A fabric access device having a plurality of system interfaces is disclosed. The fabric access device includes a fabric interface configured to receive data from and send data to a switch fabric and a routing circuit configured to send data received on one of the plurality of system interfaces to the switch fabric via the fabric interface. The inclusion of a plurality of system interfaces facilitates a variety of configurations that provide different levels of redundancy and optimize use of available bandwidth.

In data communication networks, devices such as routers and switches are typically used to transfer data from a source to a destination. Existing switching systems often employ a switch fabric for switching data from source ports (also referred to as input ports) to destination ports (also referred to as output ports).
Fabric access devices are commonly used to manage data between the switch fabric and the rest of the system. A fabric access device may perform functions such as data buffering, data prioritization, redundancy management, etc. A typical fabric access device includes a single system interface configured to receive data from and send data to an external system or port. The configuration of such devices tends to have limited flexibility. For example, if redundancy is required, the fabric access device is typically connected to the switch fabric via two fabric interfaces. During normal operation, one of the fabric interfaces is active, and the other fabric interface is standing by. If the active fabric interface fails, the standby fabric interface takes over and continues to transfer data between the fabric access node and the switch fabric. Since twice the bandwidth on the fabric interface is required to service the bandwidth available on the system interface, such a configuration is said to provide full 2:1 redundancy. This approach is useful for providing a high level of redundancy since in the event that all of the active fabric interface links are lost, as long as the standby links can take over in time, no data will be lost. However, the highly redundant configuration also means that half of the available bandwidth on the fabric access interface remain idle in standby mode much of the time, resulting in inefficient utilization of bandwidth. In systems with less stringent redundancy requirements, it would be desirable if the fabric access device could allow more flexible configurations. For example, it may be useful to have fewer than half of the available interface links for redundancy purposes so that the available bandwidth is more efficiently utilized.

Network fabric access device with multiple system side interfaces


A wheel cover having collars (1) with elastic tabs (3) for mounting and fixing the collars on the heads of nuts or bolts (2) used to fix the wheel to a vehicle. The tabs (3) have protrusions (4) with a double ramp (5 and 5′), that are used to mount and dismount the collars (1) to the nuts or bolts (2). The collars (3) are retained by locking the protrusions (4) onto an annular projection (14) of the head of the nut or bolt. Independent caps (10) are locked by the protrusions to the collars (1) whereby the caps (10) protect and conceal the screws or heads of the bolts (2) and remain locked while being able to turn freely.

One of the methods of fixing a wheel cover to the wheel of a vehicle consists of using sleeves which are embedded in respective collars provided in the wheel cover. The collars are, in turn, coupled in the recesses or cavities of the wheel where the bolts are positioned for fixing that wheel to the hub. Such sleeves usually have tabs ending in a harpoon-shape for their retention on the bolts or on projections provided in the cavities for housing the bolts. Moreover, those sleeves are provided with appropriate means, such as external projections, for retention of the wheel cover, specifically an edge which the collars of said wheel cover have for that purpose.
A retention device is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,780, where the fixing of the wheel cover to the wheel of a vehicle is done by means of a kind of cap which is introduced via the collar of the wheel cover and is retained by being screwed to a tubular piece forming part of the wheel of the vehicle. This means that a fixing nut or screw for the tire is required that is threaded, and the screw, which is fixed by being screwed to the wheel itself, axially passes through the tubular piece.
The cap itself has an upper polygonal section, and also an intermediate cylindrical section in which have been provided for screwing of the cap on the piece arranged axially to the screw and forming part of the wheel.
Also, the lower part of said body, in the form of a cap, presents a series of tabs with a protrusion at the end projecting outwards which acts as a stop against the collar of the wheel cover through which passes the fixing screw, and in which is located the retention cap of the actual wheel cover.
The device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,780, includes the feature of having an unthreaded edge, as a consequence of which the tabs provided at the protrusioned end are free at their ends between the protrusion and the threaded zone of the cap, which permits the latter to be unscrewed with respect to the wheel in order to carry out the removal of the wheel cover. The unscrewing of the screw is carried out simultaneously with the unscrewing of the device or cap, since they are coupled in such a way that the polygonal head of the screw and the polygonal upper section of the device, or of the cap, which is the same thing, remain locked together in the direction of rotation.
Mention can likewise be made of Spanish invention patent P-200300899 referring to a wheel cover for the wheels of a vehicle, in which the wheel cover presents collars with elastic tabs which permit retention on the associated screws screwed to the wheel hub for the fixing of the wheel. Also, introduced into the collars of the wheel cover and coupled there are some sleeves which act as means of centering and of covering of the grooves established between the elastic tabs of the collars of the wheel cover.
More specifically, this Spanish invention patent is characterised by the fact of incorporating a piece in the form of a sleeve which fits tightly under pressure into each of the tubular projections or collars of the wheel cover, and is fixed to them by locking of some projections provided in the lateral surface of the additional piece or sleeve, in recesses made in the internal part of the respective tubular projection or collar. This additional piece or sleeve has an edge associated with its external opening which supports and acts as a stop against a stagger made for the purpose in the tubular projection or collar, the additional piece or sleeve also having associated with the edge of its internal opening some elastic tabs, the internal part of which defines some means of adjustment and centering for a projection provided in the associated fixing bolt, said bolt or nut being the one used normally by the vehicle manufacturer. The elastic tabs of the additional piece or sleeve externally define a means of positioning and retention for an elastic metallic compression ring, both for the flexible tabs associated with the tubular projections or collars of the wheel cover and for the actual elastic tabs of the additional piece or sleeve.


A vehicle end structure comprises a pair of side frame members disposed at a longitudinal end portion adjacent to a cabin and a suspension support member disposed below the side frame members in a portion adjacent to the cabin. A pair of pressure receiving members is provided that are fixedly coupled to the suspension support member and extend toward a longitudinal end of the vehicle in direction substantially parallel to the side frame members. Thus, the vehicle end structure is configured and arranged to minimize the influence on the cabin even when collision energy is inputted from the longitudinal end of the vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle end structure. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle end structure configured and arranged to effectively absorb collision energy during a vehicle front or rear collision and to minimize the influence of the collision energy on a cabin of the vehicle.
2. Background Information
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-356181 discloses a conventional vehicle end structure as applied to a front end portion of a vehicle. In this reference, the vehicle is provided with a pair of left and right front side frames that is build into a cabin of the vehicle to form a frame of a vehicle body in the front end portion of the vehicle. A crossbar member for linking the left and right front side frames is disposed at the distal front ends thereof so that a front bumper is coupled to a front portion of the crossbar member via a bracket.
The front bumper is configured and arranged to absorb energy when collision energy is applied from the front side of the vehicle during front collision and the like, but when the collision energy that is too large for the front bumper to absorb completely is inputted, part of the collision energy is transmitted to the front side frames connected to the front bumper. In such case, the front side frames are compressed and deformed in the axial direction, whereby absorbing the collision energy. Therefore, the effect of the collision energy on the cabin of the vehicle can be minimized, and protection of passengers in the cabin can be achieved.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved vehicle end structure. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.


A medical forceps has a shaft, a handle at the proximal end of the shaft, which handle has at least one movable grip part which is pivotable about a pivot axis, at least one movable tool at the distal end of the shaft, and a force transmission element, which runs in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the shaft and is axially movable and with one end is in operative connection with the at least one movable tool and with the other end is in operative connection with the at least one movable grip part. The force transmission element is connected to a slide which is guided linearly with an exact fit in a sliding bearing and is axially movable in the direction of the force transmission element, the slide being connected to the movable grip part by means of an articulated lever, which is articulated with one end on the slide and with another end on the movable grip part.

The invention generally relates to the field medical forceps.
A medical forceps is used in particular in the area of minimally invasive surgery for operations on a human or animal body. Without restricting generality, the medical forceps as provided by the present invention may be formed as grasping forceps for grasping tissue or as preparing forceps for cutting or preparing tissue.
A medical forceps known from the document DE 38 02 651 C2 has a handle which has a movable grip part and an immovable grip part. The movable grip part is fastened in a recess of an immovable housing part of the handle in such a way that it can pivot about a fixed pivot axis, which is arranged at the end of the movable grip part remote from the handle, which immovable housing part is for its part connected in one piece to the immovable grip part. The immovable grip part and the movable grip part project essentially transversely in relation to the longitudinal axis of the shaft of this forceps and form a scissors-grip-like arrangement. Running in the shaft in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the shaft is a force transmission element, which is movable axially in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The force transmission element, which takes the form of a thin rod, serves for the force transmission from the movable grip part to the movable tool, for example a jaw part, at the distal end of the shaft. Correspondingly, the force transmission element is in operative connection with the movable tool on the one hand and the movable grip part on the other hand. With respect to the movable grip part, this operative connection is established by means of an articulated intermediate piece, which for its part is fastened pivotably about a fixed pivot axis in the recess of the housing part, and with which the force transmission element is articulated at an articulation point at a distance from the aforementioned fixed pivot axis. The articulated intermediate piece is connected in an articulated manner to the movable grip part by means of a pin, which engages in a slot which is arranged on the movable grip part at a distance from its fixed pivot axis.
In practical use of this medical forceps, it has been found that, in spite of observance of the smallest tolerances and the most careful production, the action of the force transmission from the movable grip part to the movable tool is not free from play. This has the disadvantage that the movable tool does not exactly follow the movements of the movable grip part. A further disadvantage of this known medical forceps is that the articulation point of the axially movable force transmission element on the articulated intermediate piece undergoes a circular movement when the movable grip part is actuated, which causes an additional movement of the force transmission element transversely in relation to the longitudinal direction of the shaft. This is one reason why this type of force transmission mechanism does not operate completely free from play.
A medical forceps which is designed in a particularly simple way with regard to the force transmission mechanism from the movable grip part to the movable tool is known from the document DE 32 15 949 A1.
In the case of this known medical forceps, the movable grip part is fastened on the immovable grip part in such a way that it can pivot about a fixed pivot axis and has a continuation which, as seen from the end of the movable grip part on the handle side, protrudes beyond the pivot axis and on which the force transmission element is directly articulated. Since this continuation undergoes a circular movement when the movable grip part pivots, here too there is once again the disadvantage that the axially movable force transmission element undergoes a circular movement.
Finally, the document DE-B 1 055 751 discloses a handle for surgical instruments which has a fixed grip part and a movable grip part, which as a difference from the two aforementioned known medical forceps run essentially in axial extension of the shaft and form a gripping arrangement which resembles a forceps grip. The movable grip part is connected by a connecting pin in an articulated manner directly to a slide, which is axially movable in the longitudinal direction of the force transmission element. The slide receives the instrument attachment. As the articulated connection of the movable grip part to the immovable grip part, arranged between the two is a leaf spring, which serves as a lever arm between the immovable grip part and the fixed grip part. The direct articulation of the movable grip part on the slide has the effect that the latter likewise does not undergo a strictly linear movement, because the articulation point of the movable grip part on the slide follows an arcuate movement curve as a result of the interposing of the leaf spring. This has as a consequence the disadvantage that the travel of the slide has to be restricted to a small range, in order to limit the circular movement of the articulation point of the movable grip part on the slide to small angles. Consequently, this force transmission mechanism is also not free from play. A further disadvantage of this force transmission mechanism is that it is only suitable for grip part arrangements in which the grip parts are arranged essentially in rectilinear extension of the shaft.


A display system including a retro-reflector, and optical means including a projection lens and an accommodation feature for directing light from an image source to the retro-reflector, light reflected by the retro-reflector being provided for viewing, said optical means and retro-reflector being cooperative to establish a conjugate optics path including the accommodation feature along which the light is directed to the eye or eyes of a viewer for viewing of an image, the accommodation feature includes a conjugation lens means and it and the retro-reflector are cooperatively positioned such that as light passes back through the conjugation lens means along the same path it would have followed had the retro-reflector been placed at the image plane of the projection lens had the conjugation lens means not been in position. A servo system for moving the projection lens and the retro-reflector according to a transfer function also may be included.

Various types of head mounted displays are known. An exemplary head mounted display (throughout the following specification the initials "HMD" may be used to mean "head mounted display") includes optics or optical components such as lenses, mirrors or the like, to direct the image from an image source to an eye or to the respective eyes of a person viewing the image (viewer). The image source develops and/or provides an image intended to be viewed and may or may not be part of the HMD. Head mounted display systems are used in the field of virtual reality and also in aircraft, for example, as part of a heads-up display system, and in other fields, too. Exemplary use of such display systems include three dimensional (3-D) or stereoscopic display and viewing features. Also, such systems may be used for simulators, such as flight simulators for pilot training or the like.
Many prior head mounted display systems use light emitting sources to create an image, such as a cathode ray tube, light emitting diode, etc. Several disadvantages to such light sources and head mounted displays using them are relatively large size, weight, and cumbersome nature. For example, in some virtual reality display systems, counterbalancing weights and support systems are needed to hold or to help to hold the helmet containing the virtual reality image source and optics so that it does not severely weigh down the head, neck, shoulders, etc. of the user.
In some prior display systems a modulator modulates light from a source; the images created are a function of modulation. A liquid crystal cell or liquid crystal display device may be such a modulator. A disadvantage of such modulating systems is the reduction in light output due to light blocking and/or absorption occurring in the modulator. To overcome such reduction in brightness, sometimes the intensity of the light source is increased, which draws additional energy, creates heat, requires a larger light source, etc.
Another disadvantage to prior head mounted display systems is the complexity of the components and of the arrangement of the components to provide the desired display or image output. Complexity, size, and so forth usually increase the cost for such systems and reduce the robustness of the system.
It is desirable that a display, especially an HMD, have adequate eye relief. and comfort with which images provided by the HMD can be viewed. One aspect of comfort is the distance at which the image is viewed; a comfortable viewing distance is about twenty inches or more, for example, approximate reading distance. An aspect of eye relief is the distance between the eye and the last optical element (such as the output objective of the display) closest to the eye; often it is desirable that such distance be relatively large to provide adequate eye relief. If adequate eye relief is not provided and/or if the viewing distance at which the image is seen is less than about twenty inches, then the eye may be strained to view the image, which may be uncomfortable and usually is undesirable.
The definition of eye relief also is described in Information Display, Vol. 10, No. 7 & 8, July/August 1994, pages 12-16, the article by Robert E. Fisher entitled "Optics For Head-Mounted Displays."
It would be desirable to reduce the size, weight and complexity of a display system, especially a head mounted display system.
It would be desirable to provide a relatively uncomplicated, small and robust display system, especially for an HMD.
It also would be desirable to provide a high quality image, e.g., bright and of good contrast and, if used, color, for viewing using an HMD, and especially to derive the image using a small display device.
Further, it would be desirable to obtain a relatively wide field of view in an optical display system, especially a head mounted one, and efficiently to deliver light produced by the light source to the viewer. Efficient delivery of light reduces the brightness requirement of the light source, energy requirements and output heat, while providing good brightness, resolution and contrast of the viewed image.
Additionally, it would be desirable to provide adequate eye relief in a head mounted optical display system.
Many prior HMDs and other displays have had a limited head box, which is the size of the area or location at which the viewer's head must be placed so the eyes see a desired image. For example, if a display were mounted on the head, the eyes are at a location which is relatively fixed to the place where an image is seen, such as a screen or image source, e.g., a projector and/or projection lens, liquid crystal display, CRT display, etc. In some circumstances it would be desirable to enlarge the head box to allow increased movement and positioning of the head while still permitting viewing of the displayed image.
Accommodation is the term used to describe the ability of the human eye to adjust its focus to various distances. This ability is used by the brain as an added cue in depth perception. If this cue is at variance with other depth cues such as vergences (stereo parallax) the brain will be confused, leading to eye strain and an increased susceptibility to motion sickness. It is therefore, highly desirable in 3-D display systems for all of the cues to be in agreement with one another. There must also be agreement between the camera system and the display system. The vergence is controlled by the spacing and toe-in of the cameras and projectors. These can easily be set in agreement. The accommodation is controlled by the focus of the camera lens. This can be set to the focal distance of the objects of interest by one of the standard auto-focus methods. All that is then required for proper accommodation is that the focus of the projector be set the same as that of the camera.

Display system using conjugate optics and accommodation features and method of displaying and viewing an image


Methods for inhibiting synovial cell growth and treating chronic rheumatoid arthritis are provided. The methods comprise administering a pharmaceutical composition comprising an interleukin-6 antagonist, such as an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody, and a physiologically acceptable carrier.

Chronic rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic chronic inflammatory disease in which abnormal growth of connective tissue, including synovial tissue, occurs in the joints (Melnyk et al., Arthritis Rheum. 33: 493-500, 1990). The joints of chronic rheumatoid arthritis patients have been shown to have marked growth of synovial cells, formation of a multilayer structure due to abnormal growth of the synovial cells (pannus formation), invasion of the synovial cells into cartilage tissue and bone tissue, vascularization toward the synovial tissue, and infiltration of inflammatory cells such as lymphocytes and macrophages. Mechanisms of onset of chronic rheumatoid arthritis have been reported to be based on such factors as heredity, bacterial infection and the contribution of various cytokines and growth factors, but the overall mechanism of onset has remained unclear.
In recent years, cytokines and growth factors including interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor .alpha. (TNF.alpha.), transforming growth factor .beta. (TGF.beta.), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) have been detected in the synovial membrane and synovial fluid of chronic rheumatoid arthritis patients (Nouri et al., Clin. Exp. Immunol. 55:295-302, 1984; Thornton et al., Clin. Exp. Immunol. 86:79-86, 1991; Saxne, et al., Arthritis Rheum. 31:1041-1045, 1988; Seitz et al., J. Clin. Invest. 87:463-469, 1991; Lafyatis et al., J. Immunol. 143:1142-1148, 1989; Melnyk et al., Arthritis Rheum. 33:493-500, 1990).
It is believed that IL-1, TNFA and PDGF are particularly powerful synovial cell growth factors (Thornton et al., Clin. Exp. Immunol. 86:79-86, 1991; Lafyatis et al., J. Immunol. 143:1142-1148, 1989; Gitter et al., Immunology 66:196-200, 1989). It has also been suggested that stimulation by IL-1 and TNF results in production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) by synovial cells (Ito et al., Arthritis Rheum. 35:1197-1201, 1992).
IL-6 is a cytokine also known as B cell-stimulating factor 2 or interferon .beta.2. IL-6 was discovered as a differentiation factor contributing to activation of B lymphoid cells (Hirano, T. et al., Nature 324, 73-76, 1986), and was later found to be a multifunction cytokine which influences the functioning of a variety of different cell types (Akira, S. et al., Adv. in Immunology 54, 1-78, 1993). Two functionally different membrane molecules are necessary for the induction of IL-6 activities. One of those is IL-6 receptor (IL-6R), an approximately 80 KD molecular weight, which binds specifically to IL-6.
IL-6R exists in a membrane-binding form which is expressed on the cell membrane and penetrates the cell membrane, as well as in the form of soluble IL-6R (sIL-6R) which consists mainly of the extracellular domain. Another protein is gp130 with a molecular weight of approximately 130 KD, which is non-ligand-binding but rather functions to mediate signal transduction. IL-6 and IL-6R form the complex IL-6/IL-6R which in turn binds with another membrane protein gp130, to induce the biological activity of IL-6 to the cell (Taga et al., J. Exp. Med. 196:967, 1987).
It has been reported that the serum or synovial fluid of chronic rheumatoid arthritis patients contains excessive amounts of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) (Houssiau et al., Arthritis Rheum. 31:784-788, 1988; Hirano et al., Eur. J. Immunol. 18:1797-1801, 1988; Yoshioka et al., Japn. J. Rheumatol. in press), and since similar results have also been obtained in rheumatoid arthritis animal models (Takai et al., Arthritis Rheum. 32:594-600, 1989; Leisten et al. Clin. Immunol. Immunopathol. 56: 108-115, 1990), it has been suggested that IL-6 is somehow involved in chronic rheumatoid arthritis.
However, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-89433 discloses that peptides which strongly promote IL-6 production are effective as therapies for chronic rheumatoid arthritis.
Also, Higaki et al. have suggested that synovial cells from chronic rheumatoid arthritis patients have a low growth reaction against IL-6, and that IL-6 thus has an inhibitory function against growth of synovial cells (Clinical Immunology, 22:880-887, 1990). Thus, conflicting reports exist regarding the relationship between IL-6 and chronic rheumatoid arthritis, and the relationship is as yet unclear.
Recently, Wendling et al. have reported that administration of anti-IL-6 antibodies to chronic rheumatoid arthritis patients temporarily alleviates the clinical and biological symptoms, while also increasing IL-6 levels in the serum (J. Rheumatol. 20:259-262, 1993).
These reports provide no data at all about whether IL-6 accelerates growth of chronic rheumatoid arthritis synovial cells or has an inhibitory effect, and thus it is still unknown whether or not IL-6 has a direct effect on synovial cells of chronic rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Chronic rheumatoid arthritis therapy containing IL-6 antagonist as effective component


A system and a method for predicting errors and failure of an application and performing preventive maintenance measures is disclosed. The present invention provides for generating timestamped event logs and extracting data which includes application Id, service Id, user Id, host, error information, resource information, user request data and frequently used execution sequences of associated software components. Further, multiple user requests are modelled based on information extracted from the timestamped event logs and an execution sequence of associated software components is created based on data extracted from timestamped event logs. Further, an execution scheme is generated based on modelled user requests, execution sequence of associated applications and resource status. Yet further, propensity of failure of application is predicted based on the timestamped event logs, user requests, execution sequence of associated applications, resource status and execution scheme of the application by applying a holistic technique.

Software applications are designed to implement a predefined set of operations to achieve one or more objectives or functionalities when executed in response to one or more user request(s). A user request is representative of a functionality desired from the software application. Generally, a software application may be dependent on one or more software components which include other applications and one or more services associated with the other applications, software services, and service routine calls. Each component associated with the software application is further dependent on various resources like processing facilities, storage etc. to perform its respective function. The application is expected to exhibit intended behavior under normal operating conditions of the associated components and resources. Further, said application deployed in real environment is expected to operate as per agreed performance levels, also known as service levels. Some performance levels of the application include handling of input, application execution time, resource (computation or storage) utility, application error incidence, availability, ease-of-use, desired output, monetary value of the application.
Any unintended event associated with the operation of the application is generally due to abnormalities in one or more of the components and/or resources in isolation or in tandem, which prevents the application to perform its tasks in an intended manner. The unintended behavior of an application is logged as 'Error'. The application encountering frequent errors leads to loss of quality of service and downtime of the application, leading to deviation of the application from the accepted service level. In order to resolve the errors and maintain the reliability of the software application, said deviation of the application performance must be monitored.
Existing methods mostly predict the errors which are predefined during the application development phase. However, it has been observed that existing methods fail to address run-time errors including inconsistencies between interdependent applications and errors due to external factors such as user load. Further, majority of existing error prediction methods assume errors to occur in isolation and independent of each other. However, cascading of any error in applications having networked components over a series of associated applications, where error in one component may impact one or more associated components are less considered.
In light of the above drawbacks, there is a need for a system and a method which effectively predicts errors and failures of an application in advance and performs preventive maintenance measures using a holistic approach. There is a need for a system and a method which predicts the occurrence of errors observed through various aspects independently and in synergy. Further, there is a need for a system and a method which identifies erroneous components associated with the application along with pattern of errors occurring in synergy on execution of said associated components. Furthermore, there is a need for a system and a method which can reduce overall management efforts of an application infrastructure. Yet further, there is a need for a system and a method which can reduce downtime caused due to application and/or Infrastructure failures.

Adaptive system and a method for application error prediction and management


A non-linear resistor comprises a sintered body having zinc oxide as a main component, a side-surface high resistance layer arranged at a side-surface of the sintered body, and an electrode arranged at upper and lower surfaces of the sintered body. The side-surface high resistance layer is formed of a specifically selected material. The end-to-end distance between an end portion of the electrode and a nonlinear resistor end portion including the side-surface high resistance layer falls within a range of 0 mm to the thickness of the side-surface high resistance layer+0.01 mm.

The present invention relates to a nonlinear resistor for use in an overvoltage protection device and a method of manufacturing the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a nonlinear resistor having an electrode and a side-surface high resistance layer and the method of manufacturing the same.
Generally in an electric power system, an overvoltage protection device such as a lightning arrester or a surge absorber is used in order to protect the electric power system by removing overvoltage which is superposed on a normal voltage. In the overvoltage protection device, a nonlinear resistor is mainly used. The nonlinear resistor used herein is characterized in that it exhibits substantially insulating characteristics under a normal voltage and a relatively low resistance when an overvoltage is applied.
The nonlinear resistor of this type has a sintered body. The sintered body is formed of zinc oxide as a main component and at least one type of metal oxide as the additive. The additive is used in order to obtain the nonlinear resistor characteristics. The materials are mixed, granulated, molded, and sintered to form the sintered body. At the side surface of the sintered body, a side-surface high resistance layer is formed in order to prevent a flashover from the side surface when a surge is absorbed. Furthermore, an electrode is formed on each of upper and lower surfaces of the sintered body such that a current flows uniformly through the sintered body.
In the electrode of the nonlinear resistor mentioned above, a ring-form electrode nonformation portion is provided, in most cases, in a circumference portion of the nonlinear resistor in such a manner that an electrode end portion does not overlap with the sintered-body end portion in order to avoid a flashover as much as possible when a large current is supplied.
Methods for forming the electrode nonformation portion are disclosed, for example, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU publication No. 5-74921 and Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI publication No. 8-195303. In these methods, the ring-form electrode nonformation portion is formed in the circumference portion of the nonlinear resistor by applying a rubber mask to the nonlinear resistor when the electrode is formed. Furthermore, in the method disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI publication No. 11-186006, the ring-form electrode nonformation portion is formed in the circumference portion of the nonlinear resistor such that the sintered body end portion and the electrode end portion are placed at a distance of 0.01 to 1.0 mm.
Also, in the disclosure of other numerous patent publications and various technical documents, a ring-form electrode nonformation portion is provided in the circumference portion of the nonlinear resistor. As described above, the technique that the ring-form electrode nonformation portion is provided in the circumference portion of the nonlinear resistor is widely known and has been generally employed hitherto.
With the recent remarkable development of information technology in society, the demand for an electric power has increased. In the circumstances, the electric power is demanded to be stably supplied at a low cost. In addition, there is a strong demand for miniaturizing transmission/substation appliances due to the shortage of the space for placing the transmission/substation appliances in urban areas. With the demand for stable supply of electricity to electric power systems and the demand for miniaturization, the requirement for miniaturization of the highly reliable overvoltage protection device has been increased.
To satisfy the demands, the miniaturization of the nonlinear resistor of the overvoltage protection device, has been accelerated in such a manner that the height is reduced as much as possible by increasing a voltage per unit thickness of the nonlinear resistor and the overall size is reduced by improving the energy absorbing ability. As a matter of course, even if the overvoltage protection device is miniaturized, the operation must be stably performed for a long time.
However, as is described in the conventional nonlinear resistor mentioned above, in the case where the ring-form electrode nonformation portion is provided in the circumference portion of the nonlinear resistor in such a manner that the electrode end portion is not overlapped with the sintered body end portion in order to avoid a flashover generated at the time a large current is supplied, a thermal stress generates due to the presence of the electrode nonformation portion, with the result that the sintered body may possibly be broken.
In the nonlinear resistor having an electrode formed at the upper and lower surfaces of the sintered body by forming the ring-form electrode nonformation portion in the circumference, a current flows through the electrode-formation portion when the current is supplied, whereas no current flows through the ring-form electrode nonformation portion around the periphery of the none-linear resistor. It follows that only the temperature of the electrode formation portion increases. Due to the difference in temperature between the electrode formation portion and the electrode nonformation portion, the thermal stress is produced which cracks and breaks the sintered body. As a result, there is a possibility of reducing an overvoltage protection performance of the nonlinear resistor.
Therefore, in the conventional method in which the ring-form electrode nonformation portion is formed in the circumference of the nonlinear resistor, it has been difficult to ensure sufficient protection performance against a surge such as a switching surge, lightening impulse, and overvoltage, although the sufficient protection performance is required when the non linear resistor is miniaturized by increasing the voltage per unit thickness or by reducing the diameter thereof.
To overcome such a problem, it is conceivable that the area of the electrode formation portion is enlarged as much as possible.
However, in the conventional nonlinear resistor, if the electrode is formed so as to extend to or near the side-surface high resistance layer, a flashover is generated at an interface between the sintered body and the side-surface high resistance layer. The flashover is caused by poor adhesive strength of the side-surface high resistance layer to the sintered body at the time an overvoltage surge is applied. Alternatively, the flashover is caused by poor electric insulation characteristics or poor heat resistance of the side-surface resistance layer. Moreover, the ability of the loaded lifecycle may possibly deteriorate due to overvoltage under normal operation conditions in which a voltage is constantly applied.
Therefore, the problems residing in the conventional nonlinear resistor are that a nonlinear resistor having high overvoltage protection performance and a stable ability of a loaded lifecycle cannot be attained.

Nonlinear resistor and method of manufacturing the same


A gas reactor device includes a plurality of microcavities or microchannels defined at least partially within a thick metal oxide layer consisting essentially of defect free oxide. Electrodes are arranged with respect to the microcavities or microchannels to stimulate plasma generation therein upon application of suitable voltage. One or more or all of the electrodes are encapsulated within the thick metal oxide layer. A gas inlet is configured to receive feedstock gas into the plurality of microcavities or microchannels. An outlet is configured to outlet reactor product from the plurality of microcavities or microchannels. In an example preferred device, the feedstock gas is air or O2 and is converted by the plasma into ozone (O3). In another preferred device, the feedstock gas is an unwanted gas to be decomposed into a desired form. Gas reactor devices of the invention can, for example, decompose gases such as CO2, CH4, or NOx.

Microcavity plasma devices produce a nonequilibrium, low temperature plasma within, and essentially confined to, a cavity having a characteristic dimension d below approximately 500 μm. This new class of plasma devices exhibits several properties that differ substantially from those of conventional, macroscopic plasma sources. Because of their small physical dimensions, microcavity plasmas normally operate at gas (or vapor) pressures considerably higher than those accessible to macroscopic devices. For example, microplasma devices with a cylindrical microcavity having a diameter of 200-300 μm (or less) are capable of operation at rare gas (as well as N2 and other gases tested to date) pressures up to and beyond one atmosphere.
Such high pressure operation is advantageous. An example advantage is that, at these higher pressures, plasma chemistry favors the formation of several families of electronically-excited molecules, including the rare gas dimers (Xe2, Kr2, Ar2, . . . ) and the rare gas-halides (such as XeCl, ArF, and Kr2F) that are known to be efficient emitters of ultraviolet (UV), vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), and visible radiation. This characteristic, in combination with the ability of microplasma devices to operate in a wide range of gases or vapors (and combinations thereof), offers emission wavelengths extending over a broad spectral range. Furthermore, operation of the plasma in the vicinity of atmospheric pressure minimizes the pressure differential across the packaging material when a microplasma device or array is sealed.
Research by the present inventors and colleagues at the University of Illinois has resulted in new microcavity plasma device structures as well as applications. A particularly promising class of microcavity plasma device arrays is formed in metal and metal oxide. Large-scale, low-cost arrays of devices that can be flexible are formed by inexpensive processes with metal electrodes encapsulated in metal oxide. One problem that has arisen with such devices is the occurrence of defects in the oxide layer that encapsulates and protects the metal electrodes from plasma generated in the microcavities. During the formation of oxide over metal in which microcavities are formed in a metal sheet, the oxide can develop defects such as cracks. This is especially true in areas where the oxide is formed over the edges of microcavities.
Important arrays of metal and oxide microcavity plasma devices have been provided by past work at the University of Illinois. For example, Eden et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,573,202 discloses metal and metal oxide arrays that are formed by growing a nanoporous dielectric on a metal substrate in which microcavities have been formed. Subsequent anodization forms a nanoporous oxide, which can also be backfilled with dielectrics, metals or carbon nanotubes, for example. This provides a high performance dielectric. However, the nanoporous dielectric can develop cracks, especially in areas near the rim of a microcavity.
The formation of microscopic cracks in the dielectric of a microplasma device can limit device lifetime and cause operational flaws. The cracks provide a pathway for dielectric breakdown that can disable portions or all of an array of devices. The excellent electrical breakdown characteristics of nanoporous alumina (Al2O3), for example, are of little consequence once a crack of sufficient size appears in a thin layer of the material.
Past efforts have been made to mitigate the appearance of cracks. One solution is to apply thin glass films to regions where cracking occurs. This increases cost and complexity in the manufacturing process. Another drawback is that glass has a melting point well below that of dielectrics such as Al2O3, which can limit operation of devices and arrays formed this way. The glass also generally overcoats the nanostructured alumina, reducing the dielectric strength offered by the network of hexagonal pores from which the alumina film is composed.
Eden et al, U.S. Pat. No. 8,004,017, discloses large arrays of metal/metal oxide microplasma devices and a fabrication method for the same. High quality, large arrays are formed. The fabrication method is a wet chemical process in which self-patterned circumferential electrodes are automatically formed around microcavities during an anodization process that converts metal to metal oxide. The size and pitch of the microcavities in a metal foil (or film) prior to anodization, as well as the anodization parameters, determine which of the microcavity plasma devices in a one or two-dimensional array are connected. The metal foil is obtained or fabricated with microcavities having any of a broad range of cross-sections (circular, square, etc.). The foil is anodized to form a nanostructured metal oxide layer. One or more self-patterned metal electrodes are automatically formed and simultaneously encapsulated in the metal oxide created by the anodization process. The electrodes form uniformly around the perimeter of each microcavity, and can be electrically isolated or connected in patterns. The shape of the electrodes that form around the microcavities is dependent upon the shape of the microcavities prior to anodization. The metal oxide formed by this method can also develop microcracks, especially in areas which traverse (or span) the rim or other sharp discontinuity associated with a microcavity. Areas immediately adjacent to such discontinuities are also susceptible to microcracks. With densely packed and larger scale areas, cracking is more prevalent.
Limiting the number of defects in large and densely packed arrays of microcavities and microcavity plasma devices has been accomplished with stress-reduction structures and techniques. Eden et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2010-0001629 provides such arrays via stress reduction structures, geometries and fabrication techniques that limit the tendency of large scale and densely packed arrays to crack and buckle due to mismatches in the coefficients of thermal expansion between the oxide and metal.
The present inventors have determined a significant cause of microcracking in metal oxide films, and methods to avoid such microcracking. Generally, nanoporous oxide grown from a flat or gently-curved surface will be high quality, presuming that all other growth parameters (such as temperature and rate) are chosen judiciously. In an oxide layer that is essentially free of microcracking, the axes of the nanopores in the metal oxide are approximately parallel and oriented orthogonal to the plane of the metal substrate surface from which the oxide is grown. However, growing metal oxide film(s) from a surface having a sharply-rounded edge (such as that at the rim of a hole) generally introduces cracking in the film because the axis of the pores must rotate through a large angle (typically 90°) over a short distance. This situation introduces considerable strain into the film and subsequent cracking. This reduces the dielectric quality of the film.

Gas reactor devices with microplasma arrays encapsulated in defect free oxide

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


An automated sliding panel mechanism is disclosed. An automated sliding panel mechanism includes a motor attached to a first component of a sliding panel that is configured to move the sliding panel between a closed position and an open position. The mechanism also includes a power source and a rack attached to a second component of the sliding panel and including a base with rack teeth extending from a plane thereof. A gear is rotated by the motor and has gear teeth shaped to mesh with the rack teeth. A manual release mechanism is adapted to move the gear along its axis of rotation, from an engaged position, wherein the gear teeth mesh with the rack teeth to a released position, wherein the gear teeth are disengaged from the rack teeth. The manual release mechanism also includes a holding mechanism adapted to hold the gear in the engaged position and in the released position as selected by a user.

Many improvements and developments have been made in the field of smart home devices. However, many devices, especially existing devices in a residence or business (such as windows, window coverings and doors, for example), simply were not designed or configured to be smart.
Traditionally, windows are opened and closed manually for ventilation, energy or security or safety needs. For example, a window or door may be closed and locked while the owners are away from home to protect the home from entry by an intruder. A window or door may be opened in order to vent noxious gases from the interior of the home to the outside. When the inside of the house is hot, a door or window may be opened to allow cooler outside air to enter the house.
In order to enable these traditional functions to be carried out in an automated smart system, motorized devices are needed to open and close the windows or doors.

Automated sliding panel mechanism with manual release mechanism


The present invention is a food utensil that is used to handle and open baked potatoes. The utensil has a pair of canted cups that extend from a pair of arms. Opposite from the cups are a pair of handles that can be manipulated by the user. The arms are pivotally connected by a pin that allows corresponding movement of the handles and cups. A baked potato can be grasped by the cups, and then the potato opened by initially creating a slit along the exposed side of the potato while being retained in the cups. The handles are then squeezed to move the cups closer together and create a compressive force on the potato, concentrated at each end of the potato adjacent the ends of the slit by inward projecting protrusions in the cups pressing on the potato. The compressive force widens the slit and opens the potato, partially crushing the interior of the potato in the manner normally achieved manually. The opened potato can then be placed on a plate and removed from the cups.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a food utensil for handling and opening a baked potato.
2. Description of Related Art
Baked potatoes are typically prepared by exposing the inner portion of the potato so that condiments such as butter and sour cream can be placed on the exposed inner potato. The inner portion is typically exposed by initially creating a slit along a side of the potato, and then pushing on the potato ends to widen the slit and crush a portion of the interior of the potato.
Baked potatoes are normally very hot when removed from an oven, thereby requiring the person cooking to use a cloth or to puncture the potato with a fork to remove the same from the oven and to slit and partially crush the potato to open the slit. Without a suitable utensil for this purpose, this normally is an awkward operation, all too frequently resulting in minor burns from the potato itself or the oven.
Opened baked potatoes are also frequently served by restaurants, particularly as a side dish to an entree item. Consequently, restaurant personnel must continually perform the task of slicing and opening a relatively large number of baked potatoes. Handling a hot potato can be uncomfortable, even for a professional. Additionally, the size of the opening may vary between potatoes, thereby creating an inconsistency in the presentation of the dishes.
It would therefore be desirable to have a utensil that can assist in the handling and opening of a potato from oven to serving dish.


A coloring structure includes a surface layer placed on a base with light transparency and containing transparent brilliant members, each brilliant member including an alternate lamination of at least two polymers having different refractive indexes, and controlling interfered light resulting from reflection and interference produced by the alternate lamination and transmitted light other than interfered light and passing through the alternate lamination. The brilliant members may dispersedly be contained in the base.

The present invention relates to a light-transmitting material that is formable in any flattened shapes such as plate-like, sheet-like and film-like shapes, and is applicable, for example, to motor vehicles, architectures and everyday items. More particularly, the present invention relates to a coloring structure for producing a color, which has not only an excellent visual quality with hue varying with the angle, depth and profundity, but a high design quality due to considerable hue difference between when seeing the structure from the side of an incident-light source and when seeing it from the side opposite thereto.
Generally, final coating for motor vehicles is in the form of a solid-color, metallic-color or pearl-color coating. The solid-color coating produces a predetermined tint by a color pigment. The metallic-color coating contains a color pigment and fine aluminum pieces to provide not only a color of the color pigment, but a design quality with sparkle due to irregular reflection of light produced by the aluminum pieces. The pearl-color coating includes a color-base coating and a transparent mica-base paint containing mica pieces applied thereon to provide not only sparkle like the metallic-color coating generated under the action of light reflected by a mica-base coating and light reflected by the color-base film, but softer reflected light than that of the metallic-color coating due to interference by the mica pieces. Recently, the use of special mica allows creation of a design quality with iridescence having hue varying with the angle.
Moreover, in the areas of containers, office-automation apparatus and home-appliance panels, a three-layer structure is provided, having a colored base layer, a pearl-mica layer and a transparent skin layer placed in this order so as to obtain a surface ornament for press-blow, blow-injection and babble-blow moldings.
As described above, there is a wide diversity of the design quality of various industrial goods in recent years. Under such circumstances, the development of new materials is demanded to enable a surface structure with novel design quality that is different from the metallic-color and pearl-color coatings.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a coloring structure for producing a color, which has not only an excellent visual quality with hue varying with the angle, depth and profundity, but a high design quality due to considerable hue difference between when seeing the structure from the side of an incident-light source and when seeing it from the side opposite thereto.
One aspect of the present invention lies in providing a coloring structure, comprising:
a base with light transparency;
a layer placed on at least part of said base; and
transparent brilliant members contained in said layer, each brilliant member including an alternate lamination of at least two polymers having different refractive indexes, each brilliant member controlling interfered light resulting from reflection and interference produced by said alternate lamination and transmitted light other than said interfered light and passing through said alternate lamination,
whereby the coloring structure is provided with a coloring mechanism for producing at least an interference color resulting from reflection and interference of an incident source spectrum produced by said brilliant members, a first transmitted color resulting from transmission of said incident source spectrum through said brilliant members, and a second transmitted color resulting from transmission of said incident source spectrum through said base and said layer without striking any brilliant members.
Another aspect of the present invention lies in providing a coloring structure, comprising:
a base with light transparency; and
transparent brilliant members dispersedly contained in said layer, each brilliant member including an; alternate lamination of at least two polymers having different refractive indexes, each brilliant member controlling interfered light resulting from reflection and interference produced by said alternate lamination and transmitted light other than said interfered light and passing through said alternate lamination,
whereby the coloring structure is provided with a coloring mechanism for producing at least an interference color resulting from reflection and interference of an incident source spectrum produced by said brilliant members, a first transmitted color resulting from transmission of said incident source spectrum through said brilliant members, and a second transmitted color resulting from transmission of said incident source spectrum through said base without striking any brilliant members.


Bioremediation systems and methods are disclosed in which petroleum contaminated soil (PCS) are treated and recycled to below acceptable contaminant levels. The system comprises a treatment cell at a location removed from the original site of the contaminated soil and having a capacity to receive and treat PCS from numerous sources concurrently. The system includes a treatment water infiltration system and an air circulation system which, in combination, supply the required oxygen and nutrients to enhance the growth of naturally occurring, hydrocarbon-consuming microbial organisms as well as optimizing the hydrocarbon consuming activity of those organisms. The pH, system temperature, and growth inhibiting toxin concentration are all controlled in the systems and methods of the present invention to thereby further enhance microbial growth and hydrocarbon consumption.

Bioremediation is a term used to describe processes which make use of certain types of bacterial microorganisms which "consume" hydrocarbons in the presence of oxygen to convert the hydrocarbon to CO.sub.2 : and water, according to the following general equation: ##STR1## Bioremediation has thus been shown to be an effective method, in general, for treating petroleum contaminated soil (PCS). Bioremediation is being used more commonly in the treatment of PCS due to increasingly stringent state and federal regulations regarding environmental contamination, and particularly regarding underground storage tanks for petroleum and petroleum-based products.
The number of underground petroleum storage tanks in the United States and throughout the world is astounding. Over time, these tanks develop leaks which contaminate the surrounding soil with petroleum hydrocarbons. Since this creates a significant environmental hazard, regulations have been implemented to prevent such contamination and to require the clean up of such contamination.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,745 describes an in situ or "on site" bioremediation system in which a leaking tank (containing gasoline or other petroleum hydrocarbon) is removed, leaving a cavity in the ground. The soil remaining in the tank cavity is leveled and dry form bacteria cultures are distributed over the soil surface. Thereafter, a layer of pea gravel is spread over the applied dry culture and a system of distribution piping is laid out on top of the pea gravel. Finally, another layer of pea gravel is placed over the installed piping and fill dirt and reconstruction relating to installation of a new tank takes place. This type of in situ system does not address the reclamation of the contaminated soil which is removed from the site when the tank is removed. Furthermore, systems of this type require construction at every site where a tank is removed. Finally, in high ground water areas this dry remediation approach is inappropriate.
With the continuing emphasis on control and clean up of environmental contamination, bioremediation systems and methods are needed which are centrally located and provide the capacity to reclaim large volumes of PCS with the resulting soil being suitable for reuse subsequent to reclamation thereof, thereby obviating the need to dispose of PCS in landfills or utilize undesirable thermal degradation processes.


A display overdrive method applicable to LCD picture process involves having image data containing gray scale presentation range inputted into the display; a corresponding gray scale range being set up based on the time of a frame from the former range to be present on the display; each gray scale code in the former range being corresponded to the that of the latter to drive the display; gamma voltage corresponding to gray scale in the former range being adjusted relatively to those in the latter range for reducing response time of pixels of the display comparatively to the frame time.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a display overdrive method applicable to picture process for various types of displays, and more particularly to one that applies mapping to change gray scale range and adjust gamma voltage to reduce response time thus to upgrade picture quality.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
In image process technology, unlike the conventional CRT that works by having electron beam to collide against a screen coated with light emitting material, the luminance display of an LCD takes time to drive liquid crystal molecules to react with voltage (response time) due to the LCD is subject to the inherited nature of the liquid crystal molecule, e.g. sticking coefficient, dialectic constant and elasticity coefficient. Generally, the response time is divided into two parts:                (1) Rising response time (Tr): i.e., with the applied voltage, the time raising taken for the luminance of the liquid crystal box of the LCD to change from the level of 10% up to 90%.        (2) Falling response time (Tf), i.e., without the applied voltage, the time falling taken for the luminance of the liquid crystal box to change from the level of 90% down to 10%.
Image data transmitted to the display is comprised of multiple frames. When the display rate of the picture is greater than 25 frames per second, the fast changed pictures will become continuous picture to human eyes thus to create visual pictures including dynamic film and TV game animation. Usually, the display rate of the movies or animation is greater than 60 frames per second, meaning each frame time is equal to 1/60 sec.=16.67 ms. When the response time of the LCD is greater than that frame time, ghost or twitching trace appears on the picture to seriously affect viewing quality. Efforts to upgrade technology for reducing LCD response time are generally inputted in the directions, respectively, lowering the sticking coefficient, reducing the liquid crystal box spacing, increasing the dialectic coefficient, and increasing the drive voltage. Wherein, other than increasing the drive voltage, all the remaining directions involve coordination from liquid crystal materials and manufacturing process. For the increased drive voltage technology, it may enter from the method to drive the liquid crystal panel to further improve gray scale response rate without significantly changing the construction of the display panel. This technology is referred as Overdrive (OD) technology; wherein, increased voltage is transmitted from a driver IC to the liquid crystal panel to increase the rising voltage of the liquid crystal for it to engage in faster cycle of rising and falling thus to quickly arrive at the luminance desired to be present by the image data with shortened response time.


A nickel-iron alloy plating solution which can suppress, in a nickel-iron alloy plating solution containing divalent iron ions and divalent nickel ions, oxidation of divalent iron ions to trivalent iron ions and can prevent the occurrence of the precipitation of iron (III) hydroxide to allow stable continuous operation and also to provide a nickel-iron alloy plating solution which allows production of a soft magnetic film which is stable in composition. The nickel-iron alloy plating solution of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises divalent iron ions, divalent nickel ions and a hydroxylamine salt and has a pH of 3.0 or lower.

Magnetic thin films (soft magnetic thin films) having a low characteristic value of coercivity are widely used for electronic components such as magnetic heads, small transformers, meter gauges and magnetic shieldings.
Soft magnetic thin films such as cobalt based alloy films or permalloy films having an iron content of 50 to 60% by mass have high saturation magnetic flux density and are used for magnetic heads of AV. On the other hand, permalloy films having an iron content of around 20% by mass have low magnetic flux density; but due to their high initial magnetic permeability, they are used for small transformers, meter gauges, magnetic shieldings and the like.
Nickel-iron alloy films may be prepared by a method in which electroplating is carried out with a plating solution containing divalent iron ions and divalent nickel ions.
However, when a nickel-iron alloy plating solution containing divalent iron ions is left over, iron ions are oxidized to be trivalent iron ions and iron (III) hydroxide is precipitated. During plating, divalent iron ions are oxidized to trivalent iron ions at the anode side, resulting in the occurrence of the precipitation of iron (III) hydroxide. The precipitation of iron (III) hydroxide is dispersed in the plating solution and incorporated into a plating film, causing poor appearances or a decrease in the saturation magnetic flux density of the film. Accordingly, it is desirable to prevent the occurrence of the precipitation of iron (III) hydroxide.
The precipitation of iron (III) hydroxide during nickel-iron alloy electroplating may be suppressed, for example, by a method in which a compound capable of forming stable complex ions with trivalent iron ions such as a dicarboxylic acid is added to the plating solution (Patent document 1). By adding a dicarboxylic acid such as malonic acid and adjusting the pH to 1.5, trivalent iron ions are stabilized as complex ions and occurrence of the precipitation is suppressed. Although the added complexing agent such as malonic acid in this method can suppress occurrence of the precipitation, it cannot suppress the oxidation of iron ions from divalent to trivalent. As a result, a plating film having a stable composition cannot be obtained because the quantities of electricity required for deposition of the divalent and trivalent ions are different, and it is difficult to maintain the composition of iron at 18 to 22% by mass in the deposited film during plating.
It has been also known that an addition of a reducing agent can suppress the production of trivalent iron ions and allows stable continuous operation. For example, in Patent document 2, a reducing agent such as L-ascorbic acid and gallic acid is added to an iron group alloy plating solution and the pH is adjusted to 1 to 5, in order to suppress the production of trivalent iron ions. However, the occurrence of the precipitation of iron (III) hydroxide could not be sufficiently suppressed, even with the addition of a reducing agent such as L-ascorbic acid and gallic acid.
Accordingly, none of the above processes can sufficiently suppress the precipitation of iron (III) hydroxide in nickel-iron alloy electroplating solutions and there have been a difficulty in obtaining soft magnetic films.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention provides a water-soluble gallate phosphor material with excellent luminous characteristics and a process for manufacturing of color CRT using the same material as above. The process improves luminous efficiency and color reproduction region and increases resolution due to decrease in electron spot from the current reduction by electron beams in luminance on the same phosphor screen, by introduction of the electrophotographic dry screening process without using water.

A phosphor layer of a cathode ray tube (CRT) is where energy of electron beams is charged to photoenergy. As shown in FIG. 1, electrons become luminous by collision with phosphor materials of a phosphor film layer 8 formed on a panel 11 on an opposite side of an observer. The properties of the phosphor layer depend greatly on the properties of the phosphor material that are used.
In general, phosphor materials used in forming the phosphor layer for color picture tubes (CPT) are produced by adding a small amount of impurities that act as an activator to a base body such as zinc sulfides or yttrium oxides, etc., and then allowing the impurities and base body to calcinate for in the range of from about 30 minutes to one hour at a temperature of in the range of from about 700-300.degree. C. Useful activator materials include copper (Cu), gold (Au), rare earth elements, etc.
A process for manufacturing a phosphor film layer for color picture tubes comprises the steps of: coating a photoresist to inside of a panel; exposing the coated panel to light; and developing, graphite coating, etching, and forming graphite stripes to form black matrixes (BM), by photolithography.
A step of forming a phosphor film is followed. A phosphor slurry composition is prepared by suspending phosphor materials in a solution of poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and ammonium dichromate (ADC) through a slurry method. Referring to FIG. 2, the phosphor slurry composition 22 is coated onto an inside surface of the panel 11 and is circling around the panel through a nozzle 21. The panel is dried by an infrared heater and a shadow mask is deposited onto the coated panel surface to solidify a photosensitive layer thereon by exposing the photosensitive layer by exposure to UV light. The photosensitive layer is developed with water to form a phosphor material pattern.
An aluminum film is formed by coating the phosphor layer between black matrixes inside of the panel, filming to form an organic film, and depositing aluminum. Organic materials remained on the phosphor layer are removed by heat treatment.
As indicated above, a phosphor screen is formed by exposing photosensitive coating layer to UV light, which comprises phosphor materials, polyvinyl alcohol, ammonium dichromate, water and interfacial active agent, etc. However, substantially, photosensitivity mechanism is proceeded by polyvinyl alcohol, ammonium dichromate and water. A mechanism for formation of a phosphor layer is divided into a dark reaction and a light reaction.
A dark reaction means the oxidation-reduction reaction incurring between polyvinyl alcohol and ammonium dichromate in the phosphor material slurry. A light reaction means a reaction in which, after breakage of chains of polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl alcohol cross-links by Cr.sup.+3 ions reduced from Cr.sup.+6. Consequentially, in this reaction, solubility of polyvinyl alcohol for water is decreased.
Because water is used in the photoreaction, insufficient water on the coating layer inhibits the reaction, on the contrary, extra water inhibits three-dimensional cross-linking.
Cr.sup.+3 which is produced in the photoreaction and acquired in this reaction again, is reacted with water by competitive reaction to form a stable compound. However, this compound does not attribute to cross-linking. The product can be obtained under the condition that pertinent moisture be maintained on the phosphor layer during the light reaction.
A picture is acquired by illuminating phosphor materials coated onto the interior surface of a panel 11, by energy provided by electron beams fired from an electron gun 14, as shown in FIG. 1. In above the process, the coating process comprises pouring phosphor materials of aqueous solution for coating, exposing to light after precipitating phosphor materials, hardening and washing, sequentially. In the case where the phosphor material is soluble in water, it has drawbacks of not being precipitated and facile to drive off at washing. The phosphor material must not react with water in order to preserve its characteristics. Accordingly, water-soluble phosphor materials have been excluded from consideration even if it has distinguished phosphor efficiency, color coordinates, time of afterglow, etc.

Water-soluble phosphor material for color picture tubes and a process for manufacturing the same


A method and device for providing a language system. The method includes displaying a home screen including a first plurality of user selectable communication keys, wherein each communication key represents a first word. In response to receiving a first indication of a user selection of a first key, it is determined whether the first key is linked to a secondary screen. If the first key is not linked to a secondary screen, an audible signal representing the first word is output. Otherwise, a secondary screen is displayed including a second plurality of communication keys that are related to the first word and a communication key that represents the first word. The device includes appropriate hardware for performing the method. In both the method and device, the language system is configured to output an audible output of a user selected word after no more than two user selections.

The present disclosure relates to a visual teaching aid. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) language system,
Some individuals exhibit difficulty with communicating with their voice. This can occur for various reasons. For example, an autistic child may have difficulty regularly communicating with his or her teachers and parents. Similarly, nonverbal individuals may have difficulty communicating with others who are not properly educated in nonverbal communication methods such as sign language.
Autistic children, as well as children with similar learning disorders, are often instructed using a specialized curriculum. This curriculum may include behavior modification techniques such as practicing a physical activity, practicing social interactions, practicing verbal communication, and other activities. However, this teaching is rarely directed toward a single student, as the time and resources required for individual instruction are generally lacking.
Various devices and systems have been developed to assist individuals with communication issues. For example, specialized computing devices are available that can help an individual verbalize his or her words. Similarly, specialized computing devices are available to help children with communication development issues practice and improve their speech. However, these specialized computing devices generally have a high cost and limited functionality, limiting the amount of customization that a teacher or other instructor can do with the device, and limiting the overall learning experience for the child. For example, these devices typically have a confusing user interface and organizational system, making it difficult for a child with a developmental issue to grasp and readily understand the device, and to use without issue or constant instruction from a teacher or instructor.
This document describes a language system and process intended to address at least some of the issues described above, and/or other issues.

Augmentative and alternative communication language system


A rotation angle detection device capable of obtaining a detection result in a wider angle range with high accuracy. The rotation angle detection device is provided with a part to be detected which is attached to a throttle shaft S by a rotor, and a Hall IC which detects magnetic flux components of the part to be detected. The Hall IC is provided with a magnetism collecting plate which is disposed facing the part to be detected and extends along the rotation surface of the part to be detected, and Hall elements which detect the magnetic flux components of the part to be detected, and output a signal corresponding to the rotation position of the throttle shaft S on the basis of the results of the detection by the Hall elements. The Hall elements each detect a magnetic flux component in an X-axis direction passing through the rotation axis of the throttle shaft S. The Hall elements each detect a magnetic flux component in the Y-axis direction passing through the rotation axis of the throttle shaft S. The part to be detected is configured by combining a semicircular yoke with a semiannular magnet.

This type of rotation angle detection device is disclosed in the following Patent Documents 1 and 2. The rotation angle detection device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a magnet which is annularly formed, and into which a shaft is inserted, and magnetic sensors (detection elements) which are disposed on the axial lines extending orthogonally to each other from the rotation center of the shaft along the rotation surface of the magnet. The angle detection device disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a rotation member which is annularly formed, and into which a shaft is inserted; a magnetic plate which is disposed faced to the outer peripheral surface of the rotation member; and detection elements which are disposed on the axial lines extending orthogonally to each other on the magnetic plate in an axial direction and a radial direction of the shaft. With these devices, the rotation angle of the shaft which is rotated integrally with the magnet and the rotation member is identified on the basis of a change in magnetism which has been detected by the respective detection elements. Specifically, the rotation angle is detected on the basis of the ratio between the magnetic flux densities which have been detected by the detection elements disposed on the axial lines (X-axis and Y-axis). This detection result is outputted after having been transformed so as to provide a linear change in proportion to the rotation angle.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-263585
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-292466


A system and method of providing a location-based translation service is disclosed. A wireless device receives from a wireless network an updated priority target language list according to the location of the wireless device. The wireless device and/or wireless network are capable of automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS) services and language translation services. A language and location database module associates probable target languages in a given area. The wireless network node receives the location of the wireless device through a network-based location means or through a GPS system and compares the location of the wireless device to the language and location database. The wireless network transmits to the wireless device an updated priority language list based on the data in the language and location database such that the wireless device pre-selects the most likely target language if the user launches the language translation application. When the user launches the language translation application, the selection of the target language is simplified since the most likely target language is pre-selected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method of providing language translation services and more particularly to a system and method of providing location-based language translation services for a wireless device.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Language translation services are becoming more common as automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems and language translation systems improve. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates a known translation system 50 including an input device 52 such as a microphone and computer device or wireless device. An ASR module 54 receives the speech signal from the input device 52. The ASR module 54 uses any one of many known techniques for speech recognition to determine the content of the speech signal.
As used herein, a "source" language is the language of the received speech signal, such as English or Japanese. Not shown in FIG. 5 are other elements that may include a digitizer and data transfer bus between the input device 92 and ASR module 94. The system 90 further includes a language translation module 96 and a speech synthesizer module 98 that transmits the synthesized speech to an output device 100. These modules may also be any known modules for language translation and speech synthesis. A control and memory module 102 stores data and controls the operation of the associated components. The language translation module 96 has an associated "target" language into which the source language is translated. In FIG. 5, the "target language" is Spanish. A sample of a portable speech translation system may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,642, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
To translate an English message into Spanish, the ASR module 94 recognizes the message in English, the translation module 96 translates the English into Spanish, the speech synthesizer 98 synthesizes the message in Spanish and the output device 100 speaks the synthesized Spanish version of the message. The translation module 96 may comprise a text-to-text translation model such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,832 to Brown et al., incorporated herein. Any other suitable translation means may be employed and such means as are presently known or subsequently developed may be used for the language translation.
Translation devices may be wireless as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,642 to Franz et al. ("Franz et al."), also incorporated herein by reference. Franz et al. disclose a method and an apparatus for performing spoken language translation. A source language speech input is received. The speech input comprises words, sentences, and phrases in a natural spoken language. The apparatus recognizes source expressions in the source language. Through an interactive dialogue, the user selects and confirms a recognized source expression. The apparatus translates the recognized source expressions from the source language to a target language, and synthesizes a speech output from the translated target language source expressions. Moreover, the apparatus detects a meaning of the speech input, and renders the meaning in the synthesized translated output.
Franz et al. further disclose a portable unit, such as a cellular phone, that performs spoken language translation. The cellular phone receives a natural spoken language input, performs translation, performs speech synthesis on the translation, and outputs translated natural spoken language.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,681 to Brotz ("Brotz"), incorporated herein by reference, also discloses a wireless translation system similar to the Franz et al. system. Brotz discloses a system for simultaneously translating a conversation through a wireless device where a remote computer server performs language translation and synthesis. While the Brotz and Franz et al. systems provide basic translation services on a portable device, their systems are inefficient for a user who travels from one location to another where a variety of different target languages are spoken. Franz et al. only focus on a source language being translated into a single target language. In fact, Franz et al. are silent with regards to choosing which target language into which the source language is translated. Brotz's system requires a user of a mobile device to select a different frequency to change the target language. For example, if a user needs translation services from English to French, the system uses one frequency, and if the user requires Spanish translation, he or she selects a different frequency in order to indicate to the computer system to switch language translation compilers.
These related systems render the process of selecting and switching between target languages cumbersome. Either they disclose no efficient method of changing target languages or they require changing between frequencies or requiring a user to maneuver through a menu system to request a target language preference inhibit and complicate the use of mobile language translation system.

System and method of ubiquitous language translation for wireless devices


A method of modifying a surface of a photoresist material including exposing the photoresist material to an aqueous ionic surfactant solution and varying the pH of the aqueous ionic surfactant solution until a fluorochemical layer is formed in or on the photoresist material. The aqueous ionic surfactant solution includes a perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide the formula: RfS02NH—R′ where Rf=CnF2n+1— and n=1 to 6, R′=—H, —CH3, and —CH2CH2OH. The aqueous ionic surfactant solution has a pH of within about 3 pH units of a pKa of the perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide.

An integrated circuit consists of series of patterned functional layers (insulators, metal wires, etc). The structure of each layer is transferred from a mask via photolithography followed by etching or ion implantation. In the photolithographic process, the functional layer is covered by a photoresist film. The circuit patterns are fabricated with a chemically amplified photoresist consisting of a polymer with an acid-labile pendant protecting group, photoacid generator (PAG), and additional additives. Upon exposure to UV radiation through a patterned mask, the PAG is decomposed, generating a low concentration of acid. In the post-exposure bake, the acid diffuses and catalyzes a deprotection reaction that cleaves a pendant group of the insoluble polymer resulting in formation of a polymer that is soluble in the developer solution.
The exposed regions of the positive tone photoresist are removed by dissolution in a developer solution, generally using solutions including tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide in water, leaving a pattern of unexposed photoresist lines. To fulfill the demands for minimizing the feature size, the width of the photoresist structures must shrink adequately. Their heights cannot be reduced in the same way since etch resistance must be retained. With increasing aspect ratio, the mechanical strength of the photoresist lines decreases, leading to collapse of the structures during the development process. This pattern collapse is caused by unbalanced capillary forces acting between the lines after development and during the drying steps.
There have been a number of approaches developed to achieve reduction in feature size while preventing pattern collapse. The key parameters of the rinse fluid for preventing pattern collapse are the surface tension of the rinse fluid and the contact angle of the rinse fluid on the photoresist. (Tanaka, T.; Morigami, M.; Atoda, N.; (1993) Jpn. J. Appl. Phys.; Vol 32; pg 6059-6064). A promising approach to controlling surface tension and contact angle during the rinse step is to incorporate surfactant solutions in the development and/or rinse steps of the photolithographic process. The addition of a surfactant to the rinse liquid has been shown to reduce pattern collapse in several studies. Additional benefits include reducing defects and reducing line edge roughness (LER) and line width roughness (LWR). Surfactant rinses have been used to control the contact angle of aqueous fluids on the photoresist (U.S. Pat. No. 7,741,260) and reduce water marks (U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2008/0280230 and 2008/0299487).
Several studies have discussed the importance of the adsorption of the surfactant on the photoresist surface (Tanaka, K., et al; (2003); Proc. of SPIE 5039, pp 1366-1381). Specifically, the use of a surface conditioning solution that interacts with the resist surface to smooth out the profile has also been discussed (Zhang, P. et al; (2006); Proc. of SPIE 6153; 61533Y). These studies demonstrate that the interaction of the surfactant with the photoresist, through adsorption of the surfactant onto or into the photoresist, is key for the reduction of LER, water defects and potentially for the other benefits of surfactant rinses.
However, high hydrocarbon surfactant concentrations may melt the photoresist and amplify pattern collapse (Watanbe, M.; Tomo, Y.; Yamabe, M.; Kiba, Y.; Tanaka, K.; Wakakizu, S; Kitano, J.; Yamada, Y.; (2004) Proc SPIE 5376:830). Additionally, the effect of a surfactant rinse is dependent on the photoresist (Pret, A. V; Gronheid, R.; Foubert, P.; (2010) J. Micro/Nanolith. MEMS and MOEMS; Vol 9; 041203). The addition of surfactants to the rinse liquid has many potential benefits, but identifying the optimal surfactant for a particular photoresist can be a complicated process. Other than surfactant concentration, the known candidates do not offer any process handle for tuning the surfactant interaction with the photoresist.
Furthermore, the surfactants in question must be sufficiently soluble in the rinse solution (e.g., water) to fully dissolve otherwise unwanted defects might be introduced onto the surface of the photoresist.

Perfluoroalkyl sulfonamides surfactants for photoresist rinse solutions


A simulation device for simulating an operation of a system constituted by a plurality of machines. An operation program is executed by an arithmetic processing unit in a controller of a machine or by an information processing device having a function of analyzing the operation program equivalent to the controller of the machine, to obtain operation command data for the machine. The obtained operation command data of the machine with lapsing time information are received by the simulation device and stored as historical data. Operation programs of all of the machines constituting the system are executed to obtain historical data of operations of the machines, which are united by arranging the data in time series from a start of simultaneous operations of the machines based on the lapsing time information. Images of three-dimensional models of the machines are displayed by animation based on the united historical data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compatible optical disk player and recording and/or reproducing method thereof, and more particularly, to a compatible optical disk player and recording and/or reproducing method using a single optical pickup for recording and/or reproducing data from different types of optical disks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an optical disk player records and/or reproduces data from an optical disk, such as an un-recordable or recordable compact disk (i.e., CD or CD-R), or a digital video disk (DVD). FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional optical pickup system for recording and/or reproducing data from a single optical disk.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a light beam is emitted from a laser diode 1 and is split into three rays by a diffraction grating 2 used as a tracking servo. After passing through the diffraction grating 2, the beam is transmitted or reflected via a beam splitter 3. The beam splitter 3 has a coated layer 3a formed on a diagonal surface therein by which the beam is semi-transmitted or semi-reflected. The coated layer 3a may include a polarization coating layer on the diagonal surface for transmitting or reflecting the beam according to the type of the light polarization.
The beam splitter 3 transmits the beams from the diffraction grating 2. The three rays are then reflected by the coating layer 3a formed on the diagonal surface, and are concentrated by a collimator lens 4 in the form of a parallel ray. The parallel ray is then focused on the recording surface of the optical disk D via an objective lens 5.
After being focused on the recording surface of the optical disk D, the beam is reflected therefrom and passes through the objective lens 5, the collimator lens 4, and the beam splitter 3, sequentially. An astigmatism lens 7 converges the beam passed through the beam splitter 3 to the photo-detector 8. The photo-detector 8 detects the beam, which is used as a data signal for reproducing and a signal for tracking and focusing control.
However, the conventional optical pickup system described above can be used to record or reproduce data on or from only one type of optical disk. Further, in order to record or reproduce the data, the wavelength of the laser diode must vary depending on the density of the optical disk. Although the general arrangement of the conventional optical pickup system may be used to record or reproduce the data from various types of optical disks, different optical pickups, recording, and reproducing drives are required to record or reproduce the data on or from different optical disks, and thereby the system becomes costly and cumbersome.
For example, the disk drive for the CD or the CD-R needs a laser diode for emitting a laser beam of 780 nm wavelength. In contrast, the disk drive for the DVD, which has higher recording density than the CD or the CD-R, needs a laser diode for emitting a laser beam of 650 nm wavelength. Accordingly, different recording and/or reproducing drives need to be used to record or reproduce the data on or from different types of disks.
Many studies have been conducted to create a compatible recording and/or reproducing drive which can drive CD, CD-R, and DVD disks using a single optical pickup. An example of a compatible optical pickup employs a laser beam source having a single chip in which laser diodes for emitting laser beams of 780 nm and 650 nm wavelengths are built at a close distance to each other in order to reduce the number of components, such as the beam splitter. Specifically, the laser diodes are spaced at a predetermined distance from each other, such as 100–110 m. However, the distance between the laser diodes may create focus and tracking errors when arranging the optical pickup to emit the laser beam of 780 nm wavelength by straying the beam having 650 nm wavelength from an optical axis.
To compensate for these errors, typically a hologram is used to shift the directions of the beams to different places according to the wavelengths of the respective laser beams in a manner such that the beams are received by corresponding photo-detectors. Another embodiment uses a birefringence prism on the front surface of the photo-detector 8 to refract the laser beam for a DVD, which is strayed from the optical axis, to a proper location on the photo-detector 8. These embodiments, however, are costly, due to the additional optical components required such as the birefringence prism and the hologram. Further, because of the increased number of components, the installation of the prism and the hologram becomes complicated.

Compatible optical disk player and data recording and reproducing method