A reflectable metal film having a light transmission hole 5 is formed on an inner surface of a transparent substrate 2, and a light transmission region 7 and a light reflection region 8 are arranged within each of pixel regions on the inner surface of the transparent substrate 2. A first color filter 9 and a second color filter 10 of a similar color that differs in tone are formed in each of the pixel regions. A boundary 11 between the first color filter 9 and the second color filter 10 in each of the pixel regions is positioned in the light reflection region 8 in the pixel region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device comprising a liquid crystal display element and a backlight. Particularly, the present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device that makes a color filter structure and a reflection film structure appropriate.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, semi-transmission type liquid crystal display devices capable of employing both a backlight and outside light have been developed.
The semi-transmission type liquid crystal display device has the advantages of being thin, light in weight, and low in power consumption.
The semi-transmission type liquid crystal display device comprises a liquid crystal display element and a backlight arranged behind the liquid crystal display element.
The semi-transmission type liquid crystal display device is provided with a semi-transmission film that reflects a part of light.
The semi-transmission film is formed by sputtering a metal film composed of aluminum or the like on a substrate and etching a light transmission region for each pixel, and performs a function of reflection display (a reflection mode) by a region where the metal film exists, while performing a function of transmission display (a transmission mode) in a region where no metal film exists.
In the reflection mode, outside light incident from a display surface passes a color filter two times, so that coloring (spectral transformation of light) by the color filter is increased, resulting in great loss of the outside light. Therefore, brightness in the reflection mode cannot, in some cases, be sufficiently obtained.
A region, corresponding to the reflection mode, in the color filter is provided with a hole of the color filter in a predetermined area so that the brightness of reflected light is improved.
According to the semi-transmission type liquid crystal display device, it is possible to obtain an image quality having high color purity in the transmission mode, while obtaining an image quality having a high reflection factor in the reflection mode.
On the other hand, as the disadvantage of the semi-transmission type liquid crystal display device, it is difficult to simultaneously satisfy the high color purity and the high reflection factor in the reflection mode.
FIG. 16 shows the relationship between the reflection factor and the color purity (the NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) ratio) of a liquid crystal panel in a case where holes that differ in size are formed in a color filter and a case where a pigment concentration of the color filter is changed without forming holes.
The NTSC ratio is a value representing the color purity of a color filter (the ratio in a case where the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) area in the NTSC standard is set to 100%).
This graph shows that even when the same brightness is obtained, the color purity in the case where the holes are formed is lower than that in the case where the pigment concentration is changed.
In order to improve the disadvantage of the semi-transmission type liquid crystal display device, therefore, a structure in which two color filters (a first color filter and a second color filter) of similar colors that differ in tone are formed in each of pixel regions has been proposed (see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No.2001-183646).
For example, in a case where color filters are in three colors (Red, Green, and Blue), the first color filter and the second color filter that differ in tone in each of the colors are formed. That is, the structure uses color filters in a total of six colors
That is, in the pixel region corresponding to the Red filter, a first color filter in dark red and a second color filter in light red are formed.
Similarly, a first color filter and a second color filter whose green colors differ in tone are also formed in the pixel region corresponding to the Green filter, and a first color filter and a second color filter whose blue colors differ in tone are also formed in the pixel region corresponding to the Blue filter.
A first color filter having high color purity, i.e., in a dark color (a color filter having a low light transmission factor) and a second color filter in a light color (a color filter having a high light transmission factor) are respectively arranged in a light transmission region and a light reflection region.
In the above-mentioned structure in which the color filter is provided with the holes, a high reflection factor is achieved by forming the holes in the color filter having high color purity in the light reflection region. On the other hand, the structure using the color filters in six colors is characterized in that the second color filter having a high transmission factor is formed in the light reflection region.
According to the semi-transmission type liquid crystal display device, it is possible to obtain an image quality having high color purity in the transmission mode, and it is possible to obtain an image quality having not only a high reflection factor but also high color purity in the reflection mode.
In the semi-transmission type liquid crystal display device, however, the first color filter and the second color filter are formed in the same pixel region. Therefore, when a boundary between the first color filter and the second color filter occurs in the light transmission region, the boundary may deteriorate the image quality.
That is, when a boundary 11 between the first color filter and the second color filter exists in the light transmission region, the second color filter enters a part of the light transmission region, so that the color purity in the transmission mode is reduced. Further, the white balance may be shifted.
An object of the present invention is to provide a semi-transmission type liquid crystal display device in which a first color filter and a second color filter are formed as color filters of similar colors in one pixel region, which is excellent in white balance and realizes an image quality having a high color purity in a transmission mode and an image quality having a high reflection ratio and a high color purity in a reflection mode, and display equipment using the same.

Liquid crystal display device and display equipment using the same


A cosmetic composition is provided having exceptional emulsion stability. The composition includes water, petroleum jelly, a sterol, a phosphatide and a C.sub.16 -C.sub.22 alkanoic triglyceride.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a cosmetic composition in emulsion form.
2. The Related Art
Petroleum jelly, commercially available under the Vaseline.RTM. brand, has long been recognized as therapeutically effective against dry skin. A major negative limiting use of petroleum jelly is the greasiness of this material. Petroleum jelly operates as a barrier but does not penetrate into the skin. Transfer of this material onto clothing, therefore, readily occurs. By contrast, water-based formulations, although often less effective, do not transfer to clothing and exhibit better feel properties. Not surprisingly, water-based cosmetic compositions such as aqueous lotions and creams have garnered the main share of the market.
An approach to providing the benefits of petroleum jelly while neutralizing its greasy feel has been the preparation of aqueous petroleum jelly emulsions. Emulsifiers have been utilized to provide compatibility between aqueous and oil phases. Attempts at emulsification have not always been successful. Even when successful, the resultant product often times fails to exhibit the skin protective properties of petroleum jelly. New and improved emulsifying systems would be highly desirable.
Illustrative of the art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,096 (Sakai et al) which discloses a skin moisturizing preparation that includes a phosphatide, at least one C.sub.10 -C.sub.30 carboxylic acid sterol ester and at least one C.sub.6 -C.sub.12 alkanoic triglyceride in a dermatologically acceptable carrier. WO 90/01323 (Bernstein) describes a composition for preventing dry skin based on a lipid concentrate combining three naturally-occurring lipid groups found in the stratum corneum. These groups include fatty acids, sterols (e.g. cholesterol) and sterol esters, and phospholipids and glycolipids (e.g. lecithin and ceramides). U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,090 (Wallach) approaches the problem through the use of liposome technology. A nonaqueous lipophilic phase is combined with an aqueous phase under high shear mixing conditions to form the liposomes. Among the components included in the lipophilic phase are cholesterol and polyoxyethylene fatty ether surfactant while the aqueous phase contains phsophatides such as lecithin.
In this area of technology, further improvements are desirable with respect to skin conditioning and product stability.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cosmetic composition for skin which exhibits improved moisturization and provides greater protection against dry skin condition.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cosmetic composition for skin which has improved storage stability.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the detailed description and examples which follow.

Chesebrough-Pond's USA Co., Division of Conopco, Inc.


A media appliance and method for use of the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, a housing is adapted to be mounted within a wall. A panel forms a front portion of the housing and the panel includes vents and the panel may be mounted substantially flush with the wall. A media player, which includes a set-top box, is disposed within the housing. A pair of ports, disposed within openings defined by the housing, are configured to receive respective optio-electric connectors. Each port includes optio-electrically conductive elements. The pair of ports are coupled to the media player and one port is configured for providing a connection to a television and the other port is configured for providing a connection to an external source of signal for the television.

The traditional form factors for media players such as set top boxes and audio systems, dictate sleek and stylish rectangular shaped units that are able to be placed on cabinet shelves or inside of entertainment cabinets. With today's flat screen televisions designed for wall mount, entertainment cabinets are no longer required for the TV set. This, in turn, raises issues regarding the placement of traditional media players.

Media appliance and method for use of same


A method and apparatus for applying personalized alphanumeric characters and the like to the sidewall of a tire is disclosed. The method allows a tire owner to adorn the tires with a desired name, phrase, slogan, logo, etc., quickly and at low cost. In addition, the apparatus allows the tire owner to space the characters properly on the sidewall to ensure a professional appearance.

At the present time there continues to be an appreciable commercial demand for tires having sidewalls or portions thereof of different color than the remainder of the tire. Normally tires have a black tread and sidewall but the provision of raised, generally white, letters or colored areas in the tire sidewalls has been in great demand by the public and is being provided by virtually all tire manufacturers. These decorative sidewalls are usually built integrally with the tires by well known procedures. However, such decorative sidewall tires are costly to build and involve relatively expensive manufacturing procedures. In addition, the integrally-built sidewalls generally display the name, brand or serial number of the manufacturer rather than a personalized name or phrase desired by the owner of the tire.
While efforts have previously been made to provide removable or personalized types of sidewall trim members that can be affixed in or to a pneumatic tire sidewall, the method of securing such members to the sidewall generally requires the use of specially manufactured or modified tires, rather than the use of standard pneumatic tires. Such methods are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,128,815 and 3,258,050 to Nonnamaker, 4,317,479 to McDonald and 4,318,436 to Shurman.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,159 issued to Williams, there is disclosed a method and apparatus for applying identifying markings, such as letters, on vehicle tires. Under the Williams procedure, the tire surface is first prepared to receive the marking, a first layer of rubber latex is then vulcanized to the surface of the tire, a second layer of elastomeric material is then secured to the first layer, and, finally, a foil leaf material is hot stamped into the second layer.
Although its method and apparatus does not require the use of specially manufactured tires, Williams is more suitable for high volume commercial applications due to the complexity and expense of the procedure and due to the permanence of the markings applied to the tires.

Method and apparatus for applying alphanumeric characters to the sidwall of a tire


A system for personalizing and customizing user behaviors and interfaces includes a plurality of terminals for transmitting, processing and receiving information wherein the terminals are configured to each transmit a transmission signal including an identifier (ID) for identifying each of the terminals. The system also includes a network having a plurality of access points operable to communicate with the network, and a Service Enabling server connected to the network wherein each of the plurality of terminals are configured to independently access the Service Enabling server and upon accessing the Service Enabling server, a necessary service requested by the user of the terminal requesting the service is selected. Information related to the service is then placed in an understandable form for the terminal and the user.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to service provision in electronic networks and, more particularly to customizing behaviors and interfaces in service invocations via electronic networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
The rapid growth of both the Internet and wide-area wireless networks has created a huge opportunity for offering new innovative data services to an unprecedented number of end-users. Mobile clients as access devices have both limitations and advantages compared to standard desk-top PCs with a browser. Therefore, special functionality is needed on the server-side to take advantage of the strengths of mobile clients on the one hand, and to overcome the limitations of these low-end access devices on the other hand and provide the new services.
A common problem facing electronic network users is the lack of universal access to services. The reason for this problem varies, generally according to the incompatibility of a user's device and a service's network. Another common problem faced by electronic network service providers is the lack of the ability to combine and modify services from the same provider or from plurality of providers. Also, there is an inability today to provide general and secure information about the personalization of users, and the customization of the implementation platform both on the terminal and server sides. Furthermore, the new systems like WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) need new phones for reaching the services. Therefore, there is a need to provide the user with a mobile terminal to access different kinds of services with and different standards.

Systems for customizing behaviors and interfaces in service invocations


A mechanical device and method for gathering and securing tissue with a fastener. The device includes an applicator assembly configured to deploy a fastener in a first direction, a tissue manipulation assembly configured to move from a relaxed position to a grasping position in a second direction transverse to the first direction, and a translating trigger assembly coupled to the applicator assembly and the tissue manipulation assembly. The trigger assembly is configured to move from a relaxed position, through a first position, to a second position along a third direction transverse to the first and second direction. Operation of the trigger assembly from the relaxed position through the first position along the third direction causes the tissue manipulation assembly to move in the second direction to gather a portion of the tissue. Continued operation of the trigger assembly along the third direction causes the applicator assembly to deploy the fastener.

Biological healing of a tissue opening commences through the proximity of the opposed living tissue surfaces. If the opening is very large or if its location subjects the wound to continual movement, a physician will seek to forcibly hold the sides of the opening in close proximity so as to promote the healing process.
Human skin tissue is comprised of three distinct layers of tissue. The epidermal layer, also known as the epidermis, is the outermost layer and includes non-living tissue cells. The dermal layer, or dermis, is the middle layer directly below the epidermal layer and comprises the living tissue of the skin that is the strongest of the three layers. The subcutaneous, or hypodermis layer is the bottom layer of skin tissue and includes less connective tissue making this the weakest layer of skin tissue. Healing occurs best when the opposing dermal layers of the skin tissue are held in proximity with each other.
While traditional suturing remains a popular method of effectuating closure of wound openings, the use of staples and staplers as a closure technique has become increasingly popular, especially in surgical settings where the opening is created through a purposeful incision. In these settings, the incision tends to make a clean, straight cut with the opposing sides of the incision having consistent and non-jagged surfaces.
Prior art methods of closing tissue using a stapler require at least two hands. For example, when stapling a skin opening, a medical professional typically uses one hand to manually approximate the opposing sides of the skin opening while another hand is used to position the stapler so that a metal staple will span the opening. The stapler is then manipulated such that the staple is driven into the skin with one leg being driven into each side of the skin and the cross-member of the staple extending across the opening external to the skin surface. Generally, the legs of a metal staple are driven into an anvil causing the metal staple to deform so as to retain the skin tissue in a compressed manner within the staple. This process can be repeated along the length of the wound opening such that the entire incision or wound is held closed during the healing process.
While effective in holding an incision or wound closed, conventional metal staples unfortunately require removal after the healing process of a wound opening is completed. As the sciences of medical and materials technology have advanced over the course of the past century, new bioabsorbable polymers and copolymers have been developed that provide medical professionals with an alternative to metal staples that must be removed. Fasteners made of bioabsorbable materials, sometimes referred to as bioabsorbable or biodegradable, break down or degrade over time in the body, with the residuals being either absorbed or ultimately expelled by the body's natural processes.
Bioabsorbable polymer fasteners are preferable to metal staples because they do not have to be removed. While there has been active development of dermal layer suturing techniques, little has been done in the area of staples and staplers for use in connection with the dermal layer. In a series of patents issued to Green et al., including U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,292,326, 5,389,102, 5,489,287 and 5,573,541, a subcuticular stapling method and apparatus are disclosed that were ultimately commercialized as the U.S. Surgical SQS Subcuticular Stapling Apparatus. The Green et al., patents describe a stapling technique employing a handheld apparatus with jaws to proximate, interdigitate and overlap opposing sides of dermal layer tissue along the length of a skin opening. The apparatus then drives a single spike through the interdigitated and overlapped dermal layers of the opposing skin surfaces in order to secure both sides of the dermal tissue on the single spike. The trigger assembly for this apparatus utilizes a conventional reciprocating trigger arrangement whereby the direction of squeezing action of the trigger is generally parallel to and opposite of the direction in which the spike is ejected from the fastener. Although this technique reduced the time required to effectuate a subcuticular skin closure, the SQS device was not commercially successful in part because the resulting closure produced an undesirable wave-like scar that sometimes did not heal effectively.
A novel bilateral approach to fastening dermal tissue using bioabsorbable fasteners is disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,705, as well as in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/448,838, 10/607,497 and 10/603,397, to Peterson et al, all of which are commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application and all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In one embodiment, this bilateral approach to tissue fastening utilizes a first apparatus to manipulate opposed sides of tissue to form target tissue zones followed by a second apparatus that effects a bilateral insertion of a tissue fastener to retain opposed dermal layers across an incision or wound in close approximation to facilitate healing. By maintaining contact of the dermal layers through the healing process, the healing process is enhanced which results in less chance of infection, faster recovery and improved aesthetic appearance. In addition, no subsequent medical follow-up is necessary to remove fasteners as is typically necessary with nonabsorbable fasteners. In this embodiment of Peterson et al., however, two medical practitioners may be required, one for operating each of the two apparatus that are utilized to accomplish bilateral capture and insertion of the bioabsorbable fastener.
While the bilateral tissue fastening methods and apparatus taught by Peterson et al. provide many advantages, there are opportunities to improve upon the principles taught by Peterson et al. with respect to tissue fastening applications. For example, it would be desirable to provide for a fastening device that can be operated more effectively by a single medical practitioner with one hand to repeatedly and accurately approximate tissue while deploying staples.

Method and apparatus for tissue fastening with single translating trigger operation


An image capture system is provided with a USB terminal to which a drive is connected. When a user drops a coin into a coin insertion slot, the fact that the user intends to use the system is verified. As a result, a message to the effect that image data can be read using the drive is displayed on the display screen of a display unit. By observing the display on the display screen, the user can ascertain that the drive has been added onto the image capture system.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image capture system having an image capture unit for capturing image data representing an image, a display unit for displaying the image captured by the image capture unit, and a recording control unit for executing at least one of processing for recording the image data, which has been captured by the image capture unit, on a portable recording medium and processing for recording an image represented by the image data, which has been captured by the image capture unit, on a visible recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image capture system which photographs a subject and prints an image representing the image of the subject on a seal or the like has become commercially practical. An image capture system of this kind also is capable of reading image data that has been recorded on a portable recording medium brought by a user and of printing the image represented by the read image data.
To achieve this, the image capture system is provided with a memory-card drive, a floppy-disk drive and a film scanner as input equipment for capturing image data that has been recorded on a portable recording medium, and with a printer as output equipment for printing out an image represented by image data.
These items of input and output equipment are incorporated in the image capture system as devices that construct the image capture system. When a new input or output device is incorporated in an image capture system that has already been completed, the image capture system must be rebuilt from the beginning.

Image capture system and method of controlling operation of same


A handcart wheel-mounting apparatus includes a wheel mounted by means of a number of latches each biased by means of an elastic element, on a hub member in turn mounted by means of an annular washer and a cap, on a wheel shaft mounted on a wheel support. The hub member comprises a rim, an axial bore formed therethrough, a tubular bearing coaxially formed therethrough about the axial bore, a plurality of recesses formed therein about the axial bore, and a plurality of holes radially formed therethrough so that each of the holes communicates with a corresponding one of said recesses. A number of elastic elements are received in the recesses. A number of latches each are formed on a corresponding one of the elastic elements and the latches are biased through the holes by means of the elastic elements. The wheel shaft is inserted through a passage formed transversely through the wheel support, the annular washer, and the axial bore. Then, a tip of the wheel shaft is firmly fitted in the cap. Thus, the hub member is firmly mounted on the wheel shaft. The wheel is co-axially formed with a tubular portion and a number of sockets are transversely formed through the tubular portion. The hub member is mounted in the tubular portion having the holes aligned with the sockets. Then, the latches are inserted through the holes into the sockets. Thus, the wheel is mounted on the hub member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a handcart wheel-mounting apparatus.
2. Related Prior Art
Handcarts are useful vehicles for carrying objects. The most important part for the handcarts is the wheel-mounting structure which concerns the safety and stability of the handcarts. Trouble may arise if the wheel structure is not securely assembled, especially on irregular ground.
Conventional wheel-mounting structures of handcarts are unstable, so the structures are limited to carry smaller loads due to instability.
Moreover, the conventional wheel-mounting structures are sometimes likely to scratch human bodies, and are apt to tangle with objects such as clothing, baggage and the like.
The present invention provides a safe handcart wheel-mounting structure without any projecting configuration and so avoids scratching human bodies and tangling with objects such as clothing, baggage and the like.
Moreover, the handcart wheel-mounting apparatus is easy to be assembled and dismantled and is so stable that it can carry larger loads with bigger wheels.

No. 20, Lane 327, Sec. 2, Chung Shan Rd.


A method and apparatus for playing, via an electronic video game machine, a player-versus-paytable five-card poker game utilizing the 20 royal cards of a standard 52-card poker deck as a royal deck of cards with player pay-off awards based upon predetermined amounts related to a paytable of winning five-card hands. Bet wagers are initially accepted by the game machine from the player. Where the royal card poker game is a draw poker game the game machine deals and displays five cards face-up on the machine's video screen. Where the poker game is a stud poker game the game machine deals and displays three or four cards face-up and one or two cards face-down. The player, after viewing the video displayed cards, is permitted to stand on the initial bet wager or double the bet wager. Where the game is draw poker, the player is then permitted to discard one or more cards and exchange the discarded cards for substitute machine dealt cards to complete the poker hand. Where the game is stud poker, the player is then permitted to turn up the one or two original face-down cards to complete the poker hand. The game machine then evaluates the player's completed royal card hand to determine whether or not the hand comprises a winning hand in accordance with the paytable of winning hands with game machine pay-off to the player for a winning hand.

The present invention relates to five-card draw poker and to five-card stud poker games and, more particularly, to five-card poker games played by an individual player on an electronic gaming machine that deals from a standard 52 card poker deck with the player placing a "bet" wager before being dealt (face-up) a five-card draw poker hand or a partial stud poker hand.
Where the machine game is five-card draw poker, the player thereupon evaluates his or her machine dealt cards with respect to the winning hand combinations set forth on the paytable of the machine and elects to hold the hand as dealt or to exchange (discard) one or more of the original cards of the five-card hand with replacement machine dealt cards. The draw poker machine then displays replacement cards for the cards the player has discarded. The player wins or loses the hand based upon conventional poker hand rankings for the resulting five-card hand. The paytable is established based upon the number of coins or tokens wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved by the player.
A typical paytable or payout schedule that is used in electronic video draw poker machines is set forth below:
______________________________________ PAYTABLE I. Coins or Tokens Deposited 1 2 3 4 5 ______________________________________ Royal Flush 250 500 750 1000 4000 Straight Flush 50 100 150 200 250 Four of a Kind 25 50 75 100 125 Full House 9 18 27 36 45 Flush 6 12 18 24 30 Straight 4 8 12 16 20 Three of a Kind 3 6 9 12 15 Two Pair 2 4 6 8 10 Jacks or Better 1 2 3 4 5 ______________________________________
Where the machine game is five-card stud poker, the initial hand dealt to the player usually comprises four face-up cards and the player has the option of staying (standing on the initial "bet" wager) or betting additional coins or tokens (most stud poker machines allow only a doubling of the initial "bet" wager) to increase the amount of a winning payout when he or she receives the fifth card. After the fifth card is dealt to the player, the value of the five-card hand is determined based upon conventional poker hand rankings for his or her five-card hand. Again, the paytable is established based upon the number of coins or tokens wagered by the player and the type of poker hand achieved by the player. Paytable I. above may also apply to machine played five-card stud poker games except that a double payout may be achievable as indicated above.
Poker is one of the most exciting gambling games because it includes for each individual player a mix of skill, luck, and psychology. Throughout the world millions of players try their luck each year at the game of poker at card tables and at electronic gaming machines in gaming rooms and casinos.
Five-card draw poker at card tables is typically played in two basic formats, i.e., between players or between individual players and a house dealer. Many table-game players prefer a player-versus-player draw poker game because it involves the elements of inter-player skill and psychology, the latter element including a player's ability to bluff the strength of his or her hand versus the assumed strength of the hands of the other players. Many other table-game players prefer to play a "stud" form of poker at a standard gaming table against a house dealer or against a paytable of hands because such table game play tends to minimize the elements of skill and psychology with each player relying principally on luck.
There remains a need in the gaming room and casino businesses for new draw poker and stud poker type games which can be played on electronic video poker gaming machines and which provide an appropriate mix of the elements of player skill and luck along with a speed-up of game play time and the excitement of involving a multitude of royal card hands.

Method and apparatus for playing royal card stud poker and royal card draw poker games


A compact heat sink module is able to provide a compact heat sink for installation in a notebook computer. Furthermore the heat sink module has an effective cooling ability for keeping a normal operation temperature of a CPU by multiple conductors conducting heat from the CPU and a fan surrounded within the conductors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compact heat sink module and more particularly to a heat sink module that is adapted to be retained on a CPU disposed in a thin notebook computer and that effectively carries heat away from the CPU.
2. Description of Related Art
The twin trends of faster computing speeds and size reduction of computers leads to a particular problem concerning effective heat dissipation from the central processor units of the computers. Usually a heat sink device having a plurality of fins and a fan is fitted to a CPU so that heat is rapidly evacuated from the interior of the computer and the CPU in particular. If that heat is not dispersed quickly the CPU will soon overheat and become defective thereby leading to considerable inconvenience and costs to the user. With the increasing popularity of laptop and notebook computers nowadays a problem arises in that there is insufficient space within these slim device to house an effective fin array and fan.
A significant drawback of current fin arrays is that the size thereof necessary to effectively disperse the heat is in fact too large for the casing of the computer. The flanges are necessarily large in order to effectively disperse the heat from the CPU.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a compact and efficient heat sink module to mitigate and obviate the aforementioned problems.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a compact and effective heat sink module for installing in a notebook computer.


A suspension system for an agricultural or construction industry vehicle is described. The suspension system comprises two hydraulic cylinders, which support a frame in relation to an axle of the vehicle, the hydraulic cylinders each having a piston-side chamber and a piston rod-side chamber and each of the chambers of the hydraulic cylinders being connectable to one another via connecting lines provided with a switch valve, a first supply line, which can be connected via a switch valve to the piston-side connecting line of the first hydraulic cylinder, a second supply line, which can be connected via a switch valve to the piston-side connecting line of the second hydraulic cylinder, a hydraulic accumulator, in each case connectable to the supply lines via proportionally adjustable orifices, a hydraulic source, a hydraulic tank, a control valve device, and an electronic control unit. In order to prevent the activation of a suspension state in critical vehicle states, means for the detection and compensation of load states of the vehicle are provided in the suspension system.

Suspension systems in which the front axle is hydro-pneumatically sprung are known in agricultural vehicles, such as tractors, for example. Front axle suspension affords the driver greater ride comfort and increased working efficiency, since both the speed of travel and the traction of the vehicles can be significantly increased compared to unsprung vehicles. The hydraulic design configuration of such a front axle suspension generally comprises hydraulic accumulators, which are connected to hydraulic cylinders arranged on the front axle, which in turn connect a vehicle frame to the front axle. In such vehicles the front axle is embodied as a fully floating axle, so as to provide a sprung suspension. Such vehicles furthermore have a rigid rear axle, in order to counter the risk of rolling movements or even overturning of the vehicle. The use of a floating rear axle is therefore not possible with such suspension systems for only sprung front axles.
Agricultural vehicles are also known, which have both a sprung floating front axle and sprung wheel suspensions. Such vehicles are known, for example, in the form of John Deere, 8000-series tractors. In these the problem of rolling movements or a lateral tipping of the frame of the vehicle is resolved in that a hydraulic interconnection is made between the rod side of the suspension cylinders of one side of the rear axle and the piston side of the opposing suspension cylinder. The advantage of this interconnection is that a mechanical roll stabilizer can be dispensed with, since when one suspension cylinder is compressed, the opposing suspension cylinder is bound to be likewise retracted due to the increasing pressure on its rod side. In this way, rolling movements can to a certain extent be suppressed. An uneven loading of the vehicle, which would lead to tipping of the frame, can be compensated for by different pressures of the hydraulic accumulators contained in the suspension system. Such a suspension system, however, cannot be used on vehicles that do not have hydraulic cylinders on a floating rear axle.
In the case of loader vehicles, the front axle is generally designed as a rigid axle and the rear axle is floating. The reason for this is that the payload of a loader vehicle is primarily situated in front of the front axle, for which reason a greater stiffness is required in this area, in order to prevent the vehicle overturning. A suspension system for such a loader vehicle is also known and is used, for example, on the Turbofarmer 'P41.7 Top' produced by Merlo and marketed under the name 'EAS'—Electronic Active Suspension. The suspension system produced by Merlo comprises a front axle suspended on two hydraulic cylinders, the hydraulic cylinders being connected to hydraulic accumulators and the hydraulic cylinders and hydraulic accumulators being correspondingly controlled by an electronic control unit according to the attitude of and forces acting on the vehicle. The rear axle is in this case floating, affording both a suspension function for the front axle and a correction of the tilting of the vehicle frame. A roll stabilization implemented in the electronic control unit is intended to ensure that the vehicle always remains in a horizontal position. The roll stabilization, however, functions relatively sluggishly and requires improvement, since the ride comfort for an operator is less than ideal. A further disadvantage is that the suspension system can be activated irrespective of the load state of the vehicle and that critical vehicle states with regard to the positional stability can thereby occur, if the suspension is activated in correspondingly unfavorable load states or in an inclined position of the vehicle, which ultimately poses a safety risk. Furthermore, with the suspension activated, adjustments of the suspension system to varying load states are feasible only when the vehicle is at a standstill, so that an operator is obliged to interrupt his working process in order to obtain an optimum suspension effect, when load states change.


A needle selector for a knitting machine which selects a working needle by using a piezoelectric body having piezoelectric element is provided, in which an intermediate position between a rear end portion and front end portion of the piezoelectric body movably supported by a housing is rotatably held by the housing by using a rotary member to stabilize vibration of the piezoelectric body, a sectional structure of the rotary member 3 on a plane which is perpendicular to an axis of the rotary member 3 and perpendicular to a plane of the piezoelectric body is formed such that a bend in a widthwise direction of the piezoelectric body 2 is suppressed to be smaller than a bend in the longitudinal direction, so that a vibration speed and torque of the piezoelectric body further increase and energy saving is achieved.

In a knitting machine such as a circular knitting machine or flat knitting machine, the vertical movement of working needles is selected on the basis of a knitting procedure stored in a storage such as a floppy disk to form a fabric having a desired knitting texture. Various types of needle selectors are used to select the vertical movement of the working needles.
A needle selector of this type will be described. First, the outline of needle selecting operation in a knitting machine will be described through a circular knitting machine schematically shown in FIGS. 14, 15A, and 15B.
FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the basic knitting mechanism of a circular knitting machine. As shown in FIG. 14, in the circular knitting machine, working needles 52 are slidably arranged in a plurality of vertical grooves (not shown) formed along the longitudinal axis in the outer surface of a knitting cylinder 51 which rotates as indicated by an arrow A. As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, needle selection jacks 53 are arranged under the working needles 52 to be able to abut against the lower portions of the working needles 52. A cylindrical cam base 54a is set still under the knitting cylinder 51. A plurality of cams 54 each having a predetermined shape are arranged above the cam base 54a at a predetermined interval. The cams 54 push up the needle selection jacks 53 to push the working needles 52 upward.
The basic knitting principle is as follows. When a working needle 52 on the rotating knitting cylinder 51 is pushed upward through the needle selection jack 53, the working needle 52 projects from the upper surface of the knitting cylinder 51. A yarn 56 taken out from a yarn bobbin 55 is supplied to the hook of the projecting working needle 52 to form a yarn loop. Subsequently, the working needle 52 is moved downward by a known mechanism (not shown) to form one stitch. By selecting whether or not a vertical movement is to be applied to the working needle 52, a stitch may be formed, or may not be formed but the process advances to the next knitting step, thus forming a desired fabric. In order to actuate the working needles in this manner, in the knitting machine, generally, the needle selection jacks 53 are arranged under the working needles 52 to abut against the working needles 52. The needle selection jacks 53 are selectively engaged with the working needles 52 by using a needle selector 57, which operates on the basis of information from a controller 58 incorporating a storage that stores a knitting procedure for a knitting texture, to control the vertical movement of the working needles 52.
A case wherein a piezoelectric body is used as a needle selecting means will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 15A and 15B which show the relationship among the working needle, selection jack, and needle selecting means.
A piezoelectric body 2 can be bent as shown in FIG. 15A or bent as shown in FIG. 15B in a direction opposite to that in FIG. 15A depending on how a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric body 2. A finger 5 is arranged to be connected to the front end of the piezoelectric body 2. The piezoelectric body 2, finger 5, and cam 54 are positioned as shown FIGS. 15A and 15B. The working needle 52 and needle selection jack 53 move circularly together with the knitting cylinder 51 (not shown) downward from the front side of the sheet of drawing to the back side of the sheet (or in the opposite direction). The needle selection jack 53 can swing about a fulcrum 53a as the center. A needle selection butt 69 and cam butt 70 are arranged so as to project from the needle selection jack 53 sideways as shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B.
When the piezoelectric body 2 is bent as shown in FIG. 15A, the needle selection butt 69 of the needle selection jack 53 which moves circularly collides against the finger 5. Consequently, the cam butt 70 of the needle selection jack 53 cannot engage with the cam 54. Hence, the needle selection jack 53 is not pushed upward by the cam 54, and the working needle 52 is not pushed upward.
When the piezoelectric body 2 is bent as shown in FIG. 15B, the finger 5 at the front end of the piezoelectric body 2 does not collide against the needle selection butt 69 of the needle selection jack 53 which moves circularly together with the knitting cylinder 51, and the needle selection jack 53 maintains the vertical posture. Consequently, the cam butt 70 at the lower end of the needle selection jack 53 is pushed upward along the inclined surface of the cam 54, and accordingly the working needle 52 is pushed upward.
When the needle selection butt 69 of the needle selection jack 53 and the finger 5 at the front end of the piezoelectric body 2 are engaged selectively in this manner, the working needle 52 can be moved upward freely as required, and a fabric having an arbitrary knitting texture can be knitted.
The most significant performance in knitting is high productivity, in other words, the capability of increasing the rotational speed of the knitting cylinder. To increase the rotational speed of the knitting cylinder 51, the needle selector 57 which controls the upward movement of the working needles 52 must be operated at a high speed. For this purpose, various types of needle selectors for knitting which operate at a high speed have been developed and used.
For example, the applicant of the present invention proposed a needle selector (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-224845) in which the attraction or repulsion force of an electromagnet is used to enable a plurality of fingers to swing. This needle selector has a higher operation speed and smaller size than the conventional needle selector, thus achieving reduction of the power consumption. The applicant of the present invention also proposed a piezoelectric needle selector (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-28451) to replace the needle selector using the electromagnet described above. According to this needle selector, the finger is actuated by bending a piezoelectric body to select a working needle. A higher operation speed, smaller size, and lower energy of the needle selector were achieved.
The applicant of the present invention also invented an improved apparatus of the piezoelectric needle selector described above, and filed it on Oct. 5, 1988, as Japanese Patent Application No. 63-249967 with the title "Needle Selector for Knitting Machine". This invention is registered as Japanese Patent No. 1969970 (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-94619), and its counterpart U.S. patent application is registered as U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,619.
FIG. 12A shows the piezoelectric needle selector described in Japanese Patent No. 1969970. As shown in FIG. 12A, according to the improved needle selector, a finger 5 is rotatably arranged on a piezoelectric body 2 having a piezoelectric element. Power is applied to the piezoelectric element to actuate the finger 5. A working needle of a knitting machine is selected by operation of the finger 5 (more particularly, through a jack) so that a fabric having a desired pattern texture can be knitted. According to the characteristic feature of this needle selector, the rear end portion of the piezoelectric body 2 is rotatably supported by a support A or housing through a rotary member 1A. The front end portion of the piezoelectric body 2 is rotatably connected to a U-shaped groove in the rear end portion of the finger 5 through a rotary member 1B. An intermediate position between the rear end portion and front end portion of the piezoelectric body 2 is clamped by rotary members 30 rotatably provided to a support body 13 or the housing. The finger 5 and piezoelectric body 2 are disposed on one straight line.
As shown in FIG. 12A, the intermediate portion of the piezoelectric body 2 is supported by the support body 13 through the rotary members 30. When the piezoelectric body 2 bends, it vertically moves a rear end 5A of the finger 5. The vertical movement of the rear end 5A vertically moves a front end 5B of the finger 5 which projects through an opening 19a of a support body 19. Consequently, the upward movement of a working needle 52 is selected.
The present applicant found that when the piezoelectric body 2 is rotatably supported at its predetermined position in this manner, the piezoelectric body 2 can bend freely. As a result, the moving speed of the finger 5 increases greatly and the moving amount of the front end of the finger 5 increases. When the piezoelectric body is used with this structure, damage to the piezoelectric body is decreased to prolong the service life of the needle selector. In this improved piezoelectric needle selector, as the structure of the finger actuating device which swings the finger member is improved greatly, the needle selecting ability is improved remarkably.
Basically, a piezoelectric body vibrates in all directions (360°) in a plane when power is applied to it. This is understandable from the fact that the piezoelectric body is originally introduced as a loudspeaker vibrating plate. When the piezoelectric body which vibrates in all directions is formed into a rectangular plate and one end of the long side of the plate is fixed, the plate forms a cantilevered beam the other end of which swings vertically. Even in this case, as the piezoelectric body vibrates in all directions, a vibration component in the widthwise direction of the rectangular piezoelectric body remains. Conventionally, a person skilled in the art overlooks this vibration component generated in the widthwise direction as inevitable.
In the conventional needle selector shown in FIG. 12A, the rotary member 30 which holds the piezoelectric body 2 at the intermediate position is a cylindrical member having a slit 32 extending from the end face of the rotary member 30 in the direction of longitudinal axis to hold the piezoelectric body 2, as shown in the detailed view of FIG. 12B. A shaft neck 31a at the end portion of the rotary member 30 and having a circular section is inserted in a circular hole (not shown) formed in the support body 13, so that the rotary member 30 is supported rotatably.
In the example shown in FIG. 12A, the rotary members 30 clamp the piezoelectric body 2 by the slits 32 from the left and right. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 13, one cylinder 40 having a slit (not shown) at its central portion to clamp a piezoelectric body 2 may be used.
In this case as well, shaft necks 40a and 40b each having a circular section are inserted and held in the circular holes of the support body 13, so that the piezoelectric body 2 is supported rotatably.
In the conventional needle selector, as described above with reference to FIGS. 12B and 13, the cylinder that rotatably holds the piezoelectric body at the intermediate position is a cylindrical member having a circular section.
As described above, while the present inventors concentrate on an increase in operation speed, downsizing, and energy saving of a needle selector for a knitting machine and take various types of measures for these purposes to make results, a higher performance has yet been required.
In view of this, the present inventors have made extensive studies to obtain a more efficient swing movement with a piezoelectric body, and reached the following conclusion. Namely, as far as a cylindrical member having a circular section is used, it is difficult to let the vibration of a piezoelectric body focus in the longitudinal direction more efficiently. In particular, when the needle selector is further downsized, the diameter of the cylinder which rotatably holds the piezoelectric body at the intermediate position tends to decrease. The present inventors found that the smaller the diameter of the cylinder, the more apparently vibration tends to occur in the widthwise direction.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a needle selector having a novel structure for a knitting machine, which can suppress as much as possible a loss in swing movement of a piezoelectric body of a conventional needle selector for a knitting machine.


An acoustic, noise-attenuating panel for an aircraft engine nacelle inlet. The panel includes at least three layers: (a) a perforated film; (b) a sound attenuating core; and (c) a structural layer. The structural layer has through-holes adapted for receiving fasteners that are configured to engage structure of an engine nacelle. The structural layer is fabricated, at least at its ends, of a material sufficiently strong so that when fasteners are engaged in the through-holes in the layer's ends, the fasteners retain the acoustic panel in a nacelle inlet under conditions of use. Alternatively, or in addition, the structural layer ends may be reinforced at the through-holes with reinforcing strips.

Aircraft noise reduction is an ongoing concern at airports around the world, as air traffic continues to increase and as people living near airports, or along aircraft take-off and landing flight paths, express concerns about aircraft noise. Accordingly, most airport facilities have regulations that set noise limits and that control aircraft flight paths on take off and landing. Some airport facilities now provide financial incentives or restrict terminal privileges to encourage airlines to reduce noise even further.
Aircraft noise has several sources, for example engine noise, landing gear orientation upon take off and landing, aircraft aerodynamic effects, among others. Accordingly, noise abatement is a complex issue. A strategy for addressing aircraft noise reduction is to consider each component of the aircraft, such as engine, landing gear, wings, etc., separately to make component-specific determinations. Consideration should also be given to other factors that may limit component-specific attenuation efforts, such as safety considerations. For example, reducing engine speed may reduce engine noise, but may be hazardous when an aircraft is fully loaded, taking off from a higher altitude airport under hot weather conditions. Certain airports may have relatively short runways for take off, necessitating high engine loads which result in higher noise levels.
The engine is one of the major noise generators on an aircraft. Much effort has been devoted to engine noise reduction. Newer engine designs may produce less noise than older but still useful engines. With so many aircraft already in service, and with such a high investment in existing engines that have a long useful life span, routine engine replacement for lower levels of sound generation may not be commercially feasible.
One of the sources of engine noise is the engine nacelle inlet area. To reduce noise in the nacelle inlet area, an acoustic panel is deployed as a lining at the nacelle air inlet. The acoustic panel is comprised of two separate acoustic panel halves that are joined at their ends to form a hoop shape that approximates the nacelle inlet shape. These acoustic panels have "non-acoustically treated" areas that are necessary to provide strengthened attachment points for the panel halves to the nacelle inlet. The non-acoustically treated areas do not, therefore, provide noise attenuation like the other areas of the panels. In addition, fastening the panel halves in place requires a splice fitting that has a plurality of fasteners extending through it. These fasteners create discontinuities in the otherwise smooth surface at the nacelle inlet thereby presenting a further source of noise at the nacelle inlet.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop an acoustically-treated nacelle inlet panel for aircraft noise reduction. In addition, it is desirable that the panel be monolithic or "single piece" to reduce the need for a splice fitting with exposed fasteners projecting into the nacelle air inlet. It is also desirable that the panel be free of areas that are not acoustically treated. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Monolithic acoustically-treated engine nacelle inlet panels


In a method of making a body part or chassis part of a motor vehicle, several pre-impregnated fiber materials (prepregs) are stacked on top o one another, with an outermost prepreg intended for attachment to a metallic base body being provided with an adhesive. The stacked prepregs are then shaped into a three-dimensional preform which is then compressed with the base body in a press tool for bonding the preform with the base body and allowing the adhesive to cure, thereby producing a joined structure which is allowed to cure.

The present invention relates, in general, to a method of making a body part or chassis part of a motor vehicle.
Nothing in the following discussion of the state of the art is to be construed as an admission of prior art.
Fiber plastic composite parts can be joined to a metal structure through cathodic electrophoretic enamelling using various one-component epoxy resin adhesive systems. Common to all these adhesive systems is their limitation as far as energy absorption and stress resistance of the adhesive are concerned. Also the tensile shear resistance of these types of adhesive systems could be problematic as a result of varying thermal expansion coefficients when joining a fiber plastic composite with steel. In particular the automobile industry demands high quality of adhesives, especially when body parts of motor vehicles are involved that are subject to high stress.
German Offenlegungsschrift DE 10 2004 003 190 A1 discloses a structural assembly for a motor vehicle body in shell construction having an outer shell and an inner shell, with the assembly being reinforced by at least one reinforcement member. The reinforcement member is made of a fiber-reinforced plastic and bonded in flat contact with the shell. The use of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) is hereby considered especially beneficial. The actual bonding is realized by means of epoxy adhesive which is so formulated as to cure during painting of the body in the oven. As result, the bonding does not break down even at high temperatures as encountered during body painting. In contrast thereto, the curing process in a two-component adhesive occurs quickly so that the adhesive is already fully cured before the paintjob is executed so that these types of adhesives break down during the paintjob.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to address this problem and to obviate other prior art shortcomings.

Method of making a body part or chassis part of a motor vehicle


A device emulator configured to emulate an electronic device to test a computing device. The device emulator includes a plurality of read-write registers that are user configurable to include a set of read registers and a set of write registers, wherein the set of write registers are configured to receive a plurality of requests from the computing device, and wherein the set of read registers are configured to transfer one or more conditional responses of a plurality of conditional responses to the computing device based on the requests; a set of control logic configured to receive the requests from the set of write registers and transfer the conditional responses to the set of read registers; and a circuit device that includes the read-write registers and the set of control logic, wherein the circuit device is configured to operate the control logic to emulate the electronic device.

The present invention relates to apparatus and technique for testing systems, and more particularly relates to a device emulator that is configured to emulate an electronic device and operate in conjunction with a computing device to test the computing device.
To provide consumers with reliable electronic products, the manufacturers of electronic products typically test the electronic products prior to sale. Tests of electronic products are performed at a variety of development stages and manufacturing stages of the electronic products. For example, functional tests and parametric tests might be performed on the individual integrated circuit chips and their associated packaging prior to sale of the chips to a manufacturer that will use the chips in an electronic product. Prior to selling the electronic product to a consumer, the manufacturer of the product also typically tests the product to ensure proper functionality of the product. Further, if an electronic product is configured to operatively interact with another electronic device, such as a computing device, the manufacturer of the electronic product might also test a number of computing devices manufactured by a number of manufacturers to determine whether their electronic product is operable with the computing devices. Similarly, a manufacturer of a computing device might test their computing device to determine whether the computing device is operable with a variety of peripheral electronic devices.
Testing the operability of a variety of electronic devices with a variety of computing devices tends to be cost prohibitive as the cost of obtaining a variety of computing devices and/or a variety of electronic devices is relatively large. Therefore, manufacturers of electronic devices have turned to emulating the varieties of computing devices with which their electronic devices are configured to interactively operate, and manufactures of computing devices have also turned to emulating the electronic devices with which their computing devices are configured to interactively operate. As new technology develops, new emulators are needed to emulate the new technology and/or the devices with which the new technology is configured to interactively operate. For example, as new technologies are developed, the manufacturers of these technologies may have desires to test not only for whether their technologies operate without error, but may also have desire to test how their technologies operate in error situations. Current testers and emulators do not provide, or provide inadequate, test capabilities for testing error cases.
Therefore, there is a need for new and easy to use apparatus and techniques for emulating various electronic devices to verify whether other devices that are configured to interactively operate with the electronic devices operate properly.

Apparatus and technique for device emulation


A liquid filter arrangement including an internally received treatment agent storage and release cartridge is provided. The assembly is configured for diffusion of the treatment agent from the treatment agent storage and release cartridge, into liquid flowing through the filter arrangement. A particular arrangement shown is configured which provides for a dynamic type of liquid flow providing a current directed through the treatment agent storage and release cartridge. In the preferred arrangements, an initial static type of flow followed by later dynamic flow, is provided. Alternatives, methods of assembly and descriptions of use are provided.

In many engine systems a liquid system is provided which needs to be both filtered and treated with an additive or treatment agent. An example is a lubrication oil system for diesel engines. In some instances, the lubrication oil for diesel engines contains an additive package to extend the life of the oil and to improve engine component protection. The additive package is made up of a variety of chemical compounds designed to perform specific functions in the oil. An example of one of the chemical compounds is zinc dithiophosphate (ZDP), which acts as an oxidation inhibitor in the oil. When the oil is heated in the presence of air (for example in a diesel engine) oxidation occurs, increasing the concentration of organic acids. The ZDP acts to inhibit oxidation, thereby decreasing the rate at which the acid is formed. A measure of the effectiveness of the ZDP in the oil is the "total base number" (TBN). The TBN is an indicator of the amount of acid in the oil. As ZDP becomes used up during engine operation, the TBN changes. At a certain defined TBN level, the oil is generally considered to be too acidic to be left in the engine, and thus needs to be replaced with "fresh" oil.
Diesel engine designs are undergoing changes, as a result of increasing emphasis on reduction of emissions from diesel engines, for example as mandated in the United States by the EPA. In some instances the changes cause acid formation in the oil to be more of an issue with respect to service interval, as compared to diesel engines of the past.
The initial additive package depletes in time. What has been needed has been improvements in approaches that allow for re-addition of the ZDP or similar treatment agents to a liquid (such as oil) under controlled conditions, during normal engine operation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Liquid filter assembly for use with treatment agent; and, methods


A process for forming a free standing antiperspirant or deodorant solid stick product using particulate and fluid materials that are combined by means of amalgamation, homogenization, compaction and extrusion at a temperature below the melting temperature of said product and extruded by mechanically working the particulate and fluid materials.

Traditional methods of manufacturing antiperspirant and/or deodorant sticks utilize hot processes that form a melt, or near molten fluid, which is poured or forced into a container and then cooled to form a solid stick.
In the underarm area, art of interest includes U.S. Patent Application No. 2001/0041169 A1 to Allan et al for Unilever, published Nov. 15, 2001, which describes a filling process for containers wherein the product is close to the setting temperature. The process uses a screw extruder (particularly a twin screw) to fill packages.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,579 to Roulier et al for L'Oreal describes the use of compression and extrusion in a twin screw extruder for the formation of a cosmetic hydrating gel. The gel is composed of 20% or more water soluble or hydrophilic gelling agents in the presence of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,814 to Roulier et al for L'Oreal describes rigid gels containing at least 20% of one or more hydrophilic gelling agents. The gels are obtained in the presence of water by mixing, blending, compression and extrusion in a twin-screw extruder. This reference includes pigment in the composition later removed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,579.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,979 to Kasat et al for Colgate Palmolive describes composition and method of manufacture of a clear stick antiperspirant. This reference describes a method which uses a twin screw extruder to create separate mixing chambers where temperatures can be controlled and prevent degradation of heat sensitive ingredients.
PCT Application 99/07429 to Allan et al for Hindustan Lever Ltd. describes a compartmented progressive pitched screw which acts as mixer/delivery/temperature controller, and delivers a uniform product to be filled into standard AP containers at temperatures between 0 and 3 degrees below the melt point of the composition. Benefits are uniformity of active content obtained by eliminating sedimentation, and an ability to add temperature sensitive ingredients late in the process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,609 to Diaz for Fluid Packaging Co. describes a system for injecting molten product into deodorant stick containers with automatically dispensing metered amounts of viscous product in assembly line fashion into a series of containers.
PCT Application 01/02824 to Allan et al for Hindustan Lever Ltd. describes the application of the filling apparatus in PCT 99/07429, to the production and filling of soft solid product formulations via batch or continuous means, with screw extrusion filling under pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,420 to Inoue for Inoue-Japax Research describes an injection molding method for plastic melts and formation of finished units using a feed screw and piston, under pressure and with temperature control.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,840 to Allan, et al for Unilever describes a process and apparatus for the production of an antiperspirant and/or deodorant product by a continuous process involving injection molding.
Specific patents that disclose extrusion as a method of producing stick deodorants and antiperspirants include the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,161,579 and 6,045,814 to Roulier, et al. disclose water-soluble gels which are kept at elevated temperature through the extrusion process in the 60–100° C. range. PCT Application WO 00/19861 to Allan et al. for Lever (see also WO 00/41169 A1) discloses a process using temperatures between 0–3° C. below the melt point of the composition while filling containers. The apparatus described is best described as a screw feeder with temperature control rather than an extruder that compresses the composition. U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,712 to Ono et al, discloses an extrusion/injection molding of an oil and powder mixture into a mold to form a cosmetic. U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,609 to Diaz discloses a device for filling sticks using a piston and air actuated plunger to control flow and fill weight of molten material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,236 to Rabiger et al, discloses a process and apparatus that can be used for extruding rubber.
In other non-antiperspirant/deodorant fields, references of interest include U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,712 to Ono et al for JO Cosmetics which describes an injection molding method for making cosmetics using a piston to force a molten composition into a die and cooling it there, then discharging the product from the die for packaging; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,236 to Rabiger et al for Herman Berstorff Maschinenbau which describes a method and apparatus for the continuous manufacture of rubber or polymer based mixtures containing additives. The ingredients for the mixture are fed into a twin screw extruder and masticated and homogenized therein. Recycling is described.
These previous attempts are not completely satisfactory in accomplishing the objects of the present invention since they require elevated temperatures and a prescribed package form in which to deposit the product while it is hot. Thus, the objects of the invention include having the ability to extrude the stick formula ingredients at temperatures well below the melting point of the formula, and being able to create solid sticks without requiring a package form to shape the product. Further advantages of the invention include (1) greater flexibility in packaging the final product; (2) increased uniformity in product since solid products are less likely to have the individual ingredients settle out during the process; (3) reduction or elimination of voids and cavities, shrinkage and cracking since relatively little cooling takes place; (4) increased ability to use volatile products that would otherwise be lost because of heat; and (5) greater ability to use temperature sensitive materials that might otherwise degrade because of exposure to elevated temperatures (for example, fragrances). Yet another advantage of the invention is (6) the ability to make antiperspirants and/or deodorants which have colored striations, or other aesthetics not possible in other conventional manufacturing routes for molten sticks.

Extruded stick product and method for making same


A dual washing machine includes a front-loading tub and a top-loading tub in a main body and/or case. The front-loading tub is tub is at or in a lower portion of the main body and/or case, and the top-loading tub is at or in an upper portion of the main body and/or case.

In general, a washing machine refers to a mechanical apparatus that cleans and quickly washes contaminants from dirty laundry such as clothes or bedclothes using a detergent emulsion and frictional action of washing water that flows from rotational motion and/or impact action with the laundry, and the like.
In accordance with a washing manner, the washing machine may be classified into (i) a pulsator type (e.g., a rotating laundry plate type) washing machine that uses a water current formed by rotating a rotating wing or pulsator at a bottom of the tub, (ii) an agitator type (e.g., rod washing type) washing machine that washes the laundry by rotating a washing rod or cylinder having a rotating wing at a center of a tub, and (iii) a drum type (e.g., cylinder type) washing machine that washes the laundry using a force that occurs when the laundry falls in the drum by rotating the drum.
The pulsator type washing machine and the agitator type washing machine have excellent cleaning power because the laundry may be washed in a short time. However, the clothes may become tangled and damaged. The drum washing machine of the present disclosure resolves such a drawback.
In addition to a principle of an electric washing machine, the drum type washing machine washes the laundry using a force that occurs when the laundry is raised by a lifter, and then falls by rotating the drum. The advantages include less damage to the clothing since there is less friction, and a minimal amount of water is used because water is needed only at the bottom of the drum.
The drum washing operation may wash the laundry using friction between the laundry and the rotating drum by receiving a drive power from a motor. As a result, the clothes may not become tangled, thus minimizing damage to the clothing.
However, despite the advantages that the drum washing machine uses less water and provides effective washing power, the drum type washing machine requires a motor for generating strong drive power in order to rotate the tub, and therefore, the drum type washing machine consumes a large amount of electric power in comparison with a general type washing machine.
In general, white clothes and black or colored clothes are often separately washed in order to prevent color bleeding.
When the laundry is washed in this manner, more energy and resource are consumed. Since the clothes may need to be stored for a long period of time before washing, a space for storing the laundry is required, and an odor may occur from the stored laundry.
A family with a baby generally washes the baby's clothes separately and more frequently. As a result, a small scale washing machine may be useful to wash the baby's clothes. Therefore, an additional cost and space are required to purchase and install the small scale washing machine.
Because the general type washing machine and the drum type washing machine have advantages and drawbacks, respectively, consumers may wish to have both the general type washing machine and the drum type washing machine. However, when the consumer buys two washing machines, additional cost and space are required.

Washing machine having upper and lower wash tubs connected by a rotation conversion unit


Methods and systems are provided for cropping a digital image based on movement data. A wearable computing device may receive image data. The wearable computing device may comprise a head-mountable display (HMD), and the HMD may comprise a viewing frame. The image data may be displayed within the viewing frame. The wearable computing device may receive movement information indicative of at least one movement of the wearable computing device. The at least one movement of the wearable computing device may comprises at least one of a pan of the wearable computing device or a tilt of the wearable computing device. In response to receiving the movement information, the wearable computing device may perform a cropping action on the image data so as to generate a cropped image. The cropped image may represent a reduced portion of the image data.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The use of digital imagery is becoming more and more prevalent. One of the many benefits of using a digital image is the ease with which the digital image may be used. For example, a digital image may be immediately viewed, saved, or shared with others via a webpage. Another benefit of a digital image is the ease of which the digital image may be processed. Present day image processing software allows extensive modifications to be made to a digital image to, for example, improve clarity and/or color balance of the digital image. The image processing may be performed using image processing software on a personal computer or at a photo kiosk, for example.
Another common manipulation of a digital image is the cropping of the digital image. Cropping a digital image changes the original digital frame size to any reduced and desired frame size. As a result of the change in digital frame size, a new image is generated consisting only of the reduced and desired frame size. Cropping is generally performed to improve the composition of the image by enlarging the subject of the image and/or discarding any undesired or distracting backgrounds or background elements.


A solar energy collector includes a generally tubular housing or multiple tubular housings each having an open end for receipt of solar rays which are then reflected from a generally conical mirror within the housing onto solar cells lining the inside surface of the housing. Various mechanisms are utilized to favorably orient the housing or otherwise direct the solar rays and to maximize the incidence of reflected solar rays onto solar cells.

In a principal aspect the present invention relates to a solar energy collector and a solar power system which utilizes an array of solar cells to generate electric energy from a light source.
The use of solar panels to generate electricity is the subject of much research, development and public investment seeking to create efficient, cost effective "green energy". Multiple systems have been proposed or built which utilize arrays of flat, solar cell panels oriented with respect to the sun including systems such as exemplified by various patents and patent applications:
U.S. Pat. No./Issue Date/Application No.TitlePublication Date3,058,394Reflector for Solar HeatersOct. 16, 19623,125,091Inflatable Solar Energy CollectorMar. 17, 19643,203,306Optical Ray ConcentratorAug. 31, 19653,985,118Solar FurnaceOct. 12, 19764,011,857Solar Energy Converter and Elongated FresnelMar. 15, 1977Lens Element4,022,186Compound Lens Solar Energy SystemMay 10, 19774,069,812Solar Concentrator and Energy CollectionJan. 24, 1978System4,089,323Solar Tracking DeviceMay 16, 19784,111,184Sun Tracking Solar Energy CollectorSep. 5, 19784,116,223Solar Energy UnitSep. 26, 19784,194,949Solar Distillation ApparatusMar. 25, 19804,204,881Solar Power SystemMay 27, 19804,211,211Solar Energy Collector and TransferJul. 8, 1980Apparatus4,230,094Solar ConcentratorOct. 28, 19804,238,246Solar Energy System with CompositeDec. 9, 1980Concentrating Lenses4,270,981Solar Distillation ApparatusJun. 2, 19814,289,118Solar Energy System with Pivoting Lens andSep. 15, 1981Collector and Conduit System Therefor4,297,000Solar Lighting SystemOct. 27, 19814,299,201Solar Energy Focusing MeansNov. 10, 19814,323,052Solar Energy SystemApr. 6, 19824,337,759Radiant Energy Concentration by OpticalJul. 6, 1982Total Internal Reflection4,344,417Solar Energy CollectorAug. 17, 19824,347,834Variable Entropy Solar Energy HarvesterSep. 7, 19824,352,350Means for Tracking The SunOct. 5, 19824,385,430Method of Forming an Energy ConcentratorMay 31, 19834,456,783Multielement Optical PanelJun. 26, 19844,545,366Bi-Focussed Solar Energy ConcentratorOct. 8, 19854,848,319Refracting Solar Energy Concentrator andJul. 18, 1989Thin Flexible Fresnel Lens5,578,139Stowable and Deployable Solar EnergyNov. 26, 1996Concentrator with Fresnel Lenses7,875,793Solar Cell AssemblyJan. 25, 20112008/0053524 A1Solar Cell Panel Integrated with a ConformingMar. 6, 2008Array of Miniature Lenses2010/0051016 A1Modular Fresnel Solar Energy CollectionMar. 4, 2010System2010/0116317 A1Inter-Facing Solar PanelsMay 13, 2010
Prior art proposals involve a variety of solar cell materials, various constructions of solar panels, different arrays of the solar cell panels, various types of lenses and designs to concentrate a solar light source, including the use of Fresnel lenses, light guide assemblies and the like. Despite the abundance of prior art and the various mechanisms and approaches suggested to enhance the ability to convert solar energy into heat or electrical energy in an efficient and cost effective manner and in a manner which can be scaled upward and implemented for the generation of significant amounts of power or which can be adapted to lesser power needs, there remains a need for an inexpensive, yet efficient solar cell assembly for energy generation including generation of electric energy.


By the use of an epsilon filter, in the case where a plurality of different illuminations exist, a boundary between the illuminations can be appropriately extracted, and an unnatural image pattern can be prevented from being generated, therefore subjectively preferable compression of a dynamic range can be achieved. An edge strength G(x, y) is calculated per position on an input image, and a threshold E(x, y) of an epsilon filter (12) is controlled on the basis of the edge strength G(x, y). The epsilon filter (12) filters the input image on the basis of the controlled threshold E(x, y). On the basis of the edge strength G(x, y), the threshold E of the epsilon filter (12) is adaptively changed according to a local gradient of a pixel value I(x, y), so in the case of using a linear lowpass filter or a fixed threshold epsilon filter, an illumination boundary can be more accurately extracted.

As a conventional method, there is a method (hereinafter referred to as "level conversion") of converting each pixel of an input image by a function having an input/output relationship (hereinafter referred to as "level conversion function") indicated by a solid line in FIG. 18, for example, for conversion of gradation characteristics of an image. In FIG. 18, a lateral axis indicates a pixel level (input level) l of an input image, and a vertical axis indicates a pixel level (output level) T(l) of an output image by the level conversion. Lmax indicates a maximum level which each pixel of an input/output image can obtain. A contrast of the image after the level conversion increases with an increase in a gradient of the level conversion function. In an example shown in FIG. 18, gradients of straight lines indicating the level conversion function in a high level from an input level lb as a border of the high level and in a low level from an input level ls as a border of the low level are smaller than a gradient in a medium level (from the input level ls to the input level lb). Therefore, in the level conversion using the function shown in FIG. 18, a contrast in the medium level is increased by sacrificing contrasts in the high level and the low level.
In addition to the level conversion function shown in FIG. 18, a level conversion function indicated by a solid line in FIG. 19 can be used. In the level conversion function shown in FIG. 19, a gradient of a straight line in the high level from an input level lk as a boundary of the high level is smaller than gradients in the low level and the medium level. Therefore, in the level conversion using the function shown in FIG. 19, the contrasts in the low level and the medium level can be increased by sacrificing the contrast in the high level. Further, compared with the functions shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, a more continuous level conversion function such as a gamma function shown in Mathematical Formula 1 or a LOG function shown in Mathematical Formula 2 may be used. In Mathematical Formula 1, "g" indicates a parameter for adjusting the gradient of the function.
Moreover, as another conventional method, there is a method of adaptively changing the level conversion function according to a frequency distribution of the pixel level of the input image, and as a typical example of the conventional method, a method called histogram equalization is cited. FIGS. 20A and 20B show a principle of the histogram equalization. In FIG. 20A, a lateral axis indicates a pixel level (input level) l of an input image, and a vertical axis indicates frequency (or cumulative frequency). Fmax indicates a maximum value of the cumulative frequency, which is a total number of pixels used for calculating the frequency. In the method, as shown in FIG. 20A, at first a frequency distribution H(l) relating to the pixel level l of the input image is produced, and then a cumulative frequency distribution C(l) is produced by the use of Mathematical Formula 3.
The vertical axis of the cumulative frequency distribution C(l) is normalized to a level range in which the output image can obtain by the use of Mathematical Formula 4 so as to produce a level conversion function T(l) (refer to FIG. 20B). By the use of the function T(l), a contrast in a region configured with a high frequency level (a region with a large area) can be increased.
When an inputted image is used in an environment where the dynamic range is smaller, that is, the number of bits representing the pixel level is smaller (for example, in the case of transmitting the image through a transmission line with a small number of bits, displaying the image on a display apparatus, or storing the image in memory), the dynamic range is required to be compressed. Conventionally, the same level conversion as the method described above is used to compress the dynamic range for such purpose. However, in this case, a maximum level of the output image of the level conversion function has a smaller value than that of the input image.
On the other hand, in literature of "Z. Rahman, et, alt.:"A Multiscale retinex for color rendition and dynamic range compression in Applications of Digital image Processing", XIX Proc. SPIE 2847 (1996)", a method (hereinafter referred to as "Multiscale retinex method") of compressing the entire dynamic range by extracting and compressing a component of illumination light which is spatially and slightly changed by the use of a lowpass filter is proposed. A linear narrow-band lowpass filter is used to extract an illumination component. In the method, as shown in Mathematical Formula 5, a logarithm value of an input pixel value I(x, y) and a logarithm value of a lowpass filter output LPF(I(x, y)) are taken, and then the latter is subtracted from the former to compress the dynamic range.
In the above conventional level conversion methods, in order to prevent from producing an unnatural image, a level conversion function having a monotone increasing property is used. Therefore, there is a problem that when a contrast in any level range (the gradient of the level conversion function) is increased, conversely, contrasts in other level ranges declines.
Further, in the Multiscale retinex method, by sacrificing the monotone increasing property, an image with a higher contrast can be reproduced. However, there is a problem that when an illumination condition is suddenly switched, the linear filter cannot extract a change in the illumination condition, so a subjectively undesirable noise occurs.
For example, as shown in FIG. 21, when an image having two regions with different illumination conditions adjacent to each other (indicated by a solid line in the drawing) is filtered by the linear lowpass filter, a signal with an ambiguous boundary indicated by a thin broken line is obtained as a filter output. When the filter output is considered as the illumination component, in a region on a left side of an illumination boundary (B region), a portion near the boundary (BNB region) has a lower illumination level than a portion at a distance from the boundary (BFB region). The Mathematical Formula 5 is equivalent to dividing an input signal by the illumination component, and means that the larger the illumination component is, the more the input signal is compressed. Accordingly, overshoot occurs in the BNB region of a reproduced image (indicated by a thick broken line in the drawing). Conversely, it is considered that in a region on a right side of the illumination boundary (D region), a portion near the boundary (DNB region) has a higher illumination level than a portion at a distance from the boundary (DFB region), so undershoot occurs. In the Multiscale retinex method, in order to overcome the problem, a method of using a plurality of linear lowpass filters with different scales, and synthesizing results obtained by each of the lowpass filters by a linear load is used, but a weight for each scale is fixed, so the above problem cannot be sufficiently prevented.
Therefore, it is considered that a nonlinear filter such as, for example, an epsilon filter instead of the linear lowpass filter is used to extract the illumination component. The epsilon filter is superior in performance of storing an edge to the linear filter, so the illumination component can be effectively extracted from an image where different illumination lights exist. However, in a fixed threshold epsilon filter which is generally used to remove noise, a discontinuous waveform is generated in an output thereof in a neighborhood of the edge, so when the filter is used to compress the dynamic range, an unnatural image pattern which does not exist in an original image may be generated in a reproduced image after compression.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide an image processing method and an image processing apparatus capable of appropriately extracting a boundary between a plurality of illuminations by the use of the epsilon filter in the case where the plurality of illuminations exist, and preventing from generating an unnatural image pattern so as to achieve subjectively preferable compression of the dynamic range.

Image processing method and image processing apparatus


One embodiment involves having a processor writing disk drive command information for a number of data transactions to cacheable system memory. The processor then performs a single write transaction to a disk drive host controller. The disk drive host controller then causes a DMA transfer to occur which reads the command information located in system memory and stores the command information in a queue. Once the host controller has the command information, it programs the disk drive with information corresponding to a queue entry over a serial interconnect. The disk drive signals an interrupt after it processes the command information. The disk drive host controller does not forward the interrupt to the processor, but services the interrupt itself. The disk drive host controller reads from the disk drive to determine the disk drive status. The disk drive can signal that it is ready to execute the programmed command, or it can signal that it is not ready to perform the programmed command but is ready to receive additional command programming information corresponding to another queue entry, or it may signal that it is ready to execute a previously programmed command. The disk drive host controller then performs the required operations using the information stored in the queue without involving the processor. Because the processor is only involved in setting up a command block in system memory and in signaling the disk drive host controller that the command block is ready for reading, the processor is freed up to perform other tasks and overall system performance is improved.

Typical computer systems utilize disk drives for mass storage. A disk drive is usually coupled to a host controller that resides in a system logic device. The disk drive is coupled to the host controller via an interconnect. One such interconnect is an AT Attachment (ATA) interconnect. The host controller communicates with the disk drive over the ATA interconnect.
In prior computer systems, in order to program a disk drive to initiate a data transfer, a processor must perform a series of one byte write cycles (anywhere between 8 and 16) to the ATA interface. This programming operation can take a significant amount of time and keep the processor from performing other tasks.
One method for improving ATA device performance is command queuing. This prior type of queuing is software based. With this method, a processor programs a storage device with command information for a data transfer. The storage device then signals an interrupt when done processing the command. The processor, responding to the interrupt, then reads from the storage device to determine the status of the storage device and to know if the command has been processed. The storage device may indicate that it is ready to execute the programmed command, or it may indicate that it is not ready to execute the programmed command but it is ready to accept programming for an additional command, or the storage device may indicate that it is ready to execute a previously programmed command.
The processor is involved in delivering command programming information to the storage device, servicing the interrupts signaled by the storage device, and managing a command queue in system memory. These tasks take up a significant amount of processor time and overall system performance is negatively affected.


A method for managing a queue descriptor cache of a host channel adaptor (HCA) includes obtaining a queue descriptor from memory. The queue descriptor includes data describing a queue and the memory is located in a host system. The method further includes storing a copy of the queue descriptor in the queue descriptor cache of the HCA. The HCA accesses the copy of the queue descriptor to obtain the plurality of data, accesses the queue using the data, and updates the data to reflect the access to the queue. The method further includes calculating, using the data, a value corresponding to utilization of the queue, comparing the value against a threshold, fetching, if the value exceeds the threshold, a new copy of the queue descriptor from memory, and replacing the copy of the queue descriptor in the queue descriptor cache with the new copy obtained from the memory.

The Infiniband® network includes nodes that communicate through a channel-based switched fabric (Infiniband® is a registered trademark of Infiniband Trade Association, located in Beaverton, Oreg.). For example, the nodes may be a host, an input/output subsystem, or a router which connects to another network. The switched fabric is made of a collection of switches, routers, and/OR links that connect a set of channel adapters. The channel adapters form an interface between the switched fabric and the nodes. The channel adapter of the host is referred to as a host channel adapter. The channel adapter of an I/O subsystem is referred to as a target channel adapter.
In Infiniband®, data packets are sent and received using queues. The data packets are stored in entries. Completion queues are used to buffer data packets produced by the host until the host channel adapter can send them. Receive queues are used to buffer data packets received by the host channel adapter until the host can consume them. Information about a queue is stored in a data structure called a queue descriptor. The host channel adapter accesses entries in queues based on the information stored in the queue descriptors.

Method and system for queue descriptor cache management for a host channel adapter


A vascular graft for anastomosis of blood vessels or ducts comprises piercing means (3) for engaging an end portion (8/8′) of a blood vessel or prosthesis and means (6, 6′) for precisely guiding one or more piercing elements (3) to pierce the wall of the vessel or prosthesis to a predetermined depth and in a predetermined direction.

The present invention relates to a vascular graft for anastomosis operations in which two hollow structures consisting of blood vessels or vascular prostheses are surgically connected.
In particular, when the structures connected are the two ends of a blood vessel, a lymphatic vessel or other type of duct, the operation is called end-to-end anastomosis and its purpose is to restore flow to the vessel or duct.
This specification expressly refers to vascular anastomosis applied to the human body, without thereby restricting the scope of the invention.
The prior patent application BO2000A000169 describes an apparatus for end-to-end anastomosis, designed by the same inventor as the graft of this invention, in which the means for mutually connecting the vessel portions to be anastomosed comprise circular staples that hold the ends of the vessel in place so that the edges of the vessel match perfectly.
This solution solves many of the problems that existed before its disclosure because, once implanted, it enables the vessel to be reconstructed completely.
Although application of the graft is simpler using this solution, the problem of the simplicity of application remains unsolved (and simplicity is of vital importance in vascular surgery).
Another problem is the accuracy with which the circular staple is applied. Once applied, the circular staples must neither lacerate the vessel nor obstruct blood flow which leads to clotting.
The present has for its primary aim to provide a vascular graft that overcomes the drawbacks of prior art due in particular to the relative complexity of use and accuracy of application to vessels or vascular prostheses.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a vascular graft that does not in any way obstruct blood flow in the anastomosed vessel.