The present invention relates to a wireless power control method and device for wireless charging, and the wireless power control method of a wireless power transmitter according to an embodiment of the present invention may comprise: a step of receiving, from a wireless power receiver, a first feedback signal requesting power control; a step of determining the intensity of a first transmission power on the basis of the first feedback signal; a step of determining an inverter type and a power control method which correspond to the determined intensity of the first transmission power; a step of activating an inverter corresponding to the determined inverter type; and a step of controlling the intensity of alternating current power outputted from the inverter, by using the determined power control method.

Recently, with rapid development of information and communication technology, a ubiquitous society based on information and communication technology is being established.
In order for information communication devices to be connected anywhere and anytime, sensors with a built-in computer chip having a communication function should be installed in all facilities throughout society. Accordingly, power supply to these devices or sensors is becoming a new challenge. In addition, as the types of mobile devices such as Bluetooth handsets and iPods, as well as mobile phones, rapidly increase in number, charging the battery has required time and effort. As a way to address this issue, wireless power transmission technology has recently drawn attention.
Wireless power transmission (or wireless energy transfer) is a technology for wirelessly transmitting electric energy from a transmitter to a receiver using the induction principle of a magnetic field. In the 1800s, an electric motor or a transformer based on the electromagnetic induction principle began to be used. Thereafter, a method of transmitting electric energy by radiating a high-frequency wave, microwave, or an electromagnetic wave such as laser was tried. Electric toothbrushes and some electric shavers are charged through electromagnetic induction.
Wireless energy transmission schemes introduced up to now may be broadly classified into electromagnetic induction, electromagnetic resonance, and RF transmission using a short-wavelength radio frequency.
In the electromagnetic induction scheme, when two coils are arranged adjacent to each other and current is applied to one of the coils, a magnetic flux generated at this time generates electromotive force in the other coil. This technology is being rapidly commercialized mainly for small devices such as mobile phones. In the electromagnetic induction scheme, power of up to several hundred kilowatts (kW) may be transmitted with high efficiency, but the maximum transmission distance is less than or equal to 1 cm. As a result, the device should be generally arranged adjacent to the charger or the floor.
The electromagnetic resonance scheme uses an electric field or a magnetic field instead of using an electromagnetic wave or current. The electromagnetic resonance scheme is advantageous in that the scheme is safe to other electronic devices or the human body since it is hardly influenced by the electromagnetic wave. However, this scheme may be used only at a limited distance and in a limited space, and has somewhat low energy transfer efficiency.
The short-wavelength wireless power transmission scheme (simply, RF transmission scheme) takes advantage of the fact that energy may be transmitted and received directly in the form of radio waves. This technology is an RF power transmission scheme using a rectenna. A rectenna, which is a compound of antenna and rectifier, refers to a device that converts RF power directly into direct current (DC) power. That is, the RF method is a technology for converting AC radio waves into DC waves. Recently, with improvement in efficiency, commercialization of RF technology has been actively researched.
The wireless power transmission technology is applicable to various industries including IT, railroads, and home appliance industries as well as the mobile industry.
As various devices are equipped with a wireless charging function and the intensity of power required by a wireless power reception device increases, heat generated in a drive circuit and a transmission coil may damage the devices.
In order to prevent heat generation, various heat dissipation structures including, for example, a heat dissipation fan and a heat dissipation material are installed in the wireless power transmission device and the wireless power reception device. However, not only does the heat dissipation effect of such structures fail to meet expectations, but it is also limited by cost and mechanism limitations.
In particular, while it is important to quickly dissipate generated heat, it is further important to minimize heat generated from a control circuit board and coils.
A wireless power transmitter may include a plurality of transmission coils. The wireless power transmitter may expand a charging area by using a plurality of transmission coils compared to a configuration using a single transmission coil.
The plurality of transmission coils included in the wireless power transmitter may be fabricated to have the same physical property. However, the coils may overlap each other depending on the arrangement of the transmission coils, and the inductance may vary depending on the distance from a shielding material, which affects the magnetic field generated in the transmission coils.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and device for utilizing the same resonance frequency in a plurality of transmission coils having different inductances while minimizing heat generated in the control circuit board and the coils.

Wireless power control method and device for wireless charging


A pre-terminated cable assembly includes: a fiber optic cable comprising a plurality of optical fibers surrounded by a polymeric jacket; the jacket including a transition region, wherein the plurality of optical fibers is broken out into fiber subunits on one side of the transition region; a sleeve fixed to the transition region; and a circumferentially compressing member mounted on the transition region of the jacket adjacent the fixing sleeve. In this configuration, the cable assembly can have sufficient strain relief and protection for the optical fibers as the cable is manipulated into place during installation.

Pre-terminated optical fiber cable assemblies typically have a fixed transition region between the cordage (i.e., the portion of the cable surrounded by the jacket) and furcated fibers or ribbons, which are subsequently connectorized. A pulling eye/sock can be used to assist in pulling the cable through ductwork and the like. The pulling eye/sock includes a looped eyelet on one end to receive a finger, hook or other grasping device and a "sock" or sleeve that is secured to the jacket of the cable via a "heat shrink" material or a solid epoxy transition component; the sock covers the furcated fibers. This arrangement can protect the fibers and their connectors. At installation, different off-the-shelf components, such as cable ties, can be used to provide strain relief for the mated connectors from disturbance of the cable.
A loose tube optical fiber cable has been developed that has a plurality of loose, non-buffered optical fibers, a strength yarn at least partially surrounding the non-buffered optical fibers, and a jacket surrounding the strength yarn and the non-buffered optical fibers. See U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/688,493, filed Jun. 8, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety. One of the advantages of this cable is that there is no preferential bend direction. Additionally, a direct multi-fiber connector termination method for the loose tube cable has been developed (see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/438,647, now patented as U.S. Pat. No. 7,537,393) that allows for end to end termination of the loose tube cable without using a solid epoxy transition component to separate individual fibers and subunits, it would be desirable to provide an arrangement that protects the broken out fiber subunits and connectors of this cable during installation.

Fiber optic cable assembly with integrated compressing member for strain relief


A keyword adjective is used to identify a URL or address within script included in a markup language document. A Web page, or hypertext markup language document that includes script cannot readily be parsed to identify the URL or address. The present invention includes a predefined identifier as a keyword adjective immediately preceding the string comprising the URL or address referenced within script conforming to the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) specification. Use of the keyword adjective in this manner facilitates identification of the URL or address. Once thus identified, the URL or address can be modified to fix a broken link. This approach can also be used more generally to identify other entities (other than an address) for an object referenced in the script.

Web pages, which are typically written in hypertext markup language (HTML), frequently include URLs that refer to the location of objects referenced in the Web pages. For example, an image in a Web page might be referenced by a URL or hyperlink that provides the address or path to the image where it is stored on a server accessible over the Internet or other network. When the Web page is retrieved by a client from a server for loading and display with a browser program running on the client, the image is retrieved over the network from the storage location to which the URL points.
Referencing a URL in a tag included in the HTML or other markup language used to define a Web page document is a straightforward process. For example, an image of a rose included in a file "rose.jpg" that is stored in a folder "flowers" on a server "myserver.com" can be referenced by including the following tag in the HTML defining the Web page:

.
A URL that references an object in an HTML document within a tag is readily identifiable so that it can be employed to retrieve the object from the indicated storage address for the object, for use by a browser program. Also, it may be necessary to update the URL if the storage location at which the object referenced has been changed, to fix a broken link to the object. A commonly assigned, copending patent application, U.S. Ser. No. 09/285,530, entitled "METHOD FOR PRESERVING REFERENTIAL INTEGRITY WITHIN WEB SITES," which was filed Apr. 2, 1999, discloses a method for automatically updating or fixing URLs (or hyperlinks) referencing Web pages or objects that have been moved to a different storage location so that the links are correct; the disclosure and drawings of this commonly assigned, copending application are hereby specifically incorporated herein by reference.
The technique for fixing links that have been broken due to changes in the storage address of an object will fail if the URL or hyperlink to a page or object that is referenced in an HTML document cannot be determined. HTML documents often include "event handlers," or attributes on an HTML object or element that contain script called during a specific event, such as when a mouse or other pointing device is clicked on the object. Script frequently includes URLs that cannot be fixed using the hyperlink fix up mechanism noted above. The invention disclosed in the above-referenced application is currently included as part of the server extensions associated with Microsoft Corporation's FRONTPAGE™ Web site creation and maintenance program.
The most popular scripting language used for event handlers on a Web page is ECMAScript, which conforms to the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) specification for script. ECMAScript is an implementation of the JavaScript and Jscript languages. Because URLs in the ECMAScript portion of an HTML document cannot be recognized using conventional techniques, means must be provided to facilitate the identification of such URLs and addresses. It might seem trivial to apply a heuristic to solving this problem, such as assuming that any string containing "http://" is a URL, but that assumption is incorrect. For example, a script might include a function that refers to a URL for an image file in the following manner:
myfunc("images\image1.gif", 1, "one").
Note that this script function does not include "http://", and therefore, the trivial heuristic approach mentioned above would be unable to recognize the path or address to "image1.gif" as a URL. Accordingly, if the location at which the file "image1.gif" was stored is changed to a different folder, the address or URL provided in the script for "myfunc" will be broken (unless manually corrected) and not fixable using the automated fix up capability of the FRONTPAGE program server extensions. Accordingly, a different approach is required to enable a URL referenced in a ECMAScript portion of a Web page to be detected, so that it can be fixed or put to other uses.

Identifying URL references in script included in markup language documents


The grid interconnection device connected to the bank where alternating-current power is transmitted and to the power supply device provided to a customer includes: a detector detecting start of the alternating-current power transmission based on a state of the alternating-current power; a receiver receiving a grid interconnection start instruction for starting grid interconnection between the bank and the power supply device; and a grid interconnection controller controlling the bank and the power supply device to be interconnected or separated, in which the grid interconnection controller starts grid interconnection between the bank and the power supply device upon receipt of the grid interconnection start instruction in a state where the start of the alternating-current power transmission is detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grid interconnection device connected to a power distribution system through which alternating-current power is transmitted and to a power supply device provided to a customer, to a grid interconnection system, and to a power control system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of customers (for example, houses or plants) are increasing, which are provided with alternating-current power from a substation have their own power generation devices (for example, solar power generation systems).
Specifically, a plurality of power distribution systems (hereinafter referred to as banks) are provided under a substation, and each bank has customers having their own power generation devices. Here, electric power generated by the power generation devices is not only consumed by power consumption devices (for example, home electric appliances) provided to the customers but may also be transmitted to other customers (i.e., to the bank side). A system that connects power generation devices and a bank to supply electric power to each other as described above is referred to as a grid interconnection system.
In the grid interconnection system, when transmission of alternating-current power from a substation is stopped, for example, when a power failure occurs, power system separate processing for separating the power generation devices from the bank is carried out. On the other hand, when transmission of alternating-current power from a substation is started, for example, when the power failure is restored, grid interconnection processing for connecting the power generation devices to the bank is carried out.
Here, as a method for detecting that the transmission of alternating-current power is stopped (or that the transmission thereof is restored), there has been known a method that monitors, on the customer side, a state of alternating-current power to be transmitted through the bank. Specifically, the customer detects that the transmission of alternating-current power is stopped (or that the transmission thereof is restored) through monitoring data such as a change in voltage, or a change in phase of the voltage or a change in frequency, with regard to the alternating-current power transmitted through the bank.
In addition, there has been proposed a technique in which an operator of a power company or the like transmits, to the customers through wireless communication, a signal instructing the customers to stop their power generation devices (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3240215 (claim 1, paragraph [0019], FIG. 1, and the like)).
Specifically, the operator transmits, through wireless communication, area information specifying an area to be instructed to stop the power generation devices. Then, the customers determine whether to stop the power generation devices depending on whether they are included in the area specified by the area information.
Of the electric power generated by the power generation devices, an electric power amount to be transmitted to the bank is generally controlled based on standards predetermined by the guideline in order to prevent an excessive load from being applied on a power transmission line.
In the case where the transmission of alternating-current power is restored after the transmission of alternating-current power is stopped, the customers start interconnecting their power generation devices to the bank all at once. If numbers of the power generation devices start the grid interconnection all at once, a voltage of the bank rises so sharply that it becomes out of the control carried out based on the standards predetermined by the guideline. Consequently, the electric power amount to be transmitted to the bank could temporarily become excessively large.
That is to say, it is likely that an excessive load is applied on the power transmission line by the electric power to be transmitted from the customers to the bank in a case where the transmission of alternating-current power is restored.

Grid interconnection device, grid interconnection system and power control system


The present invention provides a lid assembly with a rotary trigger mechanism in combination with a seal assembly useful for actuating to open or close drink orifices and/or gas vent and is also able to selectively open the type of drink orifice as desirable. The invention also relates to a beverage container comprising such a lid assembly.

Various types of beverage containers are currently available for on-the-go use. These containers are usually comprised of a lid secured to a container body, the lid having a drink orifice through which the beverage is dispensed. The lids come in a variety of configurations. In some configurations, the lids include an open spout or a sippy spout; in other configurations, the lids include a straw which extends through an orifice defined in the lids, allowing the straw to extend outwardly from the lids in one position and to be folded down in another position. However, the lids useful for the beverage containers do not provide a user with the flexibility of selecting one of multiple ways of dispensing the beverage.
Therefore, there is a need for a lid intended for a beverage container that is able to allow the user for selectively opening and closing one of a plurality of drink orifices for dispensing the beverage in different ways, and the lid provides easy access to the beverage of the beverage container while still being capable of preventing spillage out of the drink orifices.

Lid assembly with a rotary trigger for seal assembly and beverage container comprising the same


A display-data generating apparatus obtains reputation information indicative of reputation of a subject and extracted from a text accessible via a network, and linkage information indicative of a linkage between texts, and couples the reputation information and the linkage information to obtain the linkage between the texts associated with the reputation information specified from each of the texts. The display-data generating apparatus determines a display mode of a first mark that symbolizes the text and a second mark that symbolizes the linkage based on the reputation information corresponding to the text, and generates a display data to display the first mark and the second mark in the determined display mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for generating display data so that a user can easily recognize the display data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many attempts have been made to extract reputation information that indicates Word-of-Mouth information on a predetermined commercial product name or a predetermined subject from texts posted on a website such as a blog or a social network service (see, for example, JP-A 2007-188330 (KOKAI)). Conventionally, the extracted reputation information is displayed as the reputation of the predetermined subject, for example, in the form of values or a bar graph indicative of the numbers or proportions of positive opinion and negative opinion in the predetermined viewpoint, or in the form of a line graph indicative of the temporal change of the values.
On the other hand, in these years, there are proposed technologies of displaying linkages among websites linked by hyperlinks embedded in the websites (see, for example, JP-A 2006-92354 (KOKAI)).
With such a technology as disclosed in JP-A 2006-92354 (KOKAI), a user can view the linkages among the websites in two dimensions, whereby the user can easily understand the linkages by sight. However, the reputation information extracted from the websites can be viewed in only one dimension, and therefore it is desired to make it easier for the user to recognize the reputation information shared among the websites by sight.

Display-data generating apparatus and display-data generating method


A self-cleaning urinal anti-splash device having a series of angled deflectors which send the urine stream ever deeper into a series of channels leading down toward the urinal drain. The angled deflectors not only send the urine stream ever deeper into the channels, but they simultaneously prevent the urine from exiting the channels in any direction other than downward toward the drain. This is accomplished by virtue of the fact that inner faces of the deflectors are adapted to deflect the urine back toward the urinal wall. No plane perpendicular to the direction of the initial urine stream is presented to the user. Gravity then causes it to flow to the drain. The device is also self cleaning because there is nothing to prevent the water of a flush cycle from passing through the vertical channels by gravity feed, thereby removing all the urine on the deflector surfaces. The device can be made of metal, plastic, rubber, or other inexpensive easily moldable substance. It has notches in the channels so the device is easily trimmed to size.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the sanitation industry, specifically where urinals are used to discard urine.
2. Prior Art
Several inventors have attempted to address the problem of preventing urine splash back from urinal walls. Commonly, these inventors make a plastic mat like device which is placed over the drain and has a textured surface; usually with a series of upright spike-like members or a grid pattern (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,365,616, 5,398,347, 3,597,772 and 4,574,403). These inventions do not prevent all splash back, but merely deflect the direction of the splash in a hopefully harmless direction. It does not always work that way. Frequently the anti-splash device creates the additional problem of an extra part to the urinal that is not easy to clean or must be changed regularly.
Other times, prior art has seen some inventions that try and deflect urine away from the user, but it is done so by forcing the user to carefully aim their urine (U.S. Pat. No. 1,379,206). Unfortunately, if the user aims directly at the gaps in this device, urine will hit the back wall and splash back. Also, other devices are not cleaned thoroughly during a regular flush cycle (U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,563, U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,681). The flushing of the water comes through holes against the back wall of the urinal so if the deflectors are far away from the back wall, the deflectors will not be cleaned. Furthermore, inventors have tried to go with convoluted designs of entire urinal systems (U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,114,670 and 5,027,448). These devices still require some aiming by the user and also make the manufacturability of the device more difficult.


A Joint structure for members of different kinds of metals comprises a first member formed from a metal sheet, and a second member formed from a metal sheet having a coefficient of thermal expansion greater than that of the metal sheet for the first member, wherein the first member and the second member are superimposed on each other and spot-joined together at a plurality of positions in a first direction, and the second member has a bead portion extending along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, at a position between adjacent ones of the spot-joined points.

Heretofore, in regard to a side door or a rear door of a vehicle, it has been attempted to achieve weight reduction, while ensuring rigidity of the door, by forming an inner panel thereof from a steel sheet and forming an outer panel thereof from an aluminum alloy sheet. Matters to be considered in this case include a problem of deformation due to joint of different kinds of metals (dissimilar metals). That is, a steel sheet and an aluminum alloy sheet are different from each other in terms of thermal expansion coefficient. Thus, when a vehicle body is heated up, for example, in a coating baking process during manufacturing, or during parking under the blazing sun, a thermal strain such as flexure is likely to occur in a joined region due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficient. Therefore, in recent, a technique disclosed in the following Patent Literature 1 has been proposed as a joint structure for members of dissimilar metals (dissimilar metal members). This literature describes joining an aluminum roof panel and a roof side rail formed from a steel sheet together at a plurality of positions in a vehicle front-rear direction by non-penetrating rivets, and forming in the aluminum roof panel a bead portion extending along the joined areas (along the vehicle front-rear direction). That is, it is intended to absorb a vehicle width directional strain occurring due to a difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the aluminum roof panel and the roof side rail, by the bead portion formed in the aluminum roof panel.
However, the aluminum roof panel also undergoes thermal expansion in the vehicle front-rear direction. Thus, the technique disclosed in the Patent Literature 1 has difficulty in solving a strain of the aluminum roof panel in an alignment direction of the joined areas (vehicle front-rear direction.)


A plurality of banks is divided into a plurality of bank groups and a pair of read and write data control registers is assigned to each of the bank groups. A memory main controller is operatively coupled to the bank groups and controls read/write operations of the banks. The memory main controller receives bank access requests from a system controller and generates a request rejected signal in the event that a bank access request consecutively occurs in connection with one bank group. Thus, application of two successive data to each of the read and write data control registers with the same bank group is prohibited, and erroneous data storage in the above-mentioned data control registers is prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement of controlling memory access requests to a plurality of memory banks in a digital data processing system, and more specifically to such an arrangement in which the memory banks to be accessed, are arranged in interleaved groups. The present invention features effective reduction of the number of read/write data control registers which are inherently required to be coupled to the banks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to obtain a higher data rate in storing information into a memory and retrieving same therefrom, it is known to utilizing an approach called interleaving. The interleaved groups of memory chips are referred to as banks.
When data is to be memorized, data set-up time and data hold time are required to assuredly store and retrieve the data. Accordingly, in accordance with prior art techniques, a pair of read and write data control registers (hereinafter referred to as "data control registers") are provided for each bank.
In order to reduce the number of components in a digital data processing system, it is very desirable if all of the data control registers to be provided for the banks can be configured on a single LSI (Large Scale Integration) chip. However, in accordance with the prior art techniques, since each bank requires two data control registers for read and write operations, the number of pins of the LSI chip increases with increase in the number of data control registers fabricated therein. The number of pins of such a LSI chip is determined by multiplying the data width two times the number of data control registers to be provided.
The prior art techniques therefore have encountered the problem in that the data control registers to be used cannot be accommodated in one LSI chip in the event that the number of data control registers increases. This of course creates a barrier which must be overcome before the degree of integration can be overcome.

Arrangement of controlling memory access requests to grouped memory banks


A method of coordinating channel power information in a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical communication system is disclosed. The method determines weighting values for each channel of the WDM signal based on channel launch powers. A source data object may used to transmit the channel weights and channel information from network elements having channel sources such as transmitters to downstream network elements. Block data objects may be used to identify channel blocks in the system and are also transmitted downstream. The source and block objects may be correlated to determine which channels are in-view at a particular point in the network and thereby determine which of the channel weights should be used as a basis for managing the network at that point. A WDM system is also disclosed which may actively control channel launch powers and feed the adjusted launch powers into the method of coordinating channel power information.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to a method and system for modeling channel power, coordinating channel power information, and utilizing the coordinated channel power information as a basis for managing optical network elements in a multi-channel optical communications system.
2. Description of Related Art
Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) has been used to increase the capacity of existing fiber optic networks. In a WDM system, plural optical signal channels are carried over a single optical fiber with each channel being assigned a particular wavelength. Such systems typically include a plurality of receivers, each detecting a respective channel by effectively filtering out the remaining channels.
Optical channels in a WDM system are frequently transmitted over silica based optical fibers, which typically have relatively low loss at wavelengths within a range of 1525 nm to 1580 nm. WDM optical signal channels at wavelengths within this low loss "window" can be transmitted over distances of approximately 50 km without significant attenuation. For distances beyond 50 km, however, optical amplifiers are used to compensate for optical fiber loss.
Typically, all of the channels of a WDM system are launched (transmitted or otherwise injected into an optical communications path) with the same power level. The flat power spectrum that results has certain advantages as in known in the art.
The advent of mixed channel plans where channels of different rates, data formats, channel spacings, etc are present in a WDM system has led the inventor to consider launching different channels at different power levels. The invention described in the parent application utilizes the fixed insertion losses present on different signal combining paths to impart a relative power difference between different bands of channels. In other words, one band of channels experiences a different amount of attenuation as it is combined with other bands of channels which may be accomplished by utilizing different optical signal combiners having different insertion losses for different bands of channels.
As discussed in the parent applications referenced above, the channel power values used for amplifier power control may be weighted (e.g. the power value of a channel may be an integer multiple of a defined channel unit power) to account for mixed channel plans. Specifically, the channel powers may be weighted according to the data rate and/or format of the signal. For example, a signal having a transmission rate of 2.5 Gbps may be used as a reference value with a weight of 1 channel unit; a signal having a 10 Gbps transmission rate using forward error correction may be weighted as 2 channel units; and a signal having a 10 Gbps transmission rate without forward error correction may be weighted as 4 channel units.
An optical amplifier according to the parent application could infer channel weighting values simply by knowing basic information about the signal such as data rate and format (e.g. FEC used or not), etc. The inferred channel weights are used to minimize ASE (amplified spontaneous emissions). Such a system, however, lacks granularity and uses fixed, predefined increments of signal attenuation and corresponding channel unit weightings. In other words, the inventor recognized that the basic concept of channel weighting could use refinement and could be extended to control points other than ASE minimization in an amplifier.

Method and system for coordinating and utilizing channel power information in an optical communications network


Edges, hems, patches and seams for woven fabric that has been treated for water repellency, and methods for making the same, are shown and described. In one particular embodiment of the invention, for example, a lapped seam between two pieces of water repellent fabric has an outer material at least partially overlapping an inner material, and a laminate strip positioned between the overlapping portions of the materials. The outer and inner materials, which are both oriented in the same direction, have an exterior layer of woven fabric that has been treated with water repellent and/or stain repellent chemicals, and an inner layer comprising a polymer membrane, such as polyurethane. The laminate strip has a bottom portion in contact with the outer layer of the inner material. The bottom portion has a low melt point, high flow rate adhesive system of one or more layers that penetrates and surrounds the fibers in the woven fiber of the outer layer of the inner piece of material. The laminate strip also has a top layer in contact with the inner layer of the outer piece of material. The top layer of the laminate is a thin, elastic, highly abrasion resistant material with a strong bonding affinity for polyurethane. The layers of the laminate strip bond to the adjacent layers of the overlapped material to create a strong lap seam.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to woven fabric that has been treated for water or stain repellency, and in particular, to hems, edges, patches and seams for such fabrics, and to methods of making the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
State-of-the-art woven fabrics used for outdoor clothing and other articles are commonly treated to make the fabric water and/or stain repellent (collectively referred to herein as "water repellent"). For example, some fabrics are impregnated with a silicone resin. Water repellent woven fabrics have clear advantages. At the same time, however, fabrics treated for water repellency have a number of disadvantages. Most notably, water repellent finishes, while advantageously repelling water, also repel liquid adhesives, whether they be liquid at ambient temperature or melted at elevated temperatures. As a result, it has become an important challenge in the outdoor fabric industry to find a means for affixing patches, seam-sealing tapes and other materials to the external surface of water repellent woven fabric.
Water repellent articles generally fall into two categories: articles having a waterproof external layer, and articles having a vapor permeable membrane covered with a woven, water repellent fabric. The first group, which generally comprises rain slickers, ponchos and similar articles, uses a monolithic external layer, such as PVC, which is inherently waterproof. Because the outer layer is monolithic in nature and because the material can typically be welded, as opposed to sewn, such articles can be truly waterproof. For the same reasons, however, such articles can be heavy and can become stiff in cold weather. In addition, such articles do not allow water vapor to escape from within the article, and thus can cause discomfort due to internal condensation.
The second group of articles, such as the now famous GORE-TEX fabric, combines a waterproof but breathable internal membrane with a water repellent external woven fabric. The internal membrane allows water vapor to pass through, such as when an individual is exercising in a jacket and the moisture content inside the jacket increases. Water vapor exits through the membrane to reduce or prevent condensation on the inside of the jacket, which can maintain the individual drier and warmer. The external layer of woven fabric protects the internal layer from physical damage and helps prevent the membrane from being saturated. If the exterior surface of the membrane is saturated with water, the water itself inhibits vapor from passing through the membrane. Accordingly, it can be very important to keep the external surface of the membrane dry. Thus, the external, water repellent fabric helps prevent water from passing therethrough and being trapped against the membrane. In addition, the woven fabric resists tearing, such as when a branch or other article rubs across the material. In combination, the layers of fabric resist abrasion damage and prevent water from passing into the article, while at the same time allowing water vapor to exit the article.
Because the industry has failed to develop an adhesive that can bond with the exterior surface of water repellent woven fabrics and provide a strong, soft, lightweight and durable bond to a wide variety of textiles, all of the articles in this second group have generally required stitching, such as at the edges of the fabric, at the seams, where zippers or other articles attach to the fabric, or at the pockets. But more importantly, to prevent fraying at the edges of such fabric, the industry typically folds the edge over itself and stitches the fold. Stitching can create numerous leaks in an otherwise waterproof article, each hole allowing water to migrate through all layers of the material. Even where adhesives have been used, such as that illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,152 to Liukko, it has still been necessary to stitch the edge of the fabric to prevent fraying. In the few cases when raw edges have been left present, a strong fraying potential remains that severely limits choices of fabrics or the cosmetically acceptable life of the garment.
To solve problems associated with stitching, the industry has developed tapes for application to the interior of the seams. The use of interior seam-sealing tape can be tedious and expensive, however, as the type of tape and adhesive must be carefully matched with the particular interior surface material, and the time, temperature and pressure associated with applying such tapes must be carefully controlled. In addition, such multi-layered, taped seams in conjunction with the turned back seam allowance add significant weight, stiffness, and cost to the resultant article. As many of these articles are used for athletic and competitive outdoor purposes, an increase in the weight and stiffness of the article is undesirable.
In addition, because the weight and bulk of such articles continue to be reduced for functionality purposes, such articles with reduced amounts of surface fiber in their top layers now are even more susceptible to damage from abrasion or other wear.

Hems, edges, patches and seams for durable, water repellant woven fabric, and methods for making the same


When an action for turning off the power of a host computer is performed, the host computer transmits control information to a disk drive to the effect that chucking should be canceled. Accordingly, the disk drive cancels chucking of a disk and transmits information to the host computer to the effect that cancel has been completed. Receiving the information to the effect that chucking has been canceled, the host computer terminates a disk drive application, confirms that all of the started applications are completed, and then terminates OS (Operating System).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to control of a disk drive. In particular, the present invention relates to control of a disk drive that is characterized by a process upon power-off of a control device which controls operation of the disk drive.
2. Description of the Background Art
As one of the techniques concerning control of the disk drive, a technique has been proposed that is used for unlocking a disk-mounted tray to remove the disk which is left contained in the disk drive after power supply to the disk drive is stopped. This conventional technique is of interest to the present invention as the invention aims to permit a disk to be removed that is left contained in the disk drive after the control device controlling operation of the disk drive is powered off.
One example of such a conventional technique is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 1-185872, according to which a disk in a disk drive is permitted to be removed even upon a drop in supply voltage, by control to unlock a disk-loading tray. Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No. 63-13459 discloses a technique of disengaging a tray of a disk drive in synchronization with turn-off of a power-supply switch. Further, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 8-203180 discloses a technique of canceling chucking of a disk by chucking cancel means for the disk. Specifically, a disk drive has a door provided on the front side of a tray as well as press means on the door, the press means pressing the chucking cancel means to cancel chucking of the disk.
The conventional techniques as discussed above, however, require, for the disk drive, members for detecting the drop in supply voltage, members constituting a mechanism for disengaging the tray in synchronization with turn-off of the power-supply switch, or members constituting the door and press means for example. In other words, the cost of the disk drive increases due to the need for these members.

Method and apparatus for controlling a disk drive


Apparatuses and methods for determining soft data for fractional digit memory cells are provided. One example apparatus can include a controller to determine states of memory cells of a group of memory cells operated as fractional digit memory cells, and determine soft data based, at least partially, on dimensions to which particular memory cells correspond with respect to the group of memory cells, determined states of the memory cells with respect to a state adjacent a state corresponding to a swapping shell, and whether a particular memory cell is a candidate for swapping.

Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor, integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many different types of memory including volatile and non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can require power to maintain its data and includes random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), among others. Non-volatile memory can provide persistent data by retaining stored data when not powered and can include NAND flash memory, NOR flash memory, phase change random access memory (PCRAM), resistive random access memory (RRAM), and magnetic random access memory (MRAM), among others.
Memory devices can be combined together to form a solid state drive (SSD). An SSD can include non-volatile memory, e.g., NAND flash memory and/or NOR flash memory, and/or can include volatile memory, e.g., DRAM and/or SRAM, among various other types of non-volatile and volatile memory. Flash memory devices can include memory cells storing data in a charge storage structure such as a floating gate, for instance, and may be utilized as non-volatile memory for a wide range of electronic applications. Flash memory devices typically use a one-transistor memory cell that allows for high memory densities, high reliability, and low power consumption.
An SSD can be used to replace hard disk drives as the main storage volume for a computer, as the solid state drive can have advantages over hard drives in terms of performance, size, weight, ruggedness, operating temperature range, and power consumption. For example, SSDs can have superior performance when compared to magnetic disk drives due to their lack of moving parts, which may avoid seek time, latency, and other electro-mechanical delays associated with magnetic disk drives.
Memory is utilized as volatile and non-volatile data storage for a wide range of electronic applications. Non-volatile memory may be used in, for example, personal computers, portable memory sticks, digital cameras, cellular telephones, portable music players such as MP3 players, movie players, and other electronic devices. Memory cells can be arranged into arrays, with the arrays being used in memory devices.
Memory cells in an array architecture can be programmed to a desired state. For instance, electric charge can be placed on or removed from the charge storage structure, e.g., floating gate, of a memory cell to program the cell to a particular state. For example, a single level (memory) cell (SLC) can be programmed to one of two different states, each representing a different digit of a data value, e.g., a 1 or 0. Some flash memory cells can be programmed to one of more than two states corresponding to different particular data values, e.g., 1111, 0111, 0011, 1011, 1001, 0001, 0101, 1101, 1100, 0100, 0000, 1000, 1010, 0010, 0110, or 1110. Such cells may be referred to as multi state memory cells, multiunit cells, or multilevel (memory) cells (MLCs). MLCs can provide higher density memories without increasing the number of memory cells since each cell can be programmed to states corresponding to more than one digit, e.g., more than one bit of data.
Various error correction code (ECC) schemes can perform better via use of soft data. However, determining soft data and/or communicating soft data, e.g., between controller and memory, can be time consuming, and therefore can impact memory throughput. A hard read is an operation to determine hard data, e.g., a data value stored in a memory cell based on its state. Soft data, for example, can be used to indicate a confidence level associated with the hard data. For instance, soft data can provide a confidence, e.g., reliability, measure associated with a hard read, e.g., a likelihood that a determined state of a memory cell is a different state.
Some memory cells can be programmed to a quantity of states that does not correspond to an integer number of stored digits, e.g., bits. As used herein, "stored in" a memory cell intends the memory cell being programmed to a state corresponding a data value or portion thereof. For instance, each memory cell can correspond to a fractional number of stored bits. Multiple memory cells can be used together to store an integer number of bits. Memory cells used together to store an integer number of bits are referred to herein as fractional bit memory cells. As such, a fractional bit memory cell is physically the same as a memory cell used to store an integer number of bits. A fractional bit memory cell is a memory cell that can be used in conjunction with other memory cells to store an integer number of bits as a group of memory cells. Various packing schemes can be used to map between states of the multiple memory cells and particular data values.

Determining soft data for fractional digit memory cells


An automotive vehicle floor mat M to be laid on a foot space of a driver's seat, characterized in that retainer holes to be retained at retainer pins implanted on a vehicle floor side, are provided at two positions at a predetermined interval near a rear edge portion of the mat, a first retainer hole of the two position retainer holes is provided on a right rear side of the mat and in the vicinity of a rear extension portion of an accelerator pedal, a second retainer hole is provided on a rear extension portion of a brake pedal and rather on a center side of the mat than the first retainer hole, a retainer member having a rigidity is provided on an inner edge of each retainer hole, and a thickness of the retainer member is smaller than a height of the retainer pins.

A fastener member in which a retainer pin is implanted is screwed and fixed by utilizing, for example, a cross member on the vehicle side. The mat is laid in the foot space of the vehicle so that a retainer hole provided in a floor mat is fitted and retained at this retainer pin that is implanted and fixed to the top surface of the vehicle floor. In general, since the number of the retainer pins is one, it is difficult to positively position the mat in the rotational direction upon laying the mat.
Although the retainer pin is inserted into the retainer hole of the mat so that the flooring position is determined in the back-and-forth direction, the posture in the right and left direction of the mat could not correctly be determined upon laying the mat only with one retainer pin.
On the other hand, it is possible to provide the retainer holes at two positions over the full width of the mat and provide and implant the retainer pins at the corresponding suitable positions in order to perform the positioning upon laying the mat as preset. However, since the hole position is changed due to cleaning of the mat, aging change and machining errors, it is necessary to take a structure that the interval between the retainer pins may be adjusted. As a result, it is impossible to expect the exact mat mounting. After all, it has been desirable to use only one retainer pin.
Also, in the case of the two retainer pins, since the right foot of the driver that steps the accelerator pedal is almost in contact with the accelerator pedal on the front side of the floor, if the retainer pin is located on the rear side, there is no fear that the shoe of the driver comes into contact with the retainer pin to be damaged. However, since the left foot is not always hooked on the brake pedal or the clutch pedal, even if the retainer pin is located on the rear side of the mat, the shoe of the left foot comes into contact with the left side retainer pin so that the shoe might be damaged.
In view of the above-noted current situation, an object of the present invention is to provide a quite novel automotive vehicle floor mat and an automotive vehicle floor mat retainer unit, in which retainer pins and retainer holes are provided at two positions to make it possible to positively perform the positioning upon laying the mat, and in addition, the positions and the arrangement interval of these retainer pins and the retainer holes are suitably selected to thereby dispense with using a structure for adjusting the interval between the retainer pins, also to cope with change of the hole positions due to the aging change, to make it possible to use the mat for a long period of time without a fear that the retainer pins could not be fitted into the retainer holes, to narrow the interval not too much to thereby make it possible to perform the positive positioning upon laying the mat, i.e., to make it possible to lay and set the mat even if the mat is used for a long period of time due to the rattling displacement of the retainer pins and the retainer holes, to make it possible to cause the positional displacement upon laying and setting the mat to fall within a range where no substantially problem is raised in both in the back-and-forth direction and the right and left rotational direction, and furthermore to keep not only the right foot but also the left foot of the driver to hardly come into contact with the retainer pins to thereby bring about almost no fear that the shoe is damaged.
Also, in the case where the two retainer pins are provided, it is necessary to arrange the two retainer pins at a suitable interval in the above-described positions. However, on the other hand, because the mounting positions, on the vehicle side, of the retainer unit in which the retainer pins are implanted are limited, the present invention improves a shape and a structure of the vehicle floor mat retainer member. An object of the present invention is also to provide an automotive vehicle floor mat and an automotive vehicle floor mat retainer unit, in which the mat may be positively positioned by the two position retainers and the two retainer pins may be arranged in the positions where there is no problem described above, even if the mounting position is limited.
Also, in some cases, a projecting portion is provided below the accelerator pedal, the floor mat is laid, and at the same time, a right corner front edge portion of the floor mat is brought into contact or abutment with a stepped portion between a rear end portion of this projecting portion and the floor surface so that the mat may correctly and easily be positioned in place. In order to further enhance the positioning effect of the mat, an object of the invention is also to provide an automotive vehicle floor mat, in which an improvement is effected to the portion corresponding to this projecting portion.
Also, in the case of a mat having a cutaway in the vehicle central rear portion, for example, mat having a cutaway shape from a side end of the vehicle central side of the mat rear portion to the mat central portion for avoiding a projection of the floor of the vehicle central lower portion of a driver's seat so that the mat to be laid only on a flat floor surface of the vehicle, the retainer pin of the right side of the vehicle (the left side of the right steering wheel vehicle) is located rather on the front side due to the mat shape so that the possibility of damage of the right shoe is increased.
In view of the above-noted current situation, an object of the present invention is to provide a quite novel automotive vehicle floor mat and an automotive vehicle floor mat retainer unit, in which retainer pins and retainer holes are provided at two positions to make it possible to positively perform the positioning upon laying the mat, and in addition, the positions and the arrangement interval of these retainer pins and the retainer holes are suitably selected to thereby dispense with using a structure for moving the retainer pins to some extent, also to cope with change of the hole positions due to the aging change, also to cope with change of the hole positions due to the aging change, to make it possible to use the mat for a long period of time without a fear that the retainer pins could not be fitted into the retainer holes, to narrow the interval not too much to thereby make it possible to perform the positive positioning upon laying the mat, i.e., to make it possible to lay and set the mat even if the mat is used for a long period of time due to the rattling displacement of the retainer pins and the retainer holes, to make it possible to cause the positional displacement upon laying and setting the mat to fall within a range where no substantially problem is raised in both in the back-and-forth direction and the right and left rotational direction, and furthermore to keep not only the right foot but also the left foot of the driver to hardly come into contact with the retainer pins to thereby bring about almost no fear that the shoe is damaged.

Automotive floor mat and automotive floor mat fastener


A fixing apparatus which prevents a generation of wrinkles in a print paper and rapidly recovers a temperature of a fixing belt. The fixing belt is engaged with a fixing roller and a heat roller generating heat. A pressing roller is pressed against the fixing roller via the fixing belt so that a fixing process area is formed between the fixing roller and the pressing roller. The print paper is passed through the fixing process area so that a toner provided on the print paper receives a heat from the fixing belt. The fixing roller includes a foamed material layer elastically deformable by the pressing roller. A heat conductive member may be provided to transmit a heat from the heat roller to a portion of the fixing belt remote from the heat roller.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing apparatus used in an image forming apparatus such as a copy machine, a printer or a facsimile machine and, more particularly, to a belt-type fixing apparatus in which a heat generated by a heat roller is transferred to a nip portion between a fixing roller and a pressing roller via a fixing belt.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus such as a copy machine, a printer or a facsimile machine,:a toner image is formed on a image carrier such as a photosensitive drum or an intermediate transfer belt. The toner image formed on the image carrier is transferred to a print paper or an OHP sheet by a transfer means, and the transferred toner image is fixed by a fixing apparatus. Conventionally, a heat roller fixing apparatus is used for such a fixing apparatus. In the heat roller fixing apparatus, a pressing roller is pressed against a fixing roller which is heated by a heater incorporated in the fixing roller. The pressing roller and the fixing roller are rotated in reverse directions by a drive mechanism. A print paper is conveyed through a nip portion formed between the pressing roller and the fixing roller so that a toner image on the print paper is fixed by a heat provided from the fixing roller and a pressing force applied by the pressing roller.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 4-322282 discloses a technique for preventing generation of wrinkles in a print paper when the print paper is subjected to a fixing process in an image forming apparatus. This technique is used in a heat roller fixing apparatus comprising a pair of a fixing roller and a pressing roller. In this technique, generation of wrinkles is prevented by reducing a hardness of a conductive foam layer of the pressing roller.
In the above-mentioned heat roller fixing apparatus, there is a limit to increasing a width of the nip portion between the fixing roller and the pressing roller. In order to fix a toner image on the print paper at a low temperature, a duration (may be referred to as a nip period) of the print paper being positioned in the nip portion should be increased. That is, in order to achieve a complete fixation at a low temperature, a rotational speed of the pressing roller and the fixing roller must be reduced since the width of the nip portion cannot be increased. Thus, it is difficult to achieve a high-speed fixation.
An outer surface of the fixing roller is maintained at a high temperature due to heat provided from a heater incorporated in the fixing roller. Accordingly, a rate of increase in a temperature of the toner is high due to the increase in a nip period during which the fixing belt is located in the nip portion. This results in a decrease in a hot offset temperature which is an upper limit of a fixing temperature of the toner. The hot offset temperature is a temperature at which the hot offset phenomenon occurs. Accordingly, there is a problem in that an allowable range of a temperature for fixing the toner with a good exfoliation is decreased. The allowable range is referred to as an exfoliative fixation temperature range.
Accordingly, in order to eliminate the above-mentioned problem, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.6-318001 discloses a belt-type fixing apparatus for an electrophotographic apparatus using a fixing belt. The belt-type fixing apparatus disclosed in this patent document comprises a fixing roller and a heat roller and an endless fixing belt drivingly engaged with the fixing roller and the heat roller. The fixing roller is provided with an exfoliative layer. A pressing roller is pressed against the fixing roller via the fixing belt interposed therebetween so that a nip portion is formed between the fixing belt and the pressing roller. A heating passage which extends substantially along a straight line is formed between the fixing belt and a recording medium supporting member which is provided under the fixing belt between the heat roller and the nip portion. A specific heat of the fixing belt is set to 0.002 to 0.025 cal/xc2x0 C./cm2.
In the above-mentioned belt-type fixing apparatus, a fixing temperature at the nip portion can be reduced due to a pre-heating effect provided to a toner image by the heating passage. Additionally, a temperature of the toner image is not excessively raised due to a self-cooling effect of the fixing belt having a small heat capacity. Thus, an exfoliation of the toner image from the fixing belt is improved, which results in. a complete fixation of the toner image without an offset even when no oil or a very small amount of oil is applied to the fixing belt.
A description will now be given, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, of advantages of the belt-type fixing apparatus over the heat roller fixing apparatus. FIG. 1 is an illustration showing a temperature distribution of each of a fixing roller, a toner image and a print paper. In a heat roller fixing apparatus, a fixing roller 21 comprises a metal core 21a and a silicon rubber layer 21b provided on the metal core 21a. On the assumption that a constant amount of heat is provided from a heater inside the metal core 21a in the fixing roller 21, the fixing roller is initially maintained at a constant temperature T0. A print paper 22 and a toner layer 23 forming the toner image on the print paper 22 are also maintained at a temperature Ta which is normally a room temperature (about 25xc2x0 C.).
Immediately after the print paper 22 and the toner layer 23 enter the nip portion formed between the fixing roller 21 and the pressing roller 24, a temperature change from the fixing roller 21 to the print paper 22 occurs as indicated by a temperature distribution curve t1. As time passes, the distribution of temperature is changed as indicated by curves t2 and t3. At this time, an interface between the silicon rubber layer 21b of the fixing roller 21 and the toner layer 23 of the print paper 22 maintains a constant boundary temperature T1 (corresponding to a temperature of an upper surface of the toner layer 23).
On the other hand, as time passes, a heat is transferred from the fixing roller 21 to the toner layer 23. Thus, a boundary temperature Tf (corresponding to a temperature of a lower surface of the toner layer 23) between the toner layer 23 and the print paper 22 is increased. If the nip period is sufficiently long, the temperature distribution becomes a curve t4, and the boundary temperature T1 is increased and the boundary temperature Tf is also increased.
In the belt-type fixing apparatus, if a heat source is not provided within the nip portion, a temperature of the surface of the fixing belt is decreased as time passes since a heat is removed by the print paper through the surface of the fixing belt. This is referred to as a self-cooling effect of the fixing belt. Accordingly, the boundary temperature Tf is increased as time passes. However, as long as the boundary temperature T1 is concerned, the boundary temperature T1 does not sharply increase as is in the conventional heat roller fixing apparatus.
A hot offset phenomenon occurs at the interface between the fixing roller 21 and the toner layer 23 when an interface adhesive force of the toner layer 23 exceeds a cohesive force related to a viscoelasticity when the toner is melted. That is, the hot offset phenomenon is influenced by the level of the boundary temperature T1 which is a temperature of the interface between the silicon rubber layer 21b of the fixing roller 21 and the toner layer 23. Additionally, a fixation can be achieved when the interface adhesive force exceeds the cohesive force of the toner which is related to the viscoelasticity of the toner when the toner is melted. That is, the fixation is influenced by the level of the boundary temperature Tf which is a temperature of the interface between the toner layer 23 and the print paper 22.
FIG. 2 is a graph showing fixation temperature characteristics of the heat roller fixing apparatus and the belt-type fixing apparatus. In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis represents a nip period which is a period during which the fixing belt is located in the nip portion, and the vertical axis represents a fixing temperature. A surface temperature of the fixing roller of the heat roller fixing apparatus is indicated by a fine solid line, and a surface temperature of the fixing roller of the belt-type fixing apparatus is indicated by a bold solid line. Additionally, a temperature of the toner of the heat roller fixing apparatus is indicated by a fine dashed line, and a temperature of the toner of the belt-type fixing apparatus is indicated by a bold dashed line.
As interpreted from FIG. 2, in a range (fixable range) of the temperature in which the. toner is fixable, the temperature in the heat roller fixing apparatus rapidly increases as the nip period is increased, whereas an increase in the boundary temperature T1 can be prevented in the belt-type fixing apparatus due to the self-cooling effect of the fixing belt which results in a gentle increase of the temperature of the toner. Accordingly, when the nip time can be increased, the belt-type fixing apparatus has a greater allowance than the heat roller fixing apparatus with respect to the offset of the toner.
In the above-mentioned conventional belt-type fixing apparatus, since the pre-heating process of the toner is performed by heating an atmosphere of the toner, there is a problem that a sufficient pre-heating cannot be achieved when the pre-heating process must be performed at a high speed. Additionally, since the fixing roller is made of a solid rubber, a stress due to a thickness of the print paper cannot be absorbed which results in an uneven distribution of a pressure in which the pressure at an entrance of the nip portion is low and a pressure in the middle of the nip portion is high. Accordingly, there is a problem in that wrinkles are generated in the print paper because the print paper, which has been heated in the pre-heating process resulting in a generation of a partial unflatness due to evaporation of water contained in the print paper, is pressed by a large surface pressure in the nip portion having an uneven pressure distribution.
Additionally, in the above-mentioned belt-type fixing apparatus, there is a problem in that a recovery of a temperature of the surface of the fixing belt to a predetermined fixing temperature takes a long time since a heat roller is the only means for heating the fixing belt and the temperature of the surface of the fixing belt is considerably decreased when the fixing belt passes through the nip portion.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved and useful fixing apparatus in which the above-mentioned problems are eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a fixing apparatus in which a generation of wrinkles in a print paper can be prevented when the print paper is passed through a nip portion between a fixing belt and a pressing roller.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a fixing apparatus in which a print paper is positively separated from the fixing belt after the print paper and the fixing belt exit the nip portion.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a fixing apparatus in which a temperature of the fixing belt can be rapidly recovered after the fixing belt passes through the nip portion and the temperature of the fixing belt is decreased.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, there is provided according to one aspect of the present invention a fixing apparatus for fixing a toner provided on a recording sheet, the fixing apparatus comprising:
a fixing roller;
a heat roller generating heat;
an endless fixing belt drivingly engaged with the fixing roller and the heat roller; and
a pressing roller pressed against the fixing roller via the fixing belt so that a fixing process area is formed between the fixing roller and the pressing roller, the recording sheet being passed through the fixing process area so that the toner provided on the recording sheet receives a heat from the fixing belt,
wherein the fixing roller includes a foamed material layer elastically deformable by the pressing roller.
According to the above-mentioned invention, the fixing roller has a foamed material layer which elastically deforms when the pressing roller is pressed against the fixing roller. The foamed material has a relatively low hardness as compared to a solid rubber material. Thus, a surface pressure in the fixing process area (nip portion) between the fixing roller and the pressing roller is substantially uniform and low over an entire length of the fixing process area. Thus, a generation of wrinkles in the recording sheet can be prevented when the recording sheet entering the fixing process area has a waving part. Additionally, the foamed material layer of the fixing roller serves as a heat insulating material to prevent a release of heat from the fixing process area. Thus, a sufficient amount of heat can be provided to the toner on the recording sheet while the recording sheet passes through the fixing process area.
In one embodiment of the fixing apparatus according to the present invention, the foamed material layer of the fixing roller may have a hardness ranging from 10xc2x0 to 50xc2x0 measured by Asker C. Additionally, the foamed material layer may be made of a foamed silicon rubber. The pressing roller may also include a foamed material layer which is preferably made of a foamed silicon rubber.
Additionally, a hardness of the foamed material layer of the fixing roller may be lower than a hardness of the pressing roller. When the hardness of the fixing roller is lower than the hardness of the pressing roller, the fixing roller is elastically deformed by the pressing roller so that the deformed portion of the fixing roller in the fixing process area substantially follows a shape of the pressing roller. Thus, the recording sheet exiting from the fixing process area is moved in a direction in which the recording sheet is positively separated from the fixing belt which follows an outer surface of the fixing roller. Thus, an undesired adherence of the recording sheet to the fixing belt, which results in an occurrence of an excessive melt and a hot offset of the toner, can be prevented.
In one embodiment of the fixing apparatus according to the present invention, the pressing roller may pressingly contact the fixing belt before the fixing process area is formed so that a pre-heating area is formed as a contact area of the pressing roller and the fixing belt.
Additionally, there is provided according to another aspect of the present invention a fixing apparatus for fixing a toner provided on a recording sheet, the fixing apparatus comprising:
a fixing roller;
a heat roller generating heat;
an endless fixing belt drivingly engaged with the fixing roller and the heat roller;
a pressing roller pressed against the fixing roller via the fixing belt so that a fixing process area is formed between the fixing roller and the pressing roller, the recording sheet being passed through the fixing process area so that the toner provided on the recording sheet receives a heat from the fixing belt; and
a heat conductive member having a first end surface and a second end surface remote from the first end surface, the first end surface contacting the heat roller, the second end surface contacting the fixing belt.
According to the above-mentioned invention, heat generated by the heat roller can be transmitted to a position remote from the heat roller through the heat conductive member. Thus, if the second end surface of the heat conductive layer is. in contact with a portion of fixing belt having a decreased temperature, a recovery time of temperature of the fixing belt can be reduced.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the heat conductive member may be positioned inside of a loop formed by the fixing belt, and the second end surface of the heat conductive member contacts an inner surface of the fixing belt.
Additionally, the heat conductive member is made of an elastically deformable material so that the second end surface of the heat conductive member always contacts the fixing belt even when a slack is generated in the fixing belt.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a width of a contact area of the heat conductive member to the fixing belt is variable in response to a width of the recording sheet, the width being measured in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction of the fixing belt. Accordingly, a non-contact portion of the fixing belt which does not contact the recording sheet can be prevented from being heated by the heat conductive member. Thus, an excessive heating of the non-contact portion can be prevented.
Additionally, the fixing apparatus according to the present invention may further comprise a heat insulating material covering surfaces of the heat conductive material other than the first end surface and the second end surface.
In this invention, the heat insulating material prevents a release of heat from the heat conductive member. Thus, the heat is efficiently transmitted from the heat roller to the fixing belt. Additionally, since a heat is not released from the heat conductive member which may positioned adjacent to a portion of the fixing belt which has been heated at an appropriate temperature, an influence of a heat released from the heat conductive member can be eliminated.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Belt-type fixing apparatus having a fixing roller provided with a soft foam layer


Apparatuses and methods for enhancing a “primary” large format, digital, macro-image with “secondary” image data are provided. The secondary image data is collected utilizing one or more secondary optical systems having at least one electro-optical detector array (e.g., a CCD array) and a specific set of optical mirrors or optical prisms, arranged in such a way that the secondary optical systems extend the angular field-of-view of the primary optical system and the resultant digital image in at least two opposing directions, for instance, in the left and right and/or fore and aft directions. The primary image data and the secondary image data may be distinct and/or may include portions that overlap with one another. Further, the primary image data and the secondary image data may be collected at the same or different resolutions. The collected primary image data and secondary image data are utilized to generate a single output image.

Large-format digital macro-images may be obtained utilizing a single large optical system or utilizing multiple optical systems having parallel optical axes. Not only are large optical systems costly and difficult to manage, the distance at which one must position the system in order to view a large object and/or expansive terrain renders the resultant digital image an image of poor resolution in which little detail typically can be discerned. While multiple optical systems having parallel optical axes may permit the acquisition of an image of a large object and/or expansive terrain with greater resolution, the parallelism results in an optical system with a limited angle-of-view. Thus, the angle-of-view of the resultant digital images is limited as well.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Enhancing digital images using secondary optical systems


An in-the-ear hearing aid has a housing with an audio input end and an audio output end. The housing is formed of two sections which are coupled together along a seam which extends between the two ends. An elastomeric sheath can enclose the housing.

For a number of years it has been common to manufacture in-the-ear, or in-the-canal hearing aids with a hollow body section, custom designed with an exterior periphery intended to match the curvature of the user's ear canal. The hollow body section usually is bounded on all sides but one. Components such as a receiver are inserted through the open side. The receiver has an audio output port which is usually oriented toward the end of the housing intended to have an audio output port.
The open side is closed with a face plate which usually carries some or all of the remaining necessary components such as a microphone, audio processing circuitry and a power supply such as a battery. The output of the audio processing circuitry is coupled during manufacture to an input port of the receiver.
The face plate is attached to the body section along a laterally directed seam using a variety of mechanical and/or adhesive solutions. Mechanical solutions have included clamps of various types which enable the face plate to grip the open end of the body section. Adhesives have also been used to strengthen the joint.
The above constructions produce a seam that is laterally oriented relative to an axis which extends between the ends. This seam must be mechanically strong enough to resist extraction forces applied to the face plate after the aid has been inserted into the user's ear canal.
The above construction presents manufacturing difficulties. The body section is usually small and is bounded on all sides but the one where the face plate is ultimately attached. Hence, assembling components, such as the receiver or audio processing circuitry into the housing section can be difficult, requiring skill and experience. This results in manufacturing expense and can present reliability problems. In addition, the housing sections are unique as they represent the shape of parts of the user's ear canal, no two of which are the same. This further complicates the assembly process as components are constantly being installed in variably shaped volumes.
There is thus a continuing need for improved hearing aids of a type that extend, at least in part, into the user's ear canal. Preferably manufacturing costs could be reduced while increasing reliability of operation of the completed unit. It would also be preferable if a larger, more open assembly work area could be provided than has heretofore been available. Finally, it would be preferable if an improved joint could be provided between the various parts of the subject hearing aid.

Split shell system and method for hearing aids


An electromagnetic actuator comprises an driven member and magnetostrictive elements which change the dimensions thereof when activated or deactivated by selectively applying magnetic flux therein. The driven member is moved in a selected direction when the appropriate elements are activated and deactivated in a controlled manner.

Electromagnetic linear actuators of an inchworm type are known and one common solution is achieved by directly moving an actuator armature in small steps using piezoelectric, electromagnetic, or magnetostrictive armature translators. Such translators can move the armature in nanometer increments, and can exert very large forces, because they rely on the stiffness of an expanding or contracting material. For example, electromagnetic linear actuators of an inchworm type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,027 (Orbach et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,085 (Bizzigotti) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,084 (May, Jr.). The performance efficiency of the actuators disclosed in those prior art documents is limited due to the limitation of the structures thereof.
Improvements to the field of electromagnetic actuators are available, however.


An audible warning cue signal of a selected duration is provided to disembarked passengers to warn them of the impending departure of the vehicle from which they disembarked. The vehicle is stopped at a predetermined location for passenger debarkation. An entrance door of the vehicle is then actuated to an opened condition to allow the passengers to disembark. After the passengers have disembarked, the door is actuated to a closed condition and an audibly perceptible alarm is provided for a selected time duration to aurally alert the disembarked passengers to the impending departure of the vehicle.

From 1951-1990, in the state of Ohio alone, over 40 students were killed in accidents outside of school buses. An appreciable number of these fatalities resulted from children wandering into the path of the bus as it departed from the drop site. A small child, even when crossing directly in front of the bus, may be obscured from the view of the driver who must also be attuned to approaching traffic as well as to disembarking children. Complicating the problem is the tendency of child to dawdle around the bus or to chase papers and the like underneath the bus rather than to proceed directly out of harm's way upon disembarking. Tragically, a disembarked child who has strayed too near the bus, his or her attention directed elsewhere, may be unaware of the danger engendered by the departure of the bus until it is too late for either the driver or the child to avoid a serious accident.
To militate against accidents caused by oncoming traffic and the like, many school buses have been equipped with various safety devices. School buses commonly employ red and amber signal lamps and a stop arm to alert traffic of an impending stop. In operation, with the entrance handle closed, the driver actuates a manual switch to activate the flashing of the amber signal lamps to indicate the stopping of the bus. When the entrance door handle is moved toward the open position, the amber warning lights are deactivated and the red warning lights are actuated to indicate that children are departing from the bus. Concomitantly, a stop arm is extended to reveal additional flashing red lights as well as a stop sign configured in the symbolic shape of an octagon. When the entrance door handle is closed, all the lights are deactivated and the stop arm retracts automatically. School buses also are typically equipped with an audible electrical warning device that is actuated when the bus is in reverse gear. An audible warning signal is maintained as long as the bus is in reverse gear.
Although the aforementioned devices have been shown to reduce the number of fatalities associated with student busing, school districts are continually searching for ways of making student transport safer. Accordingly, there has existed and remains a need for ways of alerting students to the danger attending a school bus departing from its drop site.

Audible warning of disembarked bus passengers


A frozen dessert improved in shape retention without an adverse effect on the properties of the frozen dessert such as viscosity, texture and flavor is provided.

In general, a "frozen dessert" is defined as "frozen or chilled confectionery such as jelly, ice cream and sherbet" (Kojien, fourth edition, Iwanami Shoten, 1991). In the present application, however, a 'frozen dessert' is defined as follows.
That is, the 'frozen dessert' in the present application is broadly classified into "hard ice cream" and "soft ice cream" as shown in Table 1.
The "hard ice cream" is a frozen dessert which is in the form of an end product obtained through a 'hardening process' in a production flow to be described later and which is distributed while in a frozen state at approximately −20° C., and placed in a freezing cabinet and sold as a commodity at a store (commercial product). The "hard ice cream" is categorized into "ice creams" and "ice confections".
The "soft ice cream" is a frozen dessert which is commonly called soft-serve ice cream and which is not distributed but is made with a frozen dessert production apparatus without a 'hardening process' in a store and sold at the store face to face to consumers as a prepared food product at approximately −4 to −10° C. directly taken out of the frozen dessert production apparatus. The "soft ice cream" is also categorized into "ice creams" and "ice confections".
Furthermore, under the hard ice cream and the soft ice cream (hereinafter, abbreviated as soft cream), the "ice creams" are categorized into an ice cream standard, an ice milk standard and a lacto-ice standard based on the standards for ice creams specified under a ministerial ordinance according to their compositions such as milk.
Likewise, under the hard ice cream and the soft cream, the "ice confections" refer to frozen desserts containing less than 3% of milk solid. The ice confections are further categorized into fat-containing ice confections and fat-free ice confections as shown in Table 1.
It is noted that some products analogous to soft cream have been recently offered to consumers, which are a frozen dessert put in small-sized containers and distributed in the same manner as in the hard ice cream, and then forcibly defrosted in a dedicated defrosting chamber in a store until it is −8 to −12° C., extruded while each container is compressed and deformed with a dedicated extruder and served in a well-known soft cream form (twisted high). However, these products shall be categorized into the hard ice cream since they are obtained through a hardening process and they are distributed at −20° C.
TABLE 1FrozenHardIce CreamsIce Cream StandardDessertIce Cream(Milk Solid: ≧15.0%,Milk Fat: ≧8.0%)Ice Milk Standard(Milk Solid: ≧10.0%,Milk Fat: ≧3.0%)Lact-ice Standard(Milk Solid: ≧3.0%)Ice ConfectionsFat-containing(Milk Solid: <3.0%)Ice ConfectionsFat-free Ice ConfectionsSoftIce CreamsIce Cream StandardIce Cream(Milk Solid: ≧15.0%,Milk Fat: ≧8.0%)Ice Milk Standard(Milk Solid: ≧10.0%,Milk Fat: ≧3.0%)Lact-ice Standard(Milk Solid: ≧3.0%)Ice ConfectionsFat-containing(Milk Solid: <3.0%)Ice ConfectionsFat-free ice confections
Consumers may eat the hard ice cream at the point of sale immediately after the purchase, or may take it home by maintaining its frozen state with dry ice or the like, keep it in a freezer and eat it at an appropriate time. Since the hard ice cream immediately after it is taken out of the freezer is frozen very hard, the hard ice cream is generally eaten after the temperature of the product is approximately −10° C., at which it is soft enough to eat, and it thaws of its own accord by leaving it at room temperature.
However, the thawing time taken until the hard ice cream is soft enough to eat varies greatly depending on the surrounding environment. As time goes by, the surface of the hard ice cream may start melting earlier than the other part and impair a pleasant dry feeling, or an edge portion of the hard ice cream twisted high into a sharp and beautiful shape may run down and damage the shape, or the hard ice cream may melt and fall like a snowslide. Thus, consumers often miss the timing to eat the hard ice cream while it is in an ideal state.
When a small child or an elderly person who cannot quickly eat up a frozen dessert which is cold as being below zero encounters the above-described situations, the frozen dessert starts melting completely and dirties their hands or clothes, or melts and falls like a snowslide and drips onto the floor. Such situations are often observed.
The same is true of soft cream which is made at the point of sale without a hardening process, served on an edible container such as a cone cup and sold face to face while in a soft state at approximately −4 to −10° C. Consumers eat the soft cream in or around the store while holding the container such as a cone cup. Then, the soft cream melts with time and dirties hands and clothes of the consumers, or even worse the soft cream melts and falls like a snowslide and drips onto the floor, necessitating cleaning. Such situations occur more often when the ambient temperature is high, in particular.
In these frozen desserts, which melt with time unless they are kept in a frozen state as described above, maintaining a pleasant dry feeling by delaying start of melting as much as possible, maintaining a beautiful shape by delaying melting and falling as much as possible and maintaining a beautiful appearance perceptually appealing attractive taste (reinforcing shape retention for holding a predetermined shape) lead to improvement of product's value (product's life) and thus are very important objects as well as other properties such as flavor and texture.
As a conventional method for the reinforcement of the shape retention of frozen desserts, addition of a stabilizer and an emulsifier is known. Examples of the stabilizer include hydrophilic polysaccharides extracted from seaweed, vegetable seeds, microorganisms or the like; insoluble polysaccharides such as microcrystalline cellulose; and synthetic stabilizers such as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). Examples of the emulsifier include low HLB emulsifiers such as unsaturated fatty ester.
In addition, Patent Document 1 reports that use of microcrystalline cellulose, carrageenan and waxy corn starch as stabilizers allows enhancement of the liquid stability of a liquid soft cream mix before the freezing and achievement of soft cream having good shape retention and superior drip resistance after the freezing for a long period of time. Here, it should be noted that microcrystalline cellulose is clearly distinguished from microfibrillated cellulose used in the present invention to be described later (see Patent Document 2, for example).

Frozen dessert and frozen dessert material

Abstract: The frozen dessert contains plant-derived microfibrillated cellulose.


An insulation installation system including: a supply of material having discrete elements and a self-contained applicator. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the insulation installation system further includes a work platform. The self-contained applicator includes a blower having an inlet and an outlet; a material feeder downstream from the blower; and an integrated electrical system adapted for household use. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the self-contained applicator includes a vented air intake connected to the inlet of the blower.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to insulation systems and, more particularly, to an insulation system including a self-contained applicator system for installing a supply of material having discrete elements.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Constructors including blown in insulation materials in a construction have typically been required to transport heavy equipment systems to a construction site to install the insulation. This equipment generally requires large vehicles and considerable labor to transport. Another drawback of such equipment is that it usually does not include an electrical system adapted for household use. Therefore, additional equipment is needed to supply electrical power for installing the insulation. Where large construction projects are concerned, such shortcomings may not be prohibitive. For small projects, however, installing blown in insulation materials may be impractical due to these considerations.
Thus, there remains a need for an insulation installation system including a supply of material having discrete elements; and a self-contained applicator including: a blower having an inlet and an outlet; a material feeder; and an integrated electrical system adapted for household use.


The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for combining stepped drain bias control with digital predistortion for a power amplifier. In one example, the method includes receiving an input associated with a transmit power level of a transmitter in a wireless terminal and selecting a predefined drain bias setting for a power amplifier of the wireless terminal based on the input. A predefined predistortion setting for the power amplifier corresponding to the selected predefined drain bias setting is identified. A drain of the power amplifier is set to the selected predefined drain bias setting, and the identified predefined predistortion setting is applied to a signal prior to directing the signal to the power amplifier.

Wireless terminals have a transmit chain for signal transmission. Various components in the transmit chain enable a wireless terminal to control the level of power supplied to the transmitter as well as control other transmission factors. The efficiency of the wireless terminal's transmit chain impacts not only transmission quality but also battery consumption, as providing additional power to the transmit chain negatively impacts battery life. One component of the transmit chain that impacts efficiency is a power amplifier that may be used to alter the amplitude of a signal prior to transmission.
In addressing the problem of wireless terminal power amplifier efficiency, several methods have been proposed for envelope tracking or polar modulation approaches for power amplifier efficiency enhancement combined with predistortion for recovery of the waveform error vector magnitude (EVM). In either of these systems, a bias amplifier that is used to modulate the drain bias of a power amplifier with a voltage that to some degree tracks the envelope of the signal waveform. In this manner, the bias of the power amplifier is reduced when the waveform envelope is relatively small to conserve power dissipation in the power amplifier. When the waveform envelope is relatively large, the power amplifier receives full bias to support amplification of the signal. The power amplifiers in these systems are typically biased to class AB, class D, or class E.
Due to the non-linear response of the power amplifier to modulation of the drain bias, it is normally necessary to combine an envelope tracking or polar modulation transmitter with some form of predistortion in order to meet the EVM requirements at the air interface. However, this approach has limitations when implemented in a wireless terminal. For example, one limitation is that the bandwidth requirement of the amplitude modulation is typically about two to five times that of the waveform bandwidth. Therefore, for narrowband waveforms such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), the amplitude modulator bandwidths are practical, while for wideband waveforms such as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), 802.11x, or WiMax, the bandwidth requirements on the amplitude modulator can approach thirty to fifty MHz, making the implementation of such circuits impractical.
A second limitation is the efficiency of the amplitude modulator. If a linear regulator type modulator is used, less power is dissipated in the power amplifier as the voltage is reduced to the power amplifier drain, but the additional power is dissipated in the regulator due to the higher voltage drop. The net effect to the battery power drain using a linear regulator type modulator is generally insignificant since the power saved in the power amplifier during low envelope amplitudes is merely dissipated in the regulator.
As such, a switching regulator is often used as the drain bias modulator. Such a regulator can generally maintain an efficiency of eighty percent to ninety percent over a large regulation range. However, for wireless terminal applications, the use of switching regulators can be undesirable due to such factors as the large reactive components that are often required in the circuit, the use of a greater number of components, potential electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues, prohibitive cost of the added circuit components, or spurious problems resulting from the switching noise of the circuit.
There are additional challenges to these approaches related to delays and delay variations between the drain bias modulation and the waveform envelope, dynamic range limitations, and other issues, although these challenges are not documented herein.
Accordingly, an improved system and method for controlling a power amplifier in the transmit chain of a wireless terminal are needed.

System and method for combining stepped drain bias control with digital predistortion for a power amplifier