According to a preferred aspect of the instant invention, there is provided a system and method for acquiring seismic data in a marine environment, wherein at least two source vessels are used in conjunction with a recording vessel which tows a plurality of hydrophone cables. Preferably, the source vessels will be positioned along side of the towed streamer configuration and most preferably one source vessel will be located near the recording vessel and the other at the end of the streamer configuration, preferably along the same side of the streamer configuration as the lead source vessel.

A seismic survey represents an attempt to image or map the subsurface of the earth by sending sound energy down into the ground and recording the "echoes" that return from the rock layers below. The source of the down-going sound energy might come, for example, from explosions or seismic vibrators on land, or air guns in marine environments. During a seismic survey, the energy source is placed at various locations near the surface of the earth above a geologic structure of interest. Each time the source is activated, it generates a seismic signal that travels downward through the earth, is reflected, and, upon its return, is recorded at a great many locations on the surface. Multiple source/recording combinations are then combined to create a near continuous profile of the subsurface that can extend for many miles. In a two-dimensional (2D) seismic survey, the recording locations are generally laid out along a single line, whereas in a three dimensional (3D) survey the recording locations are distributed across the surface, traditionally as a series of closely spaced adjacent two-dimensional (2D) lines. In simplest terms, a 2D seismic line can be thought of as giving a cross sectional picture (vertical slice) of the earth layers as they exist directly beneath the recording locations. A 3D survey produces a data "cube" or volume that is, at least conceptually, a 3D picture of the subsurface that lies beneath the survey area. In reality, though, both 2D and 3D surveys interrogate some volume of earth lying beneath the area covered by the survey.
A seismic survey is composed of a very large number of individual seismic recordings or traces. In a typical 2D survey, there will usually be several tens of thousands of traces, whereas in a 3D survey the number of individual traces may run into the multiple millions of traces. (Chapter 1, pages 9-89, of Seismic Data Processing by Ozdogan Yilmaz, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, 1987, contains general information relating to conventional 2D processing and that disclosure is incorporated herein by reference. General background information pertaining to 3D data acquisition and processing may be found in Chapter 6, pages 384-427, of Yilmaz, the disclosure of which is also incorporated herein by reference.
A seismic trace is a digital recording of the acoustic energy reflecting from inhomogeneities or discontinuities in the subsurface, a partial reflection occurring each time there is a change in the elastic properties of the subsurface materials. The digital samples are usually acquired at 0.002 second (2 millisecond or "ms") intervals, although 4 millisecond and 1 millisecond sampling intervals are also common. Each discrete sample in a conventional digital seismic trace is associated with a travel time, and in the case of reflected energy, a two-way travel time from the source to the reflector and back to the surface again, assuming, of course, that the source and receiver are both located on the surface. Many variations of the conventional source-receiver arrangement are used in practice, e.g. VSP (vertical seismic profiles) surveys, ocean bottom surveys, etc. Further, the surface location of every trace in a seismic survey is carefully tracked and is generally made a part of the trace itself (as part of the trace header information). This allows the seismic information contained within the traces to be later correlated with specific surface and subsurface locations, thereby providing a means for posting and contouring seismic data—and attributes extracted therefrom—on a map (i.e., "mapping").
The data in a 3D survey are amenable to viewing in a number of different ways. First, horizontal "constant time slices" may be taken extracted from a stacked or unstacked seismic volume by collecting all of the digital samples that occur at the same travel time. This operation results in a horizontal 2D plane of seismic data. By animating a series of 2D planes it is possible for the interpreter to pan through the volume, giving the impression that successive layers are being stripped away so that the information that lies underneath may be observed. Similarly, a vertical plane of seismic data may be taken at an arbitrary azimuth through the volume by collecting and displaying the seismic traces that lie along a particular line. This operation, in effect, extracts an individual 2D seismic line from within the 3D data volume.
Seismic data that have been properly acquired and processed can provide a wealth of information to the explorationist, one of the individuals within an oil company whose job it is to locate potential drilling sites. For example, a seismic profile gives the explorationist a broad view of the subsurface structure of the rock layers and often reveals important features associated with the entrapment and storage of hydrocarbons such as faults, folds, anticlines, unconformities, and sub-surface salt domes and reefs, among many others. During the computer processing of seismic data, estimates of subsurface rock velocities are routinely generated and near surface inhomogeneities are detected and displayed. In some cases, seismic data can be used to directly estimate rock porosity, water saturation, and hydrocarbon content. Less obviously, seismic waveform attributes such as phase, peak amplitude, peak-to-trough ratio, and a host of others, can often be empirically correlated with known hydrocarbon occurrences and that correlation applied to seismic data collected over new exploration targets.
However, for all of the advances that have been made in recent years in the technology of seismic processing, the resulting image of the subsurface is ultimately limited by the quality of the seismic data that is collected in the field. In more particular, and has been observed in a variety of different contexts, in order to accurately image complex subsurface structures the seismic data must be illuminated from a variety of different offsets and azimuths. So-called wide azimuth surveys have been done for many years on land and such surveys have proven in many cases to yield superior data that can be subsequently migrated or otherwise imaged to produce an improved picture of the subsurface as compared with traditional/narrow azimuth surveys.
Traditionally, marine seismic data are acquired via a towed streamer survey. As is generally indicated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, in a conventional arrangement a vessel tows several hydrophone cables behind it (i.e., several "streamers" in the argot of the trade) as it steams over a subsurface area of interest. Each streamer will typically contain several hundred hydrophones which are designed to sense seismic signals that have been reflected from subsurface rock formations and other density contrasts.
At periodic intervals, a seismic source (that is typically also towed by that vessel and located directly behind it) is activated. The source energy propagates downward through the water and penetrates into the ocean bottom, where it is ultimately encounters subsurface rock formations that reflect part of the down going energy back up toward the receivers. Recordings are made of the sensor responses for a short period of time after the source is activated (e.g. for 10 to 20 seconds) at a sample interval that is often either 2 ms or 4 ms
For all of its usefulness, conventionally acquired marine seismic data have been shown to be a less than perfect means of exploring for hydrocarbon reserves when such are located beneath complex structures such as salt domes. Further, and this is especially true in the case of offshore prospects, the conventional means of collecting seismic data (e.g., via a marine survey) have heretofore been designed to acquire seismic data that sample the subsurface over only a limited range of azimuths (see, e.g., FIGS. 3A and 3B).
One important consequence of collecting data that illuminates the subsurface over a limited range of angles is that the resulting seismic volumes and sections will potentially be imperfect representations of the subsurface, and, thus, may cause false prospects to be drilled and/or promising targets to be missed.
Heretofore, as is well known in the seismic processing and seismic interpretation arts, there has been a need for a method of identifying and interpreting thin bed reflections. Accordingly, it should now be recognized, as was recognized by the present inventor, that there exists, and has existed for some time, a very real need for a method of seismic data processing that would address and solve the above-described problems.
Before proceeding to a description of the present invention, however, it should be noted and remembered that the description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings, should not be construed as limiting the invention to the examples (or preferred embodiments) shown and described. This is so because those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be able to devise other forms of this invention within the ambit of the appended claims.

Method of wide azimuth seismic acquisition


Disclosed is a hologram transfer film which can realize easy and good transfer of a hologram and, at the same time, can realize stable transfer of the hologram in a transfer process. The hologram transfer film comprises: a substrate film; and a transfer layer provided on the substrate film, the transfer layer comprising a hologram-forming layer and a heat-sensitive adhesive layer provided in that order on the substrate film, the hologram-forming layer having a breaking strain of 0.5 to 15% at 25xc2x0 C. and a breaking strain of 0.5 to 30% at 120xc2x0 C.

The present invention relates to a hologram transfer film with good hologram transferability which can easily apply a hologram to various objects.
The present invention also relates to a production process of a hologram transfer film suitable for small lot production of a plurality of kinds of products with high efficiency.
The present invention further relates to a photocurable resin composition and a hologram and a forgery-preventing sheet using the photocurable resin composition, and more particularly to a photocurable resin composition, which can yield a coating having simultaneously heat resistance, softness and other properties, and a hologram and a forgery-preventive sheet, with the hologram being infused therein as a lustrous thread, using the resin composition.
In conventional hologram transfer films, in general, a surface relief hologram layer, wherein a hologram is formed by providing concaves and covexes on the surface thereof, is mainly used in a hologram-forming layer. A representative construction of the hologram transfer film known in the art comprises a substrate film having thereon a release layer, a surface relief hologram layer, a reflective thin film layer, and a heat-sensitive adhesive layer.
At the time of thermal transfer, in other words, hot stamping, the hologram layer in the hologram transfer film should be sharply cut and transferred onto an object, that is, should have good transferability and should be exactly transferred onto an object.
Many of the conventional hologram transfer films, however, have unsatisfactory hologram transferability, and are very unstable in transfer process. That is, the hologram layer can be in some cases satisfactorily transferred and in some cases cannot be satisfactorily transferred. Therefore, an improvement in the transferability has been desired in the art.
Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a hologram transfer film which can solve the above problem of the prior art and enables a hologram to be easily and exactly transferred with good stability in the transfer process.
An example of a conventional forgery-preventive sheet is such that a forgery-preventive printed pattern (a ground design) is formed by printing fine dots or hairlines on the surface of the sheet. In this sheet, upon copying in a light mode, the dots or the lines cannot be clearly copied, while upon copying in a deep mode, the dots are blurred and seen like lines or letters, and the lines are blurred to thicken the lines. In recent years, however, this method has become insufficient for preventing forgery.
In order to solve this problem, a forgery-preventive sheet has been proposed wherein, for example, a lustrous thread is infused into one side of a base sheet (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 56377/1995). This forgery-preventive sheet is intended to prevent forgery by utilizing a phenomenon such that, even upon color copying, a metallic color does not appear in portions corresponding to the lustrous thread.
Further, diffraction gratings or relief holograms have hitherto been used for the decoration or the prevention of forgery of various cards, securities and the like.
With expansion of the above applications, the diffraction grating or the relief hologram has become required to have such properties as the capability of being infused as watermarks into papers, excellent strength, heat resistance, scratch resistance, water resistance, chemical resistance, and adhesion to substrates, and conformability to flexing or expansion/contraction of objects with holograms or diffraction gratings being applied thereon. In particular, in the case of diffraction gratings or relief holograms formed of a cured product of a conventional photocurable coating composition, a resin used in the production thereof loses flexibility upon photocuring, and, thus, flexing or expansion/contraction of an object with the holograms or the diffraction grating being applied thereon results in loss of the function of the diffraction grating or the relief hologram.
Accordingly, it is a second object of the invention to provide a photocurable resin composition that can form a diffraction grating, a hologram or the like which can solve the problems of the prior art and has excellent strength, heat resistance, scratch resistance, water resistance, chemical resistance, and adhesion to substrates, and conformability to flexing or expansion/contraction of objects with holograms or diffraction gratings being applied thereon, and to provide a hologram or diffraction grating sheet.
According to the first invention, there is provided a hologram transfer film comprising: a substrate film; a transfer layer provided on the substrate film, the transfer layer comprising a hologram-forming layer and a heat-sensitive adhesive layer provided in that order on the substrate film, the hologram-forming layer having a breaking strain of 0.5 to 15% at 25xc2x0 C. and a breaking strain of 0.5 to 30% at 120xc2x0 C. The present inventor has found that the transferability is influenced by strain at break of the hologram-forming layer, which had led to the completion of the present invention.
A process for producing the hologram transfer film according to the first invention comprises the steps of: providing a film having a hologram-forming layer and a film having a heat-sensitive adhesive layer in respective independent steps; and then laminating these films in combination according to applications of the hologram to prepare the hologram transfer film. According to this production process, mere lamination of a film having a hologram-forming layer and a film having a heat-sensitive adhesive layer, which have already been produced in respective independent steps, in combination according to need can provide a hologram transfer film. Therefore, this production process is particularly suitable for small lot production of a plurality of kinds of products.
In order to attain the second object, the present inventor has made further studies on material systems proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 156273/1986 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 54502/1993, and, as result, has found that this object can be attained by regulating the Young""s modulus at 1% elongation of cured products of photocurable resin compositions using these materials to a specific range. This had led to the completion of the second invention.
Thus, according to the second invention, there are provided a photocurable resin composition for providing a formative layer formed of a hologram or a diffraction grating on a substrate having a Young""s modulus at 1% elongation of not less than 2,000 MPa at 25xc2x0 C. and a Young""s modulus at 1% elongation of not less than 350 MPa at 120xc2x0 C., wherein the photocurable resin composition provides a cured product of which the Young""s modulus at 1% elongation at 25xc2x0 C. and the Young""s modulus at 1% elongation at 120xc2x0 C. are respectively lower than those of the substrate, and a hologram or diffraction grating sheet comprising: a substrate film; a formative layer formed of a hologram or a diffraction grating provided on the substrate film; and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer provided on the formative layer, the formative layer having Young""s modulus at 1% elongation at 25xc2x0 C. and the Young""s modulus at 1% elongation at 120xc2x0 C. respectively lower than those of the substrate.


A scooter includes a frame having a leading end adjacent the front of the scooter and a trailing end adjacent the rear of the scooter, a front wheel mounted adjacent the leading end of the frame, and a rear wheel mounted adjacent the trailing end of the frame. The front wheel is pivotally mounted to a front head set of the scooter frame so as to enable the front wheel to pivot relative to the front head set. The front head set has a longitudinal axis that angles inwardly toward the rear of the scooter so that a lower end of the front head set is closer to the rear of the scooter than an upper end of the front head set. The rear end of the scooter frame has a rear head set that extends along a longitudinal axis that is angled inwardly toward the front of the scooter so that a lower end of the rear head set is closer to the front of the scooter than an upper end of the rear head set.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application is generally related to vehicles having wheels, and is more specifically related to foot-powered scooters.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a need for an environmentally friendly, individual means of transportation that is sufficiently compact and easy to transport and store. In many instances, a bicycle is not an adequate solution due to its size, weight, and complex structure.
One alternative to a bicycle for personal transportation is a foot powered scooter having a front wheel and a rear wheel, and a foot platform whereby one foot is placed on the foot platform and the other foot is used to push the scooter forward. The elimination of pedals, gears, and chains makes the scooter significantly lighter and less expensive than a bicycle.
One problem with conventional scooters is that two hands are required to steer. In addition, conventional scooters perform all of the turning function through the front wheel, which reduces the level of stability and control.
Thus, there is a need for a new and improved foot powered scooter that can be steered using only one hand, and whose turning function is performed by both the front and rear wheels working in harmony with one another. There also remains a need for a foot powered scooter that provides enhanced stability, that is easier to turn, and that provides "carving" action found in conventional skateboards.

Foot-powered scooters having enhanced stability, turning and control


Disclosed herein are embodiments of an American-style football quarterback training device and method. Goals associated with the disclosed system include training a quarterback to not telegraph passes and to look in a direction opposite to where the ball is about to be thrown. The disclosed device comprises a sensor that is mountable on desired headgear, for example a football helmet, and is useful for detecting lateral head position and lateral head movement, a processor for processing data associated with the lateral head position and for processing data associated with lateral head movement, a user interface, a memory storage device, and optionally a timer, each of which are in communication with the processor and sensor. The lateral head position a quarterback can be monitored and data can be captured and processed relative to when the quarterback's head moves outside of an acceptable threshold range of acceptable lateral head positions. In some embodiments, users may be notified through one or more alarms if the quarterback's head moves outside of the acceptable threshold range of acceptable lateral head positions.

In the game of American Football (or "gridiron", as it is sometimes referred to in other countries), a defense can be very effective if it anticipates the strategy of the offense by studying the body language and body movement "tells" of the quarterback prior to the start of a play. As a result, the defense will shift in a particular direction before a play even begins; leaving all of the intended receivers of the offense well covered by the time the quarterback is ready to throw the ball.
One of these body movement "tells" is the undesirable habit of a quarterback positioning his head/helmet in the direction of the intended receiver immediately after taking possession of the football. This is commonly referred to in football as "telegraphing the pass". Telegraphing, like other readable body movement, creates an advantage for the defenders of a forward pass play because defenders are trained to run towards, and defend more vigorously, areas of the playing field that are directionally aligned with the quarterback's head/helmet. This is often referred to as "reading the quarterback's eyes".
While "eyes" can be covered with shaded visor, head and body motion is not so easily disguisable. It is therefore desirable for a quarterback to find a way to control head motion, body language, and body movement to avoid helping the defense anticipate potential pass plays. Taking this concept a step further, the most skilled quarterbacks are not only are able to avoid tells by controlling their body language and movement, but they may also be able to "trick" the defense by faking a tell, such as looking in a particular direction when the play is intended to move in the opposite direction. A well-known master of this type of skill, although in his case it was applied to the game of basketball, was successful point guard Magic Johnson.
Developing a quarterback's ability to intentionally misdirect the defense with head position and body language is not an easy task. One major challenge is that it is counterintuitive for the quarterback to look in a particular direction while an intended pass play progresses in an opposite direction. Therefore, it would be desirable to develop a specialized discipline and practice pattern in the form of a training program to assist a quarterback in perfecting this type of skill Ideally the program would require repetitive drills and would incorporate a specialized device for recording progress as well as for giving the quarterback immediate feedback based on the performance of the drills. The goals of the training program in conjunction with the device would include training a quarterback to look right when passing left, to look left when passing right, and to look left or right when passing towards the center of the field, ultimately resulting in the creation of a "Magic Johnson" of football.
The foregoing example of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.


Methods and apparatus to support the execution of a managed application that is linked to a native library or application are disclosed. The disclosed methods and apparatus support a virtual machine that is associated with the same ISA as the executing platform, while the ISA of the native library or application is of a different ISA. The disclosed methods and apparatus also support the execution of a managed application that is linked with several native libraries or applications that are associated with several different ISAs respectively.

The need for increased software application portability (i.e., the ability to execute a given software application on a variety of platforms having different hardware, operating systems, etc.), as well as the need to reduce time to market for independent software vendors (ISVs), have resulted in increased development and usage of managed runtime environments and virtual machines.
Virtual machines (VMs) are typically implemented using a dynamic programming language such as, for example, Java™ and C#. A software engine (e.g., a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and Microsoft®.NET Common Language Runtime (CLR), etc.), which is commonly referred to as a runtime environment, executes the dynamic program language instructions of the managed application. The VM interfaces dynamic program language instructions (e.g., a Java program or source code) to be executed to a target platform (i.e., the hardware and operating system(s) of the computer executing the dynamic program) so that the dynamic program can be executed in a platform independent manner.
Dynamic program language instructions (e.g., Java™ instructions) are not statically compiled and linked directly into native or machine code for execution by the target platform (i.e., the operating system and hardware of the target processing system or platform). Native code or machine code is code that is compiled down to methods or instructions that are specific to the operating system and/or processor. In contrast, dynamic program language instructions are statically compiled into an intermediate language (e.g., bytecodes), which may be interpreted or subsequently compiled by a just-in-time (JIT) compiler into native or machine code that can be executed by the target processing system or platform. Typically, the JIT compiler is provided by the VM that is hosted by the operating system of a target processing platform such as, for example, a computer system. Thus, the VM and, in particular, the JIT compiler, translates platform independent program instructions (e.g., Java™ bytecodes, Common Intermediate Language (CIL), etc.) into native code (i.e., machine code that can be executed by an underlying target processing system or platform).
VMs typically include interfaces (e.g., Java™ Native Interface (JNI)) to native libraries, which may be applications and/or libraries of procedures written in native programming languages (e.g., C, C++, assembly, etc.) that operate on or with the target platform. Interfacing with native libraries enables a managed application developer to call or utilize libraries that are already written, interface the managed application with hardware drivers written in native languages, and perform procedures that are not supported by the managed programming language.
A drawback to using native libraries from inside a VM is that the native libraries, unlike managed applications, are not platform-independent, unlike managed applications. Software applications written in native languages are linked directly into the native code of the platform on which they are compiled. In other words, the native libraries are not translated into the native instructions of the platform on which they are executing. Thus, the native libraries must be compiled for each ISA platform on which they are running. For example, a native library written in C and compiled on an Intel Pentium 4 processor (IA-32 instruction set architecture (ISA)) cannot be executed on an Intel Itanium processor family (IPF) ISA. Therefore, if a developer would like to move a managed application or VM from one processor platform to another, they must rewrite and/or recompile any native libraries that are required.
To enable the execution of managed applications that are linked to native libraries that are associated with ISAs different from the ISA of the operating platform, developers have created several strategies. One method utilizes one VM for each ISA with which native libraries are associated. For example, to execute a managed application linked to a 32-bit native library a 32-bit VM is used and to execute a managed application linked to a 64-bit native library a 64-bit VM is used. In such an arrangement, the VM translates the managed application bytecode to the ISA of the emulation layer (which is different than the current platform's ISA). Subsequently, the emulation layer translates the managed application bytecode to the ISA of the current platform. This double translation results in a decrease in performance when executing managed applications and is, thus, undesirable. This approach requires increased complexity due to the multiple required VMs and does not allow managed applications that link to two or more native libraries that are associated with different ISAs to be executed.

Methods and apparatus to support mixed-mode execution within a single instruction set architecture process of a virtual machine


A ferroelectric transistor includes a semiconductor channel comprising a semiconductor material, a strained and/or defect containing ferroelectric gate dielectric layer located on a surface of the semiconductor channel, a source region located on a first end portion of the semiconductor channel, and a drain region located on a second end portion of the semiconductor channel.

A ferroelectric memory device can store data in the form of a polarization direction of the dipole moment of a ferroelectric material portion, which can be detected, for example, by the threshold voltage of a field effect transistor having a channel adjacent to the ferroelectric material portion. The threshold voltage of the field effect transistor changes depending on the polarization direction of the dipole moment of the ferroelectric material portion. The data bit stored in the ferroelectric material portion can be read, i.e., sensed, by measuring the threshold voltage of the field effect transistor.

Ferroelectric field effect transistors having enhanced memory window and methods of making the same


This patent a method of manufacturing a Dual Chamber Single Vertical Actuator Ink Jet Printer print head wherein an array of nozzles are formed on a substrate utilising planar monolithic deposition, lithographic and etching processes. Preferably, multiple ink jet heads are formed simultaneously on a single planar substrate such as a silicon wafer. The print heads can be formed utilising standard vlsi/ulsi processing and can include integrated drive electronics formed on the same substrate. The drive electronics preferably being of a CMOS type. In the final construction, ink can be ejected from the substrate substantially normal to the substrate.

Not applicable.
The present invention relates to the field of inkjet printing and, in particular, discloses A Method of Manufacture of a Dual Chamber Single Vertical Actuator Ink Jet Printer.
Many ink jet printing mechanisms are known. Unfortunately, in mass production techniques, the production of ink jet heads is quite difficult. For example, often, the orifice or nozzle plate is constructed separately from the ink supply and ink ejection mechanism and bonded to the mechanism at a later stage (Hewlett-Packard Journal, Vol. 36 no 5, pp33-37 (1985)). These separate material processing steps required in handling such precision devices often add a substantial expense in manufacturing.
Additionally, side shooting ink jet technologies (U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,181) are often used but again, this limits the amount of mass production throughput given any particular capital investment.
Additionally, more esoteric techniques are also often utilized. These can include electroforming of nickel stage (Hewlett-Packard Journal, Vol. 36 no 5, pp33-37 (1985)), electro-discharge machining, laser ablation (U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,604), micro-punching, etc.
The utilization of the above techniques is likely to add substantial expense to the mass production of ink jet print heads and therefore add substantially to their final cost.
It would therefore be desirable if an efficient system for the mass production of ink jet print heads could be developed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacture of a Dual Chamber Single Vertical Actuator Ink Jet Printer.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a Dual Chamber Single Vertical Actuator Ink Jet Printer print head wherein an array of nozzles are formed on a substrate utilizing planar monolithic deposition, lithographic and etching processes. Preferably, multiple ink jet heads are formed simultaneously on a single planar substrate such as a silicon wafer.
The print heads can be formed utilizing standard vlsi/ulsi processing and can include integrated drive electronics formed on the same substrate. The drive electronics preferably being of a CMOS type. In the final construction, ink can be ejected from the substrate substantially normal to the substrate.

Method of manufacture of a dual chamber single vertical actuator ink jet printer


Supports for power transmission lines are made of inductively transparent, inorganic cement composite materials. Separate parts of the structure are provided with mating surfaces and are secured together by expanding grout. When the structure is in the form of a pole, the bottom of the pole can be attached to a base by sleeves secured to the pole.

Known structures for supporting high tension power transmission lines present several problems. One problem arises because the structures are generally made of inductive material, the induction caused by the high voltages in the transmission lines decreasing the power carrying capacity of the system. Some support structures are made of wood, but these structures are usually small and expensive to maintain. Larger poles are typically made of steel, and these are conductive and present the problem of induction and the risk of a short to ground. Similar problems exist throughout the high tension infrastructure, for example, in the structures used in substations.
The typical solution to these problems is to space the high tension lines from the support structure by significant distances with large insulators. These insulators, however, are expensive and require the structures themselves to be large as well.
Another solution that has been proposed is to make the support structure of plastic materials that are not inductive. These structures have not been successful because such structures having adequate strength are quite expensive. Further, plastic towers are flexible, which makes them vulnerable to excessive vibration in windy conditions. These vibrations are transmitted to the power lines causing them to break and resulting in often serious damage. Another drawback to the use of plastics is that they degrade significantly in the harsh environment to which the structures are exposed, particularly UV-radiation from the sun.
It has also been proposed to make utility poles of steel-reinforced concrete. These poles are also very susceptible to the weather, particularly moisture, which causes the steel to rust and degrade the concrete by spalling.


A panel for an indicating instrument has a base plate. The base plate has a line pattern with lines. The line pattern is defined by projections and grooves. A desired metal-like appearance is converted into a glossiness ratio Gp/Gv. The projections and grooves are formed at intervals and have at least one dimension in a direction perpendicular to the surface such that the surface has a predetermined glossiness ratio Gp/Gv. Gp is a glossiness measured in a direction parallel to an axis of at least one line. Gv is a glossiness measured in a direction perpendicular to an axis of at least one line.

It is known to form an ornamental line pattern on a resinous display panel of an indicating instrument such as by printing. For example, the line pattern forms a hair line figure having plural parallel lines or circles concentric with a rotation axis of a pointer of the indicating instrument. Alternatively, the line pattern is designed to radially extend from the rotation axis, like the rays of the sun.
This kind of ornamental line pattern is formed to improve an appearance of the resinous display panel. However, the appearance of the conventional resinous panel having such an ornamental line pattern is likely to be lower than an appearance of a metal panel.
Generally, appearance is based on a sense of human sight. Therefore, it is generally difficult to directly apply a quality appearance such as a metal-like appearance to design parameters for designing the line pattern. Also, there is no disclosure about design parameters for improving the metal-like appearance with the line pattern.

Panel for indicating instrument, method of manufacturing the panel, and indicating instrument having the panel


The present invention relates to masking techniques and apparatuses, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for masking a flexible substrate to be coated with one or more material layers. The method involves flexing a substrate to provide a curved surface and providing a flexible sheet on the curved surface to properly apply a coating on the surface of the substrate. The apparatus includes a substrate and a flexible sheet. An elastic material, such as a spring pin, or an off-axis roll-down bar may be used to create the tension used to flex the substrate and or flexible sheet.

Solid state thin film batteries and other thin film devices often require shadow masking to define the various layers of the battery construction. Typical planar device construction relies on rigid substrate and mask materials and hard edge alignment procedures to register the substrate and mask together. The advent of flexible solid state thin film battery technology and the resultant use of thinner substrate and mask materials, both typically in the form of foils or strips, brings the challenge of constraining these flexible materials. Additionally, the challenge of accurately defining the associated thin film coating area during an application of a typical thin film deposition technique, such as physical vapor deposition or chemical vapor deposition arises. The legacy approach, as shown in FIG. 1, is to place a battery substrate 110 into a pocket in a metal plate 115, install a thick rigid mask framework 105 and then constrain this assembly with a clamping mechanism 120. The legacy approach suffers from many issues. For example, the thick rigid masks tend to warp with use and no longer lay flat regardless of the clamping pressure used. Typical vacuum deposition coatings tend to bleed beneath the mask edge thus creating a poorly defined thin film layer edge. Attempts to marry the thin flexible substrates with the legacy equipment suffer because thin flexible substrates and masks rarely lay flat and smooth on a planar surface and thus do not smoothly align against the edges of a defined pocket. This placement error results in a poorly location-registered coating on the surface of the substrate. A poorly location-registered or poorly edge-defined battery layer tends to produce improper battery layer interactions, in these multi-layer battery constructions, with resultant battery failure. The same shortcomings hold true for other thin film devices that typically consist of more than one thin film layer, such as thin film capacitors or transistors.

Masking of and material constraint for depositing battery layers on flexible substrates


The head portion of the cover is formed of a fabric wall which fully encloses the soft fill material. The wall defines an internal cylindrical recess with a closed top end and an open bottom. First and second arm-like appendages extend outwardly from opposite sides of the head portion. A substantially tubular fabric body portion attaches to the head portion and has openings adapted to receive the appendages. The visible part of the head portion is provided with animal or character facial elements. The body portion is appropriately decorated to coordinate with the head portion. The cover is received over the vacuum cleaner with the upstanding handle member of the vacuum cleaner extending into the recess in the head portion and the body surrounding the vacuum cleaner.

1. Field of the Invention
Upright vacuum cleaners are used in residential and commercial premises throughout this country and the world. When not in use, such vacuum cleaners are generally kept out of sight, as much as possible, because the appearance of such devices is not particularly asthetically pleasing. Covers for such vacuum cleaners are known which are adapted to be received over the upstanding handle member of the vacuum so as to obscure the device from view. These covers may be decorative in nature, often simulating the appearance of an animal or a human-like character. They also serve to keep dust and dirt from the vacuum cleaner when the device is in storage.
2. Description of Related Art
However, conventional covers designed for this purpose tend to be constructed poorly, utilizing inferior materials and assembly techniques. In one known cover, the head portion is simply an open mouth fabric bag stuffed with soft fill material. The open mouth of the bag is affixed to a piece of cardboard. The cardboard has a large central opening. Accordingly, the fill material is not fully enclosed and can come out the head portion when the cover is removed from the vacuum. All of the parts of the cover are sewn together or held together by elastic in a very inferior manner.
It is, therefore, a prime object of the present invention to provide a cover for an upright vacuum cleaner which utilizes superior construction techniques.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cover for an upright vacuum cleaner in which the fill material is fully enclosed a fabric wall which defines a recess adapted to receive the handle member of the vacuum.

Decorative cover for upright vacuum cleaner


A digital processing system for binary addition/subtraction includes an adder for adding two binary data respectively expressed by two's complements to output the addition result, an overflow carry detector for outputting an overflow carry signal indicating an overflow carry of the addition result, an exclusive OR gate for outputting the sign bit of the addition result of the adder with or without inversion, and a register for storing the output from the exclusive OR gate.

The present invention relates to an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) such as a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP) and, more particularly, to a processor having a circuit for generating a status signal of an arithmetic operation which is internally executed.
When binary addition/subtraction is performed, a conventional ALU directly uses sign bit Zs of arithmetic operation result Z as a sign flag representing the sign of arithmetic operation result Z.
Since an arithmetic operation is executed with a finite word length, an overflow carry may generate. If this overflow carry is generated, an adder outputs an incorrect arithmetic operation result, and a register which stores the arithmetic operation result also stores the incorrect sign flag.
This state (storage of the incorrect sign flag) can be avoided by detecting an overflow carry, and generating an overflow carry flag to indicate that the arithmetic operation result is incorrect.
This method, however, has the following two problems.
First, the arithmetic operation amount increases in an arithmetic operation which may generate an overflow carry because overflow carry detection must be executed every arithmetic operation. This typically occurs in a case requiring only the sigh of the arithmetic operation result. A descriptive example by the assembly language in this case is given as follows.

Digital processing system for binary addition/subtraction


(Problem to be Solved)

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a wavelength converting device which can be used in a projector etc.
2. Background Art
The light source device described in Patent Literature 1 includes a solid light source which emits an excitation light, a fluorescent material layer which contains at least one type of fluorescent, and a heat dissipation substrate, in which the fluorescent material layer is joined to the heat dissipation substrate via a joining portion (for example, see FIG. 2). In this device, heat generated from the fluorescent material layer is dissipated to the heat dissipation substrate through the joining portion.
Patent Literature 1: JP 2012-15001A.

Abstract: (Problem to be Solved)

Abstract: To provide a wavelength converting device which can efficiently exhaust heat from the wavelength converting member using a heat dissipating member.

Abstract: (Solution)

Abstract: The wavelength converting device includes a heat dissipating member, a wavelength converting member disposed on the heat dissipating member, and a connecting member which connects the heat dissipating member and the wavelength converting member. Particularly, the wavelength converting member includes an upper surface, side surfaces, and a lower surface, and the connecting member is thermally connected to the side surfaces and the lower surface of the wavelength converting member.


A chromatic dispersion compensator of present invention includes a high-refractive-index VIPA plate, a three-dimensional mirror, and a control unit. The high-refractive-index VIPA plate is made of a material such as silicon having a refractive index higher than that of optical glass and is able to output incident lights toward different directions according to wavelength. The three-dimensional mirror reflects the light of each wavelength emitted from the high-refractive-index VIPA plate, at a predetermined position and returns the light to the VIPA plate. The control unit controls a temperature of the high-refractive-index VIPA plate at a constant level while controlling the position of the three-dimensional mirror corresponding to a chromatic dispersion compensation amount. Thereby, larger chromatic dispersion can be compensated while a decrease in transmission bandwidth is suppressed.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chromatic dispersion compensator which compensates chromatic dispersion accumulated in a light signal propagating through an optical fiber transmission line in a field of optical communication, particularly to the chromatic dispersion compensator which generates the variable chromatic dispersion by utilizing an optical component provided with a function of demultiplexing an input light according to a wavelength.
(2) Related Art
For example, the conventional chromatic dispersion compensator includes one in which a so-called Virtually Imaged Phased Array (VIPA) is utilized (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2000-511655 and JP-A No. 2002-514323). VIPA demultiplexes a Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) light into plural light fluxes, which can spatially be identified according to the wavelengths.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the conventional VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator. FIG. 9 is a top view of the configuration example shown in FIG. 8.
As shown in the drawings, in the conventional VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator, for example, after an emitted light from one end of optical fiber 130 through an optical circulator 120 is converted into parallel light with a collimating lens 140, the light is focused onto one line segment with a line focusing lens 150, and the light is incident to a space between parallel planes opposing each other through a light entrance window 116 of a VIPA plate 110. The light incident to the VIPA plate 110 is repeatedly multiply reflected between a reflection multilayer film 112 and a reflection multilayer film 114. The reflection multilayer film 112 is formed on one of planes of the VIPA plate 110, and the reflection multilayer film 112 has reflectance lower than 100%. The reflection multilayer film 114 is formed on the other plane, and the reflection multilayer film 114 has the reflectance of about 100%. At this point, the several-percent of light is transmitted through the reflection plane and emitted to the outside of the VIPA plate 110 in each reflection on the surface of the reflection multilayer film 112.
The lights transmitted through the VIPA plate 110 interfere with one another to form plural light fluxes having the different traveling directions according to the wavelengths. As a result, when the light fluxes are focused on one point with a lens 160, the focal position of each light flux is moved on a straight line according to a change in wavelength. The lights, emitted from the VIPA plate 110 and focused with the lens 160, are reflected at different positions on a three-dimensional mirror 170 according to the wavelengths and returned to the VIPA plate 110 by arranging the three-dimensional mirror 170. The lights reflected from the three-dimensional mirror 170 travel in the different directions depending on the wavelengths, and optical paths of the lights are shifted when the lights are returned to the VIPA plate 110. The different wavelength components propagate through different distances by changing the optical path shift amount according to the wavelengths, which performs the chromatic dispersion compensation of the input light.
Thus, when a model shown in FIG. 10 is considered, behavior of the light which is multiply reflected with the VIPA plate 110 is similar to the light in a well-known Echelon grating which is of a step-shaped diffraction grating. Therefore, it can be considered that the VIPA plate 110 is a virtual diffraction grating. In consideration of interference conditions at the VIPA plate 110, as shown in right side of FIG. 10, upper sides of the emitted lights interfere on the condition of a short wavelength based on an optical axis and lower sides interfere on the condition of a long wavelength, so that short wavelength components of the light signals having the wavelengths are emitted onto the upper side and long wavelength components are emitted onto the lower side. The conventional VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator has advantages in that the chromatic dispersion can be compensated over a wide range, the wavelength (transmission wavelength) of the light signal to be compensated can be changed by adjusting of the VIPA plate 110 to shift a transmission band of the periodically-generated light in a wavelength axis direction, and the like.
Further, for the conventional VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator, for example, there is also known a technology in which flattening of the transmission band of the light is performed by utilizing a spatial filter having a two-dimensionally variable transmission loss property or by two-dimensionally changing the reflectance of the reflection plane of the three-dimensional mirror 170 (for example, see JP-A No. 2003-207618). There is also proposed a technology in which flattening of the transmission band is achieved by changing an angle of the three-dimensional mirror 170 according to the wavelength to change reflection efficiency (for example, see JP-A No. 2003-294999).
In the conventional VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator, sometimes it is desired that the larger chromatic dispersion can be compensated. However, in principle, the VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator has a characteristic that, when a chromatic dispersion compensation amount (absolute value) is increased, widths of the transmission bands periodically generated are decreased and transmission light loss is increased, so that there is a problem that the compensable chromatic dispersion amount is restricted.
The reason why the increase in chromatic dispersion compensation amount decreases the transmission bandwidth in the VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator will briefly be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, when the light signal having a central wavelength λC is incident to a light entrance window 116 of the VIPA plate 110, the component having the central wavelength λC of the light multiply reflected between the parallel planes wavelength λC is emitted from the VIPA plate 110 according to an intensity distribution I1 in which intensity is attenuated as the number of the multiple reflection times is increased. Then, the light having the central wavelength λC is reflected by the three-dimensional mirror 170 through the convergent lens 160 and returned to the VIPA plate 110. The light having a central wavelength λC is incident to the VIPA plate 110 again while having an intensity distribution I2 which is symmetrical to the intensity distribution I1 of the emitted light, and the light is multiply reflected. Then, the light is emitted from the light entrance window 116. At this point, the intensity of the light (transmission light) having the central wavelength λC emitted from the light entrance window 116 can conceptually be expressed by a shaded area where the intensity distributions I1 and I2 overlap each other.
As shown in FIG. 12, during negative dispersion compensation, in the light on a short wavelength λS side included in the light signal, an intensity distribution I2′ of the light returned to the VIPA plate 110 is shifted upward as described in FIG. 12 with respect to the light of the central wavelength λC according to a reflection position at the three-dimensional mirror 170, so that the area where the intensity distributions I1 and I2′ overlap each other is decreased. Therefore, the transmittance of the light on the short wavelength λs side is decreased, i.e., loss is increased.
As shown in FIG. 13, during the negative dispersion compensation, in the light on a long wavelength λL side included in the light signal, an intensity distribution I2″ of the light returned to the VIPA plate 110 is shifted downward in FIG. 13 however the shift amount is small compared with the short wavelength λS side, so that the transmittance is decreased. When the chromatic dispersion compensation amount (absolute value) is increased, because the shift amount upward the short wavelength λS side and the shift amount downward the long wavelength λL side are increased respectively, the transmittance on the short wavelength λS side with respect to the central wavelength λC and the transmittance on the long wavelength λL side are decreased (the loss is increased). Accordingly, as shown in the upper portion of FIG. 14, as the chromatic dispersion compensation amount (absolute value) is increased, the transmission bandwidth is decreased. A lower portion of FIG. 14 illustrates a relationship between the wavelength and group delay time when the chromatic dispersion compensation amount is varied.
In the configuration of the conventional VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator, examples of the method of increasing the chromatic dispersion compensation amount include the method of lengthening a distance between the parallel planes of the VIPA plate 110, the method of decreasing an inclination angle of the VIPA plate 110 with respect to the incident light, and the method of increasing a curvature of the reflection plane of the three-dimensional mirror 170.
However, because the distance between the parallel planes of the VIPA plate 110 determines a period (Free Spectral Range (FSR)) in which the transmission band is repeated at constant wavelength (frequency) intervals, it is necessary that the distance between the parallel planes is set at a value corresponding to a wavelength interval (channel interval) of the light signal included in the WDM light to be compensated. It is necessary that the inclination angle of the VIPA plate 110 is set such a value that the light does not go out the VIPA plate 110 through the light entrance window 116 after the light incident from the light entrance window 116 is reflected by the opposing surface 112. Therefore, it is necessary to secure the inclination angle not lower than a predetermined angle, which is determined according to a beam diameter of the incident light, focused by the line focusing lens 150. It is difficult to produce the three-dimensional mirror 170 having the large curvature, and the remarkable decrease in transmission bandwidth occurs in the three-dimensional mirror 170 having the large curvature.
Accordingly, in order to realize the VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator, which can compensate the larger chromatic dispersion, it is necessary that design is performed in sufficient consideration of the various constraint conditions unique to the configuration of the above VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator.
Separately from the problem concerning the increase in chromatic dispersion compensation amount, the conventional VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator has also the following problem concerning temperature control of the VIPA plate.
In the conventional VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator, practically, in order that the wavelength band of each channel included in the WDM light to be compensated is included in the transmission band periodically generated, the periodic transmission band is optimized by controlling a temperature of the VIPA plate 110 to change the optical path length. Usually, as shown in FIG. 15, for the transmission band corresponding to one channel in the periodic transmission band, the temperature of the VIPA plate 110 is controlled such that a 3-dB central wavelength coincides with the central wavelength of the light signal. The 3-dB central wavelength is the central wavelength when a range in which the transmittance is decreased from the maximum value by 3 dB is set at the transmission band.
As shown in FIG. 14, in the conventional VIPA type chromatic dispersion compensator, since the spectral shape of the transmission band is largely changed when the chromatic dispersion compensation amount is changed, in each setting change of the chromatic dispersion. compensation amount, it is necessary that the transmission band is adjusted by controlling the temperature of the VIPA plate 110
Because the reflection position of the light is changed by moving the three-dimensional mirror 170, so that it takes a relatively short time to change the setting of the chromatic dispersion compensation amount. On the other hand, in the temperature control of the VIPA plate 110, because optical glass used for the VIPA plate has a small temperature coefficient of a refractive index of (for example, the temperature coefficient of the refractive index of BK7 which is of the typical optical glass is 2.2×10−6 (1/° C.)), there is a problem that a long time is required to adjust the wavelength in association with the setting change of the chromatic dispersion compensation amount.


A cocking mechanism is disclosed. The cocking mechanism comprises an actuator assembly, a hand crank assembly, and a bow string hook assembly. The actuator assembly further comprises clutch assembly having a bearing housing, a bearing cage, a support axle and bearing elements. The bearing housing is defined by an inner peripheral surface having a plurality of inwardly extending annular ramps, wherein the bearing elements contact a portion of the ramps to prevent rotation of the support axle in a first direction, but allows for rotation of the support axle in a second direction when the actuator assembly is in a locked configuration. This provides for immediate braking action against any unforeseen forward motion of the bow string of a crossbow such as when inadvertently or accidently releasing the removable hand crank assembly during the cocking operation.

The use of crossbows for hunting has increased in recent years, especially for those who are elderly, disabled or young, where using a traditional bow or a compound bow may be too physically strenuous. Indeed, crossbows offer these individuals an opportunity to hunt or shoot a bow much more easily. For others, shooting with crossbows may offer variety over using only a traditional bow, or they may simply enjoy using a crossbow.
However, crossbows in general have a very large drawing force, making them difficult to cock without the use of force-multiplying tools. This difficulty is especially true for elderly, disable and young users that may not have the necessary strength and dexterity to cock the crossbow. Further, when on an active hunt, it is desirable to be as quiet as possible when cocking the crossbow, so as not to scare any prey.
While there are known crossbow cocking devices, there exists a need for a quiet or "silent" crossbow cocking that allows for ease of use.


A wireless data network distinguishes among different users connected to the network and associates each user with a service class that offers a selected level of service. The base station in the network queries the user for its unique user identification code and accesses a database linking user identification codes with their corresponding services classes. The network then controls the service level given to that user based on the service class associated with the user identification code. The user identification code can be sent to the network via existing fields in current standards.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communication systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless communication systems rely on data sharing arrangements to allow multiple users to share common resources. As shown in FIG. 1, a wireless data network 100 has a plurality of base stations 102, each base station 102 acting as a communications hub for a particular coverage area, or sector 104.
Active users 106 within a given sector 104 share common resources as they communicate with the base station 102. Each base station 102 may employ a resource assignment algorithm to ensure that the resources are fairly distributed among the users 106. Wireless data networks often use a timeslot-based resource sharing channel in a forward link of the system to allocate resources. More particularly, a scheduler algorithm in the base station 102 allocates timeslot resources to all access terminals in the sector 104. For wireless users 106, each user 106 is seen by the base station 102 as an individual access terminal.
Currently known systems allocate a temporary user identification code (e.g., a unicast access terminal identifier, or UATI) when a user 106 opens a communication session with the base station 102 in the network 100. This identification code is de-allocated when the session closes and is re-allocated to a different user 106. Thus, the base station 102 treats all users 106 in the system 100 interchangeably and is not able to offer different service levels to different users. Thus, it is currently not possible to provide user-based services (e.g., user-based QoS) that can vary from user to user.
There is a desire for a method that allow differentiation among users in a wireless data network.

Method of supporting multiple service levels in a wireless data network


A car audio apparatus forms a piconet together with information terminals that can communicate information with the car audio apparatus using a BT radio communication system so that information can be communicated in the piconet, acquires the attribute information of each information terminal that can communicate information with the car audio apparatus, and determines and collects music files that can be played in the car audio apparatus based on the attribute information. A list of the obtained music files is displayed on a display section of the car audio apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an information processing system for processing content of music data, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, a car audio apparatus 90 shown in FIG. 9 is available as a car audio apparatus (information processing apparatus) in a related art. The car audio apparatus 90 comprises a system control section 901 for controlling components of the car audio apparatus 90, an operation section 907 for accepting user's operation and inputting data or a command, an external storage section 903 for reading record information from various record media such as CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read-Only Memory), MD (Mini-Disk), and DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc-Read-Only Memory) and outputting the read record information to the system control section 901, a data processing section 909 for compressing and decompressing data, an internal storage section 905 storing various pieces of data of a general car audio apparatus, a playback section 911 for playing the record information read from the external storage section 903 and outputting to loudspeakers, etc., and a display section 913 for displaying various pieces of data on a display, etc.
Next, data playback processing of the car audio apparatus 90 in the related art will be discussed. To play the music data recorded in the external storage section 903, a command based on operation through the operation section 907 by the user is input to the system control section 901, which then reads the music data from the external storage section 903 based on the command, and the playback section 911 outputs the read music data to the loudspeakers, etc.
The external storage section 903 of the vehicle-installed car audio apparatus 90 in the related art described above may be placed in a predetermined location in the vehicle at a distance from the operation section 907 of a console panel, etc., via a cable, etc. The external storage section 903 can transfer data to and from the system control section 901 via a cable and the car audio apparatus 90 plays the music data recorded on the record medium such as CD-ROM or MD in the external storage section 903 for the user.
In recent years, it has been made possible to store music data in an information terminal such as a mobile telephone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and play the music data. Thus, there is a demand for an information processing apparatus that can determine whether or not a music file from the information terminal can be played in the self-terminal and input any desired music data from the information terminal so that the user can listen to the music piece.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an information processing system that can search for an information terminal that can communicate information with an information processing apparatus, establish information communications, determine and collect content which is contained in the information terminal and can be processed in the information processing apparatus, and easily prepare a content information list, an information processing method of the information processing system, information processing apparatus, and an information processing program.

Information processing system, information processing method of information processing system, information processing apparatus, and information processing program


A welding structural steel product exhibiting a superior heat affected zone toughness, comprising, in terms of percent by weight, 0.03 to 0.17% C, 0.01 to 0.5% Si, 0.4 to 2.0% Mn, 0.005 to 0.2% Ti, 0.0005 to 0.1% Al, 0.008 to 0.030% N, 0.0003 to 0.01% B, 0.001 to 0.2% W, at most 0.03% P, at most 0.03% S, at most 0.005% O, and balance Fe and incidental impurities while satisfying conditions of 1.2≦Ti/N≦2.5, 10≦N/B≦40, 2.5≦Al/N≦7, and 6.5≦(Ti+2Al+4B)/N≦14, and having a microstructure essentially consisting of a complex structure of ferrite and pearlite having a grain size of 20 μm or less. The method includes the steps of preparing a slab of the above-described composition, heating the slab to 1,100° C. to 1,250° C. for 60-180 minutes, hot rolling the heated slab in an austenite recrystallization range at a 40% or more rolling reduction followed by controlled cooling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structural steel product suitable for use in large constructions, such as bridges, ship constructions, marine structures, steel pipes, line pipes and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a welding structural steel product which has a fine matrix structure, and in which precipitates of TiN exhibiting a high-temperature stability are uniformly dispersed, so that it exhibits a superior toughness in a weld heat-affected zone while exhibiting a minimum toughness difference between the heat-affected zone and the matrix. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing the welding structural steel product, and a welded construction using the welding structural steel product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, as the height or size of buildings and other structures has increased, steel products having an increased size have been increasingly used. That is, thick steel products have been increasingly used. In order to weld such thick steel products, it is necessary to use a welding process with a high efficiency. For welding techniques for thick steel products, a heat-input submerged welding process enabling a single pass welding, and an electro-welding process have been widely used. The heat-input welding process enabling a single pass welding is also applied to ship constructions and bridges requiring welding of steel plates having a thickness of 25 mm or more.
Generally, it is possible to reduce the number of welding passes at a higher amount of heat input because the amount of welded metal is increased. Accordingly, there may be an advantage in terms of welding efficiency where the heat-input welding process is applicable. That is, in the case of a welding process using an increased heat input, its application can be widened. Typically, the heat input used in the welding process is in the range of 100 to 200 kJ/cm. In order to weld steel plates further thickened to a thickness of 50 mm or more, it is necessary to use super-high heat inputs ranging from 200 kJ/cm to 500kJ/cm.
Where high heat input is applied to a steel product, the heat affected zone, in particular, that portion located near the weld fusion boundary, is heated to a temperature approximate to a melting point of the steel product by the welding heat input. As a result, grain growth occurs at the heat affected zone, so that a coarsened grain structure is formed. Furthermore, when the steel product is subjected to a cooling process, fine structures having degraded toughness, such as bainite and martensite, may be formed. Thus, the heat affected zone may be a site exhibiting degraded toughness.
In order to secure a desired stability of such a welding structure, it is necessary to suppress the growth of austenite grains at the heat affected zone, so as to allow the welding structure to maintain a fine structure. Known as means for meeting this requirement are techniques in which oxides stable at a high temperature or Ti-based carbon nitrides are appropriately dispersed in steels in order to delay growth of grains at the heat affected zone during a welding process. Such techniques are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Hei. 12-226633, Hei. 11-140582, Hei. 10-298708, Hei. 10-298706, Hei. 9-194990, Hei. 9-324238, Hei. 8-60292, Sho. 60-245768, Hei. 5-186848, Sho. 58-31065, Sho. 61-79745, and Sho. 64-15320, and Journal of Japanese Welding Society, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp 49.
The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Hei. 11-140582 is a representative one of techniques using precipitates of TiN. This technique has proposed structural steels exhibiting an impact toughness of about 200 J at 0° C. (in the case of a matrix, about 300 J) when a heat input of 100 J/cm (maximum heating temperature of 1,400° C.) is applied. In accordance with this technique, the ratio of Ti/N is controlled to be 4 to 12, so as to form TiN precipitates having a grain size of 0.05 μm or less at a density of 5.8×103/mm2 to 8.1×104/mm2 while forming TiN precipitates having a grain size of 0.03 to 0.2 μm at a density of 3.9×103/mm2 to 6.2×104/mm2, thereby securing a desired toughness at the welding site. In accordance with this technique, however, both the matrix and the heat affected zone exhibit substantially low toughness where a high heat-input welding process is applied. For example, the-matrix and heat affected zone exhibit impact toughness of 320 J and 220 J at 0° C., respectively. Furthermore, since there is a considerable toughness difference between the matrix and the heat affected zone, as much as about 100 J, it is difficult to secure a desired reliability for a steel construction obtained by subjecting thickened steel products to a welding process using super-high heat input Moreover, in order to obtain desired TiN precipitates, the technique involves a process of heating a slab at a temperature of 1,050° C. or more, quenching the heated slab, and again heating the quenched slab for a subsequent hot rolling process. Due to such a double heat treatment, an increase in the manufacturing costs occurs.
Generally, Ti-based precipitates serve to suppress growth of austenite grains in a temperature range of 1,200 to 1,300° C. However, where such Ti-based precipitates are maintained for a prolonged period of time at a temperature of 1,400° C. or more, a considerable amount of TiN precipitates may be dissolved again. Accordingly, it is important to prevent a dissolution of TiN precipitates so as to secure a desired toughness at the heat affected zone. However, there has been no disclosure associated with techniques capable of achieving a remarkable improvement in the toughness at the heat affected zone even in a super-high heat input welding process in which Ti-based precipitates are maintained at a high temperature of 1,350° C. for a prolonged period of time. In particular, there have been few techniques in which the heat affected zone exhibits toughness equivalent to that of the matrix. If the above mentioned problem is solved, it would then be possible to achieve a super-high heat input welding process for thickened steel products. In this case, therefore, it would then be possible to achieve a high welding efficiency while enabling an increase in the height of steel constructions, and secure a desired reliability of those steel constructions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for manufacturing steel plate having superior toughness in weld heat-affected zone


Methods, devices, and systems are provided for optimizing the dissemination of information in various types of systems such as an access control system. More specifically, there are provided herein various mechanisms to provide a modified agent path such that an agent following the modified agent path, may update at least one non-networked reader. The update of the at least one non-networked reader not occurring if the agent follows an unmodified agent path.

Control access systems have historically been completely interconnected by wired and/or wireless connections. More specifically, readers and other types of message hosts are generally in communication with a centralized control system such as a centralized control panel. The interconnectedness of the system allows policy updates to be quickly and efficiently disseminated throughout the access control system. If a policy update (e.g., sending new access permissions to all readers) is necessary, then the centralized control panel would send a message to the networked message hosts notifying them of the new policy.
While these completely interconnected systems help to facilitate efficient policy updates they are expensive to install and maintain, especially in large facilities where a significant amount of wire and/or wireless communication devices are required to have each message host in communication with the centralized control panel. Thus, non-networked message hosts (i.e., message hosts which are not in communication with a centralized control system via a direct communication path or message hosts that have a communication path that becomes unavailable), which are also referred to as local hosts, are becoming more desirable due to their autonomy and the low cost associated with their installation and maintenance. The downside to installing non-networked message hosts is that it becomes more difficult to ensure that the non-networked message host receives policy updates.

Detecting and responding to an atypical behavior


Sequences are provided that are capable of directing circular adeno-associated virus replication, useful in vectors for providing therapeutic agents to a subject in need thereof. The vectors of the invention are particularly useful in the treatment of acute medical conditions requiring rapid gene expression. Further provided are methods for producing packaged defective viral vectors.

Gene therapy is likely to become the most significant development in medicine of our time. However, before gene therapy becomes a standard medical procedure, certain technical problems common to all methods of gene delivery must be overcome. One key obstacle is the current inability to produce large quantities of pure replication defective viral vectors.
Indeed, most gene therapy protocols use replication defective viral vectors as gene therapy vehicles. This is due to the ability of viruses to efficiently transfect their own DNA into a host cell. By replacing viral genes that are needed for the replication (the non-essential genes) with heterologous genes of interest, replication defective viral vectors can transduce the host cell and thereby provide the desired genetic material to the host cell. The non-essential genes can be provided in trans in order to produce the replication defective viral vectors. Thus the non-essential genes are placed into the genome of the packaging cell line, on a plasmid, or a helper virus. A number of replication defective viral vectors have been constructed, though most of the work has centered on three particular DNA viruses; the adenovirus, the adeno-associated virus and the herpes simplex virus type 1.
Adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV) is a human non-pathogenic parvovirus with a genome of approximately 4.7 kb. The AAV genome consists of two ORFs that encode regulatory (Rep) and structural capsid (Cap) proteins flanked by 145-bp inverted terminal repeats (ITR). These ITRs are the only cis-acting elements necessary for virus replication and encapsidation. Recombinant AAVs (rAAV) which do not contain any endogenous coding regions efficiently propagate when Rep and Cap are provided in trans. In nature, a secondary infection with helper virus, e.g. adenovirus, is necessary to trigger a productive infection. AAV genomes then undergo replication followed by assembly of infectious virions containing ssDNA of either (+) or (−) polarity. Adenovirus genes implicated in AAV replication have been identified and include E1A, E1B, E4orf6, E2A, and VA RNA.
Similar to provirus in latently infected cells, AAV genomes can be efficiently rescued from a recombinant cis-plasmid following transient transfection into human cells. The necessary helper functions can be delivered either by adenovirus infection or by transfecting a plasmid encoding a minimal set of adenovirus helper genes (Collaco et al. (1999) Gene 238:397-405).
Events of AAV lytic infection are described by a commonly accepted self-priming strand-displacement model. The first 125 nucleotides of AAV termini include elements capable of forming a T-shaped duplex structure (A′-B′-B-C′-C-A) and are followed by a unique 20 bp D-sequence (Wang et al. (1995) J. Mol. Biol. 250:573-580). The Rep gene encodes four proteins that are synthesized from the same ORF via the use of alternate promoters and splicing. Two of these proteins (Rep78 and Rep68) possess site-specific and strand-specific endonuclease activity. They bind to the Rep-binding site (Rbs) mapped to the tetrameric GAGC repeat of the A-stem of the ITR and cleave it at the terminal resolution site (trs), positioned between the A- and D-elements. A tip of the BB′ palindrome contains RBE′, a cis-acting element essential for optimal Rep-specific activity. During replication, the terminus folds on itself and serves as a primer to initiate a leading-strand synthesis. At the elongation step, the complementary strand is displaced and may serve as an independent second replication template. The result of this first round of DNA synthesis is a linear duplex replication form monomer (Rfm) with a covalently closed hairpin on one end. Rep-mediated nicking of the original strand then creates a 3′-OH primer and the hairpin is extended. If nicking and subsequent ITR repair do not occur before the second round of replication is initiated on an opposite newly formed 3′ end, then continued DNA synthesis leads to formation of a replication form dimer (Rfd), which can be organized head-to-head (H-H) or tail-to-tail (T-T), but never head-to-tail. The model also predicts that linear duplex structures are intermediates of packaging. Using these as a template, the other two Rep proteins (Rep52 and Rep40) generate single-stranded progeny genomes which are then encapsidated into preformed capsids.
One of the great challenges in effectively applying gene therapy to human disease is the development of simple systems for rapidly generating high volumes of high titer viruses completely uncontaminated by potentially toxic helper viruses. One approach has been the development of techniques for producing "defective" viral vectors devoid of helper viruses. The most popular vectors include adeno-associated virus (AAV) and "gutless" adenovirus vectors which contain only the ITRs and a packaging sequence round the transgene. These harbor no viral genes, are incapable of replication, and helper viruses can be completely eliminated. Current strategies for producing such vectors, however, rely on techniques which either limit viral titers or which are so labor and resource intensive that they severely limit the clinical and commercial viability of these promising systems.
In an attempt to overcome this critical problem, new approaches have been attempted, though heretofore with limited success. In one such approach, a herpes amplicon system was created in which essential AAV genes (Rep and Cap) were inserted into the amplicon, and a second "helper" herpes simplex virus (HSV) was used to package the amplicon. The mix was then used to package AAV vector. This helper HSV virion was a mutant HSV that contained a mutation in a gene that is necessary for HSV infection, i.e., the glycoprotein H (gH) (Zhang et al., 1999, Hum. Gen. Ther. 10(15):2527-2537).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,139,941 (Muzyczka et al.) describes a AAV vector having the first and last 145 bp containing the ITRs, and capable of tranducing foreign DNA into a mammalian cell. U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,745 (Samulski et al.) describes a 165 bp fragment containing an AAV 145 bp ITR sequence with the 20 bp D sequence found to provide sufficient information in cis for replication and encapsidation of recombinant DNA fragments into mature AAV virions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,436,146 (Shenk et al.) describe helper free stocks of recombinant AAV vectors. Collaco et al. (1999) Gene 238:397-405 describe a helper virus-free packaging system for recombinant AAV vectors.

Method for generating replication defective viral vectors that are helper free


Methods and compositions for treating renal failure patients are provided. Pursuant to the present invention, a renal failure patient is provided with an intravenous or dialysis solution that includes a therapeutically effective amount of L-carnosine. In part, the L-carnosine will prevent the renal failure patient from developing L-carnosine deficiency.

The present invention relates generally to the treatment of diseases. More specifically the present invention relates to methods and compositions for the treatment of renal disease.
Of course, due to a variety of diseases and insults renal failure can occur in a patient. Acute renal failure can result from: direct renal tubular injury; renal ischemic; and intra-tubular obstruction. Renal failure results in diminished glomerular filtration and reduced secretion of metabolic waste products, water and electrolytes. Resultant fluid overload, electrolyte imbalances, and uremic syndrome can result in organ dysfunction ultimately resulting in death.
It is known to use dialysis to support a patient whose renal function is decreased to a point where the kidneys no longer sufficiently function. Dialysis provides a method for supplementing and replacing renal function in certain patients. Two principal dialysis methods are utilized: hemodialysis dialysis; and peritoneal dialysis.
In hemodialysis, the patients blood is passed through an artificial kidney dialysis machine. A membrane in the machine acts as an artificial kidney for cleansing the blood. Because it is an extracorporeal treatment that requires special machinery, there are certain inherent disadvantages with hemodialysis.
To overcome the disadvantages associated with hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis was developed. Peritoneal dialysis utilizes the patient's own peritoneum as a semi-permeable membrane. The peritoneum is the membranous lining of the abdominal cavity that due to a large number of blood vessels and capillaries is capable of acting as a natural semi-permeable membrane.
In peritoneal dialysis, a dialysis solution is introduced into the peritoneal cavity utilizing a catheter. After a sufficient period of time, an exchange of solutes between the dialysate and the blood is achieved. Fluid removal is achieved by providing a suitable osmotic gradient from the blood to the dialysate to permit water outflow from the blood. This allows the proper acid-base electrolyte and fluid balance to be returned to the blood and the dialysis solution is simply drained from the body cavity through the catheter.
Although the use of dialysis, and other methods for treating patients with renal disease, provide treatments that allow patients with renal failure to survive, currently used compositions and methods may not provide all necessary therapeutic agents necessary to address renal failure.

Method and compositions for the treatment of renal failure


A device and a method for setting an initial value of a control chip. The device includes a setting unit, which is disposed outside the control chip and provides a setting signal, and a decoder, which is disposed inside the control chip, receives the setting signal, and generates a selecting signal according to the setting signal. The control chip obtains the initial value according to the selecting signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a controller, and more particularly to a device and a method for setting an initial value in a controller.
2. Description of the Related Art
Timing problems between clocks in a clock chip is an important issue. FIG. 1 shows a device for setting the phase of a clock signal in a conventional clock chip 100 in a personal computer. When the personal computer is booted (and/or the clock chip is reset), the register selector 110 in the clock chip 100 sends a fixed control data to the register 112 in order to set a default initial value because a control signal is fixed. Therefore, the clock chip 100 generates a plurality of clock signals, which have predetermined phase relationship, according to the default initial value. However, if the layout lengths of the clock signals in the printed circuit board (PCB) are not equal, the phase delays of the clock signals in the PCB are different such that the personal computer cannot be booted normally.
In general speaking, there are two conventional solutions to overcome the above-mentioned drawback. The first solution is to re-design a new PCB to change the layout length of the clock signals in the new PCB. The second solution is to change a new type clock chip to match the layout length of the clock signals in the original PCB. However, the two conventional solutions need to change the PCB or the clock chip. Hence, the two conventional solutions greatly increase the manufacturing costs, waste the production schedule, and thus impede the industry progress.

Device and method for setting an initial value


An apparatus, such as one or more keyboard keys, comprises at least one form-in-place component that comprises an injection-molded core and a thermoformed film conformally co-molded over at least a portion of the core, wherein the thermoformed film has its smoother side facing outwardly and away from the injection-molded core. Reversing of the film provides a suitable surface for high-resolution character artwork and appearance finish. The smoother surface also allows for top clear coating having a matte, satin or high-gloss finish as desired.

Electronic devices, including portable electronic devices, have gained widespread use and may provide a variety of functions including, for example, telephonic, electronic messaging and other personal information manager (PIM) application functions. Portable electronic devices include, for example, several types of mobile stations such as simple cellular telephones, smart telephones, wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs), and laptop computers and tablets/pads with wireless 802.11 or Bluetooth capabilities.
Portable electronic devices are generally intended for handheld use and ease of portability. Smaller devices are generally desirable for portability. In addition to a display (which may or may not comprise a touch-sensitive display) some portable electronic devices include a physical (i.e., mechanical) keyboard (as versus a so-called virtual keyboard) to facilitate the entry of various alphanumeric and other characters.
The look and feel of such keyboards is important to the user. For example, character artwork on the assertable surfaces of keyboard keys is preferably sharp and well defined. At the same time, many keyboards must serve in highly cost-constrained application settings that preclude the use of materials and/or processing techniques that tend to readily provide a desired high-quality look and feel.
As one example in these regards, keyboard keys manufactured as form-in-place components have offered a suitable surface in the past for character artwork in terms of meeting such user expectations, but as quality expectations increase the relatively-rough exterior surface of a form-in-place component becomes a less suitable canvas for high-quality artwork.

Method and apparatus pertaining to reversed thermoformed film


An apparatus for cutting dough products fed by a conveyor assembly into a cutting section comprises a segmented, generally spiral-shaped straight cutting blade or three-dimensional or helical-shaped cutting blade having an angled blade edge, the blade attached to a shaft coupled to a motor operable to turn the blade to effect a cut of the dough products within the cutting section, with a feedback controller coordinating the blade turning rate with the dough feed rate.

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for cutting dough products; and more particularly, relates to an assembly line apparatus capable of cutting relatively thin pieces from a continuous "rope" of dough. Although one particular preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the apparatus comprises a generally spiral-shaped blade having a segmented, angled blade edge for cutting soft dough products, is described herein, it should be readily apparent that the method and apparatus of the present invention may also be used in other cutting applications.
Selection of a cutting tool for a particular application often depends upon a number of factors. In the case of a dough product, these factors may include, for example, the relative hardness of the dough to be cut; dough temperature and consistency; the presence of filling materials within the dough; and the desired thickness for the pieces to be cut. Numerous systems for cutting dough products are generally known. Such systems include waterjet cutters, guillotine-type knife cutters, band-saw cutters, etc. However, each of those cutting systems have significant drawbacks when it comes to soft dough cutting applications, particularly those involved in assembly line operations.
Waterjet cutters, for example, tend to work better in warm dough applications in which the dough temperature exceeds 65.degree. F., than in cool dough applications in which the dough temperature is below 45.degree. F. A waterjet cutter also tends to be extremely noisy during operation, and typically generates an undesirable waste stream. Further, it has been found that a waterjet cutter typically is of limited value in cutting applications involving dough containing certain filler materials. In particular, a waterjet cutter typically cannot cut through raisins, and although it can cut through nuts, the waterjet has a tendency to throw nuts out of the dough material instead. Further, in cutting soft dough products such as cinnamon or jelly rolls, it is desirable that any cut be executed cleanly so as not to smear the filling material across the cut surface. Waterjet cutters tend to smear such filling materials and thus have an undesired adverse impact on the overall appearance of the dough slices.
Bladed cutters can be used in a wider range of both warm and cool dough applications than waterjet cutters, with knives in particular tending to cut better in cold dough applications. Typically, slices greater than 0.75 inches thick can be cut from up to a four inch diameter dough rope with the use of a guillotine-type knife cutter. To enhance the attractiveness of the product slice, it is preferable that the cutting apparatus not deform the typically round or spheroidal shape of the dough product during a cut. However, a guillotine cutter naturally has a tendency to pinch the dough and to deform the product slices. Deformation occurs because the knife edge presses down hard on the product until the product fails under the contact. Thus, to make thinner dough slices (0.75 inches or less), the typical guillotine-type cutter does not work well. The pressure applied on the product slice tends to destroy its shape, i.e. crushing the slice because of its relatively thin size.
Saw-like cutters also have been used in some dough-cutting applications. However, they too tend to exhibit undesirable characteristics when used in soft dough applications. For example, soft dough is often sticky, and it tends to adhere to the back of the cutting blade as it moves through the product. Further, instead of cutting the dough, the saw-like cutter tends to pull dough from its path, deforming the dough product and slices in the process. Although these undesirable effects can be reduced somewhat by lubricating and cleaning the cutting blade with oils, an improved cutting apparatus and method which reduces or eliminates the need for such measures clearly would be preferable.


A device to extract physiological information has at least one laser emitter. At least one optical detector is used to detect a change in optical power absorption. The laser emitter and optical detector are wire bonded into a chip scale module.

Many medical and/or wearable devices utilize optical means coupled to the skin to extract physiological information from a living subject. For example, a fitness tracker utilizes the change in optical power as light absorption varies with blood flow through arteries and veins. Heart rate information is then used to measure stress (HRV), fatigue, activities or illness. Similar means exist to determine other factors such as oxygenation, blood alcohol content, glucose, keytones, and the like.
Many medical and wearable devices utilize optical emitters and optical detectors such as photodetectors as the optical means to extract physiological information. Unfortunately, these types of devices have historically had several significant problems. Medical and wearable devices utilizing optical emitters and optical detectors generally do not work more than 1-2 mm away from the skin or the wearer. Further, optical detectors such as photodetectors are easily saturated by side light. For example, when photodetectors are moved away from the skin of the wearer, side light may be detected by the photodetectors rather than just the reflected light. As a result, the photodetectors may saturate or have a limited operation range. To overcome this, the optical emitters must be physically and optically separated by a barrier from the optical detector resulting in a much larger surface area for the assembly and the photodetector kept close to the skin to ensure light from the outside environment and side light from emitters is blocked.
Another issue is that medical and wearable devices generally use light emitting diode emitters. The light emitting diodes generate widely scattered light requiring optics that force deep recessing of 5 mm or more into typical form factors and often external lensing. However, the light emitting diodes do not elicit reflections from more than 1-2 mm away strong enough to measure. Thus, the result is that bands or watches which extract information like heart rate using light emitting diodes have to be pulled very tight against the skin of the wearer and form factors such as jewelry or glasses are not compatible with these types of emitter/detector systems. Additionally, form factors such as glasses are not possible because head shapes variation is too great to ensure that the light emitted from the light emitting diodes will reflect back into the detector from the skin once distance starts to exceed 1-2 mm, non-withstanding the risk of saturation by side light.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method that overcomes the above.

Device to extract physiological information and method therefor