A system and method of use to help a person to stop or modify an adverse habitual health-related behavior, e.g., smoking, weight control, stress management, etc., by following a calculated regimen to commence on a day to be selected by the person. The system comprises a computer and a series of customized visually perceptible messages establishing a customized regimen to aid the person to stop or modify the adverse habitual health-related behavior. The computer is arranged to receive personal information about the person and which is relevant to the behavior and makes use of expert system software to provide the customized messages in response thereto. The customized messages are in the form of a daily sequence measured relative to day selected by the person for the regimen to begin. Each of the messages is arranged to be read by the person in sequence on a daily basis and includes respective numerical indicia representing the number of days from the selected day to the day of said message. The messages are provided to the person in various ways, e.g., delivered to the person on a daily basis by means of some electronic communication medium, such as the Internet, e-mail, facsimile, etc., where they are printed out by the person. Alternatively, the cards or sheets may be generated by the system and provided to the person in hard copy form. The messages produced by the system may be updated and modified based upon information provided to the system by the person. Moreover, messages may be provided by the system to a support person to aid the person wishing to change his/her health-related behavior.

This invention relates generally to systems and methods for facilitating the self-modification of undesirable health-related behavior in human beings and for facilitating the maintenance of desirable health-related behavior.
Various methodologies and/or systems have been proposed and are publically available to help persons change an unhealthy or otherwise undesirable habitual health-related behavior. The training of persons to help them cease smoking is one such common application. For example, one approach to training persons to break their smoking habit was a plan or regimen provided by National Health Promotions, Inc. under the Service Mark SMOKE STOPPERS.RTM.. That plan made use of a bound, multi-page workbook entitled "Quitter's Countdown: Preparing to Stop," Copyright 1991, by the National Center for Health Promotion. The workbook included a multi-page questionnaire to be filled out by an individual desiring to quit smoking. Following the questionnaire portion in the workbook was a sequence of pages establishing the regimen of the non-smoking plan to be followed by the individual. In particular, those succeeding pages of the workbook included instructions for each successive day of the plan, e.g., instructions for "Day One," "Day Two," etc. These daily instructions were spread out over plural pages in the workbook and included text, charts, diagrams, etc.
Other workbooks have been used as part of smoking cessation plans. For example, as part of the commercialization of its Nicoderm.RTM. nicotine replacement product, SmithKline Beecham provides a workbook or booklet in the form of a calendar having daily instructions which are specifically tailored for the individual based on information provided by the individual. The calendar includes weekly dated pages. In particular, each weekly page bears indicia identifying the date for each of the days of that week, e.g., May 20.sup.th to May 26.sup.th, as well as indicia counting the number of days the individual has been on the plan. For example, if the individual starts the plan on May 20.sup.th the calendar entry for May 20.sup.th has indicia saying "Day One," whereas the calendar entry for May 21.sup.st bears the indicia "Day Two," etc.
While the workbook or calendar approach for providing daily instructions to achieve health-related behavior modification has considerable merit, it is believed to suffer from several drawbacks. One of the most significant drawbacks is that the multi-page format of the materials for each day of the plan tends to overwhelm the individual with excessive information. Moreover, the fact that the workbook is bound and includes all of the materials provided at one time, enables the individual to prematurely view latter stage instructions, which could tend to distract the individual. Further still, if the daily pages include the calendar date, so that the plan is tied to any particular date (e.g., the first day of the plan is June 6th), it is susceptible to deviation by the individual as will be discussed later.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,580 (Strecher) discloses a health-related behavior change and adherence aid system which overcomes various disadvantages of the prior art. The disclosed embodiments of that system are particularly directed to helping a person stop smoking permanently and utilizes the technique of "computer tailoring" to derive a particular regimen to be followed by the individual wishing to stop smoking. To that end, health risk and psychological information is gathered from the individual. That information comprises demographic information relevant to the health risk, history and patterns of the existing health-related behavior, motives to change that behavior, a specific behavior change goal, specific dates for beginning phases of the health-related behavior change process, and barriers to changing the health-related behavior. This data is provided into a computer system for processing to develop a specific or "tailored" plan best suited to that individual to maximize his/her chance of success. Thus, the computer makes use of an algorithm to process the data to produce a customized plan or regimen to be followed. To facilitate the plan the person is provided with a calendar defining the plan and instructions and recommendations for the individual to follow. The calendar is provided to the individual either in the form of a single monthly calendar sheet, i.e., a sheet with spaces for each day of the month, or series of date book pages. In either case the calendar includes spaces containing specific instructions and advice for the individual to follow. Moreover, and quite significantly, each of the days of the calendar are "dated." That is, they bear indicia with the specific calendar date of that day. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 the June calendar is in the form of a grid showing each of the days from June 1.sup.st to June 30.sup.th in its respective space. Each space for each day includes indicia identifying the day, e.g., "Wednesday" along with the date, e.g., June 3.sup.rd. In the exemplary embodiment described and shown in FIG. 5, a specific day is chosen for the individual to begin to stop smoking. That is identified as the "quit" day. In this exemplary embodiment the quit day is Tuesday, June 9.sup.th. The monthly calendar sheet entry for June 9.sup.th includes the printed indicia "QUIT DAY GET RID OF ALL CIGARETTES." Other days of the month also bear a tailored message, e.g., Saturday, June 15.sup.th bears the indicia "STAYING OFF: AVOIDING WEIGHT GAIN, STRESS," Monday, June 15.sup.th bears the indicia "STAYING OFF: NICOTINE THERAPY CHECKUP," etc. In a second, but not illustrated, embodiment the information contained in the spaces of the calendar are stated to be "placed in the spaces for the appropriate diary format, for example, a diary having all or part of a month, week or day per page." Like the first embodiment, each page is "dated," that is, it bears indicia identifying the particular calendar date, e.g., Tuesday, June 9.sup.th.
While the system and methodology of the Strecher patent are generally suitable for their intended purposes, they still leave something to be desired from the standpoint of efficiency and efficacy. In particular, by relying on "dated pages," wherein the particular instructions of the regimen are tied to a specific calendar date (e.g., the quit date being June 9.sup.th), should the individual miss that date or any other and thus get out of synchronism with the plan, he/she may wind up skipping a day or days to get back in synchronism with the regimen. This deviation from the plan may result in its failure. Moreover, by presenting the information in the form of a monthly calendar, like shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, with all the information for each day of the month being perceptible at one time, the individual may be overwhelmed by the information and/or may become distracted by prematurely reading latter day instructions. Thus, it is believed that the system of the Strecher patent provides too much information on the one hand, while also providing too little information on the other. With regard to the latter, it can be seen that the amount of information provided for a specific day is rather limited by the inherent size of the monthly calendar sheet and the particular daily spaces for the daily instructions.
Other prior art methodologies or systems exist for providing information to individuals wishing to modify a habit or some undesirable health-related behavior are found in the following U.S. Pat. No.: 4,951,197 (Mellinger); U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,854 (Behar et al.). Regimen calendars have also been proposed in the patent literature, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,917 (Dubner) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,733 (Busiere).
Notwithstanding the foregoing prior art, a need exists for an effective system and methodology to be used by persons desiring to change an undesirable health-related behavior or to maintain a desirable health-related behavior.

Method and system for stopping or modifying undesirable health-related behavior habits or maintaining desirable health-related behavior habits


Easily removable and donnable pants. The pants employ a releasable seam along the outside of each leg and a plurality of separate hook and loop fastener segments distributed along the seam for closing the seam. The lowest fastener, at the bottom of the pant leg, offers less resistance than those above it. The highest fastener, at the waist of the pants, offers more resistance than those below it. The lowest and highest fasteners comprise tabs, to permit adjustment of the waist and ankles of the pants to the size of the wearer, while those in between preferably are wave shaped. Preferably, the waist and ankle are provided with elastic material to make those portions of the pants adjustable and snug.

This invention relates to pants, particularly to pants for recreational use and for physically infirm or handicapped persons that are easy to don and remove.
In outdoor sporting events, such as soccer, the players ordinarily wear warm up pants when they are not actually in the game, or are travelling to and from the site of the game, in order to keep warm. This presents several problems. One problem is that when a player is called to enter the game the warm ups need to be removed rapidly so as not to hold up play. Another problem is that in outdoor sports the players shoes typically become covered with grass, dirt and even mud, which makes putting pants on after play without soiling the inside of the pants difficult, if not impossible.
Similarly, cross country skiers seek warmth until they have been active for a certain period. Then, they would like to reduce the layers of clothing and don them again when the skier slows down and cools off. However, this is difficult for a cross country skier to do with conventional ski pants because of the ski boots worn by the skier and the skis to which the boots are attached. Even pants with a full side zipper would be difficult to use because ski gloves must be removed and a small zipper manipulated.
One type of warm up pant which is often used by basketball players addresses the first problem by providing a releasable seam down the legs on the outside thereof, the seam being closed by a plurality of snap-type fasteners. However, this type of pant is not entirely satisfactory as a quick removal pant because the snaps do not release easily unless the pant is grasped near the snaps, which requires several unsnapping tugs, and each of typically about twenty snaps must be individually put together again to wear the pants. More importantly, these types of pants do not provide much relief from the problems of keeping the interior of the pants clean or preventing catching of the pants with cleats. This is because, as a practical matter, it is difficult to close the snaps after donning the pants. It is far easier to snap the pants together before donning them again, but that leads to soiling the inside of the pants with grass, dirt or mud from a player's shoes when the pants are donned or having the player's shoes catch on the inside of the pant leg.
Other types of pants which have releasable seams at least partly along the outside of the legs for convenience have been disclosed. For example, Purdon U.S. Pat. No. 3,801,986 discloses ski warm up pants that have a zipper along the outside seam of the legs for ease of removal. Similarly, Schifman U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,865 discloses an outer garment for cold weather which also has a zipper along the outside seam for ease of removal; however, this usually requires the removal of gloves to manipulate the zipper. Grilliot et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,760 discloses fire fighter's trousers which have a seam with a zipper part of the way up each leg for permitting the trousers to be expanded at the bottom for donning the trousers with fireboots on. However, zippers running the length of a person's leg are awkward to manipulate, typically take several seconds to unzip, can be difficult to align for closing the pant, can jam by catching on adjacent material, may pinch the wearer's skin, often become untracked or otherwise fail. Moreover, while a seam part of the way up a pant helps to fit a boot through the pant, it does not prevent the inside of the pant from being snagged or soiled by dirty footwear when the pants are donned.
Pants have also been disclosed which have releasable seams along the legs thereof that include a continuous strip of hook and loop fastener material, such as that marketed under the trademark VELCRO.RTM. by Velcro USA. Some such pants have been designed for the convenience of persons having a physical infirmity or handicap. For example, Smith et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,962 discloses pants with inseams closed by hook and loop material, and Grassick U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,756 discloses pants which have hook and loop material at the inseam and along the outer seam of only one leg. Neither of these arrangements places the seam in a convenient position for quick removal of the pants and, in any case, it is almost as difficult to unfasten and fasten a continuous strip of hook and loop material as a plurality of snaps. In addition, a continuous strip of hook loop material is relatively rigid, which limits the flexibility of the pant and makes the use of lightweight pant material impractical because it does not allow the fabric to assume its own shape.
Therefore, there is a need for improved pants suitable for recreational use, use as sports warm ups and for physically infirm or handicapped persons which decreases the time and inconvenience in removing and donning the pants.


A genetically modified microorganism includes: an exogenous nucleic acid sequence encoding naphthalene dioxygenase (NDO), wherein the endogenous icd gene of the genetically modified microorganism is knocked out, in which the endogenous icd gene encodes isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), and wherein the genetically modified microorganism is capable of using glutamic acid and/or a salt thereof as a nitrogen source to grow and producing indigo dye.

Indigo dyes can be produced by chemical and biological methods. In the existing chemical production process for indigo dyes, the intermediates produced include formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, which are highly polluting. Production of indigo dye by the biological method is through microbial fermentation in which a precursor, such as tryptophan or indole, is converted into indigo dye via an oxygenase. However, it is still difficult for indigo production by biological methods to enter an industrial scale given the current yield.
Glutamic acid (GA) is a widely used seasoning, which is cheap and abundant, but at present, there is no strain or production method that can effectively utilize glutamic acid as a raw material to produce indigo dye.
Therefore, there is need to establish a technology that uses glutamic acid as a raw material using a biological method to produce indigo to reduce the production cost of indigo.

Genetically modified microorganism and method for producing indigo dye

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A slideout room operating system for use with a recreational vehicle or travel trailer.. A dual drive means, part of which supports the slideout room, is used to efficiently perform the moving function.. The design is economical to manufacture and install and provides improved reliability of operation for slideout room systems currently in use.

The present invention is generally related to the travel trailer arts and, in particular, to an extendable room or area for such vehicles. Such designs in the prior art have been typically known as slideout or telescoping rooms.
Such slideout rooms or areas have become an important commercial part of the travel trailer arts and various patents have described efforts to arrive at a practical operating design which may be marketed on a widespread basis.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to set forth a novel slideout or telescoping room design which may be simply and readily manufactured.
It is a further object of the invention to demonstrate an extendable room design which is inexpensive and easily installed for widespread commercial appeal.
It is also an object of the invention to show a novel design with greatly improved reliability features to enhance use and life of the overall extendable room unit.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of skill in the art from the description which follows.


A Basic Input-Output System (BIOS) includes a management and driver module adapted to accomplish editing functions for the BIOS. Plug-in modules are added to the BIOS by submitting the plug-ins to the driver module, which determines compatibility and available space for adding, and acts accordingly, adding a candidate module to the BIOS if space is available and the plug-in module is determined to be compatible with the BIOS and the driver module. Plug-ins can also be removed by action of the driver module, which also performs management functions in identifying and initializing resident plug-in modules.

The present invention relates to system Basic Input Output Systems (BIOS). It is well-known in the computer arts that a BIOS program is provided, particularly for personal computers, to manage the intricate and critical operations of testing and initializing system hardware and, in general, preparing the computer and its connected peripherals for operation. Part of this procedure is widely known as a Power-On Self Test (POST) sequence. Beyond the POST procedure, the BIOS directs Boot operations, typically from a designated Boot device, such as a connected hard disk drive, and after Boot BIOS routines are accessed as needed to support operations such as communication between the connected digital devices that make up the computer system.
In early stages of PC development a relatively small, non-volatile, read-only memory (ROM) chip was more than adequate for system BIOS, and the relatively slow access to ROM was also adequate. As PC technology has developed to much faster CPUs and a wide range of ever more powerful and sophisticated peripheral devices, BIOS development has been forced to keep pace. BIOS routines have become much larger than early systems, and high operating speed has become necessary.
As a result of system development it is now common in state-of-the-art systems for BIOS to be compressed in a ROM chip, and for BIOS routines to be shadowed to system random-access memory (RAM) where the routines may be accessed and executed and much higher speeds than is possible running directly from ROM.
At the same time that BIOS routines have been enhanced and further developed for more sophisticated and powerful PCs, there has been parallel development in ROM chips. One such development is known as Flash ROM. Flash ROM is non-volatile IC memory that may be erased, either as a whole or in specific blocks, and overwritten with new memory values. BIOS is now provided in high-end PCs in these Flash ROM chips, providing new advantages, such as an ability to address system bugs in the field. BIOS can hence be "re-flashed" in the field to provide a new version, for example, such as by downloading a new version from the Internet, and re-flashing the existing BIOS ROM with the new version.
In a related development, flash ROM chips have been made larger and faster, and for various reasons related to economy of scale it has become uneconomic to make small flash ROM chips. At the time of the present patent application flash ROM chips are readily available in sizes of, for example, 1 mega-bit, (1 Mb), and 2 and 4 Mb and larger. These sizes relate to the more common byte-related memory capacity designation by a factor of eight. A four Mb Flash ROM the has a code capacity of 512 kilo-byte (KB).
As a consequence of the availability of relatively inexpensive, large flash ROM chips, and the fact that compressed code is now common in BIOS, it is quite common at the time of the present application for system BIOS in Flash ROM to occupy considerably less than the total memory capacity of the chip. At the same time, because rapid development of new peripherals and expanded functionality of others, such as video displays, which are now high resolution and in color, there is a need for initialization of many devices at system start up, and initialization of all the devices cannot be included in the system BIOS all of the devices. Many such devices (VGA adapters, for example) therefore have BIOS functions provided by the manufacturers of the devices.
With the use of larger ROM chips, and particularly with Flash ROM, it is now possible for original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Value-Added Resellers (VARs) and the like to use extra memory capacity in a ROM chip storing BIOS functions for providing BIOS functions for peripherals, and also other routines, such as, for example, pre-boot security routines. With the present state of the art, however, it is necessary that a third party cooperate closely with a BIOS provider to add to and enhance the functionality of a BIOS chip. The partitioning, addressing, size, and other characteristics of the chip have to be known by the third party, and the structure and storage estate of the resident code has to be known as well.
What is clearly needed, and what is provided by the present invention is a BIOS system that allows third parties to add to and to customize a BIOS ROM (BIOS extensions) without having to deal with all of the detailed characteristics of the chip and code stored on the chip. In such a system, OEMs, for example, may quickly, easily, and inexpensively provide initialization functions for different mixes of peripheral devices, and to also add BIOS plug-ins for other functions that may provide added value if performed during pre-boot operations and the like.

Method and apparatus standardizing use of non-volatile memory within a BIOS-ROM


The invention encompasses compounds of Formula I, including pharmaceutically acceptable salts, their pharmaceutical compositions, and their use in treating CNS disorders.

Tachykinins are a group of naturally occurring peptides found widely distributed throughout mammals, both within the central nervous system and in the peripheral nervous and circulatory systems. The three known mammalian tachykinins are Neurokinin-1 (NK-1, substance P), Neurokinin A, and Neurokinin B. These compounds act as neurotransmitters and immunomodulators and may contribute to the pathophysiology of a wide variety of human diseases.
Receptors for tachykinins have been identified and include neurokinin-1 (NK-1 or Substance P-preferring), NK-2 (Neurokinin A-preferring) and NK-3 (Neurokinin B-preferring). NK-1 receptor antagonists are being developed for the treatment of physiological conditions associated with an excess or imbalance of tachykinins, particularly substance P. Such conditions include affective disorders such as anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia, and panic disorder. See Gentsch et al. Behav. Brain Res. 2002, 133, 363; Varty et al. Neuropsychopharmacology 2002, 27, 371; Papp et al. Behav. Brain Res. 2000, 115, 19; Kramer et al. Science 1998, 281, 1640; and Rosen et al. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 1998, 8, 281. Robust antidepressant activity has been reported for two NK-1 antagonists, MK-869 (M. S. Kramer, et al., Science 1998, 281 1640) and CP-122,721 (T. J. Rosen, et al., Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 1998, 8, 28 and CNS Drug News, Dec. 24, 2000).
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's) have proven to be effective in treating depression, but have the disadvantages of delayed onset of antidepressant activity, limited efficacy, and significant side effects. See Novel strategies for pharmacotherapy of depression, K. A. Maubach, N. M. J. Rupniak, M. S. Kramer, and R. G. Hill, Current Opinion in Chemical Biology 1999, 3, 491-499. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in combination with other agents can be useful for the treatment of depression and other disorders and combination SERT/NK1 compounds should also be useful for these conditions. For example, the combination of SSRIs with dopamine reuptake inhibitors such bupropion and modafanil have shown clinical benefit relative to SSRIs alone, primarily due to superior side effect profiles (Bodkin et al, 1997, J Clin Psychiatry, 58: 137-145; Kennedy et al, 2002, J Clin Psychiatry, 63:181-186). Additionally, the combination of SSRIs with 5-HT1A antagonists such as pindolol have shown improved clinical response relative to SSRIs alone (Artigas F et al, 1994, Arch Gen Psychiatry 51:248-251; Blier P and Bergeron R, 1995, J Clin Psychopharmacol 15:217-222). Finally, combining SSRIs with antipsychotics, such as fluoxetine plus olanzapine, has provided superior profiles in certain depressed populations including psychotic depression and bipolar depression (Corya et al, 2003, J Clin Psychiatry, 64:1349-1356; Rothschild et al, 2004, J Clin Psychopharmacol, 24:365-373).
NK-1 antagonists are believed to modulate 5-HT function via noradrenergic pathways and have been shown to attenuate presynaptic 5-HT1A receptor function. NK-1 antagonists offer an alternative approach for treating depression in patients that respond poorly to the SSRI's and other available drugs and the combination of serotonin reuptake inhibition with NK-1 antagonism may lead to new classes of drugs with improved characteristics.

Substituted heterocyclic ethers and their use in CNS disorders


A wireless vibration sensor suitable for connection to a distributed industrial control system arranged with a wireless network for communication of process data or control information. The wireless vibration sensor includes at least one sensor, a wireless radio transmitter, and a base part for mounting it firmly on equipment or a structure. The wireless sensor is arranged with a battery and a power storage device. A method for powering up the wireless sensor during active cycles is also described.

In an industrial installation a distributed control system (DCS) or an industrial control system may be equipped with a large number of field devices, including sensors and instruments. Usually such an industrial installation has one or more control rooms and a computer system which are connected by one or more data networks, such as buses or fieldbuses to the various field devices. The data network may comprise both wired and wireless links. Field devices may include various types of sensor instrument such as vibration sensors, pressure sensors, temperature gauges, as well as devices that include an actuator such as a valve actuator, a solenoid, a breaker or isolator or on/off switch and the like. Each field device such as a wireless sensor needs to be configured suitably to carry out the chosen function of monitoring an individual device. Each wireless sensor and field device at a specific location are usually given an identity in the control system or DCS. A wireless sensor may also have an identity in a wireless network.
Typically Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) have been used to collect a couple of bytes (e.g. a temperature value) from each node. Vibration is, however, a more demanding phenomenon to monitor with wireless communication because of the large amount of data (e.g. 4 or 8 kB of data) that is needed for the vibration analysis. An important technical requirement for a wireless sensor is that of power use. For sensors which are not supplied from the grid or another power supply, but supplied instead by an independent power source such as a battery or a fuel cell, the power characteristics of the power source and useful lifetime between replacement are critical factors. The power use must be sufficiently low so that a battery will last for a period of 1 or more years between replacement.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,424,403 entitled Low power vibration sensor and wireless transmitter system sensor and wireless transmitter system, assigned to CSI Technology Inc., describes a sensor system that senses parameters of a machine including vibration and produces dynamic signals representing the sensed parameters. The system converts the signals to a digital format, digitally filters and processes the signals. A processor 20, preferably a digital signal processor DSP, determines a plurality of levels relative a predetermined set of data points of the digital signal. The processor determines a peak level value and calculates a true root-mean-square. The peak level and the RMS value are communicated wirelessly by a communication module of the system to a control protocol network. A system power supply powers both the processor and a communication module. The power supply from the battery to the measurement system, not including the communication module, is controlled by the processor 20. However, a disadvantage of this approach is that analysing measurements in the processor of the sensor before wirelessly transmitting such processed data requires additional memory storage, some delays, more processing power and uses more electrical power from the battery. This is often the case when a manual request for a data sample is made by an operator who waits for the processed result.
In an environment such as an installation for extraction, production or processing of oil, petrochemicals and/or gas it is vital that the equipment complies with standards to avoid explosions or fires should explosive vapours be present. For example a European ATEX standard (Appareils destinés à être utilisés en ATmosphères EXplosibles) compatible with equipment directive 94/9/EC regulates aspects such as avoiding that an equipment can become a source of ignition. Thus all equipment is required to be fully enclosed so that gases and etc do not normally enter the equipment. The ATEX requirement also involves avoiding that components can become sufficiently hot to ignite explosive gas or vapour, both during normal operation and in a possible failure mode. For example, if a battery should fail with an internal short circuit, that failure should not be allowed to lead to an ignition source. Thus there is a technically challenging simultaneous requirement for stand alone wireless sensors with an energy source with sufficient energy density to power a sensor for a long period of time versus the requirement to avoid that any component can become hot or overheated during use or failure.

Wireless sensor device and method for wirelessly communicating a sensed physical parameter


An animal trap including jaws rotatably coupled together at a distal end, each of the jaws having one or more portions that are transverse to a longitudinal axis of the animal trap, a spring axially mounted substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the animal trap, the spring being configured to provide a rotating force to one or more of the jaws, and a pan hinged on one of the one or more transverse portions and configured to restrain a trip wire when pressure is applied to the pan releasing the rotating force provided by the spring and causing one or more of the plurality of jaws to rotate together.

Rodents, pests, and other burrowing animals such as moles and gophers can cause significant property damage. If not controlled, burrowing animals can damage lawns, gardens, crops, homes, and property. These animals, including gophers and moles, are often difficult to catch, kill, or prevent from burrowing and causing damage.
Some conventional techniques for controlling burrowing animals (e.g., gopher, mole, and other burrowing creatures) include poisons, deterrents (e.g., fences), and traps. Some conventional techniques use poisons to control burrowing animal populations, but these can also cause undesirable harm by poisoning soil, polluting water tables, affecting crops, or causing other adverse environmental or ecological effects. Deterrents such as fences can also be used, but burrowing animals are often able to dig underneath or chew through deterrents, regardless of whether a portion of the fence has been buried. Traps are still another conventional solution, but there is a large variation in the design and material of the traps, leading to mixed and, often, unsuccessful results.
For example, some conventional traps are designed for placement inside the mouth or opening of a hole burrowed by an animal (e.g., gopher, mole, and the like). Animals are forced to move across or over parts of the trap for activation, but various parts of conventional traps have large, solid cross-sectional areas that can intimidate or discourage an animal from entering the trap. Other conventional problems include failure to kill an animal that springs a trap due to inadequate spring tension, or compromised function due to corroded or deteriorated components. Some conventional traps have mechanisms that produce inadequate force to hold and kill animals, resulting in animals escaping from traps and becoming "trap shy." Another problem with conventional traps is the large numbers of parts and complex manufacturing requirements (e.g., soldering numerous components together). Further, conventional traps may be difficult to use, set, or trip, also resulting in decreased effectiveness. Still further, some conventional traps use materials that deteriorate or corrode over time, particularly when placed in-ground and exposed to moisture-laden setting such as lawns, golf courses, gardens, and the like. Weakened components or increased friction on moving parts due to corrosion or deterioration can result in the complete failure of conventional traps.
Thus, what is needed is an animal trap without the limitations of conventional techniques.


A system for changing the stiffness of a ski includes apparatus for variably limiting the longitudinal movement of a ski binding support plate mounted on a ski. The degree of movement determines the amount of bending possible, and thus controls ski stiffness.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ski control apparatus for varying the characteristics of a ski according to the nature of the snow being skied upon, the type of skiing being performed, the nature of the ski and the skill of the skier, in order to improve the quality of the skiing and safety of the skier. It relates in particular to apparatus which varies the stiffness or flexibility of the ski according to the foregoing conditions.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
Important conditions affecting downhill skiers are the nature of the snow, the kind of skiing to be engaged in, the type of skis and bindings used and the skill of the skier. The snow and the ski run can vary during a day, while the ski and the skier are generally invariable. The snow can range from ice and hard snow, to very loose or soft snow, sometimes called powder snow. There are profound differences in skiing turns and speed, depending on the type of snow being skied upon. One characteristic of primary importance for a ski is its ability to bend or flex as it carries a skier. A ski flexes and counterflexes, and keeps the skier in control as he or she follows the contour of a slope, enabling a skier to manipulate the skis as he or she bounds and rebounds down the slope. In racing events, the snow is desirably ice hard both to increase the skier's speed and to avoid ruts in the snow. However, hard snow can limit the bending of the skis. In this regard, turning is mainly accomplished in hard snow by the skier tilting the skis to dig the edges at the bottom of the skis into the snow, accomplished by shifting his or her weight and body position. On the other hand, the skis can bend to a considerable degree in powder snow. The longitudinal sides of skis are convex arcs, and it is through the use of the side cuts dug in in the snow and the bending of the skis that the skier turns; the edges of the skis being of much less importance for turning in powder snow. Regular snow, that is snow whose texture and packing is between hard snow and powder snow, presents other problems to the skier. Experience, discussions with racers and other skiing experts, and testing, all indicate that a ski stiffer beneath the ski boot may be preferable in very hard snow conditions, while an overall more flexible ski appears to be preferable in soft snow conditions. An intermediate situation is preferable for snow of intermediate softness. It is also known that a ski loosely attached to the skier transfers less energy from the ski to the skier when the ski encounters obstacles, thus resulting in higher speed. However, a loose attachment results in loss of ski control in turns; hence it is desirable to have a loosely connected ski when traveling essentially in a straight line for greater speed, and a tightly connected ski when making turns for greater control.
The vibration characteristics of skis are also believed to be important. Skis have several vibration modes which are exhibited during skiing. High frequency vibrations break the contact between the ski-bearing surface and the snow, which improves speed. On very hard snow conditions, the breaking of the contact between a ski's running surface and snow does not result in the same level of benefit but the ski still vibrates, resulting in audible and perceptible chatter. A reduction in chatter is desirable in these conditions. Thus different requirements in underfoot stiffness and vibration exist, depending on snow conditions. The ski designer, faced with the different kinds of snow, the different types of skiing, and variations in skiers and their bindings, can only develop skis which can handle all of these varying characteristics reasonably well, but which are not optimized for any specific condition.
All ski bindings have an effect on ski stiffness underfoot. When a ski bends during skiing, the distance between the toe piece and the heel piece changes since they move relative to each other with the upward curvature of the ski. However, the length of the ski boot sole remains constant. Therefore, there is generally a limited movement rearwardly of the heelpiece in a clamp on the ski to keep it in contact with the boot. The force required to move the heel unit back results in a stiffening of the ski section directly under the binding and boot. It is believed that most ski bindings on the market fall into this category. Therefore, ski manufacturers take this stiffening action of the binding system into consideration in the design of the ski. The underfoot stiffness of the ski/binding combination is thus optimized for the type of skier and preferred snow conditions the ski was designed for. Different binding systems and separate devices to be used in conjunction with the ski and commercially available bindings have been manufactured to either increase or decrease the underfoot stiffness of the basic binding/ski configuration. Other devices can also affect the normal vibration of a ski. Combinations which decrease stiffness underfoot may improve soft snow skiability, while deteriorating skiability towards the end of the hard snow spectrum. Combinations which increase stiffness have the opposite effect.
In some systems, the binding is constructed to render the ski more flexible. In the ESS v.a.r. device, for example, a boot support plate having a forward portion which is slidable in a channel on the ski, should render the ski more flexible. However, the support plate is fixed with additional fastening means to the ski, and thus is believed to limit its benefit on soft snow. The fixing of the support plate decreases the bending of the ski.
The Tyrolia Freeflex system utilizes a flexible plate attached to the top of the ski. The plate is fixed to the ski at the toe of the binding, and is held in place about the heel by a slidable clamp fixed on the ski. Both toe and heel binding units are affixed on the boot support plate. When the ski bends, the heel clamp moves closer to the toe unit but the flexible plate is allowed to slide rearwardly, reducing the tendency of the heel unit to move towards the toe unit as in a normal binding configuration. The ski is thus allowed to flex more underfoot. The plate is able to move in the slidable clamp but is also held to the ski by an additional sliding point between the toe and the heel. This mounting configuration increases sliding friction and thus the overall decrease of ski stiffening is relatively small. Devices of this nature are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,481.
Most ski binding manufacturers produce bindings which increase the stiffness of skis. The stiffness of a ski provides a firm edge to drive into the snow for making turns in hard or intermediate snow. In this respect, it is much like an ice skater who drives his or her blade into the ice to make a turn. A flexible blade would detract from the skater making a turn, just as a very soft ski in the section directly below the boot would detract from the skier turning in hard snow.
Some expert skiers performing giant slalom or super giant slalom have found that their turning ability is enhanced when they attach to the ski, for example, by gluing, a thin plate on top of the ski in the binding area. This added plate increases the distance between the skier's boot and the edges of the ski, and enhances the leverage which the skier has to drive the edges of the ski into the snow. WIPO Document 83/00039 discloses a device wherein glue and an elastomeric material hold a plate for supporting a toe piece and heel piece to the ski. The elastomeric material absorbs some of the vibration of the ski on the hard snow and relieves some of the discomforting noise of the ski smacking rapidly against the snow. Furthermore, the device stiffens the ski/plate/binding combination in the underfoot area of the ski, improving edge control on hard snow. In another device called the Rossi-Bar, disclosed in European Patent Office Publication No. 0409749, a support bar on the ski has stops of elastomeric material at its forward and rearward ends. The bar is locked to the ski by clamps along the length of the bar. This device stiffens the ski underfoot and stiffens the ski's vibration, but its effect on the ski flex is not adjustable by the skier. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,481 mentioned earlier, a ski binding having an elongated plate is slidably mounted thereon for cushioning the skier when a forward abutment is encountered. Only the forward or toe portion of the system is fixed to the ski, so that the plate allegedly follows the bending of the ski. The device in fact impedes the bending of the ski since it is strapped to the ski in a number of places. A similar device with similar shortcomings is disclosed in Austrian Patent 373,786. A device of this type is sold under the name Derbyflex. It has been believed by many experts that raising the ski binding with such a plate detracts from the skier's ability to control the ski, since it has been thought that the skier has to be close to the snow to "feel" the snow and ski accordingly. The present inventors and other manufacturers believe that this notion is wrong for most types of skiers, and that holding a ski boot somewhat higher over the ski increases his or her ability to control the ski. Other patents disclosing ski bindings for increasing stiffness in skis include German Patent 2,135,450 and European Publication 0409749A1.
Even though the added plate is beneficial, it only applies to skiing on hard snow where a stiffer underfoot ski is desirable. When used on softer or powder snow, the added stiffness detracts from the skier's ability to control the ski since easier bending adds to the turnability of the ski in soft snow.
In European Patent Publication No. 0460574, various embodiments for changing the flexibility and dampening of a ski are disclosed. The disclosed publication is limited to the portions of the ski which are forward or rearward of a ski binding. In one embodiment, an elongated covering element is located between forward and rearward seating portions in which springs or resilient blocks are located, and the ends of the covering element engage those springs or blocks. The length of the covering element can be varied to vary the flexibility and/or vibration dampening of the ski.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,258,046 discloses another device for varying the flexibility of a ski which does not involve a ski binding. In this device, a leaf spring mounted on the ski slides as the ski is bent. A clamp fixed to the ski carries the ski boot over the spring. In one embodiment, a cam selectively depresses the spring to allegedly stiffen the ski.
Other devices are known having movable boot support plates on skis. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,867 discloses a shock absorbing buffer disposed between a ski and a binding, and is not really related to the stiffness of the binding.
The skill of the skier is another condition which skiing apparatus should take into consideration. Although stiff skis could be beneficial to good skiers in events such as giant slalom and super giant slalom, novice skiers generally use flexible skis for all events, since they enable reasonable performance even though edge control in turns may be sacrificed.
The inventors are unaware of any ski bindings which are adaptable to vary the stiffness in the binding location of a ski system according to the nature of the snow or the type of skiing being done. They are aware of no skiing system whose stiffness and vibration characteristics can be changed to perform well in the various skiing conditions.


Field effect transistor and methods of fabricating field effect transistors. The field effect transistors includes: a semiconductor substrate; a silicon oxide layer on the substrate; a stiffening layer on the silicon oxide layer; a single crystal silicon layer on the stiffening layer; a source and a drain on opposite sides of a channel region of the silicon layer; a gate electrode over the channel region and a gate dielectric between the gate electrode and the channel region.

There is an ongoing need in the industry to decrease the size of semiconductor devices such as field effect transistors in order to increase performance (speed) and decrease power consumption. One method to increase speed is to fabricate the field effect transistors from silicon-on-insulator substrates. Another method to increase speed is to adjust the strain (from either compressive stress or tensile stress) on the semiconductor portions of the field effect transistor. While these provide benefits to transistor performance, an even greater speed increase for field effect transistors in future applications beyond that attainable today is still required. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.

Enhanced stress-retention silicon-on-insulator devices and methods of fabricating enhanced stress retention silicon-on-insulator devices

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus and associated method are disclosed for the treatment of a surface through the projection of an abrading material against the surface. The abrading material is fed from a hopper to a centrifugal blast wheel which projects the abrading material toward the surface, the blast wheel rotated by a blast motor. A controllably positionable valve is disposed between the hopper and the blast wheel to regulate a rate at which the abrading material passes from the hopper to the blast wheel. During operation, a target current to be applied to the blast motor is determined by a control circuit, the target current indicative of a desired rate of abrasion of the surface. The control circuit then measures the current applied to the blast wheel and controls the position of the valve in relation to the target current and the measured current.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for treating surfaces which project an abrading material toward a surface to be treated and more particularly, but without limitation, to automated, portable devices for treating such surfaces.
2. Discussion
Man has developed a wide variety of surfaces and surface treatments for use in a variety of environments. For instance, many business, such as machine shops, manufacturing facilities and a wide variety of others have concrete floors which, over time, may develop a soiled and stained appearance. It is often desirable to resurface the concrete floor. Or perhaps the concrete floor has been painted or given some other surface treatment. Many times it is desirable to remove the paint or surface treatment so that a new surface treatment can be applied. Yet another example is a parking lot that has lines painted on it to facilitate organization of the parking on the surface. It is sometimes desirable to remove the painted on lines and reorganize the parking lot by providing new lines. These are but a few of the great number of surfaces and surface treatments that require maintenance and renovation.
Various devices have been developed to assist in treating these surfaces. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,922 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,831 are somewhat typical of such devices. Each of these prior art devices provide a portable apparatus which includes a centrifugal blast wheel which projects an abrading material, such as steel shot or the like, through a blast corridor onto the surface to be treated. The rebounding abrading material along with any dust or particulate resulting from the treatment of the surface are collected using a rebound corridor and vacuum source. The abrading material is separated from the dust and other particulate and recycled to a hopper which supplies the abrading material to the centrifugal blast wheel.
Although such prior art devices have been useful in treating surfaces, these devices have been fraught with numerous drawbacks and deficiencies. For instance, prior art machines have typically utilized a valve located between the hopper and the centrifugal blast wheel to control the rate of flow of particulate material. This valve has, in the past, been controlled manually and is a very awkward and imprecise. Thus, during use an operator is required to steer the device, control the rate of progression of the device and control the flow of abrading material to ensure a uniform treatment of the surface. These functions often must be simultaneously, making it very difficult to obtain a uniform treatment. This is especially true if the operator has little or no experience using the device.
Even for an experienced operator, prior art devices have been particularly difficult to obtain uniform results at startup and shut down, because the blast intensity has not been adjusted to the rate of forward progression of the device. Once the power cord has been disconnected from prior art machines, these machines have been difficult to move and maneuver without supplying power to the drive system.
Another drawback of prior art machines has been a lack of safety features. Many such devices could provide serious harm to the operator or others because the abrading material can be feed to the centrifugal blast wheel while the device is being repaired, moved and even when the device is tipped on its side.
Thus, while prior art surface treatment devices are known, there remains a need for an improved device which does not suffer from the drawbacks of currently available devices.

Automated surface treatment apparatus having current monitoring means


A microwave cooking tray comprises a base having at least two compartments. Each compartment of the base has a bottom surface defining a pattern, the bottom surface of one of the compartments defining a first pattern and a bottom surface of a second of the compartments defining a second pattern. The first and second patterns are distinct and each is designed for optimal cooking of a particular type of food product.

Consumers often prefer to cook food in a microwave oven rather than conventional ovens because of the reduced cooking time required to heat foods in a microwave oven. Consumers also want to be provided with the opportunity to cook pre-packaged food products in the package in which they were purchased without the hassle of transferring the food from one container to the next. Consumers further want to be provided with pre-packaged microwave oven meals which allow a dinner with several different courses to be prepared at one time.
Unfortunately, foods cooked in a microwave oven tend to be tough and/or dry in texture and consistency, rather than tender and moist. When liquid is added to the food in an attempt to retain moisture, the food can become soggy and undesirable. In addition, microwave ovens do not evenly distribute heat to the product being cooked. This results in a cooked food product that may be very hot in one area, but cold in another area. Because of these problems, many people consider microwave cooking to be problematic and generally undesirable.
One method for improving the texture and consistency of food cooked in a microwave oven is to use steam generated by the heated food product to assist in cooking the food. Cooking with steam not only provides moisture for the food being cooked, but also results in more consistent heating throughout the food product. Such a steam cooking method is described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,559,431, which is incorporated herein by reference.
One problem with consistently cooking various types of foods by this method is that steam generated by these various types of foods, when they are heated, differs based on the moisture content of the particular food being cooked. Because different amounts of steam will be produced when different foods are heated, and because different foods have different original textures and consistencies, the size and shape of the microwave cooking tray being used to steam cook a particular food plays an important role in that food's final texture and consistency. For example, by changing the shape of the compartment, the path of the steam used to cook the food may be manipulated to provide the best cooking environment.
When a microwave oven meal is being prepared, several different types of foods are often being heated simultaneously. If separate containers of an appropriate size and shape to steam cook each individual item are being used to simultaneously prepare the several different types of food, it becomes a hassle to juggle the various containers. If a single microwave cooking tray is used, the texture and consistency of some of the foods must be sacrificed.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a microwave cooking tray for steam cooking having multiple independent compartments, the size and shape of each being designed to provide an optimal environment for cooking the type of food contained therein. Such a design would allow several different types of foods to be prepared in a single tray without sacrificing texture and consistency of any of the foods.

Microwave cooking tray with multiple floor patterns


A method for coating a substrate and a coating device used therein that can smoothly form an adhesive layer on the surface of a substrate without roughening, is provided which do not require a drying process and is free of various problems such as sick house syndrome stemming from use of organic solvents. In addition, a method of producing a laminated object using the coating method and the laminated object obtained thereby are provided. In the method for coating a substrate to form an adhesive layer on one surface of the substrate, while the substrate is being conveyed by applying a hot melt adhesive in a melted state via a rotating applicator roller, with the direction of rotation of the applicator roller and the direction of conveying the substrate being the same, adhesive is applied to the substrate while slipping the applicator roller by setting the circumferential speed of the applicator roller to be at least 20% slower or at least 20% faster than the predetermined speed at which the substrate is conveyed.

Conventionally, many types of furnishings and interior materials are decorated by coating the surface of their substrates, such as wood boards, with an adhesive and then applying a laminate such as a film, decorative paper or laminating material thereon.
Roller coaters are generally used for applying adhesive to a substrate such as a wood board. Roller coaters have two rollers for adjusting the application quantity of the adhesive, namely, an applicator roller and a metering roller, and a backing roller that applies pressure to the substrate and also conveys the substrate.
A water emulsion is generally employed as the adhesive used in this regard. The water emulsion is applied to a substrate such as a wood board to form an adhesive layer, with a film or decorative paper and the like is applied thereon. The resulting laminated object possesses a degree of smoothness and aesthetic appeal making it suitable for use in various furnishings and interior materials. In recent years, the demands on aesthetic appearance have increased, with a higher degree of surface smoothness being sought. As a result, conventional water emulsions used as adhesives are no longer up to the task.
Plywood, medium density fiber board (MDF), particle board, and the like, are used as the wood board to which the aforementioned film or decorative paper is bonded. Among these, the surface of plywood is a veneer having minute surface indentations. Applying an adhesive such as a water emulsion directly to the surface of plywood with an applicator roller results in minute indentations in the adhesive layer, inhibiting the formation of a smooth adhesive layer of uniform thickness. Such minute indentations, by showing through the surface of the applied film or decorative paper, are deleterious to smoothness and aesthetic appeal.
In order to remedy this defect, so-called sealing processing is performed involving the application of a sealer to the surface of a wood board to fill in concavities. This to some extent improves the smoothness of the surface, but still falls short of the exacting demands for smoothness in recent years as long as adhesives such as conventional water emulsions are used.
In addition, applying water emulsion adhesives to medium density fiber board (MDF) causes swelling of the medium density fiber board (MDF), which adversely affects smoothness.
Water emulsions generally contain certain amounts of organic solvent such as toluene or xylene. Their use in interior furnishing materials requires drying time after application of a film or decorative paper. In addition, their use in interior furnishing materials causes sick house syndrome. Furthermore, drying equipment is costly and providing installation space for such equipment is often difficult.
Solvent adhesives also have problems such as giving off a bad smell when dried and the residual solvent of the volatile organic compound being carcinogenic.
Besides the above water emulsion adhesives and solvent adhesives, hot melt adhesives such as ethylene vinyl acetate, polyamide, reactive urethane and reactive epoxy adhesives that solve problems related to sick house syndrome and volatile organic compounds are also available.
However, their higher viscosity compared to other adhesives leads to the problem of roughening occurring easily on the surface of the substrate. That is, when the applicator roller comes in contact with the surface of the wood board and when it is retracted from the board after applying the adhesive, the adhesive itself and the surface of the substrate are easily roughened due to the high viscosity of the adhesive. As a result, surface indentations after bonding of the film or decorative paper become noticeable, adversely affecting the aesthetic appeal. This problem becomes prominent when using hot melt adhesives.
Water emulsion adhesives are self leveling due to their high application quantity and relatively low viscosity. In contrast, hot melt adhesives are highly viscous, have a short open time after being applied to the surface of a wood board, and exhibit a sudden drop in temperature after application. Due to the accompanying sudden rise in viscosity, self leveling cannot be expected. Obtaining a smooth and thin adhesive layer of uniform thickness is therefore difficult, with roughening remaining as surface irregularities after the film or decorative paper is applied, adversely affecting the aesthetic appeal as an interior furnishing material.
It is conceivable to apply the adhesive to the back of the film or decorative paper, instead of the surface of the wood board, as a way to solve these problems. However, compared to applying the adhesive to the surface of the wood board, permeation of the adhesive applied on the film side into the wood board is insufficient, resulting in diminished bonding strength.
As described above, it is difficult to form a smooth and thin adhesive layer of uniform thickness on a substrate such as a wood board using conventional adhesives and coating equipment, and there remains scope for improving the smoothness of surfaces to which a film or decorative paper has been subsequently bonded.
Also, use of water emulsion adhesives or solvent adhesives entails a drying process, leading to problems related to drying equipment and providing space for such equipment as well as prolonging the work process. Problems such as sick house syndrome also arise from use of organic solvents.

Method for applying adhesive to substrate, substrate, coating device, method for producing laminated object, and laminated object


An image-taking apparatus is disclosed which achieves focusing in a reduce time with higher accuracy of an in-focus position search in a TV-AF method to minimize occurrence of unnatural focus changes. The image-taking apparatus includes an image-taking element, a first detector which outputs a focus evaluation value signal based on a predetermined frequency component of an output signal of the image-pickup element, a second detector which outputs a detection signal different from the focus evaluation value signal, and a controller which performs first processing of obtaining information for an in-focus position search of the focus lens based on the focus evaluation value signal. The controller performs second processing of obtaining information on an in-focus position based on the detection signal from the second detector, and performs third processing different depending on a comparison result between the information from the first processing and the information obtained from the second processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image-taking apparatus such as a video camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a so-called TV-AF method is mainly used for auto-focus control in video cameras, in which an object image is photoelectrically converted by an image-pickup element into a video signal from which the sharpness of the video is detected and used as an AF evaluation value, and the position of a focus lens at which the AF evaluation value is at the maximum is searched for.
As the AF evaluation value in the TV-AF method, a high-frequency component extracted from a video signal by a band pass filter for a certain band is typically used. When a normal object image is taken, the AF evaluation value is higher as a focus lens approaches an in-focus point (in-focus position) as shown in FIG. 2. The highest level of the AF evaluation value corresponds to the in-focus point.
Another AF method is a TTL (Through The Lens) phase difference detection method. In the TTL phase difference detection method, a luminous flux passing through the exit pupil of an image-taking lens is split into two which are received by a set of line sensors. Then, a displacement amount in signals output according to the received light amounts, that is, a relative positional displacement amount in the direction in which the luminous flux is split, is detected to directly determine a defocus amount of the image-taking lens. Once a focus detection sensor is used to perform storing operation, the drive amount and the drive direction of the focus lens can be provided, so that focus adjustment operation can be performed at high speed.
Another phase difference detection method is an external metering phase difference detection method which does not use light passing through an image-taking lens. In the external metering phase difference detection method, a luminous flux from an object is split into two which are received by a set of line sensors. Then, a displacement amount in signals output according to the received light amounts, that is, a relative positional displacement amount in the direction in which the luminous flux is split, is detected to calculate the distance to the object with triangulation.
Other AF methods using an external metering sensor include a method in which an ultrasonic sensor is used to measure the distance to an object from the propagation speed of ultrasonic waves and a method in which an infrared sensor is used to perform triangulation, and the like.
In addition, a hybrid AF method is used by combining these AF methods. In the hybrid AF method, for example, a focus lens is driven near to an in-focus point in the TTL phase difference detection method, and then the focus lens is driven more accurately to the in-focus position in the TV-AF method (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-64056 (No. 1993-64056)).
While the TV-AF method generally allows more accurate focusing than the other AF methods, the TV-AF method has the higher focusing accuracy and accordingly tends to require a longer time period to achieve focusing than the other AF methods. Also, when an object is taken with low contrast or in dark conditions, searching for an in-focus position is not necessarily performed accurately in the TV-AF method. If the search for an in-focus position is performed in a wrong direction in which a true in-focus position does not exist, it takes a long time to achieve focusing.
In the aforementioned hybrid AF method, focus adjustment is performed in an AF method other than the TV-AF method with lower accuracy of focusing than the TV-AF method. Thus, when a focus lens is first driven in the AF method other than the TV-AF method, the focus lens may pass an in-focus position at which the lens would stop in the TV-AF method. Thus, a video being taken involves unnatural focus changes in which focusing is once achieved, then slight blurring is caused, and thereafter, focusing is being achieved again by auto-focus in the TV-AF method.


A surface acoustic wave device with improved reflection characteristics, in which an insulating film is formed so as to cover an electrode film, and the electrode film is made from Al or an Al alloy, includes a piezoelectric substrate, an electrode film which is formed of Al or an alloy including Al as a major component on the piezoelectric substrate and which defines at least one interdigital transducer, and an insulating film arranged on the piezoelectric substrate so as to cover the electrode film, the average density of the electrode film is less than or equal to about 1.5 times the density of the insulating film, wherein the top surface of the insulating film is planarized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surface acoustic wave device for use as a resonator, a band filter, or other suitable device. More particularly, the present invention relates to an end surface reflection type surface acoustic wave device having a configuration in which an insulating film is formed so as to cover an electrode film which defines an IDT.
2. Description of the Related Art
As piezoelectric substrates for use in surface acoustic wave devices, 36° and 39.5° to 46° rotated Y plate LiTaO3 substrates are widely used. In particular, for RF surface acoustic wave filters, Al or Al alloys are used as materials for forming electrodes such as IDTs (Interdigital Transducers), and the film thickness thereof is approximately 0.08 λ to 0.10 λ when the wavelength of the surface acoustic wave is denoted as λ.
In this type of surface acoustic wave device, in order to improve the temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF), various configurations in which, on a piezoelectric substrate, an insulating film formed of an SiO2 film is formed so as to cover the electrode (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 2-37815, 8-265088, and 9-186542).
In WO96/4713 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 1999-186866, a configuration in which the top surface of the insulating film made of SiO2 is planarized is disclosed.
However, in a known surface acoustic wave device in which an insulating film made of SiO2 is formed, a stopband of a sufficient magnitude cannot be obtained. For this reason, when a surface acoustic wave resonator is formed, a large ripple appears in the vicinity of the anti-resonance frequency, and the anti-resonance point disappears. Furthermore, in the surface acoustic wave filter, there is the problem that filter characteristics are not sufficient.

End surface reflection type surface acoustic wave device


A golf club cleaning apparatus is provided. According to the invention, there is a face plate made of a semirigid material having at least one clip affixed to its back side. A washable and reusable face piece is affixed to the front side of the face plate. Indicia may be displayed on the front of the face piece. In use, a golfer will attach the face plate to golfing footwear, clothing, or other equipment and use the face piece for cleaning golf clubs. In one embodiment, the face piece, when soiled, can be removed, washed, and replaced on the face piece for reuse.

It is well known that having clean golf club heads is critical to accurate shot taking and placement, and, thus is at least indirectly related to improving one's golf score. While playing golf it is not unusual, indeed even expected, that golf clubs will become coated with debris. This occurs when a golf club head comes in contact with either grass, dirt, or other debris on a golf course.
Over the years golfers have resorted to various means of cleaning to keep golf clubs clean during a round of golf. Included in these methods of cleaning are attaching a towel to a golf bag, using course provided cleaning mechanisms found at tee off boxes, and rubbing a club against the grass, or clothing. Using a towel attached to a bag or golf course supplied cleaning mechanisms is effective in cleaning a golf club but it is often inconvenient. For instance, it is a common occurrence that a player will not be near his or her bag when taking a shot, thus the towel attached to the golf bag is of no use to the player. Likewise, golf course supplied cleaning mechanisms are generally found near tee off boxes, thus, they are only convenient for use when a player is at a tee off box.
Rubbing a club against the grass is ineffective in maintaining golf clubs inasmuch as the grass itself may cause grass or other debris to accumulate on the club head.
Finally, golfers frequently use clothing, such as a pant leg, for cleaning clubs. While this may be an effective golf club cleaning method, this system obviously leads to excessive wear and tear to and unnecessary soiling of clothing.
There is a need, therefore, for a portable, convenient, and easy to use method for cleaning golf clubs. These needs are met in the present invention.


A clamping device includes a securing seat, a driving member movably mounted on the securing seat, a first fixture, a second fixture, a first securing pole, a second securing pole, a first joining member and a second joining member. The first fixture includes a first clamping member and a first connecting member. The first connecting member comprises a first moving portion. The second fixture includes a second clamping member and a second connecting member. The second connecting member includes a second moving portion. The first and second securing poles are fixed on the securing seat. The first and second joining members are respectively matched with the first and second securing poles. Two ends of the first joining member are respectively connected to the driving member and the first moving portion. Two ends of the second joining member are respectively connected to the driving member and the second moving portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to clamping devices and, particularly, to a clamping device for clamping a portable device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable devices such as digital cameras, mobile telephones, and personal digital assistants need to be tested prior to being sold or used in order to ensure quality thereof. When a portable device is about to be tested, the portable device needs to be secured via a clamping device. The portable device may, for example, be secured on a battery simulator. The clamping device generally comprises a clamping handle and two positioning blocks mounted on the clamping handle. The portable device can be secured between the two positioning blocks. However, it is difficult to firmly clamp the portable device due to its single handle structure. Moreover, the edge of the portable device is prone to break due to uneven force applied thereon by the single handle.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a clamping device for clamping a portable device which can overcome the above-mentioned problem.


An apparatus for recognizing handwritten trace and inputting document information is disclosed which comprises trace means for inputting handwritten characters, coordinate information detection means for detecting locus information provided by said trace means as coordinate information, a display superposed on said detection means for allowing an image displayed thereon to be recognized through said detection means, M character display frames to which said handwritten characters are successively input and in which results of recognition of the locus information are displayed substantially in a cyclic manner, a logical character frame disposed in the vicinity of said character display frame for temporarily displaying N (N>M) characters cyclically input from said character display frames, a writing page portion to which characters displayed in said logical character frame are finally transferred to be displayed thereon, and an operating portion provided within said logical character frame to be operated when M characters out of the characters, N in number at its maximum, displayed in said logical character frame are to be displayed in said character display frames.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a character inputting apparatus suitable for use for example in an electronic pocket notebook apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the electronic pocket notebook apparatuses, there is a type using a tablet allowing handwritten characters to be input to the apparatus. This type of apparatus is provided with for example 10 character display frames and, when characters are input by handwriting to the character display frames such that one character is put in each frame, the input character is correctly recognized and written on an ultimate writing page portion.
In a conventional apparatus, there are provided a relatively large number (for example 10) of character display frames. Such arrangement makes writing operation easy but makes it difficult to produce portable apparatus of a smaller size. The reason is that, while it is possible to make the character display frame itself smaller, because each character input by handwriting must be recognized, it becomes difficult, if the frame is made too small, to input a character such that the character is correctly recognized and, therefore, the character display frame must have reasonable dimensions.
To overcome such difficulty, it is considered to reduce the number of character display frames while keeping its size sufficiently large and to use such frames cyclically. However, when such reduced number of character display frames are cyclically used, it frequently occurs that input characters are displayed in the order different from an order in which the characters have been input. This might cause some confusion when the user corrects a character once which has been input.


A safety device positioned between an interior trim element of a vehicle and an airbag, comprising:—a chute channel designed to accommodate the airbag, the chute channel delimiting an opening for deployment of the airbag;—a flap at least partially covering the opening when the airbag is in the uninflated state;—a hinge connection connecting the flap to the chute channel; and—a deflector connected to the chute channel and intended to be positioned facing the hinge connection, the chute channel, the flap, the hinge connection and the deflector are formed as one piece with one another.

Such a device is generally positioned under an interior trim element. The interior trim element has a window defined by a line of least resistance, and a peripheral region surrounding the window. In such an arrangement, the interior trim element covers the safety device to which the airbag is attached, with the window of the interior trim element facing the opening for deployment of the airbag delimited by the chute channel, and with the flap of the device being attached to the window of the trim element.
When the airbag is inflated, it first fills the volume defined by the inner walls of the chute channel and the flap to strike against the lower face of the flap, which causes the window to open along the line of least resistance. Next, the airbag passes through the window of the trim element and is deployed within the passenger compartment in order to protect the occupants.
Given the speed at which the flap opens, the extreme temperatures the safety device is subjected to, and the stresses applied by the airbag on the safety device, it has been noted that the hinge connection could partially or completely tear. If the hinge connection completely tears, the flap could be projected into the passenger compartment of the vehicle, towards the occupants of the vehicle.
To reduce this risk, a device is known, for example from document DE 103 06 385 A1, comprising a chute channel and a deflector connected to the chute channel, as well as a trim element in which a window is arranged, the window being connected to a peripheral region of the trim element by a hinge connection. During an impact to the vehicle, the airbag displaces the window to deploy within the passenger compartment of the vehicle. The hinge connection, protected by the deflector, allows the window to pivot relative to the chute channel while retaining the window, which prevents it from being projected into the passenger compartment where it could injure a passenger. With this type of device and arrangement, the hinge connection is incorporated into the trim element. The step in the device manufacturing process for incorporating the hinge connection into the trim element requires more complex tooling, which results in a less reliable and more expensive device. In addition, the incorporation of the hinge into the trim element can cause flaws on the upper part of the trim element, meaning flaws visible to the vehicle occupants, depending on whether the trim element is a piece covered with a thick covering layer or is a left bare piece, meaning uncovered or covered with a thin covering layer.


A treatment agent liquid application device for an ink jet printer includes a supply pan including a liquid chamber that stores treatment agent liquid; an application roller that applies the treatment agent liquid on a record surface of a recording medium; a squeeze roller that rotates to draw up a part of the treatment agent liquid in which a part of the squeeze roller is immersed in the supply pan and to supply the treatment agent liquid to a pressure contact part between the application roller and the squeeze roller; and a partition member arranged outside the squeeze roller and along a circumferential direction of the squeeze roller in the supply pan, the partition member dividing the liquid chamber in the supply pan into a liquid chamber on a squeeze roller side and an external liquid chamber outside the liquid chamber on the squeeze roller side.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosures herein generally relate to a treatment agent liquid application device for an ink jet printer. The disclosures, in particular, relate to a treatment agent liquid application device for an ink jet printer that applies a treatment agent such as a blurring inhibitor that inhibits an image blurring in the ink jet printer, which makes ink droplets impact onto an recording medium such as a paper, for example, to form an image, onto a recording surface prior to the image formation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, ink jet printers have rapidly become widespread, since an image formation by an ink jet type has advantages of a low noise, a low running cost and a function of color printing. Such ink jet printers include a serial printer and a line printer. The serial printer prints an image by combining a movement in a main scanning direction in which ink droplets are discharged while a record head moves in the main scanning direction (a width direction of the recording medium) and a movement of the rewording medium in a sub scanning direction. The line printer is provided with a line head having a print width for the width of the recording medium, and prints while moving the line head and the recording medium relatively.
The line printer includes a continuous paper printer which uses a continuous paper as a recording medium, which is suitable for large amounts of printing. The continuous paper printer prints while conveying continuous paper wound in a roll at high speed (for example, 0.5 to 2 m/s).
On the other hand, there is an ink jet printer having a configuration of printing both sides of a continuous paper, from a standpoint of resource saving, by a tandem operation using two continuous paper printers, i.e. printing a first side of the continuous paper (for example, top side) by the first continuous paper printer, inverting the continuous paper, and printing a second side of the continuous paper (for example, back side) by the second continuous paper printer.
Recently, in the above-described ink jet printers, image quality becomes higher and higher, since a discharge timing of an ink droplet and a size of an ink droplet can be finely controlled. However, in the ink jet printer, ink droplets are discharged to form an image, and until the ink droplets are dried, impacted dots blur along a paper fiber. Accordingly, a phenomenon such as feathering or color bleed, in which a color border becomes blurred by mixing with an adjacent ink droplet with different color, easily occurs, and the quality of an image degrades.
As a method of inhibiting the degradation of the quality of the image, there is the art of applying treatment agent liquid such as a blurring inhibitor on the recording medium as a preprocessing, so as to inhibit the blurring of ink by aggregating a component of pigment in the ink droplet.
Such kind of treatment agent liquid application device as above includes a supply pan that stores the treatment agent liquid, an application roller that applies the treatment agent liquid on a record surface of the recording medium, a squeeze roller that draws up the treatment agent liquid in the supply pan, thins the treatment agent liquid and transfers it to the application roller, a pressure roller that conveys the recording medium while holding it with the application roller, and the like.
In the treatment agent liquid application device as described above, it is proposed that in order to remove a foreign matter such as paper dust attached on a surface of the squeeze roller, a swirling current with high flow velocity is generated in the supply pan, and a partition which is orthogonal to a rotational direction of the squeeze roller is provided.
Moreover, it is proposed that in order to prevent the treatment agent liquid in the supply pan from evaporating, the treatment agent liquid, the squeeze roller and the application roller are housed in the supply pan (housing).
For example, Japanese Published Patent Applications No. 2012-238374 and 2012-56261 disclose the treatment agent liquid application device described as above.
In the treatment agent liquid application device of the related art, when the treatment agent liquid is drawn up by rotating the squeeze roller a part of which is immersed in the treatment agent liquid in the supply pan, a position of fluid level varies greatly, and a liquid amount of the treatment agent liquid in the supply pan may not be detected correctly.
Accordingly, an uneven application or an application failure may occur due to an insufficient supply of the treatment agent liquid, and the function of the treatment agent liquid cannot be fulfilled. Moreover, contrary to the above, due to an excess in supply of the treatment agent liquid, the treatment agent liquid overflows from the supply pan into the application device and a liquid dispersion occurs. Accordingly, a problem that the inside of the application device is smeared or an electric part is damaged will occur.
The shortage of supply or the excess in supply of the treatment agent liquid, described as above, depends on a speed of application of the treatment agent liquid. Particularly, for the application device in which plural application speeds are set, it is necessary to be careful so that the shortage of supply or the excess in supply of the treatment agent liquid does not occur for each of the application speeds.
Moreover, the shortage of supply or the excess in supply also depends on a viscosity of the treatment agent liquid. It is necessary to respond to a change in the viscosity of the treatment agent liquid associated with water evaporation. Particularly, for the application device using plural kinds of treatment agent liquids, changes in viscosity characteristic of which are different from each other, the above-described problem becomes complicated.
Japanese Published Patent Applications No. 2012-218374 and 2012-56261 do not disclose suppressing the variation of the position of the fluid level which occurs when the treatment agent liquid is drawn up by the squeeze roller rotating, and resolving the problem due to the shortage of supply or the excess in supply of the treatment agent liquid.

Treatment agent liquid application device for ink jet printer


The present invention relates generally to a hub for a skate wheel. The hub includes a central core member defining a bore for receiving an axle. A central axis of rotation passes through the center of the bore. The hub also includes first and second anchors extending radially outward from the core and disposed in axially spaced-apart relation such that an outwardly opening channel is defined between the first and second anchors. The first anchor includes a plurality of first radial projections separated by first spacing gaps. The second anchor includes a plurality of second radial projections separated by second spacing gaps. The first and second radial projections are staggered relative to each other about the central axis of rotation such that the first radial projections are aligned with the second spacing gaps and the second radial projections are aligned with the first spacing gaps.

Skating, particularly in-line skating, is becoming increasingly popular. In-line skates generally include wheels fastened in tandem to a skate boot. The wheels typically include a hub made of rigid plastic material. A tire made of synthetic plastic material is typically molded about the periphery of the hub. Examples of in-line skates and hubs are shown in U.S. Design Pat. Nos. Des. 339,320; Des. 330,884; and Des. 330,883.
As shown in the above-referenced prior art patents, prior art skate hubs typically have a generally cylindrical core. Extending radially outward from the midpoint of the core is a protrusion. A plurality of holes are formed through the protrusion with the holes being circumferentially spaced about the axis of the core. A tire, typically made of urethane, is molded around the periphery of the hub. During the molding process, urethane flows into the holes formed through the protrusion. As a result of the molding process, the urethane material of the tire is securely molded to the hub.
EP Publication No. 0 642 814 A1 discloses a wheel including a central hub having a plurality of spokes. The wheel also includes a tire which may partially or fully affect the interspace between the spokes and the central hub. The wheel is configured to allow a user to preset the optimum degree of rigidity according to his/her individual technical requirements and according to the type of surface on which the wheel is to be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,250 discloses a skate wheel including a hub having a core and a central rail positioned at a mid-region of the core. The central rail is connected to the core by a plurality of staggered inner support members. A tire is mounted on the core and formed over the central rail.
At times, a wheel may experience substantial side forces on the hub and tire. The side forces can cause the molded urethane tire to break away from the hub (referred to as de-lamination). Furthermore, as the tire wears, the diameter of the wheel decreases. Therefore, the distance between the outer periphery of the tire and outer periphery of the central protrusion of the hub progressively decreases during wear of the tire. As this distance gradually decreases, the performance or bounce of the wheel also decreases.
Certain improvements to skate wheels have been developed to overcome the above-identified problems. For example, in some skate wheels, the central protrusion of the hub core has been replaced with a pair of anchors or rings that extend around the circumference of the hub core. The anchors are provided in spaced-apart relation to define a material receiving volume therebetween. A urethane tire is molded over the pair of anchors and at least partially fills the material-receiving volume formed between the anchors.
The above-identified hub configuration is typically manufactured via an injection molding process. Generally, a four-piece mold is used to define an inner volume that coincides with the shape of the hub. To form the hub, plastic material is injected into the inner volume defined by the mold. After the plastic material has cooled and hardened, the formed hub can be removed from the mold.