A medical pump including an electromagnetic emitter and detector is provided. The emitter emits electromagnetic radiation of a predetermined wavelength. A pump set that is compatible with the medical pump modifies the emitted electromagnetic radiation when properly installed in the pump. The detector receives electromagnetic radiation, and a filter circuit excludes electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength other than the predetermined wavelength. The pump monitors the filtered signal to determine whether the received electromagnetic radiation corresponds to the emitted electromagnetic radiation as modified by a properly loaded, compatible pump set and determines whether a compatible pump set is properly loaded in the pump as a function thereof.

Administering fluids containing medicine or nutrition to a patient is well known in the art. Although fluids can sometimes be delivered to the patient by gravity flow, often a flow control apparatus, such as a peristaltic pump or the like, drives a pump set for delivering fluid to the patient at a controlled rate of delivery. A peristaltic pump suitable for use in administering fluids to a patient typically comprises a housing that includes at least one motor operatively engaged to a pump rotor through a gearbox. The motor is operatively connected to a rotatable shaft that drives the pump rotor, which in turn progressively compresses the tubing of the pump set. The peristaltic action effected by rotation of the pump rotor by the motor drives fluid through the tubing. A controller operates the motor, or motors, to drive the pump rotor and, thus, controls fluid flow. Other types of peristaltic pumps not employing pump rotors are also known.
In order for the pump to deliver a precise amount of fluid corresponding with flow parameters programmed into the pump controller, the pump set must be compatible with the pump and correctly loaded in the pump. For example, if the pump set is misaligned in the pump or is not compatible with the pump, the pump may deliver an inaccurate amount of fluid to a patient or generate a low flow alarm requiring the condition to be examined and the set reloaded or changed. Existing pumps have systems to detect whether the pump set is properly loaded. An example of such a pump having a detection system is shown in co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,703, entitled SAFETY INTERLOCK SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL FLUID PUMPS, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In this system, circuitry in the pump detects a magnet on the pump set to determine if it is compatible. Unfortunately, the use of a magnet adds to the cost and complexity of the pump set. Detecting a compatible pump set by use of electromagnetic radiation emitters and detectors is another solution, but ambient electromagnetic radiation from the sun and artificial light sources can interfere with accurately detecting emitted electromagnetic radiation signals.

Pump set and pump with electromagnetic radiation operated interlock


A plastic ferrule for an optical connector comprises a cylindrical portion having one insertion hole for fixing an optical fiber and directly related to connection, a holding portion for allowing the cylindrical portion to be stably held in an optical connector, and an guiding portion for allowing an optical fiber to be guided into the ferrule. The ferrule has a hollow, cylindrical hole centering around the insertion hole inside the cylindrical portion. Thus, the ferrule has excellent dimensional accuracy of the outer diameter, and achieves connection of single mode fibers excellent in connection reliability and economy.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a ferrule for an optical connector to be used in connecting single-mode fibers together. More specifically, the invention relates to an economical plastic ferrule for an optical connector, the ferrule being very small in the amount of eccentricity and in the dimensional change of the outer diameter of its cylinder, and the ferrule being capable of achieving reduction in the assembly cost and parts cost; and a method for the production of the ferrule.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the progress of optical communication technologies, it is becoming possible to introduce optical fibers into the household level and provide varieties of communication services. To realize such an optical communication network for use among general subscribers, there is need for a low cost, economical optical connector.
In connecting together optical fibers for use in optical communication, two ferrules 01A and 01B having optical fiber cords 03A and 03B inserted therein are arranged and aligned in a split alignment sleeve, as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a ferrule used for this purpose, and shows a schematic structure of the ferrule. The ferrule has a coated optical fiber guide hole 04, and a fiber insertion hole 05 at the front end. The ferrule also includes a cylindrical portion 06 directly related to connection, a holding portion 07 for allowing the ferrule to be stably held in an optical connector, and an inserting portion 08 for allowing an optical fiber to be inserted into the ferrule.
The ferrule serves as a guide for holding an optical fiber and inserting it into an optical connector when the optical fiber is connected to another optical fiber. Very high dimensional accuracy as shown in Table 1 is required in the diameter of the optical fiber insertion hole, the amount of eccentricity of the optical fiber insertion hole, the outer diameter of the ferrule, and the roundness of the outer diameter.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Dimensional requirements for ferrule Item Dimensional tolerance ______________________________________ Outer diameter 2.499 .+-. 0.0005 mm Amount of eccentricity of <0.7 .mu.m optical fiber insertion hole Size of optical fiber 125 + 1 .mu.m insertion hole - 0 .mu.m Roundness of outer diameter <0.5 .mu.m Cylindricity of outer diameter <0.5 .mu.m Surface roundness <0.5 .mu.m ______________________________________
So far, a ferrule has been prepared by precision cutting and grinding a ceramic or metal material piece by piece. This has posed the problems of a low manufacturing efficiency and high parts costs.
To solve these problems, there have been attempts to produce a ferrule by plastic molding. For example, Yoshizawa et al. prepared a plastic ferrule by transfer molding of a phenolic resin (Research & Development Report, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 831-842, 1983). Back then, a multi-mode fiber with a large core outer diameter of about 50 .mu.m was mainly used, and such a plastic ferrule was applicable in connecting multi-mode fibers. The plastic ferrule, however, cannot be applied to a single-mode fiber with a core outer diameter of 8 to 10 .mu.m which is in current use for communication. Moreover, the ferrule, prepared by transfer molding, requires post-treatment such as flash trimming or heat-treatment after molding. From the viewpoint of economy during a manufacturing process, therefore, the plastic ferrule has not been fully satisfactory. An attempt was made to prepare a plastic ferrule by the use of a cost-effective injection molding technique. For this purpose, plastic materials such as PPS (polyphenylene sulfide) with relatively high thermal resistance and fluidity were considered.
For example, the following ferrules were investigated:
1. Biconical connector (ATT: W. C. Young et al., Proc. IWCS, 1981, p. 411-418)
Prepared by transfer molding of an epoxy resin. As in the study by Yoshizawa et al., the molding cycle was long, and required post-treatment such as deflashing. The manufacturing efficiency was too low to achieve cost reduction. For a single-mode fiber, the connecting properties were unsatisfactory.
2. A ferrule whose contour material was a hollow pipe and whose inside was fitted with a resin by transfer molding (Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.: K. Kashihara et al., Proc. IWCS, 1987, p. 379-381)
Prepared by insert molding. Too laborious to prepare an economical ferrule at a low manufacturing cost.
Since the 1980's, the molding accuracy of injection molding has improved. Thus, a study was initiated using a more economical injection molding method (continuous production is easy and no post-treatment such as deflashing is required). Frequently studied molding materials were liquid crystal polymers (LCP) and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS).
3. A ferrule by injection molding using LCP (Du Pont: M. H. Johnson et al., SPIE Proc., vol. 1992, p.47-53, 1993)
Required the removal of a core pin from the ferrule after each molding shot, thus incapacitating continuous production. In addition, reliability in various environments was not entirely satisfactory.
4. A plastic ferrule configured to have a concave groove in the end face of the ferrule (NEC Corp.: K. Harada et al., Japanese Patent Application Laying-open No. 1-243005).
Has a concave groove in the ferrule end face, thus making the grinding of the ferrule end face difficult, and decreasing the strength of the fiber insertion hole portion.
The foregoing ferrules did not satisfy the dimensional accuracy, mechanical strength, or reliability for various parameters, capable of accommodating the connection of single-mode fibers. For example, the dimensional accuracy of a ferrule that is required for the connection of single-mode fibers has been shown to have to take the values listed in Table 1. Such a highly accurate ferrule has not been put into practical use.
The connecting properties of an optical connector can be evaluated by the connection loss and the return loss of the ferrule end face. The connection loss has to be not more than 0.5 dB, and the return loss must be 25 dB or more (Physical Contact (PC) grinding conditions) or 40 dB or more (Advanced Physical Contact (AdPC) grinding conditions).
Reliability tests have pointed out deterioration of the connecting properties that occurred in a high temperature or high humidity environment. The cause of this problem has been presumed to be that since a plastic ferrule has an optical fiber insertion hole length as shown in FIG. 2 of 1 to 2 mm (about 8 mm for a zirconia ferrule) according to the molding method, the adhesion between the optical fiber and the ferrule is insufficient under high temperature or high humidity conditions.

Plastic ferrule for optical connector and method for production thereof

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


Examples may include techniques to route packets to virtual network functions. A network function virtualization load balancer is provided which routes packets to both maximize a specified distribution and minimize switching of contexts between virtual network functions. Virtual network functions are arranged to be able to shift a context from one virtual network function to another. As such, the system can be managed, for example, scaled up or down, regardless of the statefullness of the virtual network functions and their local contexts or flows.

Modern computing techniques often employ virtualization. Virtualization has extended from a single application, such as, a virtualized operating system to virtualization of network functions. As network function virtualization is deployed in "cloud" based systems, the ability to perform commissioning, capacity planning, and management of devices grows increasingly complex. This is especially true when interdependencies between virtual network functions are considered.


An installation system for toolless installation of a central console in a motor vehicle is provided. The system includes a front fixing region on the central console and a front fixing region on a vehicle-side instrument panel, which engage one-into-the-other in an interference-fit manner in an intended installation position of the central console, a rear fixing region on the central console and a rear fixing region on a vehicle-side support, which with shifting of the central console in a predetermined installation direction directed toward the instrument panel, engage one-into-the-other even before reaching the intended installation position and fix the central console to the support transversely to the installation direction, wherein at least one central fixing region on the central console and at least one central fixing region on the vehicle-side support include respective toothings.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Central consoles are typically attached in a front region to an instrument panel of a motor vehicle and in a rear region directly or via a holder on the bodyshell, e.g., to a central tunnel, of the motor vehicle. Here the central consoles are usually fixed by screws that are tightened by an assembler using a screwing tool. For one thing it negatively impacts assembly time when central consoles must be screwed in a motor vehicle. In addition, there is also the risk during assembly that, for example, parts of the central console are damaged during the screwing either by the screws or also by the screwing tools used.
DE 10 2010 041 048 A1 discloses an installation system for toolless installation of a central console in a motor vehicle. A front fixing region on the central console and a front region on a vehicle-side instrument panel can enter into a snap connection in the intended installation position of the central console, so that the central console is fixed in its intended installation position on the instrument panel. Furthermore, a rear fixing region on the central console can interact in a bar-type manner with a rear fixing region on a vehicle-side support, so that with shifting of the central console in a predetermined installation direction directed toward the instrument panel, even before reaching the intended installation position the rear fixing region on the central console and the rear fixing region on the vehicle-side support engage one-into-the-other and fix the central console transversely on the support with respect to the installation direction.
A series of tolerances play a role in the exact installation of a central console in a motor vehicle. Due to manufacturing tolerances, certain dimensional fluctuations arise in the central console, the instrument panel, and also in the bodyshell of the motor vehicle. The exact disposing and attaching of the central console at certain connection points of the instrument panel and bodyshell can thereby be made more difficult, which in turn makes more difficult the exact installation of the central console in the motor vehicle. Furthermore, forces acting on the fully assembled central console, e.g., because a vehicle occupant is supported on the central console, must be able to be reliably supported. This can in turn best be realized best by a particularly play-free, i.e., exact installation of the central console.

Mounting system for tool-free mounting of a centre console in a motor vehicle


A form assembly for enclosing a received facsimile document in an envelope has been developed, along with a method for automatically assembling and sealing the envelope with the facsimile document within. The form assembly includes a front and back sheet that when sealed together form the envelope. The front and back sheets have substantially the same dimensions and are both larger than the received facsimile document. The front and back sheets have a border area adjacent its perimeter, and the border includes a pattern of pressure sealing cohesive. Moreover, the border extends beyond the facsimile document when that document is assembled with the sheets of the envelope. To assemble the form, the facsimile document is sandwiched between the front and back sheets of the envelope. The edges of the assembled form which include the border are compressed with sufficient pressure to activate the cohesive of the border and to thereby seal the envelope closed with the facsimile document within the envelope. Moreover, identifying indicia may be printed on the outside of the envelope to indicate the addressee of the facsimile document.

Facsimile ("fax" or "faxing") transmission of documents has in the last ten-years become a favored method of transmission of business documents. Customers fax product order forms with their credit card numbers to all sorts of businesses, such as catalogue retailers and hotels. Lawyers fax documents with privileged and confidential information to other lawyers and their clients. Patients fax their medical history and descriptions of their health problems to their doctors. Accountants fax information regarding accounts, costs and profits to their client businesses. Business people fax documents regarding ongoing negotiations for deals, acquisitions and mergers to other parties engaged in confidential negotiations. Many of the documents sent by facsimile transmission contain confidential information intended to be read only by the addressee of document.
When documents are faxed they are often not sent directly to the addressee, but rather the documents are sent to a facsimile machine in the same office as the addressee, to a location near the addressee or to a location where the addressee is expected to be in the near future. The addressee often does not stand by the facsimile machine as the document is printed from the machine and is often not the person who retrieves the document from the facsimile machine. Facsimile machines are in hotels, convenience stores, business service centers, airport lobbies, government centers, mailrooms of large offices, the receptionist station of small offices, and a wide variety of other locations. Facsimile machines are often located where passersby may read fax documents as the documents print out from the facsimile machine. Moreover, once the faxed document is printed, it is usually temporarily stored where other people who were not intended to read the document can pick up and read the document. A facsimile received in the mailroom of a large office may be read by anyone in the mailroom, and must be at least partially read by the mailroom staff who routes the document to its addressee. Similarly, faxed documents may be read by the hotel staff and by persons checking into a hotel who happen to stand near the facsimile machine. Accordingly, there is a potential for unauthorized persons reading documents received by facsimile when the machine is located where persons, other than the addressee, may read the document as it prints from the machine.
Confidential documents are routinely transmitted by facsimile. The confidentiality of a document as it prints out of a facsimile machine is usually in jeopardy because the document may be read by unauthorized persons as the document is output from the machine. The potential for confidential information being leaked to persons not intended to receive the information is particularly great where the facsimile machine is located in a public or semi-public place, such as in a hotel, business services store, mailroom of a large office, a government center, and in an airport lobby. Accordingly, there has been a long standing need to ensure the confidentiality of faxed documents by preventing unauthorized persons from reading documents being printed from a facsimile machine.
Others systems for preserving the confidentiality of a document printing from a facsimile machine have been proposed and may exist. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,106 discloses a confidential facsimile machine that applies a cover sheet to a faxed document and seals the cover sheet to each page of the document with adhesive. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,779, discloses a paper pull-tab that reveals a portion of a facsimile document, where the disclosed portion identifies the addressee of the document. U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,233, discloses using a folder and sealing machine to fold each page of a faxed document and seal the folded document. None of these techniques disclose or suggest automatically enclosing an entire received facsimile document in an envelope or sealing the envelope with pressure sealing cohesives.
The present invention relates to a business form assembly for enclosing received facsimile documents in a sealed envelope, and a method for assembling and sealing the envelope and facsimile documents. In a preferred embodiment, the form assembly includes front and back envelope sheets, at least one of which has a border with a pressure sealing cohesive pattern. The pattern of the pressure sealing cohesive is optimized to reduce cohesive costs, reduce the thickness of the sheets due to adhesives and ensure proper sealing of the envelope. For example, the shape and spacing of cohesive spots along horizontal edges of the sheet may be different than those of the spots along the vertical edges due to improved performance of the sheets. Further, each envelope sheet has a center section that is opaque to prevent persons from seeing through the envelope sheets to read documents enclosed in the envelope. The front and back envelope sheets are substantially larger in their length and width dimensions than the dimensions of the sheets of a facsimile document.
A pressure sealing apparatus may be used to arrange the envelope form assembly around a faxed document. The pressure sealing assembly stores front and back envelope sheets in a paper tray or trays. The front and back envelope sheets may be identical and retrieved from one tray. Alternatively, the front and back envelope sheets may be different, such as only one of the front and back sheets includes cohesive, and the front and back sheets are retrieved from different trays. When a faxed document ("fax") is transferred to the pressure sealing device, a front and a back envelope sheet are assembled around the faxed document such that the fax is sandwiched between the envelope sheets. The envelope sheets are substantially larger than the fax, so that a cohesive coated border of at least one of the sheets extends beyond the faxed document. The assembled envelope sheets and faxed document are moved through the pressure sealer to, for example, first seal the left and right sides of the envelope sheets together. Then, the top and bottom edges of the envelope are sealed together to seal the envelope around each of its four sides and secure the faxed document in a sealed, confidential envelope. In addition, a printer associated with the pressure sealing device or facsimile machine may print on the outside of one or both of the envelope sheets the name of the intended addressee of the faxed document.
The sealed envelope is delivered to the intended addressee based on the name and possibly other indicia printed on the outside of the envelope. The envelope sheets may include a perforated strip along one edge to facilitate opening of the envelope by tearing along the strip. Accordingly, the faxed document is sealed in an envelope by the pressure sealing device to prevent a bystander near the facsimile machine from reading the document after it has printed and exited from the facsimile machine.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a confidential facsimile reception system that employs a sealed envelope for faxed documents. It is another object of the present invention to provide a secure envelope formed from flat and unfolded sheets that are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle. A further object of the present invention is to incorporate pressure seal technology to form and seal envelopes around a confidential document, because pressure seal cohesives are not tacky prior to activation and do not require heat or moisture for activation. In addition, pressure seal cohesives may be applied to envelope sheets without concern that the cohesives will activate due to dampness or heat applied to the sheets prior to their assembly as envelopes. There is no concern with contaminating the imaging media or components within the device used to print the variable information on the pressure seal cover sheets. These objects and others are satisfied by the present invention that is described in greater detail in connection with the attached figures.

Confidential facsimile system with pressure sealed security envelope


A new and distinct cultivar of Bidens plant named ‘BID 719’, characterized by its semi-upright, outwardly spreading to somewhat trailing plant habit; vigorous growth habit; freely flowering habit; large inflorescences with bright yellow-colored ray florets; and strong peduncles that hold the inflorescences above and beyond the foliar plane.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Bidens plant, botanically known as Bidens triplinervia×Bidens ferulifolia, and hereinafter referred to by the name 'BID 719'.
The new Bidens is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Bolzano, Italy. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new Bidens plants with attractive inflorescences with numerous ray florets.
The new Bidens plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Bolzano, Italy in 2007 of an unnamed selection of Bidens triplinervia, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with Bidens ferulifolia 'Peters Goldteppich', disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,880, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Bidens plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled environment in Bolzano, Italy in August, 2007.
Asexual reproduction of the new Bidens by vegetative cuttings in a controlled environment in Bolzano, Italy since November, 2007, has shown that the unique features of this new Bidens plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


An intraocular lens includes an optical body having a geometric center point through which a longitudinal axis extends and a second main axis extends as a transverse axis. The transverse axis is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. A flat first and a second haptic body are each adjacent to the optical body. The first and second haptic bodies are arranged point-symmetrically to the geometric center. An outer radius of the intraocular lens about the geometric center and a radial distance from the geometric center to an intersection point of the transverse axis with a circumferential line of the intraocular lens have a ratio to one another from 1:0.5 to 1:0.9. The first haptic body has a recess on the left of the longitudinal axis and another recess on the right thereof. The two recesses each have a length and a width, the length being greater than the width.

An intraocular lens is intended as a replacement for a natural eye lens when the natural eye lens no longer enables good vision due to clouding or hardening. Each intraocular lens has an optics body through which light rays can reach a retina of a patient's eye. So that the optics body can be arranged as centrally as possible in a capsular bag of the patient's eye, spacers that come into contact with the surrounding capsular bag adjoin the optics body. The spacers, which are also referred to as haptic bodies, are often C-shaped or J-shaped. Such haptic bodies are very narrow, so that it is possible to very strongly fold the intraocular lens and to insert it into the capsular bag through a very small incision.
However, it can be advantageous for an intraocular lens to be provided with a haptic body that is configured like a plate. Such an intraocular lens can be handled easily by the surgeon immediately after implantation into a capsular bag and be centered in the capsular bag, with only a small risk of damaging the optics body when handling the haptic body. Since a plate-like haptic body has a relatively large outer periphery, a relatively large contact surface with the inner wall of a capsular bag is also achievable. This means that the position of the intraocular lens in the capsular bag is stable even over a long period of time.
The disadvantage, however, is that with a relatively small capsular bag, an intraocular lens with a plate-like haptic body is under great mechanical stress. This can lead to such an intraocular lens bending along its longitudinal axis. The result can be an axial shift of the optics body in the capsular bag, as a result of which the focal point of the intraocular lens is displaced to in front of or behind the retina, which is associated with a loss of sharpness. If the rear of the intraocular lens is provided with a PCI edge to prevent secondary cataracts, the intraocular lens might no longer rest against the rear wall of the capsular bag as intended after such an axial shift. As a result, the cells that form a secondary cataract can penetrate into the central region of the rear wall of the capsular bag and cause renewed clouding of vision. An intraocular lens with a plate-like haptic that has been inserted in a capsular bag that is too small can deform here in such a way that the optics body undergoes astigmatic distortion.
Intraocular lenses with a haptic body are described, for example, in WO 01/89425 A1 and WO 2006/033984 A1.


An apparatus comprising a first passive optical network (PON) component configured to couple to a second PON component via an optical link and authenticate the second PON component based on authentication information to authorize a backup wireless link between the first PON component and the second PON component. The backup wireless link corresponds to a wireless backup system for the PON. The authentication information is associated with an identifier of the wireless backup system. Also included is a network component comprising a first passive optical network (PON) component configured to receive authentication information for a wireless backup system for a PON from a second PON component and compare the authentication information to expected authentication information at the first PON component to authorize a wireless link between the first PON component and the second PON component for the wireless backup system.

A passive optical network (PON) is one system for providing network access over "the last mile." The PON is a point to multi-point network comprised of an optical line terminal (OLT) at the central office, an optical distribution network (ODN), and a plurality of optical network units (ONUs) at the customer premises. In some PON systems, such as Gigabit PON (GPON) systems, downstream data is broadcasted at about 2.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) while upstream data is transmitted at about 1.25 Gbps. A ten gigabit per second (Gbps) GPON (XGPON) system may have a downstream bandwidth of about ten Gbps and an upstream bandwidth of at least about 2.5 Gbps. A PON system may lose its service availability upon failure of the fiber links and/or a plant infrastructure component. The use of the wireless system as an external backup system requires authentication.

Method for authentication of a wireless backup system for an optical network unit


A water heater filter is provided for the removal of minerals and sediments from water, comprising a cylindrical filter housing element comprising an upper chamber and a lower chamber linked by a small diameter section, an inlet fitting, a conical fine mesh stainless steel wire screen positioned within the upper chamber, a first cotton filter positioned within the lower chamber, a second carbon filter comprising activated carbon enclosed in a porous element positioned within the lower chamber, and an outlet fitting. The water heater filter has particular utility in connection with a household water heater.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water heater filter for use in connection with removal of minerals and sediments. The water heater filter has particular utility in connection with water filtration for a household water heater.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Water heater filters are desirable for removal of minerals and sediments in order to increase the service life of a water heater.
The use of filters is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,661 to Heiligman discloses a water filter module for a drip coffee brewer. However, the Heiligman '661 patent does not provide a water filter for use with a household water heater.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,197 to Hughes discloses a shower filter for chlorine removal and scale deposit prevention. However, the Hughes '197 patent does not provide a water filter for use with a household water heater.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 323,873 to Yanou et al. discloses a micro filter for water or gas. However, the Yanou '873 patent does not provide a water filter for use with a household water heater.
U.S. Pat. No. 261,613 to Jones discloses a feed water heater and filter. However, the Jones '613 patent does not provide a water filter for use with a household water heater.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,313 to Kelada discloses a point-of-use water purification system with a cascade ion exchange option. However, the Kelada '313 patent does not provide a compact water filter for use with a household water heater.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,707 to Mehnert et al. discloses a water filter. However, the Mehnert '707 patent does not provide a water filter for use with a household water heater.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a water heater filter that allows the removal of minerals and sediments in order to increase the service life of a household water heater. The prior art patents make no provision for water filtration for a household water heater with a compact unit having multiple filters.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved water heater filter that can be used for water filtration for a household water heater. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the water heater filter according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of water filtration for a household water heater.


An elevator call registration device selectively switches between display of an operation screen for allowing a user to designate a registration for moving a car to an arbitrary destination floor from among a plurality of destination floors and display of a registered-floor screen for displaying the destination floor that is designated through operation on the operation screen and registered with an elevator control device.

In conventional display input switching systems, as described in, for example, JP 2001-302128 A, a destination floor screen is displayed for requesting a registration for moving a car to predetermined destination floors according to the number of elevator passengers.
In this regard, however, the destination floor screen simultaneously displays a ten-key for designating predetermined destination floors and a listing of the destination floors registered through operation of the ten-key, that is, a listing of the registered floors, with the result that the total number of registered floors to be displayed is limited depending on how much of the screen space can be allocated for display of the registered floors included in the listing.
In view of this, the present invention is made to overcome the inconvenience described above, and therefore it is an object of the invention to provide an elevator call registration device that enables display of a larger number of registration floors.


A method, a device and computer readable storage media facilitate detecting a scrolling area within digital content comprising a plurality of frames, wherein the detection includes a comparison between a current frame and a previous frame to determine at least one location within the current frame in which pixel values change in relation to a corresponding location of the reference frame, searching for a reference line of pixels within the scrolling area of the previous frame, in response to finding a reference line, searching for a corresponding matching line of pixels in the current frame that matches the reference line, and, in response to finding a corresponding matching line of pixels in the current frame, determining a degree of scrolling of content in the scrolling area of the current frame in relation to the previous frame.

Desktop sharing has become an important feature in current collaboration software. It allows virtual meeting attendees to be viewing the same material or content (video, documents, etc.) during a discussion. To make desktop sharing possible, the screen content that is being shared by the sending computing device during a collaboration session must be continuously captured, encoded, transmitted, and finally rendered at receiving computing devices for display.
Traditional desktop sharing applications have compressed screen content into H.264 standard video bitstreams. The screen content being shared is typically treated as ordinary camera captured video, where frames are encoded utilizing intra-frame and inter-frame encoding techniques. An intra-frame encoding technique utilizes pixel blocks from the same frame to encode the frame, whereas inter-frame encoding compares a current frame with one of more neighboring frames and uses motion vectors for encoding. Motion vectors are pointers pointing at the positions of the matching block in the reference frame. The process of finding motion vectors is known as motion estimation. By finding matching blocks of pixels between a current frame and a previous/reference frame, redundancies in encoding of such blocks can be avoided, since encoded blocks of pixels in one frame can be used as a reference for the same block of pixels in other frames, thus minimizing the coding and decoding of content that is required.
Existing desktop sharing applications that adopt H.264 video coding typically rely on motion estimation to enhance encoding efficiency. A problem with scene detection in desktop sharing applications utilizing inter-frame encoding is that the encoding technique examines the entirety of each frame pixel by pixel, and this process must be repeated for every incoming frame.

Utilizing scrolling detection for screen content encoding


A method and system for enhancing the resolution of a camera are disclosed. For example, a single lens can be placed at a predetermined position and the position of a lens assembly can be adjusted so as to enhance the resolution of the camera. The single lens can then be moved so as to effect focusing of the camera while the position of the lens assembly tends to maintain enhanced resolution thereof.

Miniature cameras are well known. Miniature cameras are widely used in contemporary cellular telephones. They are also used in other devices, such as laptop computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Miniature cameras can even be used as stand alone devices for such applications as security and surveillance.
Contemporary miniature cameras, such as those used in cellular telephones, are fixed focus cameras. That is, the focus of the cameras is preset. The camera has a small enough aperture so as to provide sufficient depth of field such that focus is generally acceptable over a wide range of distances. However, such stopping down severely limits the camera's use in low light conditions.
Variable focus necessitates the use of movable optics. However, movable optics suffer from inherent disadvantages. For example, the resolution provided by movable optics can be less than optimal, unless the optics are properly adjusted. Of course, adjusting the optics so as to enhance resolution likewise enhances image quality. Therefor, it is desirable to provide a method and system for adjusting the resolution of a miniature camera, such as an autofocus camera suitable for use in cellular telephones and the like.

Resolution adjustment for miniature camera


A system for simulating a production environment in which a plurality of components are subject to a plurality of different processes to generate an end product. The system comprises a plurality of modules, each module representing one of said processes and a set of data carriers, representing said components. Each module comprises read circuitry for reading data from a data carrier and means for providing an indication representing whether an attempted transaction of the module is valid or invalid. The validity or invalidity of the transaction is based on a predetermined job route which defines a valid predetermined sequence and timing of processes for each component or set of components. Each data carrier carries a unique identification which can be read by the read circuitry and which represents a component or a set of components.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for simulating a production environment, and in particular an environment in which a process flow can be divided into a number of distinct process steps.
2. Descriptioon of the Problem Solved
Managing the operation of a production unit or environment effectively is a skillful and stressful enterprise. Strategic and tactical decisions must be made on a frequent basis and the consequences of such decisions may have an unseen and decisive impact on the operation of the production unit. It would be useful if a manager could simulate the operation of his production unit so that the effect of a decision on the unit as a whole could be foreseen in simulation before the decision is made in real life. Systems intended to provide such a simulation are known, but they invariably involve a computer having dedicated software which has been specially designed to simulate a particular process and can be extremely complex and expensive. Such machines may be a justifiable expense in the petrochemical or pharmaceutical industries but are prohibitively expensive for small-scale manufacturing industries. Moreover, it is not normally possible to make even simple changes to the software without going through a long, involved process.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a system which is less complex and more flexible and which in particular can be easily adapted to simulate different process flows. Such a system would potentially have wide applications throughout industry and could bring the possibility of process simulation within the means of small companies.

System for simulating a production environment


A barrel and receiver assembly providing an improved means of connecting the barrel assembly to the receiver wherein the improved means of connecting the barrel assembly to the receiver comprises a wedge that imparts a force in a direction perpendicular to the barrel, and a means for attaching the barrel assembly to the receiver that imparts a force in a direction parallel to the barrel, and wherein the combination imparts a bi-directional force to the barrel assembly.

The present invention relates generally to firearms, and more specifically to a method of, and means for, attaching the barrel and the receiver of the firearm and securing them together.
Proper alignment of the barrel and receiver in firearms is an important factor bearing upon the reliability, safety, and accuracy of the firearm. It is desirable for the barrel and receiver to be properly aligned and securely joined in such a manner that the two joined components are nearly as rigid as a single member. Prior methods of, and means for, attaching the barrel and receiver include pinning or bolting the barrel to the receiver by means of an external fastener, and attaching the barrel to the receiver by threading. Pinning and bolting do not produce a union that approaches the theoretical rigidity of a single member, thus limiting the accuracy of the firearm. Threading is not practical in firearms adapted to fire rimmed ammunition. Accordingly, a need remains for an improved method, and means for, attaching the barrel of a firearm to the receiver.


A patterned fabric with an image pattern includes: a fabric sheet having opposite first and second surfaces and a plurality of pores extending through the first and second surfaces, each of the pores being defined by a pore-defining wall; and a plastic film bonded to the first surface of the fabric sheet and having opposite first and second faces and an image pattern formed on the first face. The plastic film is perforated to form a plurality of through-holes extending through the first and second faces. Each of the through-holes is defined by a hole-defining wall. The hole-defining wall of each of the through-holes extends into a respective one of the pores and wraps around and is bonded to at least a portion of the pore-defining wall of the respective one of the pores.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a patterned fabric with an image pattern, more particularly to a patterned fabric including a fabric sheet and a perforated plastic film bonded to the fabric sheet and having an image pattern.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fabrics can be used for applications, such as garments, curtains, sofas, chairs, shoes, luggages, backpacks, etc., and are commonly interwoven, dyed or printed with an image pattern for attracting attention of consumers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,847,740 discloses a method of making an ink-printing cloth that includes the steps of preparing a cloth with a water content of 10 to 110%, pretreating the cloth for subsequent processing, applying an ink to the cloth, subjecting the cloth to a dyeing treatment, and washing the cloth so as to form an image pattern on the cloth.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0061173 discloses a method of making a fabric 2 with a colored pattern (see FIG. 1) that includes the steps of providing a fabric having a manmade fiber layer and a natural fiber layer, providing a printing board for each color, printing a desired colored pattern on a printing area of the fabric using a corresponding printing board, printing an etching agent on another area of the fabric, and etching the area that is printed with the etching agent so as to form the colored pattern on the fabric 2.
The aforementioned conventional methods are complicate and the fabrics thus formed are expensive.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for selecting audio input from a microphone of a hearing device or a microphone of a mobile device comprising: detecting proximity between the hearing device and the mobile device. If proximity between the hearing device and the mobile device is detected, receiving an audio input with the microphone of the mobile device and generating a mobile device audio signal from the audio input; transmitting the mobile device audio signal from the mobile device into a communication network. If proximity between the hearing device and the mobile device is not detected, the method comprises: receiving an audio input with the microphone of the hearing device and generating the hearing device audio signal from the audio input with the hearing device; transmitting the hearing device audio signal from the hearing device to the mobile device; transmitting the hearing device audio signal from the mobile device into a communication network.

Hearing devices are generally small and complex devices. Hearing devices can include a processor, microphone, speaker, memory, housing, and other electronical and mechanical components. Some example hearing devices are Behind-The-Ear (BTE), Receiver-In-Canal (RIC), In-The-Ear (ITE), Completely-In-Canal (CIC), and Invisible-In-The-Canal (IIC) devices. A user can prefer one of these hearing devices compared to another device based on hearing loss, aesthetic preferences, lifestyle needs, and budget.
A hearing device may comprise a microphone and a loudspeaker, wherein audio input at the microphone may be frequency dependent filtered and/or amplified for compensating the hearing loss. The modified audio signal is then output by the loudspeaker, which may be located near or in the ear of the user.
A mobile phone may be a portable device, which may be used for performing telephone calls, which may be transmitted via a cellular radio communication network. Also a mobile phone may comprise a microphone and a loudspeaker. The audio signal at the microphone is transmitted via the radio communication network to another person, which, for example, also may use a mobile phone. The audio signal of the other person then may be transmitted back to the first person and may be put out by the loudspeaker.
A person, which is not hearing impaired, typically uses a mobile phone either with the built-in microphone and loudspeaker, or completely via a BLUETOOTH headset. When a BLUETOOTH headset is used, a voice pickup may be done at the headset, using a directional microphone pointing to the mouth or using a boom microphone.
Hearing impaired persons may need to receive the incoming audio signal directly in their hearing devices. Some hearing devices include a BLUETOOTH headset function with a voice pickup at the hearing device, a wireless transmission of outgoing audio to the mobile phone, and a wireless reception of incoming audio. However, under some circumstances, it may be more beneficial to perform voice pick up at the mobile phone.
The following publications and patents discussed technology for using a mobile phone. WO 2014 197 737 A1 is about a method to detect that a phone is in a car and to automatically switch from a text based user interface towards an audio user interface allowing hands-free interactions. WO 2010 039 437 A1 is about a method to select the best from several microphones on a telephone such as to obtain the best voice signal-to-noise ratio. U.S. Pat. No. 9,510,083 B2 describes a method to automatically manage the connection between one headset and two devices, such as a smartphone and a laptop. U.S. Pat. No. 9,769,858 B2 is about transferring pairing with a hearing device peripheral among several devices. EP 3 101 910 A1 is about controlling which one, from several devices, shall send audio to a pair of wireless earbuds. U.S. Pat. No. 9,065,929 B2 describes proximity detection between a hearing device and a mobile phone based on magnetic fields.
Accordingly, there exists a need for solving the above-identified problems as well as providing additional benefits.

Selecting audio input from a hearing device and a mobile device


A descalant means, comprising L.sub.E structured liquid crystals which when placed close to, or into a liquid stream, cause the formation of microscopic liquid crystalline structures, which act as nucleation sites for the formation of crystal structures of normally liquid-soluble or insoluble salts, and other suspended particles, these crystalline structures being chemically stable and causing a large reduction in the scaling potential of the liquid, thereby avoiding scale buildup on metal or other containment surfaces and also initiating descaling of surfaces already containing scale buildup. Furthermore, said means will reduce the amount of detergents, soaps, surfactants and polymers required in washing and other forms of water use.

Four earlier inventions by the same inventor have been filed as follows:
1. "Growing structures around charged particles and increasing the concentration." File No: 08/182,410. PA0 2. "Growing structures around charged particles from a structured liquid and increasing the strength of the structured liquid.." File No: 08/217,042 PA0 3. "Enhancing biological, biochemical and chemical reactions using structured liquids and solids." Patent application submitted Oct. 1995, Ser. No. 08/520,636. PA0 4. "A combustion enhancing fuel additive comprising microscopic water structures." Patent application submitted Nov. 1995, Ser. No. 08/558,330.
1. Background--Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for reduction of scaling or scale buildup in liquids, water and oil transport systems and specifically, to a device which does not add chemicals, but instead utilizes micron-sized or smaller crystalline structures within the transported liquid, water or oil. The scaling components present, such as salts of calcium and magnesium in water and paraffins in the case of oil, are attracted to the crystalline structures in the liquid which serve as nucleation points, instead of depositing on the inner surfaces of pipes, vessels and other equipment. Thus the potential for scaling deposits is greatly reduced.
2. Background--Description of Prior Art
The current state of the art used to reduce scale buildup in pipes and other liquid conveyance systems makes use of selected chemicals which are added to and mixed into the liquid in metered, small amounts. These chemicals inhibit the formation of scale or other deposits on the insides of the conveyance system. The main disadvantage of the use of chemicals is their costs as well as the need to meter the quantity being introduced and to vary that amount as the scaling material quantities vary in the stream.
These chemicals may, in turn cause problems with later chemical processes or have to be removed or neutralized.

Descalant comprising structured liquid or solid


Particulated structures and their method of manufacture for use in an electrical generator employing gas-mediated charge transfer are disclosed. The structures comprise a multiplicity of particles which contain voids between first and second opposing surfaces of said particles. At least a portion of said opposing surfaces are modified such that the charge transferability of said first opposing surfaces differs from the charge transferability of said second opposing surfaces.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to energy conversion and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a device and method for generating electricity. Some embodiments relate to a method suitable for fabricating a structure which can be incorporated in a device for generating electricity.
Energy conversion systems receive energy in one form and convert it to energy in another form. In many cases, mechanical energy, resulting for instance from heat engines, hydro, or wind power, drives the rotation of turbines resulting in the generation of electricity. In other cases, no moving parts are involved in the conversion process, such as in solid-state electricity generators. Closed electrochemical cells, commonly known as batteries, are but one example of such electricity generators, but are generally used for storage rather than meaningful electricity production, since their production is limited by the amount of chemical reactant contained in the battery. Open electrochemical cells, such as fuel cells which can be replenished (for example with hydrogen as the core reagent in the oxidation reaction producing the chemical energy to be converted) are more likely to be used for the general production of electricity. Both the closed and open devices share the principle that an irreversible chemical reaction is taking place between the electrodes and the electrolyte, or within the electrolyte, generally resulting in chemical degradation of parts of the devices, such as corrosion of the electrodes, or consumption of the fuel.
Additional energy conversion systems include thermoelectric, thermionic and thermotunelling devices, where thermal energy is converted to electricity. These devices generally rely on a high temperature gradient between a cold and a hot surface and/or on high operating temperatures. In most cases, the surfaces are in vacuum to ensure that the thermal gradient driving the electricity production is maintained. However, in some such devices, gases such as cesium vapor can be used to modify the properties of the surfaces and to prevent the formation of space charge near the electrodes.

Method and device for generating electricity and method of fabrication thereof


The present invention provides a coin recognition device comprising an integrated circuit, a coin receiving member, and a retractable trigger mechanism. The integrated circuit comprises a built-in recognition program and a plurality of pads as signal input ends thereof. The recognition program is configured for discriminating denomination of coins based on signals from the pads. The coin receiving member defines a coin slot for coins to be inserted. The retractable trigger mechanism is associated with the coin slot and is disposed on the coin receiving member. The trigger mechanism comprises a conductive contact part attached thereto. The contact part moves together with movement of the trigger mechanism in response to the insertion of coins. When the contact part moves to corresponding positions in relation to varying diameters of coins, the contact part at each specific position is electrically connected to one respective pad to stimulate a signal.

Coin recognition devices, or coin discriminators, are widely used in, e.g., coin counting machines for identifying the type (e.g. denomination) of each coin that is processed by the machine. The known procedures for the recognition of coins analyze in particular the criteria weight, diameter, thickness, electrical-magnetic and light permeable properties of the coin's alloy.
A typical coin recognition device discriminates whether or not coins are acceptable and the denomination of coins by optically detecting method. For example, this coin recognition device includes a light source, a single-chip computer electrically connected to an optical signal receiver, and a display. A passageway is disposed between the light source and the optical signal receiver, for allowing a piece of coin to roll through. A coin backrest is arranged in the passageway. The coin in the passageway transfers along the backrest under drive of a coin propeller. The optical signal receiver extends at least two optical fibers at receiving end thereof. One end of each optical fiber faces toward the passageway and the other end is connected to the single-chip computer by a photoeletric sensor. While one coin rolls through the passageway, parts of the optical fibers is not permeable through the coin, i.e., reflected from the coin. Accordingly, the coin recognition device discriminates the denomination of coins by identifying the diameter of the coins rolling through the passageway based on amount of reflected optical fibers. However, this coin recognition device has a complicated construction and is expensive due to the optical fibers.

Jin Jiang Zhanwang Electronic (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


An integrated refrigerator evaporator having a plurality of pipes and fins is manufactured by injection molding with plastics. According to the present invention, pipes and fins are molded by plastic plates, and a heat exchanger is formed by molding the pipes and fins into a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes. A first bending section formed by the heat exchanger, which is molded in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes, is inserted into a mold main body to manufacture a header cap. A first header cap is manufactured by injected melted plastic material body into the mold main body under the state of covering the mold main body with a mold cap. The first header cap is engaged with a first header main body having a refrigerant inlet and outlet. The refrigerator evaporator according to the present invention results in a relatively lower product cost than the evaporator composed of a metal substance, as well as a high recyclability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator evaporator, and more particularly to a refrigerator evaporator and method of manufacturing a refrigerator evaporator of both a more improved structure and manufacturing process than the conventional one using plastic materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, the refrigerator as an appliance for storing and keeping stuff such as food under low temperatures roughly consists of a storage compartment and a cooling compartment. This type of a refrigerator can be classified into four kinds according to the cooling methods: an ice refrigerator, in which a lump of ice is put on an upper part of the storage compartment to cool down inside thereof; an electric refrigerator, in which gaseous Freon is condensed and transferred to a condenser to be liquefied by discharging heat; a gas refrigerator employing an absorption freezer, which uses ammonia aqueous solution as a refrigerant; and an electronic refrigerator utilizing a Peltier element for the purposes of both cooling and heating the food according to the direction of electric current.
An evaporator is essential to any types of refrigerator, regardless of the kinds of refrigerant to be used, for exchanging latent heat with existent heat by means of evaporation of the refrigerant. Such a conventional refrigerator evaporator has been manufactured by utilizing metals such as copper or aluminum in consideration of the problems in heat exchanging efficiency and pressure endurance, etc. The following is an explanation of the method of manufacturing the conventional refrigerator evaporator made with reference to the accompanying drawings FIGS. 1A and 1B.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view illustrating the heat exchange plate used in the conventional refrigerator evaporator.
Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, refrigerant pipes 1a, 1b are first extruded by means of metal (e.g., copper, aluminum, etc.). Fins 2a, 2b are then manufactured by molding a metal panel.
Metal refrigerant pipes 1a, 1b are inserted into the fins 2a and 2b and elongated to a desired length. The metal refrigerant pipes 1a, 1b are mechanically engaged with the fins 2a, 2b.
The body incorporating the refrigerant pipes 1a, 1b into the fins 2a, 2b is the heat exchange plate 3.
And, a heat exchange plate 3 is bent in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes or in the shape of a serpent to be completed as the heat exchanger.
However, since most of the refrigerator evaporator including the ones described above are composed of metal of high thermal conductivity and strength, there are some problems.
First, employing metal substance results in a relatively high material cost of the refrigerator evaporator, thereby elevating the cost of a refrigerator including a heat exchanger.
Second, employing a metal substance also requires a more complicated manufacturing process than employing a non-metal substance, thereby resulting in a high processing cost. Further, the high weight of the metal evaporator causes a problem in transportation.
Third, employing a metal substance lowers recyclability and durability of the product.
Fourth, employing a metal substance impedes modification of the design of the product.
To resolve the conventional problem described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator evaporator having a plurality of pipes and fins which is manufactured by injection molding with plastics.
To accomplish the object, the refrigerator evaporator according to the present invention comprises a heat exchanger having a plurality of pipes for circulating a refrigerant and a plurality of fins molded in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes for mechanically engaging the plurality of pipes; a first header positioned at a first bending section formed by the heat exchanger molded in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes and having an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe for a refrigerant, and the first header comprises a plurality of inlet tanks, outlet tanks, return tanks and brackets for preventing distortion of the heat exchanger; and a second header engaged with a second bending section positioned corresponding to the first header, characterized in that the heat exchanger, first header and second header are integrated in plastics.
The method of manufacturing the refrigerator evaporator to achieve an object of the present invention comprises the steps of: forming a heat exchanger by molding pipes and fins with a plastic panel and molding the pipes and fins in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes; inserting the first bending section formed by molding the heat exchanger in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes into a mold body for forming a header cap; manufacturing a first header cap by injecting melted plastic material into the mold main body under the state of covering the mold main body with a molding cap; and engaging the first header cap with the main body of the first header having a molding inlet pipe and an outlet pipe of the refrigerant; manufacturing a second header cap by inserting a second bending section of the heat exchanger into the mold main body for manufacturing the first header cap, and by injecting the plastic melting body into the melted plastic material under the state of covering the mold main body with a mold cap; and engaging the second header cap with the second header main body.

Refrigerator evaporator and method of manufacturing the same


A method for manufacturing a wafer scale package including at least one substrate having replicated optical elements. The method uses two substrates, at least one of which is pre-shaped and has at least one recess in its front surface. Optical elements are replicated on a first substrate by causing a replication tool to abut the first substrate. The second substrate is then attached to the first substrate in an abutting relationship in such a way that the optical element is contained in a cavity formed by the recess in one of the substrates in combination with the other substrate. Thereby, a well defined axial distance between the optical elements and the second substrate is achieved. Consequently, a well defined axial distance between the optical elements and any other objects attached to the second substrate, e.g. further optical elements, image capturing devices, light sources, is also established.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of manufacturing optical elements by means of a replication process. More concretely, the invention relates to a method to produce a wafer scale package of at least two wafer-like substrates, wherein at least one comprises a plurality of optical elements. The invention further relates to a wafer scale package as such.
2. Description of Related Art
Manufacture of optical elements by replication techniques, such as embossing or molding, is known. Of special interest for mass production are wafer-scale manufacturing processes where an array of optical elements is fabricated on a disk-like structure ("wafer") by means of replication. Subsequent to replication, this wafer structure is separated into individual optical elements ("dicing").
Replication techniques include injection molding, roller hot embossing, flat-bed hot embossing, UV embossing. As an example, in the UV embossing process, the surface topology of a master structure is duplicated into a thin film of a UV-curable replication material such as an UV curable epoxy resin on top of a substrate. The replicated surface topology can be a refractive or a diffractive optically effective structure, or a combination of both. For replicating, a replication tool bearing a plurality of replication sections that are a negative copy of the optical structures to be manufactured is prepared, for example, from a master. The tool is then used to UV-emboss the epoxy resin. The master can be a lithographically fabricated structure in fused silica or silicon, a laser or e-beam written structure, a diamond turned structure or any other type of structure. The master may also be produced in a multi stage generation process by replication from a super master.
To achieve a cost effective mass production of replicated optical components, a wafer-scale replication process is desirable. A wafer or substrate in the meaning used in this text is a disc or a rectangular plate or a plate of any other shape of any dimensionally stable, often transparent material. The thickness is normally much smaller than the extent in the other two dimensions; this is also designated as "generally flat". A plane of the wafer may be defined as a plane running perpendicular to the direction defined by the direction of the smallest extent of the wafer, e.g. normal to the disc or rectangular plate.
The diameter of a wafer disk is typically between 5 cm and 40 cm, for example between 10 cm and 31 cm. Often, it is cylindrical with a diameter of either 2, 4, 6, 8 or 12 inches, one inch being about 2.54 cm. The wafer thickness is for example between 0.2 mm and 10 mm, typically between 0.4 mm and 6 mm.
If light needs to travel through the wafer, the wafer is at least partially transparent. Otherwise, the wafer can be nontransparent as well. It can also be a wafer bearing electro-optical components, e.g. a silicon, GaAs, or CMOS wafer.
The wafer-scale replication allows the fabrication of several hundreds of generally identical structures with a single step, e.g. a single or double-sided UV-embossing process. The subsequent separating (dicing) step of the wafer then yields the individual optical components.
Integrated optical subsystems include functional elements, at least one of which is an optical element, stacked together along the general direction of light propagation (z-axis). Thus, light travelling along the z-axis passes through the multiple elements sequentially. These elements are integrated such that further alignment with themselves is not needed, leaving only the integrated optical subsystem to be aligned with other systems.
Integrated optical subsystems can be manufactured by stacking wafers that comprise functional, e.g. optical, elements in a well defined spatial arrangement on the wafer. Such a wafer scale package comprises at least two wafers that are stacked along the axis corresponding to the direction of the smallest wafer dimension (z-axis, axial direction) and attached to one another. One of the wafers bears optical elements and the other can comprise or can be intended to receive functional elements, such as optical or electro-optical elements. It is also possible that a second wafer does not bear any functional elements but acts as a cover or protection plate only. A plurality of integrated optical subsystems arranged side by side is formed by stacking the wafers in such a way that the optical or other functional elements are aligned. Subsequent dicing then yields the individual integrated optical subsystems.
There are different ways to attach the wafers to one another in order to achieve the wafer package. It is, for example, known to apply an adhesive layer or adhesive matrix directly in between the two wafers. Other known wafer packages, e.g. as disclosed in US 2003/0010431 or WO 2004/027880, comprise a spacer means, e.g. a plurality of separated spacers or an interconnected spacer matrix, arranged in between the two wafers. WO 2004/027880 mentions that the spacer matrix may also be part of one of the wafers.
Precise positioning of the functional elements along the z-axis, i.e. perpendicular to the plane of the wafers, is in many cases essential for the function of the integrated optical subsystem. Known wafer packages and production processes do not enable precise control of the z-distance of the functional elements that have to be aligned. For example, if only an adhesive matrix is used, it is difficult to establish a well defined thickness thereof, in particular if the optical element itself has a given extension in z-direction. Furthermore, though WO 2004/027880 controls the z-distance of the two wafers with respect to one another with the spacer means, there is no precise control of the z-position of one optical element on one wafer with respect to the other wafer or a functional element thereon, as its position with respect to its wafer may vary, especially if a replication technique is used.
It is often desired to reduce the dimensions of a wafer scale package in axial (z-) direction. The wafer itself, however, cannot be made arbitrarily thin without adversely affecting its stability.

Method of producing a wafer scale package


A water spray gun having an improved sprinkler head structure for use on a garden hose. The sprinkler head has a head body and a sprinkling cap and a bottom plate that are joined together by way of ultrasonic welding art. The sprinkling cap is rotatably mounted onto the head body having a water outlet. The sprinkling cap has a peripherally ring area having a plurality of sprinkling pores and a number of water discharge holes of various geometric shapes. Each water discharge hole of the sprinkling cap has a tubular extension and the tubular extensions are bridged by vertical wall sections and an S-shaped wall section to define a closed area. The bottom plate has a plurality of circular holes ending with protruded flanges that defines a closed area in correspondence to that of the sprinkling cap. Or the bottom plate and inside and outside of the closed are are disposed a small rhombic opening in communication with a circular hole of the sprinkling cap and a large rhombic opening in communication with the ring area respective that can be registered with the water outlet of the head body separately or simultaneously so that water can be discharged via the discharge hole or the ring area of the sprinkling cap separately or together.

The present invention relates to a water spray gun having an improved sprinkler head structure for use on a garden hose. The sprinkler head has a head body and a sprinkling cap and a bottom plate that are joined together by way of ultrasonic welding art. The sprinkling cap is rotatably mounted onto the head body. The head body has a water outlet and a spring receiving hole in which a spring biased locking pin is housed. The locking pin can be selectively engaged with one of a number of retaining cavities defined on one side of the bottom plate. The sprinkling cap has a peripheral ring area having a plurality of sprinkling pores and a number of water discharge holes of various geometric shapes. Each water discharge hole of the sprinkling cap has a tubular extension and the tubular extensions are bridged by vertical wall sections and an S-shaped wall section to define a closed area. The bottom plate has a plurality of circular holes ending with protruded flanges that defines a closed area in correspondence to that of the sprinkling cap. On the bottom plate and inside and outside of the closed area are disposed a small rhombic opening in communication with a circular hole of the sprinkling cap and a large rhombic opening in communication with the ring area respectively that can be registered with the water outlet of the head body separately of simultaneously so that water can be discharged via the discharge hole or the ring area of the sprinkling cap separately or together.
In general, conventional water spray guns of various kinds for use on a garden hose have a sprinkling cap and a bottom plate bound together by the ultrasonic welding and an head body. The prior art sprinkling cap rotatably mounted onto the head body has a number of differently shaped discharge holes and water flowing through a water outlet of the head body can only be discharged via one of the discharge holes without multiple variations.

Water spray gun having an improved sprinkling cap for garden hose


A bit holder assembly for a rotary hand or powered tool, includes a body having a hex shank at its rearward end and a retraction collar slidably disposed on the body. The body has a coaxial hex socket formed therein to allow a tool bit to be inserted thereinto. A coil spring biases the retraction collar forwardly and biases a retaining clip toward the bottom of an angular slot formed in the body. The bit is removed by sliding the retraction collar rearwardly, to compress the coil spring and allow the retaining clip to retract back up the slot. A ring magnet is disposed at the forward end of the retraction collar to magnetize a fastener to retain the fastener to the bit.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Auxiliary chucks for power and hand tools have become increasingly common, especially as the need and desirability of wider versatility in the use of power tools and hand tools has increased. Such auxiliary chucks allow the hand or power tool to be used with any of a number of interchangeable bits. This, in turn, has resulted in demands for greater speed, convenience and ease of insertion and removal of tool bits from such chucks.
In one exemplary type of such conventional quick-release chucks, one or more detent balls are positioned within a hollow, barrel-shaped tool bit holder body and are resiliently biased into engagement with a circumferentially-extending groove or recess on the shank of the tool bit. An example of such a ball-type mechanism is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,957 which is herein incorporated by reference. In other conventional quick release chucks, a spring biased clip is used to engage the bit within the tool bit holder body. Examples of the spring biased clip design are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,086,813 and 6,929,266 which are herein incorporated by reference.

Quick change bit holder with ring magnet


An illumination device for a cooking apparatus, the illumination device including a light source and a light conductor rod that conducts light emitted by the light source to a cooking cavity of the cooking apparatus; a support that supports the light conductor rod at a support element of the cooking apparatus, wherein the support includes a pivot joint that supports a fixing device for the light conductor rod, so that the light conductor rod is movably supported in the support.

It is known in the art to use LED illuminants for illuminating cooking cavities of cooking apparatuses. Since LED lights are temperature sensitive they are protected by various measures against heat development or heat radiation of the cooking cavity. It has proven advantageous to conduct the light that is emitted by the light source to the cooking cavity by a light conductor. Typically light conductors are used that include rigid light conducting rods made from glass or high temperature resistant material. The LED light source is arranged in the cooking apparatus as far away from the cooking cavity as possible, The light conductor penetrates the cooking cavity wall at a suitable location and is configured in a section that is arranged within the cooking cavity so that the light conductor illuminates the cooking cavity in a large surface area or punctiform.
The LED light source and the light conductor rod are joined into an illumination device using additional components, in particular a cooling body configured to dissipate heat that is generated during operations of the LED and a support that couples the components with each other, Typically the support arranges the illumination device at a component of the cooking apparatus.
Since there are many ways to illuminate the cooking cavity of a cooking apparatus a plethora of illumination devices is available in different configurations. Thus, there are illumination devices that have light conductor rods that are arranged in corners of the cooking cavity wall over an entire height of the cooking cavity. Illumination devices are known where the light conductor rods are inserted into a cooking cavity wall recess and therefore protected against contact. Such recesses can extend e.g. in a cooking cavity side wail from a forward upper corner into a rear lower corner, thus diagonally along the cooking cavity wall. Other illumination devices penetrate the cooking cavity wall only with the free end of the light conductor in order to keep the penetration opening as small as possible. For this purpose free ends of the light conductor are processed accordingly in order to achieve the intended light scattering.
Also the cooking apparatus components where the illumination devices are attached are shaped differently, in particular there is no standardized orientation of the support element relative to an orientation of the light conductor rod.
Eventually the light conductor rods have to penetrate plural shielding plates between the support element and the cooking cavity wall wherein the shielding plates are configured to shield thermal radiation from the cooking cavity.


A site-specific farming system which performs various functions while remaining relatively unaffected by spurious farming data is disclosed. The farming data may be received in real-time from location signal generation and sensing circuits, or may be received from a digital memory which stores the farming data. The farming data includes both valid and spurious farming data which are identified by integrity checking the data. Existing relationships which exist within the valid farming data are exploited to generate synthesized farming data used to replace the spurious farming data. The valid and synthesized farming data are used to perform a function of the farming system such as performing a statistical analysis of the farming data, generating an electronic display of the farming data, generating a prescription map, or generating variable rate application signals.

Research within the agricultural community has shown that management of crop production may be optimized by taking into account spatial variations that often exist within a given farming field. For example, by varying the farming inputs applied to a field according to local conditions within the field, a farmer can optimize crop yield as a function of the inputs being applied while preventing or minimizing environmental damage. This management technique has become known as precision, site-specific, prescription or spatially-variable farming.
The management of a field using precision farming techniques requires the gathering and processing of data relating to site-specific characteristics of the field. Generally, site-specific input data is analyzed in real-time or off-line to generate a prescription map including desired application or control rates of a farming input. A control system reads data from the prescription map and generates a control signal which is applied to a variable-rate controller adapted to apply a farming input to the field at a rate that varies as a function of the location. Variable-rate controllers may be mounted on agricultural vehicles with attached variable-rate applicators, and may be used to control application rates for applying seed, fertilizer, insecticide, herbicide or other inputs. The effect of the inputs may be analyzed by gathering site-specific yield and moisture content data and correlating this data with the farming inputs, thereby allowing a user to optimize the amounts and combinations of farming inputs applied to the field.
The spatially-variable characteristic data may be obtained by manual measuring, remote sensing, or sensing during field operations. Manual measurements typically involve taking a soil probe and analyzing the soil in a laboratory to determine nutrient data or soil condition data such as soil type or soil classification. Taking manual measurements, however, is labor intensive and, due to high sampling costs, provides only a limited number of data samples. Remote sensing may include taking aerial photographs or generating spectral images or maps from airborne or spaceborne multispectral sensors. Spectral data from remote sensing, however, is often difficult to correlate with a precise position in a field or with a specific quantifiable characteristic of the field. Both manual measurements and remote sensing require a user to conduct an airborne or ground-based survey of the field apart from normal field operations.
Spatially-variable characteristic data may also be acquired during normal field operations using appropriate sensors supported by a combine, tractor or other vehicle. A variety of characteristics may be sensed including soil properties (e.g., organic matter, fertility, nutrients, moisture content, compaction, topography or altitude), crop properties (e.g., height, moisture content or yield), and farming inputs applied to the field (e.g., fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, seeds, cultural practices or tillage parameters and techniques used). Other spatially-variable characteristics may be manually sensed as a field is traversed (e.g., insect or weed infestation or landmarks). As these examples show, characteristics which correlate to a specific location include data related to local conditions of the field, farming inputs applied to the field, and crops harvested from the field.
The acquisition of site-specific farming data during normal field operations, however, may be subject to intermittent conditions which cause spurious farming data. For example, positioning signals transmitted to an agricultural vehicle from satellites or a ground station may be temporarily blocked or shadowed by trees, forest boundaries, buildings, or topographical features (e.g., mountains). Electrical noise (e.g., caused by a change in load on a vehicle's power system) may interfere with characteristic or location signals. Intermittent faults in a vehicle's wiring or connectors may also cause spurious characteristic or location data. Spurious farming data caused by these and other conditions are likely given the harsh environment in which agricultural vehicles typically operate.
Spurious farming data may interfere with various functions of a site-specific farming system. For example, spurious farming data may adversely affect the performance of a statistical analysis of the farming data (e.g., the determination of the average yield or moisture content of an area of a field), the generation of an electronic map showing visible indicia of a characteristic (e.g., the generation of a yield map), the generation of a prescription map based upon the farming data, or the generation of variable-rate application signals based upon the farming data.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a site-specific farming system which adequately accommodates spurious farming data. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide a site-specific farming system which handles an intermittent loss of location data without switching to a dead-reckoning system to determine the current location of a vehicle based upon a last valid location, a sensed speed and a sensed direction. Such dead reckoning systems require extra sensors to sense parameters such as direction, which increase the cost and complexity thereof. In addition, such a dead reckoning based system does not accommodate spurious characteristic data, and does not efficiently use information and relationships which exist in valid site-specific farming data that has been collected.

Method and apparatus for synthesizing site-specific farming data


A sheet feeding apparatus comprising, a feeding device for pinching a sheet and for selectively performing an operation for temporarily stopping a sheet supplied from an upstream side by abutting a leading end of the sheet against a nip of the feeding device and then feeding the sheet toward a downstream side and an operation for feeding a sheet supplied from the downstream side toward the upstream side; a guide mechanism shiftable between a first position near the nip to direct the sheet supplied from the upstream side to the nip of said feeding device, and a second position far away from the nip than the first position; and a biasing mechanism for biasing the guide mechanism to the first position when the feeding device feeds the sheet supplied from the upstream side toward the downstream side and for biasing the guide mechanism to the second position when the feeding device feeds the sheet supplied from the downstream side toward the upstream side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus incorporated into an image forming system such as a printer, copying machine and the like.
2. Related Background Art
In an image forming system such as a printer, copying machine and the like utilizing an ejection tray as a manual sheet supply means, a pair of feed rollers selectively performing operations for feeding a sheet supplied from an upstream side toward a downstream side and for feeding a sheet supplied from the downstream side toward the upstream side are provided as a sheet feeding means. The sheet feeding means normally has guides for directing a leading end of the sheet supplied from the upstream side to a nip between the paired feed rollers.
FIGS. 13 to 15 shows a printer wherein the ejection tray is used as the manual sheet supply means. FIG. 13 shows a condition where a sheet S.sub.1 in a sheet supply cassette 1 is supplied (condition that the sheet S.sub.1 is supplied from the upstream side), FIG. 14 shows a condition where a sheet S.sub.2 is manually supplied from an ejection tray 2 (condition that the sheet S.sub.2 is supplied from the downstream side), and FIG. 15 shows a condition where the sheet S.sub.2 manually supplied from the ejection tray 2 is temporarily stopped on the sheet supply cassette 1.
Within a printer frame 3, substantially at a central portion thereof, there is disposed a print head 7 for printing an image on the sheet S.sub.1 or S.sub.2 by discharging liquid droplets while shifting along guide rails 5, 6. At an upstream side of the print head, there are disposed a pair of feed rollers 9, a convey guide 10, and a sheet supply roller 11 in order. On the other hand, at a downstream side of the print head 7, there are disposed a pair of ejector roller 12.
Further, the sheet supply cassette 1 in which the sheets S.sub.1 are stacked is attached to one side (right side in FIG. 13) of the printer frame 3 (which cassette can be withdrawn in a direction shown by the arrow A in FIG. 13) and the ejection tray 2 is attached to the other side (left side in FIG. 13) of the printer frame.
The pair of feed rollers 9 selectively performs an operation for feeding the sheet S.sub.1 supplied from the upstream sheet supply cassette 1 toward the downstream side and an operation for feeding the sheet S.sub.2 manually supplied from the downstream ejection tray 2 toward the upstream side. When the sheet S.sub.1 supplied from the sheet supply cassette 1 is fed, an upper roller 9a of the paired feed rollers 9 is rotated in a clockwise direction, whereas, a lower roller 9b is rotated in an anti-clockwise direction. On the other hand, when the sheet S.sub.2 manually supplied from the ejection tray is fed, the upper roller 9a of the paired feed rollers 9 is rotated in the anti-clockwise direction, whereas, the lower roller 9b is rotated in the clockwise direction.
The convey guide 10 comprises an upper guide 10a and a lower guide 10b which are secured to the printer frame 3 and which serve to direct a leading end of the sheet S.sub.1 supplied from the sheet supply cassette 1 to a nip between the paired feed rollers 9 (FIG. 13).
A lever 16 (FIG. 14) for detecting the presence/absence of the sheet S.sub.1, S.sub.2 is attached to a smaller diameter portion 15 of the ejector rollers 12 in a sheet passing area. The lever 16 can be rocked around a support shaft 17 in an up-and-down direction and is normally biased by a coil spring 19 so that a trailing end of the lever is pulled downwardly and an arcuate leading end portion 16a is positioned slightly higher than a nip between the paired ejector rollers 12. Accordingly, when the leading end of the sheet S.sub.1 supplied from the sheet supply cassette 1 or the sheet S.sub.2 manually supplied from the ejection tray 2 is pinched by the nip between the paired ejector rollers 12, the arcuate end portion 16a of the lever 16 is lowered around the support shaft 17 in opposition to the coil spring 19. Consequently, a photosensor (not shown) is blocked, thus emitting a sheet presence signal.
A manual sheet supply guide 20 is attached to the ejection tray 2. The guide plate 20 is pivotally mounted on the ejection tray 2 via a support shaft 21. A free end 20a of the guide plate 20 is connected to a plunger 22 (FIG. 14) out of the sheet passing area. When the plunger 22 is turned ON (energized), as shown in FIG. 14, the free end 20a of the guide plate 20 is shifted upwardly to a position confronting to the nip between the paired ejector rollers 12; whereas, when the plunger 22 is turned OFF, the free end 20a of the guide plate 20 is lowered by its own weight to a position in parallel with the ejection tray 2, as shown in FIG. 13.
The printer is provided with a cassette supply mode switch and a manual supply mode switch (both not shown). When the cassette supply mode is selected, the pair of feed rollers 9 take the attitude or posture that they can perform the operation for feeding the sheet S.sub.1 supplied from the sheet supply cassette 1 toward the downstream side, and the pair of ejector rollers 12 take the attitude that they can eject the sheet. In this case, the guide plate 20 on the ejection tray 2 is returned to the condition shown in FIG. 13. On the other hand, when the manual supply mode is selected, the guide plate 20 on the ejection tray 2 is shifted to the condition shown in FIG. 14.
Next, the operations of the printer in the cassette supply mode and in the manual supply mode will be explained.
FIG. 13 shows a condition that the cassette supply mode is selected. When the cassette supply mode switch is turned ON, the sheet supply roller 11 is rotated in a clockwise direction to supply the sheet S.sub.1 from the sheet supply cassette 1. The sheet S.sub.1 is guided by the upper and lower guides 10a, 10b of the convey guide 10 so that the leading end of the sheet is directed to the nip 13 between the feed rollers 9. After the leading end of the sheet S.sub.1 is abutted against the nip 13, the sheet is further conveyed by the sheet supply roller 11 to form a loop in a space within the convey guide 10. Then, the sheet S.sub.1 is fed toward the downstream side by the pair of feed rollers 9, and an image is printed on the sheet by means of the print head 7 in a print area 23. Thereafter, the sheet S.sub.1 is ejected, by the paired ejector rollers 12, onto the ejection tray 2 through an ejection opening 25.
FIG. 14 shows a condition when the manual supply mode is selected. When the sheet S.sub.2 is manually inserted into the printer frame 3 along the lifted guide plate 20, a leading end of the sheet S.sub.2 is abutted against the nip between the ejector rollers 12. Consequently, the arcuate end portion 16a of the lever 16 is pivoted downwardly, whereby the photo-sensor (not shown) emits the sheet presence signal. By this sheet presence signal, the paired ejector rollers 12 and the paired feed rollers 9 are rotated reversely to feed the sheet S.sub.2 manually supplied from the downstream ejection tray 2 toward the upstream side. Accordingly, the sheet S.sub.2 manually inserted from the guide plate 20 is fed toward the upstream side by means of the pair of ejector rollers 12 and then is further fed toward the upstream side by means of the pair of feed rollers 9. When the sheet S.sub.2 passes through the feed roller pair 9, it is introduced between the sheet supply roller 11 and an uppermost sheet in the cassette 1 while being guided by the upper and lower guides 10a, 10b of the convey guide 10, as shown in FIG. 9.
When the sheet S.sub.2 manually supplied from the guide plate 20 of the ejection tray 2 is fed to a position shown in FIG. 15, the sheet is temporarily stopped at that condition. In this condition, the trailing end of the sheet S.sub.2 has passed through the print area 23 and is pinched by the nip 13 of the feed roller pair 9. In order to position the trailing end of the sheet S.sub.2, for example, a count is started after the trailing end of the sheet S.sub.2 has just passed through the lever 16, and, the pair of feed rollers 9 are stopped after a predetermined count.
After the above-mentioned temporary stopping of the sheet S.sub.2, when a sheet supply (print) start signal is emitted, the feed roller pair 9, print head 7 and ejector roller pair 12 are operated in the same manner as the cassette supply mode, and the guide plate 20 is returned to the lowered condition. Accordingly, the sheet S.sub.2 manually supplied is subjected to the printing action in the print area 23 in the same manner as the cassette supply mode, and then is ejected onto the ejection tray 2.
By the way, in the above-mentioned printer, the upper and lower guides 10a, 10b of the convey guide 10 serves to direct the leading end of the sheet S.sub.1 to the nip 13 of the feed roller pair 9 when the feed roller pair 9 feeds the sheet S.sub.1 supplied from the upstream sheet supply cassette 1 toward the downstream side and to direct the sheet S.sub.2 passed through the feed roller pair 9 between the sheet supply roller 11 and the uppermost sheet in the cassette 1 when the feed roller pair 9 feeds the sheet S.sub.2 manually supplied from the downstream ejection tray 2 toward the upstream side.
However, as in the above-mentioned conventional case, when the upper and lower guides 10a, 10b of the convey guide 10 are secured to the printer frame 3 in the vicinity of the nip 13 of the feed roller pair 9, it is feared that the leading end of the manually supplied sheet S.sub.2 is interfered with a free end of the upper guide 10a and/or a free end of the lower guide 19b, thus causing the poor feeding of the sheet. Particularly, it is true when the leading end of the sheet S.sub.2 is curled.
Although this problem can be solved by separating the upper and lower guides 10a, 10b from the nip 13 of the feed roller pair 9, if do so, the upper and lower guides 10a, 10b cannot direct the leading end of the sheet S.sub.2 to the nip 13 of the feed roller pair 9 correctly.