-optimal size due to dispersion after fracture closure, such that they are unable to maintain fracture conductivity. Therefore, a method of forming and placing proppant pillars into a subterranean formation such that they do not disperse into smaller bodies may be of benefit to one of ordinary skill in the art.

Methods of forming and placing proppant pillars into a subterranean formation


Systems and methods for reducing beam instability in laser annealing are disclosed. The method includes: directing a conditioned laser beam through an opening in an aperture using a beam-redirecting element; forming a line image on the surface of the semiconductor wafer by imaging the aperture onto the surface, thereby locally heating the surface to form an annealing temperature distribution; detecting a thermal emission from the locally heated wafer surface; determining the annealing temperature distribution from the detected thermal emission; determining from the annealing temperature distribution a line-image intensity profile that includes a time-varying amount of slope; and adjusting the beam-redirecting element to redirect the laser beam to reduce or eliminate the time-varying amount of slope in the line-image intensity profile.

Laser annealing (also called laser spike annealing, laser thermal annealing, laser thermal processing, etc.) is used in semiconductor manufacturing for a variety of applications, including for activating dopants in select regions of devices (structures) formed in a semiconductor wafer when forming active microcircuits such as transistors and related types of semiconductor features.
One type of laser annealing involves the formation of a line-shaped intensity profile that is scanned over the wafer by moving the line image, moving the wafer, or a combination of these two movements. The line image is scanned in a "scan direction," which is perpendicular to its long axis. Some spatial variation in the intensity in the line image along the scan direction (i.e., the short axis of the line image) can be tolerated since the non-uniformities are averaged out as the line image moves over the wafer. On the other hand, the spatial variation of the intensity profile in the "cross-scan" direction of the line image needs to be tightly controlled to achieve consistent annealing results over the scan path of the line image.
One approach to defining the length of a line image involves passing light through an aperture defined by opposing knife edges. The light passing through the aperture is then imaged by a relay optical system to the wafer. In this type of line-imaging optical system, it has been observed that the intensity profile of the line image in the long direction undergoes time-varying changes. In many cases the changes manifest as a "tilt" (i.e., change in slope) in the intensity profile, and over time this tilt may shift, with the profile slope varying in time and even changing sign (e.g., the slope may change from positive to negative). This type of beam profile instability is also referred to as "beam wobble." This phenomenon can reduce the uniformity of the laser annealing process.


A hydraulic rescue tool (20) that utilizes a hydraulic cylinder (22) having a piston rod (24) that is movably disposed within the housing of the cylinder to provide linear driving means for the rescue tool. A cylinder yoke (32) is rotatably attached to the hydraulic cylinder housing and includes a front handle bar (34) for manipulating the tool. Rotation of the cylinder yoke (32) relative to the cylinder (22) prevents injury to an operator in the event that the tool binds and torques. An implement unit (50), which is either a cutter (54) or a spreader (74), is detachably disposed onto the piston rod (24). Pivotal links (36) connect the unit (50) to the cylinder yoke (32), with the unit used for cutting or spreading metal during a rescue. A plurality of quick release pins (72) attach the implement unit (50) to the piston rod (24) and pivotal links, thus providing a rapid release of the implement unit (50) from the piston rod (24) and links (36) for replacement or repair. The piston rod (24) has a rebated diameter (82) on its internal end that is at least two times smaller than the piston. This reduction in diameter provides additional surface area for hydraulic pressure when retracting an attached implement unit.

Previously, many types of rescue tools have been used to provide an effective means to pry or cut open a damaged vehicle at the scene of an accident. Other machine tools have also been developed with similar operational characteristics.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. Pat. No.InventorIssue Date6,244,568PattonJun. 12, 20015,956,992PattonSep. 28, 19995,622,353Painter et al.Apr. 22, 19975,301,533JacksonApr. 12, 19944,734,983BrickApr. 5, 19884,392,263AmorosoJul. 12, 19834,333,330PorterJun. 8, 1982
Patton's own U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,568 teaches a rescue spreading tool that provides spreading, crushing or cutting. A stationary yoke is attached to a cylinder and pair of spreader arms are attached to the cylinder and are free to rotate in opposite directions. Integrally formed with the cylinder ram is a pusher cam yoke that engages the arms and pushes them apart when the ram is extended. A pair of toggle links attached to the yoke continue to push the arms apart, thus creating a secondary thrust.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,992 also issued to the instant inventor, Patton, is for the same utility as above and consists of a first arm which functions in combination with an interlocking second arm that operates with a drive yoke. Another yoke includes a pair of cam pins that traverse a cam slot in each arm, and a drive rod is connected to the drive yoke.
Painter et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,353 discloses a rescue tool having a pair of spreader arms with a pivot point therebetween. A pair of links attached to the arms are reciprocally moveable between retracted and extended positions along an axis of movement. A third pivotal coupling couples the spreader arm pivot point to the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,533 of Jackson discloses a machine tool that relates to manufacturing operations for gripping, clamping, piercing and hemming workpieces. Two pairs of arms are arranged in an opposed, inverted relationship with respect to each other and are pivotally connected at one end to a drive. Each arm has a cam formed therein. The cams in each pair of arms are identically constructed in an opposed inverted relationship. Cam followers are mounted on a linear drive member, which engages the cams during movement to pivot the arms between an open and closed position. Each cam has an arcuate shape at an obtuse angle with respect to a pivot pin connecting each pair of arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,983 issued to Brick teaches a cutting tool that is effective for cutting through sheet metal when extricating accident victims. The tool has one curved movable blade and one stationary blade. The stationary blade is formed on an anvil that is anchored within the frame of the tool and is locked within the frame with a dowel.
Amoroso in U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,263 teaches a rescue tool having a body with a cylinder and an outward extending piston. Jaw members are connected to the body with links and include outer prying portions, inner cutting portions and intermediate shearing portions. The tool may be powered by a bi-directional motor or directly from a wrecker motor vehicle system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,330 issued to Porter is for a spreader tool that has opposed force arms that are separated and pivoted while mounted on a base member. The arms achieve annular movement in an opposite direction in response to axial movement of a driven piston of an associated jack. The arms have inner edges that rest upon rollers mounted on the forward end of the piston. The curve of the arm's inner edges forms an angle at which a constant axial force of the piston is applied to the arm by the roller such that the force is always constant.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention is related, reference may be made to the remaining cited patents issued to Gehron in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,260 and Forster et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,635.


A photographing optical lens assembly includes a first lens element, a second lens element, a third lens element, a fourth lens element, a fifth lens element and a sixth lens element. The first lens element has positive refractive power. The second lens element with negative refractive power has an object-side surface being convex in a paraxial region thereof and an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof. The third lens element, the fourth lens element, the fifth lens element and the sixth lens element have refractive power. The sixth lens element has an image-side surface being concave in a paraxial region thereof, wherein the image-side surface of the sixth lens element has at least one inflection point. The photographing optical lens assembly has a total of six lens elements with refractive power.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a photographing optical lens assembly, an image capturing unit and a mobile device, more particularly to a photographing optical lens assembly and an image capturing unit applicable to a mobile device.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, with the popularity of mobile terminals having camera functionalities, the demand of miniaturized optical systems has been increasing. The sensor of a conventional optical system is typically a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) sensor. As the advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies have allowed the pixel size of sensors to be reduced and compact optical systems have gradually evolved toward the field of higher megapixels, there is an increasing demand for compact optical systems featuring better image quality.
A conventional optical system employed in a portable electronic product mainly adopts a five-element lens structure. Due to the popularity of mobile terminals with high-end specifications, such as smart phones, tablet personal computers and wearable apparatus, the requirements for high resolution and image quality of present compact optical systems increase significantly. However, the conventional optical systems cannot satisfy these requirements of the compact optical systems.
Other conventional compact optical systems with six-element lens structure enhance image quality and resolution. However, in order to keep a compact optical system, the air gap in a paraxial region between the first lens element and the second lens element is extremely small. It is thereby unfavorable for assembling. Also, since the air gap between the first lens element and the second lens element is extremely small, the first lens element is easy to be in contact with the second lens element which leads to worse image quality.

Photographing optical lens assembly, image capturing unit and mobile device


A system for detecting and removing foreign object debris from an enclosed region is capable of insertion through a small-sized opening. A source of light is optically transmitted through a first window in the outer peripheral surface of an elongated borescope adjacent its distal end to illuminate a debris containing region. An image of the region is transmitted through a second window in the distal end of the borescope to a remote television monitor. A vacuum conduit extends to a flexible tip end which is proximate to the distal end of the borescope and is connected to a source of vacuum to create a suction at the tip end. An elongated guide sleeve serves to slidably receive the vacuum conduit. The tip end of the vacuum conduit is movable relative to the guide sleeve between a retracted position substantially coincident with the first end of the guide sleeve and an extended position whereat the tip end of the vacuum conduit is distant from the first end. The first end of the guide sleeve can be articulated from a neutral position aligned with its longitudinal axis and an operating transverse position such that the flexible tip end of the vacuum conduit is similarly turned. Additionally, the guide sleeve is rotatable about its longitudinal axis to thereby position the tip end of the vacuum conduit proximate to the debris when the tip end is in the operating position for withdrawal of the debris for disposal.

a. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated system for detecting and removing undesired debris from the interior of an enclosed structure such as an aircraft wing after it has been manufactured but before it is placed in service.
b. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, elongated optical devices have been developed which are capable of transmitting visual images to a remote observer. These devices are used to transmit images of objects near the distant end of the device to an observer at the near end of the device. This permits the observer to perform a visual inspection of remote objects within the field of view of the far end of the device. The original devices were used to inspect the bores of guns, hence the name borescopes. Other common names applied to such devices are endoscopes and intrascopes. Presently borescopes are used to facilitate inspection of a large variety of objects located in remote, inaccessible or hazardous areas. Thus, they are used in such diverse applications as the inspection of turbine engines, human bodies, and nuclear reactors.
The first borescopes were essentially elongated tubular microscopes which employed a series of lenses to convey an image of an object in the field of view of a field lens at a remote end of the tube to an objective lens at the observer's end of the tube. Usually, means were also provided to illuminate the field of view of the borescope, as for example by a small lamp located near the remote end of the tube.
Modern borescopes oftentimes utilize flexible fiber optic cables rather than lenses. The fiber optic cables contain parallel bundles of fine transparent fibers, and transmit to one end of the cable an image of the area within the field of view of the opposite end of the cable.
Most fiber optic borescopes have a flexible protective sheath covering the entire length of the cable. Typically, the sheath is made of a durable, abrasive resistant material such as a woven metal. Also, most fiber optic borescopes include within the sheath a second fiber optic cable which is illuminated by a bright light source at the observer's end. The second cable transmits light to the remote end of the cable, which then illuminates the field of view of the imaging fiber optic cable.
A relatively recent improvement in fiber optic borescopes permits the observer at the viewing end of the borescope to remotely manipulate the distant end of the cable to position the axis of the imaging fiber optic cable at a desired orientation, thereby bringing into its field of view a desired area of interest. These remotely manipulatable fiber optic borescopes are referred to as articulated, articulating or articulateable borescopes. By applying tension to one or more flexible wires strung through the protective sheath and attached to a pivotable member near the remote end or head of the cable, the head may be tilted at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the cable. Such borescopes can have either one or two planes of articulation. The latter type permits aiming the head of the borescope to any point in a forward directed hemisphere (or larger portion of a sphere) centered around the head end of the cable.
Typical of the prior art disclosing such elongated inspection systems are U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,501 to Ginsburgh et al. and No. 4,530,568 to Haduch et al. which are particularly adept at gaining entry to inaccessible regions. U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,168 to Oku discloses such a device which includes a television monitor for viewing, from a remote location, the progress being made by the endoscope. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,608 to Mitsui, an endoscope is disclosed for insertion into a body cavity. The endoscope is provided with forceps to excise body tissue for subsequent inspection and with a suction conduit for removal of the body tissue for the inspection procedure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,405 to Leckrone discloses an angioplasty catheter provided with a laser for vaporizing undesired material and a blade for excising undesired material and a suction duct for removal of the vaporized or excised material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,276 to Krawiec et al. discloses apparatus for locating and removing debris or foreign material located in the bladed region of a turbomachine.
It was with recognition of the prior art as described above that the present invention was conceived and has now been reduced to practice.

System for detecting and removing foreign object debris


An image forming apparatus having at least two of a plurality of functions including copying, facsimile and printer functions includes a main power switch that is provided on an outer surface of the apparatus and a cover to cover the main power switch. The cover is capable of opening and closing. Because the main power switch cannot be operated unless the cover is opened, when a user inadvertently tries to turn off the main power switch, for example, at the end of a day, the user must first touch the cover and is thereby reminded that the switch which the user is trying to turn off, is actually the main power switch for the apparatus. Thus, the main power switch is prevented from being inadvertently or unconsciously turned off.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multifunctional image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions including copying, facsimile and printer functions.
2. Discussion of the Background
An image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions including copying, facsimile and printer functions is widely used and generally called a multifunctional image forming apparatus. Such a multifunctional image forming apparatus is typically constructed as a copying machine and includes additional parts for performing facsimile and printer functions. The apparatus generally includes an operational panel which can be used not only for a copying operation but also for facsimile or printer operations.
When the multifunctional image forming apparatus is operated only as a copying machine, a user typically turns on the power of the apparatus when the user starts using the apparatus for a day, for example, first in the morning, and turns off the power of the apparatus when the user finishes using the apparatus for the day, for example, at the end of the day. However, when the same apparatus is also used as a facsimile machine, the power of the apparatus must be always kept on, for example, even after the end of the day so as to receive an incoming facsimile at any time. Therefore, the multifunctional image forming typically has two separate power on/off switches, one for turning on/off the power of an image forming part of the apparatus, that is used for facsimile and printer functions and which is typically called a main power switch for the apparatus, and one for turning on/off the power of a part of the apparatus for a copying operation. For using the apparatus for a copying operation, after the main power switch is turned on, the power on/off switch for a copying operation must be turned on. For using the apparatus as a facsimile machine or a printer, only the main power switch must be turned on. The main power switch is typically a toggle type switch and is provided, for example, at a side plate of the main body of the apparatus, and the power on/off switch for a copying operation is generally a push type switch and is generally provided in an operational panel provided on an upper plate of the main body of the apparatus.
When a user has been using a regular copying machine having only a copying function and is not familiar with the multifunctional apparatus as described above, the user tends to turn off the main power switch of the apparatus, for example, at the end of a day, and thereby a problem is caused that the apparatus is disabled to receive an incoming facsimile after the end of the day.
In order to overcome the above-described and other problems with background apparatus, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a multifunctional image forming apparatus which is capable of preventing the main power switch of the apparatus from being inadvertently turned off by the user.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention further provide a multifunctional image forming apparatus which has a main power switch and at least another switch for turning on/off a function of the apparatus and in which the operability of these two switches are improved such that an unnecessary operation of turning on/off the main power switch is prevented.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an image forming apparatus having at least two of a plurality of functions including copying, facsimile and printer functions includes a main power switch that is provided on an outer surface of the apparatus and the main power switch is covered by a cover capable of opening and closing. Because the main power switch cannot be operated unless the cover is opened, when a user inadvertently tries to turn off the main power switch, for example, at the end of a day, the user must first touch the cover and is thereby reminded of that the switch the user is trying to turn off is the main power switch for the apparatus and that if the main power switch is turned off the facsimile functions will be disabled. Thus, the main power switch being inadvertently or unconsciously turned off by the user is prevented.
The cover may be made of a translucent material, such as for example, plastics, such that the user can easily recognize the location of the main power switch when needed.
The image forming apparatus may further include a switch to turn on/off at least one of the plurality of functions. The switch to turn on/off the at least one of the plurality of functions may be provided on an outer surface of the apparatus at a front side of the apparatus. In this case, the main power switch is also provided at the front side of the apparatus. Because both the main power switch and the power on/off switch for a copying operation are located at the front side of the apparatus, the user can more easily recognize that the switch that is covered by the cover is the main power switch for the apparatus and must not be inadvertently turned off.
Further, the cover may be made detachable from the apparatus. When the image forming apparatus is used simply as a copying machine, the cover may be omitted from the apparatus so as to reduce the cost of the apparatus.

Multifunctional image forming apparatus having a covered main power switch